Lucian
Nearly a year passed in the underworld. Time changed nothing in the realm apart from the beings living in it.
Lucian hadn't seen Thanatos since their last conversation. He seemed pretty busy working closely with Hades to get a better assessment of his thoughts. Hades himself has acted as he usually has, directing and managing affairs in the underworld. He didn't seem to be bothered by anything as far as Thanatos could tell.
Charon has spent his time doing his tasks as the ferryman of the Styx while receiving consistent updates from Lucian.
One thing he did notice about had changed however was the lack of demons scuttling about. For a while, there had been whispers of an impending battle with the Anubis Underworld which he found fascinating. There was actually more than one type of underworld? Or maybe different jurisdictions of the underworld? For now, Lucian assumed that multiple gods ruled different underworlds similar to the different mythologies he had read while growing up.
Due to the conflict, demons were enlisted to participate in the battle with two of the gods of Hades' Underworld, Nyx, and Hypnos, volunteering to lead the assault. As a result, the demons in the area grew more scarce as they focused their time and effort on the battle.
In a Giant cave below the surface, a small, colorful soul was seen wandering along a path made of souls. It was easily 75% smaller than the smallest soul around. It had a deep Golden color with deep and rich multicolored lights moving in the center of its body. Surrounding it was a midnight black and gold corona of energy, making it look like a floating planet as it sifted through the many souls stagnant around it.
The Soul was the new Lucian after he had evolved his soul to the black level. He was now much stronger than he was before, easily able to absorb souls 20-30 times bigger than he was.
It had been quite a long journey for him as he did the same task till he reached his limit.
During his journey, he also learned that after the red limit was the golden limit that started after he surpassed the 0.20 stat and ended at the 0.31 stat.
"So, in total, there are a total of 4 different stat limits to go through apparently and most seem to only be able to obtain the 3rd Golden limit without specific titles for it." Lucian thought to himself.
"Does that mean only someone who gains the Surpasser titles can gain the black limit? If so, that is insanely powerful! No, most likely there are multiple ways to gain this limit." He reasoned as he assessed himself once more.
“It should be about time to meet Charon once again. I should get my final upgrade to my soul, then escape from this place...” He thought while he walked down the path once again.
Soon, he reached the River of Styx however, Charon was not there at the time. He decided to take a look at his character sheet as he waited for him to return.
Basic Stats
Name: Lucian Villin
Class: ---
Profession: ---
Race: Human Skeleton/Soul
Strength - [0][0.03] [Locked]
Constitution - [0.05][0.1] [Locked]
Endurance - [0][0.03] [Locked]
Perception - [0][0.03] [Locked]
Agility - [0.05][0.1] [Locked]
Dexterity - [0][0.03] [Locked]
Willpower- [0][0.3]
Intelligence - [0][0.3]
Soul - [0.4][0.8]
Health [3]
Stamina [2]
Physical Attack [3]
Magical Attack [18]
Mana [7]
Critical Chance [0.04%]
Critical Dmg [1.5]
Health Regen [0][0.14/Min]
Stamina Regen [0][11/min][0.018/sec]
Mana Regen [0.14/min]
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Soul Essence [7]
Soul Essence Regen [3.4/min][0.057/sec]
Body - 6 Paths of the Hegemon (locked)
Soul - Divine Myriad Soul
Most Recent Title
Limit Surpasser (Grade1) - First Person in your generation to Surpass the Universe standard in Grade 1. Hold yourself to a new standard. +0.5 to all Black Limits per Level (Grade 1)
He was honestly surprised at how much he had improved this past year. He was nearly 10 times more powerful than he was before reaching the black realm. His sense could now spread up to nearly the beginning of the path which was multiple thousand meters away and its strength gained an equal power increase as well! Coupled with his titles that gave a huge boost to his stats and the new title which increase the black limit by 0.5, there probably had never been anyone as strong as he was at his level, which gave him a good start to his new life. Now with the addition of Charon's help, he could potentially get even stronger!
Sometimes he failed to realize how much stronger of a foundation he has compared to other people. Considering how unique the situation he was in was, he realized the only reason he got the soul attribute was that he was a literal soul, for him to gain constitution and agility, it had probably transferred from his previous body’s accomplishments. All these he got from the start! On top of that, he also got titles that match and gives bonuses from that! Coupled with the breaking of limits and the opportunities he had... If he wasn’t in a losing mental battle with gods and nearly dying multiple times due to various reasons, barely surviving thanks to his wit this would've been an opportunity of a lifetime. Now, the only thing he could hope for is to keep everything he's worked for.
And all of that hinged on this final conversation.
Lucian waited in calm silence, steadying his thoughts as he mentally prepared.
Soon enough, Charon’s boat could be seen on the turn as he moved at a slow pace toward the beach. Charon stood with his paddle in hand on the boat’s bow as he stared across the river majestically. Turning his head, he spotted Lucian as he got closer. He smiled as he waved onto the silver waters, moving his ship faster.
He wore the same attire as when he met Lucian, similar to Thanatos which he found slightly odd but attributed to magic.
Eventually, the boat reached shore and he began walking down to meet Lucian where he stood.
The man looked identical to the last time he saw him, with the only difference being he was much less violent towards him compared to the last time.
