Soul Mechanics 101

   When morning arrived, the siblings were woken by several royal maids already moving quietly about their rooms. A cold, uneasy feeling immediately settled over them—just how long had these maids been standing there? Still, after a surprisingly hearty breakfast, they were led through a sprawling maze of stone corridors for their lessons with Lucian.

   “Ugh, just how did those maids get in?” Hina muttered, rubbing her temples, still weary from the lack of sleep. “They claimed they only arrived this morning, but why do I have such a hard time believing them...?” she wondered aloud.

   “Damn it.” Kael stifled a yawn, his eyes watering. “Just where are they taking us? We’ve been walking for at least ten minutes!” he groaned.

   “It’s only been ten minutes, Kae,” Varek said, stretching his hands high above his head. Just then, they rounded a sharp corner and stepped out of the palace into the open air.

   “Wait, is the class being held outside?” Cecilia asked, squinting and shielding her eyes from the sudden, bright sunlight.

   “This way, heroes,” one of the maids guided, gesturing towards a beautiful garden overflowing with exotic, vibrant flowers they had never seen before. At the end of the flower-lined path stood a massive, pavilion-like structure. It was lined with numerous windows—at least two on every wall—allowing them to easily see Lucian hunched over a cluttered table inside, deeply engrossed in a stack of documents.

   Directly behind him was a massive blackboard covered in dense, indecipherable scribbles. Sensing their presence, Lucian looked up, offering a brief nod before opening the door leading out to the front porch.

   “Welcome, heroes.” He offered them a bow. “This is my research lab as well as my office. Your training will all be conducted here.”

   They followed after Lucian into the pavilion, which was as spacious inside as it seemed from outside. Although the only messy stuff there was Lucian’s own desk, there were several more desks with books laid on them, and the walls were covered with tall bookshelves filled with documents and books.

   The maids gave them a bow and left them alone with Lucian. Varek closed the door behind him.

   “First, you’ll answer our questions, which you kept dodging yesterday,” Varek said, while folding his arms and leaning against the door. I’ll definitely make him answer this time. In every isekai, information is your best ally.

   Lucian went and stood behind his desk and started cleaning up the documents. “Alright. I did say I’ll answer your questions today. So, what did you want to ask?” he didn’t meet their eyes—didn’t even look in their direction.

   He agreed this easily? Varek looked uneasily at Hina. She nodded and turned to face Lucian.

   “I wanted to ask, why did you call your kingdom ‘The Kingdom of Imperial Avarice, Axioma.’ Are you not also a citizen of this kingdom?” she asked with narrowed eyes.

   Lucian stacked the last of his papers neatly. Looking up at her, he replied flatly, “That is simply the title our kingdom goes by in this world.”

   “Imperial Avarice? Isn’t that name meant to mock the kingdom?” Hina asked, surprised to receive the same deflection the Princess had given her the night before.

   “Yes, it can be interpreted that way. But to understand why, you must first understand the layout of our world.” Lucian pulled a thick, tightly rolled parchment from one of the bookshelves, unfurling it across his desk. He gestured for them to gather around.

   “This is a map of the Central Continent of Destrea,” he explained. “This here, in the upper-middle region, is our kingdom, Axioma. The kingdom to our left is Sanguis, and the kingdom to our right is Ceniza. And just like our own moniker, those two also carry specific titles: The Kingdom of Whispering Crowns, Sanguis, and The Kingdom of Stifling Skies, Ceniza.” He pointed to each location as he spoke. Both territories were visibly smaller than Axioma, though Sanguis was noticeably larger than Ceniza.

   “Yeah, but I still don’t get why Axioma's title sounds like an insult,” Kael interjected, crossing his arms. “Their titles actually sound pretty cool.”

   “That depends entirely on your perspective,” Lucian countered calmly. “The 'imperial avarice' part stems from our kingdom’s immense wealth, our pride, and our unyielding thirst for power. Meanwhile, the title for the Kingdom of Sanguis comes from the absurd number of princes and heirs it has generated since its foundation. Practically every citizen in Sanguis can claim a blood relation to the royal family.”

