Chapter 43: The mysterious savior

"I can control the spell at will. So, does that mean I'm cured?" Ester asked while wishing for a good response.

Ester gazed at the green wisp, who felt like a long lost friend. Both spent many days in the Soul Domain while it only took a few hours in the living world.

[I'm not going to mince my words. It's yes and no. Your body has stopped straining itself, but it's still weak and in bad condition. However, you can now last long enough for Vincent to heal you.]

[You will soon lose your soul consciousness and regain your body consciousness. Since I forced your soul to wake up and notice me, this will happen when I leave.]

[Your body is in safe hands by those two, and also don't forget. Vincent lived a lonely life; two flowers can make his life pleasant. You are one of them.]

Ester thankfully hugged Kazumi, surprising her. She didn't think her Mana condensed wisp body could be touched. Not only that, but she could also feel the coldness in her hands.

Kazumi then decided to leave with a happy thought coursing thru her mind. If Ester could touch her, then Vincent could as well. She couldn't wait to find the right opportunity and try this out.

"Hmm... it's been around four to five hours since Kazumi entered Ester. I hope she will help her and put all this behind us. I hate being sick or watching those around me sick." Vincent wiped Ester's face with a sad expression while Lupa cooked a few boar kebabs.

"We waited so long that I got hungry. I also wish for Ester to become healthy. Seeing her like this makes my heart ache." Lupa had both a sad frown while drooling from the delicious aroma of the cooking meat.

[Vincent I'm back. I have good and bad news. Which first?]

"Kazumi, you're back! Start with the good news so that I can share it with Lupa." When Vincent started talking, Lupa swiftly turned her head while the pair of wolf ears attached on her head raised full attention.

[Ester has learned the Forst Sigil spell. I also have a hunch that she can resist her magic. Ester explained to me that Sigil Mages hurt themselves when using magic. But Ester didn't suffer from frostbite and is only sick because of the coldness and mana fatigue.]

"So, what's the bad news?" Vincent felt like the good news was too good to be true. To learn resistance of her own magic could help Ester recover faster and become stronger as well.

[Ester stopped using magic, but that doesn't mean she's cured. She is sick and needs to be healed. However, without the cold aura around her and the mana fatigue gradually decreasing, she can live for a few days, enough to get healed by you.]

"So we need to take care of Ester and keep her warm. Only the fever should be the main problem then, right?" Vincent asked with a conflicted expression. He was happy, yet his naive self thought Ester would magically recover.

[That's correct. Rest easy as Ester knows both of you have her back. More than a week passed in the Soul Doman, all possible because of the raging Mana inside her body. She never gave up when knowing you, and Lupa waited for her.]

Vincent turned his gaze on Ester and used inspection on her. With the thought of wanting more information about her Sigil Class, a small additional window appeared below the stat window.

[Name] Ester

[Condition] Heavily Injured, Sick (Fever), Cold, Heavy Mana Fatigue

[Soul Synch] 25%

[Class] Sigil Mage

[Class Sigil Mage]

*Frost Sigil

*Self Magic Immunity

Vincent stared as his eyes almost popped out from his eyes sockets. Kazumi, on the other hand, felt smug as her prediction was right on the mark.

"What's wrong, Vincent?... *nom... Have you learned of something good?... *nom." Lupa approached the bewildered Vincent while chewing the boar meat. It piqued her interest when Vincent almost lost his eyes from surprise. Sadly, she couldn't see the skill window.

Vincent explained what Kazumi told him and the Self Magic Immunity ability he found using inspection. Lupa jumped with joy at this news.

"I have one question. What is Kazumi? If Ester is like a sister to me, then what about her? Will she be like a soul sister?" Lupa raised a grin as if it was a joke, yet at the same time, she felt happy to have more females, both with or without a body to compete against.

[Lupa seems addicted to getting sisters. Well, I like this idea. Soul sisters, huh? Doesn't sound that bad.]

Kazumi liked this idea as it felt pleasant to be accepted. She began feeling lonely already in the black empty Soul Domain, so this idea perked her up.

"Kazumi likes this idea, haha. You got yourself a soul sister, congratulations." As Vincent said these words, Lupa hugged him with joy.

"Take care of Ester while I go outside and talk with Kazumi. I need a breath of fresh air." Vincent left outside while grabbing a cooked boar kebab to eat.

