Ezekiel stood in the pit that he’d been stuck in for the past several hours. Only now the light that had illuminated the sky was no longer shining. Instead, he could barely see due to how dark it was. Similarly, he was barely able to hear anything from how loud the buzzing was.
‘What happened?’ he asked Shine, keeping things internal for now, since talking wouldn’t make a dent in the noise that surrounded them.
‘Some sort of swarm of bugs. They’re not entering the hole, but they aren’t going away either. Not sure where they came from, but it’s sort of obvious what they actually are.’
Shine’s reply sent shivers down Ezekiel’s back. Looking up, he could see what his Spirit was talking about. The coloration that he could just make out was an incredibly dark purple. That, and the scent of decay and rotting corpses was present everywhere.
‘Death Spirits... I didn’t think this many could exist in one area. Let alone this many Legendaries.’ Ezekiel was briefly reminded of the Death Worms from Morncrest but pushed those memories aside.
This was different, and far worse than that scenario. Luckily, he was different, and far more powerful than he had been at that time.
‘Do you think that the boundary is preventing them from entering, or something else?’ he couldn’t help but ask.
‘Could be either. Though I don’t think I want to test it.’ Shine replied, much to Ezekiel’s relief. ‘However, we might not have a choice. They’re slowly coming closer.’
Focusing on the lip of the hole, Ezekiel could see that Shine’s observations were correct. The swarm that had approached was coming closer. It was slow, and they had only gotten a few inches past the top, but it was proof that they were getting closer.
‘Have you had any luck sensing past the boundary? Whatever’s washing away our magic obviously isn’t affecting them, so if we can figure out why, we might be able to get them without letting them in.’ Given that he had been soul diving for the past while, Ezekiel was hoping that Shine had been able to keep an eye out and test things for a little bit.
‘Nothing new, but given that I don’t know where we are, nor what’s affecting our magic, I don’t think that it should be surprising.’ Shine mentally poked at Ezekiel. ‘Perhaps you could share what your thoughts were, from before you went to help your father?’
Ezekiel let out a soft grunt that was left unheard from the noise.
‘Fine...But I honestly can’t believe it, not without more proof. It’s, honestly, more than a bit of a stretch.’ Shine remained silent, waiting for him to get to the point. ‘I think that we’re currently inside of Eldramir’s Spiritual Pathways. The so-called [Space-Between-Spaces] is actually the [Space] between Pathways within Eldramir’s soul. That’s why this is the reverse side of the world. We are inside the literal soul of Eldramir, as living, physical, bodies. Which is why the world outside this hole is deadly to us. It’s literally a piece of the universe that isn’t meant to have anything but a soul, or souls, inside it.’
The moment Ezekiel finished explaining his theory, he paused, nearly flinching at the sudden change that had happened around him.
For a moment, he thought that Shine was just shocked into silence, so he didn’t think about it. Until he realized that everything around his had gone silent. It had been so sudden a shift that it took him a moment to realize what had changed.
Up above, the swarm had stopped moving.
“Begone!” a rattling voice cried out, and the swarm seemed to turn into smoke before dissipating and leaving the area.
Ezekiel and Shine both looked up at the edge of the hole, and after several seconds, the skeleton from before appeared once more.
“You should have left by now... However, I can understand why it would be difficult for you to do so. The efforts you took to save your father were also quite astonishing. I can see where I went wrong before, which is interesting, since I am the foremost expert on souls in this world.” The skeleton, who claimed to be a piece of Headren, rubbed its chin. “Given that I cannot be certain when the swarm will return, I will remain here, for now, to ensure that you can leave here properly.”
“Thank you,” Ezekiel replied, “but I think you might be here for a while. My only working theory on how to get out of here is dependent on a few answers from you. So, unless I get them, we won’t be leaving anytime soon.”
The skeleton hummed in disinterest. “Your thoughts from before were correct. We are currently on an island that is floating amidst the flow of mana within Eldramir’s Spiritual Pathways. That is why it seems like your mana is being washed away. It simply is.”
