In the end, Avrin was left frowning. His mask had been repaired and he was heading towards Seleria with an unwanted guest. The moment Avrin and the young man reached the borders of the aura, Avrin stopped and looked at him and said. “Are you truly going to leave your companions alone in this place? Aren't you all together? Scram already!”
The young man looked indifferently at Avrin and replied. “Not at all, we are from different clans. What they do is of no concern to me. What's more concerning is that before we entered the Spectral Domain there was one star, two planets, one with two moons the other with one moon, and now suddenly another planet hidden within this uncontrollable domain is present? No doubt you are up to no good or after certain treasures lurking within. It’s my duty as the possessor of God's Soul to maintain balance and order, you ingrate! You even broke my Shra'zar Dynasty’s most sacred weapon. You owe me.”
Avrin felt he wasn't going to get rid of this person anytime soon, and because they were now linked by fate, he was left with little room. “I owe you? It’s not my issue. Whoever made that weapon should be ashamed.” When Avrin said this, the young man scoffed. He raised his hand and a ring on his middle finger that seemed to have a swirling mist inside began to glow. Suddenly, a swirling vortex appeared on it before a white light surged out and engulfed him. The light soon faded to reveal that the young man was now wearing makeshift oriental themed clothing and was no longer in ragged attire.
Avrin glanced again and saw that behind them the others were quickly making their way over. He couldn't be bothered to deal with more issues and spoke out. “I'm warning you….if you harm any of my people on this planet, fate or destiny, they won't be enough to save you from my anger. In return, you can roam around as you please and look for treasures as long as you do not harm anyone! You are also to not speak of this. Agreed?”
Avrin knew there were no treasures on Seleria, having covered the entire planet with his Divine Sense, he would know better than anyone. The young man glanced at Avrin indifferently and nodded. “Very well, that seems simple and fair. I agree. But before that, what is the name of my rival?”
Avrin entered the aura without answering and the young man was stunned before he quickly followed. The others, who had just neared, looked at the empty space at a loss for words. “-Where did they go?!-” the cloaked individual was about to capture Avrin after concealing their power as they knew that Avrin was most likely someone interesting, but now they had suddenly vanished.
Within the space, Avrin and the young man appeared, and then Avrin replied back. “Don't go giving me titles. I'm not your rival, nor do I want anything to do with you, but my name is Avrin.” Avrin glanced over at Tardiff and Ailirion, who were floating within space using their own Nebula Mist to keep themselves stable. They wouldn't be able to handle re-entry into the planet’s atmosphere, and so they listened to Avrin’s words and waited.
“Oh, Avrin? Very good. As for my name, are you not interested?” Avrin ignored him as he headed over towards Tardiff and Ailirion, who looked at Avrin with intense respect. Then they glanced over at the man beside him. They couldn't feel dark matter from him but could feel a different energy and he seemed like a sleeping monster to them.
“Great One, you’ve returned. This is, uhh..?” Ailirion asked and Avrin looked around for a moment. He was about to speak, but the young man replied. “Good, someone wanting to know!. I am the Fourth Imperial Prince of the Shra'zar Dynasty, the successor of the current ruler. My name is Mallik.” Avrin glanced over at Ailirion and interrupted Mallik. “Be quiet for a moment…” Avrin said as his eyes shut.
Tardiff and Ailirion remained quiet. Of course, the Inheritor of God's Soul, Mallik, seemed a bit irritated. “You do what you need to, I will be off now.“ with that said, his body flashed in a white light before he vanished at a speed too fast for Tardiff or Ailirion to see at first, but they saw him in the distance. He was like a comet that left an afterimage as it made it's away around the other side of the planet.
“-Let’s see…-” with Mallik gone, Avrin was left somewhat at ease. From the way that person was, it didn't seem like he would go around killing, and he seemed a bit righteous. That being said, Avrin hoped to be rid of him soon. In the meantime, he scanned the entirety of Seleria. He couldn't help but feel excited. When he scanned around, he felt everything. In the northern continent, he saw a supermassive kingdom-like city.
Within this city were millions upon millions of Spectrals that had accepted the conversion. With the strength of his Divine Sense, he could feel the detail of nearly everything. “-There’s Erebus-” he thought as he felt Erebus within a large tower with four thorn-like segments that each contained a room. He saw Erebus walking around escorted by a dozen well-dressed individuals. It seemed as if they were discussing plans of some sort.
Avrin then felt Eitri, who was within a large building near the tower. The building was like a gigantic blacksmith forge, as nearly a thousand individuals were tinkering and creating equipment or honing their skills. Eitri, of course, was overseeing it all. He seemed proud and excited as if a dream had come true.
