The Prince of Demons

We arrived at the courtyard, with Nautilus stretching eagerly. Now, how would this work? How did I turn my entire body into a soul? Was this even possible? I hoped so. Maybe <Ethereal Form> as a starting point? I blended into my surroundings, showing the <Technique> was working as intended. Now, what if I switched the <Affinity>? My body switched to some odd half plane before the fact I couldn't breathe caught up to me; there was no amount of effort that would let me take a breath. As quickly as possible I reverted the <Affinity> from my <Soul Magic> which caused me to be taking several rapid breaths on the ground, enjoying the sensation of my lungs being back. Nautilus and Helga were both chuckling as I was gasping for air on the ground. I think that proved the idea was at least possible.

"How'd i' go grublin?" Nautilus checked with a wide smile.

"I think it at least worked." I pointed out as I was trying not to take their laughter too personally.

"I could still see your entire body, so I do not think it worked like you wanted." Helga informed me.

"How could it be made better?" I inquired, looking at the <Technique> specialist that was Nautilus.

"Oi, imma no' give ya the answe' lass. Ya need t' learn t' do it yaself." Nautilus shot back immediately.

"Which is fine, but how would I go about making it better? I never really learned how, and my only reference is Nil's methodology which is some form of tactical guess and check." I asked while trying to make sure I didn't sound too disappointed. That would've been nice if she just showed me.

"Ya gotta be able t' envision it, firs' an' foremos'." Nautilus answered before manifesting a chair of <Mana> to sit on. Her gaze made it apparent I needed to either try again or think it through better.

"Give me a minute then." I conceded as I sat on the ground.

What should I do then? What was it supposed to look like? I guess her point was to translate it from Nil's idea to how I would go about doing it, or at least how I would envision it. I should've asked him to draw whatever a will-o-the-wisp is. I mean, I should be able to do this on my own. Maybe imagine myself as a ball? Memories of Krahinn folding the space around me to make my feet and head share the same space immediately came to mind. No. Not that. Not a good mental picture or experience; I definitely needed something a bit better. Why did Nil say soul ball? If I were to guess a will-o-the-wisp probably was often drawn as one, so he just imagined the final <Technique> also being ball shaped. That might have been the issue, me imagining a shape that was unnecessary for the actual function. Maybe I was borrowing inspiration from the wrong Nil; the Eternal Emperor killed me in order to send me back. For him, it was easier if my body was dead. <Soul Magic> was a variant of <Death Magic> technically speaking, or more of a mental variant of <Death Magic> if I recalled correctly. I really was a bad student last time and moments like these show it.

Did that help me? I disliked the idea of killing myself to be able to use the <Technique>, as a limited one time use for a minor inconvenience seemed a bit extreme. I knew I could project myself out in a dreamlike state if I tried hard enough, but that was not exactly what I wanted. I wanted my entire body to come with me. Was there some method of half killing myself? Or turn my body into some form of <Anima Magic> like projection? That might be it, envisioning my body turning into a form of projection as my soul held it together. It was at least a new way of attempting it; now the question was how? Was it similar to what I just did, but using my <Magic> to dissolve my body into it? I could try it. The result would be agonizing if I failed. Maybe calling Nil's method tactical guess and check was a bit disingenuous. How was I supposed to know if it would work in advance? I took a deep breath, attempting the new method I had thought of.

Around me the world dissolved into a kaleidoscope of colors, where I could almost see what looked like <Mana> flows around me as I sat where I was. There was no air, no ground, just boundaries of things existing as I kind of floated in place. It worked! This idea actually worked! I tried stepping, and then realized I was stuck. What? Why can't I move? My body refused to move from where I was as nothing that I tried moved me at all. Crap. Please tell me I was not stuck like this until I ran out of <Mana>. I tried reverting back, trying to end the <Technique>, but nothing happened. Oh no. Please tell me that I could turn back to how I was. This would be an incredibly stupid way to die. My <Mana> was slowly draining, so if I needed to run out, I was going to be here a while. Wait, maybe use my <Mana> to push myself? Which direction? Up gave me the most margin for error, so I guess up was my best bet. I used a bit of<Mana> hoping to push myself a little off the ground but was soon easily a hundred feet into the air. On the bright side, the <Technique> would definitely let me climb the castle faster. I used <Mana> to push myself down gently, making sure not to go into the ground itself. I do not want to find out what happens if I suddenly try to become solid while underground.

"Now what do we have here?" A voice asked. It was some cold, woman's voice that made chills cascade down my spine, or where my spine should be as I was some incorporeal form at the moment. The weird part was I didn't hear any voice, but it didn't sound like <Mental Speech> either. I was panicking because I had no idea how to respond.

"Why are you giving me the silent treatment? Pouting won't stop me from collecting." The woman cooed. Collecting? No. No collections here.

"DON'T!" I shouted. What? I tried using <Mental Speech>, but it came out as some actual sound? How did that happen?

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"Why do you have <Mana>?" the voice asked, sounding genuinely baffled.

"Because I am alive." I retorted, wondering what about <Mana> confused the voice.

"Then how did I sense a soul? Your body is mostly gone. Wait, it's not, it's just, dissolved? What did you do?" the voice purred, sounding quite interested.

"Uh, try to become a soul so I could move around easier, or at least incorporeal enough to kind of float." I explained. I was trying to rotate, but nothing was happening. My control needed serious improvement and fast.

"You're not a Reincarnator, but the age of your soul and body don't match. How is that possible? Explain little one." The voice demanded.

"Who even are you?" I challenged. I wanted to turn to face her, however, that was not possible for me at the moment.

