"Who is Ager?" Yuki pressed, her brow furrowed. "You've been saying such strange things since the beginning."
Should I tell her? Ray thought, a wave of apprehension washing over him. No, I shouldn't. She already thinks I'm weird or perhaps mad. I don't want her to leave me alone. This is the first time in my life I've talked to a girl this pretty; I don't want to miss this golden chance.
"Nothing!" Ray quickly blurted out, a blush creeping up his neck. "Forget about it."
Yuki's expression turned serious. "Hey, I can take you somewhere better than this place, but do you have something in mind? You should know, though, that before I met you, I was heading to the war happening nearby."
"If you don't mind," Ray stammered, his face still flushed, "I want to accept that offer you gave me earlier."
A bright smile bloomed on Yuki's face. "Really? So you want me to accompany you? But do you agree to go to war? Before anything, I must tell you that the Curseumans there are incredibly powerful, so your life will be at risk with me. Do you still agree?"
"Yes, I agree," Ray affirmed, his voice firm.
"The pain of loneliness I suffered in my past life was enough", Ray thought. "I don't want to be alone in this life. Besides, I don't think I'll get a chance to meet such beauty again in the future."
"So, okay," Yuki said, nodding. "If you agree, then let's go!"
With that, they both began to move towards the distant sound of battle. After some time, as they walked, Yuki spoke again.
"The place we're heading to is Baston,"
she explained. "It's a vast, clear plain where very few people live. The soil of Baston is infertile, so due to lack of food, people abandoned the place. It's said that centuries ago, Baston was like any other thriving city, where people grew crops and lived happily. But one day, a devastating war was fought there. That war, between the Spiritumens and Curseumans, was so destructive that it ruined the entire Baston plain, and the effects of that conflict are still seen today. That war was known as the first Great Spirit Rebellion."
"Hey, does 'Spiritumen' mean a soul like me?" Ray asked, trying to grasp the new terminology.
"You could say that partially," Yuki replied. "But a Spiritumen is a special category of spirits who are able to absorb energy from nature and utilize it. While a Curseuman is a category of cursed soul that doesn't have the ability to absorb natural energy; they generally consume other spirits to gain power."
She paused, looking at him thoughtfully.
"Well, I earlier thought you were a Spiritumen, but now I'm confused about which category you fall into. Actually, Spiritumens have a special characteristic we use to identify whether it's a Spiritumen or a Curseumen. When Spiritumens absorb natural energy around them, an empty space is created around them, devoid of natural energy. The size of this empty space depends on how much natural energy that Spiritumen can absorb. Sometimes we use this to identify the rank of a Spiritumen, but as you know, raw energy isn't everything; techniques and efficiency also matter."
"Then, what do you think I am?" Ray pressed, eager for an answer.
"As I told you earlier, I'm still confused,"
Yuki admitted. "I can't sense any empty space around you. Perhaps you absorb a negligible amount of natural energy, too little to be sensed by others."
"I have one last doubt," Ray said, "who was that spirit inside you, and why is it even inside?"
"Oh, Yuzuki," Yuki chuckled. "She is a Spiritumen I've made a bond with. Actually, we humans don't have powers and supernatural abilities like spirits. So, in order to survive amidst the continuous conflict between Spiritumens and Curseumens, we've formed bonds with Spiritumens. They provide us with their power, and in return, we provide them with liveliness and the ability to absorb more natural energy. If a spirit is weak, we are a perfect way for them to polish their skills. It's like a business deal, that's what people say, but the connection between me and Yuzuki is much more than that."