『Skill Gained: ◈ Soul Entanglement Lv1 – You possess the power to latch your soul』
The moment the message flared across her vision in vivid violet script, Kivas jolted upright, her palms still pressed against the Voidling's polished chitin.
"Whoa—! Wait, what did I just do?" she blurted, blinking rapidly. "I got something! It says I can… latch my soul?"
Samael leaned over from behind, her gaze half-lidded but interested. "Congratulations. You've awakened your first non-class skill."
Kivas stared at the swirling glyph still lingering in front of her, already fading. "'Soul Entanglement' sounds really cool, but the description is vague. What does it even do?"
"It does what it says. Your soul can now interact with other things—everything, in fact. Living or not," Samael explained, kneeling beside her and brushing aside a strand of Kivas' hair that was stuck to her cheek. "Objects. Creatures. Essence. Even abstract concepts, if your skill level is high enough. At the start, it's like grasping at threads. But once you learn to pull the right ones, you'll understand what it means to affect the world."
Kivas turned toward her, wide-eyed. "Can I use it to alter reality?"
Samael tilted her head. "Yes. Or embrace it. Or twist it. Or bind it to yours." There was a gleam of interest in her crimson eyes. She reached toward the cinquedea resting on a nearby stump, the same blade Kivas had retrieved from the chest when she first arrived in Vaingall. "Let me demonstrate."
As soon as the weapon touched her palm, it pulsed. A ripple of heat shimmered across its surface—and then, flames burst from the blade.
"Okay—okay, wow—" Kivas scrambled back. "That was fire! Literal fire!"
Samael remained still, focused. The flame died.
And then, without warning, a frost-like sheen enveloped the blade. Ice crept along its edge, crystallizing down to the hilt.
"I… didn't know it could do that," Kivas said in awe, voice lowered to a near whisper. "Such a simple sounding skill…"
"It couldn't. Until my soul spoke through it," Samael replied. "Soul Entanglement is the foundation of all real synthesis. A soul is composed of the same exotic matter that birthed Fathomi. When you understand it deeply, it becomes a tool—an alchemical brush."
"So you can literally change reality using your soul…"
"With the right knowledge, intention, and enough Mana Psyche to fuel it, yes. It becomes a medium."
Kivas leaned closer, resting her elbows on her knees, eyes still locked on the icy blade. "How long does it take to reach that level?"
"A hundred years," Samael said dryly. "Actually, a thousand for you."
Kivas groaned, collapsing backward into the moss. "I just became more tired than I was this morning…"
"But now you have a tool. Use it. Experiment. It won't be long before you begin to feel how the world breathes back."
As the sun dipped past the tree line, Vaingall's hues began to shift. What was once stark green and gold turned into saturated orange and violet. The wind carried with it a cool, metallic scent.
Samael and Kivas remained beside their initial environment since it was already a perfect place to settle temporarily. Over the next hour, Samael demonstrated how to channel Hemo Psyche using Soul Entanglement—how to circulate it through injuries, using the tendrils of her own soul to ignite the healing process.
Two hours later, Kivas leaned against the wall of their reconstructed shelter, sighing in satisfaction. The makeshift bandages were no longer needed. Her body ached less, and the worst of her injuries had sealed. Her HP, though, was drained to its lowest.
"You weren't joking when you said that healing through HP is exhausting."
"Because it is," Samael said, kneeling by the hut's interior hearth, where a small violet flame flickered. "Don't forget about how fickle its regeneration rate is. Your physical activity, your meals, even your emotional state can influence the recovery of your Hemo Psyche…
"This is why proper rest and food are required, regardless how strong and immortal you are."
And for the next few hours, Kivas felt like dilly-dallying around in the open space felt a little bit too revealing for her, so she asked Samael for help when it came to make a brand new shelter.
Samael rejected the offer at first, since she didn't find any reason to shelter herself when the forest itself was already a home in her point of view.
Regardless, Samael felt obligated to take care of the youngling, who was in this case, her fated soulmate.
"I love you, Samael."
"Didn't you say that you want to hate me a couple of hours ago?"
"I love you now."
Kivas stared at the newly finished hut. The roof was made from wide, sun-dried leaves and layered moss. Reinforced wooden ribs from the local trees curved across the walls like a ribcage. Inside were two bed-like structures of packed vegetation—soft and aromatic.
A carved fire pit now sat at the center, warming the space with gentle, controlled heat.
"This is… amazing. It's actually cozy."
"I'm very experienced at making temporary habitats, regardless of my preference," Samael said. "It's a byproduct of being nomadic. And powerful. You tend to sleep in strange places."
"I can't even make a proper building."
"You'll get there."
As they sat near the warmth, Kivas looked toward the darkening trees. "So… night in Vaingall. Is it dangerous?"
"Not really more discomforting than the day. But at night, distortion worsens."
"Distortion? You mean the case where the environment suddenly change and all of that?"
Samael poked the fire. "Fathomi is alive. Its geography rearranges. Surfaces shift. Most of the world is unstable. What you see today may vanish by morning. Paths loop. Mountains stretch."
"So like a procedurally generated map with a notable reset time."
"I have no comprehension of what you're talking about."
"You'll know more the longer you're with me."
Samael chuckled and slightly shook her head. "You will hear the term 'Space Distortion' often. Learn to read the changes. Even if you map the land, understanding on the surface it will only guide you for a time."
"And the people here deal with this how?"
"They adapt. Or vanish."
Before Kivas could ask anything further, a sudden jolt instinct led her to peek outside.
Samael noticed the change in gesture, and so she followed along.
Just outside the shelter, near the fire-warmed boundary of the clearing, a strange shimmer erupted into being. It was accompanied by the faint sound of a chime—soft, echoing.
There was a treasure chest.
"Do these things just… spawn around here?"