บท 31: The Way Forward

That night, Gavin went inside his briefcase after everyone went to bed. He was aiming to assess the feasibility of using the soul as a means to obtain the 'Eyes of Truth'.

[Hey Aelia, remind me how bonds work again, I think I know how to get your eyes.] Gavin said, as soon as he climbed down the ladder into the living room.

Aelia, who was laying on the couch in front of the fireplace, immediately sat up upon hearing Gavin's comment. She poked her head over the couch, to get a view of him and replied,

[It works through a unique soul connection that magical beasts are able to form with humans who have a compatible soul. It's basically like you having a part of my soul, and me having a part of yours. The part that humans get during the bonding transfers some of the beast's powers to him/her and the abilities the humans get depends on whether their soul is strong enough to carry it.]

[I see. So what's so special about Everharts that we're able to form bonds with griffins exclusively?] Gavin asked, grabbing Aelia and sitting down on the couch.

Aelia purred as Gavin placed her on his lap. She blinked her sparkling blue eyes and responded,

[As you know, bloodline and soul are connected. Therefore, a specific lineage has a specific soul type. In the case of the Everharts, that soul type is extremely compatible with griffins.]

[I suppose the same thing applies to the Pendragons?]

[Yeah, it does. They're one of the four families I'm aware of that are able to form bonds with magical beasts.]

[Four?]

[Yes. The Everharts, Pendragons, Dumbledores and Dzou family]

[Dumbledore? Dzou family?] Gavin asked curiously, stroking Aelia's fur softly.

[The Dumbledores have had an extensive history of bonding with phoenixes since the family's inception. Darwin's best friend, Averill Dumbledore, was bonded to a phoenix. Your headmaster is even bonded with the phoenix prince.] Aelia replied casually.

[Interesting…so does that mean Dumbledore has flame abilities?] Gavin asked, rather intrigued. He had never seen Dumbledore use fire abilities, at least in the plot.

[No, he does not. Every bond is different. Some bonds don't even transfer abilities and simply enable the human to talk telepathically with the beast. I believe Dumbledore's bonding just increased his vitality, enhanced his reflexes and greatly boosted his affinity with fire magic.] Aelia responded.

'That makes sense actually. I've always wondered why Dumbledore's fire magic in the sixth book was so powerful. I thought it was entirely due to his magical energy capacity, but it seems part of it stems from his bond.'

Gavin thought, enlightened. He then raised his eyebrows and asked,

[What about the Dzou family? Do you mean the family of the famous Alchemist Dzou Yen?]

He had learnt about Dzou Yen from books on alchemy he read in his spare time. Dzou Yen was a famous alchemist that had immense contributions to the field of alchemy; the man even had a chocolate frog card.

[Yes, that Dzou family. They are able to form bonds with Qilins and Zouwus] Aelia confirmed Gavin's speculation.

[Ah I see.] Gavin said and hummed in affirmation. He had read about Zouwus when he was trying to find a reliable way to sense magical energy precisely by researching magical beasts.

Zouwus were incredibly powerful and monstrously large feline-like beasts with a striped body, scraggly mane, four fangs that curled out of its mouth, long sharp claws, and a disproportionately long, ruffled multi colored tail; they were native to China alone.

[Right…I suppose you want to hear my conjecture?] Gavin asked as he finished mulling over the new information he just obtained.

[Yes, I'm curious as to what you're thinking.] Aelia responded, slowly wagging her fluffy tail.

[Well, everything you just said reinforced what I think. I think that there's some sort of prerequisite to soul bonding with magical beasts, namely the soul resonance between the person and the beast, which would explain why most people do not get magical abilities upon bonding with a beast.] Gavin started, gazing at the crackling fire in the fireplace.

[I believe the more powerful this soul resonance is, the more abilities the wizard is able to draw from the beast and vice versa. Therefore, for something like a physical trait to be obtained, the soul resonance has to reach a frightening degree, which is practically impossible for wizards. It's probably even more challenging to do so with incredibly powerful beasts like griffins, dragons, and phoenixes because they have extremely strong souls.]

