Shion Lan sat by a window in the palace, sighing. "Five years have passed. All I've done is protect Solan from evil spirits. Even though her pure spirit repels most of them, that powerful spirit keeps appearing with every attack. I have to kill it each time, or things get worse."
He looked at his hand and sighed again. "I no longer have a sword I can wield, and the swords here are physical—I can't touch them. And worse, my techniques haven't progressed an inch. Why is that?"
Shion's gaze fell on some children playing outside, among them a pure beauty with striking eyes and bright white hair, playing with other children and benevolent spirits. He muttered to himself: "Five years have passed, and I should have been born by now. Yet I remain the same, unable to interact. It must be because I'm confined to the palace. I know this, but I must remind myself not to lose my mind."
As he drifted in thought and minutes passed, he heard cautious footsteps approaching. "Another thing I don't understand. I can see Solan, yet she cannot see me or know what I'm saying."
A little girl entered carefully, ensuring no one else was around, and approached with a smile that erased all worries. She called out:
"Master Guardian!"
Shion smiled weakly. The title "Master Guardian" was what the little girl had been calling him for two years. She was at that time three-year old. The family had allowed her to roam freely, but whenever she interacted with him, she was forcibly returned to her previous place as a theatrical text, it should not be deviated from, and she cannot move freely unless she is outside the picture. She always watched her surroundings before coming to speak to him.
The little girl sat beside Shion and said, "Master Guardian! I've reached the first level!"
Shion smiled at her, murmuring: "I doubt she can even see my smile. To her, I appear as an unknown shadow surrounded by black, with something glowing that tries to shine. And the only other thing she knows about me is that I protect her from evil spirits."
She replied confidently, "I can now easily handle first-level spirits, Master Guardian! Leave them to me, and I will purify them forever!"
Shion thought, 'As I suspected, she's mature. From what I understand, it's her responsibility to defeat the spirits. But being in a coma, she never had the chance—until now. She has the ability to deal with first-level spirits.'
The little girl looked at him and asked, "Master Guardian, even though I'm already first-level, I still cannot detect your spirit. Could you come with me to the library starting tomorrow?"
"What is Solan trying to do now? The problem is, I don't even have a way to answer her…"
But she continued, "If I don't find you tomorrow, I'll know you don't want to come. Don't push yourself, Master!"
Shion smiled, though he frowned suddenly as he saw evil spirits gathering. Embarrassed, the girl said, "They're all second and third level—I don't have the power to face them yet."
Shion chuckled softly, activating his aura as he launched toward the evil spirits.
After confirming Solan's safety, Shion sat in the library, muttering to himself:
"Even after all these years, I haven't been able to sleep a moment. First, I don't know how to sleep here, and I don't get tired. Second, I don't understand why, all these years, I've never heard Lindy speak of her family, even once, or mention Sol, for example. Were there problems in the family back then?"
Time passed until the next day. Shion waited in the library for Solan, who snuck in unnoticed. Her face bore traces of sweets, which made Shion laugh a little.
Solan wiped her face and said, "What should I do? I used to be like this when I was little. But thank you, Master, for coming to the library!"
The little girl bowed innocently and said, "I want you to learn spirit magic, Master!"
Shion was at a loss for words, but replied sarcastically, "Even though you can't hear me, Sol told me I cannot find a spirit that harmonizes with my power. So… thank you."
She said, "I don't know what you said, but I'll try to communicate with you."
The little girl clasped her hands, and her magical energy surged to its maximum. Though first-level, the purity of her spirit was extraordinary. Shion was impressed and watched closely.
Spirits passed through the walls. Shion saw them and felt a little unsettled before nodding in recognition: "These are the spirits from the palace. I remember that person well!"
Shion had seen some of the palace spirits before, including one elegant figure that strangely resembled someone from the palace itself. He thought, 'I never expected this was why not everyone turned into an evil spirit—some remained normal spirits. I never considered that!'
The little Solan looked at the first-level spirits and said, "Can you communicate with Master Guardian for me?"
The spirits glanced at Shion. One said, "But, my lady! I don't feel safe with him."
"True, he seems frightening, but he protected me in the palace for five years. I need to understand him better!"
"What?!" Shion muttered in frustration. 'Am I really that scary?'
A spirit stepped forward, examined Shion, and asked, "I can't discern your form. Can you tell me your name?"