“How are you stopping that from happening?” Eager for more information, since the skeleton seemed to be willing to speak now, Ezekiel dug for more.
“It is simple... For one, I am a soul, so my existence here is like a drop of ink in a river. Certainly, I could be washed away, but I can also flow with the water. Whereas you are all physical things, like rocks, so the water hits you full force. Yet you are too small and weak to do anything but be smashed along the riverbed as you are flung about.” The skeleton’s answers were demeaning, but Ezekiel could understand what was being said. Even if Shine was silently seething in his soul.
“The other reason is that I am [Killing] the [Force] that is being applied to me. An ability granted to me by my Spirit, when we first attempted to explore this realm. Something that my Spirit’s many times over descendants have, unfortunately, inherited over the years.” The skeleton seemed wistful as it turned to gaze upward, as if to peer into the sky.
Ezekiel noticed that there was a much larger insect, likely the one that he had first seen after waking up, that was partially hiding behind the mist that surrounded the skeleton. It moved to hide even further behind its cover, but little big legs still stuck out.
“... Does it have to do with your Spirit’s [Truth]?” Ezekiel asked, curious as to how much the piece of Headron knew of the method to reach higher Tiers.
Of course, he hadn’t expected the entire world to suddenly shift, causing an earthquake to occur on the supposed island that they were situated on. Something that Ezekiel knew he’d be asking more about later. For now, however, he had something else to worry about.
The skull up above turned down to Ezekiel so fast that he heard a crack, right after the earthquake passed. It was so loud that he was certain it was the equivalent of a sonic boom.
“That word... [Truth]... That is something new... Explain it! I need to know what has changed in the living world. It might be able to help me with my current task.” The skeleton leaned over the hole.
Although it had no facial expression, Ezekiel’s senses were telling him that the skeleton was currently eager and impatient for answers. Something he was happy to give, but only for a price. One he hoped that the skeleton would be willing to comply with.
“I can tell you, since it’s relatively common knowledge at this point, but I’d like to learn more about this place as well. I’m sure you can tell that we need to know more about how to get out of here, and an exchange seems like it would work best for us.”
The skeleton snorted in amusement but didn’t immediately shut him down. Instead, it turned silent, and the little bug legs behind it began moving. He assumed that the skeleton and Spirit were communicating silently.
“Fine. It would be more efficient this way than simply ripping the answers out of your soul.”
A full body shiver overcame Ezekiel as the sheer malice and intent to kill that was infused into those words hit him full force. Off to the side, even Warren’s mutated form seemed to tremble in its meditative stasis.
For a second, he wondered if this would be a bad idea, but he had nothing else that he could do.
However, the words from the skeleton, about [Killing] the forces that were affecting it, gave him an idea. One that would keep his thoughts secret, and perhaps let him out of this stupid hole.
Though, it wasn’t something he could convey to Shine with words right now; verbally or mentally.
He couldn’t risk the possibility of the Being above him getting the idea that he wouldn’t hand over the answer that it now desired. Better to keep it occupied for now and hope that its interest dissipated so that he could work without any interruptions.
Only then would he be able to get himself, Shine, and his father and Theo, back home safely.
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The atmosphere in the Prime Guild was tense. All the Hunters and Mages had fully retreated from the border that they had been stationed at, and after returning to the nearest city all efforts were put into reinforcing the defenses that were already in place.
For Riley, who was still recovering, hours later, she was forced to sit in and report what she had seen in the Desolate Lands multiple times. She begrudgingly accepted it, since there was no other way for the world to get information until Brun woke up. However, it seemed like that wasn’t going to be happening anytime soon, since the Mythical Spirit had yet to wake up.
She currently sat in a soft and cushioned chair that was large enough for Celia to lay sprawled out on her lap. Since her Spirit had been her Armor at the time, her injuries were easier to recover from, so the Flame Spirit had increased in size to that of a large dog and was currently acting like a blanket.
