Aenon ran at a brisk pace with the kid cheering wildly. The looks he got along the way to the city gate were ones of confusion and shock, but Aenon ignored them all. The important thing was that the kid was having fun. He didn't slow down or stop as he went past the gate either, the guards making way once they saw who was approaching. Once he was a decent distance out of the city, he put Talia down slowly and kneeled before her.

"Awww, I wanted to go further," Talia pleaded.

"Oh, we are going much further than this. But we need to go faster to reach there in time. You up for a wolf ride?" Aenon asked.

"Yay! Yes, I do, Ashryn sir," she said cheerfully.

"Now, the wolf might appear to be big and scary but trust me, he is a big softie. Think you can handle that?"

"Mmmmm, I think so," she replied after some thought.

"Very well. Close your eyes, it is a surprise after all," Aenon said while covering the kid's eyes.

When the kid opened them again, her jaw dropped in excitement at the huge black wolf sitting on his haunches before her, all proud and regal. Aenon cast an illusion to hide Bane's smoky appearance, and teeth. To the girl, he just appeared like a big black dog.

"Hello, little one," Bane said in a soft voice, before bending down and licking her face, making the kid giggle.

"Eww. So slobbery," she exclaimed but hugged Bane happily.

"Now get on his back and hold on tight. We are going to be moving super-fast," Aenon said in a child-like excited voice.

The girl excitedly got on the Abyssal Wolf's back. Aenon gave a nod before the two launched forward with a sonic boom in their wake. Aenon dropped the illusion and covered the girl in a protective air bubble instead, reducing the hurricane force wind into a gentle breeze. And so, the two ran, the road nothing but a blur to the kid's eyes. They ran for hours without a break, the kid falling asleep after the novelty of the ride wore off after a bit. Which is when they tripled their speed to cover more ground.

When they were almost at their destination, the kid finally woke from her sleep with a scream. Both Aenon and Bane halted immediately. The kid was drenched in sweat, crying uncontrollably. Aenon picked her up and gently patted her back, while singing a soothing lullaby his mother used to. He put an illusion around them to hide where they were, replacing the daunting forest view with an open meadow of flowers.

"I… I am ok, Ashryn sir," the kid said while putting up a brave front. But Aenon could tell the nightmare had shaken her badly.

"You can call me Aenon," he said with a soothing smile. He had made his mask invisible a while ago.

"Aenon?" she asked in confusion.

"Yes. That is what my friends call me. No need to call me sir, either."

"Aenon. I like that name," the kid said while hugging him tight and drifting off to sleep. Aenon climbed atop Bane and held her steady while Bane ran as fast as he could without disturbing her sleep. They soon reached a white dome of mist, which parted away to let them through. They maintained their pace till they finally reached their destination.

"Welcome back, Aenon-Friend," Nocthrya said with glee.

Aenon was impressed with the 30-foot-tall tree they were standing in front of. The branches were lush with leaves, and the soft grass field around it was wider than he remembered. Nocthrya had grown considerably, both in height and power.

Nocthrya | World Tree | Level 65

"Good to see you again my friend…," Aenon was saying before stopping as Talia started squirming in his arms.

"No… no…," she said with clenched eye lids, while squeezing Aenon as hard as she could.

"Nocthrya, could you please put this child into a dreamless sleep," Aenon asked Nocthrya urgently via their soul link.

"Of course," Nocthrya responded as Aenon put the kid down softly on the grass.

A gentle breeze blew across the field, and the kid's expression relaxed and became peaceful again. Aenon breathed a sigh of relief as he felt Talia finally sleep calmly. He placed a hand on Nocthrya's trunk and said thank you while sharing what was going on. Aenon could feel the sadness emanating from the tree as it gently caressed the girl with some vines.

"Little girl's soul like Aenon-Friend's?" Nocthrya asked with concern.

"Not completely. She has started down the road I've been on. Her innocence is shielding her, but it is a fickle defense against what awaits at the end of that journey," Aenon said as he recalled his own past.

"So, what does Aenon-Friend want to do?"

Aenon thought long and hard about what he could do. And whether it was the right thing. His past had molded him into what he was today, and he could spare the girl from that fate if he made her forget the memories that tormented her. But it felt wrong somehow. It felt like he would steal something away from the kid, so he was reluctant to do it.

