Soul Essence
Mahn is witness to the sinister use of partially obliterated souls, for the life force is never fully extinguished; he feels the need to escape from the dire cold…
Warriors of Transcendence, Part 23
He must be an imposter! Is this some kind of joke? He attempted to calm himself, My imagination may be deceiving me…but, in the name of the holy fire, a green flame really was etched on the corners of the guide’s garment! It cannot be a fake. One would pay a high price for this type of fraud!
The man noticed Mahn’s excitement.
“Come, come, my young fellow. Pay attention to all the details so you may fulfill your task properly”.
They neared the wall of the room. Mahn noticed a glass basin moving along tracks set into the wall. The basin contained silvery liquid, almost transparent, and moved above the rows of bricks. A drop of this liquid was poured onto each brick. Clusters of the crimson yellow substance, almost completely hardened, absorbed the drop and began changing. Silvery veins, transparent and semi- alive were formed. They were illuminated briefly by a strong inner light, and then immediately hardened, their transparency turning into a cold white gleam.
It is as if one moment of life, real and pulsating, is frozen into each cluster, thought Mahn, shaken.
“This, as you can see,” said the man seriously, “is the final stage. And this,” he pointed to a glass container, “unites everything, and most importantly gives the bricks their powers of defense. From here, the bricks continue to the design chambers where the flames are etched into them. But this,” he once again pointed to the dripping silver, “is what is most important.”
Mahn felt a strong urge to escape from the mine, though the man with the green flame had not yet finished speaking.
“Pure silver, clear as a tear,” he stated with unexpected poetic flair, a contrast to his usual brusque and orderly style. Mahn was familiar with these words. But where had he heard them before?
“And that, known only to very few of us, is the Essence of Soul Concentration.”
Man was flustered. “The essence of what?”
“The Essence of Soul Concentration,” the man repeated patiently. “When Obliteration fails, the Obliterated Ones always remain in the midst of the process, a segment of their souls remaining open. The forces that are retained within them, that have yet to be redesigned and processed, are available and ready for our use. We concentrate them and add a small amount of silver, thus creating the liquid you see.” Mahn was still but his limbs began trembling again.
The Essence of Soul Concentration? He had heard of unsuccessful Obliterations, but never thought about the end result.
“It seems to me, Sir Inviewer”, the man suddenly stated, “That you are overly excited”.
“I don’t understand what use the Emperors could possibly make of such broken and confused matter…from the Soul Essence of partial Obliterated Ones…,” Mahn attempted to gather his thoughts in order to present himself in a composed and orderly fashion.
“This material is not broken and confused!” declared the Division Manager. “The segment of Soul Essence is an amazing concentration of the entire intensity of the man prior to his obliteration. Only the outer layer of the soul is marred during the partial obliteration. The Soul Essence remains unscathed. It cannot be damaged, and is impossible to re- create.”
The Division Manager gazed at the transparent drops trickling down onto the bricks. “This is life itself,” he said solemnly. “All they could have been, their potential, had they not been processed for obliteration.”
Life itself! The words made a strong impression on Mahn.
It struck him that there might be a connection between the Emperors’ campaign to gather Soul Essences and their inability to propagate. Many thoughts crossed his mind, leaving behind scores of questions, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
You will be able to contemplate your thoughts later, whispered an inner voice. Now you must leave this place!
He mustered all of his remaining strength and spoke in a stable tone of voice. “I apologize, but you see, I am unaccustomed to such cold temperatures.”
“Of course,” the man resumed speaking in a friendly voice. “We should leave. Your attendants await you.”
* * *
Forces continued streaming out of the lower City, some heading towards the Northern Lowlands, and others towards the Land of the Southern Cliffs. Skilled soldiers, aware of the Emperors’ plans, were swiftly taking their places in the battle zone, awaiting a sign. In the deep ravines, beneath the Towered City, the Obliterators were busily training the Shadows for their intended mission. In Elassar’s room an expressionless Inviewer completed the delivery of his latest report.
“…And another long hour passed as he strolled along the courtyard outside of the building, until he finally entered his room and went to bed.”
“He shall be exterminated,” declared Elassar silently, “before the end of year celebrations.”
To be continued.
***
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