The semblance of Hex gear Eren had on him allowed him to channel his will into the spells. However, unlike last time, Eren was in control of the wrathful summoned creatures.

'This.. What is happening to me? What kind of power is this?'

Eren thought to himself as he watched his wind-element elephants start transforming into something unusual. They had ivory thick skin. The skin of their mana bodies was turning red as if foreign mana had been injected into them.historical

The summoned elephants grew stronger than before. Their trunks and tusks elongated. Their eyes turned blood-shot red and their red skin started developing scales.

The Wyvern started growling at the elephants when he saw them transform. He could feel that something was wrong with Eren's summoned creatures. They were giving off threatening auras, which they weren't capable of.

The Wyvern decided to wait and analyze instead of blindly rushing into combat. He started treating Eren as a serious threat.

Eren felt like the summoned creatures were angry at something for some reason. He pondered for a moment before deciding to cast his other summoning spells as well.

A flock of firebirds appeared in the air around him. Just like the elephants, they started transforming into something unusual. A hint of azure flames appeared over the birds' mana bodies. Their wings grew but their bodies remained the same. Their beaks became more pointy and their eyes grew more menacing.

They also started showing sawtooth-like protrusions over their backs and their claws turned more deadly. Unlike before, they cried in a sharp tone and looked ready to act at a moment's notice. As if they were more eager than before to blow themselves up along with their opponents.

The lightning hounds looked the most intimidating of them all. Their backs were elongated and their eyes turned wolf-like. They started developing blue fur. The streaks of lightning that cackled over their bodies became more potent and destructive in nature because of the inclusion of red-colored lightning.

A destruction Aspect of lightning.

The red-lightning hounds grew fangs in their mouths and their sharp and lightning-clad claws started cracking the ground on which they were standing. They also grew lightning shards over their long tails, integrating Eren's spell into their mana bodies.

Eren had come to realize that the supposed soul mark he had over his soul had helped him gain most of his unbelievable achievements in the state of epiphany. This was when he saw the new Aspect of lightning getting used. He only understood the origin behind the Aspect and most of his other gains after seeing the scene in front of him.

'Look, I know you can listen to me. I can feel that you have gone out of your way to help me. Who.. who are you? And what do you want from me?'

Eren asked no one in particular. He wasn't sure he'd get the answer and was just trying his luck. Surprisingly, someone decided to respond.

'Hmm? What do you mean– who am I? Aren't I you and you, me? Kekeke.'

A man's voice sounded in Eren's head. The voice was clear and deep. It was coated in amusement and playfulness, giving off a casual, non-threatening vibe. But Eren felt that the owner of the voice was exactly the opposite of that. He was as cruel as the word cruel can portray and as scheming as the word scheming could be interpreted.

Weirdly enough, time seemed to have stopped when the man decided to answer his call. The Wyvern and his own summoned creatures looked stagnant in the slow passing of time.

Eren didn't know how the owner of the voice could do that. However, he did not doubt in his mind that it was done by him. He was also sure that it belonged to the one who had placed the soul mark on him.

'What do you mean? And how can you do all this just by being a soul mark? Are you a threat that I need to take care of or are you even more of a severe threat that I can't get rid of?'

The man chuckled when he heard Eren's point of view about him. It was like Eren had no doubt in his mind that the man had no good intentions toward him. He seemed to ponder a bit before replying.

'Hmm. You guessed it right, Eren. There are no free lunches in the world. At least I'll not be the one to hand them over to anyone. I indeed have an ulterior motive to help you. But that doesn't have to be harmful to you.

Let's just say that my interests are linked to your well-being. I help myself by helping you. Is this enough for you to trust me?'

The man's voice sounded in Eren's head. The latter could take his time to think now that time around him seemed to have stopped. He was first shocked by the fact that the soul mark didn't get affected by the seal Kino had placed on him. Alternatively, the man might have been restricted in his powers because he voluntarily subjected them to such restrictions through Kino's sealing technique.

Eren didn't have the power over the soul mark. It wasn't something he could get rid of with the snap of his fingers. Nor could he dictate the man's actions. Thus, the only thing he could do was form a cooperative relationship with him.

'Alright. What do I call you?'

Eren asked the owner of the voice. He was confused by the whole 'I am you and you are me' thing. So he didn't bite into it. The voice stayed silent for a moment before answering.

'Hmm. This one's a thought-provoking question you asked me. It makes me reminisce about my past.

I have been called many names and terms over the centuries across many worlds. And I guess you won't accept my original name. So which name should I give you? That's my dilemma.

Hmm. Oh! I know.

Kekeke. This is just a clever pun you wouldn't understand. But you can call me Aleph.'

The man spoke in Eren's mind in an amusing tone. Eren didn't know what the man was talking about but he agreed with the suggestion before responding.

'Aleph, my man, how did you come to have your soul mark on me? And why did you choose me?

You made me lose control over my Hex spells when I was fighting with the Spiders. How can I believe that you don't have any ill intentions towards me after that?'

Eren remembered that he was in a precarious situation when he was battling with Spiders. They were too stunned to act. But he guessed that at least one of the Spiders would have managed to kill him if they all had decided to target him at that time.

The battlemage didn't want to get himself in the same position again. He didn't want to compromise his safety over a chance to befriend the owner of the voice of unknown origin.

The voice that identified itself as Aleph spoke promptly.

'I can't answer your first question, Eren. Because that will affect you and your journey. But I can answer your second question.

I didn't try to do anything when I fought against your opponents. It was you who came looking for more power at that time using the Hex gear as your pathfinder. And since.. let's say.. I wasn't aware.. you managed to tap into some of my powers.

Why would I sabotage my plans by harming you?

You obviously couldn't control my powers and lost your sense of self in them. I don't think you should put that on me.

I have read all your memories of when I was slumbering. If it's anything, it's the shoddy work your bald merchant has done on your Hex gear that caused that incident. It was only supposed to channel your will into your spells. Not shake the very foundation of the spell's basic building blocks and make them unstable.

Then again, you didn't pay the guy enough. So it's kind of your fault.'

Eren seemed to have stress lines over his forehead when he heard Aleph's explanation. The explanation he gave was very logical. But he criticized the way Eren paid Malcolm as if the incident happened because of his being frugal with his expenditures.

Aleph seemed to understand what Eren was thinking. He chortled and tried to explain himself some more.

'Keke. I now understand what it feels like to watch someone criticize your driving skills while you are sitting in the backseat. Damn.

Anywho. I am not criticizing you, Eren. I know a thing or two about being careful with your finances. It's just that you should learn to invest your resources where they are needed the most.

Putting the Hex gear aside, it is true that I couldn't do anything last time to prevent the accident. But in my defense, it was because I was slumbering when you tried to wield my powers. How was I supposed to help you when I wasn't even aware of myself?

But now things are different.

The homunculus that you met– Kino. It was her soul inspection array that woke me up. And she also put a sealing array on the soul mark, giving me the stopper I needed to control the outpouring of my powers.

Thus, I could talk to you and allow you to revamp your summoned creatures using my powers. All while not negatively affecting your decision-making process.

That's a mutually beneficial event for both of us if you ask me.'