The forest clearing was quiet.

It wasn't eerily quiet; rather, it was a calm kind of quiet, and Sara walked through the clearing.

Well, since she was a phantom banshee, she floated toward the clearing with Aster trailing gently behind her.

"This is the spot," Sara said softly before turning toward him. "You can feel it, right?"

"Yeah." The amount of spiritual energy in this particular spot felt denser than the one he had felt earlier.

"That's good. This is what pure spiritual energy feels like. A corrupted one would feel worse and terrifying but this one here is dense enough to help you awaken your spirit root."

Aster nodded in understanding. "Okay. So, what do I need to do?"

Sara held up a hand. "Before we start, Your Highness. Allow me to explain a few things because if you do not understand what a spirit root really is and what it does, then you won't be able to awaken your spirit root."

"Oh, okay. I'm listening."

Hearing this, Sara hovered closer to him. "Alright, so only a few demons have the capacity to cultivate a spirit root. Some are born with the spirit root already awakened in them while others awaken theirs through intense emotions."

Aster furrowed his brows. "Intense emotions? What do you mean?"

"Just like corrupted spirits thrive by feasting on the fears of their prey, some spirits also feast on the sadness and anger of their prey. The spirit root works in a somewhat similar manner. It blooms through emotions like fear, joy, courage, etc, depending on what your soul is able to handle.

Sara paused a bit so her words would fully settle in Aster's mind. "These different types of emotions are called the spirit root branch. Demons and a few other races usually awaken two or three branches while familiars, such as myself, can only awaken a single branch."

Aster raised a brow before asking. "What type of branch did you awaken?"

Sara lifted her hand, and a clear but cold shimmer emerged from her palm like a colorless fog. "I awakened the fear branch."

Sara replied in an almost flat tone but before Aster could say anything, a small horned rabbit hopped into the clearing to nibble on a few leaves.

Sara snapped her fingers lightly and Aster watched as the fog sank into the rabbit's body.

The effect was instant and the rabbit began to tremble.

Its eyes widened with terror and it bolted straight towards a tree to hide while shaking violently as though death itself was standing before it.

"Whoa…" Aster froze with an astonished look on his face.

"Fear. Pure spiritual fear. That's the name of the branch I awakened." Sara muttered quietly as she turned around to face him. "And that's also the branch you will awaken today… if you choose to."

"If?" Aster blinked with a confused look on his face.

"Yes, Your Highness," Sara replied in the same soft tone. "The Fear branch awakenings are dangerous and if you lose control while trying to awaken it, your mind can break."

"...Ohh."

"If you want to awaken it, you'll have to stay perfectly calm while your soul gets flooded with terrors strong enough to make an adult demon scream. But I don't want you to choose this path just because you think it's cool." She said, looking down with a sad expression on her face.

Sara had originally been the one to ask Vivian if she could help Aster awaken his spirit root, but now that the time had come for him to truly awaken it, she was having second thoughts, and Aster could sense it.

So he stepped closer to her and held her hand gently. "Sara?"

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"Didn't you ask my mother if you could bring me here to do this?"

"Yes, I did."

"Then that means Mom knew what you were about to do, yet she still agreed to it because she trusts you and she believes in me."

"But-"

"It's fine, Sara. I want to learn from you. So if awakening the spirit root through fear is how you are going to teach me, then I'm doing it."

Sara bit her lip with a sad look on her face as she squeezed his hand gently in return. "Your Highness, this isn't a joke. If something goes wrong, you might really di…"

"I know, but I trust you." Aster immediately assured her and the amount of trust in his words hit her harder than any spell she had ever been faced with.

A cute and beautiful smile graced her lips and Sara swiftly collected herself before looking away to hide her reddened cheeks. "I-I see… W-Well… fine, I guess I have no other choice but to help you awaken your spirit root, but don't blame me if you scream so loudly that the corrupted spirits in the next continent wake up wondering what's going on here."

"I won't." Aster grinned and Sara nodded with a smile.

"Alright, Your Highness. Shall we begin?"

Aster nodded and she guided him to where he should sit.

"Please sit." Aster obeyed before dropping into a cross-legged position and Sara slowly hovered and circled around him before stopping at his back.

Then she sat down in a cross-legged position as well.

"Okay, Your Highness. Please, close your eyes and let out a deep breath. You're going to enter a deep meditative state and once you're settled and relaxed, I'll begin immediately." Sara instructed and Aster inhaled deeply.

Since the spiritual energy in this region was thicker and heavier, Aster could feel a warm mist filling up his lungs

As he exhaled slowly, the sounds of the forest began to fade.

His heartbeat slowed down as well while the ground beneath his feet felt softer.

"Your Highness, once I start, there's no stopping. You must try to endure it till you begin to see traces of your spirit root, okay?"

Aster nodded lightly. "Okay, I'm ready."

Hearing this, Sara brought her hand to hover just a breath's width away from his back.

Then an icy spiritual energy gathered around her fingertips before hovering above his back.

Sara took a deep breath before releasing the first drop of fear into his soul, and this made Aster's eyes snap open as he raised his head to the sky and let out a strong and painful scream.

"AAAHHH!!!"

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