“Where are we at?” Wolken’s voice cut through the haze that Riley had been fighting against for the past few minutes since being brought to the meeting chamber. His Spirit was wrapped around his neck like usual but wasn’t lazily hanging around. It was fully alert, and cautiously gazing at anyone who entered the room.
Riley wondered if it was also sensing the airways nearby, keeping itself aware of the entirety of the city and beyond, just in case the expected attack came early.
“Five additional barriers have been erected outside the boundaries of the city. It’s unlikely that they will be able to hold long, but no Mythic level sneak attacks will be able to get through them in one go.” A Grand Scholar spoke up and was garbed in robes that denoted his Cavern Element. They were also covered in Runes that glowed with magic.
“Good. Do what you can to coordinate the evacuation. It’s likely that, at least on this side, this city will be the first target for the Broods once they take control of the Cruor directly.” The Grand Scholar nodded and left the room after placing a folder on the table.
“Will the city be alright? We don’t know when the Broods will manage to get out.” Riley was quiet as she spoke. She couldn’t help but feel fear in the ace of what was currently happening, but there was little she could do other than push forward.
“We should be fine, since there are over a hundred Legendary Hunters patrolling the borders. Each one with a Com-Slate that will send out an alert if anything happens. But we need to keep preparing. At least until we can consolidate our forces with the Archipelago.” Wolken flipped through the folder quickly before closing his eyes and sighing.
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“Not the Empire? I doubt that they’ll last long under the Cult now that the truth is out. You did manage to pull several secrets from Endaria, didn’t you?” Riley knew that the Prime Guild had captured a heavily injured Endaria, who was basically on the verge of death, when Ezekiel had been taken.
Though, it was apparent that they hadn’t done anything with her just yet.
“We basically have every scrap of knowledge that she ever had. Though, it’s apparent that her soul basically collapsed after the invasive inspection we did.” As horrible a fate as that was, Riley couldn’t find it in herself to care. This was the bitch that had basically led the efforts to kill her husband for over a decade. Not the only one, of course, but one of the most prominent.
“Good riddance...” She flinched as a beep filled the room. A Com-Slate on the table started blinking. “Is the meeting starting soon?”
It had taken some time, with difficulties due to the additional defenses that were being constructed, but messages had been sent to the Scholars that had evacuated the Cathedral at the Temple of the Void. While their legitimacy had come into question due to their recent actions, they still held enough power to have a say in what the next steps were going to be.
“Do you want a healer in here? Just in case.” Wolken frowned, letting the Com-Slate continue beeping while he moved over to Riley. “I can ensure that they are sworn to secrecy if needed.”
Riley took a moment to think about it, and decided that now was not the time to push away any help. “Please do so. This is too important for me to collapse in the middle of.”
Celia, let out a frustrated snort that let out a small puff of smoke. A sense of annoyance and worry passed through the bond between her and Riley.
However, nothing more came about as a healer was brought in. A quick oath later, and the Com-slate was activated. A bright light flashed and the image of several Grand Scholars and Legendary Hunters took shape on the blank wall across from Wolken, Riley, and the healer.
A part of her felt wonder at the rapid advancements that had been made to the Com-Slates over the years. Especially since it had only taken a few instances of advanced magic to push them forward.
With a soft shake of her head, Riley focused back on the images she was seeing, rather than the misplaced wonder that she was feeling.
A particular Hunter of note was Strom, who had evacuated not long after Ezekiel’s capture. Having been sent away before Wolken had stepped in, he had apparently gone back to a separate city when his small army had woken up. If she recalled correctly, the messengers said that they had been called back to the Temple of the Void. But that hadn’t been her concern.
Another thing that Riley noticed was the distinct lack of Wilma Sanyew, Wolken’s sister. Which was surprising, given her position as the Void Remnant’s representative.
