Saa'ir finished patching the Oni mother's torn flesh just enough to keep her stable—her breathing still labored, her body still weak, but no longer on the brink of bleeding out. His soulura dimmed as he drew his hand back, rising to his feet with an ease that contrasted with the exhaustion surrounding everyone else.

He then walked toward Dama.

Dama stood confused, flanked by Mumu and Nini who copied his expression. As Saa'ir approached, the boy's brows knit together in bewilderment. "What? My Soulful Technique? You…understand it?" Dama asked.

Saa'ir lowered himself so his face was closer to the boy's height. His voice softened. He glanced briefly toward the others, then leaned in until only Dama, Mumu, and Nini could hear him. "Do all three of you remember that nightmarish experience together in Giona's mind?"

Instantly, all three stiffened and their eyes went wide. Mumu's ears perked up. Nini's tail curled around her legs. And Dama—the memory hitting him like a cold wave—slowly nodded.

They all did, the recollection alone sent a tremor through their bodies.

Saa'ir nodded back. "Good. I'm sorry for bringing up such an unpleasant memory I can assume. The reason I bring it up is because, well, let's put it like this: Do you even know how you were able to go into Giona's mindscape, Young Dama?"

It was a good question, one that eluded Dama until now. Dama opened his mouth to answer, but he had no answer, why would he? Such an event happening was already unheard of, even in the wider scope of Eranovum.

"I-I..." Was the only thing Dama could say as he looked down in deep consideration, his mind drawing blank after blank. Just how did he get into Giona's mind?

Saa'ir chuckled under his breath seeing Dama's reaction. "Don't worry, Young Dama, it's quite simple…or, well—no, not that simple."

He folded his arms behind his back as he began to explain:

"You see, dreams are conjured by our memories. Memories are stored through the mind—one of the four basic components of any living being: the body, heart, soul, and mind. And what glues all four together is life energy." His eyes gleamed knowingly as he looked at Dama. "So if you can manipulate life energy—even partially—then you can also touch the memories flowing within it. That's why you were able to slip into Giona's dreams, dreams shaped by her memories. That, combined with the strong resonance between your souls, allowed you access."

Dama stared at his own palm, his breath catching in a mix of wonder and disbelief. "Life energy..." He whispered, the words barely forming as his mind flashed back to when the Curse of Love told him the same thing. The idea that something so grand, so mystical, that was flowing through everyone—something he can touch—felt impossible.

And yet, Saa'ir's explanation somehow felt...right.

However, just to be sure, Dama looked back up at Saa'ir. "Mr. Saa'ir, how do you know I can manipulate this 'life energy'?"

"Now that is simple," Saa'ir chuckled as he raised two fingers, "it's mainly because of two reasons." He then pointed said two fingers at Mumu and Nini. "Both reasons include those two. They were naught but simple stuffed animals before you gave them life, no? I can sense they have a direct connection to your very soul."

While Dama felt like he should have been shocked, this was Saa'ir he was talking to, he wasn't that surprised that he knew. "Yeah, I did... I gave them life when I lost my family to a sickness."

Saa'ir's face softened in pity as he grasped his chin. "I see, I apologize. However, that does make sense. Soulful Techniques can awaken from extreme emotions or stress. Back where, or rather when, I came from, almost everyone you would come across had one due to such conditions. The fact you have one in such an era of peace speaks volumes."

Saa'ir then shook his head, getting back on track. "The other reason was when you fought the Curse of Hatred, you supercharged Mumu and Nini beyond what their stitched bodies should ever be capable of. You somehow supercharged their life energy, bolstering them to new heights. I am sure you haven't forgotten about Nini's sudden ability to shape shift and Mumu's ability to fight?"

Mumu and Nini exchanged bewildered glances, almost forgetting themselves.

But Dama, he smiled faintly, just now realizing the gift he has been given. "You're right..."

"…What does that have to do with me 'showing the truth,' Mr. Saa'ir?" Dama finally asked.

