Chapter 10: Ch 10 – The Mantle

"Ugh!"

When Issac's eyes opened, he grunted forcefully. 

An intense pain wracked his head. Only, it wasn't due to a headache, but his soul. He could still feel the wounds on his soul and how they seemed to eternally stab his mind with invisible knives. 

"Issac? Can you hear me?"

"...Yea."

Issac barely nodded. After a few seconds, he realized that his body was actually perfectly fine. He could go for a full workout and not agitate the wounds. It was his soul that was wounded and not his body. 

While it was hard disconnecting the sources of pain, he succeeded a bit. It was enough to face his mother who looked at him worriedly. 

"Hey, what happened? Did you..."

"I tried to cultivate a bit. I barely moved the dark energy around before I was knocked out with pain."

"...Damn."

Victoria didn't seem surprised by the news. Nifty had called Issac's parents after he passed out and let them know the situation. 

What she was mad about was the fact that he couldn't cultivate without being hurt. It seemed to confirm one of her fears. 

"I'm so sorry, sweetie."

"...It's fine."

Issac sighed. He knew his father warned him against cultivating for a reason. Only, he didn't expect the barrier to be this bad. 

That pain wasn't something Issac ever wanted to experience again. That short second of pain felt like days, as if it would never end. So many thoughts of regret and despair had crossed his mind in that short instant, and he genuinely felt like he was going to die. And if that pain had lasted any longer, he would've wished for it. 

That pain of the soul wasn't something he could ever force himself to bear. So there was only one thing he could do. 

"I just have to wait for my soul to heal, right?"

"...Right. Your father and I hope you can heal within the next few years. Souls develop until around 25 years of age. We hope by then, the growth of your soul will allow it to heal itself."

"So three years..."

Issac mumbled, feeling a bit downcast. Three years was a long time to wait. He wouldn't be able to increase his power at all. While it would increase naturally as he grew, it wouldn't be by much. It definitely wouldn't bring him to the level of that man he saw. 

He could only wait. There wasn't any way around it. Even Issac knew just how mysterious the soul was. He knew of no galactic organization that ever publicly claimed to be able to affect the soul in a beneficial way. 

But that begged another question. His father told him that something happened when he was a baby. Issac could only guess that whatever happened led to his soul injury. 

He had been healing for so long, over 20 years. Just how bad was his soul injury back then?

"Wait, is this why I always feel pain when I drain my energy?"

Issac suddenly remembered something else. For as long as he knew, he had been playing with his power, his parents training it to become Hardlight. But he was never able to use a lot of his power as using enough of it would cause him pain not unlike what he just felt, though many times more watered down. 

Though, Issac found another fallacy in that guess. His mother answered him. 

"That is the reason. Your soul has been healing since you were a baby. Over time, as your soul healed, your power increased simultaneously. Technically, your soul has been both growing and unlocking more of its power. But you've never actually been able to use all of your energy pool due to those injuries... I'd say around 20%"

"20% what?"

"You've only ever been able to use 20% of your pool. While that was calculated when you were younger, that shouldn't have increased by much. At most half is what you've been capable of using from our guesses as of recent."

"...Soul injuries are bad, huh?"

Issac shook his head. He found it amazing how much an injury to the soul could inhibit someone's powers. He found the pain amazing too. It was beyond anything the body could experience. In fact, he had a hard time remembering it, as if his mind had purged those recent memories to protect him. 

Victoria sighed as Issac collapsed back into his bed. She felt incredibly guilty about the events of so long ago that Issac didn't yet know about. But there was nothing anybody could do. 

At least now he knew not to cultivate. 

"Wait, what about the Mantle?"

Suddenly, Issac shot back up. He had passed out only a few hours before they were supposed to arrive. 

"Don't worry. You weren't out for that long. We're pulling into Mantle space soon."

"Really?"

He was surprised. He thought he would've slept for much longer. 

Victoria smiled bitterly. 

"Technically, moving your dark energy or cultivating doesn't worsen your wounds, only makes them hurt. The lingering pain you feel can actually be ignored entirely. It's just a reminder from your soul that the wounds are there. The pain doesn't mean anything. So while it hurts more than anything in this universe, it's easy to recover from."

"Oh. Okay then."

Issac could only shrug. 

"Attention! Shuttling sequence disengaging. All hands prepare to enter SDZ space."

"SDZ?"

Issac asked curiously as he and his mother walked to the bridge. 

"It's a kind of demilitarized zone. Warships and galactic military aren't allowed to enter within a certain distance of the Mantle. Anything within 100 thousand miles is Mantle territory, and only foreign transport ships can move within that space. Of course, any ships, mechs, and equipment with the Mantle tag on them can move about as they wish, armed or otherwise."

