"Is it me or is that rune much bigger in size compared to the last time I saw it!" The boy said to himself, then he began to walk circles around the circular platform while studying it with three pairs of eyes. Two of which had a transparent symbol of a knot flickering in and out!
"Nah, this dangerous thing is definitely bigger than when it tried to take my life." His soul-clone answered him from across the ancient-looking rune.
"Damn it. Help me contain it, let's seal it off first before we try to move it away from the soul-world." Lin rolled his eyes while feeling mentally-drained at the prospect of having to deal with this annoying rune.
According to his plans, the boy should've healed his body and soul then he gets to negotiate a deal with Odla for the containers of the remaining five soul-fragments.
Afterwards he could focus on giving his spirit-wings a full recovery before doing some serious work on his spirit-cultivation, maybe the effort would help elevate his ranking into the realm of spirit-disciple if he's focused and dedicated enough.
Now the great-sage needs to deal with that "ticking-bomb" first after it rudely entered his soul-world completely uninvited, quite honestly he's feeling exposed and under immediate and grave risk while it's in his soul.
Both of his soul-clones stood facing one another with the circular platform in-between them and raised their palms at shoulder-height directed towards it.
Ever since Lin completed the formation-inscriptions and runes around the third-eye of both soul-clones, he could sense a completely different depth into how things felt around him... especially within the soul-world!
It became much easier for him to shape his raw soul-source into objects, and the sense of giving form to each and every single one of these objects never felt so materialistic before.
Once he willed a glove to cover his hand, it immediately took shape and perfectly suited his preference in color and style.
Once he willed a hammer on the other, it immediately took shape and it felt solid like refined steel and tougher than diamond.
Now that both of his soul-clones were concentrating on the task at hand, layer after layer of hexagonal barriers in a honey-comb shape appeared around that ancient-rune.
Some of these barriers were silver in color, some were of the faded violet-gold.
However, right when the boy and his soul-clone were about to completely lock it within these multi-layered hexagonal barrier... something triggered it.
Up above in the sky of this soul-world, the purple-red clouds of tribulation lightning completed the process of accumulating energy and was about to release another bolt of purple-red lightning.
Apparently in the way of that face-off between the ancient-rune and tribulation-lightning... the multi-layered hexagonal-barrier got squeezed from within and without.
*Buzz...*
The great-sage witnessed it up close when the circular platform began to spin in the same position like a top, like a black hole it compressed the multi-layered hexagonal-barrier and vacuumed it towards itself before absorbing it completely into the lines of the ancient-rune.
*Vzzt...*
Immediately afterwards the bolt of purple-red lightning struck the surface of the platform and got absorbed completely as well without leaving a single scratch.
Lin stared wide-eyed while this happened and felt like he was holding some sandwich in his hand then someone snatched it from him, right before he got to say anything to complain... that someone gave him a tight slap before following with another using the backhand!
Lin : "What in the cluster-fuck was that?" He immediately took a step back while frowning so deeply, suddenly his fear towards that ancient-rune quadrupled and the boy didn't even entertain the idea of being in close proximity or touching it at all.
Somehow he wants to keep his distance but that shitty circular platform took the strategic-position of the center of his soul-world.
Acting like it doesn't exist or closing an eye on that problem doesn't mean like it would go away on itself, the mere idea of it growing to become a much more difficult problem later in the future if he doesn't deal with it now would certainly deprive him from sleep plus the comfort of mental-rest and inner-peace!
After gritting his teeth and keeping his head down after making a decision, the great-sage decided to try again.
Whenever the multi-layered barrier was about to be complete, the platform and the cloud would join forces to get rid of it.
Failing six times in a row despite changing his timing, approach, style of form and the number of layers to each barrier... made Lin both frustrated and extremely angry at his own helplessness!
"This is my world, mine." Lin fiercely shook his head and walked towards the circular platform while saying that with a firm tone of voice, "No, no, no, no... you don't get to do whatever you want in this place!" The other soul-clone was doing the same from the opposite side and his words carried the same type of conviction.
"Within my domain, I call the shots... all of them." While walking around the ancient-rune he spat these words.
"Within my home-turf, I make the moves... all of them." His soul-clone kept the same pace with the movement around their common enemy along-with the direction.
Both of the boy's soul-clones suddenly stopped and nodded to one another before taking a step forward to stand on-top of the circular-platform, their actions had no hesitation but deep within their eyes... there was a shade of fleeting worry and fear!
The worst kind of fear has always been and will always be the "unknown".
*Crack...*
Once their two pairs of feet steadily set themselves on the flat and smooth surface of that ancient-rune, they could hear the sound of glass breaking very clearly.
The source being the circular-platform beneath their feet.
However, the way it broke was nothing like how glass normally broke in a zig-zagging and chaotic pattern.
The crack began around their feet and a complete circle was clearly lined around the place every soul-clone stood on the ancient-rune or "decree" or whatever.
Fact is Lin almost pissed his pants once it happened.
Simply because he immediately felt with his soul-bodies and saw it with all six of his eyes when the range of their bright area shrank by more than a half alongside the disappearance of the same amount of his extremely-precious raw soul-source!
Lin : "Stop! please fucking stop." The sight was so dreadful and painful that he urgently felt the need to grovel if it would make things better in this situation.
Alas, his feet were seemingly glued to that ancient-rune and his soul-bodies were pressured with the weight of entire worlds to its surface.
*Crack...*
Another clear sound heralded the unleash of total despair for the boy who felt at loss after knowing from experience that he made a bad call earlier by provoking this circular-platform.
