« The mean or the result, what is more important? It depends. Others or yourself, who is more important? »

The Academy of Lagida was a great place to study many domain in magic with people from all the continent. The teachers were wise and knowledgeable, the citizens were welcoming anyone kind enough to say hello. The only thing that prevented most of the newcomers to blend in was the language barrier.

It was common for everyone to learn the kingdom's language before coming here, as for the ones who arrived unprepared there were many lessons to quickly learn a few words. You were simply taught the bare minimum to converse a bit with the populace, nothing more. The system was made as such to encourage students to try and learn by themselves through their internship. A risky gamble, but an efficient method to discard the lesser ones.

As for me, I was born in a noble lineage from a neighbouring kingdom. Learning the locale language was but a matter of time and age in my family, as we sometimes had to maintain diplomatic relations with other nations. Either during times of peace to negotiate trade agreements, or during times of war to parley with the enemy.

However, I wasn't only born as a noble. I was also born with a defect. My soul came to this world with a disease, drastically lowering my stamina and reducing my future prospects. My spiritual body could hardly tolerate casting a spell, the toll was too great and left me weakened for many hours until I rested enough.

I wasn't a descendant of a great sorcerer, so nobody despised me when they learnt I would never be able to use magic in my life. However, I couldn't forgive myself for such stupid a weakness. If it wasn't for this sickness, then maybe I would have lived a more stable life...

Therefore, I made this as my reason to join the Academy: I would find a way to cure my affliction.

That was also how I met Torne. At first I was hesitant to rely on him, knowing about his background and how he was still glued to the Limbo. But he offered me an opportunity to release me from my burden, I didn't deny him for long. He then linked me with my friend, Brine, using some old techniques from the Cult to manipulate our spiritual body with high precision.

The result was here: my soul and Brine's were connected. We now shared the same burden, yet it felt lighter because we shared it.

I... Was indebted to Torne. I actually feared he would use this as an excuse to blackmail me in some way, yet he never did anything to me. I was always suspicious of him... But he never abused his power. Better than that, he told me about his project, how he wanted to cure the Limbo's diseases. I understood he was a gentle person. Maybe too gentle, actually. Too much in my opinion.

Now more aware about his personality, I tried many things to lure him in my grasp, but to no avail. He refused all of my offers, he even refused to take me as a spouse to put him under my name.

He used many excuses to dodge the subject: how he didn't want to tarnish my family's name with his background, how he played the shy card and said he wasn't interested, how he didn't want to leave his kingdom to join another. I never believed in that last one. Why would a king keep a Black God's believer inside the border of his nation? Well I had some ideas as to why it may not be a good idea to let the Cult propagate too much... But it just sounded like an obsolete and stupid excuse to me.

I wanted to thank him in some way... And also to take him with me, because of all the knowledge he harnessed thanks to his ancestors' legacy. Delving in the Black God's domain was a taboo in society, because people still remembered the Black War when the boundary between our world and the Limbo was shattered, letting hordes of demons invading our lands. Many blamed the Cult for opening the portal, even though there was no concrete proof to support the charge.

There were traces of circles to summon lesser demons, but Torne explained to me they were used to dispose of the bodies, or as unleashed beasts to cause chaos during political strife. They were also used as cannon fodder during the two Magus War, however a few scripts from this time depicted a battle where the Cult was not the one summoning the demons.

Tools. That was the role of a lesser demon, as nobody could control them. Nobody but the Black God himself.

I sighed a tad tired. People would confound me for a Black God's believer if they ever listened to my thoughts.

"Are you alright, Julie?" It was Brine at my side, she probably heard me and was worried about me.

"Sorry, I'm alright." This was not a struggle that concerned her. I didn't want to burden her any more than she already was. I smiled and patted her head to show her there was nothing to worry about, but as always she showed no difference in her expression. Only I knew she was relieved to hear that. Relieved, but also doubtful, because I sighed a lot recently.

"Is this about Torne again?"

I couldn't hide anything to her...

"Of course. He keeps rejecting me after all those times I asked him to join my house. What is so bad about me?"

-I don't think it's about you, Julie..."

... She was right again. I was just using myself as an excuse because it seemed more obvious when looking at the outside.

"But I told him I didn't mind he was a Black God's believer. I even convinced my father to accept him because of the benefices we could gain if he accepted him.

-Isn't it because you're going to such lengths that he is reluctant to follow you?

-... Is it?"

What was wrong in the end? Why was it so hard to understand a boy's heart? I sighed again, this time it was Brine's who patted my head to appease me.

"Thank you Brine... Let's forget it for now, we have an appointment with the director and the others in the Laboratory."

She nodded then followed me. Our destination was in the underground of the Academy, a place where students were allowed to experiment on many subjects according to their studies and the trust of their teachers. As a member of the Smaller council, I was of course given a private chamber for my own experiments.