"So the Mantle is its own nation or something?"

"Something like that. You could say that the three galactic civilizations have founded a jointly operated federation, one that is separate from yet comprised of the galactic civilizations' influence. It's complicated."

"Hm."

Issac hummed as a door opened in front of them. They walked onto the bridge. 

Anthony waved from behind the holographic map. 

"Issac! Look, we're here!"

"I can see that."

Issac smiled as he looked out the front window of the bridge. 

In front of the ship was a large planet, a bit bigger than the farming colony Issac was from. Only, the size of the planet was definitely its least noticeable aspect. 

This planet had three horns on it, massive megastructures that rose from three equidistant locations on the planet's equator. The horns curved upward and toward the north pole, extending into space and acting as a crown. The three tips of the horns met far above the north pole's surface. 

And in the center of the horns' meeting was a small satellite, an orb looking like a moon that rested between the three. The tips of the three horns stopped just before touching the moon, the tiniest gap between them

It was the largest planetary construction Issac had ever seen. While he had seen pictures of it during his research, seeing it through the window of a cruise ship gave him a completely different feeling. He felt like he was standing in the presence of a kingly celestial object. 

There were some other details though that Issac found interesting. For one, the population of the planet was small, only about 2 billion. 

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In the wider galaxy that had been colonized by three galactic civilizations, that number was truly tiny. Planets like Earth that acted as a galactic capital had hundreds of billions of residents with billions coming and going every day. There were trillions across the stars. Throughout the entire galaxy, the total population of all three galactic civilizations combined might amount to about 60 trillion 

And the Mantle was one of the most prosperous planets in the galaxy. For only 2 billion to be on such an important celestial body was baffling. 

Then again, not just anybody could even approach this place, let alone reside on it. 

Issac felt a bit weird seeing as how he was about to become a student here. Was he really good enough?

"Alright, time to disembark. We'll take the transport ship that all your cargo is on."

Cornelius suddenly spoke, snapping Issac out of his reverie. Since galactic militaries couldn't approach the planet, they had to go by transport ship. This was the same ship used to take Issac's family off the farming planet. 

Since everything was already packed and ready to go, Issac followed his parents onto the transport ship, settling on the bridge. Cornelius and Anthony followed with a few other personnel, officers that would handle any logistics planetside and fly the ship. 

With that, Issac felt a small rumble as the ship took off. It undocked from the cruise ship and drifted a bit while orienting itself in a particular direction. Issac was confused as it wasn't toward the planet. 

"There are tons of space stations just outside the SDZ. Those things have Fracture Portals that launch us to the planet. We're going to a human one."

Anthony informed Issac as they flew. Sure enough, only a few minutes later they were approaching a huge space station. 

And it was seriously huge. Issac could see hundreds of thousands of ships constantly leaving and entering the station. Many of these ships were massive, obviously transporting large amounts of cargo. There were also tons of military fleets of both the Mantle and Human militaries. 

This was a checkpoint for everything that was entering or leaving the Mantle. All cargo and persons needed to be checked before entering. And the station was armed to the skin of its teeth, capable of fighting every military fleet present. Issac gawked when he saw railgun platforms the size of carrier ships floating around. 

The small transport ship was lost in the sea of fleets as it was guided into the checkpoint. They didn't have to wait long before flying into a cylindrical tube that scanned the ship several times over. 

"Cornelius Hayle of the Syndicated Star Command, welcome to the Mantle."

A man's voice suddenly rang out from the terminal of the ship. Cornelius straightened his back 

"Please state your business, Admiral Hayle."

"I'm here to drop my son and his friend off at school."

"Understood. We wish you a smooth entrance. Initiating fracture handoff."

After the man cut the connection with a chuckle, Issac saw the space in front of the ship warp and crack. The next instant, the ship was launched forward, entering the sub-dimension. 

A few seconds later, they exited. 

"Welcome to the Mantle."

Max smiled as he looked at the planet. 

They were now right above the atmosphere, and the transport ship left the station it arrived in. It flew to the base of the horn megastructure. 

"The three horns of the Mantle are each occupied by the three galactic civilizations, and they're called the Megaliths. But those aren't where you'll be learning or training or competing. The moon at the top is where you'll be doing that. In fact, that's the true Mantle, not the planet below."

Cornelius spoke, his words obviously aimed at Issac. 

