The Arcanist's soul shuddered, but I could see that he was running out, and the pressure of my growing soul was suppressing his own. I felt I could almost reach out and bend his soul to my purpose if given enough time.
I had no idea that a higher soul power could be used to almost forcibly compel someone, but looking back now, this should have been obvious. I had only ignored this truth because I had never even considered doing something like this to someone before.
"I... I don't..."
"Yes, you do. You've carried it with you for centuries. I can barely see the shape of it. It is the first thing that set you on this path you have chosen, and you've buried it so deep that you thought you'd forgotten it. But it's still there, and I want to know."
His soul pulsed again, growing increasingly weaker, even as mine seemed to grow stronger, and I only had to wait for him to break… It did not take long.
"...Elara."
