Norris stood in front of the undead noble, his own skeletal frame towering over the noble's slightly smaller one. Norris's soul flame, a bright blue glow that shone through his empty eye sockets, pulsed with excitement as he explained the process of creating a soul tool.
"Your soul is like a house with many rooms. Each room has its own special job, and they all work together to make you who you are. Now, we want to add a new room to this house, a room that will make you stronger and more powerful. This new room is like a special tool, called a soul tool."
The noble's soul flame, a warm orange glow that shone through their empty eye sockets, flickered with interest as they listened. Their gaze seemed to bore into Norris's very soul, as if searching for any hint of deception.
The air was heavy with anticipation as Norris paused, his gaze piercing. "To build this new room, we need to do a special ritual. This ritual will help us take your strongest desire, the thing that drives you and motivates you, and put it into the soul tool. This will make the tool powerful and connected to you."
The room felt charged with mana, a tangible energy that seemed to hum and pulse in the air. A coldness pervaded the space, as if the very air carried a chill that seeped into their bones. The flickering candlelight cast eerie shadows that danced along the walls, adding to the room's mystique. Norris's voice took on a slightly sharper tone. "Think of it like this: the ritual is like a key that unlocks the door to your soul's deepest desires. Once we have that key, we can use it to build the new room, the soul tool, and make it a part of you."
As Norris spoke, his hands began to weave intricate patterns in the air, the gestures a testament to his focus and expertise. His movements seemed to draw invisible trails of energy, leaving faint afterimages of mana in their wake. "I'll guide you through the ritual, step by step, and make sure everything goes smoothly. With this soul tool, you'll be able to tap into your deepest power and achieve great things."
Norris's gaze narrowed, his expression serious. "The strongest desire is best. It will make the soul tool more powerful and effective. But any desire will work, as long as it's genuine and comes from the heart."
A hint of warning crept into Norris's voice. "However, I must warn you, the process of creating a soul tool comes with risks. If the ritual is not done correctly, it can lead to... unpleasant consequences. Loss of memory, madness, brain or soul death... these are all possibilities if the ritual goes awry."
Norris's soul flame flickered with a hint of purple, a sign of his growing intensity. "Additionally, there's a risk of the soul tool becoming unstable or failing to function as intended. But with careful preparation and execution, these risks can be minimized."
Norris's gaze locked onto the noble's, his expression serious. "I'll guide you through the ritual, step by step, and do everything I can to ensure your safety." He paused, his tone taking on a hint of reassurance. "We need each other, after all. Finding a new partner would be... inconvenient, for both of us."
Even though there was a contract between them, Norris noticed the noble still tense and distrustful. Though surprised, Norris tried reassuring the noble, reminding him that they are bound together from an interest perspective.
The noble nodded, their soul flame flashing with a brief burst of green, a sign of their cautious optimism. "Now, let's proceed with the preparations," Norris said, a hint of excitement in his voice. "The primary array design is ready, as I meticulously crafted it to fit the specifications we discussed. We'll need to calibrate it to resonate with your soul's unique frequency."
The noble watched intently, their soul flame flickering with interest.
"Meanwhile, you'll need to undergo a series of training exercises to help you navigate your memories and desires," Norris continued. "This will aid you in the self-reflection step, making it easier for you to adapt and connect with the soul tool."
Norris explained that the first step involved engraving an array on the soul, a process only the noble could do himself unless he had someone he trusted completely. "Flashes of memory will be shown to whoever helps you, and it's like opening yourself up to someone," Norris joked, attempting to ease the atmosphere. "I could help with this since we have a contract." The noble's pressure was on full release, and Norris quickly changed the subject, introducing the secondary array done with the help of the soul engraving array, which he had named the primary array.
Norris explained the array functions of the primary array design, meticulously crafted to introduce various functions as a prompt once connected. The noble would undergo training exercises to aid in self-reflection and connection with the soul tool.
Just as Norris was about to begin the ritual, the noble's voice cut through his thoughts.
"I've decided to use another person as the test subject," the noble said, their tone firm and commanding.
