Nathan and Aiko had been going about it for the past five hours, and when no one came on top, their attributes perfectly cancelling each other, they decided to take a break and absorb the life essence they had released.
Streams of pure energy entered their souls, solidifying their bodies. Unlike most favourites, the two of them lacked separate cores for holding essence.
To them, their soul bodies also functioned as their cores.
Nathan could see that if, one day, their souls absorbed enough essence, then they could completely solidify and become a clone of their physical bodies.
On the surface of his soul, he saw that life essence was first transformed into golden streams before the absorption process began, while in Aiko's case, it was rather chillingly black in color.
Nathan also discovered that, given the nature and heavy consumption of essence when his special eyes were activated, once he left his master bedroom, he couldn't sustain them.
He could tell that the amount and purity of essence produced inside their respective master bedrooms were so rich and uniquely tailored to their different constitutions that they could not absorb it directly without the mansion's hidden assistance.
...
When midnight approached, the two of them opened their eyes in unison, halting their meditative absorptive posture on Nathan's bed.
"You feel it too."
"Yes, something is about to happen," Nathan nodded, got up from the messy bed, and began looking around, hoping to find some clues.
With his eyes activated, his view of the mansion was completely different.
Not only could he see the floating essence, or the complex network of strings coming from each room, then diverging into two directions- the attic and the basement.
He also found several hidden rooms that he couldn't see or access before. Surprisingly enough, even with his special eyes activated, he couldn't see through them.
He felt a strong suppressive force coming from the mansion, pushing him back.
And not wanting to cause any trouble, he withdrew his gaze and focused on other areas.
...
When his gaze passed through one window, located on the east side of the mansion, which was bordered by a forest, Nathan felt a strong attraction force; something was calling for him, his eyes became so restless that he got a headache and briefly deactivated them.
"What's wrong?" Aiko asked, seeing his pained expression.
"Nothing serious."
"There's something in the forest that has a strong appeal to my eyes."
Nathan slowly rubbed his eyes, hoping to calm his throbbing headache. To Aiko, that piece of information was crucial; she slowly moved her head in the direction of his gaze a moment prior, her thoughts unknown.
A few moments of silence passed before a strong teleportation force whisked them away to one of the hidden chambers inside the mansion.
...
In the physical world, Tsunami's body mysteriously disappeared, triggering an even bigger commotion. At the moment, the royal palace was in a tense atmosphere, the royal household was in a bitter standoff with Tsunami's household, the Yamamoto Favourite Clan.
...
Inside the mansion, Nathan and Aiko found themselves inside massive cylindrical transparent tubes, submerged in some liquid.
Their movements were restrained by straps from their legs to their shoulders, with their face being covered with breathing masks.
Why would souls need a breathing mask? they were about to find out.
The room was poorly lit, with only a few areas visible to them. On one end of the room, Aiko was inside a left tube, Nathan in a middle one, while a third one located on his right was vacant.
There, at the center of the room, they saw Tsunami's physical body inside a transparent box-like structure, which was connected with massive wires, some to their cylinder, others disappearing to the ceiling of the room.
At the moment, Nathan couldn't activate his eyes of truth, since he lacked enough essence in his soul to power such God level attributes.
His constant supply of it was limited only to his master bedroom.
They were both startled at first, thinking they were under attack, but after seeing his physical body, one thing rang in their minds.
'It's time for the switch'
...
When it hit midnight, a loud bell rang, similar to those used in old churches, and then the house AI assistant materialized her holographic form in front of them, respectfully bowed, and spoke.
< Dear Favourite Ones, the time has come for the switch.>
She then shifted her gaze to Nathan's cylinder and continued
< Do you wish to keep your current clothes, or are you willing to wait until she brings you new ones?>
< Something to note, if you intend to keep them, even though the weight quota is lacking, the transaction cost remains constant>
< Your current debt will rise from 20 pleasure points to 30 >
< The debt you owe for activating God level attributes for the past five hours is still under calculation, plus the damage the two of you did inside your room... >
< Once that is done, I'll add it to your bill >
"..."
< As for the thirty points, the first ten are for the first time you visited the mansion, you crossed the border with your sleeping attire, the second ten are for the current clothes in your room, and the last ten will be added if you decide to keep those physical clothes with you >
< My personal advice is to keep them, after all, if you choose not to, you might be without clothes for a while.>
< Besides, your partner has more debt than you... for now. >
"..."
< Furthermore, all loans come at an interest rate of 100%... per real world week>
< A small price to pay, since both of your healing fees are always waived>
' Bastard! Even loan sharks aren't that shameless, ' Nathan couldn't help but shout in his mind.
Aiko was furious, not that, if she had been told, she would have stopped surveilling Nathan in the physical world, after all, she did that for her own sense of security.
But clearly, the AI was playing favourites; If she withheld such information then and shared it when Nathan was around, then what more could she be hiding?
...
The holographic form shifted her gaze to Aiko's cylinders, unfazed, unapologetic, she continued.
< This mansion is a God level relic, a top-tier artifact even in ancient times. The number of resources needed to keep it afloat is beyond your current comprehension>
< Besides, even if I had told you earlier, I'm sure it wouldn't have changed the current outcome. >
< Am I wrong? >
Aiko took deep breaths, calming herself down, and spoke via telepathic sound transmission to Katarina, a skill she had learned to master over the past days.
" Is there anything else you're withholding? "
The AI assistant paused, pondering for a moment before it responded.
< Yes... many things, but for your own benefit. >
Aiko, deep in thought, knew nothing she would say would change the AI's response, and the assistant, seeing her lack of response, looked back at Nathan, who slightly nodded at her.
Getting confirmation, she removed Nathan's clothes from his physical body and set them aside on a nearby table.
Nathan, getting a better look at his own flesh, couldn't help but recall the bits of memories back in the dungeon.
...
Katarina, the AI assistant, went to do her final checks and, when everything was ready, she came back and briefly explained to them what was about to happen.
< The machine in front of you is called an atomic splicer; it's one of the few things capable of shredding your physical body completely... even in the physical world, few artifacts can compare to it.>
< By now you should have realized, although your body is nearly indestructible, all the damage it receives gets forwarded to your soul > She gave Nathan a good glance before turning back to Aiko.
< Don't do stupid things, because your flesh seems ok, if your soul gets completely obliterated before seeking refuge back to the mansion... >
< Also, take good care of your physical body; it's one of a kind, and it can easily attract unwanted attention. Once lost, you will become wandering spirits forever. >
Katarina then turned back to the machine and pointed here and there, explaining their functions.
< It will split every atom of your flesh, then based on your most recent stored DNA, it will write a code that guides it to build the other's body ground up >
< The excess matter that is unique to each one of you is stored separately. >
< Afterwards, it removes any traces of the other's souls on the new body>
< By now, you should have realized the switch happens every Friday midnight... Mansion's time. >
< Given our time disparity with the physical world, the one on the other side can experience different roaming times. >
< Sometimes, it can be a second, a week, a month, or even years >
< But to the person inside, only a week would have passed >
"..."