And just like that 500 more years quietly passed inside the Soul Space.
Those five centuries were nothing like the previous ones.
Earlier, Ash had only been testing structures and observing how Runic glyphs interacted with each other in controlled conditions, studying how different meanings behaved when they were placed together and whether they could remain stable without collapsing.
Now the center of the entire system was a real soul. Every layer of the formation had to consider the nature of that soul, the way it reacted to external influence, and the fact that it had been sealed inside the Spirit Devouring Crystal for a very long time.
The crystal itself was the first major obstacle.
By its very nature, the Spirit Devouring Crystal suppressed souls.
Its purpose was to devour soul essence and transfer the properties of soul from one person to another. The crystal functioned almost like a vessel that consumed the essence of one soul and preserved it so that its unique traits could later be inherited by another.
That meant the soul inside it remained in a deep dormant state, unable to awaken or even respond to outside stimuli. The longer a soul remained inside such a crystal, the deeper that dormancy became, because the crystal constantly suppressed any sign of awakening.
This made direct communication impossible.
Ash needed the soul to awaken eventually, there was only one way, to bring out the soul outside. But if he did that, soul will vanish and enter the cycle of reincarnation. Because he had no way to control the Souls.
He understood this rule clearly. A soul that left its container without a body to anchor it could not remain in the world for long. The natural laws governing souls would pull it away, forcing it back into the endless cycle of rebirth.
In fact the soul devouring crystal was a much better vessel, thus Ash wanted was to keep the soul inside of the crystal and then awaken it. It was challenging. And even more.. he needed to create a runic structure that protects the soul from the devouring nature of the crystal.
Using the various rune combinations, Ash constructed a layered framework that slowly separated the soul from the crystal’s devouring influence while still allowing controlled energy flow.
The second major difficulty came from synchronization.
The soul had its own natural rhythm. The Runic framework had another. If those two patterns clashed even slightly, the entire structure would destabilize.
A soul was not just energy. It carried memories, instincts, and a natural flow of essence that followed its own pattern. The Runic structure Ash created was artificial by comparison, built from precise meanings and rigid logic.
If those two systems failed to align, conflict would occur immediately.
The first time Ash attempted synchronization, the Runic formation collapsed almost instantly.
The meanings behind the glyphs began conflicting with the soul’s natural energy, causing violent distortions within the structure as different layers tried to impose their own rhythm over the soul.
Ash immediately dismantled the formation before any permanent damage could occur.
Even a few more seconds of instability could have shattered the fragile balance he had spent centuries building, so he removed the entire formation without hesitation.
After that failure he spent nearly seventy years refining the synchronization layer alone, adjusting the sequence of Runic symbols until the soul could slowly adapt to the framework instead of rejecting it.
During those decades he tested countless small variations, observing how the soul reacted to each change and carefully removing anything that caused even the slightest resistance.
The third problem appeared much later.
Even after stabilization and synchronization succeeded, the soul still refused to awaken.
Eric was the one who pointed it out.
"If the crystal naturally devours soul essence," Eric said thoughtfully while observing the floating formation through his monocle, his gaze carefully tracking the slow rotation of the Runic layers, "then the soul has probably adapted to conserving energy. It might not wake up unless it receives nourishment first. A soul that has been suppressed for so long would instinctively remain dormant unless something convinces it that it is safe to awaken."
Ash remained silent for a moment when he heard that. His eyes rested on the crystal while he carefully considered the reasoning behind Eric’s words, replaying the structure of the formation inside his mind.
Then he slowly adjusted the formation again.
Instead of blocking the crystal’s function entirely, Ash used various rune combinations to regulate the devouring process.
The crystal would continue devouring the soul essence, but this time instead of devouring the soul, it would devour souls from outside and nourish the soul instead.
The devouring property of the crystal was not removed, it was simply redirected so that the energy it consumed could be refined and guided toward the dormant soul rather than harming it.
This single adjustment took nearly another century to perfect.
Slowly, the soul inside the crystal began absorbing Ash’s Soul essence. With the decent amount of it being present in the Soul Space, Ash soul was unharmed, and the continuous regeneration of Soul Power within the Soul Space ensured that the portion used for nourishment never created any real loss for him.
But even for protection, he made several locks that could regulate the amount of soul essence the soul can devour passively.
