Chapter Two: The First Soul
Eric lay in his hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. It had been two hours since his parents left. The room was quiet, except for the soft hum of machines and the occasional footsteps in the hallway. But Eric wasn't thinking about the hospital. He was thinking about the voice.
The voice that had spoken to him earlier. The one that had welcomed him to the soul realm.
And just as he was wondering if it had all been a dream, the voice returned.
"So," it said calmly, "have you thought up an answer? Would you like to awaken your powers?"
Eric blinked. What?! he thought.
"What do you mean?" he asked silently.
"Just answer yes or no."
Eric's eyes widened. You can read my thoughts?
"Of course," the voice replied. "Now will you answer or not?"
Eric sat up slightly, wincing from the pain in his ribs. Can you explain what the heck is happening first? he demanded.
"Alright," the voice said. "Let's start from the beginning. You slayed a serpent. By doing that, you proved you have the potential to slay monsters. So I came in. I'm your guide to the soul realm, which is a place inside your mind where the souls of everything that has ever died exist. You can fight these souls. And if you defeat them, you gain their abilities in the real world."
Eric's mind was spinning. What happens if I lose?
"You die in your mind," the voice said flatly. "Which means you fall into an endless coma in real life."
Eric didn't respond right away. He lay back down, staring at the ceiling again. The idea was insane. But then again, so was surviving a building collapse and killing a monster with a metal rod. After a long silence, he finally agreed.
But nothing happened.
He didn't feel different. No powers. No visions. No voice. After a few days, he stopped thinking about it. Life slowly returned to normal. Three weeks later, Eric was discharged from the hospital and returned to his apartment. Max, his cat, greeted him with a loud meow and a headbutt to the leg.
That night, as Eric sat by the window watching the rain, the voice returned.
"Would you like to access the soul realm?"
Eric froze. The memory hit him like a baseball bat. He had almost forgotten. After a moment of hesitation, he agreed.
Suddenly, everything changed.
Eric found himself in a completely different place. It was dark, but not scary. The space was blank and plain, yet somehow lit without any visible source of light. It felt like being inside a dream. In front of him stood a rabbit. But not a normal rabbit—it shimmered faintly, like it was made of light and mist. A soul rabbit. Turns out, the voice in his head had been this rabbit the whole time.
Eric stared at it. "You're the voice?"
"Yes," the rabbit replied. "Surprised?"
Eric nodded slowly. "I'm naming you Maxi. After my cat."
The rabbit narrowed its eyes. "I don't like that name."
"Well, too bad," Eric said with a grin.
After a moment, Maxi sighed. "Fine. I'll get used to it."
Maxi hopped forward and sat down. "I'll explain things as we go. For now, start by choosing a soul to fight. Remember, if you lose, you die."
Eric gulped. "No pressure, huh?"
Suddenly, a glowing window appeared in front of him. It looked like a computer interface, complete with a search bar and a long list of names. Maxi explained that the list used to be a giant scroll, but after watching Eric work on computers, he thought this format would be easier.
Eric scrolled through the list, thinking hard. He didn't want to fight anything dangerous. He needed something simple. Something he could beat easily.
"I'll fight a duck," he said.
Maxi raised an eyebrow. "A duck?"
"Yeah," Eric said. "Should be easy, right?"
Maxi shrugged. "If you say so."
The dark space faded, and Eric found himself in a new location. A circular arena with walls that stretched endlessly in the sky. The floor was smooth and cold. In front of him appeared the soul of a duck. It looked normal, except for the faint glow around its body.
Eric hesitated. He didn't like the idea of hurting an animal. But then he reminded himself. This wasn't a real duck. It was just a soul. A memory. A fragment.
He stepped forward and grabbed the duck. It squawked and flapped its wings, but Eric held on.
After a brief struggle, the duck vanished in a puff of light.
Eric was back in the dark space.
Maxi nodded. "Well done. That was easy."
Eric smiled. "So… what now?"
"I'll send you back to the real world," Maxi said. "You'll notice the change soon."
Eric blinked and suddenly he was back in his apartment. Everything looked normal. Max was curled up on the couch. The rain still poured outside.
Eric walked to the window and stared out. Then he had a strange thought. He grabbed his coat and went downstairs. The rain was heavy, soaking the streets. But as Eric stepped outside, something strange happened.
He was dry.
His clothes were wet, but his body felt completely dry. The rain slid off him like he was coated in invisible wax.
Eric laughed. "Waterproofing," he said. "Just like a duck."
He focused for a moment, trying to turn the ability off. And it worked. Instantly, he was drenched.
He turned it back on. Dry again.
It was amazing.
Eric stood in the rain smiling like a kid. He had soul powers. Real ones. And this was just the beginning.