"You could always ask them. I mean, what other choice do they have? Can you even send them somewhere else?"

Krenocia says "No, I can't. It is either they stay here or enter oblivion. I guess I will give them that choice."

"Well, you might want to wait a while. I was just about to pray for a refill, there are still more ghosts here."

Krenocia says "Alright. How many?"

"Hundreds."

Krenocia says "What?! Where are you?"

"A couple of hundred feet below the ocean floor. I think this is the source that is causing all the ghosts."

Krenocia says "You're where? What are you doing below the ocean floor?"

"I'm here because this is where the mana fluctuations led me."

Krenocia says "You mean you were curious. Anyway, you are refilled, so go ahead and redeem more ghosts. I will be talking to them as they arrive and will try to get you some information."

"Alright, thank you."

Since my divine power is full, I start casting redemption on more of the ghosts. Not a single one of them rejects the offer, but it isn't so surprising now. After all, they have been here for thousands of years, they would take any chance to escape.

For the next hour all I do is cast redemption and pray for divine power refills. Once the last ghost is gone, I can finally see the cavern and the shipwreck. The cavern is just an oval, it has no other features, it is perfectly smooth.

It doesn't look natural at all, which makes me think that it was made by something. I don't know enough about the First Ones to be sure, but they should have been capable of something like this. Since the wreck is in the dead center, maybe it was some kind of defensive measure.

Or maybe it was a way to hide from something, maybe Krenocia can tell me later. Since she is able to talk directly to their souls, she should be able to find out what happened. For now, I make my way over to get a better look at the shipwreck.

The ship seems to be made of stone, but looking closely at it the stone has wood patterns. I guess that means that it was made of wood originally, but it has since petrified. When I am close to it, I can feel a strange energy and it seems to come from the ship itself.

I take a look inside the wreck, but anything that was inside has long since rotted away. I try searching with magic, but the strange energy gets in the way and I can't see anything. It looks like I need some help, so I take out my communication amulet and call Lin.

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"Hon, can you get Albion to come through the gate that I am about to open?"

Lin says "Of course. Where are you? What's going on? Did you already handle the ghosts?"

"I have dealt with the ghosts that I have found. I am currently in a cavern beneath the ocean floor at a shipwreck of the First Ones. I think this is the cause of all the ghosts."

Lin says "The First Ones? You mean like Bull? Are there more survivors?"

"Yes, like Bull. No, I only found ghosts down here."

Lin says "That's too bad. So, what do you need Albion for?"

"The wreck is giving off a strange energy I have never seen before. I think that it is what is creating all the ghosts. I want Albion to come and see if it is something that he can purify."

Lin says "Alright. Do you want anyone else to come with him?"

"No. I just need him to check if he can purify it. After that, we will both be coming back. It should only take a few minutes."

Lin says "Alright, I will be waiting."

I put my communication amulet away and then I open up a gate to the castle. The gate is open for less than a minute before Albion walks through. As soon as he is through I let the gate close and then I give him a hug.

Albion says "Father, what is this place?"

"This cavern is beneath the ocean floor. That wreck used to be a ship of the First Ones. It has a strange energy coming off of it and I want you to see if you can purify it."

Albion says "Yes, father."

Albion's head turns towards the wreck and his horn starts to shine with a golden glow. In response, the wreck starts emitting a dirty looking dark gray light. The glow from Albion's horn continues to spread and it easily cuts through the gray light.

As soon as the golden light touches the wreck, the parts that are touched start to disintegrate. Over the next few minutes, the golden light spreads until it has covered the entire wreck. Then, the golden light retreats back to Albion, leaving nothing but dust behind.

I want to look through the dust and see if there is anything left, but my attention is drawn to Albion. My eyes widen as I watch Albion suddenly start visibly growing larger. It is like watching a time-lapse video of a horse growing from a colt to maturity.

The biggest change is to the horn on his head which grows to about two feet long. Seeing Albion stagger and almost fall over, I quickly move to his side to support him. As I do, I notice two long bumps on his back just behind his shoulders on either side of his body.

"Albion, are you alright?"

Albion says "I think so, but that really hurt!"

"Cleansing the wreck? Or suddenly growing so much?"

Albion says "Growing. The wreck had a lot more energy in it than I thought it would."

"I'm not surprised. After all, it has lasted for thousands of years."

Albion says "Exactly. I thought that most of the energy would have faded by now. If anything, it has gotten stronger over time."

"Could you tell what it was? My guess was that it was a curse and it was causing all the ghosts in the surrounding area."

Albion says "I'm not sure what to call it. For the little I was able to sense, it was trying to draw in enough power to do something. I don't know what it was trying to do or what kind of power it needed. Sorry."

"No, don't be. You did great! Thanks to you, this area shouldn't create any more ghosts. Not to mention, from the looks of it you should have gotten much stronger. Any idea what these bumps on your back are?"

Albion says "Bumps? What bumps?"

"These, here on your back. To be honest, they kind of look like you are going to grow wings. Maybe you are going to be a winged unicorn when you are done growing."

Albion says "I don't know, but I would like that. Flying is awesome!"

"Yeah, it is. I will keep looking for things that you can purify so you can grow into an adult."