Soulbound Ch 2: The Word Of Soul, Claiming of Veridia

I floated closer, the planet finally coming into view without me having to enhance my vision. That alone was a relief—staring too hard at th

I floated closer, the planet finally coming into view without me having to enhance my vision. That alone was a relief—staring too hard at things for too long gave me a headache. But the moment I got a good look at Veridia's actual size, my smile vanished.

"Oh, come on," I groaned. "More compressing?"

I tilted my head, observing the tiny world in front of me. Yeah, there was no way around it. Even after I'd already shrunk myself down to an almost ridiculous degree, Veridia was still pathetically small. If I tried landing at this size, I'd flatten entire continents without even meaning to.

I sighed, pushing aside my frustration as I drifted even closer.

Enhancing my vision, I took in the details of the planet, my excitement rekindling.

It wasn't too primitive, but it wasn't exactly impressive either. The surface had well-structured cities, their buildings neatly arranged in patterns that suggested some level of intelligence. The vehicles—ah, basic combustion-powered machines, rolling across the land and skimming over the skies—suggested they had a grasp of engineering, though a pretty weak one. Their energy usage wasn't terrible; I could see electrical grids spanning their urban areas, a telltale sign of a species advancing past the primitive fire-and-stick stage.

And oh, what's this? A few small space stations hovering near their planet? A moon base? Cute. Look at them, thinking they were making progress in space travel. I almost felt proud of them, like a mother watching a toddler take its first wobbly steps.

But then, I saw them—the inhabitants.

And I stilled.

Humanoid.

I blinked, my vision sharpening as I studied them further.

Not just humanoid—they were remarkably similar to my kind. Of course, they were pitifully small, their fragile bodies nothing compared to the sheer magnitude of my own, but biologically? They were the closest thing I'd ever seen to my species in this part of the universe.

A slow, wicked smile crept onto my face.

"Well, isn't that just perfect?"

Of course, it made sense. My instincts had led me here, and instincts never lied. If my Soulbound was on this planet, then naturally, the people here would share some genetic echoes of my kind. That's how it worked.

Still, the idea that these little people looked like me—well, like us—was a thousand times better than if they had been some strange, insectoid things or, gods forbid, some amorphous blob creatures. At least this way, my Soulbound would already look right.

I continued scanning the surface, narrowing my focus on a single female.

A fascinating species, really. Their bodies were built for reproduction, something my kind had long since evolved past. Instead of what they called a "uterus" (ugh, the word felt so clunky in my mind), we had what was known as the Soul Chamber—a sacred part of us, designed not to grow children but to house our other self.

I tapped a finger against my chin, observing further.

"Interesting..." I murmured, noting how their species functioned. The whole "biological reproduction" thing had always seemed inefficient to me—so slow, so random. My kind didn't need such primitive means. We were made for our Soulbound, a connection deeper than flesh and blood. A perfect, absolute bond.

And speaking of absolute bonds...

I pulled up my wrist console, tapping a few buttons. A transparent screen flickered to life in front of me, scrolling through the vast records of my people.

No records of Veridia being claimed.

A slow grin spread across my lips.

"Ohhh, that means it's mine."

I chuckled to myself, already imagining it—my Soulbound adjusting to life with me, but with the comfort of knowing his little homeworld was safe. If he ever got homesick, I could bring him back here to visit. Well, assuming I didn't accidentally break it first.

I bit my lip, tilting my head. "I am such a good—what do these people call it again? Oh, right—wife. I'm already such a good wife."

A pleased hum left my lips as I thought about him. I didn't know his face yet, didn't know his name, but I already knew one thing—he was mine, and I would treasure him above all else. My Soulbound. My other self.

My heart raced with excitement.

I blinked, snapping myself out of my daze. Focus, Kaida. Claiming the planet was one thing. But finding him? That was going to be a challenge.

I crossed my arms, considering my options.

Now, there was an easy way to do this—destroy the planet. Simple, effective. The moment he died, his soul would separate from his fragile little body and be pulled to me, the way it was meant to. No fuss, no struggle. I could scoop him up, take him with me, and be done with this place.

Buuut... that wouldn't work.

His body was just as much of a treasure as his soul. I wasn't about to lose that. And besides, I'd already decided to take Veridia with me—it wouldn't make sense to shatter it just to make my search easier.

"So I guess it's the hard way," I muttered.

Closing my eyes, I exhaled deeply.

And then, I began to shrink.

Pain shot through me as my body compressed even further, my very essence spasming in protest. This... this was unnatural. My kind were meant to be big. Bigger than the limits of galaxies, bigger than the stars themselves. And yet, here I was, forcing myself smaller than I had ever been.

I gasped, gritting my teeth as the pain pulsed through me, my muscles tightening as if trying to resist what I was doing. But I pushed forward.

For him, I would endure.

The planet loomed before me, growing larger in my vision as my body continued to decrease in scale. I forced myself to stay focused, to keep my mind steady despite the unnatural sensation clawing at my very being.

And then, in a breathless whisper, I let my words slip into the void.

"I'm coming for you."

I knew he couldn't hear me. Not yet.

But soon... soon, he would.

And once I found him?

Well.

He would never be alone again.