"Within the Megaliths are the residents of the planet. Although the population is 2 billion, only a small fraction of that actually participate and live in the Mantle. You two will be living in the Mantle. The Megaliths are for the standard population that make the planet prosperous. Though, there are still a great many people who live in the Megaliths and once participated in the Mantle. Just forewarning you, almost nobody on this planet is totally normal. Everyone earned their way here through some extraordinary merit. All 2 billion of them."

Issac slowly nodded his head. He was sure that those who lived in the Megaliths still played an integral part in the prosperity and function of this planet. Without them, the people in the Mantle probably wouldn't be able to focus on their work. 

Finally, the transport ship landed. It entered the human Megalith and docked in a transit hub. 

"Alright you two, listen up."

When the docking finished, Cornelius turned around, facing Issac and Anthony with a stern face forged by the military he commanded. 

"Technically, nothing can happen here unless you two first get evaluated and accepted. Issac, if you fail the test, then you're going right back to that backwater farm, your parents possibly not following your sorry ass. Anthony, if you fail, then you can kiss your talented friend goodbye. We didn't bring you here without knowing you could pass, so you better step up and get the job done. After that, you'll get situated where you belong within the Mantle, and your first year will begin. Anthony, follow me out first so I can give you a few words."

A hatch opened as Cornelius finished, Anthony following him as he left the bridge. Issac was left alone with his parents. 

He softly asked a question. 

"...Are we safe?"

"Yes. Go ahead, sweetie."

Victoria smiled. Issac obviously wanted to talk about his secrets.

"So, can I really not use my shadow during the evaluation? It doubles my mind, which will be useful during this test."

"...That depends. In fact, let's test if you can right now."

Max suddenly stepped up, facing his son. 

"Enter the Shroud like you did when cultivating.

"Shroud?"

"That soul space. It's called the Shroud. Cast awareness into your soul and activate your shadow. If you can double your mind without exposing your soul, then go ahead. But if even the slightest hint of your second soul is exposed, then you can't."

"...Alright."

Issac nodded before closing his eyes. 

His shadow was his hidden ability. Issac had never been completely sure what it was, but he knew of a few different abilities it had. 

First, his shadow could double his mind when activated. The shadow was, as Max said, its own soul. So Issac had two minds when it was activated. But because the two souls were also mysteriously connected as one, Issac's shadow was also himself. Same person, two souls, two minds. Additionally, the effects of having two minds that could seamlessly connect with each other was multiplicative of Issac's intellectual ability, not merely summative.

Second, his shadow could either split from his body or remained merged with it. Issac would usually double his mind without splitting his shadow off of him. If he did split it, then the shadow could act as an independent body, traveling wherever it wanted and taking in its own sensory information like a normal body. Also, it could vanish whenever Issac wanted, returning to his primary body from anywhere. 

Third, his shadow couldn't use his Hardlight power. But he could use the shadow as a source of dark energy, supplying his primary soul with it. Issac had never really seen the use of this, but with his recent cultivation trouble, he was finding its value as something like an additional battery. 

Fourth, anything that happened to one body when separated, would happen to the other upon recombination. Issac had discovered this when his shadow got hurt, and upon recombining, the wounds were applied to his primary body. That was a nasty experience. 

Although Issac called it his shadow, the shadow was actually just another body, another him. While it didn't have any features and only retained the general silhouette of a human, it was still a physical body. Issac had guessed that it was made from dark matter, but he couldn't be sure.

Thankfully, because the shadow was him, he could operate it like his normal body when separated. When he was young, there were a great many days when Issac would galavant around with his shadow while learning in school with his primary body. Unbeknownst to him, this also taught Issac to compartmentalize his thoughts and feelings. He could work hard with his primary body while enjoying himself simultaneously with his shadow, totally ignoring how much he didn't want to do schoolwork. His parents also didn't interfere much. After all, it wasn't normal to have two minds, and they didn't know how to go about controlling such a thing.

Knowing all this though, Issac still wasn't sure if his soul doubled when the abilities of his shadow were activated. So he was eager to see the results in the Shroud. 

Within that colorful and mesmerizing space, Issac looked at his soul. He could still see the wounds on his body of light. They were no different from last time. 

Then, with a thought, Issac's mind doubled. He had done it so many times before, but not while in this state. 

And nothing was much different. Upon doubling his mind, his hair in the real world turned white, small blue sparks flying between the strands. After that, the shadow appeared beside his body. 

And in the Shroud, a black soul had suddenly appeared, splitting off from Issac's white soul. Right after it appeared, he recombined them. The moment he did, the shadow disappeared from the real world. 

With that, the two souls were one, and Issac still had his doubled mind. Only, there was a faint difference. 

The wounds on Issac's white soul were filled with black, as if his shadow were sealing them. He found this curious, and told his parents about it. 

 

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