The next few days were busy ones for our group. Leroy and Cally spent their time poring through records and accounts, finding out everything they could about the Mirkvale Forest. Meanwhile, Anna and I dealt with the Church of the Sun.
First, we met with Grand Priestess Quinn and Marcella, letting them know that we were accepting both of their offers. The latter just smiled, as if she predicted something like this might happen. The former, on the other hand, grew upset with us. She didn't want to share the glory with another god, and demanded that we choose one or the other. However, after some back and forth, she backed down.
After that came the negotiations. The Church of the Sun offered to support our efforts, and Grand Priestess Quinn offered us additional support in exchange for letting one of her people join our group. Now we just needed to sit down and figure out the specifics.
What followed were some of the most stressful and frustrating days of my life. The Church of the Sun commanded vast amounts of resources and manpower. However, most of that was tied to the church's various interests. The rest were dedicated to other efforts, such as charity. Any resources that the church gave us meant taking resources away from other areas.
The people involved were reluctant to give anything up. You'd think that preventing the end of the world would take priority, but no. The various church officials proved me wrong. While I understood where they were coming from, to a limited degree, that didn't make dealing with them any less annoying.
A part of me suspected that their respective gods ordered them to be like this on purpose, since we chose Aeros and Amara over them.
It was even worse for Anna, who was an actual regressor. More than once I had to stop her from losing her temper and beating up the church officials.
In the end, we unleashed a secret weapon: Kaya.
As Grand Priest Darius' aide, she often dealt with other officials from the church for various matters. She had a lot of experience dealing with these sorts of people and their bullshit. In fact, she was so effective that we finished with the negotiations within a day of her arrival.
Grand Priestess Quinn proved to be much easier to deal with. She already got what she wanted from us, so she was less stingy in comparison. While the negotiations grew heated, it was nowhere near as bad as with the other church officials. We didn't even need to ask Kaya for help. In fact, I almost started to like Grand Priestess Quinn towards the end.
Various other matters also demanded our attention. Kiki and Kaya remained hostile to one another, so handling them was a balancing act. It would've been easier if we could separate them, so they wouldn't have to see each other. However, they refused to leave each other's side. They both claimed that they needed to keep an eye on the other.
There was also Grand Priest Darius, who was unhappy about being stuck in the Temple of Tempest. Without Kaya around, he had to shoulder the burden of being grand priest all on his own. However, from our conversations, I knew he wasn't genuinely angry. He was just whining.
In the midst of all this, I sent a message to my parents. Both to let them know that I was alright, and to ask them for help. I should've sent this sooner, but with everything going on, I forgot. The Grand Temple of the Sun wasn't too far from Sturm Manor or Sturm Hill Hall, so I expected to hear a reply from them within a few days. A week at the latest.
After dealing with all of that, I managed to carve out some free time so I could learn spirit magic from Kiki and Kaya. None of these negotiations and issues mattered if we remained too weak to deal with the oncoming invasion.
I was getting sick of fighting enemies that outclassed me by miles. I needed to boost my strength, and spirit magic seemed like the fastest way to do it.
There was also the spirit core, which would boost my cultivation. However, I was going to wait until after everything settled down before taking it. Consuming a spirit core came with some risks, and I wanted to be prepared before attempting.
My first lesson in spirit magic took place the day after Anna and I finished negotiating with the church. She took the others to Mt. Sol so they could consult with the gods and receive Holy magic. Anna chose Brand, Cally chose Khione, and Leroy chose Terra. There wasn't any point in me going along with them, so I stayed behind.
The lesson took place in the rear yard, which looked good as new. No traces of the fight between Kiki and Kaya remained. It was early morning. The sky above was gray and overcast. The air smelled like rain. It felt cool outside, a reminder that summer was over and winter was on its way. However, thanks to my contract with Aurora, I felt just fine.
