He gestured at the obsidian wasteland surrounding them. "In this realm, a Soul Warden can only use what is truly theirs. Your borrowed elements don't exist here because they're not part of your soul. They're external additions, powerful but fundamentally separate from your core existence."
The silver-haired woman added her own commentary, her earlier contempt replaced by pity. "Being Blank isn't uncommon. Perhaps two in every hundred humans are born without a natural affinity for any element. Most never realize it because they never attempt magic seriously enough to discover the limitation."
"But for a Soul Warden," another spirit continued, "being Blank is crippling. Malakai commanded seven elements. Even the weakest Wardens in history could manipulate at least two. You can't access any without external assistance."