Apparently confronting it while having the advantage of doing so within his soul-world doesn't make any difference at all.
This time the crack began on the right-hand-side of each soul-clone, then extended inwards at curve towards their left beginning from the outermost point on the ancient-rune before meeting exactly in the middle.
Now this circular-platform have been separated in two halves where each half is looking slightly like a curved drop of water!
"This!" Despite all of his negative emotions after losing like ninety-nine percent of his raw soul-source to this freakishly frightening ancient-rune after it once almost took his life a few weeks earlier, the great-sage finally understood what's this all about once he looked at what's beneath his feet.
The lines on the ancient-rune faded into nothing and disappeared, the two separate parts of the circular-platform gained color into their substance.
Two tadpole-shaped halves began to circle one another, each of the soul-clones was standing at the center of the head on these two tadpoles where two circles resemble a single eye.
One black, the other white.
The black tadpole-shaped half got a white circle on its head, the white tadpole-shaped half got a black circle on its head.
Yes, Lin is still lamenting the loss of all his raw soul-source.
Yes, he's shocked by what happened to the so-called "decree" and is worried that it could've been ruined or misused by him somehow.
But, the boy practically felt like his heart just stopped beating and time itself got stretched to the limit where things happened around him in an annoyingly-slow motion.
Because the purple-red cloud above his head began to swirl faster and faster while shrinking and compressing, whenever that cloud of tribulation-lightning shrunk... it would descend towards the two soul-clones.
Finally after seemingly "forever" that purple-red cloud of tribulation-lightning was the same size of the "yin-yang" circular-platform beneath it, unfortunately for the great-sage... both of his soul-clones are firmly squeezed in-between these two when it happened.
*****
Mela was having fun combing her sister's hair, the smile on her angelic face when she held these green-colored silky smooth hair-locks would penetrate the hearts without leaving a trace behind.
That's how sharp these looks of hers could be sometimes, apparently this princess was taught early on by her mother the queen how to rein in her emotions and try to maintain a straight and cold expression on her face.
During these moments where she lets her guard down, is when her true character truly begins to surface.
Orime : "Holy-tree be merciful. You girl are one to look out for, that's for sure!" The raven-haired beauty gawked before jumping towards the blonde beauty with naughty intentions.
"Kya! W-what did you do that for?" While blushing like never before, the startling beauty covered her chest with her hand then glared at her maid who had the audacity to sniff her hands and have this perverted blissed expression on her face after daring to grope her chest!
"Just like I thought, you really do smell like morning-flowers when you're happy." The shadow-elf looked towards her sister after saying that and acted like she isn't disturbed by the fierce glare she's being given by the one she just "assaulted" without warning or reason.
Mela : "Morning-flowers my ass! You're clearly looking for a fight-"
*Kya...*
The princess got assaulted again and her words got halted in her throat, simply because this time she was betrayed.
The one who laid their paws on the blond beauty was... her big sister Odla!
*Sniff...*
Just hearing the sound of the wood-elf inhaling deeply, made the startling beauty feel a cold shiver on her spine.
Odla : "Nope, she smells like night-roses in bloom." The green-haired beauty shook her head and argued with the pregnant elf, she seemed completely immune towards the victim's feelings of annoyance.
*Snort...*
The princess assumed a stance where she's supposed to be ready to defend herself from these two bullies.
Orime : "You're wrong big sister Odla." The rave-haired beauty smiled and moved towards the blond beauty, seemingly to enjoy seeing her being startled like a frightened and panicky rabbit.
The wood-elf tilted her head to the side and asked : "How am I wrong? I tested it myself," After a short pause she continued : "You better not bully my sweet Mela." Afterwards she opened her arms and directly went for a hug with the startling beauty.
The shadow-elf smiled amusedly when she saw Mela helplessly surrender herself and said : "Sweet Mela smells like morning-flowers when she's happy," After a short pause she continued : "And smells like night-roses in bloom when she's annoyed, that great beauty is like roses... she hides thorns whenever she's in a bad mood. So volatile!"
Mela : "Humph." She refused to speak to her sisters and simply looked away.
Odla : "Oh! Her scent is different now." Since she's hugging the princess, the wood-elf sensed it when it when the scent shifted.
Orime : "Let me see..." The pregnant elf moved closer and sniffed the blond beauty's neck which caused her to blush further while attempting to wiggle herself free from the green-haired beauty's embrace.
*Sniff...*
Having these two sniffing at her made her feel like dying from embarrassment! "S-stop this nonsense, let go of me already." The startling beauty was starting to become really angry.
"Spring daisies... it shifted again." The green-haired beauty thought she had it pinpointed but the result surprised her.
"Now it became winter marigolds!" The raven-haired beauty muttered while looking at her sister with a pair of eyes that practically shined and glowed with interest.
"W-will you two cut it out already!" Finally the blond-haired beauty forced herself free while shouting these words with a threatening tone of voice.
Orime : "Alright, alright... there's no need for you to get all emotional about it."
Mela : "Emotional!" The princess gnashed her teeth while repeating this word, she almost jumped towards her sister with full intention to strangle her.
Odla : "Settle down, we were interested is all." The green-elf was cool about the whole thing.
The shadow-elf had such a sly look within her eyes when she scanned the ample chest of her sister before covering her mouth and giggling.
After throwing a few pieces of peeled fruits into her mouth, the startling beauty decided to take the initiative and change the subject before she loose her nerves.
"Big sister Odla. Have you decided on the price yet? Lin seems like he's about to make full recovery soon."
