Reborn as an Extra Chapter 599: Soul Merge. Part-5.
Previously on Reborn as an Extra...
Being sent to the spirit realm wasn't simply about being tossed in and left behind.
It signified becoming an integral part of the spirit realm!
King Allen compelled them all to enter a life-and-death contract directly with the 'laws' of the 'spirit realm'!
With those 'laws' of the 'spirit realm' holding them bound, escape from the spirit realm in physical form was impossible; they could only be called forth as spirit beasts, similar to the others.
This served as a key factor in why the shadow dragon king awaited King Allen's return to liberate him and his kin from this accursed pact of endless torment.
Unless that damned contract was shattered, the 'laws' of the 'spirit realm' would never permit their release.
The identical principle governed Elisia Mistilteinn’s soul fragments; they were tied to the spirit realm and couldn't be extracted through ordinary methods.
Yet, should Rio manage to unite those fragments, he would essentially forge a 'new being,' a fresh existence unbound by the spirit realm.
Indeed, from the spirit realm's viewpoint, Elisia Mistilteinn had perished; anything born from her deceased soul fragments would count as a 'New Life' arising from the remnants of an old entity.
...
"Let’s begin..."
Delaying no further, Rio levitated his sword mid-air and allowed Ellie’s fractured soul orb to orbit it.
In this setup, the soul energy he'd gathered and kept within his sword over the previous week could be smoothly infused into Ellie’s soul via Rio’s sword intent.
After stabilizing the initial step and ensuring the soul fragments had taken in sufficient soul energy to grow stronger, Rio employed his soul manipulation with utmost accuracy and began tackling the 'Puzzle.'
Much like assembling a jigsaw puzzle piece by piece in the correct spots, Rio needed to follow suit gradually.
Through razor-sharp control of sword intent and soul manipulation, Rio concentrated his full attention on the job and meticulously joined one soul fragment to another.
The task Rio undertook was infinitely more intricate and hazardous than any brain or heart operation, by at least a thousandfold.
Even with supreme expertise and countless trials, success remained uncertain.
The odds of pulling this off hovered under 0.1%, where a lone error or minor shift in spatial or soul fluctuations could destroy everything.
Rio ventured into this only because no alternatives remained.
He'd vowed to restore Liam and Ellie no matter the price, yet Elisia was gone, and Rio refused to let Ellie's fate mirror what befell Zach in the past.
This represented the last shot at resurrecting Ellie, and failure would leave no further options.
The meticulous operation drained Rio heavily, taxing the soul fragments as well.
Rio had witnessed numerous monsters in the spirit realm enduring excruciating agony from multiple souls crammed into one body.
Those souls, clashing and pushing against each other nonstop, inflicted relentless, mind-breaking torment every instant!
Without miasma's aid, they couldn't maintain stability for long and would annihilate one another within days from such intense harm and rejection!
Though Ellie’s soul fragments shared high compatibility, the slightest error could lead to mutual injury, causing excruciating suffering to Ellie's lifeless soul.
Ellie was a dear friend, and Rio wished no such agony upon her, nor the devastating soul wounds that plagued the spirit realm's monsters!
Hence, perfection and flawless precision were essential in every step.
This demand for exactness explained why fusing the initial two fragments properly consumed several hours of Rio's time!
Upon achieving the first flawless fusion, Rio's skill level surged dramatically, making subsequent merges simpler and quicker with each try.
An whole day passed before Rio could reconstruct a quarter of Ellie’s full soul into a unified whole!
However, following that initial triumph, his expertise advanced, speeding up the remaining integrations.
Of course, not everything went smoothly; Rio botched it a few times and teetered on collapse over a dozen occasions, but the vast soul energy amassed in his sword helped correct the errors.
During one instance, Rio inflicted lasting harm to a soul fragment, luckily an artificial void one he'd crafted to bridge the voids.
Thus, Rio halted the process, formed a replacement soul fragment, and resumed the 'Soul Merging Operation' from the prior stopping point.
In the end, after three full days, Rio finished the task, solving the 'puzzle' completely.
Rio stood as the universe's pioneer in triumphantly merging and resurrecting a fragmented deceased soul!
Ellie’s soul hovered near Rio’s sword, radiating a lustrous grey-white light, as though pulsing with life and joy!
Rio even verified that Ellie’s sea of consciousness was reviving, beginning to handle soul fluctuations in an orderly fashion akin to a living soul!
Confirming the 'Soul Merge Operation's' true success, Rio gently transferred Ellie’s 'revived' soul to its special vessel, then exhaled a deep sigh of relief.
"Phewwwwwwwww~~~~~~~~ I WON!!!"
The instant Rio relaxed his strained muscles, an overwhelming fatigue unlike any before crashed over him!
His body nearly froze in paralysis from pure weariness, while his mind overflowed with joy and ease!
"I might as well start calling myself a full-fledged doctor now with this successful operation! Rio the humble travelling doctor, hehe~"