Kiki and Kaya joined me in the rear yard, standing over a dozen feet apart from each other. The former looked good as new, thanks to Lord Dominic's repairs, while Cally healed the latter's legs.
Speaking of Lord Dominic, he attended the lesson as well. Not because he needed to learn magic, but because he felt anxious about letting Kiki leave his sight. After what happened with Kiki, he trailed after her like a duckling following its mother. I found it kind of endearing.
Aurora acted the same way with Kaya. The latter kept trying to push her away, to no avail. Through our bond, I knew that Aurora felt comfort and solace from meeting another like her. They were both dragons who ended up becoming spirits, even though the process differed for each of them.
Of course, for this lesson, Aurora remained by my side. While she wanted to get closer to Kaya, she was still my familiar in the end.
"Alright, Lord Gabriel," Kaya said. She crossed her arms and looked me over. "Let's start by figuring out how far along you two are."
Kiki nodded.
"Yes," she said. "In order to teach you, we need to know where you currently stand."
I looked between the two of them in surprise.
"What?" Kaya snapped.
"Nothing," I said. "I'm just surprised that you two agree on something."
Kiki and Kaya glanced at each other, before they both snorted and looked away.
"I may loathe this treacherous snake but Lord Tempest commanded me to help you," Kaya said.
"Exactly," Kiki said. "We can put our feelings for each other aside in order to teach you."
I nodded, before I gestured to Aurora. She leapt into my body. After she settled in, the two of us pulled on our contract and merged. We had done this a few times before, so we were already somewhat familiar with the process. Our souls became one, and I felt Gabriel's body changed.
When we finished, I opened my eyes. A layer of frost coated the ground around me. I looked over at the others. Kaya stared at me in disbelief. It was difficult to read Kiki, but she seemed shocked as well.
"Are you insane?!" Kaya demanded. "Why would you go for full unity right away?!"
I blinked at her in surprise.
"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice a combination of Gabriel's and Aurora's.
Kaya rubbed her face with one hand. She gestured to Kiki.
"You tell them," she said. "I'm too angry right now."
"There are three stages to Unity of Spirit and Flesh," Kiki said, her voice filled with concern. "You skipped the first two stages and entered the third right away. We call this full unity. This is the most powerful stage. However, if you're not careful, both of you can lose your sense of self. In the worst case scenario, you can end up destroying your souls."
I stared at her for several moments.
"Why didn't you say this before?!" I shouted.
"I didn't know that you reached full unity!"
"What did you think I meant when I said we became one?!"
"I thought you reached the first stage! How was I supposed to know that you skipped ahead to full unity? You're both lucky to still be alive!"
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I thought back to when Gabriel and Aurora first merged and became me. In the beginning, they almost lost themselves in a feedback loop of panic and fear. Thinking about how close they came to destroying themselves sent a chill down my spine.
"It's fine," Kaya said with a sigh. "What's done is done." She frowned in thought. "If anything, this makes things easier for us. We can skip teaching you about the first two stages."
Kiki shook her head.
"I disagree," she said. "We need to start with the fundamentals. By building a strong foundation, Gabriel and…" She paused and looked at me. "Actually, before we continue. Which name do you prefer? Gabriel or Aurora? It'll be awkward to keep calling you by both names."
"A combination of the two," I said. "Auroriel."
Kiki nodded, before she looked back at Kaya.
"Auroriel needs to build a strong foundation in order to better utilize full unity."
Kaya made a dismissive gesture.
"That's pointless," she said. "The more time he…" She paused and glanced at me. I nodded. "The more time he spends in full unity, the more used to it he can get."
Kiki scoffed.
"Still as impatient and sloppy as always," she said.
"So? It's worked out for me."
"Auroriel isn't like-"
"Please don't start fighting," I said. "We're in the middle of a lesson."
Both of them glanced at me, before looking at each other and nodding.
"In that case, you decide," Kaya said.
"Fundamentals or skipping ahead?" Kiki asked.
