A familiar silence fell over the darkness of his surroundings once more.

  His limbs were immobilised, unable to feel anything but the void that reached out towards his skin.

  Aurelius cursed himself, then, very involuntarily, blasphemed the god… again.

  FUCK YOU, YOU PETTY BASTARD

  He had chosen to live through a deal with the moody god, but it didn’t mean that he had to like its contents!

  First of all, the immortal being clearly stood at least on the same level as the gods of the spirit world. He had displayed miracles after another, reforming Aurelius’s soul and body without even batting an eye.

  This was from the depths of the Fae Queen’s divine kingdom itself!

  Additionally, that strange exhibit of His past was a pretty exorbitant display of magic that didn’t even seem to drain him. And attributing his reason for killing the 4 True Dragons to… spite?

  This was an eccentric god to say the least, with a strange obsession with… morality.

  He had saved Aurelius from death, yes, but he was still quite keen to take a look at any other options if possible. Dealing with Him was only barely preferable to death, and he definitely was not pleased with the god’s slight insanity.

  Aurelius was also quite irritated with his own Church.

  Sealed, my ass. What kind of ridiculous propaganda was that? The two other Churches never stated something so ridiculous!

  However, he was also still sympathetic to the Church’s stance on their classification of Quetzalcoatl. After all, He seemed rather chaotic and full of himself. Aurelius had no problem classifying such a weird being in the same category as beings such as the primordial angels; an evil god.

  He was aware that his faith didn’t matter very much anymore. Quetzalcoatl had blessed him in place of the Church’s deity, Teoyollotl, and She would not answer his prayers anymore.

  Despite these logical factoids, old habits died hard, and Aurelius sent up a few prayers to Teoyollotl. Perhaps She would take pity on him and perform some miracle to save his sorry ass.

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  ???

  Hour 3

  Teoyollotl, in fact, did not save him.

  His second time in the void felt worse than the first. He had been traumatised by his last imprisonment, having developed some symptoms of nyctophobia, the fear of darkness.

  He had been leaving the curtains open to let the light in, ignoring Anderson and his grumbling.

  Now, in the void once more, he was powerless to do anything more than to stare into that dark, empty, blackness.

  He had tried reciting His honorific name like before, but it had not worked this time.

  There was truly no choice but to wait out the entirety of the 13 hours.

  Three thousand, Three hundred, fifty six… Three thousand, Three hundred, fifty seven…

  Aurelius thought, counting imaginary sheep in his head, and slowly losing his mind. He had cycled from fear, resentment, to a mind numbing boredom. Each cycle brought with it a pleading for mercy, an intense barrage of curses and new exercises in staving off his decaying thoughts.

  Three thousand, Three hundred, fifty… shit. I’ve lost count.

  That was the 12th time that had happened, with each reset returning him to the beginning.

  I might actually go crazy without actual productivity… Does the time loop fix that sort of stuff? How does such a strange magic even work… Aurelius wondered, bored out of his mind.

  Then, an ingenious thought finally entered his mind.

  I might as well look at the soul-blueprint he’s left me… Not like I have anything better to do…

  He dove into meditation, calming his mind, and resisting the feelings of claustrophobia that the space brought to him.

  He “tensed” his muscles, sending a slight ripple of sensation through his body, visualising the outline of his figure and his soul, and giving shape to his intangible mind, and soul.

  He felt his toes and his back in all of their detail, aware of them to the same degree as he was aware of his face and hands.

  Strangely, his muscles didn’t feel the usual strain from the process. His static limbs seemed to resist the physical changes, only simulating the process.

  This void may actually have been the perfect place for this visualisation. One that doesn't require the extra effort in concentration and maintenance of physical exertion.

  His “eyes” made out the slow, glowing circle and the lightly coloured tendrils that sketched a complex, illusive picture.

  It was normal for most beginner mages to look only at a small portion of their souls, to reduce the difficulty of such an intense process.

  Aurelius himself had grown in proficiency to observe about a quarter of his soul in detail in one dive, able to parse through the feedback that it gave him in response to his spellcasting.

  However, for the first time in his life, Aurelius’s mind and body was clear and focused enough to make out the entire shape of his soul.

  He felt his head hurt, as it had before, from the sheer complexity that his mind was taking in.

  But now, he could see the totality of its outline, its beauty and its uniqueness.

  His “eyes” were lost in this unbearable ocean of geometric perfection, absorbed by its calling.

  His soul looked as if a creature was coiling itself into existence, rising out of the surface of his soul.

  It could be described as the most beautiful snake, or the most majestic bird. Or, one could describe it as a… feathered serpent.

  ???

  Hour 13

  Aurelius felt the air change around himself.

  He had attempted, with negligible success, in shaping his soul during his hours of waiting.

  A fool’s errand given his inadequate magical skills.

  The hours had passed slowly, and painfully.

  And now, it seemed his prison sentence was finally over.

  The void cracked, and light graced his eyes once more.