Chapter 109: 109

Watching Anastasia try to get acknowledged by her Soul Leash, the gray raven feathers, Michelle narrowed her purple eyes in thought. Anastasia clearly needed some help, but Michelle had yet to understand the feathers, so she couldn’t step in.

Michelle exhaled slowly, her sharp gaze fixed on Anastasia’s form. The feathers on Anastasia’s arms twitched, pulsing in defiance, resisting her control just as the soul energy had before. But the Soul Leash was different. It wasn’t just raw power refusing to be tamed; it was something sentient, something that recognized Anastasia as its owner but refused to submit to her control.

Contemplating, Michelle tapped her fingers against her knee. Since the Soul Leash was a bridge between her and the soul energy, it was directly bound to her, unlike the soul energy, which, while indeed connected to her soul, wasn’t connected to her consciousness.

Soul energy was a wild power, though with some kind of self-awareness, that could be conquered once perfectly synchronized with the carrier’s body and soul, which Anastasia achieved when she slowly nudged the soul energy into her veins and bloodstream.

But Soul Leash was a complex and intelligent existence, connected to the consciousness of its carrier. Though its intelligence couldn’t be compared to that of an adult human, it had a brainpower comparable to that of a genius ten-year-old or an average thirteen-year-old. That meant that Anastasia couldn’t force the Soul Leash into submission, just like she couldn’t with soul energy, but she had to prove herself to it.

Michelle shifted her position, moving her weight from one leg to the other, her gaze fixated on Anastasia as her brows knitted together in concentration. The gray raven feathers trembled, resisting every attempt to be dominated or commanded. “You’re not trying to tame a wild beast!” Michelle finally spoke, her calm voice sharply cutting through the air, making Anastasia open her eyes and look at her.

“It’s like a stubborn but strong child that refuses to listen to you, and you have to make it respect you. It knows you are its master, but it doesn’t trust or like you. But that’s only now. You can change that.” Michelle continued.

Hearing Michelle’s words, Anastasia sighed. “So, I have to negotiate with my own power?”

With a shrug, Michelle nodded. “Basically. And try not to get frustrated. If it sees your anger, it will just resist you more. Well, like I said. Take it as a stubborn child. If you press on it in anger, it will push back with the same or greater force.”

Anastasia took a slow breath, rolling her shoulders to relax a bit, as the stiffness from not moving for a while slowly left her body. At the same time, she thought about Michelle’s words. It wasn’t about forcibly controlling or overpowering it. It was about earning its trust. There was no reason to overpower or forcibly control something within one’s own body. But the feathers didn’t deem her worthy. So she had to prove herself.

But how was she supposed to do that?

She stretched her neck as she lifted her hands to stare at the feathers again. They were a part of her, yet they rejected her. Why was that? Her instincts were telling her that if she wanted to gain control of the Soul Leash, she had to understand the reasons why it was rejecting her. She had already accepted and acknowledged it as an undeniable element within her body, so why was it still rejecting her? Was it not about accepting it?

Suddenly, Anastasia felt like a complete fool. Her guess was that when Michelle was learning to use soul energy and Soul Leash, she took mere moments to master them, but she… She couldn’t even gain acknowledgment of the Soul Leash after a long time.

She didn’t know how much time had passed since she sat down on the ground at dawn, but hours had clearly passed, as the sun was already hanging high above her head.

What Anastasia didn’t know was that when Michelle was learning to use her soul energy and Soul Leash, she was able to master it so quickly because the Archduke was constantly attacking her, pushing her instincts to their limit. When one’s instincts are at their peak, gaining mastery of a skill may be easier for some people. And Michelle was that kind of person; that was why the Archduke chose to teach her like that.

But about Anastasia, Michelle wasn’t that sure. She didn’t know her long enough to know what level her instincts could reach at their peak, or how she would act when pushed to her limit, so as not to risk anyone, she chose a different approach to teaching. Maybe, in the future, when she knew Anastasia better, she would choose a method like that to teach her.

