Chapter 146 - Soulbound

Anny stepped forward after a slight hesitation. “Sure. I’m only nervous as to what you might find…”

“I’ll keep any embarrassing secrets you hold to myself, my dear.” The old archmage's voice carried gentle reassurance mixed with grandfatherly warmth. A sliver of essence fell from his hand and onto the formation, preparing to activate it once more.

"No, those are… well known by now." Anny's cheeks flushed slightly as she glanced toward Nova.

“Oh?” His old eyes flickered between Nova and Anny a few times, clearly drawing a few conclusions on his own. A knowing smile tugged at the corners of his weathered mouth. "Well, well…"

Without another word, the formation around Anny's feet activated once again with the same spiraling light as before. Nova could see her freeze in place like a statue, unable to even draw a breath on her own as the magical constraints took hold.

“Aah, indeed!” The archmage said, seeing something through the formation that Nova himself couldn’t. “A gleam of gold in the depths of your soul, clear as day… Oh.” His initial excitement suddenly shifted to something more complex.

“What?” Nova asked, noting the sudden change in the old man’s voice.

"Oh, it's… Well, somewhat hard to explain. You can come out now, dear." The formation began powering down with its characteristic gentle hum.

Anny stepped out of the formation once the magical bonds released her, immediately stretching the muscles in her face with a few grimaces. The stasis effect seemed to leave everyone feeling stiff and unnatural.

“Haha, Anny looks weird,” Millie laughed, pointing at Anny with a cheery face.

"I'm glad you liked it," Anny said, ending her stretches with a smile that was only slightly forced. "What is it that's hard to explain, Archmage?"

The old man stroked his beard slowly, clearly choosing his words with unusual care. "Well… I've looked at many souls throughout the years, and some of them show a particular characteristic that made me quite curious at first. They seemed to have merged with another soul, taking it in as part of their own."

"Like I have with Nova's soul?" Anny's question was straightforward, but Nova noticed the slight tension in her voice.

"Well, yes. However, the issue is that this typically affects both parties." The archmage paused, his ancient eyes studying both of their faces. "And, every time I've seen this phenomenon… The two parties have been deeply in love."

"...Oh." Anny's response was barely above a whisper.

She looked over at Nova with the most neutral expression he had ever seen. But a brief quiver of her lip told him there was a great storm under the surface, threatening to break through at any moment.

‘...I have made a mistake. One I will never be able to make up for.’

"It's so unfair," she finally uttered, with a shiver in both her lips and her voice. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides as the words began pouring out. "Seven lifetimes, and not once could I bring myself to love someone else. Never could I forget your face, despite seeing your grave with my own eyes. Because of course I couldn't."

No one else dared speak. Two of the people in the room felt deeply responsible, while the youngest understood this was no time to interrupt.

“You’ve been my soulmate since the moment you saved my life. And I spent seven lifetimes longing for someone I didn’t think existed. And even now, after the universe allowed us to be together again by some miracle, it doesn't even matter!" Anny's voice rose with each word, her composure finally cracking completely. She took a step closer to Nova, her entire body trembling with emotion. "Because you don't have the god damn ability to love anyone! Because you don't have my soul in yours, and you never will!"

"Annelie, please," the old Nova tried to calm her with a gentle hand reaching toward her shoulder.

"Don't act like you're innocent!" she yelled, showing his arm off forcefully with a violent sweep of her own. The old man stumbled back a step from the unexpected force. "Both of you, you're so…" She couldn't find the right words, so instead she growled at them in frustration, the sound almost animalistic in its raw pain. Her eyes were filled with tears, both of anger and pain, threatening to spill over at any moment.

Nova felt guilt crushing down on his chest like a physical weight, unable to speak up. He had never done anything intentionally to make her suffer, but it was still his inexperienced actions that had led to this situation. And, as she said, he still wasn't able to give her what she truly wanted. Not yet.

"Please, just give me a moment to explain one more thing," the archmage spoke softly, not daring to touch her again. His voice carried the careful tone of someone walking through a minefield. "When looking at your soul, I learned what I saw in young Nova's soul earlier. It was still small, but there is no doubt." He paused as he met her tear-filled eyes. "It was a part of your soul, Annelie."