These locks acted like silent gates within the Runic structure, ensuring that the flow remained gentle and controlled so the soul would not absorb too much essence at once and destabilize itself.
Thus, the Runic structure remained stable. The synchronization layer continued adapting to the soul’s rhythm.
Everything was finally moving in the right direction.
And then, after nearly years of careful refinement, the system finally stabilized.
For the first time, the entire Runic structure operated as a single functioning model.
The outer layer anchored the soul safely.
The middle layers regulated energy flow and synchronization.
The inner layers connected the soul to Ash’s Soul Library, allowing memories and consciousness to interact with the structure in a controlled and organized manner.
It was still extremely primitive compared to what Ash ultimately envisioned.
But it worked.
Ash stared quietly at the crystal floating in front of him.
The Runic symbols and glyphs surrounding it rotated slowly, their meanings flowing together in perfect balance as if every part of the structure had finally found its correct place.
Then something changed.
A faint ripple appeared within the crystal.
Ash’s eyes narrowed slightly as he focused on the change.
Eric immediately sat upright.
"Did it just move?" he asked, his voice carrying a mix of surprise and cautious excitement as he leaned forward to observe the crystal more closely through his monocle.
The soul inside the crystal trembled faintly.
For thousands of years it had remained completely dormant, trapped inside the devouring crystal without awareness.
But now the Runic structure had created something that had never existed before.
A stable connection.
A path.
Slowly, the dormant soul responded.
A small pulse of consciousness emerged from within the crystal, weak but unmistakable.
The Runic framework reacted instantly, stabilizing the awakening energy and guiding it through the synchronization layers so that the fragile consciousness would not collapse the moment it appeared.
Then a faint voice appeared inside the Soul Space.
"...Hello?"
The voice was soft and small, carrying a confused innocence that made it sound fragile, as if it had only just learned how to speak again after a very long silence.
Eric froze where he stood, his body becoming completely still as the unexpected voice echoed through the Soul Space.
Ash remained calm, though his eyes sharpened with focus as his attention locked onto the crystal in front of him.
The crystal glowed faintly as the soul finally stirred from its slumber.
Inside the crystal, the faint image of a small unicorn slowly appeared. Her body was delicate and graceful, yet there was something unusual about her presence that immediately drew attention.
The aura surrounding her carried traces of both royal authority and gentle warmth, as if two powerful presences had merged together within her existence, creating something rare and naturally dignified even at such a young age.
Her 3 small rainbow horns glowed weakly as she looked around in amazement, her large rainbow eyes reflecting the vast expanse of the Soul Space while she tried to understand the strange place she had awakened in.
After looking around for a few moments, her gaze finally landed on Eric, and a bright smile immediately appeared on her face as she spoke.
Her voice sounded like that of a young girl around ten years old.
"Hello....little brother!!!"
Eric slowly stood up from his chair, staring at the image inside the crystal as if he could not fully believe what he was seeing.
His voice came out almost as a whisper as a tear escaped his eyes.
"...S-Sister...Evangeline."
But Ash narrowed his eyes slightly.
How the hell did she know who Eric is? Wasn’t Eric born after she died?
Ash did not bother hiding the suspicion in his gaze, and the little unicorn simply giggled when she noticed the expression on his face.
"Hehe...you are so silly Brother Ash, I was aware of everything that was happening in my surroundings.....although the range was not too much...."
Eric blinked slowly as realization began to sink in. In his excitement and happiness he had completely forgotten that she was not supposed to know him at all.
She just continued to giggle and looked very glad to be able to speak, when she calmed down she spoke again, as she looked around curiously.
"So this place is where you both stayed all this time...although its inside brother Ash soul, but it is still cozy somehow..." she said softly, her voice carrying quiet wonder as she continued observing her surroundings before turning back to them.
Looking at their confusion, she clarified some things with a smile.
"I could feel things sometimes... voices and movements... but it was always blurry, like hearing something from very far away."
Eric slowly stepped closer to the floating crystal, his eyes still fixed on her as if he was afraid that she might disappear the moment he looked away.
"You... really heard us?" he asked carefully, his tone filled with disbelief and cautious hope.
Eva nodded gently.
"Not everything," she replied honestly. "Sometimes it was only small pieces. Sometimes only feelings. But I remember your voice. You talked a lot with Brother Ash when you were younger. Even now you just argue with him all the time."
Eric scratched the back of his head awkwardly after hearing that.
