Chapter 308: Connection Between Consciousness
’So strange.’
Feeling the raindrops settling on his palm, Aegon stared at the distant clouds. Even now, he found it incredible. They were already so high in the air that the clouds were below them, yet they were above them too, giving them such beautiful rain.
But then again, everything in this world defied the common sense that Aegon had built on Earth. Not entirely though, considering he was always submerged in fiction, so he found this more fascinating than shocking.
"Back to reality, honey."
Aegon blinked, freezing for a moment before he sighed. ’And I did it again.’
He glanced to his right where Elara stood with her head inclined forward. She was so beautiful and cute. A smile formed on his lips as he forced himself to look behind her, where Hecte and the others awaited.
He had dozed off, which had become his habit, really, but these people wouldn’t dare disturb him. Even if he stood there the entire day like that, they wouldn’t say anything.
Of course, Elara was an exception to this. She was an exception to pretty much everything in his life.
"My bad," Aegon said, turning back to the cloudy sky. "Let’s do this."
He coated his body and clothes with a layer of Mana to protect himself from the rain. Technically, he could always warm himself up quickly, but he didn’t really want to. Then, he stepped outside into the rain and walked towards the island’s edge.
Unsurprisingly, Elara was fine without doing anything. The rain itself seemed to diverge around her, careful not to make her wet. Hecte didn’t need to do anything either, as a shadow couldn’t get wet. Only the Vayrins had to use something similar to what he did.
Reaching the edge, Aegon glanced at the towering shadow beside him. "Can you cover all fifty islands in one go?"
[I certainly can, especially with the other members already stationed everywhere to help me anchor. But it will still take some time, which our enemies can use to activate the bombs or the Shadowheart Parasites.]
That made Aegon pause. The chances of it happening were low, but not entirely zero, and he didn’t want to take any risks. As he continued thinking about a solution, a soft voice sounded in his head.
[Host, you have a dragon.]
’Oh, you’re back.’ Aegon was pleasantly surprised to hear the system’s voice. ’Also, what about it?’
[If you connect your Consciousness to both of them, they can share a connection through which a shared skillset is possible.]
’That’s possible?’
[Indeed, it is. And thanks to your help, I am now also capable enough to help you in return.]
’But the medium will be me, right?’
[That is right. But worry not about your safety, Host. That is where I’ll help. I reside within your Soul, so I can reinforce it, just like I did back then.]
Remembering the Void Chamber and everything that had happened there, Aegon took a deep breath and nodded. That brought some confidence to him.
He turned towards Hecte and said, "I have a solution, but you’ll have to trust me."
[I trust you with my life, Boss.]
He nodded and pointed above at the clouds. "I’ll connect you to Virginia’s Consciousness. The connection could help you spread the shadows way faster."
Even though he couldn’t see her face, he could sense the disbelief written across it. She hurriedly shook her head... the shadow head... and said, [That is very risky for your Soul, Boss.]
Elara clutched his sleeve tightly, looking into his eyes. "Are you sure about this?"
"Yup, it’s very safe." Aegon smiled at her.
Seeing that radiant smile, Elara’s resolve melted. She took a step back. How could she argue with a smile like that? Even Hecte had given in to it.
After that, Aegon tried connecting to Virginia, an easy thing considering she was flying nearby, and explained the situation to her. She struggled and protested against him, clearly not liking the idea of someone else invading her Consciousness.
If anyone else had dared to propose such an idea to her, she would have incinerated them on the spot, but Aegon was different. After some negotiations, she finally relented and agreed to his request.
[Are you ever going to command dragons or negotiate with them every time?]
Aegon was speechless. ’Why do you get bolder and more shameless with every update?’
[You’re the one who asked for it, Host.]
’Fair enough. But no, it depends. Currently, I’m mostly doing it because Virginia is kind of a friend at the moment.’ He took a deep breath and asked, ’How do I do this?’
[It is a complicated process. I’ll explain it to you later, so for now I’ll do it in your place. Do I have permission?]
Aegon nodded slightly. ’You have it.’
The next second, he felt light-headed and saw his own body from the outside, reminding him of third-person games like GTA. He couldn’t control his body anymore, but he did sense that he could regain control whenever he wanted.
’Woah!’
From this new state, he observed the others. It didn’t seem like they could see him, but he also couldn’t move around. Whatever state he was in, he was stuck.
He focused on observing how the system worked. It latched onto Hecte’s shadow before using it to delve into the depths of her Soul. He wondered what the process felt like from her perspective, but there was no way to know.
’Darn it!’
He felt the system establish a connection with Hecte’s vast Soul. For the first time, he truly sensed its enormity, a behemoth that towered over him like an ancient, endless mountain. The mere presence of it left him suffocating, as though invisible hands were wrapped around his throat.
He instinctively averted his senses, his heart pounding. Merely brushing against her Soul felt like standing before something far beyond his comprehension.
He mentally gasped for air. ’What the hell! What even is that? If this is Rank 8 without Soul Cultivation, then what was Grandma’s Soul?’
Just thinking about it chilled his heart.
Now, he understood why the system had volunteered to do this. Even though Aegon didn’t witness it directly, the mere act of sensing her Soul left him chilled. He couldn’t even imagine what would have happened if he had actually done it himself.