15 Hollow Soul
"You're a dramatic one." Sylvester watched the toddler suspiciously as the latter orbited endlessly.
Suddenly, the entire space began to shake. A world-shattering might was radiating from every corner of the realm. Sylvester Tricko reeled in shock as he summoned the Skyfall flames around him to manifest into the form of a twelve-meter-tall fire wolf.
The realm continued to make a terrifying commotion before a giant hand tore open the void and pulled it back until it was like an enormous eye slit. A vast dark gold-colored face peered through the crack in the plane. To be more specific, only the left eye was visible. That giant eyeball alone was more than twenty meters tall. It was multi-colored and fragmented, like a priceless, exotic diamond or crystal rather than a pupil.
Ancient titan? The prince pondered. What the fuck is going on now? What could this mean? Weren't ancient titans known to be banished from the universe by the supreme Sky Nova of the twelve antiquity races? Has this cursed river taken me back to the era of the Titans? The gall.
Suddenly, a booming voice shook the entire void with each word.
"BANISHED ONE! STATE YOUR NAME." the voice thundered word by word.
*BOOM~*
Sylvester urged his emerald flames to combust in brilliance with all his might and concentration. He continued devouring the essence of the unfortunate souls that drifted ever forward. His spirit form suddenly shook and then wriggled as it took on the form of a tall and devilishly handsome young man with long jet-black hair fluttering in the void. He looked dignified and imposing. Other than the platinum-shining ghost baby circling him in orbit like a little moon.
Surrounded by emerald flames in the form of a giant wolf, the prince stood straight as a sword, with an incomparably calm and dominant face as he announced proudly,
"I am Prince Sylvester Slyknarius Tricko, heir apparent to the supreme Sephiroth of the Anubis Great World."
Silence.
More silence.
The ninth prince felt slightly anxious for the second time in his continued existence.
Just then, the world began to shake with volume again. "YOU ARE OF POWERFUL BIRTH AND BLOODLINE, BUT YOUR BLOODLINE DOES NOT EXIST HERE. YOU HAVE ENTERED A FATE STREAM CONNECTED TO THE RIVER OF TIME, AND YOUR SOUL HAS BEEN SEALED HERE FOR WHAT MAY HAVE BEEN MILLENNIA ON TOP OF EONS. IN THIS SEAT'S OPINION, ONLY SOMEONE POWERFUL FROM YOUR TIME COULD DO THIS. IT IS THE SAME FOR YOUR SOULMATE. YOUR SEALS ARE EXACTLY THE SAME."
River of time? I was aware of that, or else I would not have been able to deduce time laws. The river of time is terrifying, but I am aware nonetheless. Sealed? Soulmate? Same seals? He should be referring to my little brother, Xavier. Or is it…? Each booming syllable was like a stab in Sylvester's heart.
"I AM T'ZHANË. I HAVE EYES THAT CAN SEE THROUGH DESTINY, BUT ONLY TO A CERTAIN EXTENT. THE DESTINY ON THE TWO OF YOU IS THE BIGGEST I HAVE EVER SEEN. I AM ALSO AWARE THAT YOU EXISTED IN AN ERA THAT HAS YET TO COME. HOWEVER, YOURS IS EVEN LATER THEN HIS."
The prince was shocked. The two of you? His? Who…
He then glanced at his little buddy in orbit. A distant yet seemingly recent memory flickered through the prince's mind, and things suddenly made more sense.
"THERE IS SOMETHING THAT I NEED TO KNOW. IF YOU CAN ANSWER MY ONE QUESTION, PERHAPS I CAN HELP YOU."
Help?' Thought the prince. So then, there is a solution?
"DO NOT BE SHOCKED BY THIS," boomed T'Zhanë.
The prince was shocked!
Could he be reading my…
"YES. I CAN INDEED SEE THROUGH YOUR THOUGHTS. THIS IS VERY EASY GIVEN YOUR CURRENT FORM. I KNOW THAT YOU KNOW WHAT I AM AND THAT IT MAKES THAT DANGEROUS THING WITHIN YOU ACT APPREHENSIVE. I WILL EASE YOUR WORRIES SO THAT YOU WILL DROP YOUR GUARD. "
Sylvester heard a loud and mystical sound accompanied by a divine blinding light. After the light faded, a ten-meter-tall giant appeared in front of the prince. His chest was bare, with rippling muscles containing explosive strength. It was genuinely manly and impressive. His skin was dark bronze but covered in golden rune lines that resembled a series of intricate tattoos. They seemed to be natural as if they had always existed. The titan's pants were white combat trousers with a strange language running vertically up the left leg, exposing his feet.
He stood in the center of the space crack, and behind him were streams of rainbow-colored chaotic spatial energy dancing about strangely. How strong must one be to stand within that? Mighty as he once was, the prince had no notion of such prowess. Perhaps only his grandfather would know.
"This is the smallest form I can assume," announced T'Zhanè rather rudely, damaging Sylvester's confidence. He now spoke in a less world-quaking but still thunderous voice. Seeing that this form was now smaller than his fire wolf, Sylvester allowed the emerald flames to dissipate.
He no longer felt insignificant in the face of this titan.
"There is no way for a hollow soul to travel forward once banished in this river of time. Though you have used your divine powers to devour the power of those souls around you like a free buffet, it will never be enough power for you to destroy the banish seal on your soul flame. It would perhaps be possible if yours were a mortal seal, but it is immortal. It is this seal that makes you a hollowed soul. Escaping with the strength of a hollowed soul is simply impossible, no matter how outstanding your nirvana flames may be. Immortal might is not to be trifled with.
"Even though your nirvanic soul flame is rather… special. There is only one method left available to you. This path, however, is one full of peril and slaughter. It is risky, and the odds are totally against you. It will not be easy, but you play the key role. Knowledge of this path will be the remuneration for your cooperation."
The prince was quietly digesting the giant's words while displaying absolute indifference. It was as if this was utterly unrelated to himself. The truth was different, for inside his mind, he was depressed.
A mere hollow soul!
His soul flame, which represented the majority of his being, was sealed away? How strong would his soul be once it was fully unleashed once more? Any practitioner worth a damn would be aware that the hero race was unique in that their souls and blood could somehow fuse with the souls of creatures of a different origin, granting them special abilities.
Was this to be his fate? Was that the purpose of this endless river of souls? Why were they in the form of infant humans, even if they were beasts or artifact souls? Was this why his soul form's likeness was currently that of his hero form?
Sylvester didn't quite understand.
During incarnation, your host soul must fuse with hollow souls for that person to have any hope of absorbing the energies of heaven and earth or the heavenly forces. Hollow souls were incomplete beings who would never be whole on their own due to their soul flames being sealed; thus, this scenario helped both parties. The hollow soul's form, once awakened, was dependent on the laws last imprinted in the soul flame. Therefore, they can grow and develop further instead of being doomed into nothingness.
