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~~((National Yo-Yo Day - page 15 of 20))~~
'I should admit, however, that auras remain somewhat mysterious even to us Sparrows. We can perceive them far more clearly than you can, but it is difficult to identify what is influencing them in each specific case. One aura might be enhanced by an uncommonly strong soul, while another is enhanced by an uncommonly strong will. Or by emotions, as I mentioned before.'

That put a question in Hector's head. "And what about this Beast of Lorent? You said it has a powerful aura, didn't you?"

'Yes. Monsters are among the more mysterious specimens. They don't generally have strong wills, since they are typically driven by instinct alone, and emotions are not really a factor for them, either. I'm less familiar with how soul power works, but as I understand it, most monsters cannot wield it.'

"Then are you saying that the Beast can?"

'I think that is quite likely. If not, then there must be some other explanation for its imposing aura.'

"Like what?"

'I have no idea, but I cannot imagine it would be anything good.'

Hector had more he wanted to ask, but he arrived at the staircase that he'd seen the others use. It was partially clogged with debris, so he materialized iron in between the gaps and then pulled it all out at once.

Before he completed the task, though, he ran into a problem. As much as he tried, it wouldn't budge. At first, he was confused, until he realized that he couldn't materialize any more iron.

So this was his current volume limit. He'd almost forgotten about that problem, but he could hardly be disappointed with himself. He'd left enough iron outside that he probably could've built a brand new air traffic control tower for this poor airport.

Not that it would've been a good idea to make a building entirely out of iron.

He annihilated all of the iron he'd left outside. It took a couple solid minutes to get it all.