Aethernea : Soulbound [Book 1]

Episode 9 - SoulBound

I noticed that some of you thought that Elaru was literally a goddess of war because the prolog said: "Only by disregarding appearances and concentrating on the pure and simple truth could one realize that Elaru was a goddess of war." - That was supposed to be an exaggeration; a figure of speech. Elaru isn't really a goddess of war. In fact, there is no such thing as a goddess of war in the world of Aethernea. Sorry for the misunderstanding, I changed that line so there wouldn't be any future misunderstandings.

I've been receiving so many messages every day that I have to spend a few hours responding. And then after I am done, I have even more comments to look at. Thank you guys for your wonderful comments! ♡ I read every single one of them and am very happy that you took the time to leave them for me. But even though I read all of them, I can't possibly respond to every one of them because I am already short on time; I wouldn't have any time to actually write the story. XD

That's why I wanted to let you know that even though I might not respond, I have seen your comments and truly appreciate them. ❤️ Not only do I appreciate them, but they give me the motivation to write more and you benefit from it too in the form of more chapters. ;)

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Previously on Aethernea:

Kiel realizes that Elaru's and his mind are connected as an aftereffect of Aetherneal bond. Elaru manages to transmit her memory of the Aetherneal bond as seen through her eyes. Kiel notices a strange marking has appeared on his right hand. Elaru explains the marking is a state indicator.

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"That's a good thing. As the bond gains power, so will we. Growth isn't something you should be worried about. It's the shrinking that is dangerous. You wouldn't want that to happen."  

"I see; it is a state indicator. Useful." Kiel inspected his mark. It didn't look bad at all. It resembled a tribal tattoo. He always wanted to get one of those. His true persona did, the false one disagreed. A tattoo wasn't appropriate for the image he was trying to uphold.

"Why don't you have one? You weaved the spell with your right hand, but you have no mark there." Kiel asked. "Is it because you already have elibu markings on the left side?"

Elaru nodded. "Yeah. My elibu markings became my mark of the bond. Now they serve the same purpose as your mark. If the bond starts losing power, my markings will shrink. If it starts gaining power, your markings will grow."

Ah, so that's how it is. Her markings shrink, and his grow.

"Will my mark grow to look like yours? Spawning from the wrist to the face?" She shrugged.

Kiel suddenly felt a sense of dread. He had missed something.

"Wait...define 'dangerous'! What will happen if the mark starts shrinking? And didn't you say that the spell was symmetrical, why are there differences between us?" His eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I don't know what would happen if the bond started shrinking, but I was warned that I should avoid it." She shrugged again.

Kiel stared at her. What could possibly happen? Would they gradually lose the powers granted to them by the bond? Or is it something far worse?

"You claimed previously that the contract was harmless! How could you..." Elaru interrupted Kiel in midsentence.

"Actually, I said that signing the contract was harmless. Never said that the actual effect after the signing would be." She smirked. "I don't know the effects of the bond that well. There might or might not be any harmful effects."