   “Huh? How is that even possible?” Hina asked, her features tightening with genuine surprise.

   “That is because the founder of the Sanguis Kingdom had dozens of wives, and through them, countless children,” Lucian explained. “All of them were recognized as prospective heirs to the throne, but only one could ultimately become king. The second king deeply loved his siblings, so he established a unique law: anyone who could prove themselves worthy of the crown could challenge for the throne. The rest would serve as the king's inner council of advisors.”

   Lucian tapped the map lightly. “If a reigning king wants to pass a major decree, at least seventy percent of those advisors have to agree with him. The same goes for choosing a successor—fifty percent of the recognized heirs must vote that he is suitable. Over generations, many royal descendants chose to renounce their claim entirely, blending into the populace as ordinary citizens. But the cycle continued, as subsequent kings also took multiple wives, expanding the lineage exponentially. It's the constant plotting and counsel of those thousands of noble descendants that earned Sanguis its title, ‘The Kingdom of Whispering Crowns’.”

   “I see... that is genuinely so... confusing,” Hina said, scrunching her face. “How did they maintain order with all those heirs?”

   “I’m afraid even I do not know. Their internal affairs are kept as tightly guarded secrets,” Lucian replied, shifting his gaze back to the parchment.

   “And what about Ceniza, then?” Cecilia asked, her eyes twinkling with excitement. She was thoroughly enjoying the lore drop, treating it like the backstory of a grand adventure game.

   “Ceniza... their title, ‘Kingdom of Stifling Skies,’ is due to their rulers. For centuries, no monarch has ever managed to rule Ceniza for longer than twelve years. The common folk call it 'The Curse of Ceniza.' Personally, I believe they are right.” Lucian sighed, heavily rubbing the back of his neck.

   “Wait, so the law you just mentioned in Sangoose's—or whatever's—lore... Is that the same kind of 'law' you brought up yesterday?” Varek asked, stepping closer to the desk. “Like the law that the old man and Boran used?”

   Lucian looked up, blinked in surprise, and chuckled. “Good heavens, of course not! The law in Sanguis is merely a legal decree—societal rules enforced by a government. But the Law that Count Eldrin and the Knight Commander wielded is entirely different. That is their conceptual law, forged through their Eidon.”

   “Yeah, you said something similar yesterday—something about there being Eidon instead of magic in this world,” Varek murmured, an involuntary shudder running down his spine as he recalled the sheer pressure from the day before.

   “Just what is Eidon?” Kael cut in eagerly, his eyes practically gleaming. “Is it some kind of OP power?”

   “Right.” Lucian rolled up the map, set it aside, and turned to the blackboard. With a swift flick of his wrist, every trace of chalk vanished into thin air.

   “What the—how did you do that?” Kael blurted.

   Ignoring him, Lucian picked up a fresh piece of chalk and quickly sketched a figure resembling Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, though overlaid with complex geometric lines and a second, misaligned silhouette staggered right over it.

   “An ancient diagram of human anatomy,” Lucian explained, tapping the chalk against the double silhouette. “It illustrates a fundamental truth: every living soul is slightly misaligned with its physical vessel, constantly straining to break free. Ancients believed this spiritual difference is the reason why living things age.”

   Cecilia shot Varek a bewildered look, mouthing: What bullshit is he spouting?

   Varek simply shrugged back: I don't know either. Different world, different values, I guess. Just listen.

   “Naturally, centuries of scholars studied this phenomenon and discovered... absolutely nothing,” Lucian said flatly.

  Is this guy actually sane? Varek frowned.

   “Until a pioneer named Leonardo La Kimchi stepped forward,” Lucian continued. “He theorized that the soul connects directly to the underlying rules of nature—the world’s code, if you will. By forcibly assimilating one's body and soul, a person could manipulate those fundamental rules to make them their own.”

   Leonardo La Kimchi?! Varek stared in utter disbelief. Are you freaking kidding me? What kind of ridiculous name is that?!

