Extra's Death: I Am the Son of Hades novel Chapter 601

Chapter 601: Partial Soul

Zagreus, who had been standing a few steps behind him, tilted his head.

"You heard something?"

"Yes. A voice."

Zagreus didn’t seem alarmed.

"Don’t worry about it. What you heard was from a broken soul. Sometimes, fragments like that retain echoes of their old selves. It’s just bits of memory, and reflexes. They speak without really being aware."

Nameless Death looked at the flame again.

He could tell it had no Seed of Existence or Core inside it.

Just as Zagreus said, it wasn’t alive, not anymore. It was only a piece of something that used to be.

He took a slow breath and stepped forward again.

This time, he moved carefully, letting his fingers hover above the flame for a few seconds before lowering his hand into it again.

The fire accepted him quietly.

And the voice returned. It was smoother now, and more coherent.

"Neo... what happened to you? Why are you so injured?"

Despite being prepared, the voice caught him off guard. It was too warm, and soothing.

The tone had a motherly gentleness that reached into a part of him he didn’t know was vulnerable.

He clenched his jaw.

’It’s just a reflex. Don’t think too much about what its saying,’ he told himself.

It was a fragment of soul without thought or awareness, like a muscle twitching after death. The voice it let out was an automatic response from a broken remnant.

Still, something about it felt real.

’Her sound is making me too composed. I need to stay cautious. This might still be a trap.’

"Don’t move... for a minute... I will heal you."

She didn’t wait for his agreement.

The flames moved on their own, slipping into his body like threads of silk.

These threads were soothing, and gentle.

They moved, and fluidly passed through the layers of his Seed of Existence.

They reached his central layer of his Seed of Existence, and touched his Intent of Existence, and his Consciousness.

Nameless Death realized immediately how significant that was.

To bypass the wall of covering the central layer, this easily, meant that whoever this soul belonged to had once wielded tremendous power.

The flames continued their work. They moved slowly, steadily, and wherever they passed, the damage inside him began to mend.

A system window appeared in his vision.

[Soul of Persephone copy percentage: 1%]

He frowned.

The name felt familiar, but he couldn’t place a finger on where he had heard it.

He searched his memories, pushed through the haze, but found nothing. The only thing left was a lingering feeling that he should know the name.

Then something else caught his attention.

’This message says Soul.’

’So I’m being healed by a soul, not a technique or a Concept?’

This meant, the healing ability belonged to soul. It seemed to be neither a Concept, nor a technique.

Nameless Death wondered if this was a Path he was not aware of, or if it was a level of mastery of techniques he simply hadn’t encountered before.

[Soul of Persephone copy percentage: 2%]

[Soul of Persephone copy percentage: 3%]

[Soul of Persephone copy...]

[Soul of...]

[...]

He watched the percentage tick upward, slowly.

The voice returned.

"What... have you done... to your memories...?"

There was a pause, then the tone shifted into something close to scolding.

"You’ve completely torn them so badly... I can’t even bring them back through healing..."

He said nothing.

The flames moved across his body. Arms, torso, legs.

Wherever they touched, the scars vanished.

The voice didn’t say anything anymore, but he felt its sorrow upon seeing his injuries.

He looked at himself with Intent Vision. The scars had refused to disappear, having become a part of Existence, healed.

Finally, the flames reached his eyes.

He didn’t resist them.

For a moment, it felt like he was being embraced by his mother.

Despite telling himself again and again that this could be a trap, some part of him felt safe.

Then came the last surge of warmth.

His vision returned.

The world snapped back into sharp focus. He could now see with his physical vision, not just with Intent Vision.

[Soul of Persephone copy percentage: 100%]

[New entry in Abyss Mirror: Soul of Persephone (1/17)]

Nameless Death blinked.

His eyes were healed.

Intent vision was better, but physical sight had its own charm.

He exhaled audibly. For the first time in what felt like ages, he could see.

He looked at the notifications again. The copy percentage had hit 100%. And the second line...

’1/17.’ _{ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com}

Just as Zagreus and he had said, the soul was just a piece.

He stared into the fire.

’This soul’s healing ability is exceptional. It can repair Intent of Existence and Consciousness.’

’Now that I’ve copied it, I can recreate it, and use its abilities for myself.’

The thought made sense.