I pointed to Kiki.
"Fundamentals."
Kiki wore a triumphant expression, while Kaya sneered at me.
"I never expected a Sturm to be a coward," Kaya said. "Where's your sense of adventure and excitement?"
"I almost destroyed my souls by skipping ahead," I said in a deadpan voice. "Adventure and excitement can go fuck itself."
Kaya made a dismissive gesture. I ignored her and focused on Kiki.
"How do we start?" I asked. "Do I need to separate?"
Kiki shook her head.
"There's no need," she said. "At least for this first lesson. The first stage of Union of Flesh and Spirit is called partial unity. This is where the human and the spirit share senses."
"You mean Spirit Sight?"
Kiki nodded.
"Yes, though it's not just sight," Kiki said. "It applies to the other senses as well."
Kaya patted her chest with a proud smile on her face.
"Dragon spirits are the best for this," she said. "We had excellent senses in life, and that carries over into death."
Kiki shook her head and I got the impression that she rolled her eyes.
"The best part of partial unity is that you can share senses even when separated, no matter the distance," she said. "Meaning you can see through each other's eyes even when miles apart."
I felt excited by this. Gabriel sometimes sent Aurora out on scouting missions. Sharing senses would benefit that, as well as reassure Gabriel. A part of him always worried about Aurora whenever she went scouting.
"Kiki," Lord Dominic said.
Everyone looked at him. He had been so quiet this entire time that I almost forgot he was there.
"Yes, Master Dominic?" Kiki asked.
I detected a hint of sweetness in her voice that I never noticed before, either as Gabriel or Aurora. Maybe I noticed it this time because we were fused. Kaya must've heard it as well, because she wore a disgusted expression.
"Can you and I achieve Unity of Flesh and Spirit?" Lord Dominic asked.
Kiki stiffened, more so than usual I mean.
"I'm afraid not, little artificer," Kaya said, smirking. "Lord Gabriel and Aurora have high affinity with one another, and they have about the same strength. You have a decent affinity with Kiki, so that isn't a problem. However, she's too powerful. Her soul would destroy yours."
Kiki threw a look in Kaya's direction, before she sighed.
"It's true, Master Dominic," she said, facing him. "This is why I've maintained a certain distance from you."
Lord Dominic appeared disappointed by this news.
"Oh," he said, despondent. "I thought it would be nice to become one with you. It sounds… comforting."
Kiki clutched her chest and muttered something under her breath. Thanks to my enhanced senses, I heard every word.
"Too cute. Must resist urge to smother."
Kaya gagged.
"I mean, if Lord Dominic is too weak," I said. "Then the solution is simple. He needs to become stronger."
Lord Dominic looked at me, his eyes going wide.
"You're right," he said, looking as if I had bestowed the secrets of the universe upon him. "I need to become stronger." He looked at Kiki, a look of determination on his face. "Don't worry, Kiki. I shall become strong enough to become worthy of you!"
With that, he ran back inside the residence. To cultivate, I assumed. Kiki let out a wistful sigh.
"He's such a sweet boy," she said.
"Boy being the key word there," Kaya said. "I never expected you to be a… What was the term again? Ah, yes. Cradle snatcher. You're a cradle snatcher.
Kiki looked at Kaya and let out an intense killing intent.
"Watch your tongue, Kaya," she said. "Before I rip it out of your mouth. Say what you want about me, but leave Master Dominic out of it."
"You're several thousand years old!" Kaya snapped. "He's not even twenty! You have no business falling in love with him! What is wrong with you?"
Kiki shook her head.
"You wouldn't understand," she said. "He's… Pure."
Kaya let out a disgusted sound. Kiki looked ready to start another fight with her. I cleared my throat to catch their attention.
"Can we continue with the lesson please?" I asked.
The two of them looked at me, looked back at each other, before they turned away from one another with a huff. I sighed.
