9 Eight

It turned out that talking to Minu was not a difficult task. The man was a fountain of information, that just added to the instinctual feeling that getting laser beamed to death with time, space, and spiritual info.

The process was horrible. Trust me. I spent a long time being tortured.

Constraining space with rocks.

Why?

"Wait, my pretties." Deal muttered while fantasizing an ideal life as a ball of jelly.

Space is an everpresent force within the universe.

There is space between planets, just as much as there is space between cells, neurons and the ever, once again, present atoms.

Space is a difficult subject but it is within the scope of human achievability. Meaning, exactly that, it is understandable.

Once a subject, especially one we are so familiar with, is dissected. Truly dissected.

It becomes an easy and understandable concept.

There is space everywhere. It is what gaps our existence and the microscopic as well as the macroscopic. In simpler terms, it makes the world beyond far away as well as the world within at a distance.

You are a point in space and 2 meters in front of you there is a door and two meters behind you, there is another.

You can't go both ways.

Choose.

"Constrain" Deal declared as he held his hand out and tried forcing the energy within his crystallized slime body to direct its force towards space itself.

Forcing it to constrain using specifically chosen rocks that resembled smooth-edged balls acting as their relay point.

"W-What is this!?" Minu roared at one point, unable to keep his composure. The very spirit realm his people had created was being shrunk.

"I told you, you would help me! Hehehe!" Deal laughed sinisterly. He knew the old man wouldn't keep his mouth shut.

All that was needed was to ask questions related to his specialty. This case being, space, time, and spirit. He was an elder of the Minutrian race after all.

A few sweetly innocent questions about how space, time and spirit worked.

A back and forth with descriptions and examples was enough to get an idea of how the actual control part worked.

"Who would have thought, the knowledge and some excess energy was all it took to control space." Deal said with a crooked smile. One only a bandit would have.

"That's a perverse constitution," Minu said to Deal as even he would never believe what he is seeing if he hadn't seen it.

"Old fart. It isn't perverse. This is what a soul such as mine has suffered to learn." Deal said mysteriously, as even he didn't believe the Minutrians had such skill in their field of choice that could come close to reincarnation.

He was sure because of two reasons. One being Minu sincerely regretted not hearing from his descendants rather than saying he had yet to meet with their new lives. Had they had such powerful knowledge. Minu wouldn't be as downcast when speaking of them.

The choice of words during an introduction can falsify the speaker's intentions but can also help the listeners deductions. When speaking, choose your words.

Deal had an extravagant experience these past few weeks. However, he wasn't an idiot.

Learning ancient scripts, histories, and knowledge of past organizations that were swept through the sands of time.

He knew of scheming, plotting, and straight-up savagery that humans had.

With the crystallized nervous system network that he had created for himself, Deal managed to use the great processing power his new body gave him to apply the rules of space and energy manipulation to constrain the access point to the spirit realm the Minutrians had created and shrink it down into something akin to a circle of rocks.

The whole size became the same as that of a pendant hanging from a necklace. Without very much effort, he absorbed it into his slime body and set it towards a small nook he carved out within his crystal network.

"See this Minu, now you have me to talk to at all times! Isn't it wonderful!?" Deal said with a smile.

Minu shivered because he expected the boy to die but he turned it all around and is technically keeping him prisoner. Understanding dawned on him as to what he did as he was constraining space but he didn't expect such an outcome when he had given the boy access to their legacy knowledge.

"W...What are you planning on doing with me!?" Minu was a little worried as he didn't expect to be literally taken away like this. Though he still had access to the few other access areas his race had created but most of them were destroyed while few remained.

His existence was at least guaranteed to continue as long as even one of the access points, though the grand spirit realm they once had is no more. He would still have a way to live even if it was in a smaller space.

"Don't worry ya old little thing, I have no evil intentions towards you but who would say no to a portable teacher?" Deal replied with a smug smile although since he had already returned to his body, it just looked like a slime deformation.

He continued chatting with the old Minu through some of the knowledge he gained of splitting some of his energy to connecting with the realm without fully transferring his consciousness there.

"We're going to go on an adventure Minu. I need a proper body and maybe while were at it. We can even get you one. I mean wouldn't you love to go get it on again after so many years and maybe get some kids again? You know with the whole "my race is extinguished" issue your facing?" Deal said as he started making his way back up the abnormally long tunnel he crawled into in the first place.

"Oh..." Minu simply muttered a reaction before going silent. The eons of silence may have almost wilted his will to continue to live but Deal had just offered something that he hadn't even thought of especially after the fact that he literally hijacked one of the entry points to the spirit realm giving Minu a chance at traveling again in the outside world which was obviously a new world to the one he knew.

Deal understood that Minu was considering his offer so he went back to his own thoughts of how to deal with what to do next.