══════ < ABILITIES > ══════
[Eternal Soul] -
[Soul Devour] -
[Soul Inheritance] -
[Soul Bestowal] -
[Inherent System Abilities] -
**
"Hmmm, these match very well with what Orien said about the Soul Devouring Crystal. Looks like you inherited every property of that crystal. And these abilities are certainly powerful...."
Ash muttered under his breath, though his voice was still loud enough for Eva to hear.
He glanced at her, and although she tried her best to hide it, he immediately noticed the deep sorrow, hesitation, and even guilt quietly hidden behind her eyes.
Over time, Ash had grown incredibly close to Eva. She was like a little sister to him, and because of that, he had come to understand her better than anyone else.
He could always tell when she was trying to hide something from him, and unfortunately for her, she had never been particularly good at hiding her emotions.
"Does it feel bad... or does it hurt you that you’ll have to consume the Souls of others..??"
Eva visibly stiffened at the sudden question.
For a brief moment, panic flashed across her face before she quickly tried to compose herself, but the guilty expression she wore, as though she had just been caught hiding something she desperately wished to keep to herself, was already enough to answer Ash’s question.
Ash quietly thought as he looked at Eva, who had already lowered her head and was deliberately avoiding his gaze.
If Ash were being completely honest, the only reason he had entrusted Eva with access to all the Knowledge of Runes was because of her nature as a Pure Soul.
Knowledge itself was never dangerous.
The one wielding that knowledge was.
A single selfish thought could turn limitless knowledge into a catastrophe. But Eva was different. Her Soul was simply too pure to ever abuse such power for herself.
He knew she would never betray him.
As long as he remained her family, she would stay by his side without hesitation, through every hardship and every danger, just as she always had.
Alas, it was something he might never find out.
Ash slowly stepped forward until he was standing directly before Eva.
Without saying anything immediately, he gently placed his hand atop her head.
Eva’s body trembled ever so slightly.
"...Eva."
She slowly raised her head, though she still couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes.
Ash looked at her quietly before speaking in a calm voice.
"I’ll be honest with you. If you don’t want to use these abilities, then don’t use them. No one is forcing that choice upon you."
A trace of confusion appeared in Eva’s eyes as she looked at him.
Ash smiled faintly.
"What you’re feeling right now isn’t weakness. It simply means... your heart is just that pure."
He gently rubbed her head before slowly withdrawing his hand.
"If one day you stop hesitating before taking a Soul... that’s the day I’ll truly start worrying."
Eva remained silent, though after several long moments, she finally gathered the courage to confront the fear weighing upon her heart.
"...They are abilities that grow by devouring Souls."
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the edge of her dress.
"If... if I use them... doesn’t that make me no different from those who kill others for power...?"
Her voice became quieter with every word.
"I don’t want to become that kind of person."
Ash quietly listened until she finished before smiling gently.
"Then don’t."
Eva blinked in confusion.
"...What?"
"Your abilities don’t decide who you are. They’re merely tools, and whether those tools are used to protect someone or to harm someone has always depended on the one wielding them. A sword can protect innocent people just as easily as it can massacre them, yet no one blames the sword. The responsibility has always belonged to the person holding it."
He looked directly into her rainbow-colored eyes.
"You possess a Pure Soul, Eva. That isn’t simply a title or a True Name. It is the very nature of your existence, the foundation of who you are. It means your heart instinctively rejects unnecessary cruelty, it means you treasure life of innocents, and it means your conscience will always question your actions before your power ever does."
A gentle smile appeared upon his face.
"Someone like you is the last person I’d ever worry about abusing these abilities."
Eva’s lips parted slightly.
She had never thought about it that way.
"Besides... I never told you that you have to devour innocent Souls."
"..."
"There are countless people in this universe whose hands are already stained with the blood of countless innocents. Murderers, slavers, rapists, tyrants, and people who destroy entire worlds simply because they possess the power to do so."
He let out a quiet sigh.
"If one day their Souls become nourishment for someone who uses that strength to protect others, I wouldn’t call that cruelty. Cruelty is allowing innocent people to continue suffering simply because no one was willing to stop those responsible."
Eva lowered her gaze.
"...But what if..."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"...What if one day I have to kill someone who isn’t a criminal... someone who isn’t a bad person?"
Ash didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, his gaze slowly drifted toward the countless books filling the Akashic Archive as though he were looking far beyond them, into memories he hadn’t revisited in a very long time.
"Do you know what happened the first time I killed someone?"
He didn’t wait for Eva to answer.
"I hesitated... and afterward I even puked. When I took another life, I spent days wondering whether I’d really made the right decision, replaying everything in my head over and over again, trying to convince myself that there hadn’t been another way."
A self-deprecating smile slowly appeared upon his face.
