F-Rank Soul Eater-Chapter 151: Its All Comiing Together

Soren’s eyes snapped open. They squinted.

Blinding light above.

This place—he did not recognise it.

He willed, but his body would not move. It was not that he could not feel. But that his body did not respond to him when he commanded it to move.

Like something had disconnected the command from reaching its destination.

Instinctively, he spread his Blackfield.

Thus was action that he instantly regretted.

His skin screamed at him and he groaned out.

That sharp pain. Like a million needles dancing on the cells of a specific spot.

However, that little time he managed to use his Blackfield, gave him a quick map of his immediate environment.

They were people around him. Equipments.

They were familiar.

"Cyn..." he had barely finished pronouncing her name before he heard her heavy steeps rush to him.

Her shadow obstructed the light, perfectly allowing him to somewhat open his eyes.

Her helmet had been fixed.

"Why..." he slapped his tongue against the roof of his mouth—dry. "... can’t i move?"

Cynthia scratched her head bit, as if wondering how she was going to explain. But then she pointed below.

Only now did Soren with much difficulty, look at his midsection.

His eyes widened.

There she was. Dr Kaya. She had on safety goggles, wearing a green full body suit

She was operating on his body.

—Tools Soren did not believe should be used on the human body.

One of them looked like the blades of a grass cutter.

Others were mechanical hands with pointy edges connected to a bigger machine suspended overhead.

"Cynthia, leave your boyfriend and give me another bite" She requested.

Cynthia immediately left Soren’s side, and hurried to get a chocolate bar. She fed Dr Kaya while she worked.

The hand-to-face difference between the two was huge because of Cynthia’s size.

But the loving giant was more gentle than Soren thought.

Feeding Dr Kaya as measured as the woman’s smaller lips could take.

"Water." Dr kaya called.

And again, Cynthia helped her with a glass.

Soren also called for water. But Dr Kaya turned. "Don’t give him any."

Cynthia paused.

"...unless you want him to die."

Just then, Soren felt a pain from deep within.

It was from his soul.

"Another one is coming..." Dr Kaya alerted.

That pain—the one of a million needles. It amplified a ten times in an instant.

The pain was so intense that Spren thought his soul was going to abadon his body. Green veins stood on his skin and then...

"AHHHH!!!" He screamed. Instantly passing out.

....

He opened his eyes again. The light above was dimmer now.

He slapped his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

It felt dry as ever. Slowly, the thirst rose—like it had been waiting for him to wake.

Unlike before, Soren could tell that he could move.

First a finger, then another one. When he was sure he got the hang of it, he leaned up, pushing against the bed to seat upright.

He was half naked.

His mid section had been stitched, and bandaged.

But it still hurt a lot.

Memories of what happened flashed in his mind.

Goldsworth. The Corrupted soul energy from that mysterious Shade that always sat on his shoulder.

Soren frowned. He should have been more careful.

He should have swallowed the desire to teach Goldsworth a lesson and just left when he won.

That was a mistake that had costed him dearly.

He lost two Shades in that Arena. Even though one had been mostly useless to him, the second had not been.

There was also the fact that people, sponsors, instructors, the higher ups will all be asking questions right now.

He dud not know how things ended, but he was sure that more than ever, eyes were in his movement.

He just hoped Goldsworth had not died, if not he would have not choice but to face another annoying noble courtroom.

The memory of Devon flashed in his head.

That lawyer would be cashing out again because of him.

Soren shook his head. Those were thoughts for another time.

He had to concentrate on himself.

He could tell. Just like him, his Shade had been injured.

Or rather, Because of him, his Shade had been injured.

He did not even know that the Shades Chronovore had consumed could be manifested in such a manner.

He assumed that his had gained their ability. Not knowing that he gained the Shade itself.

This was all too much, and he shouldn’t be thinking about that now.

Then he looked to his side. There was a hand written note attached to a transparent water bottle.

