Chapter 889 889 - Unstable
It was a slow, methodical process. With eyes closed and brows furrowed in focus, he gently wrapped his spatial power around the Elorium core in his soul. As he did, he felt Elora's energy right there with him, guiding him. The fairy was, of course, the resident expert on both his soul and Elorium. With their connection, she could help him even from behind the barrier she'd erected.
First, they disconnected the Elorium core from him altogether, and Erik felt the loss.
For several months now, Elorium had been the connecting point for his Arcanist and Runebound sides—something he'd been missing since the very first moment he came into contact with these principles. Suddenly losing that connecting point once again turned him into a creature made up of two separate halves. Now that he'd tasted the other side, he didn't like this feeling.
Fortunately, it shouldn't last long.
After disconnecting the core, they didn't move it out yet. Rather, while Erik kept everything stable, Elora started adjusting the sigils she'd once placed in and around this area of his soul, back when she'd created the Elorium core. Before, these sigils were intended to keep the core stable and turn this area into a nexus point for Erik's energy flow.
Now they needed that nexus point to be somewhere else. Metaphysically, Erik's dimension was located in his lower chest, just below the sternum, while his soul was just a bit higher.
One by one, she moved the connections out of his soul and towards the dimension. From there, it was Erik's job to connect them. Fortunately, Elora had simplified this a little with her intricate tapestry of sigils. With every connection he made, another line on the pedestal began to glow. One by one, the pedestal lit up more and more.
There were a few tense moments, but their thorough research and plans had prepared them. Though it took several hours, they eventually reached the end stage.
"Think we're good…?" Erik whispered tensely, his voice tinged with mental exhaustion. His hands were cupping the air above the pedestal, with nothing between them yet.
His only answer was silence, at first. A second passed. Two seconds, as he felt his tenuous grasp on the stability of this core unravel just a tiny bit more with every moment. He'd been holding this for hours and wasn't sure how long he could keep it up.
Finally: "Y-Yeah… I think so," came Elora's whispered answer. "Can you… hold on long enough for one more check?"
"I-I guess so," Erik grunted slowly, aching for the moment he could release this tension. "Just be quick."
His only answer was the rushing of energy through the sigils all around him. With his mind, arms, and focus trembling, he waited. He didn't know how much time passed, but eventually, relief came.
"Okay… do it," Elora finally whispered tensely, voice filled with focus. "Slowly… carefully…"
Erik forcefully suppressed the desire to rush the last step, desperate to release the tension. With a grunt, he forced himself to stay focused. Slowly, he wrapped layer after layer of spatial energy around the core in his soul. This was the most dangerous step, as he had to remove the core from his soul without doing any damage.
At the same time, he was splitting his focus. After all, if anything went wrong, he'd only have milliseconds to either punt away the core into the real world, or—in the worst-case scenario—throw everyone inside his dimension into the real world. The chances of such a catastrophic failure were slim, but they existed.
That is also why Erik's portal wasn't currently inside the Enkarian palace, but on top of its highest tower, in the open air. If he had to get rid of the core, he'd throw it straight up.
But his preparations paid off. Researching spatial techniques and breaking through to the second rank was proving its worth. In moments, a much smaller version of his usual portal started flickering to life in between his cupped hands. I stayed there for several moments, until it disappeared again… leaving behind a deep green sphere of energy.
Instantly, Erik felt he was being punched in the chest by a suffocating power. "Ugh," he groaned, his eyes flying open as he stumbled back with a scowl. At the same time, the energy sphere began to pulse and shimmer as the suffocating feeling increased.
His eyes flickered. His vision narrowed. Needle pricks bore into his skull, and oblivion pressed upon his mind from all sides.
A grunt passed his lips as he sank to one knee, nearly passing out. Just then, a voice echoed in his mind, though it still sounded as if it were coming from within a sea of cotton.
"…t out…! Now…!" the voice yelled.
It was like being doused in ice-cold water, and Erik's mind cleared up a little. Just enough, in fact, to disappear from where he stood.
Immediately, he appeared right next to Elora, outside the circle of pillars and her barrier.
"Haaaaah!" he gasped loudly, falling backwards on his ass as he panted rapidly with wide eyes aimed at the centre of the room. "F-Fuck…! No wonder my body can't handle… that shit yet! It's a… wonder… I can use it at all!"
Elora was immediately by his side. "Are you alright?!" she exclaimed worriedly, her hands pressing on his chest as her own seidr magic flowed through his body.
Still panting, Erik looked up at her with a tired smile. "Y-Yeah… I'm fine…" he nodded, filled with exhaustion. "How does it look?"
They both turned their eyes back to the centre of the room. Through the barrier, they could still see the small, dark green core floating just atop the pedestal. The pulsing and shimmering slowly started calming down.
"It immediately started destabilising when it was so close to you," Elora muttered softly, her hands still on his chest and searching for his wounds. "I didn't even realise that thing was so unstable…"
With a wry chuckle, Erik pulled her closer and onto his lap. "Well…" he whispered, his tired face buried into her hair. "I guess it's a good thing it's not longer in my soul, then…"