“I see you have gotten even stronger than before. You are quite a marvel to see I must say” he began, a friendly smile adorning his face “Have you found out about Thanatos's plan?”
“He plans to use me to control the Mirror of Samsara. That is the reason that he wants me to become stronger. I don't know why I have to be the one to control the mirror. I was wondering if you know why.”
“Ah yes, that makes sense,” he said in understanding. “Only a soul is capable of interacting with the mirror. The mirror is meant to transform a dead soul into a living being in the Multiverse. Hence apart from Hades himself, no one can interact with the mirror apart from you. He plans to take advantage of your consciousness and willpower to allow the mirror to be interacted with and...” he turned towards Lucian
“Destroyed” he finished, his face turning serious.
"Of course, you can't destroy it yourself but once you have control if only slightly, it would make it much easier for him to do the necessary damage to it to significantly affect its performance."
Nodding in understanding he continued “he told me to meet him in the next couple of days. Most likely for him to transport me toward the mirror. I believe that is the time to strike if we want to prevent him from destroying the reincarnation system.”
Charon nodded “Yes I believe so as well. I will meet you at the Mirror. From there you can break the Contract and escape and in turn, I can prevent this disaster from happening”
“Thank you for telling me the truth,” he said as he stared deeply at Lucian's round figure, his eyes shining brightly
Lucian nodded nonchalantly. "It's only fair as partners right even if temporary right? However, I have a question, is it possible to use the mirror to return back to my original world?" He asked hopefully. He needed to plan for his eventual escape.
Charon replied quickly. "Absolutely not! The Mirror of Samsara never returns a dead soul back to its original location. As expected of a reincarnation, you will start a new life somewhere else and that's not going to change even if you could control the mirror to some extent!" He said with finality.
"I'm sorry, but you will not be able to return until you are strong enough to traverse through space yourself." He explained carefully.
Lucian could only stare at him blankly as the surroundings sounds suddenly muted. The world seemed to slow as his mind drifted far from where he was.
Was this all for nothing? Will he have to leave everything behind, just like that?
There had to be some other way right? This so-called god was simply trying to elude him. He couldn't be trusted. But what reason would there be to lie? Why? Why couldn't he just get what he needed?!
A shift in the surroundings alerted Charon to the massive changes in Lucian's psyche. In the center of his soul, thick black energy began expanding onto his soul, covering up the brilliant glow he once had. Soon it covered his centers as it spread even further to his outer soul. It wouldn't be long before he was entirely enveloped.
Charon's eyes grew wide in surprise. "Desolate Essence?! How?!" He exclaimed as his expression turned serious. He summoned his paddle as the silver waters rose up towards the shore. He needed to end this threat before it went any further.
However, just as he was about to launch his strike, the desolate energy began to decrease massively in Lucian's soul, returning towards the center.
In Lucian's mind, he saw all his surroundings slowly begin to shift toward darkness. His mind seemed to turn into a cage of darkness that enveloped all as he slowly felt his consciousness change for the worst.
"Maybe it was best to just give up. I'll never make it out of here. There are just too many gods."
"Even if I escape, what is the point? there's nothing for me anywhere. At least I will fulfill Elijah's wish once I die here."
"I was never a good man. Elijah deserved better from me. Maybe he was right to kill me. I deserved it."
"Anna is dead because of me. She probably hated my guts while she was dying. I should just die with her. There's no point doing anything else."
"Maybe I sh-"
"Shut up" Lucian's consciousness shifted once again as the surroundings grew lighter.
"Maybe I do deserve it. Maybe I do deserve to die."
"So what? The world had never been fair to me. I simply played by its rules. I might have made mistakes but I never crossed the line of my morality."
"I am selfish. I am ruthless. I am conceited. I am a killer but I was never a coward! I will never lose to my weaknesses. I will only grow stronger. So whoever you are in my mind, begone!" Lucian roared as he forcefully banished the energy from his psyche, returning to his normal self.
The energy slowly shrank smaller and smaller until it was all but gone. However, there was an unmistakable dark spot in his soul that contrasted with all the other colors in his soul.
"YOU! How do you have Desolate Essence? What are you?" Charon immediately asked once he came to.
Surprised, Lucian was at a loss for words. He had no idea what Charon was talking about.
"I really don't know. I guess I just do?" he said innocently.
Realizing he didn't tell a lie, Charon calmed down slightly but was still alarmed nonetheless. How powerful of an affinity does someone need to have to be able to use Desolate Energy in a multiverse without any?
It truly was mindboggling.
He sighed. "Forget about it. You need to be careful. The energy you summoned around you is incredibly dangerous. It is triggered by emotions." Charon said as looked melancholically toward the mortal soul. He would be dead before long.
"You must deal with your emotional troubles lest you end up corrupted."
Hearing Charon, Lucian thought about what just happened. He had been so hell-bent on vengeance and retribution that he hadn't noticed the change in himself. He had to step back and truly assess what he needed for the future. He could not go on like this.
“Now that we're done with all that. I believe you deserve a reward for all the work you have put in to help me. I may be a god of death, but I believe myself quite a generous one. I will give you the strongest blessing from the River of Styx to compensate for your help.” he said as he stood up; walking towards the beach.