The further Esperanza and the Progenies pushed towards the center of the dungeon, where they expected the boss monster would be, the harder the resistance they faced along the way.
Arachnoids of the fourth tier went from being uncommon – typically only the [Queen] of a group – to relatively common, sometimes up to the point that every one in four to five arachnoids were in the fourth tier. They were mostly on the very low end of the fourth tier, though, and while they were noticeably more dangerous, were still nothing compared to what a full-fledged fourth tier could do.
After all, none of the party were as weak as they were when they returned to the dungeon.
The improvements that the Progenies and Esperanza herself received from their third tier classes were felt. When it comes to lower end fourth tiers, even the stronger progenies could handle them alone for a good while, and kill them with the help of another. Esperanza was even stronger, as she tried herself out on another [Immature Arachnoid Queen], very similar to the creature they took down to reach the third tier, and slew the beast on her own without much difficulty.
[Soul Armament] was a game changer, given how it could be applied to her melee attacks, unlike [Soul Bolt] which could only be used in the form of a relatively slow projectile. That slowness made it pretty much useless against the agile arachnoids, despite their very weak souls which made them easy prey for Soul-based attacks.
They were honestly quite a curiosity, as Esperanza noticed how most of the arachnoids have tiny souls for their level and power. The only exceptions she had encountered were the [Queen]s, which had larger, more complete souls, and that one [King] they had the misfortune of running across during their first passage through the dungeon.
“Is something like this… normal?” she asked in her mind as they camped deeper in the dungeon later that night.
It is not an unusual thing, child. Not every creature requires as complete a soul as a person to function. Insects like these typically only have the parts that allow them to survive on their instincts. Those above them, the ones with the more complete souls, would in turn direct the ones with the lesser souls as they deem fitting.
“Huh. That always the case or are there other exceptions?”
There are other examples that worked differently. If you were to head out to the seas and go near the coral reefs, you would notice how there’s a multitude of tiny living beings that lived there. Their souls tend to be just as tiny, but they would resonate with one another to allow the whole group to function better than they should be able to with the amount they had.
In contrast, some creatures can grow large and powerful yet never gain a complete soul. These creatures are ones that are simply limited to animalistic instincts at best, with no true intelligence behind their actions. Most animals are of this sort, whereas examples such as the [Queen]s and [King]s you have encountered are more on the rare side. An incomplete soul filled with only base desires and malice could not be considered a truly aware being.
“That at least makes me feel better,” admitted Esperanza. “Would be pretty shitty to be the cabrón that barged into someone else’s place uninvited and messed everything up, you know,” she added with a wistful sigh. “I guess getting a confirmation that they’re just bloody monsters is the best case scenario for us since we’re already making a huge mess as-is.”
Indeed… you have shown great… progress, along with the [Progenies]. We had not expected that given how much you were against subjecting them to danger.
“They made their own choice, and I’m just doing my damndest to keep them alive,” replied Esperanza with a scoff. “I can’t say I wholly approve of their drive to keep throwing themselves in danger’s way and to follow behind me… but I won’t say that the company was unappreciated either.”
Joy grows in intensity the more it is shared, while the weight of sorrow lessens the more shoulders there are to bear it.
“Heh. Leave it to the Gods of Old to recite proverbs at you,” said Esperanza with a slight chuckle. After a moment though, her mood sombered once more, as she recalled a question she had forgotten to ask until then. “By the way, Oldies, what’s up with all the fraying at the edges of the souls? Are those supposed to be there?”
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We see that you have taken note of it. To answer your question, child, the fraying is not something a healthy soul should have. Normally, when a soul re-enters the cycle in such a state it would be broken up, its parts allowed to live simpler lives as lesser creatures for a cycle or two to recover from the wear and tear that it had suffered before it would be recombined and incarnated as a higher being once more. Unfortunately, that has ceased being the case.
“Let me guess… the new gods’ handiwork?”
When those who now call themselves gods deposed us and created this system of theirs, they took one look at the cycle and thought the natural process was *unnatural*. As such, when they carved out the parts that governed the cycle from our once compatriots, they altered it so that souls would not shift in the hierarchy. A soul that was once in a person would return as a person in the next life, and the same applies with animals and other lesser beings.
“Mierda… so the souls of the people had no chance to recuperate, so they started… fraying? Is that what you’re implying?”
