Chương 111: Forming a Soul Bond

I was sitting cross-legged on my thin mattress with the vine wrapped right around my shoulders like an old friend. Which it basically was even though it didn't actually remember any of that yet.

"Master," Azure spoke up in my head, "if you want to restore your bond with the vine, I know how we can share your memories with it." I perked right up when he said that.

"How?"

"We can adapt the spiritual sense techniques you learned from the Heart's Bridge Method. Instead of using it to make a connection for bonding, you can use it to project specific memories into it similar to a spiritual picture book. It is going to need some really precise control though..."

"But we can do it," I finished for him and I felt this spark of hope in my chest.

"How does it work?" Azure walked me through the process and explained how I didn't need to open a channel to connect with it, I just needed to grab specific memories and project them outwards.

"Remember that clarity is extremely important," Azure warned me.

"You have to focus on the strongest memories that define your relationship and be careful to avoid overwhelming it since pushing too much information at once could end up hurting it." I nodded and took a deep breath to start turning my soul essence into spiritual essence.

"Are you ready, buddy?" I whispered down to the vine after I finally stored up enough spiritual essence. The tip of the vine bobbed up and down which I decided to interpret as a nod. I closed my eyes and focused on the memories I wanted to show it. The technique felt a lot like the Heart's Bridge Method, but I was building a spiritual projection instead of making an open channel. The first memory locked in my mind; it was my fight with Kiran.

I could see the whole thing perfectly with the young noble's face all twisted up with madness while he broke his own bones and turned them into deadly weapons. That was the moment me and the vine fought together for the first time, and it never left my side after that. I pushed the memory out and I could feel the vine tense up while it took all the images in.

The whole scene played out inside our shared spiritual space with Kiran's bone blades smashing against the vine's hardened pieces while my dodges and attacks flowed perfectly with how the vine was moving. I made sure to include that feeling of trust and the certainty that the vine was always going to be there for me. The next memory I sent over was darker. It was us running through the forest while one of Elder Molric's giant failed abomination experiments was hunting us down.

I showed it how we worked together, and how it got hurt trying to protect me. I even showed it the part where I told it to go hide and it just jumped right back into the fight anyway to save my life. The vine shuddered a little bit while it was soaking up all those memories. It didn't try to pull away; it drew closer to me like it was encouraging me to keep going. The third memory was difficult to share. It was our final stand against that Lightweaver priest.

I showed the vine how it desperately tried to save me while the priest held me trapped in the air. I shared that moment of horror when he caught the vine in his hand and his energy started vaporizing it, making it scream that horrible sound I never ever wanted to hear again. And then I showed it our very last moment together. The decision where I blew up my own core so I could drag the Lightweaver straight down to hell with us.

When the memories finally faded out, the vine had wrapped itself around my shoulders doing something that felt like a hug. The tip of it moved in a little pattern that I recognized right away, it was giving me an apology. I couldn't help but laugh even though it sounded a little bit watery.

"You really don't need to apologize. None of that happened in this timeline, you didn't forget anything, those memories never even existed for you until now." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The tip of the vine literally traced a question mark right in the air.

"I know it is a lot to take in," I told it while gently stroking it.

"There is a way we can make sure we never get separated again if you want to hear about it?" The vine perked right up and lifted its tip, so it was looking right at me.

"It's called the Heart's Bridge Method and it's a soul bonding technique. If we can get it to work, we will be connected on a fundamental level, so no matter what happens or where we end up going, we will always be together." The vine tilted its tip, radiating curiosity.

"It's not without risks though," I said being honest with it.

"Soul bonding is complex and dangerous, if it goes wrong, it could end up hurting both of us really badly. But..." I gave it a smile.

"I think it is worth it." The vine seemed to think about that for a second. Then it did something it never did before, it formed its tip into the shape of a smile.

"Alright then," I said and shifted around so I was in a more comfortable position on the bed.

"Azure, ready to start?"

"Just one moment Master," Azure warned me.

"You have to remember that the Heart's Bridge Method needs both participants to be actively involved in it. The vine is going to need to understand how to use its own energy so it can form its half of the bridge." I blinked. I had been so focused on doing my part perfectly that I forgot about that little detail.

"Oh right. That is a very good point. Okay, I guess it's time for some teaching." I spent the rest of the hour leading the vine through all the basics of the technique. It was a strange feeling trying to teach advanced spiritual concepts to a plant creature that perceived the whole universe in a different way than humans did, but the vine was an eager student and intelligent as before.

When I used my spiritual sense to show it how to gather up energy and shape it into those specific patterns needed for the bond, the vine was remarkably good at copying my examples. But its version of the technique had a much more organic feel to it.

"That is quite remarkable," Azure commented while we watched the vine practice its forms.

"It isn't just mimicking what you do, it is adapting the technique so it works perfectly with its own natural energy." Finally, after doing what felt like countless repetitions and making a bunch of tiny adjustments, we were ready to attempt the real bond. The vine wrapped itself right around my left arm and rested its tip directly over my heart since we found out that position worked the best for channeling our different energies.

"Remember," Azure said in a quiet voice, "this has to be a completely mutual reaching. Don't try to force the connection to happen. You have to let it develop naturally." I nodded and closed my eyes. Doing the Heart's Bridge Method felt a lot different this time, it was more focused. Instead of creating this general field of awareness all around me, I was reaching out specifically toward the vine's spiritual presence.

Its energy came out and met mine in the middle, and they started intertwining in these patterns that somehow felt alien but also familiar at the same time. The first attempt failed. Our energies touched each other, but they didn't merge at all, they just slid right past each other like oil and water. I could feel the vine's disappointment echoing my own feelings.

"Well, at least there wasn't any backlash," Azure pointed out.

"The energies are compatible, they just aren't connecting together properly." I frowned while I sat there trying to think it all through.

"The vine's energy... I don't even know what the elder did to it, but it isn't using the red sun's energy, and it isn't using the blue sun's energy either, it's something different, almost like it's a mix of both of them? Maybe we need to try approaching this in a different way." Instead of trying to forcefully build a bridge between us, I focused on creating this open space where our energies could naturally flow together on their own.

It was like I was preparing the soil for a seed to grow instead of trying to build a solid structure. The vine seemed to understand what I was doing. Its energy shifted and became less directed, it felt like a growing root that was seeking out some fertile ground. When our energies met up this time, they slowly started to intermingle together and create patterns that reminded me of spreading roots or branches growing out of a tree.

"Yes," Azure encouraged me, "Maintain that space so it has room to grow." The connection got deeper while our energies weaved together in patterns that got more and more complex. I could feel the vine's consciousness brushing right up against mine, it wasn't using words or real concrete thoughts, it was mostly just impressions and emotions. I felt trust, affection, and this huge excitement about this new way of being together. When the actual moment of bonding finally came, it was subtle but also profound.

There wasn't any crazy flash of light or some huge surge of power, it was just this quiet little click of completion that felt like a key turning perfectly in a lock. The vine's physical body started to fade away, and it dissolved into glowing motes of green light that swirled around me before disappearing.

"Congratulations Master," Azure said.

"The soul bond appears stable and healthy." I closed my eyes and smiled while I felt the vine's presence settle into its own special little corner right inside my inner world. It wasn't actually gone at all, it was just somewhere safer now, somewhere where nobody could ever take it away from me again.

"Welcome home," I whispered, feeling pure happiness echoing right back through our bond.

"Now it's time for something I really should have done a long time ago, I need to give you a name..."