Norris's soul flame flickered with surprise and confusion. "Another person? But noble, the ritual was meant for you."
The noble's gaze was unwavering, and their soul flame flared with a domineering intensity. "I want to ensure the process is safe and effective before undergoing it myself. Use the test subject to complete the ritual first."
Without waiting for Norris's response, the noble turned and summoned a group of subordinates. Their orders were precise and unyielding. "Bring me the prisoner from the lower cells. He will serve as the test subject."
The subordinates hurried to obey, their movements quick and efficient. The noble watched them with a cold, controlling gaze, ensuring that every step of the process was executed flawlessly. There was no room for error under their command.
Norris's heart pounded as he prepared for the ritual. This was uncharted territory. The test subject was brought in, bound and trembling, eyes wide with fear. The Noble didn't ask for any training for the prisoner to prepare himself for self-reflection. Norris who couldn't care less about the prisoner activated the array, and the ritual began.
The subject, it's voice quivering, grafted their desire onto a soul tool made of rock. Norris's thoughts raced. Stone was chosen as a material to minimize risk. The power gained from the soul tool would increase no matter the material in the long term, but the power that could be unleashed at its reveal would be bound to the material used. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was standing on the edge of a precipice.
As the array hummed, Norris's focus shifted to the entity that would answer the call. He didn't dare to probe too deeply, fearing assimilation or a subconscious counterattack from the unknown power that blessed the ritual.
The array's glow intensified unexpectedly. Norris's breath hitched, his muscles tensing. He watched intently, every sense on high alert. The power surged, but Norris kept his composure, trusting in his fail-safe.
The ritual ended abruptly, much sooner than Norris had anticipated. His breath hitched in his throat as he examined the result. The entity's power had catalyzed the warp, extracting chaos energy and mixing it with the soul. The wish seed, born from the entity's power, began to grow, fueled by the chaotic energy from the warp. The warp is chaotic and omnipotent. As it loses its chaos, it loses its omnipotency.
Using the wish seed as a catalyst to order it (lose its chaos) is what demigods and above can do. This wish seed extracts the chaos and uses it as fuel for the successful activation of the wish. This brings the soul tool to life.
Norris's mind whirled with questions. How had the entity's power acted as a catalyst and ordered the chaos of the warp? The potential knowledge here was tantalizing, even for legendary beings. The chaotic growth of the wish seed gave the soul tool a hint of unlimited possibilities, aligning with the subject's desire and the rock it was planted on.
He contemplated the implications of the ritual, the variables swirling in his mind. He suspected that the entity had intentionally revealed just enough to gain his trust. This selective truth was a familiar strategy.
As Norris stood there, deep in thought, the memory of the entity's power and the chaos it had unleashed would haunt him. He had planned a ritual to banish the prisoner incase anything went wrong. His fail-safe remained unused, but the looming possibility of its necessity was a sobering reminder of the dangers he faced. He went to check the prisoner, but he had turned brain dead or soul dead?. The atmosphere turned cooler as the outcome of the prisoner was a problem needed to be faced by both the noble and Norris himself. Norris went again to continue trying using up all the data collected before achieving a 10 percent success rate.
Most people died during self-reflection. Some were not sure what they were and whether the past life was theirs while others could hardly accept what they've become. The rest barely survived as they had managed to overcome the self reflection only to make make mistake when engraving the array on their soul, damaging themselves in the process. Two people who succeeded had their deepest desire, the death of the noble who deprived their freedom but they were swiftly dealt with.
Two people desired escaped from the noble and had their desired tool manifest in different forms. One was pulled to another realm by a portal and another was randomly teleported to somewhere in the death realm. Norris had a whim. He would meet both of them sometime in the future at different nodes of destiny. This was a reminder from the echo. The rest of the prisoners were loyalists who had done wrong and were serving jail time, and their soul tool empowered the noble in various ways by 4% in total. If the noble is a legendary being, the augmentation would need a ritual, but for now, it's enough. Now it's time for the grand finale. Norris called on the noble to create his own soul tool. The soul tool reveals a lot of things about the person from its abilities. Norris wanted to understand his partner better. And so he started activating the ritual.