Saa'ir straightened to his full height, the golden links of his jewelry swaying gently with the motion. "In order for you to show the truth, you'll need to extend your Soulful Technique's influence onto others—much like you did with Mumu and Nini,but on a wider scale. Allow others to touch and feel the memories of another person, not just you."

Dama's eyes shot upward, confusion overtaking the awe. "E-Extend? How do I do that?"

Saa'ir didn't waste a second. He simply offered his hand toward Dama. "I will handle most of the work. All you need to do is grab my hand."

First looking at Saa'ir's hand, Dama stared down at his own hand, flexing his fingers as if life energy might suddenly spark to life between them.

Still confused, still overwhelmed, Dama nevertheless thought about everything Saa'ir had done for him—guiding him through Giona's mind, helping him fight the Curse of Hatred, saving him just moments ago, and all the knowledge he seemed to possess.

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Trusting Saa'ir now was just reasonable.

Dama reached out, ready to take Saa'ir's hand—only for his fingers to pass straight through, causing him to stumble forward with a panicked yelp.

"Oh! R-Right..." Saa'ir said with an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "No physical body."

Dama laughed too, cheeks red. "No worries, I-I forgot about that too…"

Saa'ir grinned warmly before kneeling slightly to Dama's height. "Try again." He encouraged.

Dama blinked. "Huh? But I—how? I can't touch you."

"Maybe the average person can't," Saa'ir said, voice soft but certain, "but you, Young Dama—you are far from ordinary. Something in me—something in you—tells me you can."

His gaze shifted over his shoulder to Okun—still propped up by Domitius, still watching in disbelief. "And judging from how much more refined your soul has become since we last met, I'd wager that is thanks to Sir Okun."

Okun stiffened in stunned silence.

Saa'ir turned back to Dama and held out his hand again. "Believe in yourself. I will handle the rest."

Dama hesitated only a heartbeat before letting Saa'ir's calm smile settle the last of his doubts. He reached out again—not for a hand he could feel, but for something else.

He closed his eyes and drew his mind inward. He chased the memory of other auras:

Okun's earthy presence filling his room.

The suffocating fury he'd felt when the Curse of Hatred first pressed on him.

The faint, steady warmth of the little mindscape lake where both his own and Giona's soul had glowed.

He tried to shape that awareness into something he could grasp.

A warm pulse pooled in his chest and slid down his arm into his palm. Behind his eyelids it showed as gold: a small, untamed ribbon of light that wiggled like a living thing.

Then, beside it, a different color unfurled—soft, gray, translucent. The gray mass gathered into an orb, calm and contained. It hovered there like a held breath, patient and familiar.

Dama felt the two lights nudge against one another. Where the gold quivered with his own raw, impulsive heat, the gray answered with a steady, cool confidence. There was an almost tactile tang to that meeting: tiny ripples of pressure across his skin, as if two hands pressed through water toward each other.

He let go of his fear and hesitation. He reached farther—past the limitations of his arm, past the absence of flesh between him and Saa'ir—and pushed his golden warmth toward the gray orb.

The lights moved as if pleased to meet. The gray orb shimmered when his aura brushed it; the golden ribbon looped around it, not to seize but to braid. The gray orb did not resist, it simply accepted, like a hand taking another hand in a promise.

Then, with a small, decisive surge of feeling, Dama closed his fingers around the gray light.

He grabbed hold of it.

Saa'ir's eyes widened slightly as he felt it—Dama's aura gripping his own. Not flesh to flesh, but soul to soul. The boy had truly done it. A slow, impressed grin spread across Saa'ir's face, bright and proud, the kind of smile that only comes from witnessing the impossible become real.

"He never ceases to amaze me..." Saa'ir thought. "This child, he is truly something special."

Keeping his hand linked with Dama's through their interwoven soulura, Saa'ir lifted his other hand. His fingers opened wide, palm forward, thumb and pinky splayed outward while the three middle fingers pointed up, forming the shape resembling an open hand with an eye in the center—five radiating points like a protective ward.

