19. Spirit Society (VIII)
Drip... drip... drip…
Water leaked through a crack in the stone walls, dark, snaking trails forming pools on the floor. Columns of books loomed throughout the chamber, candles perched atop the tallest stacks, casting a soft glow. The tomes at the bottom were swollen, bleeding ink. The desk was cluttered with various objects: baubles, test tubes, peculiar stones, and scattered sketches, each telling a story of its own.
A dome-shaped cage hung beside the desk. Large enough for a [Shadow Phoenix]. For now, it merely imprisoned a crow.
“Your mana signature is flagged as ‘urgent priority’ in our system. Why?”
She - this ‘Lady Tanith’ as she’d introduced herself - was an irritating, presumptuous creature.
The [Diabolist]’s face was hidden behind an iron mask, its harsh, angular features a contrast to her voluptuous form.
“How should I know? I’m a lover, not a fighter. Given the number of offspring I’ve had over the years, that should be apparent,” hissed the [Wraith]. “Your ignorance is tedious. Just give me up to one of your superiors. Perhaps then I’ll find the conversation at least slightly engaging.”
“No.” Her voice was dark silk. “I’ll be handing you over to the Matron myself during her next visit.”
The [Wraith] instantly surmised the situation. There was obviously a substantial reward for his head. Lady Tanith didn’t trust her superiors. Like most organizations, the cult was corrupt. Her superiors would take advantage of their seniority to claim credit and reap all the benefits for themselves, leaving her with a pat on the shoulder for her help.
“The mask is clever, but less efficient than giving up your Facade,” he pointed out. “You have a quarter of the usual time before the Spirit World curls into you like the roots of a parasitic tree. If your Matron isn’t here by then, what will you do?”
“Who knows?” Lady Tanith picked a bow from the wall and held it like it was a harp. Absentmindedly, she drew the tip of her finger along the bowstring. The [Wraith]’s body quivered unpleasantly. “The system doesn’t say why you were flagged. Your transgression against us must’ve been very serious. Which is odd, because you appear quite weak.”
“I’m dead, my dear. If you wish to gloat over getting the cheese on me then feel free. I’m sure the applause will be deafening.”
“It will be,” said Lady Tanith in that too-casual way of hers. She plucked the bowstring and his body lurched. “I haven’t used the Ten Tortures of Marakhlava in a while. If you force my hand, I might nick something fatal. It won’t be very pretty.”
The [Wraith] didn’t care if he was extinguished. Without his help, the [Priest]’s plan was dead in the water.
But so what?
With Raziel's birth, he no longer needed Bramblebog. It was unfortunate that the boy wasn't strong enough yet to enter the inheritance ground the [Wraith] had prepared for him, but that wasn't a big deal. Raziel held the key treasure already.
Hopefully Raziel grasped the gravity of the situation and fled the village as soon as he returned to the mortal world.
Luckily, he hadn’t told Raziel about the inheritance ground yet, otherwise the fool boy might’ve stayed behind…
Lady Tanith plucked the bowstring again and he glowered at her.
“I can’t understand why you came to the Rift. You must’ve known one of us would capture you,” she said.
The crow ruffled its feathers in annoyance. “It moved.”
“It grew,” she corrected. “As the Great One grows stronger, the Rift widens. One day the world will crack in half and He will be free.”
In merely a thousand years the Rift had grown by that much. Faster than his calculations predicted. The Old God must not have been idle these past years… time ticked by loudly. Tick. Tick.
The crow’s impassive expression cracked. He started laughing.
Lady Tanith tilted her head like a curious bird. “I’ll ask once more. What did you do to land yourself in my colleagues disgrace?”
“I only tried to slay God. Is that such a crime?”
“It is.” Lady Tanith bowed forward, black shadows sliding down her iron face. “I assume you died for your impudence?”
“Everyone dies,” he said. “Unless you hit Level 7.”
//
There was one truth in this world.
You could do everything right, but your life might still end suddenly. To go far in this world one needed luck.
Raziel didn’t feel very lucky.
His whole body was frozen as fifteen [Devouring Manahounds] circled him. He only knew it was fifteen because his [Hyper-Vigilance] seemed to know - his gaze twitched from one darkly smoking head to the next, unable to differentiate them from each other. They were like spokes on a wheel going around and around and around.
His soul was weakening.
They were doing something to him.
Raising a trembling hand, his aura turned black and smoked off his skin, sucked into the circle of hounds.
Oh.
They were feeding.
He lay back against the ground - the nice, cool ground. It was growing colder by the moment. In his core, his two beast summons were panicking. They could feel the danger their master’s soul was in.