Aelia hummed at the plausibility of Gavin's conjecture. It sounded very logical and had some merit. Though, she wondered why Gavin thought he could do the seemingly impossible. Thus, she asked rather curiously,

[What makes you think you can increase your soul resonance to such a degree and do what other wizards can't?]

Gavin laughed and looked at her. He smirked slightly and said, [Do I look like 'other' wizards.]

[Cocky now, aren't we?] Aelia scoffed.

[You love it] Gavin chuckled and responded coolly.

[Maybe] Aelia coughed lightly.

Gavin just chuckled once more. He then added,

[Though, on a serious note, I believe I should be able to increase our soul resonance for two reasons. Firstly, you've always marveled at how strong my soul is, you even said it's stronger than yours and that's something impossible for other wizards. Because of this, my soul should be able to carry a physical ability.]

When Gavin was younger, Aelia never stopped mentioning how strong his soul was. Prior to visiting him, she thought it was impossible for a wizard to have such soul strength and could simply not fathom how it was possible.

Gavin mused that it was because probably he was a reincarnator but didn't say it because that was a secret he was going to take to the grave. There was no need to mention it, and he never once planned on doing so.

Aelia nodded at what Gavin said.

[Secondly, it's because of this…] Gavin said ominously before looking at the quill on the table in front of the couch. The quill vibrated slightly, before teleporting into his hands.

Aelias eyes widened upon seeing this.

[You got my spatial manipulation ability?! I thought that you simply didn't get it during your bonding.] Aelia exclaimed, bewildered.

Usually, whenever wizards bonded with magical beasts, they only obtained abilities and enhancements at the moment of bonding and never after that.

[Yes, I obtained it about a week ago and forgot to tell you. This can only mean one thing though: our soul resonance is passively increasing, something which I attribute to our immense soul compatibility. This practically confirms my theory about soul resonance in general. I should write a book about this, I could win an Order of Merlin award.] Gavin chuckled.

Aelia just stared blankly at Gavin, still in disbelief at everything. After a few moments, she calmed down and then asked a crucial question.

[So how do you think you can increase our soul resonance enough for you to obtain my eyes.]

[Good question. I actually have a theory on that as well. Though I may be wrong, I think it's worth giving a shot]

[Go on…]

[Our soul is basically an ethereal representation of ourselves. Our memories, personality, and characteristics are all tied to it. Thus, it should be possible to increase the soul resonance between two entities by increasing the level of understanding between them. Though, this only applies to souls that are innately extremely compatible, which is our scenario.]

[Sounds rational. So, you're basically saying memory sharing…] Aelia said grudgingly. She was afraid of showing Gavin her past and didn't know what he would think of her once he saw it.

[Yes, you can't escape it this time.] Gavin smirked evilly. He had finally cornered this cunning cat and couldn't wait to see what happened in the past… see all the things she hid from him.

Aelia just sighed heavily.

[Right, so how do we go about this then?]

[Well, we'll both share our memories using the soul connection. Try to sense it, focus on it, and let go of all your memories.] Gavin said.

Aelia looked disgruntled and afraid. She sighed once more, looked at Gavin and said,

[Alright. I hope you don't dislike me after seeing my past…I'm not the same as I was then…]

[I see, don't worry, I doubt I will if that's any consolation.] Gavin replied, even more eager to see the memories.

Aelia just hummed. The two of them then proceeded to close their eyes and sense each other's souls through their soul connection. After a few minutes, Gavin felt his consciousness start to fade…

'Let's see what happened back then…' he thought and lost consciousness a moment later.

~.~.~

A/N: Averill Dumbledore is just called Mr.Dumbledore on the Harry Potter wiki, he's Albus Dumbledore's great-great-grandfather. I just gave him the name Averill.