Anny turned, looking with wide eyes first at the old archmage, then to Nova. The tears on her cheeks caught the magical light from the formations around them. "Which means…?"

“Which means, it’s not as one-sided as you think. Or at least, something is growing within him as well.”

“...Is there any way to speed it up?”

"I think, in matters of the heart, rushing things is bound to cause problems. Whatever you have been doing is working." The old man stroked his beard thoughtfully as he spoke.

Anny kept her eyes on Nova while talking, keeping him locked down with a hard stare that seemed to see straight through him. Her voice took on a challenging edge. "Which part might that be, though? Risking my life with him? Sleeping next to him? Helping him carry some of his burdens? Kissing him? Drinking his blood? Loving him?"

"...I think all of those might help, yes." The old man glanced at Nova with a curious look, clearly noting the younger man's increasingly red face and uncomfortable shifting.

"Those all have good explanations," Nova said defensively, crossing his arms before turning to Anny with genuine remorse flooding his voice. "I'm sorry, Anny. If I had known how lonely it would make you feel, I would have done something to prevent it."

"...Well, between the two of us, I guess I'm the only one who knows love. Well, all of us in this room, really." Anny's voice had calmed significantly, though her eyes remained fixed on Nova with an intensity that made him feel exposed.

"I love Nova!" Millie yelled indignantly, running over from where she had been quietly watching the adult conversation and hugging his waist with fierce determination.

"Of course you do, Millie," Anny replied with a smile, the first genuine one since the revelation began. Her hand reached out to ruffle the girl's blonde hair gently. "My point is just that, I shouldn't be mad that you made me lonely when you're the loneliest of anyone. And…"

She blushed slightly, finally looking away from Nova's intense gaze. Her fingers twisted together in front of her as she spoke, voice becoming softer. "...I'm somewhat glad that I'm the first."

‘...Cute.’

Nova held his words. Otherwise, he would have said that he feels the same way. However primitive it was of him, he was glad she had loved no one else.

Millie looked between the two of them cautiously, gauging the situation. “Can I go now?”

"Go… on the formation? Sure, go ahead," Nova replied, gently pushing her toward the still glowing formation on the floor. The magical circles pulsed with soft light, waiting for their next subject.

"Yay! Is it cool?" Millie bounced on her toes with excitement, having completely forgotten the earlier tension.

"Well, you're gonna feel like you can't move, but just stay relaxed. If you want us to stop it, just send me a signal through the ring." Nova's voice took on a protective, instructional tone.

"The ring?" Millie tilted her head in confusion, looking down at the simple band on her small finger.

(Like this,) Nova demonstrated, holding up his own ring for her to see while sending the mental message clearly through their connection.

Millie's eyes widened in amazement as she stared down at her own ring with newfound wonder. "You can speak into my head?"

"Yes, with a little bit of essence. You try it." Nova encouraged her with a gentle smile, watching as her face scrunched up in concentration.

Millie focused intensely on the ring on her finger for a while, her tongue poking out slightly from the corner of her mouth in determination. Nova could tell she was struggling with the unfamiliar magical concept, but then a jumbled sound entered his mind.

(Bibibibibooo, salawoopingus, haskadoodly…)

Nova couldn't help but chuckle at the nonsensical words flowing through their mental link. (There you go, it's working. Can you try sending any actual words?)

"Oh!" Millie's face lit up with understanding and pride at her accomplishment.

(Nova.)

(Yes, good. Just use that if you want us to stop the formation, okay?)

Millie nodded energetically, making her blonde hair sway around her head like a golden curtain. "I got it now!"

She turned and walked into the formation with confident steps, positioning herself so she faced the others before the magic activated. Her small form stood proudly in the center of the intricate runic circles. "Ready!"

"Alright, here we go," the old man said, moving to activate the formation one final time. The magical patterns began to glow brighter, spiraling upward around Millie's small figure.

Millie slowly froze in place like a statue as the stasis took hold. Soon after, the archmage's jaw dropped in complete shock.

“What…?”

Ch.145 --I-- Index --I-- Ch.147