Raziel curled up protectively on his side. He didn’t want the [Devouring Manahounds] to hurt his beasts…
They were still wounded… they needed to be repaired…
His eyes fluttered shut and his world narrowed down to his soul. In this half-conscious state, he became a spectator inside his own body. His soul refracted with thousands of facets and his mana system unfurled before his eyes. Like the roots of a mangrove tree, his meridians stretched into every corner of body, blood red mana coursing through them like river rapids.
Raziel found the sight beautiful and profound. His [Hyper-Vigilance] carved the image into his mind.
…Twelve major meridians…
…Two-hundred and eighty-seven capillaries…
Raziel’s body fell limp - his eyes opened a silver, knowing his death was close.
The [Elusive Dreamhounds] burst out his chest in twin ribbons of lavender light, one slightly ahead of the other.
> [Subtle the Elusive Dreamhound]
>
> Level 1 Beast
>
> XP: 240/15000
>
> This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
>
> —------
>
> Species: Basic Hound
>
> Specialization: Spirit
>
> HP: 35/100
>
> Mana: 100/100
>
> —---------
>
> ABILITIES
>
> Common Abilities
>
> [Mind Sense] - Rank IV
>
> [Dream Rend] - Rank IV
>
> Uncommon Abilities
>
> [Spirit Claws] - Rank III
>
> [Entrance] - Rank II
>
> [Shapeshift] - Rank II
>
> Rare Abilities
>
> [Play Dead] - Rank I
Subtle stood protectively in front of Raziel, growling at the [Devouring Manahounds].
His beast summons's magic whirled around in delicate iridescence. [Entrance].
Raziel wanted to tell them to run - that it was no use. Their luck had run out. There were too many enemies. His dehydrated lips cracked open but no words formed. He was too weak to speak.
Where was the other…?
Teeth crashed around his vision. Raziel’s chest let out a forceful gasp as jaws swiftly yanked him away.
[Sublime the Elusive Dreamhound]’s breath was hot around his neck. Sublime winnowed through the break in the shadows where Subtle had used [Entranced], carrying Raziel away.
This didn’t seem correct to Raziel. Sublime was the more extroverted and aggressive one, and he eagerly sought affection from Raziel whenever possible. In contrast, the quiet and aloof Subtle barely liked Raziel. So why…?
Why had Subtle been the first one to leap out of Raziel’s core?
Raziel watched despairingly as [Subtle the Elusive Dreamhound] was enveloped by pouncing [Devouring Manahounds]. As Raziel had faced his end, Subtle disobeyed his commands and rushed out to protect him. Beasts had strong instincts to keep themselves alive. However, Subtle ignored it all, choosing to stay behind to slow down the enemies to give his brother and master a chance to flee.
The connection between Raziel and Subtle severed.
No!
Behind them, the pack of [Devouring Manahounds] sank into the ground, forming a colossal shadow. This shadow raced across the ground.
With a growl, Sublime adjusted his maw around Raziel, teeth gripping him tighter, and then increased his speed.
The two of them were practically a streak of lavender light rushing through the woods.
But they weren’t fast enough. Not when Sublime was weighed down by Raziel.
The shadow was at their back. Dozens of teeth and eyes writhed in the darkness.
In front of them, the Rift.
Sublime opened his mouth unnaturally wide and swallowed Raziel down. The hound wasn’t much bigger than a wolf, so it shouldn’t be possible - but it was. Raziel was barely aware of what was happening, only that he was now in a place of riotous color.
Commotion erupted outside and the maelstrom of colors dimmed as Sublime fell to the ground.
Their connection severed.
The smog of darkness stalked around them - perhaps wondering where the mortal went - but the pack soon left.
Raziel numbly wondered what to do next.
Suddenly, the colors reignited. Sublime stood back up on his feet. Raziel’s heart sparked with joy. The [Elusive Dreamhound] had been using [Play Dead]! Luckily, the [Devouring Manahounds] only seemed to eat mana so they’d left the body untouched.
Raziel pulled up his soulpane, seeing that he only had 5/100 Mana left. Hitting 0/100 Mana was the same as hitting 0/100 HP - it was death.
Sublime spat him out onto the ground. Raziel touched the ground in disbelief.
A dark form pounced on Sublime. One of the [Devouring Manahounds] had stayed behind, he needed to -
Except, Sublime eagerly pounced back, his tail wagging.
The darkness melted off the beast, revealing pastel fur. It was Subtle.
Raziel looked in his core and saw two connections.
“You…?” he said in shock. “Did you use [Play Dead] to get the [Devouring Manahounds] to leave you behind, and then [Shapeshift] into one of them to follow them here?”
