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"\'Tips\'?...Ah, yes. Do not recklessly open any of the Soul\'s Marks; it is important that you must know that the aspects of souls bound to these books are often quite violent and unstable. It takes many years for them to stabilize on their own," Hecate warned.

"Wait, what? I\'m lost here," Emilio said.

"Me too," Blimpo nodded.

It seemed as though the keeper of the soul-storing library was one that seldom appreciate prolonged conversation as she continued fixing the shelves before responding:

"Upon opening a Soul\'s Mark, the soul stored within it will materialize–often, these souls are aggressive as their minds have not yet adapted to the After," Hecate told them, "You will need to locate those you seek and \'stabilize\' them through combat. As to how to find these specific souls…Here."

Materializing out of thin air between the pale fingers of the tall woman was an emerald bookmark, which she bestowed to Emilio, who accepted it.

"A bookmark?" He said quietly, inspecting the item.

Of course, the elven tinkerer was intrigued by it as well, as he was with just about any item that he was unfamiliar with as he flicked his goggles on and looked at it intently.

"...Well, it\'s definitely some sort of mystical tool," Blimpo remarked.

"I could tell you that," he responded.

Before he could even try to ask the Curator of Souls what to use the bookmark for, he looked up to find that the silver-haired woman had already left, vanishing without a trace.

"Looks like we\'re on our own now," Blimpo said.

"And I still don\'t have a clue what we have to do," he sighed.

"Wing it," Blimpo told him.

–It was dumb advice, but likely appropiate considering the confusion and lack of time they had to think it over. The library of soul-containing books was far too vast, truthfully; there were too many rows of books to count and far too many shelves to occupy one space.

"Who\'re you going to look for here?" Blimpo asked.

A question he should\'ve expected, though as it was asked, he found a lump forming in his throat as just the thought of it spurred feelings he didn\'t foresee. He stopped for a moment after a short walk between the shelves.

"...Well, there\'s a few people that come to mind," he said, "Three, in fact. One is a friend I made in Larundog…Joel; he should be here."

"Oh, you told me about him…Yeah, that\'s a good choice," Blimpo said.

"Then my former mentor–Vandread; he\'s strong and wise–having him on this journey with us will be invaluable. Though, having to fight him first to \'stabilize\' his soul doesn\'t sound like a fun idea…" He noted, gently squeezing the emerald bookmark.

Fortunately, he had already told Blimpo practically his entire life story when they were undergoing the trial of the Progenitor, so there wasn\'t much explaining he had to do. Still, Blimpo seemed excited at the idea of meeting Emilio\'s late companions.

"The third one, is it…?" Blimpo put his hand to his chin.

He nodded, "The other person like me I mentioned–Asher; he\'s somebody that reincarnated from Earth to Arcadius as well. He\'s incredibly strong and knowledgeable as well, though…"

"What is it?" Blimpo asked.

"Defeating him is going to definitely be a difficult task. I don\'t remember it very well, but when I was in Parmesus, I totally lost control and took some sort of…monstrous form. Asher managed to put me down while I was in that state," Emilio told him, "He\'s powerful."

"Sounds like it," Blimpo said.

The idea of having to fight his companions in order to stabilize their souls was not a pleasant one, especially with how fresh the pain of loss still felt to him in regards to them.

"I\'m stronger than I was, though. I won\'t fail," he said, assuring both Blimpo and himself as he looked down at his own hand.

"We won\'t fail," Blimpo corrected him.

Strolling through the seemingly endless library of stored souls was certainly a chilling experience; there was a sensation that gave off from the emerald books, as if the ghostly presences were all there.

"...Hm."

He kept the emerald bookmark raised in front of him, not knowing exactly how to use it, but giving his best guess on what it was used for.

"Joel," he whispered.

–The quiet name given to the bookmark did in fact seem to work as the word that left his lips imbued itself into the subtly-glowing, green object, causing it to wriggle out of his own hand suddenly.