While Michelle was deep in thought, Anastasia closed her eyes again, reaching for the connection between her consciousness and the Soul Energy, but instead of forcing it to give way to her will, she simply observed and listened to it. The energy pulsed around, steady, unwavering, and distant. As if it were waiting for something to happen.

Then, a realization struck her.

The feathers knew she was their owner, and most probably even that she was worthy of the soul energy’s power, or it wouldn’t have manifested inside her soul, but that wasn’t enough for her to gain control over the Soul Leash. Because Soul Leash was like an arrogant but also competent person, who refused to submit if the person who wanted it didn’t show a reason why it should.

With a soft sigh, Anastasia felt newfound determination settling in her chest. If her Soul Leash wanted a reason why it should submit to her, she would give it one; she would prove she was strong enough to wield it. She straightened her back and let her consciousness surge through her body with strong determination.

And the consciousness carried just one thought: “I’m your master.” But she didn’t think of it as a demand toward the Soul Leash, but as an undeniable truth. “You are a part of me, so you can’t exist without me, but I also can’t live without you, because without you, my soul energy would lose control and kill me,” she stated in her mind.

As she guessed, the gray raven feathers reacted and started trembling a bit on her forearms, as if telling her that, though she was right, it wasn’t enough for it to submit to her.

Anastasia narrowed her eyes, sensing the hesitation in the Soul Leash’s response. It wasn’t rejecting her outright anymore, but it was still waiting for something more. It looked like it was expecting her to demonstrate some kind of power, but she didn’t even have control over her soul energy yet, because without a Soul Leash, she couldn’t command it—the soul energy just submitted to her—so it seemed that the Soul Leash didn’t want to see a manifestation of her power, since she basically held none.

If that was the point, maybe she just needed to show her resolve, not her power, and not facts about the connection between her and the Soul Leash.

Keeping her eyes closed, her face relaxed a bit as she sensed within her body for the Soul Leash. When she came across it, she didn’t try to grasp it or force it into submission. Instead, she sent her consciousness into the depths of the Soul Leash, feeling its raw, untamed nature and the chaos in which its energy was when it lacked control.

“I am not strong yet, but I will be,” she thought, knowing the Soul Leash heard her.

Then, the gray raven feathers quivered, the resistance fading just slightly. But it wasn’t submission, not yet, but it was recognition. The first step had been taken.

Snapping her eyes open, Anastasia turned her eyes to stare at the feathers on her forearms, her eyes narrowing. With a part of the resistance gone, she tried to feel the flow of the Soul Leash’s aura again, so she could get a better understanding of it.

And finally, as she kept staring at the feathers, she tried to grasp control of the Soul Leash again, moving her consciousness over it, and using her full brainpower to make it submit.

Truthfully, she wasn’t expecting it to submit, but she wanted to try it, to know how much progress she had made, but to her surprise, the moment her consciousness pressed against the feathers, they retreated under her skin, leaving behind small gray dots. After a while, even the dots disappeared, and Anastasia felt something new in her brain. She felt she had control over a newfound power, but it wasn’t perfect. If she wanted to perfect it, she needed to work much harder.

“Good work!” Michelle said as she glanced up at the sky above, seeing the sun slowly hiding behind the mountains on the horizon. The mountains on the border between the Land of Exile and the lower realm. There lay the jungle where she was with Ivona for a while. Also, there she saw the hole into which she didn’t go because Nyxaroth told her she would die if she went there. The monster whose den it was was much more powerful than she could handle.

Anastasia was exhilarated when she finally took control of her Soul Leash, thus giving her the ability to use her soul energy as she liked, but Michelle’s next words were like a bucket of cold water thrown on her head. “The hardest part will only come now!” Michelle said as she stared at the setting sun. “So, do you want to continue now, or tomorrow morning?”

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