He’d keenly felt the ache of them ‘dying’ but his soul was so weak that the connections reviving hadn’t alerted him.
A burst of joyful laughter left him. That had been a few tense moments, hadn’t it?
After the beasts celebrated their reunification, Sublime padded over Raziel and nuzzled his snout under Raziel’s chin. Raziel had never been a pet person, but…
He wrapped his arms around Sublime, and stuck his face in the soft, silky fur. The beast’s heat was warm and comforting.
“You too, Subtle. Come here,” beckoned Raziel.
With shifty eyes, Subtle came and sat only a foot away from them. Raziel patted him on the flank.
“Thank you for saving me,” he said sincerely.
Subtle let out a thin, long whine, as if Raziel was embarrassing him.
Thankfully, it didn’t take long for his soul to begin restoring his mana. Like a drowning man desperately gasping for air, Raziel’s aura flared as his soul began taking in the mana of his surroundings and converting it into his own. Within half an hour, Raziel’s vision began to focus, and he could move his limbs without feeling faint. 27/100 Mana, declared his soulpane.
Slowly, he grabbed onto Sublime’s fur and hauled himself to his feet.
They were back to the edge of the Rift. It lay before him like a black sea, the end somewhere beyond the horizon.
Subtle nudged his calf and dropped something at his feet.
A leg bone - black and glossy.
His ancestor must’ve dropped all the [Devouring Manahound] bones he’d been carrying when he shifted into his wraith form. Unleashing his aura likely flung them outward, just as it had done to Raziel.
“Find as many bones as you can, but don’t wander too far.” Raziel told his beast summons. They pranced off in separate directions, leaving Raziel alone.
The Rift…
His ancestor needed help.
Conflict warred inside Raziel. Why should he save his ancestor, when the man had left Kindred to die? And felt no remorse for it?
Even if Raziel wanted to save his ancestor, what could he do? He was incomparably weaker than the [Wraith], and the being who had yanked him inside was probably stronger than the [Wraith] was. Flashes of the battle between the [Wraith] and Last Wish flickered in his mind. Raziel wasn’t on that level - he wasn’t even close.
But Raziel wasn’t his ancestor.
Raziel might respect the man’s strength, but he didn’t want to be anything like him.
Besides, Last Wish was still a threat, and the combined strength of Father Linus and Raziel wouldn’t be able to take her down. They needed the [Wraith]’s skills. Still… Raziel had just escaped peril by the skin of his teeth. Naturally, he was hesitant to dive right back into a dangerous situation.
He walked to the edge of the Rift and peered down into the yawning abyss. Pure blackness. Strangely, it didn’t reek of evil magics - or corruption, as his ancestor called it. That metallic, sickly sweet odor. It didn’t feel like anything. Only emptiness and a vague sense of threat. Even the voices were silent.
He looked up at the sky-river, no canopy left to block the view. The blue aurora, which had always been distant, now hung directly above him, large and swollen and taking up the entire sky. A spear of azure light shot into the Rift then faded.
Raziel took a half-step closer to the edge.
His soulpane exploded in front of his face.
WARNING: YOU ARE ABOUT TO ENTER A RAID
PRISON OF THE UNMAKER
A raid?
What the hell was a raid?
“Remember, this is our gateway back to Bramblebog,” said Father Linus in Raziel’s memory. “If we take the wrong one, it would be disastrous. A few gateways are broken beyond repair, while others require more than just mana to activate. Worse still, there are gateways that could cast us halfway around the world, possibly into a dungeon or, Zu’en-forbid, directly into a raid.”
Sublime nudged his hand, black bones sticking out of his mouth. Subtle wasn’t far behind.
Father Linus’s words reminded him of another thing. He and Father Linus were on a time limit - they couldn’t stay in the Spirit World for too long. This Rift was extremely vast - even if there was a way for Raziel to extract his ancestor out of his situation, it might take too long. The [Wraith] didn’t share their limitation. The [Wraith] could wait around indefinitely without facing any repercussions from the Spirit World.
But if they didn’t kill Last Wish soon, there would be no Bramblebog to return to.
Raziel took the bones from Subtle and Sublime. Running back to Father Linus and waiting for him to repair the Beast Cards would be one night. A second night to journey back to the Rift. Then, [Wraith] or not, he’d need a third night to return to Bramblebog.
Three nights, wasted.
He didn’t have the luxury of infinite time. According to Father Linus, they had perhaps one week.
His fingers wrapped securely around the bones. When he’d been on the verge of death, he had seen his mana system. Thanks to his [Hyper-Vigilance], the layout was imprinted in his mind. That was the first step to learning how to channel his mana.
Raziel decided he would try and repair the cards himself.