When Fantasy Glitches

After Eveline spoke, she clapped her hands together, and once again Magnus felt himself being forcefully pulled down, slamming him ass first into a chair that had appeared behind him at some point. Simultaneously, a familiar piece of chalk seemingly teleported into her palm, accompanied by the chalkboard.

"It seems it's time for yet another lesson," Eveline said with a hint of glee as Magnus let out a pained groan as he shifted in his seat.

"Ow... I really hope this doesn't become a habit; you're way too forceful when it comes to teaching." Eveline ignored him completely, already beginning to write the word 'Reality' on the board, along with two branching lines.

"Tell me, Magnus, what do you think the soul is?" Eveline asked, smiling as Magnus began to ponder what seemed like a simple question. However, the more he thought about it, the more Magnus frowned. Even as he tried to answer, he found himself stuttering.

"Well, I mean... the soul is... I mean... uhh. It's the spiritual part of a human, right?" When he stopped to contemplate, he realized he had no real grasp of what the soul truly was. It was mentioned in many novels he read and shows he watched, but none really explained it. Some interpretations suggested the soul represented one's humanity and morality; others claimed it housed emotions or intellect.

Yet, all those aspects could just as easily be attributed to the mind. In fact, Magnus, as someone who had gotten to explore his own mind intimately thanks to Basker, knew for a fact that a lot of the things people thought to be linked to one's soul were, in truth, all related to one's mind.

"But then, what does the soul do? It can't just be spiritual essence; it must have a purpose, right?" He mumbled aloud as Eveline giggled.

"Alright, then, based on your definition, what does it mean to be spiritual?" Eveline asked. Magnus frowned again, attempting to formulate an answer.

"Well, it's... you know, the non-physical stuff. Like ghosts, or connecting to something or someone beyond just the physical level." Hearing his response, Eveline tilted her head as she spoke.

"Oh? In that case, would you consider mana spiritual? After all, it's not naturally physical, is it?" Magnus rubbed his chin, pondering. He wanted to say yes, that mana was spiritual; that's how he usually thought of it. But after observing mages casting their spells, he felt it would be wrong to classify it truly spiritual.

"As you can see, Magnus, it's a challenging concept to pin down. You and many others—whether mages, knights, or ordinary folks—have an idea, but in reality, few truly understand what the soul is." With that, Eveline turned around and wrote two new words on the board, completing the blank spaces left by the initial branching lines she drew from the word 'Reality'.

"The Physical Reality and the Mental Reality. It is these two realms that form the whole of the world as we know it," Eveline explained, writing swiftly on the board as she spoke.

"The first is straightforward; even a fool could grasp it from the name alone. Physical Reality refers to the material world—our bodies, clothes, and the land around us. It's all part of the tangible, the corporeal." Magnus nodded along as he listened.

So basically, anything made of matter would count.

Magnus interjected with a thought of his own, observing Eveline as she gestured to another word on the board.

"On the other hand, Mental Reality is the realm of the unreal." Magnus paused at this, a hint of skepticism in his voice.

"Wait, isn't that contradictory? How can the unreal be part of reality? It's in the name." Eveline sighed softly and shook her head in response.

"You might think of fictional stories as pure fiction. Yet, sometimes, ideas from these stories stick with you, subtly influencing your actions. Similarly, a completely imaginary belief or idea can spread to millions in the real world," Eveline countered, underlining her next statement on the board.

"Something cannot impact reality without being a part of it in some way. Thus, even the unreal must be a part of reality as a whole." Hearing that, Magnus's mind couldn't help but go back to the time he tried to bridge the gap between his dreams and reality. Technically, it was possible; it's just that there was a high-level limiter within the source code of that world that kept him from doing so.

The thought sparked all kinds of ideas in his head, but Magnus decided to put them away for now and brought his focus back to Eveline's explanation.

"Hehe, now then. Here's another question for you. If the body belongs to Physical Reality and the mind to Mental Reality, how are they connected? They're both part of reality, but how can they influence each other, and why?" Laws clearly separated reality from fiction, the real from the unreal.

Yet, people could recall dream information and bring it into reality, and vice versa. Wasn't that technically breaking this law? After all, fiction was affecting reality. But in truth, no one ever said that laws were immutable. Magnus's very own Command Console violated the natural laws of the world all the time, and although it couldn't seem to breach the boundary between reality and fiction, the Knockout Brick could.

It could manifest dreams into reality, allowing direct observation despite one being awake in Physical Reality, that was a fact confirmed by Basker. This suggested that there was something in the source code—a directive that permitted the exchange of information between real and unreal—perhaps yet another law, though this one has even more authority than the one prohibiting interaction between reality and fiction.

But that only covers the why, not the how... Wait a second.

Magnus's sudden realization didn't escape Eveline's notice; she saw his eyes widen slightly before he said, "The soul is the link..."

"Exactly! I knew you'd figure it out!" Eveline clapped her hands and beamed, her eyes sparkling. Moments later, she turned to the board and drew two new lines extending from 'Physical Reality' and 'Mental Reality', intersecting at a new word, 'Soul'.

Including the word 'Reality' written at the very top, the diagram on the board now looked like a slightly peculiar rhombus.

"The soul is the link between one's body in the Physical Reality and one's mind in the Mental one. It 'exists' in both, yet at the same time, it is separate from them. It facilitates information exchange between the two forms of reality. And so, if everything we've discussed so far belongs to the realm of reality, then the soul resides in a realm beyond reality—the Spiritual Realm."