"So rude. I guess you can't see me currently, only hear me. You'd think you would recognize the voice of one of your Lords though. You're on Tenebrae, did that brat Nil teach you that?" the voice inquired. Wait. Her phrasing.

"Utol?!" I checked, dreading her answer if it was yes.

"Indeed, the one and only. Here I am, wondering how someone is a soul and not soul, asking you how a non Reincarnator has a soul older than your body, and all I got was rudeness." Utol taunted me.

"I would like to apologize for my previous actions. I am a Regressor, Nil sent my soul back to younger me with his <Magic>. I was experimenting with turning into a soul form kind of like <Spirit Form> that <Spirit Beasts> are capable of." I explained to her.

"Of course he did. Intriguing. I'm glad I didn't kill him; he has provided me a new source of entertainment." Utol purred, sounding quite happy.

"Any idea on how to not be a soul anymore? Why did you even come here personally, Lord Utol?" I inquired. How did I accidentally summon a Lord? Utol erupted in laughter.

"I am Utol, not Lord Utol. I am but a fragment of the whole, a construct with the task of collecting the souls of the recently deceased. This <Technique> of yours is close enough to have triggered the <Spell> that was created for harvesting the newly deceased and summoned me as it flagged an anomalous soul." Utol informed me.

"So, is there some shared memory or knowledge? How does that work?" I probed, trying to grasp how she made a <Spell> like that.

"The fragments are made from a small pool designated to be constructs for anomalous souls. Me being here for a few more seconds will bring the full Lord Utol here as the soul should have already been collected. We all share the knowledge and memories of Lord Utol." Utol (mini Utol?) clarified. Should I be nervous about accidentally summoning a Lord? Or at least the construct of one that was about to summon the full-blown Lord? How similar to Dha was she going to be?

"No, I will find this amusing. Do not worry, I am nothing like the bucknarl that is Dha." Utol assured me. That was comforting, I guess.

"So how long unt-" I began to ask before I was hit by a presence that was unmistakable. There was no faking that presence as my entire soul began to quiver. It was way more intense than the projection of Dha, yet I had the distinct feeling the aura she was emitting could be even more intense.

"That's what's happening. Intriguing. How fun how fun. First, face me. Second, I must congratulate you on being the first being to successfully summon me by accident." Utol chimed with some minor applause. I was rotated to see a blank, but also somehow feminine, form standing there despite the swirling colors around us. It was similar to what Dha did; the features had this light outline that gave it a more feminine appearance though.

"Um, thanks I guess?" I stated awkwardly.

"Part of me is wondering how no one before was able to manage something like this, but I don't think most beings are going to intentionally cut the edge of death and life just enough to have the benefits of being a soul while technically being alive. Doesn't help <Soul Affinity> is rare like <Death Affinity> is as most in my domain get killed young." Lord Utol stated, essentially talking to herself. What did she want me to say?

"Nothing dear. I was simply musing to myself. Now, do you want to play a game?" Lord Utol checked, sounding elated to be able to ask that.

"I would rather not risk betting my life by playing a game with you. And unlike my boyfriend, I do not have other world cheater knowledge to win with. I would politely, but very firmly, decline your offer." I told her. She made a tsk sound in response.

"I said play a game, not make a wager." Lord Utol grumbled, clearly displeased with my answer.

"Um, okay then I guess? I don't know what all games we can play like this as I am struggling to move around." I replied. Today was proving to be way too eventful for my tastes.

"But that's how you know the day is going to be fun!" Utol cheered happily.

"That still doesn't solve my lack of movement ability." I pointed out. Maybe Lord Utol would give me some insight on how to move as a soul.

"Did you learn to blatantly scheme in front of a Lord from Nil?" Lord Utol asked drily. Yea, the ability to read thoughts would be a hurdle for nearly any game.

"I turn it off when I play a game with a mortal because that would be cheating." Lord Utol defended herself.

"I did not learn to blatantly scheme like that from him, I just was hoping in order to play your game you might give me some insight on how to actually move like this as I have no idea how to." I clarified as I was completely at her mercy for how I was positioned.

"Hmmm. Fair point, but I don't feel like being reasonable today." Lord Utol shot back. Great. That definitely boded well for me.

"But I did agree to play a game." I pointed out desperately, which made her laugh.

"I mean, technically speaking, I could enlighten you with the <Magic> of a Lord, but no way am I going to wager something like that when I can read your memories and you were supposed to figure this out on your own. Truly unfortunate for you." Lord Utol teased me. She was proving to be vastly more pleasant than Dha.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Lord Utol snapped immediately. Wait, she could read my mind. Dha was an insufferable bucknarl who enjoyed watching me writhe, it's not flattery when he was a complete jerk who used me for his amusement.

"Ah, fair enough. Now, what game should we play?" Lord Utol mused, sounding eager to play something.

"Uh, twenty questions?" I suggested. I didn't have to move to play twenty questions.

"You really don't know how to move, do you?" Lord Utol checked with a sigh.

"No, I do not know how to move soul me. I was not mentally prepared for this <Technique> to work. I was definitely not ready for the fact I accidentally summoned a Lord with it." I verified for her.

"Sheesh, mortals are so temperamental. Relax. You're getting the rare honor of playing a game with a Lord. You're one of the privileged few to ever get to play a game with me and your life not be on the line." Lord Utol retorted without a care in the world. Do all immortal beings just, lose the ability to care?

"Kind of. Now, twenty questions is one of, if not the, most boring games. I want something more exciting!" Lord Utol declared.

"What game would you like to play?" I asked like an idiot.

"I'm glad you asked!" Utol replied in an instant. This was going swimmingly.