“Apologies for the delay. We felt it best that our only source of information be prepared as best as possible to give her report. I know you all got a brief summary, but I believe that the full picture will be needed in order to properly determine what to do next.” Wolken’s words drew Riley’s eyes toward him once more, but a glowing green hand on her temple cleared up the fuzz that was invading her thoughts.
Seeing the expectant looks on her audience’s faces, she took a deep breath and once more recounted what had happened when she and Brun had entered the Desolate Lands, right up to the point where she had returned to Wolken’s camp.
There was silence for several seconds after she finished. The faces being projected shared several concerned gazes, and the few Hunters that were there pet their Spirits in what Riley assumed was a search for comfort.
“Patrols, defenses, and additional steps to give us early warning and an active chance to fight back are in place, correct?” One Hunter asked, only for Strom to step in before even Wolken could.
“If he hadn’t then he wouldn’t be talking to us right now. The only reason he’d be in a city with civilians would be if he was intent on establishing a central base to operate out of. The things you listed are all the basic requirements for a wartime forward base.” Strom’s tone was dull, and Riley got the feeling that he was tired, yet she couldn’t see anything else wrong with him.
“Indeed.” Wolken cut off any rebuttals before they could begin. “The big issue is how we can deal with this partial breakout by the Broods. It’s obvious that the middle Step Broodlords will no longer be a problem, since they will be possessed by their masters soon, and when that happens, we will have nine Peak Mythical Cruor to deal with. True Avatars of the Broods.”
The Hunters and Mages that were on display froze, and Riley got the feeling that they were afraid. Though she could understand that quite well. She had felt the same when she had faced Radiant Chaos herself, after all.
“Are we certain that that is what they intend to do?” Everyone's attention turned to the Scholar that had spoken. “We only think that they’re headed to the other seals, right?”
Wolken and several others shook their heads. “Given the current situation, can you think of any other reason they would head to the seals when they can’t break them open anymore?”
The Scholar sighed and nodded her head. “Point taken, but it would only be eight, since the Winged Lord is dead.”
That brought Riley’s mood up, since she had forgotten that, and it seemed that several others had forgotten as well.
“If that’s the case, then we might stand a chance. If we could do enough damage to take out the Broodlords before they can be possessed by their masters, then we should be capable of defending ourselves. At least for long enough to shore up our resources, and potentially take out Radiant Chaos by teaming up against him.” The assembled representatives looked more positive now that an initial plan with a hope of survival had been presented.
“That would require all of us, and we would need the Azure Flame to stay out of it.” For a moment, Riley felt indignation well up inside her, then relief, because the thought of entering battle without Ezekiel had been troubling her. “We can’t have her getting captured and bringing the Herald of the Void into the Broods’ grasp, again.”
“I am fine with that... I still need to recover and should be here for when Ezekiel returns.” Her words drew shocked gazes toward her, but she ignored them.
“Are you certain that the Void’s Herald is still alive?” one of the Scholars asked. “I think we all hope that he is, just so he can fix this mess, but you said it yourself that there was no word of his presence.”
She wanted to deny it so badly, but Riley had to admit that her assurance was more faith than proof at this point, so there wasn’t anything she could say that would assuage the other’s fears.
Just then, however, a deathly aura filled the room, and a figure stepped in through the door that should’ve been guarded. However, no one was going to berate the guards for failing to stop this man from entering. His presence was enough to stop those being projected from speaking up.
“I think that I might be able to settle whatever worries you have regarding the Herald of the Void.” Headren, the Death Mythic, came to a stop next to Wolken, keeping a distance from Riley and the healer who was now struggling to keep her stable.
With a wave of his hand, deathly indigo mana shot toward Riley, and she flinched when it hit her before she could react, but to her surprise it didn’t hurt. Instead, she could feel some of the lingering damage on her soul begin to heal.
Looking toward Headren, she noticed a large centipede that was wrapped around his waist. It clicked its legs quietly and had glowing red bead shaped eyes that were on each of its segments.