Half a day passed as he waited for the return of Kazumi. He slowly took the first bite, and its tenderness made him arch his lips in delight.

'Lupa learned how to cook meat this good with her senses. Look's like cooking duty is going to be her's, hehe.' He thought while gazing at the sun while licking is lips.

The fact that Ester was soon going to get healthy made him enjoy the food even more. After Vincent finished, he decided to take a walk and scout the area.

"Now that I can freely talk to you, could you tell me what you meant by saw something about my parent's death. Or did you lie to save your hide?" Vincent asked. He was curious to know what happened to his family.

The vision had abruptly ended for Vincent while leaving more questions to be answered. How could his parent have protected him if the mutated people overwhelmed them? There must have been more reasons for how he stayed alive; he had pondered alone all this time.

[Well, you see. You focused on your parents, who were about to get attacked. But before the hit landed, the vision stopped. However, with my Photographic Memory ability, I can rewatch this as if replaying a movie.]

[Didn't I tell you how I saw all your memories in a third person's view. As if stuck to a passenger seat. While you watched your past self, I was behind you watching you.]

Vincent felt strange by these words. He couldn't get used to someone peeking all his life and remembering every last detail forever. It seems this problem is here to stay as the never forgetting soul resided inside him.

[I saw a silhouette of something in a corner, but the more I replayed the memory, the more human it resembled. What it was I don't know, but there were two key features.]

Vincent perked up as this grabbed his full attention. Maybe it could be a way to return to his world. A rope of hope might appear from her words, and he hoped it would be the case.

[I saw a faint green light where their head was. Also, after many times of replaying, I can vaguely tell that figure raised its hand and snapped its fingers. The mutated people attacking your parents exploded into thin mist, and your family seemed safe. That's when the vision ended.]

"How is that possible? " Vincent felt conflicted. He wanted to believe her words as she helped Ester, yet he didn't see it happen. At the last hit, the vison ended instead of the attackers exploding into mist.

[That happened as you lost consciousness while the vision was fading. That's why I could see a few more seconds than you. The pain, the hot temperature from the mark, and the mutation fusing with your hero skill might have been the culprit.]

"You're not lying to me, correct? A being stood in a corner, snapped their fingers, and saw that I lived. So does that mean my parents died from the sickness instead of dying from protecting me?" Vincent massaged his temple as a headache from overthinking rushed to his head.

[Heh... you were so depressed at that time that you didn't hear or listen to what the psychiatrist told you. The authorities recovered your parent's bodies and as a precaution buried in a special gravesite where they could supervise the area.]

[Also, they didn't cremate the bodies because of the chance of another airborne outbreak. That is what the news said while you were sleeping and left the TV on the news channel.]

Vincent didn't know what to say. Most of his resentment and guilt made him ignore the knowledge that could have helped him move on. That's when Vincent started to understand how foolish not to listen to others was.

"I want to change. " Vincent said with a determined attitude. He made up his mind to live a different life; this new possibility presented to him could be a brand new start.

[Don't worry. Like a guardian angel, a cupid or a soul that steals your heart, Kazumi is here to stay. Well... it's not like I can go anywhere other than five-meters away from you with Soul Export.]

"Was your personality always like that? To tease with every word that isn't information." Vincent let out a long sigh as it seemed a bumpy future ahead.

-Have I signed myself for a bumpy ride? Kazumi's words are too erotic for my heart.-

[Really, that's rude. If I had a body, I would be as sexy as my voice and personality, humph. Maybe like the ones in folder sixty-nine and the subfolder named research purposes only.]

"What? You heard me?" Vincent blushed from embarrassment. It seemed his thoughts were read.

Vincent mistakenly sent them to Kazumi as a telepathic voice. Their link to allow telepathic communication seemed to be a problem until he gets used to thinking without sending his telepathic voice.

[I don't mind, haha. What a good laugh, and your face is priceless. Try to talk to me again through telepathy. See if you can master talking to me without talking to yourself. People and your girls might think you have gone crazy.]

-Like this?-

-Can you hear me?-

[Yes, I can hear you loud and clear. This might be a special skill from our connection, or maybe because I reside in your body.]

-I think it's easy since I only need to think about you, imaging talking to you as if you are in front of me and then think what I want to tell you. Strangely its working, haha.-

Vincent chuckled while communicating with Kazumi. It felt like a deep and personal connection with a person who could secretly help, offer suggestions, or tease to pass the time as this seemed to be her hobby.