New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

"Now, with how this situation differs from the norm, I'm sure the path will be loaded with traps and tests," Aravelle resumed.

"You are much weaker than the normal transcended and have already shattered the shackles of your mortality. But you don't have anything to support your immortality, so you are still very much mortal.

"This only simplifies the ascension step and does not affect your path until then. Every other ascender will try to bar your path. And you are far too weak to pose a challenge for them.

"Fortunately for you, you also have nothing for them to gain from killing you. Yet."

Astaroth looked at Aravelle and frowned.

"They can't kill me, anyway. I'm an Abnormal. We don't die, remember?"

Aravelle laughed at him, making him uncomfortable.

"How safe do you think you really are between these two worlds? Do you think nothing can touch you over there, from over here? Tell me, Astaroth. Is your soul not in here while your other body lays dormant on the other side of this veil?"

Astaroth's face paled.

"How do you know we lay dormant when we come here?"

"Hah! Neither your mind nor your soul can be in two places at the same time. Such is the rule of the universe. Unless you are a god, those two things can only be in one place at a time. And when you are here, your body is just an empty shell on the other side.

"Do you think if I scar your soul, your body will stay safe? Or better yet, if I trace that soul, don't you think I'll find cracks through which I can reach your other body? The veil is thinning between New Eden and the demon realm.

"That also means the realm between here and your world is also thinning. How long do you think your world, your true body, will stay safe? Especially if beings who are close to transcending this world go after it?"

The threats rocked Astaroth to his core.

'It can't be true, right? Even if the veil was lifted, aren't our worlds much too far apart for anyone to reach there from here?' Astaroth's mind spun.

"But that is beside the point. They can hurt you. They might not be able to kill you the first time, if they try in a conventional way, since your status as an Abnormal would make you come back. But they would never get fooled twice.

"And if they know they can't kill your body without killing your soul, then they will know what to target. You are not safe from them."

Astaroth fell into contemplation. His mind was reeling from the possibility of his death transcending New Eden.

'Would I at least know that I died over there? Or would I simply cease to exist?'

Aravelle calmed down, realizing he was terrorizing the young man.

*Sigh*

"In any case, as I have said, they gain nothing from coming after you for now. Even if they wanted to gain your first follower, it would be useless to them. The kitten isn't strong enough to be worth it."

Selena glared at him, but Aravelle ignored her.

"As of now, you are safe by default of your weakness. But I have seen you, over the course of the last months. You grow fast. Your kind grows fast. How long they will stay away from you before treating you as an opponent, I cannot say.

"But there will come a time when they come for you. And when that time comes, you will need to be ready. And I think I know how."

This was the first words that Aravelle said that were a relief to hear.

Astaroth immediately focused on him.

"How can I be powerful enough to face them without being powerful enough to attract their attention?" Astaroth asked.

Aravelle grinned.

"By doing what we do best, you and I. By forming contracts. By forming bonds. The magic of a Soulmancer isn't unlike my own, and I can help you.

"If you stop growing in power for the foreseeable future, and only focus on building your repertoire of souls when the time comes, you will have the power to hold off any of your foes.

"But that comes with its fair share of trouble."

Astaroth was practically hanging on to his lips at this point.

"And what problem is that?"

Aravelle locked eyes with him.

"The amount of souls you can control, or even contract with, is limited by your body's power. That means that to control enough souls to hold off an Actual Mythical grade, you would need to be almost at the Legendary grade power level.

"And you can't reach that without strengthening yourself. This means you have to look for your limit before slowly growing and pushing that limit along. If you grow too fast, you won't be strong enough.

"But if you grow too slow, and they find you to be a threat before you have enough allies, then you are doomed. And the allies you contract cannot be weak, either."

Astaroth's forehead creased.

Finding souls to contract was not like going to the market to buy fruit. Souls didn't just roam the land freely.

Aravelle was telling him to get stronger without getting stronger by getting allies, who were as strong as possible in a pool of already limited possibilities, without getting caught.

Nothing made sense in his mind.

Aravelle could see the confusion creeping up in his eyes and rose to his feet.

He walked to Astaroth and touched his shoulder, breaking his downward spiralling.

"I will help you. I know ways to get you the power you need. But by doing so, I can't perform my duty to strengthen the veil, which will weaken faster. Are you ready to bear the weight of that decision?" Novel Fire - novelfire.net

Astaroth looked at him and frowned.

"Wouldn't it be counterproductive? If the veil breaks sooner, the demons get here sooner. And then, we are back at square one. No?"

Aravelle shook his head.

"Not if you have become strong enough. By the time the demons return, the gods' followers will have to ignore you and defend the world. Gaining another being capable of fighting the upper-tier demons is not something small, either.

"I am ready to take that gamble. But you must be, too. There is more than this kingdom at stake."

Astaroth sucked in a cold breath. He looked at Leon and Selena, who were waiting for him to speak. When he turned back to Aravelle, his eyes were filled with resolve.

"I'll do it."

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