Magical Engineering Chapter 296: Soul Space

Maud

Sothing had felt off to her from the mont the dungeon began collapsing. Sothing was resonating across that strange little thread she had that connected her to the soul chat. It wasn't much, nothing more than the tiniest buzz, but it was there, and she could feel it. So what was going on?

The mont they entered the ship, a chat notification ca into her view. It didn't do so normally, either. It was like a static image resolving itself in her brain. It wasn't entirely dissimilar to when Dave had finally increased the range of the ssaging system, but it still wasn’t exactly the sa. She didn't like it.

Saud: Maud, can you see this? There's sothing wrong, and I can't get a hold of Dave or anyone else. I don't know what's happening, but there are weird quakes going on all throughout the soul realm. Selody says we should just stay calm, and everything will be okay, but I don't think she's right.

Maud: What do you an you can't get a hold of Dave? Is he just not answering, or do you feel like there's sothing blocking you?

Saud: He's not answering. I'm actually surprised you are. I don't know what to do, Maud.

Maud: It’s gonna be okay. I'm gonna try to get a hold of Dave. I'll be right back, okay?

New worry flooding into her mind, Maud closed out the direct chat ssage and opened a general one.

Maud: Can anyone see this?

Saud: I can.

Maud: But no one else?

Maud: Damn. Okay, Saud, I don't know what's going on, but it might have sothing to do with us. I've been feeling a weird buzz in the connection to the group chat since we killed the beast and rescued William. I'm gonna talk to others here and see if they have any ideas what's going on. Just stay calm; I promise we'll find a way to help. :)

Saud: Okay, Maud. I’ll try. :)

“And whatever the hell is happening with the dungeon collapse, I don't know how to get us outta here in ti,” were the only words of Squidlen Maud caught as she closed out the chat window.

“Uh, new problem. Don't know if it's connected or not, but seems like it probably is, since it started as soon as the dungeon started to collapse,” Maud cut in ekly. Every head imdiately turned towards her. “So, my connection to the soul chat has been feeling weird again since the collapse started. And now Saud ssaged , saying she can't get an outside connection to anyone else. She also said that weird things are happening over there. She described them as quakes, but as far as I understand about the soul realm, I don't know how that would work.”

“I'm guessing ya can't reach Dave either then?” l asked.

Maud shook her head.

“Shit,” Squidlen muttered, turning his head toward the bridge window. “Dammit Yorela, how co every ti we're together on one of these voyages we get to witness phenonon that's never been fully docunted?”

“Fuck. What do you think it is, Squiddy? I don't like it when your voice gets like that,” Yorela replied.

“There is sothing called a true tear of chaotic space. I've never seen one in person, and as far as I know, no one's ever actually watched one happen. The few existing ones I know of have been far too dangerous to bring the ship anywhere near ‘em. It looks like we're about to watch one be birthed right in front of us. As much as I'd like to claim that makes us the first ones to witness it, I've got a strong feeling there have been others before us, and they just didn't survive the experience,” he replied grimly.

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“There's got to be sothing we can do. We just got William back. We beat the jesters. We can't die here,” Alex spoke up with a grim resolve in her voice.

She didn't sound as hopeless as she had for so long. The determination wasn't empty. And she was right. They couldn't die here, which ant Maud had to think. She wasn't helpless. She wasn't just that old, funny Maud who kept people entertained in a disaster anymore. She had powers all her own. There had to be sothing she could do.

If this was a tear like Squidlen said, what was it tearing into? Why was her connection to the soul chat vibrating, and why had the others been cut off?

Except for Saud.

Saud, who was in the soul realm that was currently experiencing so sort of quakes, could still connect to her. That ant that was what was on the other side of the tear? If that were true, it would be possible to survive over there. It also ant there was a way out. They just had to find what Dave had constructed.

She had an idea. She had no idea how to make the idea a reality. But it was an idea nonetheless.

“So, rember what I just said about the soul chat? What if that's connected to what's going on out there, and on the other side of that tear is the soul realm?” Maud said quickly, so of her words blurring together, with the speed she forced them out.

“Maud's got a point. I'm not sure how much it helps, but she's got a really good point. Squiddy, do you know anything at all about soul realms or soul space?” Yorela followed up.