   Unaware of Varek's doubts about his insanity, Lucian carried on. “He dubbed this energy ‘Eidon.’ However, Kimchi quickly realized humans have a hard limit—fusing beyond thirty percent causes complete physical breakdown. Still, humanity mastered his methods to survive against the monsters. But then humans discovered that, other than them, almost every other race was already using Eidon.”

   Lucian dusted the chalk from his fingers. “Generations later, as other races and monsters adapted Eidon at even higher assimilation rates, human biology itself began to mutate to keep up. Different traits and physical shifts emerged—an event known as the Great Change. It proved humanity had barely scratched one percent of Eidon’s true potential, and our bodies are still evolving to handle it. Yet even now, humans cannot surpass that thirty percent limit.”

   Setting the chalk down, Lucian turned back to face them. “To summarize: Eidon is the raw power of your soul. By enacting 'Laws', we channel that power into reality. The specific Law you manifest depends on your personality and the environment in which you grew up. These Laws are essentially lesser fragments of the cosmos's own rules. Count Eldrin’s technique—the Law of Perception—was born from his innate curiosity and intense desire to comprehend all things.”

   “So, the reason we were suddenly able to understand your language... was because of the Count’s Law of Perception?” Cecilia asked, her eyes lighting up.

   “Correct, Hero Cecilia. The Count altered the ambient perception so that our speech was automatically translated into your native tongue from your perspective, while your words sounded like our language to us.”

   “Amazing...” she gasped in awe.

   “Wait, but how is it still working then?” Hina chimed in, crossing her arms in thought. “The effect hasn't worn off. If it's a spell—or whatever you call it—wouldn't he need to constantly spend energy maintaining it?”

   Varek opened his mouth to offer a theory, but Lucian cut him off before he could speak.

   “That is possible because of his Eptuise,” Lucian explained, drawing an ornate necklace from beneath his collar. “An Eptuise is a specialized vessel forged from Eidon—a medium through which one can channel Eidon more easily. This is mine.”

   He released the necklace, letting it hover smoothly in mid-air. It glowed with a soft, radiant light—a heavy golden chain supporting a locket shaped like a miniature tome, its surface etched with intricate, glowing white runes. “This Eptuise manifested when I fully mastered my use of Eidon. I named it Inquest—meaning ‘the eternal search for wisdom’,” he said with a fond smile, gently brushing his thumb across the tome before slipping it back around his neck. He cleared his throat lightly.

   “Ahem. In any case, not everyone can manifest an Eptuise. Only those who possess a profound understanding of their Eidon and reach total mental acceptance can.” He explained, tossing back his golden hair. “In the kingdom of Axioma, there are only twenty people who can manifest an Eptuise.”

   “Then the rod the Count used was his Eptuise.” Hina pondered, tapping her chin. “So, does having an Eptuise have any actual impact on how powerful you are?”

   “Hmm. That is a subject that is currently being studied. We do not have much data to base it upon, but the conclusion is that having an Eptuise does not make you more powerful; instead, the conviction and your understanding of your own Eidon can dictate your actual strength. Those who achieve that level can wield their Laws on a fundamentally higher plane.” Lucian replied.

   “Then does that mean we have Eidon too?” Kael asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “And what you did earlier—erasing the blackboard—was that your Law?”

   “Yes, to both. I cleared the chalk by manipulating my Eidon. Because I keep my Eptuise active, such minor feats are practically effortless,” Lucian answered patiently. “As for your potential, I am certain you heroes possess formidable Eidon of your own. We can test it right now with this—”

   “Wait.” Varek stepped into his path. “First finish answering our question. You’ve been rambling for so long that I almost forgot my main question.” Varek stared him in the eye. “What was that monster yesterday? What exactly is a Zal-Kesh? How did a person become that thing?”

   Lucian turned toward a cabinet in the corner, but Varek stepped directly into his path, blocking his way.

   “Hold on,” Varek said, staring Lucian dead in the eye. “Finish answering our questions first. You’ve been droning on for so long I almost forgot my main question.”

   The room rang with silence as Varek’s expression hardened. “What was that monster yesterday? What exactly is a Zal-Kesh... and how did a human turn into something like that?”