I should've never accepted Tempest's offer.
Over the next few hours, I learned how to combine Gabriel's senses with Aurora's. I started with Spirit Sight, since that was the one I was most familiar with. While I knew how to use it, mastering it was another matter altogether. Thankfully, according to my two teachers, I just needed practice.
The first thing I noticed when I used Spirit Sight were Kiki and Kaya's true forms. The size and strength of a soul didn't necessarily correlate with the size of its physical vessel. I learned this when I first saw Kiki's true form, and seeing Kaya's true form reminded me of this.
In a word, she was majestic. Similar to Kiki, her true form seemed to encompass everything. However, instead of the whole world, she seemed to fill up the sky and everything beyond. The air around her crackled with raw power.
Like Aurora, Kaya had a serpentine body with two wings and four legs. However, Kaya's physique was bulkier. Thicker. Aurora's body looked slender and elegant. Kaya's looked powerful and domineering. She exuded sheer might. As expected of a ruler of the sky.
However, it was her wings that stole my breath away. I didn't know if this was Aurora influencing my thoughts, but they looked beautiful. They seemed to stretch from one horizon to another, casting a shadow over everything. She looked like she could create hurricanes with a single flap.
No wonder Aurora kept following Kaya around, if this was what she saw all the time. The part of me that was Gabriel felt the same urge. He hadn't felt this way with Kiki. Perhaps it was an effect from his draconic heritage.
When Kaya noticed me staring, she rolled her eyes before taking a pose and showing off. I stood there in a daze for a while, before Kiki snapped me out of it.
After that, the two of them taught me how to see using both Spirit Sight and my normal sight. That way, I could observe the spirit side of things without getting lost in it. This took some getting used to. Even when I managed to make it work, it never lasted long.
I kept struggling, until Kaya offered me some advice.
"Remember," she said, flicking my forehead. "There are two of you in there. Share the burden. That should make things easier. That's the benefit of full unity." She smirked. "After all, two minds are better than one."
"While I would normally advise against skipping ahead, that might be the best solution here," Kiki said, nodding in agreement.
I blinked at them in confusion, before it clicked. I wasn't a singular being. I was two beings who had merged into one. This meant that I had two minds. Instead of using them as if they were one, why not use both for different things?
So, I tried thinking one way using Gabriel's mind. At the same time, I tried thinking another way using Aurora's mind. It felt strange as two parts of myself were trying to act independently of one another. It was like trying to write two separate things using both of my hands at the same time.
However, after some practice, I succeeded. Gabriel's mind went through various martial arts forms and stances, while Aurora imagined herself having wings like Kaya's. Despite this, I felt no strain or burden. It felt perfectly natural.
Once I got the hang of having two different trains of thought going on at the same time, I tried using both Spirit Sight and normal sight. Aurora focused on the former, while Gabriel focused on the latter. This time, I succeeded. I saw through a spirit's eyes and a human's eyes at the same time.
After that, learning how to use my other senses proved much easier. As Kaya claimed earlier, dragons had sharp senses. When Aurora's senses were in conjunction with Gabriel's, I perceived the world around me in greater detail. So much so that I found it overwhelming. Learning how to sort through all the extraneous details proved difficult.
By the end of the lesson, I felt exhausted. So much so that when I split up from Aurora and became just Gabriel again, the two of us laid on the ground. I covered my eyes with my forearms while Aurora rested her head on my chest.
"Weaklings," Kaya said. "Still, not bad for your first lesson."
"Yes," Kiki said. "You're improving at a rapid rate. I predict that in a few days, you'll both be ready to learn about half unity."
Kaya chuckled.
"That's when the fun really begins," she said.
I removed my arm from my eyes and grinned, despite my exhaustion. Through our bond, I felt Aurora's excitement. It mirrored my own.
While I may not be able to use Holy magic, spirit magic was proving more useful than expected. I couldn't wait to learn more.