"If rune energy was really as I thought—primarily based on Mental Power, drawing upon memories once Mental Power ran low, with shattered memories turning into fragments to form new Mental Power—then this would be easier to handle. Sheryl could completely drive away or weaken the machine's influence on its pilot. But it probably wasn't just that. There should be another, most crucial factor... the soul? Emotions?"
"No, that's not it." Xiao Ran shook his head and thought, Hmm... I only have five attributes: Accuracy, Agility, Reaction, Spirit, and Endurance. If I piloted this kind of machine, then only those five attributes would be affected. Spirit is already certain. Accuracy, Agility, and Reaction wouldn't be affected, so the last one remaining... is Endurance.
Xiao Ran raised a brow. "Endurance? Vitality? Rune energy is formed from the fusion of Mental Power and vitality. Vitality fills one's DNA, blood, and every corner of the body. Mental Power represents the soul, memories, and all those intangible yet truly existing things. I understand now!"
"That's right. Mental Power can recover, but if the mind suffers severe trauma, Mental Power may fail to recover or become unable to grow. The same goes for vitality. With suitable replenishment, it can slowly recover, but the process would be extremely slow. Without the proper means of replenishing it, recovering through one's own efforts would be almost impossibly difficult."
"If Haruto's situation and that little girl named Yano Kuruomi's situation are considered together and then examined separately, the answer becomes clear."
"If rune energy is regarded as a fusion of vitality and Mental Power, then Yano Kuruomi lost her memories because her Mental Power was exhausted and her memories were extracted afterward. Naturally, her vitality suffered enormous losses as well. But testing on Unit 1 stopped at the critical point,