"I don't know Nocthrya. For the first time in my life, I am not sure what to do," Aenon replied in a low voice.

He sat in a lotus position beside the girl and closed his eyes. He wanted to study Talia's soul again; his last observation had been troubling. But first he needed to check his own inner soul space. It had been a while since he had done so.

As he appeared within his soul space, the first thing he noticed was that the space was much larger. He hadn't really been here since his evolution, and in hindsight he probably should have done so. The empty white void was way bigger now. But there was a transparent barrier that prevented him from exploring the area beyond 10 feet, the original size of his inner soul space.

He recalled Harley mentioning that evolution pushed the boundaries of one's inner soul space. Which meant his had expanded, but since his evolution was sealed somehow, he couldn't really access all of it. The System Nurse had said that his body wouldn't be able to handle his soul, but it would be possible to break the seal temporarily if the need arises. Something to think about later.

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For now, he observed the faint tendrils floating off the shard at the center of his inner soul space. He didn't really need to count, as he instinctively knew that there was one for each wolf in addition to Nocthrya, Jenny and Ignar's party. The tendrils were ethereal in nature and passed right through the barriers with no effect on them.

Aenon focused his soul to try leaving his inner soul space and was instantly transported out into the pitch darkness. He felt the walls of his inner soul, but he couldn't sense anything else.

"What is this barrier we need to breach to become an Awakened?," he asked out loud while turning. When he got no response, he transformed his soul to look like his real body and crossed his arms.

"How long have you known?" a female voice answered as the System Nurse appeared before him.

"Well, your words weren't exactly subtle, were they?" Aenon said with an amused smile. "You must have been protecting me when my Titles were doing…something."

Aenon still wasn't sure what his Unfettered Soul Title was about. It had cannibalized his soul-related Titles, but Aenon got a feeling it was much greater than the sum of its parts. But that wasn't his concern now.

The System Nurse studied him with narrowed eyes before sighing in defeat, "You get more ridiculous the more I try to study you."

"So? What is the barrier I hadn't noticed before?" Aenon asked again. If he had not witnessed Jenny and the others breaking theirs, he probably wouldn't have noticed it. But now that he knew where to look, every single person had that barrier.

"It all boils down to one thing—a soul's potential," she explained. Aenon conjured up a pair of chairs for them to sit. "Every life form, from the smallest insect to the mighty dragons have that in common. Their potential to grow. Why then do we not see caterpillars soaring in the sky like dragons?"

Aenon gave it some thought before replying, "Based om what I have learned of Paths, I am guessing it has to do with a person's mindset?"

"At least you have the brains," the draugr replied with a smile. "Yes. Most enlightened races limit their own potential based on their preconceived notions. Beliefs like berserkers lose control when enraged, or that you need fire wisps to conjure up fire spells. I mean it's hard to believe you can stand in midair till the moment that you have done it, no matter how many times you have seen others do it. That barrier is essentially a self-imposed limit, and it is hard to detect using your Soul Sense for the same reason. It is made of the same material as one's soul."

"So, these limits can only be broken by yourself?" Aenon asked.

"Hmm, yes," the draugr had a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she went on. "Unless one gets inspired by watching others fearlessly break their own limitations. Even if it is because of poor knowledge or sense of self preservation."

Aenon ignored the obvious jab and started analyzing what the Nurse just said. His fears that he was manipulating others were finally put to rest. He still didn't know why or how he was doing it, but it didn't really matter to him.

He was about to ask another question when the Nurse beat him to it. "I had thought the first question out of you would be about your new Title. Or why I am hanging out in your outer soul space. Or a ton of other things that very few would have knowledge of. Instead, you ask me such mundane questions that most people know in the wider Multiverse."

Aenon closed his mouth as he regarded her. Now that his Sovereign's Eye was much stronger, he could finally see the System Nurse for what she was. An empty shell that had no hint of emotion, positive or negative. She was for all intents and purposes a computer program designed to mimic a real person. But who could never truly feel.

"The thing about favors, even if it involves gaining knowledge, is that you have to pay them back eventually," Aenon said wistfully. "You have been placed here by this mysterious System Admin. Most likely to keep an eye on me, or perhaps to protect me. Which means I already owe them. I'd rather not blow up my tab any more than I need to."

