The next moment, his dim eyes came to life as he awakened in the comfy room they had been resting in. Julius' worried glances met his eyes as if the boy silently asked what he should do. Confused, he raised his head, noticing Eldarion stood before him.
The elf's green hair had turned milky white, reflecting rainbow colors as he moved. But what and him struck like a thunderbolt were his sunlike eyes. Standing before him was the irrefutable proof that a soul could get its own body.
An involuntary smile curled on his lips as he reassured Julius with his words. "Good morning, Selene. Seems like you're truly back among the living," he said, raising his thumb. Now reassured, his mind wandered to the grimoire's content as impatience tickled his ethereal skin. 'I need to find a compatible body and let my soul mark it,' he thought, wishing to begin his research immediately.
"I hope you slept well," Selene started, returning Adam's greeting with a gentle smile before going straight to business. However, he changed his approach this time, asking for permission first. "I need to return into the boy's soul for an instant. I won't do anything to him. You have my words," he said, his reassuring yet firm tone adding to his intense but gentle gaze.
Upon hearing his words, a realisation struck Adam. "So that's why you asked us to stay and gave me this wooden block, isn't it?" He asked, his glowing eyes reflecting his suspicion momentarily. Then, knowing he couldn't stop the revived arcanist, he added, "Take me with you." Even if it wouldn't be helpful to protect the boy, he would at least try his best to stop Selene if he did anything abnormal.
"Sure," answered Selene with a shrug, grabbing the ghost's shoulder to enter Julius' soul sea.
Meanwhile, the boy's face turned ugly, thinking in displeasure, 'Why no one asks for my opinion?! It's my soul, not a market!'
As the bright elf engulfed his arm and body, a bizarre phenomenon occurred when it was Adam's turn.
"Ouch!" Yelled the ghost, rubbing his obscured face in pain after it collided with Julius' firm chest. Amidst the stinging sensation, doubts filled his mind. Did Selene trick him? Or was he simply unable to enter the boy's soul sea?
He leaned towards the first option. After all, he had fought Gaston four years ago after the mysterious link drew him inside. Upon reaching this thought, his eyes narrowed. "Is the same power forbidding me from standing in a different room stopping me?" He asked, his voice a hiss mixing worries with annoyance.
"What do we do?" Asked Julius, uncomfortable with his soul being invaded so many times.
Bitterly, Adam scratched his head before answering. "We wait." Yet, he inwardly hoped with all his heart that Selene wouldn't harm the boy.
Simultaneously, Selene gazed at his empty hand, frowning at the ghost's absence.
"I'm impressed by your mastery. Did you convert your new body into energy to enter a soul space?" The mysterious man asked, sitting in his usual spot by the library. Bright, intricate patterns swirled above his hand. The chaotic forms shifted, adapting to the slightest stimuli, giving Selene the impression of a living being.
Unable to control himself, the elf gulped as he gazed at the marvellous circuits, hoping they had been prepared for him. Then, he answered, his enthusiastic voice echoing in the old shop, "Yes, I followed everything you asked for. Will you upgrade my circuits now?"
"It'll be painful," warned the man, scanning the elf with a thoughtful frown. "Your current circuits are comparable to your originals but subtly different. I'll have to remove them first before grafting this new prototy... I mean, perfect product," he added, correcting himself with a smile.
'Is he a quack?' Thought Selene, doubts filling his mind as his hands shook. However, he had to acknowledge the man's discerning eyes. Eldarion's circuits didn't suit him. The minor differences caused his mana to feel stilted, forcing him to expand more to what he was used to.
"I'll trust you," he declared, taking a comfortable position on the old floor. With his favorable impression of the man, he believed he would stay true to his words. Or wouldn't try to harm him deliberately after they struck a deal.
"You are a strong baby. I don't think you'll faint. But for the love of god, don't scream in my ears," said the copy, his left eye twitching as he remembered Ossian's ghastly wails. Then, he shaped threatening tools using mana and immediately moved to work, impatient to see his new construction method's results.
For the next fifteen minutes, he dug Eldarion's unwanted circuits out of his body before gradually grafting the new ones. During the painful process, he occasionally patted Selene, feeling his tense muscles shake under his palm. Yet, not a single time did the elf scream.
Despite his sweat-covered frame and agonising face, he held everything in a show of uncommon resilience. Even when he felt a stinging pain assaulting his heart, his eyes only burned fiercer, reflecting his willpower and earning him the man's recognition.
Finally, when he felt fifteen days passed instead of fifteen minutes, his sufferings faded, replaced by a sensation of power.
As his hands trembled and he tightly clenched his fists, the copy hurriedly opened his mouth. "Don't cause a commotion here! Get out if you want to let your mana run wild and scream like that idiot ghost king!" He yelled, wiping his sweating forehead before forcefully expelling the elf.
Left alone, his mind raced as a calculative light danced in the depth of his eyes. The new circuits were undeniably better. Yet they failed to meet his expectations. "What am I missing?" He muttered, combining and dismantling his knowledge rapidly in his mind until a bold idea shook his body.
"Should I go out in two months?" He said, his lips curling into a smirk reaching his ears. If he could stealthily scan him, he didn't doubt he could finally complete his grand project before the deadline.