?Eren didn’t give Michael much time to decide if the Origin Sap was worth a favor and some Soultraits. He flicked his wrist, and a purple sphere appeared before him.
The sphere expanded rapidly and transformed into a mass of energy, not unlike a Summoning Gate’s energy pool. The only visible differences were the color – the mass of energy before them being purple – and energy density. The energy before him was incredibly dense and oddly stable, given that it appeared out of nowhere.
“A portal straight to the Nest,” Eren announced, not even trying to hide his vibrant smile.
“If you can create portals like that, why do you have to create a bridge to this galaxy?” Michael asked, activating Spirit Eyes to inspect the portal in detail.
Cosmic Stride and the Spatial Elemental Sphere granted him a better understanding of everything related to space. That included the massive pool of energy before him.
‘Interesting. The energy pool revolves around a structure of runic arrays as thin as a hair. They’re incredibly delicate and will shatter the instance someone tries to influence them. It is impossible to alter the runic array without destroying it. Even inserting a trace of energy into the energy pool can shatter the portal. That seems…dangerous.’
Michael didn’t like that the portal to the Nest was so fragile. He had to jump through that fragile portal to get to the Nest.
“The Nest Sphere is a consumable object. It will break after one use. We usually use it on missions to disappear after we exorcise the targeted Curse or rescue some idiotic people from near-death situations. They’re quite hard to produce because we ensure that nobody can track us through the Nest Sphere. You might have difficulty sensing the runic arrays, but they block the markings and destroy all kinds of GPS devices. Not even 8-Star Tracking Soultraits, used by Divine Lifeforms, can follow us through the Nest Sphere.”
Michael nodded slowly. That didn’t mean he understood what Eren was talking about, but it explained a few particular things reasonably well.
‘It will break the moment something, which is not supposed to reach the Nest, gets close to it.’
Michael was unsure if he should praise the Nest’s safety system or be afraid of its decisiveness. After all, the portal might break apart with them inside if one of them carried something that wasn’t supposed to enter the Nest.
“Okay…what items can I not bring to the Nest? I don’t want to be torn apart by this portal only because I brought my messenger crystals with me…” Michael asked in a murmur, only for Eren to wave his hands dismissively.
He pressed his hand against Michael’s shoulder and shoved him inside the portal. Michael could have used Cosmic Stride to escape, but he was already too close to the Nest Sphere and would have shattered it if he had used his energy now. Evalynn was beside him, and they were just about to step inside the portal when the portal flickered.
Eren frowned deeply and pulled Michael away from the portal.
“What’s in your War Rune storage?” He asked, frowning deeply.
“Imperial Coins, Nutrition Solutions, a container filled with hundreds of Soultrait Symbols, a bunch of clothes, a toothbrush, some other hygiene articles, a few messenger crystals, and stuff like that. Totally normal.”
Michael tilted his head, “I also have an aether-alloy creation, which you should know, a bunch of Soultraits in my Soul Sphere, and the resource needed to upgrade Soultrait Symbols.”
Eren squinted his eyes.
“A container filled with hundreds of Soultrait Symbols? Tha–… You better tell nobody about this in the Nest, otherwise, even I might be unable to protect you. Why the hell would you tell me about that?” He sounded genuinely angry.
“I asked you if it’s safe to enter that fucking fragile portal!” Michael cursed. Eren might be a Divine Lifeform and angry at that, but Michael literally asked what items weren’t allowed in the Nest Sphere. Eren was also fully aware that Michael could give other people Soultrait Symbols. Was he supposed to create them out of thin air? Obviously not. He had to carry them!
“If you want to be lied to, look for someone else. I asked you before what I cannot bring to the Nest and you shoved me to the portal. Now that the portal was on the verge of breaking apart, you’re acting like that was my fault. You know damn well what my Soultrait can do and that I carry multiple Soultraits, whether they’re in my Soul Sphere or War Rune storage doesn’t matter! Don’t blame me for your impatience!”
Eren studied Michael for a few seconds.
“Mind your words,” He uttered with unfamiliar coldness.
Michael raised one eyebrow, not even thinking about shying away from Eren.
“Alright, alright. It’s not like you’re wrong with that. Still, keep in mind that you shouldn’t tell others about your container full of Soultrait Symbols. You shouldn’t be this cocky in front of other Curse Users, either. I’m nice, but I cannot say the same for others.”
Calling himself a nice guy was a little bit over the top, but Michael understood Eren’s sentiment.
“What are we supposed to do now?” Evalynn asked, her eyes glued to the Nest Sphere.
“I’ll call Evee,” Eren shrugged, his eyes still lingering on Michael, “And you can tell your friends and your lover that you will leave for the time being. Your ascension will take a while and I’m not sure if you’ll have enough freetime to leave the Nest right after ascending. It might be better for you to train with us and use the Nest’s resources.”
Oh.
Michael nearly forgot that he would leave the galaxy and that it might be a while before returning to the Tritan Alliance.
“Don’t worry. The bridge back to this backwater galaxy will be done once you complete your ascension. It won’t be too problematic to return. I merely meant that it might be easier to stay in the Nest a while longer. Of course, I don’t know you that much yet, but I’ve trained you a little bit. I can tell you don’t want to lose against beings like the Undead Pharaoh or Bloodhound. You desire to win at all times. Your arrogance and pride lead you.”
Michael wouldn’t say that arrogance and pride motivate him to grow stronger, but he wasn’t going to quarrel with Eren.
“Take care of Evee, whoever that is. I will be back soon,” He uttered instead before increasing the distance to the Nest Sphere. In the next moment, he disappeared with Cosmic Stride.
Finding Alice wasn’t particularly difficult. It was fortunate that she was not in the Origin Expanse. He discovered her training with the Berserker Chieftain. They were engaged in a fierce brawl. Alice could have used her Soultrait on several occasions, but neither the Berserker Chieftain nor Alice relied on their Soultraits. They sparred Soultrait-less.
Michael watched their fight for a while until the Berserker Chieftain stopped. He uttered something to Alice, who spun around to see Michael. A thin smile blossomed on her lips, and she leaped toward him.
They embraced each other tightly, only for Michael to nearly get gutted by Alice’s sword. Fortunately, he could avoid certain death by a hair’s breadth.
Alice released Michael from her embrace and stared at him for a while.
“You have to leave, don’t you? “She asked, a flash of sadness passing through her eyes.
“Yes…” Michael acknowledged slowly, “How did you know?”
Alice smirked at Michael.
“I understand many things you’ll probably never realize.”
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