"A pretty cynical view, don't you think?" the Nurse asked, not denying anything Aenon just said.

"It's practical. Nothing in life comes for free," Aenon replied without emotion.

The Nurse frowned but didn't say anything further. Aenon let the silence linger for a bit before diverting them back on topic.

"Anyway, I asked about the barrier because of the kid. Her soul has an additional barrier around hers…amongst other things," Aenon said with concern.

"Another barrier? And what other things?" the Nurse asked in confusion.

"You can't sense it?" Aenon asked.

"Since I am here hiding you from…," she paused midsentence before quickly correcting herself. "I cannot see anything of the outside world."

Aenon didn't press her on the slip up. "There is a… mark on her soul. And it is pulsing every ten seconds or so."

"A Soul Tracking spell? Those are rare and…," the Nurse trailed off as she was lost in thought. She recovered before asking, "What does her outer soul look like?"

"Umm, it looks like…gold? Mine looks black, Nocthrya's is green, while Jenny's is blue. Talia's is a world of gold. Don't know how else to describe it," Aenon replied honestly.

The brief glimpse of Talia's soul had been too bright. It looked like a world engulfed in light.

"But there were traces of darkness in it," Aenon said sadly. "She has some memories she is trying to suppress. If the dead crown prince is to be believed."

Aenon was confused when he didn't get a response from the draugr. When he looked up her eyes were wide, and her jaw was hanging in disbelief.

"Are you a magnet that draws in calamity?" she finally asked after a minute.

"Huh?" Aenon asked in confusion. But the Nurse didn't respond, instead pacing back and forth while muttering something under her breath.

"Did you talk to anyone about her?" she asked with urgency.

"No," Aenon replied hesitantly. He had no idea what was going on, but the Nurse's reaction confirmed that this was something big.

"That's good," she responded in relief. "Now here is what you will do. Go back out and make sure the kid is safe. After that, go back to the city and read some damn books on element types."

"What? Why?"

"Because you don't want to rely on others for knowledge," she said in exasperation. "The least you can do is learn on your own."

"Okay. But why now?"

"Because…," she yelled before controlling herself. "There are things in motion here that you are not ready for yet. I'll just tell you this—do not let anyone learn of the girl's element. Every soul has an innate property. The girl's innate is something the Multiverse will kill for."

"What about my innate element?" Aenon asked as he looked around the perpetual darkness.

The Nurse's eyes turned sad as she regarded him. "The old monsters will kill to control the girl. You on the other hand, they will simply kill to eliminate."

From the look in her eyes Aenon could tell she had already revealed more than she wanted to. And asking anything further would be pointless. So Aenon didn't even bother. He stood up and stretched his arms with a yawn.

"Sounds good," he said simply. "Guess I will see you around."

The nurse was visibly taken aback at his casual response. She eventually shook her head with a smile, "You are something else, kid. Any other person would be shaking in their boots after learning such things. But to you… it's just another item in your to do list, isn't it?"

Aenon clicked his tongue and winked at her, "Now you are getting it."

He turned towards the outer reaches of his soul and silently contemplated. If his soul really had infinite potential, then shouldn't his soul space be allowed to grow beyond seven evolutions? He smiled at the implications of this new knowledge. For it meant there were levels beyond 700. And it excited him. He was about to leave when the Nurse gave him one last advice.

"Be careful," she said with a complicated expression. But she didn't elaborate, so Aenon smiled back to reassure her. He gave her a flourishing bow and left his soul space.

Aenon appeared next to the sleeping form of the girl. She had a mild smile on her peaceful face. He gently stroked her head before leaning back and looking at the boundless sky.

"That darkness within your soul, I will eliminate it," he said out loud to no one in particular. "For it doesn't belong there."

"Aenon-Friend. Take burden. Again." Nocthrya said sadly.

"Yes, my friend," Aenon replied with a smile. "To preserve the light within her, I will take in the darkness."

"Why?"

"Because I can," Aenon said while laying down in the grass. "If the world conspires to vanquish the light, I will hide it from them. Till it has had time to grow so bright that nothing can put it out. I will be the darkness that conceals the light."

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