“-Shandian is...huh?-” when Avrin felt Shandian, he realized the creature was engulfed in a large, cocoon-like sphere that glistened with energy. Inside, Shandian was experiencing a sort of metamorphosis like Ailirion had gone through. The creature's body was liquefied and was reforming itself slowly. Right now, half of the skeletal frame was shaped. The outside was guarded by several people at the Master level and even one at the Grandmaster level.
“-Good, at least it wasn't lazy. Now then, Kael...hmm?-” Avrin was quite stunned. When he felt for Kael’s signal, he saw that in a large palace-like estate, Kael was sitting with many others around a fine table. This included his father and two individuals that looked like him. Avrin felt they must be his brother and sister. Kael seemed quite happy as if a burden was lifted, yet when Avrin saw how his father acted as if nothing was wrong, it left a bad feeling for Avrin, as if he had so easily turned a new leaf.
“-I'll leave them alone for now. Where is that fool?-” Avrin, of course, meant Asura. Avrin looking for Asura finally found him at the far end of the massive city, within a large training area. There were many thousands of Spectrals in large groups training with several people instructing them all. Asura was currently engaged in combat with six Spectrals at the Grandmaster level. It seemed as if he were mopping the floor with them while training them. While this happened, he had a large chunk of meat in his hand he would take a bite out of every once in awhile. He seemed to be enjoying himself.
“-Not neglecting either. Well, not as much as before. They have all made improvements, very good-” Avrin could feel their strengths. Eitri was at the peak Grandmaster level while Erebus was at the early Sage level. Kael and Asura, of course, had reached the mid-Sage level with Asura about to hit the peak of it.
Avrin carefully inspected their particle progression, and to his surprise, they had all opened up their dark space, although it seemed a bit messy. Avrin then brought his Divine Sense around. This was when several things stunned him. The eastern, central, and western continents were nearly desolate apart from a few tribes of people who chose to not convert.
Avrin felt around carefully. He could see that these tribes were trying to hunt and grow crops. It seemed as if, these tribes were leading a hard life, but were barely making through.
That was until he felt around the southern continent. He finally found the remaining portion of Seleria’s population. They were within their own makeshift settlement. They were not quick at building like the Spectrals, but with their amount and manpower they had done well. It didn't matter if they were beastkin, elven, human, angel, demon, they were all living together. Of course, the way they lived, it seemed that they were fearful and worried.
Many seemed down and careful. Avrin felt around the large area at the far end of this massive settlement. He saw the largest building there and within were many people he knew. Shimaru and his son and his son’s wife, Ayame and Izanami were also there, as was Surven, who he hadn't seen or heard about in many years, and Myra. To his amazement, he even found the beast tribe leader there.
He felt that that the White Dragon members had all converted to Spectrals and were within this settlement. Looking carefully, he saw that Izanami had covered up a bit more and Ayame seemed more mature than before. Shimaru was a bit older, but because he had chosen to convert, it was something he allowed. After all, Spectrals could live for God knows how long.
Avrin could see their actions, but he wasn't able to hear their words, but they all seemed to be debating something. Myra seemed saddened and Surven seemed angered. Shimaru looked indifferent. Ayame was setting marks on a map and Izanami watched silently. The beast tribe leader was arguing with Surven, they both seemed at odds with each other. Avrin had an odd feeling in regards to this.
When he put his Divine Sense over the map Ayame was marking, he saw it all. He saw that on the northern continent’s far eastern edge there was a mark with a skull carved from stone. Avrin immediately spread his Divine Sense over the continent and the area he ignored previously due to focusing on the city was lit up again. He looked at it very carefully examining it for a good minute without saying anything, then he removed his Divine Sense and opened his eyes.
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His expression looked emotionless and he reached up, removing his mask. “What have you all done….” his words attracted the curiosity of Tardiff and Ailirion, who seemed a bit confused. “Great One, is something troubling you?” Ailirion asked curiously. Tardiff scratched his chest and looked curious. “Mmmm, Master, if you're angry, I can bash whoever it is you're angry at into the ground?” Avrin smiled forcefully. He realized that the situation was not all sunshine and daisies.
The place he had scanned was a slave camp where only those who weren't Spectrals were held. While there were many Spectrals acting as overseers, he saw several punishing and beating helpless individuals. He saw strange crystals that radiated a strange dark matter-like energy. The amazing thing was he had never felt or saw these crystals before Seleria’s conversion, he was not sure what they were. But what saddened him, even more, was that there were eight more skulls on the map around the northern continent that were most likely slave mining camps as well.
