Soul Sovereign

"For someone so compatible you sure ask a lot of questions, the ones before you were much more composed, then again it's our irrational behavior that makes us stand out isn't it Aiden?"

Aiden didn't know what to say, now that he seemed to have met the mastermind behind everything he just felt blank.

It wasn't that he didn't have any questions, it was quite the opposite actually he just had too many.

"Boom!"

As Aiden pondered he felt a huge pressure assault him, so much so that his knees buckled, "what," Aiden thought as he looked at the being in front of him, the dust had started to clear up revealing a human-like figure.

"Tang," "Tang," the clanging of thick metal invaded his ears as the being drew closer, so close that it was right in his face staring down at him.

Black, all Aiden could see was black the aura was so suppressing, this being didn't look mortal draped in the blackest of armor radiating a dark aura.

The armor clung to its form, accentuating its human-like future while exuding an air of ominous elegance, intricate purple lines with a bioluminescence glow ran through the gaps of the armor adding a touch of mystique to its appearance.

A thick long tail made of ebony, black bone-like material extended from its back, it looked similar to a human spine with a knife-like edge and a purple glow at the tip, this tail looked hypnotizing as it swayed around with a certain grace.

"Stay back," Aiden muttered cold sweat dripping down his forehead as he stared at this being of purest night, Aiden had never felt so little in his life.

"How pathetic, being scared of your very self," the being said its calm voice boomed making the very fabric of reality tremble.

Aiden felt that voice seep into his very bones and just like that the pressure vanished.

Aiden couldn't speak but the being in front of him didn't seem to mind, "you have received my inheritance gaining everything I once had but losing nothing, there is no price," the being said.

With that the being stretched out its arm and a black orb appeared, this orb radiated an aura of nothingness and for some reason, Aiden knew that the moment he tore his gaze away from it he would forget about the orb.

The being might have looked human but its voice seemed completely emotionless as it spoke, "You have already received your reward you have everything so there is nothing more I can give you, you are now the sovereign of soul, but in exchange I want you to do me a favor that would be beneficial to you."

The being didn't let Aiden reply, as it continued its speaking, "Revive this soul, whether you choose to do so or not is ultimately of your choosing, but you would require a helper in this world, someone you can trust, the little one inside your head is one but isn't anything more than a guide that would help you monitor your improvement."

Saying this the being turned back as it proceeded to walk away, "Wait w-" Aiden tried to ask but the voice inside his head cut him short.

"Don't ask any more questions," it interrupted, making Aiden feel surprised, the reason Aiden felt surprised was simple, he could sense a deep-rooted fear from that voice, a fear he had never noticed before.

Before Aiden could think anymore the voice continued, "Let's get out of here, I'll explain everything to you once we get back."

"How are we supposed to get out of here?" Aiden asked. His question seemed to have been and as something happened soon after.

"Siiiiiiii!"

A slit appeared in mid-air similar to a rift, upon seeing this rift the voice inside his head replied to Aiden.

"That's how."

Aiden didn't need to be told twice, feeling confused and excited at the same time he stepped into the rift saying goodbye to this cursed trial.

The strange realm that Aiden had just left didn't stay calm for long, it started trembling as a black dot seemed to appear in the middle slowly consuming the world around it.

A calm voice sounded out, "Hmm, I guess I don't even have enough power to keep this world stable, then again I'm no longer the soul sovereign, it's time I rest, Aiden, an interesting name is it a coincidence? Now that I think about it I was supposed to give him something else, but it seemed to have been stolen by the last participant, maybe it's for the best, he should at least experience some setbacks."

***************

In a forest shrouded in darkness, a rift opened up, and a human figure could be seen stepping out of it.

At first, you would find it hard to notice this figure but as the moon shone on him through the canopy of the tall trees you would notice a tall, lean yet muscular-looking human.

"Crunch!"

The sound of leaves crunching sounded out as his feet made contact with the ground he stepped forward moving with an innate grace that added to his allure.

Of course, this human was Aiden who just got back from god knows where.

"I-am I really on earth?" Aiden muttered not quite believing it himself, he wanted to believe but everything just felt too surreal.

Fortunately, the facts were lined up in front of him.

The cold and gentle air that brushed past his skin was a vast contrast to the scorching hot air back there, the rustling of leaves and the distant hooting of owls were like music to his ears.

And the moon, Aiden couldn't quite grasp what color it was maybe grey with a few darkish spots?

"Congratulation's master," a voice said in his head making the surroundings go quiet.

"Never say that again," Aiden said after a short pause, he felt his spine-tingling, it just sounded wrong hearing the voice in his head addressing him respectfully.

Silence rained for a bit before "agreed," the voice in his head responded.

"But you really can't blame me, now that I have my memories back it's quite shocking knowing what you have become," the voice added.

Feeling confused Aiden asked, "What do you mean?" A short silence rained but the being in his head eventually said.

"Due to some reasons, I can't tell you the details, you have to find out on your own so I'm going to be as vague as possible, remember all those little orbs you ate?" The voice asked.

