“Alysara!” 

Before I can leave the Dungeon, I hear Kadona call my name. I had seen them approaching but was too focused to go over to them and say hi.

“It’s been a while; how have you two been doing?” I say politely, welcoming the distraction.

Kadona and Uloru glance at each other before Kadona responds. “We’ve been well, leveling has slowed down a lot after level four hundred, but we’ve improved in other ways. In fact, we were just about to go back to the nexus to celebrate Uloru getting a new breakthrough.”

We walk through the Dungeon entrance, Kadona and Uloru taking off their thick winter-like Dungeon clothes.

“I thought the Dungeon was dry until we went to that desert,” Kadona says, complaining about the Dungeon climate. “I can’t believe how any place can be so dry.”

Uloru stays silent but keeps glancing at me, love essence emanating from her mana core.

The mana core only makes emotion essence if one feels it strongly, but when that does happen, it tends to have a feedback loop, the essence making the emotions more intense.

I cast wings on them, and we go to my village while Kadona tells me about the time they spent in the dungeon. However, they are acting a little strangely; if it was just Uloru, I’d think it a product of her emotions, but Kadona is also acting a little weird, like there’s something on their mind.

I don’t question it. If it pertains to me, they’ll mention it; otherwise, it’s a problem they will have to sort out. However, when we land, Kadona catches me off guard.

“I… don’t quite know how to say this, Alysara, but… you might be dying.”

I’m not sure how to react to that, but fortunately, I don’t have to.

“What I mean is your Anima is frighteningly low, but I’m not sure if that’s normal for you” Kadona then goes on to explain her new breakthroughs in [Sense Life] about what Anima and ‘soul life’ is.

Apparently, I have a “terrifying amount of soul-life” that she can’t explain.

“But you know, don’t you? Why your soul life is so abundant?” Kadona asks, more in an accusatory way.

“From how you explained it, yes, I think I know why I have so much soul life, but I’m not quite sure why my Anima is low though I do have my suspicions.”

The only way to intentionally make a magic item is through sacrifice.

The curses are side effects, some may be benign, and you'll never know what they truly are. Some may result in a slow and gradual death. It is impossible to tell until the effects are felt.

Kayafe and Safyr’s words echo in my mind. Nothing tells me what my curse side effects are, so it’s impossible to tell how my Anima got so low. Is it from [Astral Projection]? I never found out what its curse was. Is it from making magic items? That will explain why some items became magical when they didn’t seemingly meet the requirements for it. Is it from Inscriptions? Do they somehow draw in life as well? There are too many possibilities and too many variables to figure out what the cause is.

“I will need your help figuring out what the cause is, but I suspect it’s one of my cursed skills. Also, if soul life is part of the soul, then it’s probably a breakthrough [Sense Soul] can get, if you’re willing to me,” I explain.

Just like how both [Sense Mana] and [Sense Life] can see vitality [Sense Soul] should be able to see soul life too.

“After we eat, we can practice; this is to celebrate Uloru’s breakthrough,” Kadona says, patting Uloru’s head with a proud smile. Uloru looks bashful and embarrassed, which is unusual for her normal behavior.

Kadona whispers something in Uloru’s ear, to which I see her Mana core start producing nervousness essence. 

I can see what’s coming a mile away, so I quickly nip it in the bud.

“You been talking A lot about what you’ve been doing, but I’ve yet you tell you about what I’ve been doing,” I tell them about my daily life and common troubles, weaving in the part about being annoyed with potential suitors always asking to court me. “It’s not that I’m against it; I’m just too focused on my studies and trying to cure my cursed skills that I don’t have any time for anything like that.”

To be honest, I’ve never really given it much thought. What I said is entirely true; I’ve been so focused on study, training, and curing my skills that I don’t have time to think about starting a family.

Do I even want children? Maybe? I don’t know. No matter what, I need to solve my problems first. The cursed skills, the greedy gods, maybe finding the Faewild, Midgard, or Pantheon, and so much more. No doubt my goals will take me out of the Nexus; eventually, I can’t always operate clones from here, right?

Thankfully Kadona and Uloru take the hint, and we finish the food without incident before we go to the beach to practice.

13th Breakthrough: You have sensed soul life; this will help you study this aspect of souls.

Along with the notifications, new color comes into focus, revealing the soul life of all the souls around me, from tiny Domrs in the water to the plant life and people.