"--Ah!" He reacted, letting go of it.

"Woah, it\'s moving on its own now!" Blimpo witnessed.

The emerald bookmark flew straight out of his mind, hovering in front of his eyes before it began flying forward. It was a stunning sight that left them both agasp for a moment at the unexpected development.

"Follow it!" He called out.

It certainly wasn\'t waiting for them as it sped through the aisles of books, forcing them to run after it as it rapidly flew around corners, taking sharp angles; Emilio didn\'t have an issue following, but Blimpo nearly crashed into a shelf after taking a hard turn.

"--!"

Arriving at a new set of shelves, this time organized in a different fashion as the bookshelves were set in a circular shape like walls, he found the emerald bookmark stopping before one of the Soul\'s Marks sitting on a shelf.

"Is this it?" He quietly asked.

As he approached, he slowly removed the glowing book from its place before also taking the bookmark back. Holding the emerald book in his hands, it was cold to the touch; the casing was made out of a metallic material, making it somewhat heavy.

Is this your Soul\'s Mark, Joel…? He questioned.

Looking at the book, it stirred up painful memories as he held the very object that held the soul of his fallen friend.

"--Didja find it?"

Blimpo finally caught up, huffing and leaning against one of the shelves to take a breather. Though he didn\'t respond right away, he nodded, turning to face his elven companion.

"I think I\'ll handle the fighting alone, if you don\'t mind," he said.

"Oh? That\'s fine with me–I get it," Blimpo smirked, "Do your thing, \'Milio."

"Thanks," he smiled and nodded.

It wasn\'t as though he believed his elven friend would get in the way or anything like that, but when it came to having to fight his fallen friend, it felt as though this was something he should handle for himself.

Even though he was told what would happen upon opening a Soul\'s Mark, he didn\'t quite understand what he should expect when opening it, as in, how the soul itself would manifest before him.

Preparing himself, he breathed in-and-out before slowly parting the book open; even before it was fully opened, a vibration emitted from between its pages as it began to be unsealed. As it was opened, an emerald light filled his vision, blinding him as a new sensation overtook his body.

"--!"

What is this? He questioned.

Coming to as he blinked, having his vision slowly return, he found the book was gone from his hands, now standing in a completely different, isolated chamber of emerald steel in a dome shape. It was disorientating to go from one place to another so suddenly, but his focus was stolen from the abnormal displacement to the other person who occupied the chamber.

That head of silver hair was impossible to mistake, along with the bandana he wore on his head and the sword at his hip.

"...Joel…" Emilio called out.

It was as he said the name of his dearly missed friend that the figure turned around to face him; though it was unmistakably Joel, the emerald eyes he held were faded out and his expression was solemn; a far cry from his energetic self.

"It really is you," Emilio quietly said.

–As he took a step forward, prepared to embrace his passed friend, he stopped dead in his tracks as the sound of steel leaving a scabbard met his ears; Joel drew his sword from its sheath, pulling it out and pointing it directly at him.

"Huh?" He let out.

Though he knew what it was he had to do before coming in, being on the receiving end of such malicious intent from the one he knew as a friend simply felt disheartening.

…Right. This is what I came here to do–the Curator told me this is how it would be…Just don\'t think too hard about it, he thought.

Removing his own sword from its sheath, he prepared himself as he faced off against his old friend, waiting for an opening before–

"--!"

Joel dashed forward suddenly, taking the offense as he spun around and unleashed a heavy slash in his direction.

CLANG

Sparks flew in the air as their blades collided; even if Joel presented such aggression, the advantage of strength was undoubtedly in the Dragonheart\'s favor as he pushed the silver-haired man away.

As Joel landed on his feet, he spoke for the first time, spewing a yell from his lips, "Emilio…!"

"Huh?..." Emilio was caught off-guard, not expecting to be spoken to.

"It\'s because of you that I died…! It\'s because of you that my sister died in Larundog, too!" Joel yelled before rushing back in.