That is so, Esperanza. When the souls had no opportunity to recover, they would start to lose cohesion. The effect is slow and gradual, and would take many cycles before it becomes noticeable, but it remains a danger that lurks in the background. While larger souls generally took longer to be affected, you likely have noticed how even the smaller souls from beasts also exhibited the same symptoms, yes?
“I have, yes… and what happens to a soul if it… completely unravels?”
A soul that completely unravels simply ceases to exist. To borrow your parlance, it would probably be the closest approximation you can have of a “true death”. Those who worshiped us, we managed to help somewhat, by using what power we have left to hold their souls together. We believe you have seen this before, have you not?
“The threads around the souls…”
Is that what it appeared like in your sight? An apt approximation regardless.
“Wait, you said that the souls would recover from this problem if they were to live life as lesser creatures. How come the souls of the lesser creatures I found also had the fraying, then?”
Like everything in existence, Esperanza, balance is the key. A soul that has spent too long as a higher being would be affected negatively, and so would one that was stuck for too long as a lesser being. In both cases it would lead to the fraying you have observed, and should that condition persisted and continued to affect the soul, in several cycles the soul would be gone, never to return.
“So unless things change, this world is utterly doomed to hit a death spiral in a few generations, then?”
What made you think we were talking about the future that is yet to come, child? What we described had already started to happen as we speak. Over the past few generations, less and less children were being born. Miscarriages and stillbirth increased in frequency, both amongst the people and the animals. If we were to make an estimate… we would guess that there are about twenty percent less living things in this world now compared to say… three hundred years ago.
“But… with such a drastic decrease even the new gods should have noticed something was wrong, no?”
They did, and they chose to blame it on our “remaining influence” instead of trying to work out a solution to the problem. We have our suspicions that the system they created had long since escaped their complete control, which rendered them powerless to solve this problem. It was only to be expected, we guess, given that they were literally messing around with powers far beyond their understanding.
“So ending the world on our terms would help… fix these issues?” replied Esperanza, somewhat lost over the magnitude of the information she had just been told. “Wouldn’t that still kill everyone currently living in the world though?”
To end the world would be akin to applying the cycle to the world as a whole, in a sense. While it would indeed result in the end of the lives currently living in the world, their souls would carry on to the next world, to live new lives once more. The alternative, if everything kept going as it is now, is true death for every existence in this world, likely including the so-called gods themselves.
“So there’s little choice, is there? Either kill everyone so they could continue to exist in future lives… or fail and everything would cease to exist in the end,” noted Esperanza with a sigh. “I… honestly don’t know how to feel about that. Back when I first met you… I wasn’t exactly in the right state of mind. Perhaps some part of me thought that you metaphorically said to destroy the world, not in a far more literal sense…”
We had… suspected, as someone who had chosen to take their own life was rarely in the right state of mind. If you feel that we have unfairly pushed the burdens upon you, child, then we apologize. At the same time however, we would still ask for your help in pursuing our request, for the sake of all the souls currently existing in the world right now.
“No need to apologize,” replied Esperanza with a shake of her head. “I don’t blame you, and I get where you’re coming from, kinda. Carajo! It was the same sort of situation, even. Things had gone so badly that I thought killing that hijo de puta of a pendejo then killing myself was the only course left for me… I guess we’re not so different in the end, after all.”
We are not… privy to your memories from the previous world, so we will refrain from commenting on that.
“Heh, gracias,” said Esperanza in thanks. “You know, your being so polite and understanding while telling me to make my own choices are probably why I’m so open to the idea in the first place. If this world is really in need of a proper ending, then let’s work together to make it happen. First things first though, I’ll be helping these progenies of yours powerlevel a bit. We’re still too weak to affect things on any scale, I think.”
We agree, and would say that it is a wise decision. While you are more powerful than the natives, there are still many around your current level of power, in the thousands, even. Once you reach the next tier, however, those amongst the natives that could match your power would be so few that they could be counted on the fingers of one hand, at most. At that point you would likely have to worry more about dealing with large groups at the same time, or of the gods taking a more direct approach.
“That’s what we’re powerleveling for, yeah,” replied Esperanza with a nod. “These kids want to come along with me and help me out, and I’m not going to risk that until they’re at least capable of holding their own against some of the stronger people around. I’ve seen some children die before my eyes, Oldies… and that is an experience I do not wish to repeat… ever again.”
A noble sentiment. We wish you luck on your journey, Esperanza.