Hayatobi turned to the glowing balls of light, their golden luminescence reflecting in his eyes like distant stars. He exhaled, the sound heavy with the history of the room.
"Each of these lights belongs to special individuals who have bled for the dragon empire, who have carved their names through blood and sweat. Each one of them gains this opportunity." He said, his voice echoing in the silent chamber. He looked over his shoulder at Mirabella and Hitachi, his expression serious.
"With what I have observed, both of you will gain more powers in the future, and we don't want your lives to be short." He said.
"Huh?"
The two blinked, surprised by his words. They had expected a weapon or a title, not a concern for their longevity.
"Yes! This here are resurrection orbs! Once your souls' signatures are marked with these things, and by chance, you got killed or died in a battle! We can simply resurrect you right here! In a simpler form, you have an extra life!!"
"....?!!"
Hitachi and Mirabella were dumbfounded. In a world where death was usually final and brutal, gaining such an advantage wasn't just good, it was amazing. It was a cheat code against fate.
'In my past life, I was weak and useless, so I have no idea about this...' Mirabella thought, her mind racing as she stared at the orbs of light. This was high-level imperial magic, something far beyond the reach of common players. 'Gaining such things is great.'
She nodded, her tactical mind immediately looking for the flaw in the design. She asked: "What if by chance these orbs get destroyed? What then?"
"Good question." Hayatobi gave a small nod of approval.
"These orbs are strong enough to withstand the full force of a Lv400 fighter... So you don't have to worry yourself about it. Besides, the academy is here to protect them to the every end." He answered.
Hayatobi waved his hand, and the remaining two dimmed balls hovering before them detached from the cluster and flew towards Hitachi and Mirabella, floating silently before them at chest height.
"Ok you two, place a drop of blood in the orb before you." Hayatobi explained, staring at the two students.
"Yes."
Mirabella flicked her wrist. The air distorted sharply, and a Legendary Class Dagger appeared in her hand. The blade radiated a terrifyingly sharp aura, instantly catching the whole people in the room off-guard. Even the Emperor's eyes widened slightly at the sight of such a high-tier weapon in the hands of a student.
Mirabella stared at them and chuckled lightly internally. 'Look at their faces. What will happen if they see Sunder?'
She lightly cut herself, drawing a bead of crimson blood, then dropped it on the orb. Hitachi followed, summoning an Elite Class Dagger, its dark metal glinting in the candlelight, and also drew blood, dropping it on his orb.
The two orbs glowed brightly, drinking in the offering, and moved towards Hayatobi. He joined his two palms together and closed his eyes, channeling an immense amount of spirit energy.
Two white runic circles appeared from his closed palms and shot towards the two orbs, merging with them. The binding began.
"AHHH!!"
Both Mirabella and Hitachi growled in pain, holding their heads. Their teeth gritted in pain as the magic seared their very souls, rewriting their essence to anchor them to this plane.
Prince David smirked, seeing their expressions, enjoying their moment of weakness. But the next moment, the pain on the two faces vanished as if it never existed, and they stood upright, composing themselves instantly.
'Huh?! That's impossible!! Are these two monsters?! Their intellect shouldn't be that high!' He thought in shock. The mental fortitude required to shake off soul-binding pain that quickly was unheard of.
"Good. From now on, your souls have been marked." Hayatobi waved his hand, and the orbs flew towards him and hovered with the rest, making 20 resurrection orbs in total.
"You can have your leave now. I am sure you remember the way." Hayatobi added.
Mirabella and Hitachi nodded, turned, and walked towards the door, exiting the hall without a backward glance. The moment they were gone, the heavy doors sealed shut, and the King turned to Hayatobi, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"Are you sure about those two? What if they betray the empire in the future?"
"That's the exact reason I placed these on them. Yes, it gives them a second life, but it can also take their lives... If one of them turn against us in the future, we can simply get rid of him or her to protect our empire." Hayatobi said, his tone turning cold and pragmatic.
"But what if one get so strong to ignore the soul bond?" The King asked.
"My King... In all the years I have lived, I have never seen anyone who achieve that level of strength... Even a Lv400 fighter can't escape it." Hayatobi gave a small smile, confident in the ancient magic. He walked towards the door.
"But don't worry, I trust those two... They will never betray the dragon empire. But nothing is set in stones." He stood and looked at them over his shoulder, his eyes shadowed. "If that happens one day. I will take care of it... You will give me that right?"
The King's eyes narrowed, weighing the risk, and nodded his head: "Ok Lord Hayatobi, that's up to you..."
Hayatobi nodded, and walked out of the room, leaving the father and son behind in the glow of the resurrection lights.
__
[In the hallway.]
The corridors were empty, the stone walls amplifying the silence between the two prodigies.
"Mirabella."
Mirabella stopped and looked over her shoulder at Hitachi, whose gaze was fixed on her with intense curiosity.
"How strong are you?" Hitachi asked, his gaze fixed.
"Strong enough to take down ten world Bosses with one hit." Mirabella answered calmly. She didn't offer proof; she didn't need to. She started walking again, leaving Hitachi behind, his face flat.
He watched still she took a turn, disappearing from sight.
"Surprising. Because I can take Twenty world Bosses down in one hit." He covered half of his face with his hand, a dark excitement bubbling up within him.
"It will be thrilling to face you in combat... I so want to see who's the strongest." He muttered to himself. His form suddenly lost consistency, and he shattered into smoke, disappearing from the hallway.