Chapter 11: Soul Fusion

"The answer can be yes, and also no!" 

Sigrid didn't turn around when she heard us talking. She just sat there without moving and gave a vague answer.

"Huh?" 

I was confused. What did she mean? Finally, Cyra couldn't help but speak up. "Oh, it's simple! It means your soul has fused with the Water Angel's soul. So you can be considered a reincarnation of the Water Angel, but also not exactly."

"What?"

Now I was even more puzzled.

"Be quiet! Don't get distracted!" Sigrid scolded Cyra. "If you want to learn how to communicate with souls, you must focus completely. Only through deep meditation can your spirit sync with the elements that make up the soul."

Sigrid stood up and looked at me to explain further. "Actually, she wasn't totally wrong. Based on my guess, your water element powers aren't very strong right now, are they?"

"Eh? How did you know?" I was surprised she could tell.

Actually, compared to ordinary humans, my water magic improvement speed was quite extraordinary. But except for the Water Abyss Sword, my limits still hadn't exceeded what humans could achieve. If compared to Nicola's awakened wind element abilities, the difference was even greater.

"Of course I know! It's because your soul seems to have a lot of impurities mixed in," Sigrid said as she walked over and put her hand on my head again to check. This time she used a different type of light magic. I didn't see any memory fragments like before. The check finished quickly, and she nodded with certainty. 

"Just as I thought! Although I can't sense water elements, I can see traces of light elements in your soul. The Water Angel's soul is no longer pure!"

"But I'm an angel now. Isn't it normal for an angel's soul to have light elements?" I was confused. Angels' whole bodies are made of light elements, not just their souls.

"Of course it's not normal. The soul is separate from the body," Sigrid replied matter-of-factly. 

"Angels and humans only differ in body, not in soul. All living things in this world should have the same kind of soul. Didn't Elara teach you this in Edenmere?"

"But why shouldn't Feliciana's soul have light elements?" asked Adrian. Though he was quite learned, he was still a beginner when it came to souls.

"We need to start with the nature of Elemental Angels' souls..." Sigrid glanced at me and sighed before explaining.

It turns out Elemental Angels have powers far beyond normal angels because their souls can communicate with and control elements. Regular angels' souls are basically no different from humans'. Angels are better at light magic mainly because their bodies are made of light elements.

Almost everything in this world is made of elements, including souls. But normal souls are neutral and don't show affinity for any element, just like bodies. Elemental Angels' souls might be the exception.

Though it's unclear where the four Elemental Angels came from, some of their deeds from the war against the Light God 10,000 years ago are well-known.

But the power of Elemental Angels in legends was too strong to explain with normal element theory. Controlling elements needs strong mental power, and the soul is the source of the mind. So Sigrid could only guess: each Elemental Angel's soul might be made of a single element, giving them absolute control over that element. Some call this "Authority".

There was no proof for this theory, but my appearance provided evidence. In my memories, Sigrid accidentally discovered the secret of Water Angel Gisphrael's severely damaged soul.

"If I hadn't checked many times myself, I wouldn't believe that you, an angel, have less light elements in your soul than an ordinary human!" 

Sigrid told me this with a wry smile, then gave the final answer about my soul.

"I can't sense the rest, but I can guess it's water elements! The only explanation is - the Water Angel's soul was diluted! The damaged soul shouldn't have been able to exist, but somehow it must have fused with an ordinary soul. Since the Water Angel's soul was probably pure water elements originally, the fused soul now has traces of light elements!"

"Huh?" 

Even after all our guesses, neither Adrian nor I expected this answer. If true, Cyra was right - I both was and wasn't the Water Angel's reincarnation!

"I never thought two souls could fuse! The fused soul repaired the Water Angel's damaged soul, becoming one - your current soul!"

Sigrid exclaimed. We didn't need more explanation to understand the rest.

This explained why my water powers were weaker than expected. The Water Angel's soul avoided dispersing, but became impure due to the "impurities".

"Don't be discouraged though. Even if you're a bit weaker than the original Water Angel, your soul still has very high water affinity. With luck, you might regain full 'Authority'!" Sigrid comforted me.

"It's fine, I just wanted to know what was going on with my soul..." 

I couldn't help but laugh. Learning my soul was a fusion of two was surprising, but thinking about it, it didn't make much difference to me. I was just glad I didn't end up with a split personality!

After all the trouble coming to Crescent City, I finally got an answer to this burning question. It felt like a weight was lifted.

"So Nicola the Wind Angel's soul must be complete? No wonder she grows so fast!" 

Adrian mused for a moment. Seeing me back to normal, he smiled. "I thought you might not accept the truth about your soul, but I worried for nothing."

"Too bad if she still wants to kill you later, I probably can't stop her. I wonder if there's another way..."

Thinking about our falling out, I suddenly felt my powers weren't enough. But there was nothing to be done about it now.

"Don't worry, you've still got me!" 

Surprisingly, Cyra who had been meditating spoke up. She opened her eyes and looked at Sigrid, pointing to herself.

"Can you check my soul too? Maybe I'm also some ancient powerhouse reborn, or even a mixed soul! If I can bring out my true strength and team up with Feliciana, that Nicola girl won't stand a chance!"

I perked up. Considering Cyra's record-breaking two-level jump, even with the Pope's sacrifice it was quite special. Maybe she really did have some special background.

"Sorry, but I already know without checking that your soul is ordinary, with no hidden powers!" 

Sigrid smiled at her, then her expression changed as she pointed to the door. "So you can leave! Someone like you who can never calm down can't be taught even by the best teacher! Don't ask me to teach you soul communication again. Our Soul Institution won't welcome you anymore!"

"What? No way! I only got distracted for a moment..." 

Despite Cyra's pleas, we ended up being "chased" out of the mage tower together.

"Well, where should we go next?" 

Leaving the Soul Institute, I felt lost now that my soul question was resolved. I didn't want to return to Edenmere yet, so I turned to the others for ideas.

"Why don't we check out the other academies? It's still early and not crowded!" 

Cyra seemed eager. Was she hoping to try her luck at other academies? Since when did she get so studious?

But it really wasn't that late. Even though I'd dozed off in the tower for a bit, we hadn't wasted much time. It was about early afternoon now. Suddenly I remembered there was something I should do.