"But life has a cruel habit of placing the same choice before you again... and again... and again."
"There came another battle, then another, and before I even realized it, I had taken more lives than I could count."
"I’ve watched people die in front of me without feeling anything. I’ve taken lives without my hands trembling. I’ve done things that the Ash standing before you today probably shouldn’t be proud of."
His expression never changed.
"Now... when I kill someone, my mind doesn’t even react anymore. I simply judge whether they should live or die, and once I reach an answer... my weapon moves before I even realize it."
He softly laughed at himself, though there wasn’t the slightest hint of amusement within it.
"I don’t regret the people I’ve killed. Most of them deserved exactly what happened to them, and if I were given another chance... I’d still kill them."
His expression remained completely calm.
"But..."
His hand slowly rested upon Eva’s shoulder.
"...if there is one thing I don’t want, it’s for you to become like me."
Eva quietly stared at him.
Ash smiled, though there was a faint loneliness hidden within it.
"People often mistake kindness for weakness, Eva, because they believe compassion only slows you down. They’ll tell you that emotions are burdens, that hesitation gets people killed, and that the only way to survive is to abandon the parts of yourself that make you human."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"They’re wrong."
"My greatest regret isn’t that I’ve killed people."
"It isn’t even the amount of blood on my hands."
He slowly clenched his own hand.
"It’s that somewhere along the way... killing stopped meaning anything to me."
A quiet silence spread throughout the Akashic Archive.
"I still know who deserves to die and who deserves to live. I can still distinguish right from wrong. If someone threatens the people I care about, I’ll kill them without the slightest hesitation and I’ll never regret doing it..."
His gaze gradually lowered.
"...But I no longer feel the weight of that decision."
Ash softly laughed at himself.
"At first I thought it was maturity."
"Then I thought it was experience."
"But now..."
"...I think I simply lost a part of myself without ever realizing when it happened."
Eva quietly stared at him.
She had never imagined that the calm and composed Ash standing before her would say something like that.
Ash slowly looked back at her, the faint smile on his face becoming warmer than before.
"And that’s exactly why I don’t want you to become like me."
"You possess something I’ve already lost."
"So don’t throw it away just because the world tells you it’s inconvenient."
"If preserving that kindness makes your journey more difficult..."
He gently placed his hand upon her head once again.
"...then I’ll simply become strong enough to walk the difficult parts ahead of you."
"I’ll kill the people who need killing."
"I’ll shoulder the hatred."
"I’ll bear the sins."
"And if one day I can’t be there..."
His voice softened.
"...only then will I ask you to make that choice yourself."
"But when you do, don’t ever think of yourself as becoming evil."
"Think of yourself as carrying a burden that someone has to bear."
"The difference between monsters and protectors has never been whether they take lives."
"It’s the reason they choose to do it."
"If you protect those precious to you, if you’ve already searched for every other possible path before drawing your weapon, and if your heart still hurts after everything is over..."
He smiled gently.
"...then no matter how many souls you devour.....you’ll still be my little sister."
Eva’s vision gradually blurred.
The guilt weighing upon her heart hadn’t disappeared.
Neither had the fear.
But those feelings no longer suffocated her as they had before.
She slowly stepped forward before gently wrapping both of her arms around Ash once again, resting her forehead against his shoulder while quietly closing her eyes.
"...Thank you."
Ash smiled before lightly patting her head.
"There is only one promise I want from you."
Eva slowly looked up, her eyes filled with tears.
"If one day you’re forced to make a choice that goes against all your values, but that choice would protect your loved ones....."
His unwavering gaze met hers.
"...choose your family."
"Carry the burden, Carry the guilt, but never carry the regret for protecting the people you love."
Eva silently held his gaze for several long moments before a gentle smile slowly blossomed across her face, one that was still as pure as ever despite the tears glistening within her eyes.
"...I promise."
**
A/N:
Some readers might be confused about why Eva has Soul Life despite possessing Eternal Soul. Doesn’t Eternal Soul mean she should exist forever?
These are actually two completely different concepts.
Normally, after death, a soul leaves the World of the Living and enters the Cycle of Reincarnation. In other words, it naturally dissipates from the living world.
However, Soul Life is something entirely different. If a soul resides within a Spirit Crystal or a Spirit Devouring Crystal, it will not naturally dissipate from the World of the Living. Even so, once its Soul Life reaches its limit, the soul will still perish.
There are also souls that remain in the World of the Living because of overwhelming regrets, hatred, or unresolved desires. Those intense emotions taint the soul with negativity, preventing it from entering the Cycle of Reincarnation until that corruption is cleansed.
Although Eva also carries deep regrets and strong desires, she is, by her very nature, a Pure Soul. Those negative emotions cannot taint her soul, which is why they have no effect on her in that regard.