Yumi's semi-transparent cheeks blushed red hearing the meaning of the name. But when she lowered her head in embarrassment, she remembered she was stark naked and quickly became even more embarrassed! Sora, on the other hand, had gotten used to the naked Yumi in front of him, and while his eyes did wander a bit, he was able to keep a straight face. He kept telling himself to think of Yumi as his sister so he would not get too distracted. Although, her name did come from the fact that she was indeed beautiful while standing there without a stitch of clothing on. 

But seeing how quiet Yumi was, Sora became nervous, wondering if she hated the name. “Ummm…”

“Ah… Sorry. Thank you. From this moment on, I will be known as Yumi.” Yumi replied, her cheeks still red. Although she was embarrassed, she still felt that being called a beauty was nice. Even if she was a spirit, she was still a girl.

“If you do not like it, I can change i….” Sora was going to say he would choose a new name but was stopped when Yumi yelled out and grabbed Sora’s hand. 

“No! There is no need. I was just feeling embarrassed. I truly love the name. Thank you.” Yumi held Sora’s hand with blushing cheeks. She looked very cute at this moment. She could not remember her name from before, so to have a new name bestowed by the person she would spend a lifetime with was a great thing.

“Then, Yumi, Since we will be working together for a while, can you explain more about the soul fusion lantern?” Sora asked. He did not try to pull his hand away from Yumi’s grasp. He did find it interesting that he could touch her hand although she was supposed to be a spirit. He wondered if this was because they were bound together.

“Yes! I will explain things while you are healing.”  Yumi let go of Sora’s hand and sat down. Sora followed suit. But it did feel strange to be sitting in a space that seemed more like a dark abyss than anything else. 

“The soul fusion lantern is part of a greater system. The true name is the Soul Fusion Magas System. I am not sure when it actually came into existence, but I do know that it is very powerful and can turn anyone into a supreme being. This you will find out over time. But the main thing about the system is that it allows you to create anything you can imagine. You can consider it a type of creation magic but one that is so in-depth and breaks all known logic of this world. 

“Most magas start off in the magicule sensing realm and are able to control a portion of their main element. During this time, such magas are able to cast a few spells, but they would normally need a long enchant in order to use that spell. Only on rare occasions, when stimulated and desperate enough, would they be able to use their magic to cast a spell without any enchant. ” Yumi began to explain. Her explanation made Sora think back to when he saw Leena trying to save him from the lightning tiger, how she had slowed it down with her ice magic.

“It is only when one reaches a realm much higher that they can finally begin casting. Another thing you must understand is that all beings are restricted to the confines of this world’s laws. And not only does their mage soul and element define their strength but also their mana bodies. These are rated from zero to ten. Zero stars are nothing more than a normal human. While a one-star can sense mana, they can not manipulate it and can only use it to refine their bodies and will never rise past apprentice mage. A two-star mana body will allow for one to cast everyday spells, but like the one-star, they will never rise past apprentice mage. As for a three-star, they are the same as before but can use basic attack magic based on their element.

“In other words, your mana body tells people your aptitude. As of now, Sora, you are a zero-star mana body. But this is where things are different for you compared to others. You are able to raise your mana body star rating. Today you are a zero-star, tomorrow you could be a ten-star. While it is not as easy as that, I can say with confidence that you will be able to rise through the ranks and become a powerful magas if you work hard enough.

“What makes it all different is that the Soul Fusion lantern enables you to consume mage souls through me, which in turn fuses them with your mage soul and any leftover residual power will be fused into your mage body,” Yumi explained.

Sora only understood half of what was being said, but he got the gist of it all. In other words, he could become very powerful if he worked hard enough. He wondered if he could become as powerful as Ellyn so he could always keep Leena safe. When this thought came to mind, Sora smiled. He realized no matter what, his final goal was to keep his little sister safe. Although this might change in the future, for now, it was enough to give him a realistic goal to work towards that would allow him to keep pushing forward no matter how much he had to struggle to do so.

“There is much more about the lantern that I can not explain clearly, so we will have to wait until you merge with the mage soul first. For now… Just rest your head and sleep. I will keep watch over you. With me around, no monsters will come to attack you.” While saying this, she brought her knees underneath her and pulled Sora’s head into her lap. She seemed to have completely forgotten that she was naked. Luckily he was facing in the opposite direction and just hearing her say the word sleep made Sora quickly doze off.

After hearing soft breathing coming from Sora, Yumi looked down at him, whose eyes were closed, and smiled. “After so many, many years, I finally have a master again and a cute one at that. He will surely grow up to be an amazingly handsome man.”