The pain, the discomfort, and the wariness were all gone. Slowly sitting up, I took in my surroundings. I seemed to be lying on the ground in a vast meadow, staring up at a piercing blue sky. An occasional cloud lazily passed by.

“Am… I dead?” I asked.

I had been dead many times, but I always had returned to life. I was partially expecting that if I had died fighting Demon Lord Aberis, someone would have been able to resurrect me. My soul may not have returned to my body, but it also shouldn’t have been destroyed by the soul-reaving sword that Alysia killed herself on. Thus, it should have been free again and provided the opportunity to be resurrected.

I felt a sharp pain in my heart, starting to remember all of the events that proceeded me coming here. Demon Lord Aberis was alive. Alysia killed herself. Eliana was captured. Assuredly, Aberis, and the Ost Republic would be going to war, and from the outside, it would look like I was the cause.

However, there were no priests around me. I wasn’t in the castle, a life insurance center, an adventuring guild, or anywhere else that might put effort into resurrecting me. Surely my next thought should have been me snapping awake in a newly constructed body.

“That’s right… did my body… disappear?”

I could remember at the end my body disintegrating into ash. A voice told me something about entering a trial, but that didn’t feel like any teleportation or portal I was familiar with. I knew enough from Blue Mage that I was familiar with such things. It was clear that my body had seemingly disintegrated.

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“Welcome to the Illusory Sword Dungeon.”

I jumped as a voice spoke up. Standing up hastily, I turned to see a little girl standing there. She couldn’t be much more than ten. I had looked there just a few moments before, and I was certain that she wasn’t there. Would that make her the Dungeon Master of this place? I had to admit, this was the first dungeon that had ever welcomed me before. It only made me more cautious.

“Dungeon? I was… touching a sword.”

“Yes… the sword you touched was made the access point to an illusory dungeon.” The girl explained. “This dungeon was created as a trial for those who meet the requirements.”

“Requirements?”

“You must have a soul of sufficient strength, and the branding of a dungeon blessing. With those two conditions, you can complete the trial, if you have the ability.”

I made a bitter expression. “I’m sorry, but my soul was taken from me.”

She cocked her head. “That’s impossible.”

“How so?”

“This realm doesn’t exist on the physical plane. When you met the requirements, your body was destroyed, and your soul was transported to this world. If you did not possess a soul, then you wouldn’t be here right now talking.”

“What are you saying? I’m… a soul.”

I touched my body, but as far as I could tell, I hadn’t changed in appearance at all. For a second, I had feared I might look like my original self before I came to this world or something like that. However, I looked like the tall and muscular Deek I had become.

“Your soul has manifested into a physical form for you to grasp and contemplate this realm. In reality, this is a soul world. Everything you see is a reflection of your mind.”

“Are you saying I’m not standing in a peaceful meadow with a blue sky?”

She frowned. “Strange. The shape the soul world takes should be a reflection of your mind. You should see an endless battlefield or city under attack or some kind of warrior’s world.”

“No… I just see a peaceful meadow though.”

She frowned as if thinking for a bit before shaking her head. “No matter, if you finish the trial, then that will be the decider.”

“The decider of what?”

“Whether you obtain the ultimate reward.”