Aiden didn't need to be reminded those little orbs were his only food source in his time there, "yeah I remember," he replied.

"Those were souls Aiden, and your powers have a lot to do with souls, don't ask me how because I don't feel like explaining any reincarnation shit." The voice concluded.

Aiden didn't know what to say, "So am I a Contractor now, or am I the only one that can use this so-called power of souls?" Aiden asked feeling skeptical.

Remember something he quickly darted in, "Don't demons use the same power?" He asked.

The being in his head chuckled, "demons possess no control over souls, they can't even see souls directly, most demons make contracts with humans to consume their soul residue," The being said with a laugh before continuing.

Soul residue is like an extremely filtered byproduct of the actual soul, some demons also consume emotions another byproduct of the soul."

"You're the only being in existence who can consume a whole soul, don't ask why because I don't know anything else."

Hearing this Aiden frowned, he wasn't interested in learning what demons consumed, he wanted answers. "Then who are you? What do you know?" Aiden asked before darting in.

"How do I use my strength to save my mother? What makes me different from a regular Contractor?"

"I don't know much Aiden calm down," the voice in his head said in a male voice a vast contrast to its previous gender-neutral tone.

Before Aiden could say anything it darted in, "My soul purpose is to guide you, and that is what I'll do, I may not know much about your ordeal right now but we'll figure it out."

Hearing this Aiden calmed down a bit, as if sensing this the being in his head continued, "I'm the book of souls a replica of the book of knowledge, although I'm a replica I'm infinitely more powerful than the book of knowledge, you or another version of you forged me and gave me a name when translated to the human language you can call me Landon."

"Landon," Aiden muttered before, saying, "That's a boring name don't you think?"

Hearing this Landon said, "You gave me that name, and before your death you also gave me a task, to find candidates."

"I did not," Aiden defended himself but Landon just laughed.

"I see there's a gap in comprehension," Landon explained, "When the car crash occurred, your soul was forcibly extracted from Samsara and subjected to a trial."

Landon's voice continued, "You were granted a temporary ability to consume specific souls. Successfully passing the trial resulted in the complete fusion of your soul with that of the deceased sovereign, rendering you the singular Soul Sovereign."

"Don't you understand Aiden, on this path of fate, there exists no other Soul Sovereign or Aiden, only you."

Seeking clarity Aiden inquired, "So I'm this so-called soul sovereign?"

"Precisely," Landon's voice affirmed, leaving Aiden feeling awkward.

"Ehh ok," he said not knowing what to say, he felt like he was listening to a deranged person spouting some cultic bullshit.

"You're the one who's deranged," Landon muttered before saying, "Would you like to view your current abilities?"

"Ok," Aiden said absentmindedly not knowing what was going to come next.

"Whoosh!"

The wind whistled for a bit before a book appeared in front of him, this book floated in midair as its pages flapped and shuffled before finally, the book opened at the very first page.

Its content appeared in an unknown language that somehow Aiden was able to read.

"Your abilities right now are pretty weak," Landon said, making Aiden read the rest of the book.

On the first page was a vaguely drawn human figure and on the right side of the page were words written in that unknown language.

Name: Aiden

Race: Human (Advanced)

Level: First Gate (3%)

Strength: 3

Speed: 7

Stamina: 6

Agility: 3

Perception: 18

Soul energy: 4 (100%)

Temporary points:

As soon as Aiden finished reading the book flipped to the second page, the contents of this page were also written in that unknown language and compared to the first page barely a quarter of the book was filled.

Innate skills: (Semi Immortality)

(Soulless)

(Soul body)

(Soul gaze: First gate)

(Soul armor: First gate: 2%)

(Unknown) (Unknown)

(Soul control: First gate)

(Soul Grace)

(Infect: 0/1)

(Soul tongue)

(Soul storage 0/3)

Skills: (Dagger mastery: Advanced)

(Blade mastery: Novice)

(Crafting: Terrible)

(Adaptive combat: Advanced)

After reading the contents of the second page Aiden had finished reading the whole book as the rest of the pages were blank, "So is it like a contract?" Aiden asked.

"This is more than a contract Aiden, the Contractors you so admire get all their power from demons, some talented humans even learn to use hell energy themselves, but every human has a limit either in the level of power they can reach or the amount they can draw from their contract," Landon said before adding.

"Demons on the other hand can get terrifyingly strong but eventually they too reach their limit, but you Aiden you're different, right now you have no limit, as long as you consume souls you will continue to grow."

Aiden was quiet, "this is quite a lot to take in don't you think," he muttered, not quite believing this entire situation, from a young age Aiden had learned the hard way that not all things that seemed like gold were gold.

"Hahaha don't think too much of it Aiden it'll grow on you," thinking for a bit Aiden asked, "So how do I get souls?"

"Why ask when you already know the answer?" Landon replied but he still answered the question.