He brought the symbolic gesture to chest height, closed his eyes, and breathed out a calm, centered breath.

Then he spoke with quiet authority: "Soul Amplification: Extension."

At once the air lost its sound.

A deep, unnatural hush blanketed the mountaintop, like reality itself inhaled and held its breath.

Then—WHOOMPH!

Saa'ir's soulura exploded outward.

Gray light surged from him in violent curls, crackling like living mist as it whipped through the air. Snow beneath their feet stirred wildly, flurries lifting into spirals as if gravity forgot its place.

The moment the surge erupted, everyone except Dama reacted instinctively.

Liam flinched, throwing an arm over his eyes.

Ryuu staggered back, torch flickering as he shielded his face.

Mumu and Nini hunched low, their ears flattening as they curled protectively together, turning away from the blast. The Onis did the same.

Miuson grit his teeth and covered his eyes with his arm, stubbornly refusing to fall even as the wind-like pressure pushed against him and his wounds.

Okun and Domitius rose to their fullest despite their wounds, arms raised to guard themselves, eyes narrowed into thin slits as they stared into the storm of gray light swirling around Saa'ir.

Through the chaotic haze, for just a few seconds—only a few—Domitius' eyes widened.

Because he could see him—he could see Saa'ir clear as day, standing tall in flowing white robes, adorned with golden jewelry that shimmered with the pulsing storm of soulura.

Domitius blinked, stunned, breath caught in his throat.

But before he could utter a single word, before anyone could question what they were seeing, a blinding flash of pure gray light burst from Saa'ir.

With an almost ear-grating sound, it swallowed the entire area.

As the flash subsided, everyone blinked their eyes open.

They were now in a different place entirely, in the mountains of some unknown region.

To the humans, they didn't know where they were as they looked around to their new surroundings.

However, it was a place that was all too familiar to the Onis.

Domitius was the first to speak up. "What in goddess' name was that!?" He shouted before turning his gaze back to Saa'ir. "And who are you?"

Meanwhile, Liam shifted his posture to accommodate for the now unconscious Koul. His gaze lingered on Saa'ir—studying him, measuring him—as if piecing together every strange moment leading up to this. He finally murmured under his breath, "So… you're real."

Ryuu looked between Liam and Saa'ir in confusion. "Wait—so this is the guy Dama's been talking to? The one only he could see?"

Saa'ir offered Ryuu a polite nod. "A pleasure."

Dama, now vibrating with excitement, stepped closer toward Saa'ir. "Wait, so everyone can see you now?"

Saa'ir smiled. "Yes. By linking with you, I allowed my soul to expand outward into physical perception. The technique is—"

"Soul Amplification: Extension..." Okun cut Saa'ir off, finishing his sentence for him. "It's an advanced application of Soul Amplification—one that allows the use of nearly the full strength of one's soul and Soulful Technique, magnifying its presence into the physical world. When performed correctly, it forces the caster's soul to expand outward like a dome around them."

Liam nodded slowly, recalling a faint outline he didn't fully understand until now. "So that flash…that was your soul expanding?"

"Correct." Saa'ir replied.

Domitius tilted his head back, rubbing his forehead. "I remember the chief talking about something like that long ago… But hearing it and seeing it are two very different things."

Okun exhaled a pained laugh. "Yes, and I can do it myself. However, last time I tried, I was unconscious for two days."

Liam stiffened. "Two days!?"

Saa'ir shook his head with a faint, amused smile. "Soul Amplification takes a profound toll on the body. Most would collapse after a mere heartbeat of use. But because Dama was linked to me, I bore most of the burden instead."

Ryuu stepped forward. "And all that just so we could see you?"

"Seeing me," Saa'ir replied calmly, "was only a side effect. The primary purpose was to allow Dama's Technique to reach all of you at once."

The group quieted.

"Now we can all witness the truth."

-

Next: (Chapter 108) Dama's Soulful Extension: Part 2

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