Dimensional Descent

[PING][Soul Extraction Orb][This item is used to separate the soul and body. In lower lifeforms, the soul is omnipresent and impossible to detect and sense. As a result, when the body dies, the soul dies. The only exception are those with special Ability Indexes or those of higher races. Some races, such as the Spirituals, are even born with their souls alone, and then construct their bodies after birth.]

Leonel had asked what the object and what the significance of Soul Extraction was, but he didn't expect this answer. Did that mean that humans were the only "lower" lifeforms without the ability to separately sense their souls?

"Why is the omnipresence of the soul within the body classified as low level?"

[PING][Replying to Seed, the soul is formed of Soul Force. Soul Force is unique from person to person. When this Soul Force is diffused into the body, it becomes further tainted and further removed from the origin of Dream Force that birthed it. This makes it more difficult for higher class talents to be born and even those of equivalent talent will be weaker in this state].

Leonel's brows couldn't help but jump as he had a bad feeling.

"What happens if you separate the soul from the body... after birth as a lower life form?"

[PING][If being born with soul and body separate is first class and being born with them fused is third class, then separating them after birth would be second class. But even then, the progress will be slow and only occur over the course of a long time as the cells of the body turnover and the person in question trains. The damage to affinity and talent has been mostly done after birth and it is difficult to reverse]

Leonel sucked in a cold breath. This was what he had thought, he had been hoping to hear something else, but clearly it wasn't in the cards for him.

When one thought about it, it made sense. The Spirituals were born with just their souls, but as a result, they were able to construct perfect bodies for themselves. All of the talent that they had was stored within their souls, so whether they would have Innate Nodes or not, for example, was already predestined.

It could be said that the body was just a projection of what the soul was, and if they were born as one, then the soul couldn't do its job properly.

The Spirituals were the highest form of this, but there were several other races who had their souls birthed within the womb first, before their bodies were constructed, and as such could stand almost shoulder to shoulder with Spirituals.

Also, it was hard to say which among these races and the Spirituals had it better. That was because not every Spiritual would have access to the perfect resources to construct their bodies, while not every body formed within the womb would be perfect for the soul it was bonded to.

Either way you sliced it, though, the Spirituals at the very top, the noblest of them with access to all the resources in the world, would have access to the greatest and most perfect bodies. In addition, from time to time, those among races with bodies constructed after souls in the womb would hit the lottery a few times a generation with geniuses with perfect bodies as well. As for humans...

Well, humans were essentially screwed at that front. There was simply no lottery to hit for them.

Leonel chuckled.

Although he had reconstructed his body, he had done it with [Instant Recovery], it just reformed his body based on the previous blueprint, nothing had changed. As for Raylion, his situation was similar, unless one could figure out what was wrong with their body ahead of time, no amount of reconstruction would change anything. At best, separating one's body and soul would allow slow improvement over time, but perfection would be impossible.

There was another problem as well. Aina had told him that his father had a sort of seal on him. He felt that that seal had finally been entirely undone, but it also left him even more at a loss of what to do. He didn't even know the first step to take.

His soul was already tainted, how could he cleanse it?

Suddenly, Leonel froze. The spark shot through his Dreamscape was so violent that lightning almost manifested in the real world. His clones, which were manning the Starships, rippled wildly, almost dispersing.

Cleanse? [Dimensional Cleanse]?

Was it a coincidence? Was he grasping at straws?

"Aina," Leonel suddenly spoke.

Not long later, Aina strolled in with a raised eyebrow, but Leonel only tossed her the Soul Extraction Orb.

"Use it."

Aina blinked but didn't think much. Soon, she felt a weird pressure coming from within; she felt as though the deepest part of her being was being ripped out from her.

The pressure coming from Aina suddenly doubled, and then it doubled again. The look on her face became somewhat pained, but she didn't stop.

For Aina of all people to show such an expression, Leonel knew for certain that what she was truly experiencing was world-shattering. Maybe this method was no less painful than being eaten alive. Even so... Aina didn't make a single sound.

Leonel watched in silence, but his expression was very serious. Lost in thought, he thought about the fact that his was a simulation once again. Anything that could appear in here was, in all likelihood, available in spades to the outside world.

If this orb was really so useful toward changing their fate, they wouldn't be in their current situation. The same went for [Dimensional Cleanse] that had appeared in here... no?

But Aina was a bit unique. She had Brazinger blood flowing through her veins, so her family line was from outside of this simulation. In addition, she had a unique Ability Index that allowed her to subconsciously understand the best path to take her body down.

He wondered... if he allowed Aina to separate her soul from her body, would she be able to naturally understand how to make herself perfect?