Between Two Souls – Chapter 19
Souls Linked...
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When God created me from fire, I was meant to be beautiful. I was the most magnificent creature in heaven. I stood among angels, serving Him...
I was created with something the angels did not have... free will. Yet still, I chose to remain loyal to Him among the ranks of the divine...
But for some reason, He created another being... one far beneath me, to worship Him. Was I not enough for Him? What made that creature so special?
I refused to bow to it.... so He cast me down from heaven.
WHY DID HE ABANDON ME?? HE EVEN MADE ME HIDEOUS! I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE BEAUTIFUL!
He tore my world apart...
And yet...
Now...
Humans...
"......….."
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A swirling vortex filled with pulsating colors—seizure-inducing and otherworldly—appeared before Adrien. He fell into that wormhole, overwhelmed by disorientation, spinning endlessly in the void. As he plunged deeper, a dark shadow entered alongside him...
In a dimly lit space, Adrien lay upon a field of soft grass surrounded by violet heather flowers. His body was weak, and his head throbbed. He struggled to open his eyes. A firefly drifted past his cheek. His hand twitched, pushing against the ground to sit up.
Though he managed to stand, his body remained unstable. He squinted, trying to clear his vision. Before him stood a massive figure—larger than any orc he'd ever seen. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief...
Slowly, his sight sharpened. His eyes widened as he realized just how huge the figure was. Nervously, Adrien's gaze traveled upward, studying the figure from the feet to the chest. He hesitated, afraid to look at the face—but he forced himself to.
He saw a skull. A face like a bleached mask of death.
"Wh…Who are you? Y-You're huge and terrifying..." Adrien said, smiling weakly, but clearly frightened.
A yellow glow illuminated the skeletal face of the figure—it was Zero. He exhaled deeply, red smoke erupting from the mask. Slowly, he stepped toward Adrien.
Adrien recoiled in fear, stumbling backward until he fell, sitting on the ground. Zero stared at him intensely.
"Whoa—hey, what are you doing? Hey, HEY! Aaaaghhh…!"
Zero grabbed Adrien by the neck and lifted him high into the air, bringing his face close to Adrien's.
With a furious glare, Zero exhaled a plume of red smoke like an enraged bull. Without a word, he slammed Adrien into the ground. Again and again. Then, he hurled Adrien aside, kicking and punching him, even trying to break his spine. Finally, he flung Adrien to the ground one last time.
BRAKKK!!!
"Arrgghhhhh… ugh… owww…"
But Adrien noticed something strange.
"Wait a second…" he looked at his hands, then at his body. "I don't feel any pain at all! HUH???"
Zero, shocked by Adrien's words, lifted him once more and resumed the assault, tossing him around like a rag doll. Yet Adrien remained completely unharmed.
"Ahahahah… That tickles!" Adrien laughed as he was thrown about.
BAMM!!!
Zero, now exhausted, smashed Adrien into the ground so hard that Adrien's head became lodged in the dirt. Zero sighed heavily, a burst of red breath escaping in frustration, and walked away.
"Ummmmm, hey… can you pull me out? Hey, you!" Adrien struggled to yank his head from the ground. Realizing he still couldn't feel pain, he twisted his body and forced himself free.
BRAKKKK!!!
He finally pulled his head out. As he looked around, something caught his eye—light shining from behind him. Adrien turned and gasped in wonder.
"Woaaahhh… Is that the Mind Tree?" he said in awe.
The tree was massive, glowing with a radiant light—but oddly, only one side was lush with vibrant leaves. The other side was barren, dry, and leafless, like a tree in the dead of autumn. On the lush side, a beautiful garden flourished with thick grass and blooming flowers. On the opposite side, there was nothing but a desolate desert.
Yet one thing remained the same on both sides: a glowing yellow line ran through them. Roots from the tree extended across both halves, linking them together.
Adrien walked around, still captivated by the surreal scenery. After a moment of reflection on what the two contrasting sides meant, he turned to find the person who had attacked him earlier. He was stunned to see numerous bookshelves neatly arranged on the lush side—which he assumed represented himself. But on the barren side, he recognized something familiar: a computer surrounded by metal cabinets.
He saw Zero reading a book among the shelves. Instead of approaching him immediately, Adrien walked toward the computer resting on the scorched ground, assuming it belonged to Zero. He attempted to operate it just like the systems at The Ancestor Order base...
"Whoa—hey, what are you doing? Hey, HEY! Aaaaghhh…!"
Zero grabbed Adrien by the neck and lifted him high into the air, bringing his face close to Adrien's.
With a furious glare, Zero exhaled a plume of red smoke like an enraged bull. Without a word, he slammed Adrien into the ground. Again and again. Then, he hurled Adrien aside, kicking and punching him, even trying to break his spine. Finally, he flung Adrien to the ground one last time.
BRAKKK!!!
