"This new team," Zaltar began. "A righteous sect elder, a demon lord, two crab-cult fanatics, two actual cultists and three more of my kind. This is... a motley group indeed."

"It's a strong group though," Li Yu spoke up. "Nine Soul Formation experts. That's a force that can't be easily ambushed or overwhelmed. Enough people so that everyone can escape."

"The boy is right," Corvus sighed as he continued rubbing his temples. "It's a political nightmare but it's strategically sound. The only way to survive those kinds of ambushes is to consolidate." He turned to the tactical map.

"First, logistics. We cannot abandon Sorrow's Peak. This is the most secure forward fortress we have currently. The Sunken Basin Outpost is likewise critical as a channel to here. We can't just leave them for the swarm."

"Reinforcements, then," Zaltar stated.

"Exactly," Corvus agreed. "We will continue as planned there, reinforcements to hold. We don't need more Soul Formation experts to hold each place. Most are being consolidated into strike teams while some are being used to defend. We need holders. Core Formation teams and more importantly, Array Masters. We need to turn this monastery into a fortress that can withstand a siege without us."

“We don’t have enough manpower to use soul formation experts to defend. We need to set up defenses so that they can hold out if attacked by a great force. Hold out long enough for help to arrive. This is the only way we will be able to continue to advance forward.”

"And the timeline?" Jian Xuan asked.

"Three days," Corvus said, his mind already working. "One day for the reinforcements to be dispatched. One day for them to travel here under heavy guard. One day to relieve us and for the new defensive formations to be set.”

“The other two groups will need the same. Since they have already captured their positions, it would be a waste to let it go now. We will all rendezvous here, at Sorrow's Peak, in three days. That should be enough time for the Cultists and the other demon team to secure their handoffs as well."

Zaltar nodded. "Keeping the forward line pushed, even with fewer, larger groups, is the best defense for the rear sectors. Us pushing ahead and drawing attention will be beneficial to the rear sectors not having much to defend from. This should work. If not, what war doesn’t have sacrifices."

With the logistics settled, the oppressive tension of the war momentarily lifted, replaced by a different one. Corvus and Zaltar turned their full attention back to Li Yu.

"Alright," Corvus said, his voice laced with a familiar weary resignation. "Let's address the monster in the room. Soul Formation. At your age."

Zaltar’s four black eyes blinked slowly. "I have seen talents in my long life. I have seen prodigies through what seems like countless years. I have never... ever... seen this. Not even in the most ancient of royal demon lines. To break through to Soul Formation at your age... it is unheard of."

Jian Xuan puffed out his chest, preening on Li Yu's behalf. "The Crab God's blessings are limitless! His champion is destined for greatness! It is only natural!"

Corvus shot him a look that could curdle milk. "Quiet, you!” Not knowing what else to say to this fanatic that was always going on about his crab god.

“We are all veterans of this realm, Jian Xuan." he said, his tone shifting to that of a senior elder now.

"You may be powerful but in the face of this new realm and what this means, you are an infant. Your soul is newly formed. It is your greatest weapon and your biggest weakness as well. We have advice since we are all so old. Listen up and take notes."

Li Yu immediately adopted the posture of a junior, bowing his head slightly. "I truly appreciate it. My breakthrough... it was chaotic. I am still trying to understand it. I feel my soul but it's... new." This was his chance to get in some questions he’s had.

"I was wondering, since having a soul makes me feel so much clearer and stronger... has anyone ever heard of a way to get two?"

He quickly added a justification, trying to sound like a greedy ambitious youth that got a new toy and wanted another. "If one is good, two must be better, right?"

Jian Xuan laughed. "Brother Little Crab, always thinking of new ways to get stronger! But two souls? How? Your soul is you. You are your soul. You can't just... have a second 'you'. That's nonsense!"

Corvus shook his head, looking exasperated. "The boy is fantasizing but it's a common thought for new ascendants, Jian Xuan. The allure of power is strong after all. The answer is no, Li Yu. A soul is singular. It is the spiritual manifestation of your existence, your 'True Name' written on the laws of the Dao. You cannot have two existences."

Li Yu's heart sank slightly. He had expected as much. But then Zaltar spoke.

"The Grand Elder is right... for most races," the demon lord rumbled. "Humans, Demons, Spirits, even the beasts of our worlds... the rule remains one body, one soul. But... I have heard rumors. Old, old stories from the Demonic Realms. Stores that have been passed down from the Myriad Races era, before the rise of our current empires."

Li Yu's attention snapped to him. "Rumors?"

Zaltar’s four eyes unfocused, as if peering into the distant past. "Of a creature. A race. Born... different. They were not humanoid. They were said to be... beings of light and shadow, somehow intertwined. They had no true fixed physical form but were said to wear bodies as cultivators wear robes. Perhaps some kind of technique or special artifact that lets them take physical form. No one really knows as the story goes."

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He leaned forward, the runes on his armor glowing faintly. "The legends called them the Anti-Duplex. Or the Twin-Souled. They were described as looking like... two majestic celestial serpents as one. One was of blinding pearlescent light and the other of devouring darkness. The two were wrapped around each other in an eternal, flowing dance. A perfect paradox to the natural laws of the world. They were said to have two minds, two wills and two souls. All of this housed within one 'vessel'."

Li Yu's mind flashed to his Fisherman and his Leviathan. Human and beast. Calm and ravenous. ‘It was a little similar but not really.’ He thought to himself.

"They were said to be masters of soul techniques beyond comprehension. Perhaps the strongest soul technique users out of all the races," Zaltar continued, his voice low. "But the stories always said they were... benevolent. They were a myth of hope. They would appear in times of great crisis, or in places where the veil between life and death was thin.”

