(The Spirit Realm - Pallid Plane)

Snow steadily descended upon the snowy mountains of the Pallid Plain's merciless winter landscape as five souls hiked across the steep path of a particularly tall mountain that stood high above the others.

Its summit was obscured by dense ice clouds, making it very difficult to identify just how high the daunting elevation was.

The souls' trek halted as one of them fell on their knees, fatigue stealing every bit of his strength away.

"Woah!", Kekeli turned around. "You okay, Zanetor!?"

The scarlet-eyed warrior rushed to the shadow soul and tried to help him up. However, he seemed to be lost in thought as he stared blankly at the silver-white snow on the ground.

"Zanetor?", Kekeli tilted his head.

Zanetor's left arm couldn't help but tremble as the chain that wound around it got tighter and tighter.

His brows furrowed as he thought, 'Something's wrong… very wrong.'

Edem, noticing his student's tiredness, turned to the silver-haired girl who stood on his left.

"I haven't been able to notice any spot where we could rest up.", his eyes surveyed the area covered with dense white clouds.

"There are no openings on this mountain except one", the silver-haired girl answered with a straight-foward tone. "And that's where we're headed. Basically, there is no safe spot on this mountain."

Xoese stole a glance at Leticia, who held Edem's hand firmly while staring at Zanetor with concern in her eyes.

Edem noticed her gaze and followed it. Apparently, Leticia's hair appeared to be a bit more restless than usual. Movements were miniscule but he could detect several strands of her hair moving in strange order.

The cloaked man's eyes narrowed.

"This area is filled with unstable energy", he muttered.

"Exactly", Xoese closed her eyes. "And particularly aggressive spirit beasts love building nests in such areas."

Edem sighed, "So we have no choice but to keep moving."

Zanetor shook his head and staggered as he tried to keep standing on both his feet.

"We don't have to worry about resting", he supported himself on a nearby wall. "Let's keep going."

"I'll help you out", Kekeli grabbed Zanetor's arm and placed it over his neck.

The shadow soul was reluctant and glared at the energetic boy with hostility rooted deep in his eyes. His hostility was received with a jovial grin from the flame soul however and it was enough to completely kill it.

"Alright then", Edem smirked and then turned around. "We should be far from the spirit warriors' reach by now."

Xoese glanced at Edem for a short moment and then shifted her sights on the long rising path they were currently walking on.

"You did say you were going to explain what you meant by forced spirit evolution after we were in the clear, correct?", the cloaked man said.

"Yes", Xoese closed her eyes. "Spirit evolution on its own is something you already know about. "

She paused for a bit, "Well, all of you except one. To undergo spirit evolution is to enter a higher stage of sync with your soul core and it can only be achieved after several hundreds of years of training."

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A strong gust of chilling wind blew across the mountain side, stopping each soul for a moment.

"Basically, a higher sync with your heart equals an exponential growth in power. The more you grow to understand your soul core, the stronger you become.", a brief hesitancy filled her voice as they all continued down the irregular path. "To force spirit evolution however, is the equivalent of ignoring your core's conditions for mutual growth and stealing all of its power for yourself."

Everyone's eyes widened, except Edem and Zanetor. There was a slight chuckle from Edem as he listened and Zanetor's eyes only grew more fierce as the image of the strange things he had seen within his spiritual awareness flashed in his mind.

"Doesn't that mean having to put down your own soul core and force it into submission?", Edem frowned slightly. "That's certain death. At least seventy percent of a soul's power comes from the soul core and the other from the realm itself."

Xoese nodded, "Frankly, there is no other way to boost power in a short time. If you want to go about it the other way, we could forget about all of this and leave this mountain."

"We're not turning back"

Everyone's attention turned to the stern voice that came from behind. Zanetor glared with undeterred resolve in his eyes as he uttered once again.

"I'm not wasting any chance I have. We're forcing spirit evolution no matter what.", he kept his glare fixed on Xoese.

The silver-haired girl remained composed as she stood in the midst of the shadow soul's sharp aura. When was the last time she had met someone with so much determination. Just, what was so hauntingly important that he had no accomplish no matter what?

"Hmph", Xoese tore her gaze away. "Well, there you have it."

Edem slammed his face into his palm and sighed, "At least listen to the dangerous parts first, Zanetor."

At that moment, Kekeli contemplated a deep thought and also strengthened a resolve of his own. Seeing Zanetor so determined made him want to put in his all so he could protect Leticia without fail!

"We're here", Xoese raised her voice a bit.

Small gusts of winds began to encircle the silver-haired spirit warrior and soon, the thick clouds that threatened to impede their trek were blown away. Formerly hidden beneath the chilling veil was a wide opening that had the rest of the mountain stretching high up into the clouds from the centre.

Edem's eyes widened, "How do you know this place?"

"After you left, I dedicated my time in the spirit king's library", she answered. "And apparently, an old book mentioned a shrine in the freezing mountains of the pallid plane that held immense power. I was interested, so I stole the book and used its information as clues to find this place."

A sarcastic grin cracked up on Edem's face, "The way you smoothly admit your sins is disturbing."

"What's wrong with being direct?", she raised an eyebrow and walked to the large rock that pierced the clouds.

Xoese placed her right palm on the snow that covered its surface and brushed it off, revealing a strange star-shaped symbol. Winds suddenly descended and rushed towards the rock.

Volumes of snow were forcefully ejected into the air as the wind made a devastating impact with its target. It continued to blow in that particular direction for a while before it came to a halt.

There was silence for a brief moment until a loud 'CRACK!' put everyone on high alert.

*BOOM!*

A portion of the wall exploded into several pieces, revealing a pitch-black interior. Warm air blew out from within along with an unpleasant musty smell.

Xoese turned around and faced the others with no change in emotion, "Let's go."

The five souls walked into the darkness of the abyss and travelled down a long old hallway made of limestone bricks. Strange plants grew in the cracks within the stones and it felt as if they aligned themselves in the direction in which the foreigners went.

"This was an old transitional shrine and the very few at the time that also served as training grounds for spirit warriors in the past era", Xoese began. "For some unknown reasons, this place was abandoned but in doing so, the spirit energy that existed here from way back then never got recycled."

"Recycled?", Zanetor raised an eyebrow.

"Spirit energy is in a continuous cycle within the realm. No energy at one place stays the same in quality the more it is used. Absorption and dispersion of the energy by both souls and spirit beats help to circulate the energy and keep the quality almost constant."

Sweat began to run down the sides of Kekeli's face, "Why am I being reminded of a certain event from way back in my beginning years as a spirit warrior?"

Xoese stopped in her tracks as a large door blocked the path. On the sides of the door stood two statues of bear-like creatures that stood at a height of 8 feet.

Something about those statues made Zanetor feel sick to the stomach.

"This old energy is what we need to force spirit evolution and the reason for it is a bit difficult to put into words", Xoese effortlessly pushed the doors open. "You'd have to experience it to understand it."

Behind the large doors was an expansive hall that looked as if it was going to swallow anything within it. In the centre, a stone stage sat with strange runic symbols etched on its surface.

Dim lights fell upon the stage from above, prompting Zanetor to look up. Way above their heads was a large hole and through it, the shadow soul was sure he could see the brilliant night sky. Perhaps that was the mountain's highest point; a point far above the foggy clouds.

"Now then", Xoese walked onto the stage and faced the others with sharp eyes, "Let's begin."