Unlike what you would expect, the caves were neatly arranged, the light illuminated the corridors as much as the magic bulb could. We didn't feel cramped or stranded from the surface here, which sometimes led people to believe it was fine to hole up for many days without feeling any side effects. On our way, we greeted a teacher patrolling around. His role was to prevent such cases from happening at all.

A few moments later, we stood in front of a locked door.

I knocked three times to let the people inside know of our presence. Footsteps could be heard from the other side, then the mechanism was switched before finally opening the door on a familiar figure.

"Oh, it's you. Come in, come in." It was the director who let us in.

We both greeted him with all the respect he deserved before following him in. Brine locked the door behind us before coming back to my side.

"Our apologies for the late, director. We found Torne in our way and invited him to join us for today's experimentation."

But the director didn't mind at all.

"Oh it's fine if he doesn't come. He already helped you a lot, and I know he is not fond of what we're doing here."

I... Couldn't deny the director's statement. Yet I wanted to show the result to Torne. I wanted him to acknowledge my studies. I really needed his insights here, because he was the only I knew who possessed a profound knowledge about the soul. But if the man himself didn't feel well about my studies... If even a Black God's believer felt uncomfortable learning about my field of studies, then it simply meant I was going far beyond what they ever dreamed of.

I was manipulating something that no mortals dared to touch.

I looked around the room, looking at each of the person who helped me get this far already. They nodded when I my eyes met their, then I stared at the director.

"Is everything I asked for ready?"

I was worried it would end up in another failure, just like the previous attempts. But the director merely lifted his shoulder while smiling.

"We crystallised as much mana as we could for you. There must be enough now, if that was all you needed.

-No... I also needed sedatives, for the experimental body.

-Why of course."

He signalled a man behind me to bring a case full of syringes. They were all full and ready, a total of twenty syringes we could use if the experiment ended in another rampaging failure.

"Good... Then we can commence the 14th experiment, director."

He nodded at my words, then opened the path towards the end of another corridor. Nobody knew about this secret path in this room, that was also why they dedicated this chamber to my research. Our group walked towards another large room were many pedestals were circling an empty chair.

Everyone stood behind their pedestal, as I did with Brine. Two teachers were holding the mana crystals for me to cast the spell, as it would consume a tremendous amount from me. Enough to kill me if I didn't have enough stockpiles at my side.

I took a deep breath, focusing my mind in the next steps... Then called to everyone.

"Experiment 14 may begin. Bring in the subject."

From the shadow, two men were helping a young lady. She wore simple white cloth, sufficient to cover her body. The poor thing could barely stand by herself. They brought her to the chair, locking the binds around her wrist, her ankle, her waist and her neck to prevent her from falling. Another checked her condition to see if there was any abnormality since the last examination. He showed me a thumbs up, telling me she was fine and ready for the experiment.

Once it was done, everyone unconcerned with the next phase left the room.

I checked with everyone remaining here. Everyone nodded. I looked one last time at the director as a last resort, he also nodded at me.

It was time to begin.

"Experiment 14, phase one: sublimation of a soul. Begins in three...

Two...

One...

...

... Go!"

Everyone sent as much mana as they could inside the subject's body. The reaction was instant, as the woman shrieked with a high pitch. Her suffering must have been unbearable...  But I couldn't stop here.

Right now, the concentrated mana was merely a huge mess with no order. It couldn't function as a soul.

It was my role to sculpt it into a decent shape. But that was not all, giving it a form wasn't enough. I had to reconstruct the organs, redirect and guide the flows inside and outside, breathing a pulse into it.

The casting should have cost me my life with my meagre amount of mana, even with the help of Brine. That was where I needed the mana crystals. The teachers incanted behind me, distilling the crystals and sending their energy inside me. Now I could continue with the experiment.

"Forget nothing... Remember everything you've learnt so far thanks to Torne...

I will show him... How valuable my research can be to the world..."

It required all of my being to stay focused. Thankfully Brine was here to support me, staying close to me whenever I felt like I was falling under the pressure I was enduring.

I only needed... A bit more time... A bit more mana... Until I was finished with it...

...

The room went silent, asides from everyone gasping from air just like me. I could only last thirty minutes or so, my body couldn't last any longer than this. I was sweating more than I could allow myself as a lady, but that was fine as long as I obtained what I desired.

Once the experiment was over, the subject became inert. At least it didn't rampage like last time.

I called someone to check on her. If she was dead, then so be it. But if she was alive... Then I hoped we wouldn't have to discard her body again.

The healing sorcerer took his time, or maybe I was the one who felt the time flowing differently after focusing for so long.

I waited... Until he informed me about his conclusion.

"The subject is still alive-

-The soul. What about the soul?" I interrupted him, asking him about the only thing I really cared about.

He replied with a nod "The soul pulsates, and regulates independently the flow of mana.

This is a success."

This is a success... I did it... I collapsed in Brine's arms, allowing myself a long rest.

I am Julie, the second daughter of the Prolite house. I am the first mortal who ever succeeded in creating a soul from mana. I am the first to step in the god's realm of creating life.