Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest Chapter 1986: Soul Realms

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Elayne reviewed the list of powers and abilities she had not yet recovered from her previous life. These were the sealed strengths she had preserved within her soul. This was the same Spiritual Soul Bubble where she had once saved Gardenia, and it now housed several of her Spiritual Abilities and Soul Traits.

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[Spiritual Arts]: {Spiritual Armor Embodiment Art: Tier 1: Rank 8 (Dormant)}

[Spiritual Heart Beasts]: {Spiritual Heart Beast: Golden Thunderbolt Lion (Spirit Larva Rank: 60%) (Dormant)} {Spiritual Heart Beast: Volcanic Slime (Spirit Larva Rank: 60%) (Dormant)} {Spiritual Heart Beast: White Sky Serpent (Spirit Larva Rank: 60%) (Dormant)}

[Soul Traits]: [Mystic Bellflower Tree Dreamscape: Tier 0 (Weakened)]

[Unique Abilities]: [Inventory Transfer] [Pathway: Divinity] [Soul Devour] [Ruler of the Sky] [Spiritual Gate] [Sacred Enlightenment]

[Magic Circle]: [Tier 6: Rank 5: Heavenly Draconic Spirit Princess Magic Circle] (Fragment)

[...]

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In addition to this list, the powerful soul of her Living Shovel, Irene, rested here along with the soul of Mark’s knife, Ignias. The souls of her other equipment, including her clothes and various items, were also present. They waited quietly to be awakened and placed into new vessels. The sight was both shocking and reassuring.

Elayne wondered how much it would cost to bring them back and fuse them into new equipment. She had been eager to craft new items ever since she regained some of her former power, especially now that she possessed a special Spiritual Nether Forge for the task. She also wanted to practice her rusty blacksmithing skills. Although those abilities had belonged to her BNLO Avatar and did not appear on this list, she knew that, just like her swordsmanship, she could recall and reproduce the techniques with enough time and the right tools.

"It’s a big list," Mark said, watching from her side. "I see a lot of your old powers here. I wonder if Gardenia can do the same for me. Is it possible to awaken some of the abilities I had when I was alive?"

"It is a little complicated with you," Gardenia replied. "But I am fairly sure that your destroyed Spiritual Heart and the other energies within you have melded with your soul, creating a messy mixture of powers from various origins. As you evolved, you naturally began to awaken that power. The torture you endured likely awakened even more of it and made you incredibly strong."

"Ah... yeah," Mark muttered. His blazing spiritual eyes showed a mix of pain and loneliness. He averted his gaze from the two women.

"Mark...?" Elayne grew worried. She gently held his skeletal hand, which was faintly covered by his spiritual soul. It formed something like a glowing red humanoid body, blazing as if he were a fire spirit. In truth, he was an infernal skeleton of a powerful variant. "I’m sorry about what she said. She didn’t mean it in a bad way. That’s all in the past now, right? You are here with me. We will get through this together."

"Elayne... yeah," Mark nodded slowly. "Though I wonder where the Spiritual Beast Egg I had went..."

"It likely died alongside your Spiritual Heart," Gardenia said bluntly once more. "Elayne was able to keep hers in a state of stasis inside the bubble I helped her create in that desperate moment. Or maybe not. Can you feel anything inside your soul? Unlike Elayne’s soul, yours remained mostly intact when you died and entered the Netherworld."

"Hmm..." Mark closed his eyes and delved into the depths of his soul. All he could see was an endless inferno of flames stretching out forever. "It is a vast internal Soul Realm made entirely of fire. An inferno with flames everywhere."

"Is there no land?" Elayne asked.

"I think that..." Mark slowly returned to his skeleton form inside his red armor. He gazed into the unknown with a distant look. "The flames represent pain... and loneliness, sorrow, agony. They are everything I have suffered. There are also the Cursed Runes absorbing this dark energy to grow stronger. But... Hm? Oh, I see something different."

Mark’s spiritual senses detected something within his Soul Realm. A patch of land formed entirely from spirit and elemental energy stood out from the infinite sea of flames.

"It will take me a while to reach it, but there is something there. The nature of Soul Realms is truly bizarre. I had no idea I even had one."

"Unlike physical realms, Soul Realms are the inner world that reflects the state of your soul and mind," Gardenia explained. "Because both of you are undead without physical brains, your souls carry all your emotions at once. This allows Soul Realms to manifest more easily and with greater complexity. It is likely even stronger because, unlike most undead, you can cultivate spiritual energy, which further mutates and transforms the soul."

"Huh, an interesting hypothesis," Elayne nodded. "Well, take it easy for now, Mark. It is okay. Inside the bubble, the soul of Ignias, your knife, is still there even though the knife itself is gone. Gardenia, what do you think we can do with that?"

"Hmm, we can extract the souls and turn them into spirits perhaps. If possible, they could learn to materialize themselves," she explained. "Forging them new bodies to serve as vessels would be better though. Another option is using your own body as a vessel for these souls, but it might end up working the same as the first choice with little difference."

"I see..." Mark nodded. "I do have that Infernal Flame Spirit Broadsword that Elayne crafted for me." He held up the weapon. "Can you infuse her soul into this?"

"Maybe," Gardenia said. "But honestly, it might be better if you do something different first."

"Huh?" Both Elayne and Mark looked confused.

"Take them as they are and bind them to your souls. This way, even if their physical vessels are destroyed, they will remain as spirits," Gardenia explained. "Like me. Even if I am blasted to smithereens, as long as Elayne exists, I can return over time. It would be the same for them."

"I see..." Mark nodded. "So the best we can do is form a contract with their souls instead. Fine with me... but I want Ignias to be with Elayne instead."

"Eh? Why me?" Elayne asked, surprised.

"I want her to stay with you and protect you," Mark said with a gentle smile. "I will protect you as well. If I were to die, Ignias would die with me, and I do not want that. She will live by your side."

"But Mark, what sort of nonsense are you talking about now?" Elayne sighed. "Nobody here is dying. I will not allow it."

"That is my decision," Mark replied stubbornly. He showed emotions and expressions he rarely revealed when they were alive. "I will not change my mind no matter how much you try."

"..."

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