’Drink this when you wake up.’

Soren reached for the bottle. Opening it was easy, downing it was the difficulty part.

It was bitter, and a bit slimy.

If not for his extreme thirst, he would have vomited it.

"Shit!" He complimented.

However, after he finished the contents of the waterbottle, he noticed another sticky note at the bottom.

He tore it free.

’Don’t move for three hours aftet drinking. Unless you want another operation last three days.’

"Three days!" He exclaimed.

That was a long time. And he was right. It was.

But that was only because Dr kaya had done the entire procedure herself without assistant nurses or the like.

Aside Cynthia that was there for the purpose of feeding her, she had no other help.

Of course, she had specific reasons for this.

Nevertheless, this was not the time for Soren to find out.

What the hell I’m I supposed to do, waiting for three hours?

He thought to himself.

Regardless, he just sat there.

After a while, his mind—unable to be quiet, reminded him of something he was forgetting.

If he had been here for three days, what of Tommy?

And what of the Shade Killer?

All he coukd do was hope that by some unknown miracle, Polystar and the others had managed to solve that case without him.

At such a time, more memories flashed in jis head.

The Shade Killer.

The Cadets that had come back to life and attacked them in the Science research institute.

Soren remembered Dr Kaya’s words that day.

’I injected you with Xanax. It’s a depressant.

Drugs for people usually act in opposite effect in soulbound warriors.’

Maybe it was because things were much calmer now, and he just woke up from a very long sleep.

However, the pieces of the puzzle that his mind coukd not comprehend before were starting to make sense.

Then he remembered them.

The first time he had been in that space in his mind was when he had been dosed with Xanax.

Soren remembered that back then, the shades in him had attacked—all fighting for a piece of him.

Those neuralink runes on their bodies had been the same one on the bodies of the cadets that came to life, and the same with the Shade Killer’s face.

However, Chronovore—his own Shade, had not gotten those neuralink runes.

Of course, Soren already knew that Chronovore was not a normal Shade. The serpent could actually independently of him.

And that was the least of the things it was capable of.

Regardless, it was still a Shade.

He remembered the Shhades tgat hjad been freedom from his body.

They did not have those neuralink runes on them.

And then he remembered the words of the cadets that came back to life.

Soren’s eyes widened in realization.

"The Xanax... the drug the shafde Killer has been using. Its not for the cadet.

No... its for their Shade."

This realization explained a lot of other things. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Back then, Pencil had figured out that the one connection all the victims had was the fact that instructor Ivory had taught them.

Considering a majority of them had been cadets from the same train as him, then it was safe to say that this teaching happened early in the training of these cadets.

Soren remembered when Instructor Ivory gathered the cadets that could not use their First Form.

What she taught was entirely opposite of what Instructor Marcus taught.

She said to establish a Give and Take relationship with the Shade.

But was this a good thing?

If it was, why did the academy teach otherwise?

Then Soren remembered that lesson on the train between Polystar and Goldsworth.

Goldsworth believed Shades were slaves, and should remain that way.

Surely, a house would not simply hate Shades to such and extent, but still find them valuable...unless—

—more realization hit Soren.

He had read the Discipline of Sorrow.

Shades were people—this much Polystar had been right about.

Meaning aside food and shelter, they craved other things.

That cadet that came back from the dead had said it.

FREEDOM.

They craved freedom but did not have the will power to ensure it.

However, the Xanax and other related drugs would give the Shade the necessary boost in WILL power to pursue it.

The only reason the Shade Killer targeted Ivory’s students was because it was easier to be in charge in a simple Give and Take relationship, than it was for one treated like a Slave.

Meaning that while Freedom is the goal, even the Shade Stealer understands that not all Shades would be able to take the necessary step forward.

But those that simply saw their Soulbound warriors as partners would not be able to resist the temptation of freedom.

The cadets were not possessed by Eldritch Souls.

They were possessed by their own Shades.