Disappearance

The aged voice paused for a few seconds, then said, "It seems you're not entirely satisfied with ' Communication '."

"It's okay," it said. "You have other options."

"My third spell is called 'Disappearance.' All living beings can discard what they don't want, but it can discard much more. You should have noticed that your friends are being forgotten before this."

"You did this too."

The voice said, "After all, I only want to exchange souls with her, not memories, nor do I want to inherit her interpersonal relationships."

"What do you think of this magic? It can erase things from the soul, memories, or attributes, including spells and other magic engraved on the soul. And it only requires one rank."

"I told you I wasn't going to trade with you," Hope said.

"It does have some flaws," the voice continued, describing its magic. "Magic is never perfect, none of it is."

"You must use 'disappear' without the other party's knowledge or with their permission. And the disappearance process will take a considerable amount of time."

"Can something that has disappeared be found again?" Hope asked.

"... Some things are possible. If the caster dies, or falls into a state similar to death, or if there is God intervention, what has disappeared will return. But what returns will never be entirely complete."

"It doesn't sound like it will work very well."

"The God won't interfere," the voice said. "And after you die, you don't need to care too much."

"I won't trade with you," Hope refused again, but after realizing that the other party wouldn't be angry at the insults, he calmed down as well.

"Compared to killing a friend with one's own hands, using a friend's life to gain profit seems even harder to accept."

"You have too high a moral standard," the voice said. "I hate people like that. If you're unwilling to exchange, can you swear not to damage that skull?"

"Won't."

Hope guessed that its insistence on making itself swear an oath was not because it believed it would keep the oath.

More likely, the other party might be able to somehow ensure that the oath they made cannot be broken, much like the Contract of the All-Seer.

"Then..." The aged voice suddenly became somewhat mocking:

"How about we exchange something else? Since you're unwilling to trade your friend's life for profit, how about exchanging your life for your friend's life?"

"You mean you want to exchange my soul instead?" Hope asked.

"That's right, and then your friend can go back into his body."

"Didn't you say that taking her body was a sign of fate? Now you're going to defy fate?"

Fate has told me that you are no worse than her.

"It sounds like fate is on my side, "Hope thought.

"I refuse."

The voice sounded unsurprised, "Don't you feel like you're being hypocritical?"

"I don't feel that way. I never said I would give my life for her."

"What a pity. Actually, I thought it was a good suggestion," the voice said.

"I have one last item, a spell called 'Exchange.' If you're willing, I swear to my God that I will give you this spell after I complete the exchange of souls."

Hope was silent for a few seconds, not asking about the exchange, "The magic of ' Communication,' is it about binding two souls together so they can speak?"

"Sticked together? More or less. What, you're interested in this magic again?"

"That sounds disgusting."

"What?"

"Two souls intertwined intimately, me and an old man reeking of decay..."

"The soul has no scent. If you can actually smell it, it must be an illusion," the voice said. "And what you're focusing on is rather strange."

Something's strange?

Perhaps it's a bit strange.

But Hope was actually more concerned with something else: certain numbers that accompanied the aging voice.

Vision: 1.56, Mana: 1.73

Exchange: 1

Disappeared: 1

Communication: 1

Three spells and two attributes.

This was the first time Hope had seen something beyond attributes in someone else, and he speculated that it was because the two people's souls were linked together.

But perhaps because it was in a soul state, it did not display flexibility or physical constitution.

"Are you using 'disappear' on me?" Hope asked.

A long silence followed.

That's the default setting.

It's no wonder he's an old cultist with even more seniority than Old Whateley; he's using a feint to his advantage while secretly plotting something else.

They were secretly using magic even though peace talks were still in progress...

No, it shouldn't be magic used after the "Communication." The soul of Skull No. 1 may have used it much earlier, but Hope only realized it now.

Hope looked at her attributes:

Dexterity: 1.31, Constitution: 1.55, Vision: 0.67, Mana: 0.01, Wilbur: 1, 19

Uncertainty: 1

Source-ification:0.3

Curse of Darkness: 1

It's strange that even though Hope himself is in a soul state, all of his attributes are displayed.

But what's even more interesting is...

As time went on, Hope felt increasingly close to the other's attributes and magic.

So much so that Hope could vaguely sense that the other party was using "disappearance".

Source-ification...

Hope had a feeling that it was this word, "0.3," that made the difference.

"Disappear" can only be used if the other party has not noticed or has given permission.

So when Hope discovered that "vanish" was being used on her, the spell was forced to stop.

I just don't know when it started.

It is also impossible to know exactly what the other party has removed from oneself.

"The 'disappearance' has ended, proving you weren't just guessing, but genuinely believed it. I don't understand why," it said. "You shouldn't have noticed."

"I thought so too," Hope said. "Do you know what my magic is called?"

"Your magic? I don't know."

Hope began to imagine herself holding Skull No. 1 in another corner of the Skull Museum.

Although her soul was Communication with the aging soul, Hope could still sense that "Uncertainty" was in effect.

Just as the other party said, during the "Communication," time in the outside world hardly moved.

Therefore, even if Hope has successfully used "Uncertainty," his position will only change after the "Communication" ends.

He didn't choose to take advantage of this opportunity to use "Uncertainty" to escape to another place with the skull, because Elizabeth's body was being controlled by the other party, so doing so would be pointless.

After doing this, Hope waited for the other person's reaction—he could tell when the other person used "disappear," now it was a test to see if the other person could realize what he was doing.

But the aged voice only said:

"I underestimated you once again. I had indeed been asleep for far too long. After you discovered my soul swap, I shouldn't have been so careless. But the long slumber made me lower my guard."

It did not find that "Uncertainty" was being used.

Hope thought. This was a favorable situation for her, even if it was only within the magic of "Communication".