Into The Winter Soul

  Yana looked toward Vora as she stepped through the portal. They had both been injured rather badly, but the Dune Domain would heal and care for Vora—Yana, on the other hand, had to help herself or call on a pet. Anger welled up in her being, but before she could act on it, she was all the way through the portal. An indescribable pain ran through her body. It was as if someone were cutting her from the top of her head to her feet with a dull knife awash in lightning.

  She crumpled to the ground just after the portal closed behind her. Then, the worst thing possible happened—Almawa’s smug voice rang through her mind.

  “You have failed to obtain Vora as your familiar. Your punishment will be the loss of one soul depth level.”

  Yana cursed under her breath.

  “You have no time limit on the mission, but you only have three more chances to complete it, and each punishment for failure will be increased accordingly.”

  Yana gritted her teeth as she spoke out loud. “You didn’t say that before, Almawa.”

  “And that is why you get three more chances. Vora is a very important asset; you need her!”

  Yana rolled over onto her back, the echo of the pain running through her like static electricity pulsing out of her being. She breathed heavily three or four times, and then she was on her feet, on high alert and ready for battle. Suddenly, she was no longer on a hill in Shi. She was on a vast plane of blue and black; everything she saw was some shade of the two colors, and there was a clinical coldness to it. Suddenly, a mountain rose in the distance as if it had been waiting for a signal to start growing. To become.

  This was an ability of the Winter Soul: Hibernation, renewal, even creation. It could not only hold souls in a state of hibernation, but the item could also renew them or even create them. Then a cold, clinical voice spoke—it was as if it were right next to her. “Yana. What have you done to yourself? You don’t know where you are. Come, let me heal your soul injury.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Magic pulsed through Yana—it seemed to heal her and feed her magic, increasing its potency. The clinical voice sucked its teeth. “Tsk! Your soul depth is too low.” Suddenly, a blue light lit before her, and she was in a vast hall. Yana smiled slowly as she saw the mounds and mounds of shadow memory shards. “These are the memory shards you gave me to keep for you, and memory shards that actually sought me out to be with the others. After you raise your soul depth at least to the Second Unbroken Soul, we can talk about your souls.” There was a pause, then the clinical voice became reflective. “With a Soul Depth of Second Unbroken, you will be able to take both shadow memory shards and consume shades of truth.”

  Yana nodded without question. She now realized the voice was that of the Winter Soul. The sentient item was rather clinical, but Yana didn’t mind. She stepped to the closest pile of shadow memory shards; they vibrated as if they were excited to see her. She slowly closed her eyes and called to them. The four closest piles shivered, stood upright on their tips, and then flew to her as one. They entered Yana through her forehead and chest. Memories hit her hard—sounds, images, power levels—she swayed but stayed on her feet.

  Then she fell back onto the blue floor of the hall—unconscious—as more and more memory shards stormed into her. When the hall was bare, it shifted. The floor and walls were a darker blue and were now covered with vast piles of dark, swirling masses—Shades of Truth. They hummed but did not react to her as the shadow memory shards had.

  She stared, and the Winter Soul spoke to her. “You are halfway to the Third Unbroken Soul. I do not have any more of your memories, but you are vastly stronger now, and now you can access some of your soul magics and your true fate magics. Rest, and then you can see your soul army. You have to wake them. I keep them ever-ready for you—braced for their new beginning.”

  “I am ready now. Bring them.” Her voice was weak and it croaked out of her mouth, yet the Winter Soul obeyed. A vast sea of souls stood before her. Yana nodded. She felt the connection with them, but she could not truly access it, and she knew she could not control it. They were souls of all types of beings; she even paused when she did not recognize some of the species. She frowned as she noted they were all powerful—not a single one weak.

  She nodded again as she sat down. “It’s time for me to honestly look through my memories. I need to understand as much as I can.”