Chapter 154: Down Memory Lane

After an hour of meditating to calm my rampaging emotions, I placed the book of Ancestral Records of the Royal Elves back in its original spot before returning my focus to the column of white light. As I had found what I had come here for, I contemplated whether to return to the palace or search through the various floating soul crystals. While I initially didn't have much desire for anything other than my objective, what Great-grandfather said had piqued my interest.

'Information that should never be allowed to the public; how would someone not be interested in that?' Thought Elaine calmly as he approached the column of white light filled with numerous soul crystals.

Standing before the white light, I was about to enter its domain when I stopped and thought back to what Great-grandfather had said.

'Since this column of white light is a piece of the Aether dimension, and the Aether dimension is the birth of the very first soul, doesn't that mean I should be able to use my soul instead of my physical body?' Pondered Elaine curiously as she retracted her hand mere inches away from the white light and sat down meditatively.

While I was confident in my theory, I still wished to test it out, so I calmed my mind and entered a tranquil state before I decided to project my soul out of my physical body. As I felt myself slowly escape my physical vessel for the first time, I was hit with a wave of freedom like never before; it was nearly too good to be true. Once I had completely vacated my body, I opened my eyes and looked upon my soul body.

"Hmm, it seems I subconsciously manifested the clothes I was wearing onto my soul." Muttered Elaine as she morphed her clothes into something different after a few failed attempts.

Other than everything feeling slightly different and the new sense of freedom, I didn't notice anything different than usual, though, since my soul wasn't inside my body, it was practically defenseless.

'Also, I'm not nearly as strong as usual without my physique.' Thought Elaine as she wordlessly attacked Maxim with a golden palm, who easily blocked it with his hand.

"Um, Your Highness?" Questioned Maxim with a raised eyebrow while eying the soul of Elaine.

"I was merely testing out the power of my soul as it's the first time I've ever projected my soul out of my body; I must say, while I enjoy this sense of freedom, it seems to come at quite the cost." Replied Elaine with a frown as she launched another golden palm at Maxim, who blocked it again.

"Ahh, yes; I know exactly what you're talking about, your Highness. For people like us, whose souls can't survive without a physical vessel, it's quite an exhilarating feeling of freedom, yet just like you said, it comes at a cost. An average cultivator would hardly notice a drop in power without their body; depending on the species, it may be different, but for someone incredibly talented like you, your Highness, that difference is like night and day." Stated Maxim with an understanding nod as he dusted his butler attire.

I couldn't agree with Maxim more; I had launched a normal attack, yet I noticed I was forced to use more Qi than usual. Not to mention, since I'm no longer using my physique, I've lost nearly all connections to the void, which in turn makes me much weaker than I already anticipated. If you add that alongside, I can't survive indefinitely in the OverRealm without returning to my body; I see no advantage to ever leaving the body.

'Well it's a good thing I learned of this now then in the future; it would've been very bad if I was forced to fight only using my soul for some reason.' Thought Elaine as she lightly shook her head before shifting her focus to the column of white light.

Anyways, now that I'm a soul, without hesitating, I entered the white light, stepping into the domain of the Aether Dimension, and unfortunately, I noticed no substantial change. I mean, other than sensing that my soul was no longer decaying, meaning I could most likely stay in this white light for as long as I wanted, there was nothing special about this strip of Aether Dimension.

"Well, I wasn't expecting much, but this is somewhat of a letdown." Remarked Elaine while using her divine sense to make sure she didn't happen to miss something, though she didn't.

Since nothing special happened, I just ignored it and was about to head toward the bottom, which seemed to start from the base of the Erdtree and extend to the peak that I was relatively close to. However, before I did, I sensed a small crystal floating in my direction; raising my eyebrow, I grabbed it with my hands and scanned the contents with my divine sense before eventually retracting it once I had read everything.