“You all...” Avrin’s body tensed up and he clenched his teeth. In a moment, he engulfed himself and the other two in dark matter before they Divine Stepped to the northern continent, inside the middle of the slave camp he had just sensed.
The camp was shoddy, it was not maintained well and there were cloaked Spectrals in two varieties of attire. The ones that acted as enforcers with long curled whips, the others who wore more noble attire and would watch for progress.
“Get back to work you stinking mana bag!!” a Spectral kicked an old man who wore ragged, torn clothing. The old man was huddled up and looked weak and thin as he curled into a ball. The Spectral glared angrily, but as he was about to speak, a young man rushed over and hugged the old man. “Leave my grandfather alone! Is it wrong if he was a little tired and needed water!! Why are you all so violent towards us, we are working hard!!”
The Spectral was shocked and felt anger rise. He raised the whip and was about to strike down, as an enforcer it was his duty to maintain order and keep everyone in check, though before he hit, one of the noble Spectrals, who had sharp features, came over with a smug grin. “Hold on one second.“ the enforcer frowned and watched. The noble Spectral was one of higher blood than him and so he wouldn't dare provoke him. “Child, you have guts….strength and courage are important in life…you seem to have a good build as well….you know there are many women within the capital city that love young men with courage. You could enjoy yourself with one of those voracious women and enjoy life. But you should know once you age and wither you will be sent back to this camp. Hehe, think of it as a long vacation. What do you say? I'm sure this grandfather of yours would be dead by then and no longer a burden.”
An evil look appeared on the man’s face. The young man looked at him with disgust and suddenly spat at him. The spit landed on his clothing, and when this happened, the other noble Spectrals who saw this glanced over and started to laugh at him. This left the evil-looking Spectral angered as a twisted look appeared on his face. “You dirty little savage…” he reached over and snatched the whip from the enforcer’s hand and began to whip the young man. The clothing covering his back was ripped with each strike, revealing a bleeding red mark.
The more the Spectral whipped, the more he wanted to hurt and beat this young man. “This will teach you to fucking disrespect us!!! We rule this planet now, your fucking gods abandoned us and now look who is on top, HAHAHA!” he was clearly euphoric about the situation.
As he was about to whip again, the empty space in the middle of the camp distorted slightly. In a moment, Avrin, Tardiff, and Ailirion appeared, the dust on the dirtied ground kicking up. Ailirion and Tardiff looked around curiously. Avrin also looked around. It truly was a different sight comparing Divine Sense to one's own eyes. There were several scaffolds of wood that looked as if they could break at any moment and many mine entrances complete with minecarts that were being pushed by women, men, and even children. This left Avrin’s heart thirsting for answers.
When they appeared, several of the Spectrals with the noble attire rushed over and knelt in front of them. “May we welcome our guest lords here. May we inquire as to your identity and rankings?” the Spectral in front who seemed like the leader here spoke. He wore plate armor that covered his body except for his head. He looked like a cruel man who enjoyed tormenting others.
“What happens at this camp? What's it's purpose? I'm curious.” Avrin spoke out soundly as he watched everyone continue to work. The Spectral felt his eyebrows twitch. “-They do not know? Who are they? Odd, I can sense dark matter from those two, but I can't tell their levels. As for the one in the middle, I can't feel his presence at all…-” the Spectral spoke. “Dear guests, no doubt you are quite powerful if you are capable of teleporting here with Divine Sense I assume? I only know the pure bloods and those under them are capable of this.
So please do not see me as disrespectful. As for your question. This camp is used to mine Dark Matter Crystals that were formed after the Lord Monarch’s conversion of Seleria. King Erebus assumes that under the densely packed energy, some pockets were formed and condensed enough to form crystals that are very beneficial to us improving our abilities.”
His answer was quite straightforward. He used to be a guard officer before conversion and a minor noble so he had some etiquette to kissing ass and not taking too many risks. He wasn't sure who they were, but he didn't want to take any risks yet.
“I see. So why are you getting these people to mine these? Why don't you all mine them yourselves instead of having slaves do it? This confuses me…” hearing Avrin’s words, those that knelt felt something was off. They stood up and frowned a bit. “Yeah, pretty confusing. I haven't met anyone that doesn't know about the situation currently.” one of the Spectrals spoke while another replied. “Are you three really Spectrals? Maybe it's some sort of illusion the mana bags have made. It must be that whore Syrana and those two fucking traitors!!”.
