The Last Primal

"Please master, look for her! Even with the amulet, I could feel her pain, and I heard her cries!" Agitated, Aiden urged Number 3 to start whatever spell or ritual she has to conduct so they can rush in and save his sister. She couldn't bear to waste a single second.

"Relax Aiden, I already told you, if her life would be in danger, the amulet would save her, and port her away. Also, while I'm searching for it…" she looked at Granny and signaled with her head to the small vial with the syrupy black liquid swirling inside it to give it to the boy.

Granny understood her meaning, and with a singular audible cough, she brought attention to herself. She raised her right hand holding the small crystal bottle, and while taking off the cork she presented it to Aiden.

"While she is busy, please take this elixir and drink it all at once. It's important you take it all at once, okay?"

As Aiden looked at the liquid, he couldn't help but frown when its stench reached his nose. Still, as he trusted both of them, he accepted it, and without hesitation, she downed the contents in one go.

Although the taste wasn't that greatest, the experience was much better than what the liquid's horrific, rotten stench would suggest. As he swallowed, he almost coughed it back up when the series of notifications he never saw before came before his eyes.

[Note: Soul Strengthening Liquid found! Absorbing… Done!

Merging changes with the source...]

[Milestone Requirements met! Soul Power updated. Please check the statistics screen for more information.]

'What the…' was the only thought that crossed Aiden's mind. He really wanted to ask Enya about the details, but unfortunately, she wasn't available.

Granny had a satisfied smile on her face as she took back the empty vial. She gently caressed Aiden on the head, as she calmly whispered, careful, not to bother Number 3 who was already deep in her own spell. She was holding a black crystal in her hands and was mumbling something that they couldn't understand.

The power of a tool like the system Aiden was blessed (or cursed) with seemed to show its effectiveness when the new notification came, startling Aiden quite a bit with its contents.

[Ancient Language: Demonic discovered! Analyzing information… Error: Spirit attribute is too low to progress in this discovery.]

"Demonic language…" Aiden muttered absentmindedly after reading the contents of the notification.

Startled by what she heard, Granny looked at Aiden, then to Number 3 with concern.

"Demonic? Are you sure, Aiden?"

"Yes, why? Is that bad?" Aiden asked, surprised by the graveness in Granny's tone.

"How could you understand it? Do you also speak it?" Instead of answering, Granny continued with her questions, with a serious expression. The previous smile that was on her face was nowhere to be seen.

"I…" Aiden wasn't sure how to answer this question actually. He started to notice how much he actually misses Enya's constant reminders and jump-ins to handle situations like these. "I… no, I don't speak it. I… just… ehrm… recognized the words… the old man in the Pocket World spoke just like her."

In the end, he couldn't come up with anything convincing, and with the stuttering, it was clear as day, that he was hiding something. Something he wasn't ready to share. Granny noted this fact in her mind, but for now, she decided not to push further.

"I see. Don't worry about it for now. Instead, sit down, and try to digest as much as you can from the elixir. It is for your damaged soul, it should help you recover slightly faster."

Relieved by the change of topic, Aiden nodded his head and sat down at the base of a tree. Closing his eyes, he quickly opened up his Status Screen and checked his latest stats. As he was navigating, he realized that ever since the Old Man's fight, he didn't even check the notifications of how that quest ended.

[Primary Quest: Cries in the Dark 1 - Completed

Objective: Defeat the Nightmare Spawns in the dungeon (13/???) -

Optional: Cleanse the nightmare (1/1 - Guardian Defeated)

Grade: A

Reward: Evolution System Upgrade (Warning: Requires a 24-hour downtime during the process, manually initiated), 1800 XP (100 XP / Spawns defeated, 500 XP for Guardian)]

While Aiden really wanted to check what that Evolution System Upgrade meant, he knew that he had to keep his focus on what was important. Right now, he had to check what the update with the Soul Power meant as it was very ambiguous, very weird.

It took Aiden a bit more time than he expected, but that was understandable ever since he got used to Enya, he had her managing these tasks, and he just asked her to show the important information. Now he had to manually do everything.

Opening up the screen, Aiden was pleasantly surprised by new information.

[Condition: 100%

Soul Power: 1000 - (Level 1 - 0/1000 XP)]

Previously his Soul Power was tied to his Spirit statistic and seemed that the number could only be increased if he fed points to this attribute. Actually, as he has never seen any other use for it, that was solely what he used it for.

Now a new option, the level has appeared next to it. Aiden wasn't sure if by increasing the level of it would increase the number or maybe provide some other type of benefit. Once again, he sadly remembered how much he actually misses Enya's help in situations like these.

With a sad sigh, he opened his eyes and looked at Number 3 who was still deep in her own ritual, and Granny who was sitting in the shade of a tree opposite of him and was humming to herself.

Seeing he still had some time, he focused himself again, and with the decision made, he quickly spent 1000 Points, leaving his experience at 900, which was still an incredible number considering how hard it is to acquire them.

As the counter in the screen reached 1000, the number flipped over, and as the system updated Aiden felt a warmth spread deep inside her, close to her heart. This comfortable energy spread all across his body, refreshing him. It only took about a minute, but as it finished, he felt as if he spent several hours relaxing.

He wasn't sure what actually happened, but he felt like his connection to his pool became stronger, he could actually feel the depth of this mystical source. He could also feel the invisible threads spreading out from this pool, all around his body, the rich substance flowing in them, vitalizing his body.

His understanding of what he experienced wasn't up-to-par, and without Enya's explanation, he could only guess that while his pool hasn't increased, and there weren't any visible statistical changes to the numerical amount. He could utilize this energy much better than before, hopefully wasting less of this golden resource in the future, and also be able to last in his peak form much longer.

Taking one last look at the screen, he just shook his head helplessly on the number of points he would need to gather to experience this feeling again in the future.

[Condition: 100%

Soul Power: 1000 - (Level 2 - 0/10000 XP)]

Opening up his eyes, he was surprised to see that both Granny and Number 3 was looking at him with stunned expressions leaning closer to him.

"Errr… Is there a problem?" he asked uncomfortably.

"Aiden… Just a moment ago, that aura… what was that?" Number 3 asked after a bit of silence with a shaky very uncharacteristic voice.

"Aura? What aura?" Aiden asked again, still not understanding what is going on.

Seeing that this conversation will not lead to anywhere if it goes on like this, Granny shook her head, and after a small cough, she explained.

"Just a moment ago, while you were meditating, you released an aura, unlike we have ever seen or felt. It wasn't like your draconic one that we already know. It was an unfamiliar presence, but it was very thick and powerful. Although I'm not sure, it felt even stronger than the one you usually use when you let out your Draconic Heritage. Did you really not notice it?"

Shaking his head, Aiden honestly replied.

"No Granny, I don't know what you are talking about. I was just resting while I was waiting for Master" He looked at Number 3 before he continued. "to finish her spell, so we could locate Lily. So, can we go?"

He urged them at the end. They have already wasted more than enough time, he was itching time for action.

"Yes, I did… Wait! Wait, before you rush in, here, put this on!" Number 3 quickly pulled out a white faceless mask made out of a material that Aiden couldn't recognize at first glance. It was warm to the touch and flexible. The mask had two small holes for his eyes. It had a thin line of thread at the back that could be used to fasten it.

"Put this mask on and follow me. We can't enter through the front gate." He pushed the mask to Aiden. Without waiting for him to come back to his senses and react, she walked past and started walking towards the western section of the city walls.