'That was very helpful; I would've wasted an enormous amount of time searching through the numerous soul crystals. Now I know what every soul crystal roughly consists of, which means I know the exact crystals that contain the truth behind us Royal Elves.' Thought Elaine with a smile of interest as she began speedily flying to the base of the Erdtree while nimbly avoiding the soul crystals.

Once I made it to the bottom of the Erdtree, I noticed very few soul crystals compared to the top, but I didn't dwell on it too much and approached a soul crystal with a greenish tint roughly the size of my fist.

"This should be the crystal I desire; now, let's unveil the truth behind the Royal Elves." Muttered Elaine as she grabbed the soul crystal and allowed it to absorb her.

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Walking down the castle hallways while my guards followed me, I approached a heavily guarded door, and when I got close, all the guards standing in the vicinity gave a slight bow to my presence.

"Princess Lourdes!" Exclaimed the several guards while bowing, each possessing a golden star on their forehead.

"Is Father inside?" Asked the childish Lourdes, who, just like the guards, had a golden star on her forehead.

"The Elven King is just inside, Princess Lourdes; however, he is currently in the middle of an important meeting with several nobles and a few Elven Sages." Exclaimed the guard with a decorative golden badge, symbolizing his higher status among guards.

"Is that so? It should be fine, though, since I'm the next in line to inherit the throne, I should be allowed to join such a meeting." Remarked Lourdes as she nodded to herself while carefully opening the door before entering the room, her guards waiting outside.

As I quietly entered the room, I saw a large round table in the center of the room, with each seat being occupied by what I assumed were nobles, except for one chair directly to the right of Father, as that was the Queen's seat, but now it is mine. Listening to them all passionately dispute, I was attempting to listen so I could gain an understanding of the topic, but I had forgotten about the door, which had slammed shut, resulting in the room becoming silent as all eyes were now focused on me.

"H-Hello?" Said Lourdes rather timidly after getting caught in such an awkward situation.

"Haa, Lourdes; is there a problem?" Asked the man sitting on the throne at the front of the round table.

"No, Father; I just figured, since I was the Princess, I should live up to my title and start helping the Kingdom, just like what you said Mother used to do." Said Lourdes softly while looking at the man's impassive expression, afraid he'd refuse her assistance.

"I do not enjoy depriving children of their youth, but you could use all the possible help, my King." Said an extremely old Elven man sitting beside the empty seat as he looked at Lourdes.

"I agree with Sage Lymph, King; ever since the Queen died, you were forced to take over the logistics of the war alongside running a Kingdom. If something about this isn't done soon, you'll collapse from over-exhaustion. If such a thing were to happen, all the responsibilities would fall onto Princess Lourdes, while us Sages and Nobles will always be here to assist; something like that will simply be too much for a child to bear with no prior experience in that field of expertise." Stated a very old Elven woman sitting beside the King.

With Sage Lymph and Sage Oakley's words, I saw Father's impassive face change as he furrowed his brows, frowned, and sternly looked at me before eventually softening his glare while releasing a sigh.

"You're right, Sage Lymph, Sage Oakley; ever since my wife's unfortunate passing, I've become very protective of Lourdes, treating her like glass, capable of breaking by a simple fall." Remarked the King while sighing as he glanced at the empty chair beside him.

"Everyone makes mistakes, though there is nothing wrong with your way of thinking, my King; however, you must realize that Princess Lourdes is special; she's destined for great things. Yet for people like her, danger usually follows such beings, so instead of trying to protect her for the rest of her life, teach her to protect herself, even without your presence. Only then will your concerns disappear." Added Lymph, his knowledgeable words caused many other people to nod in agreement.

"Lourdes, come here; sit in the Queen's seat. It's about time you start joining these important discussions." Said the King as he tapped the empty seat beside him, causing Lourdes to smile.

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Created a discord server, so if anyone wishes to join, it also works this time; I've reset it again, https://discord.gg/JxMGqHFN (Note: this link only lasts for one week)

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Elven Legacy (Chapter 169: Marley & Idonea Experience Hell) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 50: Love Is Painful) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 79: Time For Battle!) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]