The kneeling Spectral who was the leader stood up and his eyes narrowed as he looked over them. “Odd….you three don't know that Seleria’s conversion to dark matter now makes it so crops rarely grow...in fact, the only place they grow decently is in the southern continent’s settlement. As for slaves….these are volunteers who need to eat and survive. They simply ask for it and we supply work for food. Hehe, it's better than dirtying our own hands, correct?”
Avrin gave no reaction. Tardiff remained quiet and Ailirion wasn't sure what to make of the situation. “Whose decision and plan was it to make this?” Avrin spoke softly. When this happened, the Spectral smirked and then spoke. “What? Do you want to rebel like those in the south? Do you want to go against the orders of the purebloods? Of Lord Kael and Asura? Of King Erebus?”
Avrin turned to look at Ailirion who remained silent. “Ailirion, after our conversation, do you think it is ok for the strong to bully the weak and take advantage of their need to eat, especially if it's the strong’s fault for their starvation?”
Ailirion finally opened his mouth as he replied. “Great One, your words with me and the others have opened my eyes. I finally saw the error of my ways. Kin is kin, but with our great strength to bully those weaker than us….I believe it would be hypocritical since those of us who are converted have experienced the same hardships we make others suffer. We would be no better than dogs.”
Avrin then glanced at Tardiff. “Tardiff, how would you feel if you saw those stronger than us bully and make us slaves?” Tardiff didn't reply, but one could see veins swelling up under his skin as the question made him think of an image that irritated him greatly.
“Both of you, remember when I said you are not allowed to kill any Spectral without my permission. Exercising restraint is very good. I care for my kin greatly, yet it feels very odd….” Avrin’s face tilted to the side. Two drops of blue blood ran down his eyes. This was something he experienced only when he was incredibly angry and saddened. The Spectrals weren't able to properly make out his face due to the hood covering it all, but when they looked at the position of his tilted head and the immense dark matter contained in those lines of blue blood, they all felt as if a catastrophe had befallen them.
“All of you…..are truly…such a disappointment..” Avrin’s Divine Sense had engulfed the entirety of the northern continent. The mass of Divine Sense was so immense that dark matter began to form in clumps in the air. The capital city was in panic as no one was sure what was going on. The purebloods hadn't responded yet, and those who protected the city were doing their best to keep order.
“G...Great One….I understand that your anger is immeasurable at this moment, but please have mercy on our foolish kin….they know not better...there has to be a way to fix wrongs, and punish them….”
With that said, Avrin had a great idea. A cruel look appeared on his face and in that moment every Spectral within the slave camps of the northern continent were all covered in a purple light before they were instantly condensed into small purple and blue spheres. These spheres were all Divine Stepped into the sky before they all slammed down into the ground. The moment each of these spheres smashed against the ground, a blue light shot upward like a plume before revealing a purple crystal had formed with the silhouette of someone inside, unable to see their expressions. This scene was truly one to remember, as it seemed like the heavens were collapsing. The clumps of dark matter in the air grew more intense as the spheres rained down continuously. A minute later, when only a thousand or so crystals had Spectrals inside of them and there were no more did Avrin feel some satisfaction.
“Let them stay like that for a few years. The mercy I give them is that they do not die and they do not feel the constant passing of time for longer than a day. The punishment is confinement while every month having to wake up and experience the passing of a day within that prison for 5 years....”
Tardiff looked curiously at the crystal prisons. He could make out a few expressions of fear and confusion upon those inside that were visible. He had a small insight that he should never piss of Avrin, but he looked amused. “Ehh, Master is too merciful.” he uttered out while glancing around at all those who weren't Spectrals looking at them with shock, horror and confusion.
Avrin looked back at all of them. These were the people that didn't want to be like them. At first, he had wondered why one would refuse to become spectral, but looking at it now, he saw it was not all a good thing. He wasn't sure how he would make it up to them.
“This is out of my hands until I think of something.” he gave a heavy sigh before engulfing every single person within this camp and the other camps in his Divine Sense and then Divine Stepped them with ease to the southern continent near the settlement. He had hoped that they would be looked after there until he gets to the bottom of this.
Avrin looked annoyed and frustrated at the situation. Ailirion didn't want to bother him, but when he noticed something, he curiously walked over to a minecart filled halfway with strange black crystals. He picked one up and looked it ever. “...Great One, is this the item that man was talking about?”
Avrin walked over towards him. He reached inside the minecart and pulled out a crystal about a fifteen centimeters long. It had enough dark matter to match three Unclouded crystals, yet when Avrin gazed at it, he felt disappointed.
“Erebus…” Avrin spoke out silently before again he, Tardiff, and Ailirion vanished along with the mine cart filled with these black crystals, leaving the large field of Spectrals imprisoned within the crystals by themselves.