The Price of Vengeance (II)

After a few minutes I managed to calm down, mainly thanks to Maria. Lavos went on to examine our weapons in detail, he really demonstrates to be a person of extensive knowledge. His appearance reminds me of a scientist, a very particular and eccentric one.

"Very interesting..."

"So, what have you been able to determine?"

"From your katana nothing, it's very complex and unknown"

"How useful, thank you for your analysis"

"On the other hand your glove and her necklace... you said that this Victor mentioned that it was the manifestation of the soul, am I wrong?"

"Yes, he certainly said that... that he had been experimenting how to extract a part of it out of the body without it coming out all at once and not being able to return"

"Makes sense. I agree, your weapons are just that. I presume that your freakish abilities then are powered by your spiritual energy"

"Spiritual...energy?"

I already feel like my head is going to hurt again....

"What's that? First time I've heard of it" Maria had no idea either.

"I am not surprised, since it is something that cannot be measured in a conventional way. Look, I'll try to explain it simply. It's impossible for powers like your shooting, making a pact with a dragon, and your friend's healing not to come at a cost. Coming from your souls, what I find most accurate is that these consume your spiritual energy, which is created involuntarily by all living things. You can think of it as the residue that one normally expels for the simple fact of existing"

"Residue? Like when you exhale and carbon dioxide is released?"

"It's similar... if I put it in a graphic example, it's similar to the electricity consumed by electrical appliances to use their functions, you understand that right?"

"Yes, but what does it have to do with it?"

"Not all electrical energy is used 100% for its intended purpose, a little is lost in some way either in the form of heat or light, that is the waste that cannot be avoided. In our case as human beings, in our day to day life the excess energy that is produced by the mere fact of existing is expelled out when it is not able to be stored. The human body is releasing it at every second and it has no proper use, getting lost in the environment. That makes it an excellent source of resources for your abilities, my creature summoning techniques use something similar"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes, in addition to other more effective means of channeling and summoning, such as blood. This contains various nutrients and materials that facilitate the process in one half, the rest is compensated by using the resident energy that comes from nature, the aether"

"Aether..."

I think I heard that before in a documentary I saw years ago. In ancient civilizations it was known as the fifth primordial element, other physicists theorized that it was the substance that binds the matter of the cosmos together or something like that. Although according to Lavos's description at the time they have no relation.

"Returning to the subject, taking into account the example I told you before, there are different types of electrical appliances. These require different amounts of electricity depending on their function, the most consuming ones being those that transform this into heat. Maybe the use between your powers and your friend are different, and the constant use affects them in some way, causing side effects"

"Mmm I've never felt any different when using my abilities, what about you Maria?"

"No, I don't think so... Ah! When I was healing you for several days I fainted from exhaustion, can that be a symptom?"

"It is very likely. As I told you it is the excess that is released into the environment, your friend on that occasion exceed herself and ended up spending more than she was releasing by resorting to her internal reserves. To compensate for the lack of that energy her body went into a state of hibernation to replenish her strength, in other words to sleep for a long time"

"I see..."

"It's also worth mentioning that the amount each individual produces and can store varies from person to person, she might have more than you or vice versa. Having completely different abilities I couldn't determine for sure. Maybe her powers consume more or you have less reserve, I don't know"

"Well, we learned something in the end after all"

"Asriel, your forehead is red. Do you feel sick?"

"No, I just have a slight headache. Let's take a break"

"I think it's for the best"

"No problem for me"

At the end of the tremendous exposition of information, the 3 of us sat in front of the campfire that illuminated this dark night warming our tired bodies.

Maria looked pleased with my decision to spare his life, relieved that I didn't have to stain my hands with blood again. That did not detract from the fact that she was still a little suspicious of him, and she showed it by standing behind me and clinging to my back.

Faced with his demands for knowledge I decided to tell him about the day of the Apocalypse from our perspective, the Spiritist, Victor's rebellion and the attack on the capital. Also I couldn't help but explain about the Objects since I had mentioned it myself earlier, the Seekers and the supposed war going on in the shadows.

He seemed very surprised by all the information he had received all at once. He asked me several details about my Spiritist powers and about my katana, especially its summoning process. There is no doubt that he is quite a learned man by the specific questions and words he used. I find it hard to believe that just a moment ago we were fighting with each other.

Could it be true that the anger towards this person has taken away his reasoning for a while?

"I understand" he finally said after a few seconds of processing everything he heard. "You really have been through a lot"

"Enough about us, now it's your turn"

"I know, I promised you. Well... it's a long story"