Osmond POV
"Panicking won't help your situation, kid," I said calmly.
"It can't be helped, Osmond-san. I can feel, taste, and even smell things here, so I know this isn't a dream," Toshiki said, his voice trembling. "What if I won't be able to go home… ever?"
I sometimes forget that I have a different view on things compared to normal folks, especially a boy this age.
"I was just giving you a small scare earlier. You might be able to get out of here at a specific time," I assured him.
When I used my appraisal during our talk, I noticed his current body was only a vessel.
A vessel that imitated a real person's senses, like eating, feeling, and even a heartbeat.
Even Roy would be impressed by this level of craftsmanship.
The only difference was that his inner flesh was a literal empty husk.
An absurd amount of divinity was inside his vessel, along with the kid's soul, which is the only thing I could currently see and feel.
Speaking of his soul, a thread was currently bound to it. I stared up, and it was connected to the same place as the portal he came out of.
"Are you sure?" Toshiki said in a hopeful manner.
I just gestured for him to come to me.
He was skeptical at first but immediately complied and got up from the chair, walking at a normal pace toward me.
"Give me your hand."
"Okay," he said without any trace of hesitation.
"Dull pain"
Casting a spell to block his sense of pain, I summoned a dagger into my hand.
"What are you going to do, Osmond-san?!" he asked, fear creeping into his voice.
"Don't move," I said, then slashed his wrist.
He instinctively shut his eyes, but when no pain followed, confusion flickered across his face.
"It… doesn't hurt at all," he said as he slowly opened his eyes.
I lifted his hand, forcing him to look at the wound I had made.
"So do you notice something different?" I asked.
He nodded his head while the confusion in his eyes only worsened.
"It's gold. Why is gold coming out of me?" he said in a nervous manner, not even minding why I slashed him anymore.
After letting go of his hand, his wound started to close up, much to the kid's bewilderment.
"It's gone," He murmured.
Seizing the opportunity, I drew his attention with a clap.
"The vessel you're using right now is not your real body," I informed him, forming two blank models of a person.
It might be easier to show it this way than try explaining some overcomplicated crap he wouldn't register.
"See this model on the left? This is what a normal person's anatomy looks like," I said, adding doodle-like constructs of organs and body parts.
"And this blue flame," I continued as I placed the spell I had summoned at the center of the body, "represents a person's soul."
Toshiki stayed seated, watching closely and following my explanation without missing a single detail.
"What is your level of knowledge regarding souls?" I asked.
"Mm… I only know that it is basically a person's consciousness and will," Toshiki replied.
"That is correct. Now imagine a person as a book," I said. "The physical body is the cover. The pages that give the book its identity are memories, personal will, emotions, and consciousness."
"So imagine yourself as that book right now. What do you think would happen if the pages were removed?"
"I would basically become an empty shell," he answered.
"Exactly. The pages are what form a person's identity. Without your soul, you would be essentially nonexistent. Your body might still remain, but you would no longer be there."
I pointed at the model on the right and guided the blue flame toward it.
A golden glow slowly spread within the model.
"This golden blood flowing through your body right now is what we call divinity," I explained as I pointed toward Toshiki.
"Eh? Divinity?" He stared down at himself, touching his arms in disbelief. "Are you telling me I am a fully fledged god right now?"
I shook my head.
Not everything tied to divinity is connected to gods or beings of similar stature.
"Nope," I said. "I will explain that properly later."
If we ever had another chance to meet, that is.
I chose to keep my mouth shut.
Despite his visible dismay, I continued my lecture.
"Based on what you saw earlier, when I transferred the blue flame, what do you think that means?" I asked.
Toshiki placed a hand on his chin and fell into thought.
A few minutes passed before he finally reached an answer.
"Basically, my soul is acting as another body right now," he said.
"If my real body is Book A and this vessel is Book B, then the pages of Book A are currently inside Book B."
He answered with complete confidence.
Nice. He understood my deliberately oversimplified explanation of the whole ordeal.
"Very good. You got the gist of it," I said, smiling as I offered my praise.
Pointing at the model filled with golden blood, I drew a glowing magic line from the blue flame and extended it toward the ceiling of this dimension.
"The reason I can say you will be able to leave this place is because of this thread," I explained as I grasped the glowing line.
"This line is connected to another body outside this domain."
After examining it closely, I could say with confidence that the kid would be gone in less than a minute.
It would pull his soul out of this place and force it back into where it belonged.
With that being said.
This kid ain't normal, I stared warily.
Inside his soul, there's something there.
Something I know, and something that has been with me since I was born.
A crack appeared in the space above me.
The same portal appeared.
The portal where Toshiki had come out from.
"Isn't that—? Wait, don't tell me—" Toshiki said before being interrupted as his whole body was dragged upward.
Looks like I am right once again. As expected of me.
He let out a funny noise, like he is being abducted by an extraterrestrial being.
"See you, kid," I gave him a slight salute amidst his shouting.
===============
Kagami Toshiki POV
"WAIT, I'M NOT READY!!" I shouted as I bolted upright in my bed.
I woke up from my slumber after that quite eventful situation.
At least, I thought I did.
Touching my face and hair, I sighed in relief.
"Oh… that might've just been my imagination."
Yeah, like there's no way I just met a wizard.
I calmed myself for a moment.
That was just a dream, and the things I felt were just me imagini—
[Nope. That was all real, kid.]
A very familiar voice spoke inside my head.
"Like hell it was," I sighed in defeat after hearing Osmond.
Wait a second.
You can talk to me from there?
I know I heard his voice before I slept, but not this clearly.
[Looks like it.] Osmond-san replied. [I could see what you see and hear what you hear last time, but now I can also read your thoughts.]
Damn it. Looks like I'm actually going to have to have a official farewell to my privacy.
[Also, I know you're a growing boy, so I'll block my senses if you ever need some alone time.]
I don't need that right now!!!