Shion sighed. "I am Shion Lan."
The spirit tried to comprehend him, but the pressure was so great it began to fade.
"No!!" Solan cried, worried and scared.
The spirit withdrew, saying fearfully, "He is too powerful, my lady! I can't even communicate with him!"
"..."
Shion didn't understand. 'This man is supposed to be fifth-level in the palace, first-level in reality, but I'm still fourth-level. Is that what they mean?'
The spirit continued, "It seems he doesn't belong to our world, my lady… like the Stellar Spirit described in the books!"
Shion thought for a moment, 'Could it be because of the Art of Stellar Summet?'
Solan felt frustrated and sad. She looked at Shion embarrassed and said, "Master Guardian, I'm sorry if I caused you trouble."
She was incredibly sweet, and Shion patted her head. "You might feel a little sore on your head, but that won't help with communication. We'll find a way, though—I don't want you to be sad."
Although Solan had tried before to communicate through touch, she could only sense the touch without determining location or duration, so they abandoned the attempt.
Solan said, "I have an idea. Train as a spirit, Master!"
Shion looked at her, confused. Solan went to the library shelves and had her spirits lift her up as she sounded cute. She grabbed a book, descended, and went to Shion.
"I'll open the book and turn the pages. You just look at them, okay?"
Shion sat beside her in agreement. The little girl smiled happily. The book's topic was (Spirit Training and Fundamentals). Shion thought, 'Does this resemble the (Fundamentals of Weapons)?'
Solan didn't know what he was thinking. She opened the first pages. Shion tried his memorization method, but it failed—he didn't have a body to use the skill, being only a spirit. He decided to work hard anyway. They have years until the incident.
'These lines explain much about my current self. But how do I develop it? I can't even float. The most I can do is pass through walls—and I'm grateful for that, at least.'
Solan turned the pages, pausing at each to give the spirit time to read and absorb. Suddenly, she vanished before finishing a page. Shion tried to turn it himself but couldn't touch it.
"Should Solan have been there on a specific anniversary?!"
He stopped complaining and rushed to where she had been to protect her.
...
Days and months passed. Shion helped and protected Solan, and in return, she helped him read and taught him how to train. He finally had something to do and worked to make up for the lost five years. When he finally finished the book, an idea formed in his mind.
'In Shi Yun Lan's world, many focused on the spiritual side. Even if that scoundrel didn't learned about the spirits, he'll likely care later. But I still have essential fundamentals. After five years of star meditation, I seem to have understood something suitable for my training.'
Shion assumed a meditative stance, spinning his spiritual power to harmonize with the world.
...
In reality, his disfigured body lay in the magic circle. Suddenly, it moved and transformed—Shi Yun Lan appeared, surprised.
"I didn't expect that fool to train to develop his spirit! Hahahaha! This is interesting!"
Outside the palace, darkness fell, revealing the moon among the stars. Shi Yun Lan looked at it and said:
"I understood a little when he used the forbidden technique, but it's enough to help him. After all, he's in a recorded past—he's not truly training yet."
Shi Yun Lan sat cross-legged, recalling the training Shion had performed. "It won't be as brilliant or strong as he would normally do, but it will be sufficient for him to complete his training."
Stars formed, yet they didn't shine because the practitioner had been a master of Art of Annihilation. In the recorded past, Shion suddenly sensed something. With his own power and Shi Yun Lan's, his form changed, emitting a strong aura. Solan noticed, looking at him with anticipation and excitement.
Shion thought '(Stellar Summet: Stellar Spirit)!'
The white point in the darkness glowed brightly. The spirit in the recorded past synchronized with the body in reality.
"Now, Flame Star! Shine in my hand!"
His spirit ignited with fierce fire. In reality, Shi Yun Lan watched Shion's body heat rise and laughed.
"That bastard! He's a genius!"
Shion stood, looking at the various spirits. 'My fire power should be third-level, even though I only have five cutters and five paths. But that will change!'
When evil spirits attacked, sensing Shion's sluggishness, he looked at them indifferently. He swiped his claws, producing five cutters that quickly killed the spirits. Solan stepped forward, using her power as a spirit witch:
"(Spirit Purification)!"
The evil force left the spirits, returning them to normal. Solan, at first level, had exhausted herself. When Shion looked at them, he noticed their unusual smiles.