Maud had explained that poorly, now that she thought about it. She knew that soul space wasn't the sa thing as soul realm, but with her brain working as fast as it had, the two ideas had been conflated. Dave's soul realm was sothing that sat within the soul space.

“I know that soul magic exists. And that, in theory, it channels from soul space, but it ain't sothing you hear much about, especially out in chaotic space. But this right here proves there are bigger connections than we realized. Or at least there are bigger connections than anyone was willing to talk about. Dammit. The ramifications of what's going on here are bigger than our own lives. What the hell did you get involved in this ti?” The captain replied.

“Please, you get yourself involved. And usually you drag along. Don't bla for this ss. But that's sothing we can hash out later. How do we get this ship through that tear without dying?”

“How could I possibly know that? I just told you no one's ever seen one of these form before.” Despite his words, Squidlen was busy tapping away at several different consoles and jotting down outputs. He was trying to figure sothing out.

“Sothing's happening out there!” l called a split second before the window exploded inward. A bright blue light of charged mana followed it.

There was a loud sound of sothing stamping its hooves repeatedly against the deck before the room returned back to normal. In the place of the window was now a glowing shield. And behind them stood a very tired-looking moose.

“I'm guessing that ans we're running out of ti,” Yorela said.

“Oh my god, it worked!” A voice incredibly similar to sothing Maud had heard all her life, and yet just slightly different, cried out as two bluish-white forms started to manifest in front of the shield

“Saud!” Maud called back, both shocked and happy to see her soul reflection solidifying into its own person. Beside her stood a woman who looked incredibly like Elody, who Maud knew must be Selody.

“I'm a bit surprised it worked as well. For those who have no idea who we are, I'm Selody. This is Saud. I assu you've at least mostly heard of us through Maud and her connection to the others. Whatever is happening here is causing a cascading effect all the way to the soul realm Dave has built. We were able to ride the thread that connects Maud and Saud back to all of you. And I think I can pull this entire ship back through,” Selody said in a confidently matter-of-fact way that Maud had only ever heard from Elody.

She still wasn't entirely sure what made herself, her, and Saud, Saud, separated. It seed her mories had split so ti around the creation of the soul realm, and even then, not all of Maud's mories were fully manifest within Saud. But they had determined there were emotional connections to things that Saud didn't fully understand. This had been a big part of what caused Maud to decide that Saud was just her sister and not worry anymore about it.

“I'm basically lost at what's going on. But I'm Squidlen, captain of this ship, and I'm willing to entertain any ideas to keep this ship afloat, and I suppose everyone alive as well. So what do you got?” he said, looking up from the console to stare directly at Selody.

“You need to take this ship directly back into soul space. I will attempt to guide you to follow the thread that connects Saud and to the soul realm that Dave has created, but I don't know where we will end up when we first enter. So it's important that everyone is prepared for a battle,” she instructed.

“Show where to go,” was all Squidlen replied.

Selody joined him, tapping away at the consoles herself, Squidlen nodding and ‘ah-ha-ing’ as he followed up. There was a surprising silence from everyone else in the room as the two worked. Despite how much Maud wanted to greet her sister, she held it in. It looked as though Saud was doing the sa.

All at once, the ship lurched forward. The moose looked even more strained as the shield changed colors. Maud didn't understand what they were doing, but you could tell the toll it was taking on the primal mana beast, and she did her best to soothe him.

The entire room went black, and Squidlen hurriedly yelled out a warning through the speaker system, telling everyone to remain calm. Suddenly, a noise ripped apart the blackness. William began to laugh.

And with that laugh, the blackness vanished. Outside the window stood a sprawling, gleaming city.

Sotis mana beasts, especially primals, interact with mana orbs in unique ways. They've been seen to ingest them on more than one occasion, and for whatever reason, it appears to make them more powerful. One of the leading theories is that it deepens the bond between the primal and the mana orb. But as that is sothing factions are rarely willing to study, the exact interconnection is unknown.

Personally, I believe that the web that connects primal mana beasts allows for an easier connection to mana orbs than most species are able to maintain. Though, why so many ingest them? I've never been able to get a good answer. So have said they felt drawn to them before their full consciousness awoke. Others just enjoyed the sll.

Primals, Large and Small, Fungi to Fun Guy by Sven VII