"Arrgghhhhh… ugh… owww…"
But Adrien noticed something strange.
"Wait a second…" he looked at his hands, then at his body. "I don't feel any pain at all! HUH???"
Zero, shocked by Adrien's words, lifted him once more and resumed the assault, tossing him around like a rag doll. Yet Adrien remained completely unharmed.
"Ahahahah… That tickles!" Adrien laughed as he was thrown about.
BAMM!!!
Zero, now exhausted, smashed Adrien into the ground so hard that Adrien's head became lodged in the dirt. Zero sighed heavily, a burst of red breath escaping in frustration, and walked away.
"Ummmmm, hey… can you pull me out? Hey, you!" Adrien struggled to yank his head from the ground. Realizing he still couldn't feel pain, he twisted his body and forced himself free.
BRAKKKK!!!
He finally pulled his head out. As he looked around, something caught his eye—light shining from behind him. Adrien turned and gasped in wonder.
"Woaaahhh… Is that the Mind Tree?" he said in awe.
The tree was massive, glowing with a radiant light—but oddly, only one side was lush with vibrant leaves. The other side was barren, dry, and leafless, like a tree in the dead of autumn. On the lush side, a beautiful garden flourished with thick grass and blooming flowers. On the opposite side, there was nothing but a desolate desert.
Yet one thing remained the same on both sides: a glowing yellow line ran through them. Roots from the tree extended across both halves, linking them together.
Adrien walked around, still captivated by the surreal scenery. After a moment of reflection on what the two contrasting sides meant, he turned to find the person who had attacked him earlier. He was stunned to see numerous bookshelves neatly arranged on the lush side—which he assumed represented himself. But on the barren side, he recognized something familiar: a computer surrounded by metal cabinets.
He saw Zero reading a book among the shelves. Instead of approaching him immediately, Adrien walked toward the computer resting on the scorched ground, assuming it belonged to Zero. He attempted to operate it just like the systems at The Ancestor Order base...
"Oh, alright then. Thanks! I mean, yeah—it was painful earlier. But the weird thing is, here I can't feel pain at all, even though Zero tried to kill me just now."
Rose, hearing that, was instantly shocked and furious.
"WHAT?! Zero, I seriously trusted you enough to link you with Adrien—and you used that chance to try and kill him inside your own mind? Naughty boy! Lucky for you, Soul Partners can't actually hurt each other!"
Sitting beside Zero's body back on Earth, Rose gently but repeatedly tapped his head in frustration. She was annoyed by how unreadable his thoughts were. Then, she turned her attention back to the screen on her device. It still showed the Mind Tree from Zero's perspective—who was apparently calmly reading a book filled with Adrien's childhood memories.
But suddenly, a neural disturbance appeared. A dark shadow rapidly flashed across Rose's screen multiple times. The Mind Tree visual glitched for a few seconds before stabilizing. Rose checked the signal monitor—it looked strange at first, but then returned to normal.
"Wait—why does my body look… blurry all of a sudden?" Adrien asked, panicked.
"No idea… but it looks stable again," Rose replied.
"Hello? Hello, this is John. Who's monitoring the subject on Earth's side?" a voice called from Valkan. At last, John's efforts as leader of The Ancestor Order there were paying off.
"John, it's Rose."
"Rose? How's your uncle? Is he doing okay?"
"He's fine. My salary is enough to support him."
"Alright, let's cut to the chase. We're dealing with a group—or maybe just an individual—with the intent to take over Valkan through some insane conspiracy. They've gone quiet for now, but we need to stay alert for their next move. They pose a serious threat to Valkan. Adrien's task is to track them down and find their location on Earth. Once that's done, Zero will take care of eliminating them. Simple enough, right?"
"So that's your reason for doing all this, John?" Adrien asked, looking up at the sky—even though in reality, John was seeing everything through Adrien's own vision of the Mind Tree.
"What else did you think we were after? The S.O.U.L.S device has incredibly dangerous potential. The blueprint was stolen and turned into a weapon. God knows how many variations are out there by now."
"How dangerous are we talking?"
"Extremely. But we don't have a way to measure just how dangerous."
Back at the Valkan headquarters, John began initiating the final calibration of the Mind Crown between the two souls—so they could continue communicating and meeting inside the Mind Tree without needing to fall asleep.
"Rose, are you ready for signal calibration one more time?"
"Ready, sir!"
"Signal calibration starting—initial phase. Adrien, Zero… I hope the two of you can work together until this is truly over. Your service won't be forgotten," said John, tapping a series of buttons on his device.
The signal was amplified, and at last, both ends found a stable match.
"You're both going to be forcibly ejected from the Mind Tree and wake up. It's going to hurt—but don't worry, you'll be able to return anytime after this."
The effects of the calibration began to kick in. Adrien saw his body glitching again.
"Calibration will complete in 3… 2… 1…"
......…To Be Continued......…