"I... guess I do that."
Eva tilted her head slightly as she continued observing him, the soft smile on her face returning as if she found something comforting in his presence.
"You used to sound very lonely sometimes," she added quietly, her voice carrying a gentle sincerity that made the words feel unexpectedly heavy. "But you still kept talking anyway."
Eric’s expression stiffened slightly for a brief moment before he forced a small smile, clearly not expecting her to remember something like that. For a brief moment his eyes lowered, as if those words had stirred memories he rarely thought about.
Ash watched the entire exchange silently while continuing to observe the stability of the Runic layers surrounding the crystal. Even though he appeared relaxed, his attention remained divided between the conversation and the constantly shifting patterns of energy within the formation, his mind carefully tracking every small fluctuation to ensure the structure did not destabilize.
Eva eventually turned her gaze toward Ash again.
"And you... Brother Ash."
Her voice softened slightly as she spoke.
"Thank you for protecting my brother and me. You are really the best!!!"
She lifted one of her small front hooves and awkwardly tried to form a thumbs up gesture, which looked slightly clumsy but undeniably adorable given her tiny form.
Eric blinked in surprise before letting out a small laugh at the sight, clearly not expecting such a human gesture from her.
However, Ash did not react the same way.
Instead, a faint ache formed in his chest the moment those words left her mouth.
For a brief moment his thoughts drifted to the past, to memories he rarely allowed himself to revisit. He could not tell whether she truly meant those words with innocent gratitude or whether there was a trace of hidden reproach behind them, a quiet reminder that despite everything he had done, he had still failed to protect her mother.
The uncertainty lingered quietly in his mind.
But Ash did not allow that emotion to show on his face.
"You were conscious the entire time?" he finally asked in a calm and steady tone, carefully hiding the faint disturbance in his thoughts while keeping his attention focused on her response.
Eva shook her head slowly.
"Not fully conscious," she explained patiently. "It felt more like drifting inside a long dream. I could feel things sometimes, but I could not move or speak. When you started creating those strange glowing patterns around the crystal, it became easier to notice what was happening."
She looked around again, clearly fascinated by the floating Runic structures that were slowly rotating around the crystal.
"They feel warm," she added softly.
Eric opened his mouth as if he wanted to ask another question, but at that exact moment the Runic layers began fluctuating slightly.
However, the awakening of the soul had clearly pushed the cheap imitation of the system to its limits.
Ash noticed the instability immediately.
"The structure cannot sustain this state for long."
Eva turned her gaze toward Ash, but her glowing form had already begun to fade slowly.
"I feel... sleepy again..."
Her eyes slowly closed as the energy sustaining her consciousness weakened.
Eric instinctively stepped forward, clearly unwilling to let the moment end so quickly.
"Wait—"
But the Runic system had already reached its current limit.
The small unicorn’s form slowly dissolved into faint light as the soul returned to its dormant state inside the crystal.
Silence returned to the Soul Space.
The Runic formation gradually stabilized again, returning to its balanced rotation as the fluctuations disappeared.
Eric remained standing there for a long moment while staring at the crystal.
Then he slowly lifted his head and looked toward the sky of the Soul Space.
"...She woke up."
Ash nodded quietly.
"Yes."
His gaze remained fixed on the crystal.
"For the first time. And she even provided an important piece of information. We should behave decently around her, otherwise she might end up learning something bad from you."
Ash said sarcastically.
Eric immediately scoffed at that.
"Me? If anything it is you who needs to behave more decently. After all, you have far more bad traits than I do."
Ash slowly turned his head toward him.
"Do you need a beating?"
Eric folded his arms and shook his head with an exaggerated sigh.
"See? You jumped to violence again before I even finished speaking. I was about to say something reasonable."
Ash narrowed his eyes slightly.
"You really do enjoy testing your luck."
Eric simply shrugged without looking worried at all.
"Oh please. If you were actually serious, you would not bother giving a warning first."
Ash stared at him for a moment before letting out a quiet breath and turning his attention back toward the crystal.
"Just remember one thing."
Eric frowned slightly.
"What?"
Ash continued watching the slowly rotating Runic structure.
"The system worked once. That means it can work again."
Eric followed his gaze toward the crystal, and this time neither of them spoke for quite a while.
After all this was their first success in 1000 years, now that it was tested, the next process would get easier.
***