Passing the torch

The girl named Yoclesh grinned at me. A strong gust of wind blew and I looked at the dark substance in the middle of the room.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"This is hard to explain but believe it or not, you're inside your own soul", she answered.

"Inside my own soul?"

"See that wild dark thing over there? That's the Primordial Dark's powers. It's inside you and going wild as we speak."

Wait a minute... I was in a fight before I got into this place.

"What's happening to my body right now?" I asked.

"Well... Your consciousness is right here... That means the Primordial Dark is having a blast doing whatever it wanted", she answered and the winds became stronger.

"I thought the Primordial Dark had no will? What could it possibly be doing?"

"You tried talking to it, right? That part of you responded and is now doing what you really wanted to do."

"So it's fighting for me?"

"That's what I think. Although this is quite ironic."

"What do you mean?"

"I fought against people who were using the Primordial Dark's powers during the Dark Times. My successor turned out to be someone who's very familiar with the Primordial Dark. I wonder what Oga is feeling right now", she rubbed her chin.

"Successor?"

"That's right. I was Anya's previous master before you 4000 years ago."

How in the world was that possible? From what Anya told me, her master died while fighting the mad king who started the Dark Times. What was she doing here?

"You're probably wondering why I'm here, aren't you?" she asked.

"Well yeah... You're dead so you shouldn't be able to talk to me. And how are you even inside my soul?"

"It's thanks to Anya. She's a really amazing weapon. You see, all of her users have imprinted their souls on her. Do you know what Anya really is?"

I shook my head.

"She's the Sword of Records", Yoclesh said and 7 silhouettes appeared behind her.

"Sword of Records?" I asked.

"Tell me... How did you meet Anya?"

"I bought her for a cheap price in a weapon shop. Why?"

She burst out laughing.

"Anya got sold as a cheap sword? That's hilarious! I wonder how angry she would be when she finds out. Although I think she already knows since she can see your memories", she said.

Now that I thought about it, Anya was really amazing. She could manage my mana and I could use complicated spells even if I was an amateur.

"Anyways... She is the Sword of Records. Her initial function is to manage her master's mana and make them into powerful battle mages. But she has another trick", Yoclesh said.

The 7 silhouettes became clearer and they had physical bodies. If I was right, they were Anya's previous masters. They were all from different races and genders.

"Anya can "record" her master's skills inside her. If you can unleash her Synchronicity, then you will be unstoppable", she said.

"Synchronicity?" I asked.

"What if I told you that you can use our powers as if it was your own?"

I gulped down.

"That's what Synchronicity does. You become in sync with the previous masters and could gain their skills. I'm a pretty decent swordsman and if you enter Synchronicity, you can gain my sword skills", she said and did a swinging motion.

"So... How do I do that?" I asked.

"Anya needs to record your soul first. As long as you keep using her, your soul will be imprinted on her. Once you make a presence here, you can enter Synchronicity. Don't worry. Your soul is totally imprinted here. The proof is that I can talk to you. All you need is to enter that state", she answered.

"Be warned. Synchronicity is hard to master", one of Anya's previous masters said.

He was a blue dragonewt wearing a white kariginu and blue hakama. His eyes stared straight at me.

"Synchronicity is a state where you merge with the previous masters. Your mana would increase and your physical strength would improve. However, it requires concentration. You have to make sure your soul is resonating with the previous wielders. Also, Synchronicity is taxing on the body. You don't magically gain mana. It's merely overworking your mana production to reach levels higher than normal. Using it too much is not recommended. You also can't mimic all of the previous wielder's moves. You have a body similar to a human. You can't use the natural abilities of a dragonewt", he said.

"Yep. What he said. Synchronicity is hard to master. It took me days of practice to even hold it for more than 3 minutes. The longest time I've been in Synchronicity is 20 minutes and I overworked myself back then", Yoclesh added.

The winds were becoming weaker.

"It seems the Primordial Dark is weakening. I guess it's time to send you off. Synchronicity is like magic. You need an image and a resolve. Imagine yourself being like a mirror to the previous masters. You need to resonate with us. Anyway, we're going to send you off now but first, we'll introduce ourselves", she stood straight.

"I am the Sword of Records' 8th master, Yoclesh!", the red-skinned girl grinned.

A red-haired boy stepped forward. He was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and red pants. Horns sprouted from his head.

"I am the Sword of Records' 7th master, Ryuuki Tatsuya", he said.

A black haired beastman did a salute. He was wearing a black uniform and had a red streak on his hair.

"My name is Merryweather, the Sword of Records' 6th master", he flashed a warm smile.

A short white-haired girl waved her hand at me. She was wearing a black cloak with a hood and was carrying a book on her other hand.

"I am Ars Almal, the Sword of Records' 5th master", she introduced herself.

A brown-haired beastman pounded his chest. He was very muscular and had a huge grin on his face.

"Heya! I'm Leo Dickinson! The Sword of Records' 4th master", he said.

A gray-haired man stepped forward. He had two horns coming out on his head and wore black clothes.

"Hey there. I am Jiihn, the Sword of Records' 3rd master", he waved his hands.

A man with purple fur looked at me. He looked like a dog and was quite muscular. Two horns were on the sides of his head.

"I am the Deep Blizzard Miyuki, the 2nd master of the Sword of Records", he said.

And last was the blue dragonewt from earlier.

"My name is Shiki Taigen, the 1st master of the Sword of Records", he introduced himself.

They all looked at me... Ah yeah. I almost forgot. It was common courtesy to return the introductions.

"I am Mikage Kamishiro, the 9th master of the Sword of Records", I told them.

"Treat Anya well, alright?" Ars asked.

"You'll go far if you train hard enough", Leo said.

"If you need my power, just say so", Merryweather told me.

"If Anya oversleeps, you can scold her", Jiihn smiled.

The winds finally died down and light was shining above.

"One last thing.... Show Oga who's boss!" Yoclesh raised her fist.

The light consumed me and everything faded away.

###

When I returned, I saw Oga in his demon form.

"That dumb expression, you're finally back", Oga said.

"Yeah... And guess what?" I grinned.

I remembered what Yoclesh told me. Synchronicity required an image and resolve. My resolve was not lacking since I wanted to defeat Oga. I then imagined Yoclesh standing beside me. Her soul's presence was vibrating in the sword. I tried to tune in to that vibrations and synced my breathing with it. When a warm feeling enveloped me, I smiled.

Anya said that shouting a magic's name helped in generating an image. I had one name in mind.

"Synchronicity Release!"