A New World, an immersive game experience

"You do know of the four fundamental forces, correct?" Ashliel asked.

"Of course. Gravity, electromagnetic, and the strong and weak forces." Eldrian replied while thinking that what she was saying sounded very much like mageia. Only if mageia was a force, thus far he could only use it to guide his spells. Either in the formation of a spell modules, or in the drawing of a rune. If it could be directly used to cast spells, that might be quite interesting.

"This we believed was the fifth fundamental force. One that linked our minds with reality..." Ashliel paused, becoming lost again in her memories.

Eldrian gave her some time and then asked once she seemed to be back to reality, "Why do you say believed. Was it later proven incorrect?"

"Incorrect? Not quite... Our understanding was and is too shallow. It was something I came to understand while I was slowly returning to the universe. We always consider ourselves individuals, separate from the rest. Unique."

"That notion is correct and wrong. Maybe it is better to say it isn't complete or that our point of view won't allow us to see the entire picture... A thing, a person, we can be more than just one. For example, you can be a son and father, a daughter and mother. You can be a researcher and an individual."

"As humans, we are each unique. We are individuals. But as part of the system that is nature, we are but a small part of it... I don't really know how to explain what I learned back then. It is almost like the common belief that we are all part of a larger whole. But that again isn't correct, it doesn't complete the picture. It almost obscures it."

Ashliel became quiet as she tried to find the words. While waiting Eldrian was trying to sort out his own thoughts, thinking of all the strange things he had learned and experienced. Specifically, that flashback.

"What are souls?" Eldrian asked after nearly five minutes had passed with no words being spoken between the two.

His question ripped Ashliel from her thoughts. She shook and quickly downed a cup of tea to calm down, taking a few minutes to recover. "Please! Do not speak when I become like that..."

Eldrian nodded, he could see the damage that she had just gone through. She must have been trying to recall her past. But who knew how many lives she had lived through. Who knew how damaged her soul was.

"Souls..." She finally spoke after recovering from the shock, "There is no single individual that can answer that. Not the gods, the AI, humans, elves..."

"No one can answer that question, we all can only speculate. No one has the true answer. You must already know that souls are different for each person, the only commonality is that people's souls would have a theme. A theme of their life philosophy."

"Your soul is your everything. Everything that isn't part of your physical body. It is your consciousness, your beliefs, your subconscious, your dreams, your fears... You can't define it simply and even if you tried, your definition might not hold for someone else's experiences."

Eldrian indicated for her to stop. "Is it a unique realm, or is it part of a larger realm?"

The more the two talked the more Eldrian was inclined to believe her story. Her mental state seemed truly fragile. It truly did appear to him that she was a fragmented soul. It almost reminded him of the state he had been in way back then. Back when Sabrea had died.

Most importantly, he didn't need to get a definition of what the soul is. He needed to understand it, he had to figure out how far he could push it without risking damage to himself.

"Realm? What do you mean by realm?"

"I've come to a recent realization that ANW is truly a non-physical world. Yet, it is not a fake world. It exists, it is real. I've never doubted this... What I thought of was that it is similar to the realms of the gods, and in simpler terms similar to the void space of a dimensional storage. Of an artifact."

"I believe that each person's consciousness is a similar realm. And if our souls are our entire being, then that realm should be our soul. However, why do some souls appear like a copy of the body? Why was mine a heart, then a crystal, and now a copy of me?"

Ashliel did not reply, she stared at Eldrian. Her eyes wide, her mouth hanging open. She was shocked, too shocked.

"Are realms restricted to the realm it was created within? Why then can my soul move between ANW and Earth and yet the mana in my soul does not? What makes the soul different? If it is lifeforce, XP, or whatever. What makes this type of mana so unique?"

Ashliel tried to fill her cup again, sadly they had run out of tea. Taking a deep breath and fighting off the shaking, a new teapot suddenly appeared. A much more refreshing aroma filled the air, nearly causing Eldrian to lose all focus.

Ashliel quickly filled her cup while spilling nearly as much outside as that made it inside her cup. Seeing the wasted precious liquid Eldrian almost couldn't contain himself.

Only after taking a few sips could Ashliel calm down, did she stop shaking.

"You can pour yourself some..." Her voice was strained. She was clearly exhausted now.

"This... What kind of tea is this?" Eldrian couldn't move his eyes from the spilled tea, he could feel the mana contained within it. To his eyes the density was comparable to mana crystals, and it was a tea!

"It's something you truly won't find anywhere within the confines that Miracle designed for the game. It is from an area that has lived through a chaotic storm and thrived from it. Help yourself."

Eldrian nodded, quickly emptying his cup and even cleaning it with Nidia. As he poured he could almost feel himself being drawn into the cup. He did not even register the words that she had said. That chaotic storms could be beneficial, it completely flew past him.

"Be careful when drinking it. If you drink too much you might not be able to survive."

Eldrian nodded and took a small sip, as he did he could feel his body exploding with energy. At the same time, an irritating system notification told him that he had permanently gained some attribute points.

Eldrian ignored the message and followed the energy as it coursed through his body, the feeling was similar to when he had fused his mana into his organs. And like then, it was truly rejuvenating. It made him feel weightless, lifted all worries, allowed him to think with an extremely clear mind.

"Do you know why the duke is so deferential to me?" Ashliel asked after giving Eldrian time to savor the taste and feel of the tea.

Considering that she had already given him two Rank 5 materials in the Lightstone and Magic Crystal, and now this tea. It was not hard to guess. "You're wealthy, wealthy beyond belief, and you have the gods of this world backing you. Anyone who doesn't respect you would be digging their own grave."

"Indeed. It is the one good thing that came from the torment of eternal life. What most consider priceless is simply one of the many pebbles I have collected through my countless journeys."

AN: A big thanks to everyone who continues to support the story by simply reading on Web, voting for the story, or sharing comments. It is all greatly appreciated.