“They were said to guide lost souls to their next cycle and to be able to mend spiritual wounds that no mortal healer could touch. I've never heard a single bad story about them. In all the legends, they only ever helped people. That alone is quite unusual as stories tend to get distorted but that one fact remained consistent."

He sat back. "But... I have never seen one. No one has in ten thousand years, perhaps longer. As far as any of us know, it's just a myth. A story to tell younglings."

Corvus scoffed at the story, though his interest had clearly been piqued as he was leaning in closer to listen. "Myths. Fantasies. Zaltar, you fill the boy's head with nonsense. He is a human, not a mythical two-headed twin soul-serpent."

He turned his stern, elderly gaze on Li Yu. "Forget this 'two soul' fantasy. You have one. Your first duty as a Soul Formation expert is not to seek new power. It is to master what you have."

Corvus held up a finger. "First: Get accustomed. You need to spend time with it. Meditate. Feel its connection. Understand its limits. It is a new limb. You must learn to use it."

He held up a second finger. "Second: Form a Connection. It is you but it is also a separate entity that you can command. You must learn to protect it. You will most likely develop a natural ‘shield’ like reaction-like technique which all of us form with our soul.

It should come naturally, it’s not a technique that one has to obtain externally. It is your last line of defense against soul attacks. Mine is called the 'Ashen Veil,' it can block a soul-strike. Zaltar's 'Four-Armed Wraith' can parry one. Jian Xuan's... crab-shield… as I’ve heard him call it... does what it does. What can yours do? How strong is it? You must know, commune with it and eventually find out."

Li Yu thought of his 'Leviathan Soul-Shield'. That technique did come naturally from his communication with his now Koi Soul and through trail and error.

"Third," Corvus said, his voice emphatic, "Strengthen it. This is the most critical. Your soul can be nourished and made more resilient with time. There are also natural treasures, spiritual herbs, strange soul-attuned minerals found in places of high spiritual density… and others. There are probably countless different things but they are also really rare and everyone wants them. That is what you should be looking for. Not a second soul when your current soul is just a little baby. Focus, Li Yu."

Li Yu bowed his head respectfully, absorbing the information. "Thank you, Grand Elder, Lord Zaltar and Brother Jian. Your advice is invaluable. I will focus on mastering what I have."

The meeting broke. Corvus and Zaltar strode off, already dictating orders, their minds fully on the grim logistics of the war.

Jian Xuan and Li Yu were left alone. They walked out of the command hall and into the courtyard. Cultivators and demons were working side-by-side to repair the monastery's damaged walls. A slight that many of them thought was impossible just months ago was a reality now.

Jian Xuan was still buzzing. "Soul Formation! Can you believe it, Brother Little Crab! I can’t believe you’ve caught up with me in Soul Formation! However, you already had long ago the strength of someone in this realm long ago… The Crab God has truly, truly blessed us!"

Li Yu, however, remained quiet and was in thought. "Jian Xuan..." he finally said after a little bit. "It was a tough fight."

Jian Xuan stopped, his manic grin fading as he saw the genuine lingering fear in Li Yu's eyes.

"That purple one... its soul attack combined with the others... I had to take it head-on," Li Yu said, his voice barely a whisper now as he remembered back.

"And at the end... they trapped me. Locked me in place by some artifact. Its soul came out and... it tried to pull my soul from my body. I thought... I thought I was going to die. I really thought that was the end for me."

He looked at Jian Xuan while shaking his head, as though he wanted to shake out the memory of the dread that he felt. "I don't want to feel that again."

Jian Xuan was silent for a long, heavy moment. Then, he laughed. It wasn't his usual, manic cackle as of late. It was short and sharp sounding.

"Brother Little Crab," he said, his voice surprisingly steady and clear. "That's it."

"What?" Li Yu asked in confusion.

"That's the feeling!" Jian Xuan said, his eyes intense. "That's how cultivators grow. That's the fire that forges the steel. You faced the abyss, you felt the end, you looked death in the eyes... and you won!”

“That feeling? That terror you felt? That's not something to run from. That's what hardens your will. That's what tempers your soul. You're more battle-hardened now. You're ready for the next one."

Li Yu looked at him and was considering what he was saying. He hated the feeling. He hated the lack of control and the sheer panic. But... was Jian Xuan wrong?

"When I took that soul-beam," Li Yu admitted, "it was agonizing. My soul-shield cracked. But... the only reason I could endure it, the only reason my mind didn't just shatter... was because I'd felt worse. That ugly old man... his soul attack hit me. It was worse. Because I survived that, I was used to the pain more. From that, I could still function and could survive this."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I can't say it's not true... but I still don't like it. I'd rather be raising fish than taking on all these life and death fights."

Jian Xuan just laughed out loud. It was a full joyous and booming laugh this time. He smacked him hard on the back and before he could stumble forward, he slung an arm around Li Yu's shoulders. Like a big brother messing with his younger sibling.

"Don't worry, little crab! This war won't last forever! And who knows," he grinned, his fanatical zeal returning, "by the end of it, you might even find the joys of battle soon enough!"

Li Yu just shook his head, a small wary smile on his face. 'That,' he thought, 'will never be true.'

But then, he looked up at the sky. He never thought he'd be where he was now. He certainly never thought he'd be a Soul Formation expert with two souls. Now fighting against some alien species that was known for destruction wherever they went.

He smiled, a real one this time. 'Well, let’s not say never. You just never know after all.’