"You can get souls from anything alive just kill it and the soul should pop out, and speaking of souls something is dying a few meters from here."

"I know," Aiden muttered, he could smell it too, the smell was faint but distinct, and he couldn't miss it.

As Aiden moved towards the smell he could feel a cold breeze on his neither region making him stop in his tracks, "shit," Aiden cursed, he was stacked naked, and not a single piece of clothing was on him.

As his self-awareness returned Aiden blushed a bit feeling deeply embarrassed.

"Ehh what are you ashamed of?" Landon asked before darting in.

"Nobody's here don't worry, it's not like your girlfriend caught you standing in the middle of the woods naked while talking to yourself like a creep ha-ha."

"Shut up," Aiden scolded Landon telepathically, he could speak to Landon without talking but he just felt like using his mouth was more comfortable.

Now that he was back on earth he would have to readjust.

Walking towards the delicious smell Aiden planned to eat the soul of the dying animal and find a way out of the woods, naked in this cold forest Aiden followed the smell, his feet making crunching sounds as he shuffled through the terrain of the forest.

As he neared Aiden could sense the pleasant smell getting stronger and stronger until finally, Aiden could see what smelled so good.

But upon reaching his destination what he saw wiped the smug look off his face, a deep frown replacing his small smile.

Suddenly the happiness he felt from returning home died down instantly.

A female human lay in front of him tied to a tree, a good number of bruises could be seen around the intact parts of her lower body, and fluids could be seen leaking out of her nether regions suggesting a case of rape.

But as you looked at her upper body you would frown even more her face was mutilated.

Nasty burns, deep gashes, and cuts could be seen from her abdomen to her upper body, and some parts of her skin were practically pilled off, the worst part was the fact that this was done by another human, as the use of tools was evident.

"How cruel," Aiden thought as closed his eyes briefly, floating atop this body was an orb of pure white with a few grey spots here and there, "so that's a human soul," Aiden muttered.

Staring at the floating orb Aiden noticed that it seemed to be slowly dissipating disappearing into thin air, but he didn't move he didn't dare to eat the soul of such an unfortunate woman.

"Aren't you going to eat her soul?" Landon asked.

"No," Aiden bluntly replied, feeling disturbed that Landon would even ask that question.

As if sensing Aiden's discomfort Landon asked, "Are you interested in saving her?"

Hearing this Aiden asked, "How is that possible, isn't she dead?" Landon was silent for a bit but he eventually spoke.

"She is an extremely compactable subject, her soul could revive the seed of fear and in turn save her own life," Landon said pausing a bit before quickly adding.

"You have to decide now Aiden, her soul is fading into the river of Samsara, and then she would be truly dead even for you, I'll explain after you decide."

Aiden didn't even think about it, how would he think twice about saving a life, "I'll do it tell me what I have to do. How do I revive the seed of fear?" He asked.

"I don't know Aiden, creating a seed is something that only you can do, just will it and see what happens," Landon replied.

Hearing what Landon said Aiden walked up to the dead girl staring straight at her soul.

Not knowing what to do he stretched out his finger lightly touching the orb, his actions made it seem as though he was scared of damaging the poor soul any further.

Unknowingly a purple glow had appeared on his fingertip, the moment his finger touched the soul something strange happened, visible purple chains wrapped around the soul, steaming from his fingers.

As soon as this happened a voice sounded out in his head, it was Landon.

"You have successfully made a connection would you like to revive the seed of fear?"

"Yes," Aiden answered, and suddenly he felt something moving as the purple chains connected to his arm.

They moved around him like tentacles as if searching for something, and finally, they seemed to have found it, removing a black orb from his arm the chain completely separated from him as they bonded the black and milky white souls together.

This created a completely new soul, with a nice purple color, the chains weren't done yet with one end connected to the soul they stretched out towards the dead body drawing the two together.

As this happened the dead body started glowing purple as the wound inflicted on it started healing rapidly so rapidly that it looked ungodly.

"Whoosh!"

The wind blew as the soul and body connected.

Seeing this Landon said, "The old seed of fate is dead, that orb contained all her combat experience and even some memories, by doing this you are giving this girl another chance at life while turning her into another powerful subordinate."

As Landon spoke the colorful spectacle ended and a completely new person was standing in front of Aiden, it was a girl, her hair had somehow changed color from blond to black.

It had also grown longer reaching her waist and the tip of her hair was purple as well as if dipped delicately in purple dye.

Aiden didn't know what color her eyes were before but the black eyes that stared at him now seemed so perfect that it bothered him.

With an intoxicating purple glow in their depths, those eyes reminded him of Lotus.

As for her body, Aiden didn't know how or where to start.

This beautiful girl currently stared at him with hazy eyes.

"Crunch, Crunch," her knees bucked as she walked towards him with wobbly steps as if unfamiliar with her own body.

Suddenly she collapsed looking too weak to even move, but Aiden was fast, catching her before she hit the ground.

"Thank you," a delicate voice whispered in his ear, that was all she said before passing out.