With their match settled, the two moved a bit away from the carnage. Eldrian quickly created some seats for them, pulled out something to drink from his inventory, and they got to talking.
It started with them discussing the battle, then moved to trivia, what each other had been busy with, and so forth. They more or less knew everything already, but they still talked.
Soon, their conversation returned to their match. And Vivian asked how much Eldrian had been holding back.
"It's hard to say. We began slowly, to test each other. But I normally try to go full tilt with my magic at the start. I also didn't abuse flying, didn't use teleportation, and relied on Tranquility instead of Wrath."
"So, you're saying I stood no chance?" Vivian asked, visibly upset. Until her eyes drifted to Eldrian's missing arm.
Even if he had been going easy on her, she had managed to land a good hit. More than just a good hit, she had claimed his entire left arm. Had she been a little bit faster, she might have managed to win the match then and there.
To spar until limbs flew was certainly not a normal thing. No normal person would even consider it. But Vivian knew Eldrian was used to it. He often lost an arm, leg, or even more in his battles in the Core.
The only difference, really, was that this time healing would take a little more time. Myropsis was good, she had even reached Tier 7. But it wouldn't be an instant treatment. And if she couldn't heal Eldrian, Ziraili certainly could when their next training came about... though it had been postponed due to the coming tournament.
Thanks to this knowledge, Vivian didn't feel guilty or sad. Normally she would admonish Eldrian if he went too far and endangered himself. But she understood that sometimes he didn't have a choice.
Today, she was filled with pride at her accomplishment. After all, Eldrian was being trained by one of the divine.
That she had managed to close the gap between them, even a little. It was an achievement to be proud of. And she finally understood why Eldrian always pushed himself so hard.
It had taken her some time to order all her emotions. Her father's death had hit her hard, really hard. But, thanks to the dwarves, she had managed to accept the reality of it. Accept the finality of death, and how commonplace it was in a war.
With her mother wishing to come live here, she now had something to train for. And today, Vivian had proven to herself that she was strong. She understood this strength was still limited, but it gave her the confidence to move forward.
Thus, Eldrian's reply did not demotivate her. Instead, it added fuel to the fire in her heart. "If I was trying my best, no... you wouldn't. But in a duel with melee weapons, I stood no chance against you. Really, I can't do anything without magic."
With that, silence settled between the two as they both considered things while enjoying their beverages. It was an iced medical herb tea, with a little honey for sweetness. Extremely refreshing after their match, and helpful to recover their stamina. It even supplied them with some mana.
"By the way," Eldrian started, "when did you learn to control those flames of yours? Have you figured out what type of power it is?"
"Apparently, the flames are called Divine Flames." Vivian had only learned this when she had brought her hidden class of Valkyrie to the same Tier as her swordsmanship.
"Last time we fought, you didn't try to use them... I assume it is because these Divine Flames normally don't hurt the living?"
Eldrian could still remember how effective her blue flames were against the undead. Yet, back when Vivian had used it, it had done nothing to him and the others. In fact, it had felt like it soothed their injuries.
"That's correct. It makes fighting the undead easy but was useless against anything else. I had to try a bunch of stuff, it wasn't easy."
Eldrian could relate to that. Getting control of one's aura was never an easy feat. Vivian's, luckily, didn't cause her harm. So, in that regard, she might have it a little easier. Then again, Eldrian was sure there had to be some side effect.
Then he recalled that Vivian had mentioned seeing the souls of the lost. When she had first gotten her aura, she had been terrified. Unable to rationalize between what was real and what wasn't. It had taken her some time to stop her visions.
'Right, it all started when her dad died.' Eldrian recalled. His mood taking a drop upon reflecting on the past. He had made so many mistakes. Yet, they hadn't had the time. Perhaps if they had asked for more help, but they had already done so...
"Can you still see souls?" Eldrian asked.
"Yeah, but I can choose when. I can even talk with them."
"Oh, that's right. You told me about what happened in Ganalin..."
A moment of silence settled in again. Until Eldrian got the courage to ask, "Is this somehow related to how you saw my spells before they even took form?"
"...Yeah."
"Do you want to keep it to yourself?"
"No, I'm okay with sharing, but... I'm not sure how to explain it."
"I'll stop you if it doesn't make sense."
"Alright..." Vivian paused, taking a deep breath, a sip of the tea, and organized her thoughts. "I've told you before that what I see isn't the entirety of a soul, right?"
"Yeah, I remember something like that. Most of a person's soul moves on to the divine realms. However, a portion is left behind. It normally dissipates into the surroundings, and, most often, is consumed by whoever or whatever killed them."
This was, in essence, what XP was. Consuming a portion of another living thing's soul. And players were far more adept at this than any other living thing, except for devils. Who consumed souls more directly.
"Right, and after you explained how your own powers work, what lifeforce is, and how you use magic. I started wondering what these leftover souls really were. Obviously, it's some of a person's lifeforce, but I asked myself why this leftover could be conscious."
"After some time, and after being close to others when they died, I came to realize how it works. Upon dying, your soul is slowly ripped from your body."
"Yeah, I've experienced this myself." Eldrian chipped in. "It's why resurrection spells have time limits. The average time for a soul to depart is five minutes, but for the connection to be completely severed, it's around an hour."
"Indeed. But the connection is severed completely, ever."
"Are you sure?"
"Well, no... But I know it isn't severed in just an hour. If that was the case, I shouldn't have been able to talk with Dorak."
"That was the dwarf who died, the first soul you talked with, right?"
"Yeah..."
Seemingly recalling everyone who had died while she was in Ganalin, Vivian turned quiet for a few minutes. After settling her thoughts, she continued.
AN: Chapter 1000!
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