With that being said, Eveline clapped her hands together, causing the chalk and board in front of her to vanish into thin air along with Magnus's chair, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Ow, you've got to stop doing that," Magnus groaned, rubbing his butt. Still, the pain didn't last long, and his mind was soon overrun with other thoughts. While he wasn't expecting Eveline to teach him so much, he was glad that she did. When he was reading the book on soul bindings, he saw a lot of warnings littered across its pages; however, he didn't understand the depth of those warnings.

To soul-bind with someone is akin to putting the binds of one's existence on the line. Even if Eveline is the one at a disadvantage in our soul bind, there will still be a risk to me as well. I may be able to heal my body, but my soul is a completely different matter. I can't even see it, let alone edit it. And even if I do, at some point, gain the ability to use the Command Console on it, one mistake could result in my body dying and my mind being completely disconnected from the physical world.

Eveline chuckled at Magnus's serious expression, leaning closer.

"Having doubts? It's natural. Even Master-level mages and knights tread carefully with their souls, making sure to shield them in every possible way, even outside of battle. As for Archmages like myself, we wouldn't even attempt soul repair unless absolutely necessary—the risks are just that immense."

Taking a deep sigh, Magnus nodded before saying, "Yeah, I get that now. But... it doesn't change the fact that we won't be able to work together properly until we're both forcefully committed."

Hearing the conviction in his voice, Eveline tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"I see, very well then." Then, without a moment's hesitation, she began to cast a spell. Mana gathered in her palm as she closed her hand, the act seeming to take her full attention for just a moment. Then, as she opened her hand back up, the light poured out into the world around them, gathering slowly and taking the shape of a sheet of paper.

Squinting his eyes slightly from the sudden burst of light, Magnus could tell that the paper itself was blank, with only two lines at the bottom. One of them already had Eveline's name on it as the recipient of the contract.

"This is a rather basic soul-binding spell, but it's also quite difficult to break and detect," Eveline remarked casually, conjuring a magical quill with a flick of her hand that floated next to the paper.

"All you have to do is write down your conditions and sign on the line," Eveline said, as Magnus stared at the magical paper for a moment before glancing back at her.

"Are you really just going to let me write whatever I want?" Without hesitation, she simply nodded.

"Of course. As long as it doesn't hinder my research and goals, I don't care what you write, and I won't resist. If you want, you can even make me your slave." Her casual disregard for her own well-being unnerved Magnus for a moment before he picked up the quill. He and Basker had already discussed the specific restrictions he intended to impose.

The first restriction was simple: she wouldn't be allowed to tell or hint at anyone about his ability, or how it works, in any shape or form without Magnus agreeing to it first. It was a pretty simple restriction, but one Magnus felt was necessary considering how Eveline's 'intrest' tended to make her talk about things she shouldn't.

Secondly, as long as she's involved in the situation in question, she isn't allowed to harm Magnus or anyone close to him, either directly or indirectly. For this one, Magnus's thought process was pretty clear. As long as it was a situation that didn't involve Magnus, Eveline was free to do as she liked, but the moment Magnus was involved in it anyway, she couldn't do anything to hurt him.

For the last restriction, Magnus stipulated that Eveline had to do everything possible to protect him if his life was ever in danger, as long as it didn't endanger her own life. When Eveline read this final condition, her expression changed. She stared at it for a moment before looking up at Magnus.

"Oh? Are you sure about this last one? You could make it so I have to do everything in my power to keep you alive, or you could broaden it to force me to agree to any request you make, allowing you to add more restrictions as you see fit, even after the soul binding." Despite her suggestions, Magnus shook his head.

"I'm not interested in having another person as my slave. Plus, I'm not comfortable with the idea of you sacrificing yourself for me. This is enough." With that said, Magnus signed his name above Eveline's on the empty line, feeling a sensation as if something were etched into his very soul.

As the feeling faded, the contract dispersed into motes of light. For once, Eveline wore a genuinely serious expression. There was no smile or hidden intrigue in her gaze, just intense focus as she stared at Magnus. Perplexed, Magnus returned her gaze.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.

"You're quite compassionate, Magnus," Eveline remarked.

"I've observed you, your interactions, and your battles for quite some time. You always hold back, never opting for lethal or paralyzing strikes. It's an uncommon trait among mages and knights, and there's a reason for that. Your hesitation, when crucial decisions arise, could prove fatal—or worse, it might break you." The warning seemed uncharacteristic of Eveline, leaving a moment of uneasy silence between them. But moments later, Eveline smiled and chuckled.

"But don't worry; thanks to our contract, I'll make sure you don't die no matter what happens." It was both reassuring and unsettling, causing Magnus to sigh.

"Yeah, well, let's hope you haven't jinxed anything. Now that we're soul-bound, though, I do have a request," Magnus said, catching Eveline's attention.

"Oh? What is it?" she asked, curious.

"I need you to create a private area where I can conduct research and experiments away from the academy's surveillance, even with these Sigilbrands," Magnus noted, looking down at his hand before continuing.

"Also, it would be preferable if you could connect it to my dorm room. In return, you can watch everything I do there firsthand, and trust me, it's worth seeing," Magnus said confidently, his expression sparking Eveline's interest.

"Really? That does sound intriguing," she replied with a smirk.