Chapter 2047: Not A Small Problem

While Remi was interrogated, and all the kids were suffering through the intensive training of Lala and the constructs, Karl had a problem of his own, and it was not a small one.

The Soul Bond, which had been stretched to its limit by Karl’s recent changes, was not just unstable.

It was unravelling.

Dana had hit a bottleneck in her soul strength, but Karl’s kept increasing, and the Soul Bond couldn’t handle it.

There wasn’t an easy answer that he could find. Dana’s soul strength was already higher than any other human in the Guild. When it came to resisting soul-based attacks, only a few of the Supreme Ranked members could best her, and one was a Seraphim, while the other was a white dragon.

You couldn’t count those species on the same scale as a human.

While Dana wasn’t strictly speaking human anymore, and could be considered a fox beastkin, her body and mind apparently still had limitations closer to what Karl saw in the human Immortals.

His first thought was to have Remi send over some doses of the new medicine. But that improved the Immortal Spirit, and his testing showed that working on his Immortal Spirit didn’t change anything about his soul strength.

The bond should have been able to balance their power levels indefinitely, Karl assumed. However, the difference in their growth rates had become too great, and the imbalance between souls was tearing it apart instead of slowly matching the two.

Thinking back, Dana had always had an incredibly high growth rate.

She wasn’t far behind him, even before they were married. Far above the average human, and even the other members of their group. But once they reached Immortality the method of progression changed drastically.

He was currently sitting on one of the pillows on the floor of the Tiny World’s Guild House Library, flipping through books that looked like they might have answers.

However, nothing he found could answer the questions.

He had found answers, just not the ones that he wanted.

According to the book in his hands, the Soul Bond should be able to balance a human’s soul strength with even a dragon. But as he examined his memories of the Guild, that only meant about twice as strong as Dana was now, even if she married Luminaria, their Supreme Ranked White Dragon.

Leon, the Seraphim, had a stronger soul, but his species came from the higher planes, and they were very much spirit based holy beings.

Karl sighed as he set down the book, and stared at the section it had come from.

There were other books on the subject, but they were mostly romances of couples with either a fated soul bond, like the Lycans sometimes met, or couples like him and Dana that got their happy ending after early hardship.

Good stories, for certain, but not helpful to his situation.

And his situation was getting worse. His power was still growing steadily without any sort of active effort on his part, while Dana was stuck at the bottleneck, or her natural limits. If something didn’t change soon, it was going to become a crisis.

Leon stepped into the room, and took a seat across from Karl.

"Have you found what you’re looking for? I’ve got a pretty good idea what you’re researching," the Seraphim asked.

Karl shook his head. "No. I think that Dana’s soul has reached its limits, and mine is still changing after the latest advancement to my body. The Peerless Grade Ancient Beast Constitution doesn’t seem to have a limit on growth that the Soul Bond can deal with."

Leon nodded. "I saw that coming. The Ancients aren’t something that a mortal can fathom. Even I struggle to describe their nature, but let me try. You know the Lesser Watcher spell, which can use some of your skills, create separate spaces, food, and even heal the cultivation of nearly every known species.

But to a true Ancient, that spell is a cantrip. Basic household magic that they use when they’re too lazy to do something themselves. They don’t even have to be trained in it, it’s so simple to them that they simply do it.

The Ancients are a form of Mana Elemental being, designed by Greater Gods to take the drudgery out of building and populating entire worlds.

If you were just whatever you were born as, it wouldn’t be an issue. You would have hit the natural limits of a mortal soul, and that would be that. The Soul Bond would have kept your power levels balanced forever.

However, this evolution of your body is to one that originates in the Divine Realm.

There is no such thing as a mortal Ancient.

Humans can gain immortality, as can the mortal dragons.

But if you bonded a human to me the way that Dana is bonded to you, the intensity would burn their soul out of them, leaving them a shell with no consciousness. The power level of the Higher Planes is entirely too different to the Mortal and Immortal Realms."

Karl frowned as the Seraphim paused. "How is that? You’re Supreme, so the Upper Planes can’t be that much different, right?"

Leon shook his head. "Magical and physical power isn’t the same as Soul Power. The Mortal and Immortal Realms are both on the Physical Plane, between the Upper and Lower Planes. The further you go from the centre, the more the energy changes.

The Eldritch Power of the lowest planes is so intensely dark and evil that even Demons, Void Dragon and Shadow beings of the Immortal Realms wither under its presence.

Likewise, the power of the Upper Planes will blind and sear the soul of those from the Physical Plane.

The only ones in your group who could survive visiting would be Opal, Tian, and Cara. Plus yourself because your current form is from the Divine Realms, which are something entirely different."

Karl sighed, "Is there nothing I can do, then?"

Leon gave him a sad look. "You have two options. You can either find a way to evolve Dana into what you are, perhaps by granting her the skill that changed your constitution, or you can sever the connection before it kills her."