Heira's body and hair dripped with the thick, light blue liquid. Two women quickly stepped forward, helping her to dry off and slip a robe onto her shoulders. The liquid was a bit difficult to work with usually, but it was clear that they had long since been prepared for this.
Heira remained silent for a long while, but none of the three said a word to rush her. After all, she had just experienced her own death, it would take some time for anyone to become used to such a thing. The fact she wasn't having a visible mental breakdown was already enough of a testament to her fortitude.
It could be said that Heira's ability was quite unique and fell under the Soul Manipulation Ability Index. The existence of this ability was exactly why many referred to Soul Force as such, despite the fact it would usually be more accurately described as a Mental Force or pressure.
Despite Leonel's talent, he had never seen any sort of manifestation of his soul. He didn't see any miniature version of himself nor could he find a center of his consciousness. As far as he knew, there was no tangible form of the soul, or at the very least, there wasn't one for his.
Heira, though, was different. Those with her ability were capable of not only seeing this form, but also making use of it. As for the Ability Index itself, it too was split into five levels.
Seed. Root. Form. Manipulation. Immortality.
The first Seed levels refers to the most immature form of the soul. It is a step beyond what most would have and is usually available to only those with either this ability, are from a special race, or have a special Lineage Factor.
At the second level, this Seed takes Root. This represents a growth in the soul's strength and also an increase in its sturdiness and durability.
Finally, at the third level, the Root takes Form. The most common form is a representation of the person, usually a smaller, more ethereal image of the body. However, this doesn't always have to be the case, especially for those who reach the fourth level.
Upon reaching Manipulation, not only can the Form of the soul be changed, but it can now exist completely independent of the body without penalty. One who has touched this fourth level could live just as long as they would with a body as they would without one.
Finally, Immortality, reserved for Savants. At this stage, the soul gains a lifespan as long as the planets and the stars. Even if the body decays and wilts, the soul will last far beyond this.
No one is sure if this is true Immortality or not, but what is guaranteed is that you will far outlive those of your Dimension and even higher Dimensions.
All of this mostly explained the form the soul would take at each stage, but otherwise, it seemed like a useless ability unless you could reach the fourth or fifth levels. But, this is far from the case.
Those with the Soul Manipulation Ability Index have many abilities outside of taking control of their souls.
They are more intelligent than most, they are more perceptive and sensitive, their senses are otherworldly, and when paired with the right techniques, their soul, thanks to added durability compared to others, could display quite devastating prowess. Meeting someone with a Soul Manipulation ability, who also had the techniques to pair with them, was amongst the bravest things a person could ever do.
Heira had reached the third level, the Form stage. At this level, her soul couldn't exist indefinitely without a body like it would be able to at the fourth level, but it could still last several months to even years without one. This had given her more than enough time to make it to this lab and take over this vessel that had been prepared for her.
This 'vessel' was actually a clone of her original body with its face modified just enough that those familiar with her wouldn't be able to recognize her.
The issue with clones is that they had short lifespans and were usually far different in personality from the person they had been cloned from. But, they weren't difficult to prepare. After all, even the people of 21st Century Earth, a mere Third Dimensional land, could accomplish this. So, how could Heira not with the resources of the Milky Way Guild?
That said, the issues clones faced were all erased when it was paired with a Soul Manipulation ability. As long as her soul was intact, Heira could do this as many times as she pleased. In fact…
"You've made this body to my specifications?"
"Yes, Miss Heira! We spared no expense. The weaknesses of your former body are no longer present. This body has the strength of someone at the Peak of the Fifth Dimension and we've also given it the Light Elemental Innate Node Miss requested."
"Which Light Elemental Innate Node?" Heira asked.
"We weren't able to procure anything high level. Integrating an Innate Node into a clone proved to be far more difficult than we thought. It is only an unranked Light Elemental Innate Node."
"I see.."
Heira seemed neither disappointed nor happy about this. Though, it was hard to tell if this was because she didn't care one way or another, or if it was because she was still getting used to using the facial muscles of her new body.
Preparing powerful clones like this had been a technology available for thousands of years already in the Milky Way, probably even longer than that when the scope of the entire Dimensional Verse was taken into account.
The issue was that it was far too expensive for a soldier that would only last a year if you were lucky. It could be said that Heira's ability was simply perfect to take advantage of this and was quite reminiscent of a certain special race of people who built their own bodies after birth…
"Good." Heira clenched and unclenched her fists. "What's happened in my absence?"