…
About half an hour later, when a yellowish-white light beam shined upon Angor’s soul, he briefly took on a faint aura.
Next, the light pierced into the depth of his soul.
Unlike the other lights which either went through his soul completely or dissipated in the air, this yellow one was absorbed by a gray lump of fog.
“Got it. Spectrum 3722,” Ness fixed the light beam at Angor and left his machine to join Sunders. “There it is, gray fog,” said Ness as he took out some papers and began noting down something about the fog.
Different spells shined in Ness’ eyes, and the old man swiftly found out the density, viscosity, diffusion rate and other properties. Next, Ness listed out a series of substances that shared similar properties. They could be what they were looking for.
“Soul Mephitis? No… the gas pollutes someone’s entire soul instantly instead of staying in one spot. Spirit Miasma maybe? Nah… Angor would have gone crazy in that case. Maybe it’s White Frost?…”
As Ness focused on his theories, Sunders observed the now visible gray fog and revealed a puzzled look.
“The ways it flows… it’s like—” Sunders caught a faint trace of a similar object in his memory and fell into deep thought.
Ness put down his papers and approached Angor’s soul to check the fog as well.
“Yes, I also saw it somewhere before,” said Ness. He took out a magnifying glass and spoke to Angor, “Try to control it.”
Under Angor’s effort, the lump of fog moved just a bit before returning to its stagnant state.
When the fog moved, a strange ripple caused Angor’s soul to change a little, as if the fog tried to join with Angor himself.
Angor did not notice it.
Ness, however, widened his eyes in shock. “It’s absolutely not pollution, but a… Have you been studying soul spells these days?” Ness suddenly asked.
“Soul spells?” Angor had not expected such a question. He did think about them before, but he only decided earlier today about learning how to counter soul spells so he could get rid of Hookdick. He never planned to study them.
“No. I only know some basic cantrips and illusion spells.” Angor shook his head in denial. He still needed a lot of effort to learn advanced illusions. He had no time for anything else.
“Strange. The gray fog isn’t a solid substance. It’s a… product, some kind of crystallized result of intelligence, like a spell model. It’s made when you successfully make your innovation and knowledge into reality.” Ness paused. “It looks like… the model of a soul spell.”
The old man suddenly summoned a woman’s soul.
Next, he created a barrier around the three of them, while leaving the soul outside.
As Angor tried to comprehend what he just heard, Ness made his All-Inclusive Illuminator shine with another type of light and directed the light at the woman’s soul. Angor could now see the energy flowing in her.
“Use Howling of Souls, Susan,” Ness ordered.
Upon hearing the order, the energy in the woman’s soul began to gather and created a strange ripple. Her face twisted, and a terrible screaming was heard. However, they did not feel anything other than her voice when inside the barrier.
“See that? The ripple on your soul when you moved the fog around looks very similar to her when she used Howling of Souls… That’s why I suspect that you learned a soul spell.” Ness frowned. “If that’s the case, oh my… your magic potential is amazing. The spell is already existing as a condensed fog when you didn’t even trigger it at all. If you actually released the spell… it will be something beyond a mere cantrip that could be learned by an apprentice.
“It explains why you felt your soul drained dry. It isn’t something you can use with your current level of strength. A toddler with a sharp sword will only hurt himself.”
Angor grew more and more puzzled now. “Is it really a soul spell? But I never learned any.”
“It’s only an assumption. We may learn something else if you can release it, but your soul is too weak to do so. Forcing it means exhausting your energy. Now that I think about it, how did you survive when you actually did it in front of Parasite Queen last time?” Ness asked.
Angor shook his head. “I don’t know.”
He felt that Parasite Queen was pulled into the wound on his back, then his soul was energized again. But it had something to do with Nightmare Realm, so Angor could not tell it to Ness.
“Welp. I have nothing else to work on, then.” Ness shrugged.
“Hold on,” said Sunders after he had finished his thoughts. “His soul is too weak to release the fog, so he can do it if you lend him some soul energy.”