No wonder Kadona and Uloru knew something was off; my soul life is impossibly vast! If soul life – I’m not sure if that’s a good name for it – is the identity of me, then that may explain why I have so much. Everything someone experiences help shapes who they are, so the older someone is, the more soul-life they have. Unfortunately, this should be destroyed during the reincarnation process, but my soul never went through that and has had all this time to accrue soul life.

This leads to a new question. Does my soul being primordial apply to my soul Life? Kayafe said it grants perpetuity; it regenerates the identity of my soul. Does that mean it affects my soul-life but not my memories?

“I got it!” I announce after several minutes of effort.

“That was fast!” Kadona remarks, looking shocked.

“Well, I have lived with sensing skills all my life; of course, it’s going to be easy for me, plus my [Sense Soul] is of a decent enough level.”

“I suppose you’ll be teaching us about this breakthrough soon enough then!” Kadona jokes lightly before realizing that may very well come true. She then shifts the conversation to a more serious subject. “How do you plan to figure out the source of your diminishing Anima?”

“I’m not sure…” I reply, “For starters, any drain on it might be too small to notice at our levels, but I suspect it has something to do with making magic items; however, it may be something else instead. It may not even be something related to my cursed skills and may have been a natural consequence of healing everyone’s soul.”

I have to know, one, for peace of mind, and two, I don’t think I can craft and never make another magic item again. I need to rule that possibility out since it will greatly limit my capabilities; I can’t just not craft for fear of it possibly being the problem.

And if it is because of making magic items, is it a curse doing that? My inscriptions? Something else? I can’t remain ignorant; there may be ways to work around this problem.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

“We can start figuring it out tomorrow,” Kadona says.

They part ways from Alysara to take a bath. It’s a little early for the after-work bath, but no one will complain.

Uloruu stays mostly silent, lost in her disappointment. 

“Cheer up, Uloru. Alysara didn’t say that she isn’t interested in you, just that she is too focused on other things right now” Kadona tries to encourage her.

“What’s the point of it all?” Uloru asks, almost venting her frustrations as she soaks in the bath waters. “Why fight monsters, why get stronger if I can’t share it with someone I love?”

“One, because you like fighting,” Kadona answers. “Two, it is a good source of income. And three, mastering yourself is a goal in and of itself. Life doesn’t revolve around other people, Uloru. Do what makes you happy and keep a balance of what you want to do for yourself and what you want to do for others” Kadona pats Uloru on the head reassuringly.

“Control your emotions, Uloru. Do you like Alysara because she’s very beautiful? Or because she is who she is? I don’t think you know her enough to consider the latter. You’re at that stage in life where love is easy to find, but a true connection is hard to make. Don’t get me wrong, One can and often does lead to the other but don’t mistake the two.”

“She’s smart, powerful, dedicated, kind, generous, creative, and loyal. What’s not to love about that?” Uloru retorts in an effort to prove to her master that she knows Alysara more than she thinks.

“She’s also selfless to a fault, more introverted than the green moon, Kygloo, and doesn’t know how to stop overworking herself.” Kadona rebuts Uloru’s argument “Everyone can see that, Uloru, but what does she like? What’s her favorite style of music and dancing? What does she do in her leisure time?”

Uloru sinks a little further into the water, unable to answer; she instead throws her master’s words back at her. “I can find that out by spending more time with her. As you said, one can lead to the other.”

“That’s my point; you don’t have that special connection, not yet, at least. Don’t think she’s the only one for you; only misery is at the end of that road; look at Tana if you want an example. Maybe try courting others; it sounds like Alysara won’t be interested in that until she has cured her skills, at least. If that doesn’t work, then there’s no harm, but if it does, then why wait for Alysara?”

Uloru can’t answer; she doesn’t want anyone else. She wants the most beautiful girl, with her long fluffy tails tipped with gold like the sun over a royal blue sea. She loves the way her voluptuous body moves with all the elegance and grace in the world, her radiant smile framed perfectly by her hair. Her heart pangs for her every time she thinks of her.

Kadona sighs and splashes water into Uloru’s face to break her out of her mind.

“You back?” Kadona asks teasingly.

“Yes…” Uloru grumbles.

“Learn the difference between love and lust; that’s the last advice I can give you. Tomorrow we’ll help Alysara figure out what’s going on, and it will likely take longer, so the faster you control your emotions, the better it will be on you.”