“What do you mean? Have you seen Ezekiel? Also, how did you get here when you were stationed in the Archipelago? Even I would end up taking nearly a day to get here from where you were last seen. It’s only been half of once since Ezekiel disappeared.” Wolken formed a barrier that blocked off most of the Death mana that Headren was emanating.
“In order, a piece of myself from a failed experiment has encountered Ezekiel, and though I cannot communicate with them, I can confirm that they are alive with my own eyes, and finally, a unique perspective on applying one’s [Understanding] was more than capable of increasing my speed.” Headren’s words were both incredibly relieving and confusing. “However, Ezekiel is currently in a perilous situation, and the slightest misstep will result in his annihilation.”
Looking at Headren’s face, she couldn’t help but notice the smile on his face as he spoke these daunting words. This made her angry, because she couldn’t help but relate his look to one who wanted her husband dead.
“Why does that make you smile so broadly!?” She demanded, and the others noticed the same thing she had. “Does my husband’s prospective death bring you joy?”
Headron shook his head, still grinning widely. “The exact opposite. I hope that he survives, because I have seen something in his soul that he does not know of. Should he return, I have no doubt that he will ascend to a level unseen since the time of the Ancients.”
Silence spread through the room at the Death Mythic’s proclamation, then it was filled with chaos as everybody started demanding more answers from Headron. His words had caused more of a fuss than her own had.
Yet, she didn’t care. All that mattered to her was the fact that Ezekiel was okay. Everything else was secondary to that, because she knew for certain, with proof, that her family would be whole again.
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For Ezekiel, he had spent quite some time explaining the specifics of the newly discovered requirements for advancement. As much as these things had existed in years past, he had been the first person to put it into words, even if Wolken had understood them and helped him make his own progress better than he could’ve without breaking through first.\
“I see... That makes so much sense. Yes! It is our souls that grow stronger with our use of energy, mana, as we develop ourselves and experience new things. Of course, it would be an understanding of our souls that would follow an understanding of our element. How could we fuse our body to our soul if we knew nothing about it besides how big it is?” The skeleton was now walking around the hole, high above Ezekiel, and had been thinking aloud for the past several minutes.
A part of Ezekiel felt that the skeleton was something of a kindred spirit when it came to their desires to learn more. However, it also disturbed him, and he could only wait for so long before speaking up.
“Excuse me, but I think it’s my turn to get some answers.” The skeleton snapped its head back to Ezekiel, and he got the feeling that he was being glared at. “You made a deal.”
The skeleton snorted but sat at the edge of the hole all the same. “Fine. Ask your questions.”
“Thank you.” Ezekiel rose into the air, coming to a stop at the edge of the boundary. Shine stayed near the ground, watching over Warren and Theo, whose breathing was more uniform than before. Their body had also shrunk slightly as their power evened out.
“First of all, I know how I came to be here, but how did you get here?”
The skeleton tapped his chin a few times. “It was an experiment... One day, in the physical world, I thought to myself, what if the world has a soul? From there, I explored the possibility of reaching out to the soul of Eldramir. It was just a whim, honestly, but it was one that my instincts were telling me was right. So I grabbed onto it, and I didn’t let go, until I did it. With my death affinity, I managed to barely catch a glimpse of the Spiritual Pathways in Eldramir’s soul. However, that was enough for me to nearly get sucked in. If I hadn’t cut off the portions of my soul that had been caught, I would’ve been dragged in in my entirety, and my existence would’ve been washed away in the mana currents.”
Ezekiel could tell that there was more to it than that but had to admit that such an achievement was incredible. Especially since Headren couldn’t have been more than Step one of Tier five, even though his Spirit had likely been higher.
“What else happened? You mentioned you were working on something, but it seems like you’re having some difficulties.” This was one of the things that he was most curious about.
“... My Spirit also got caught up, and when their soul shard and mine entered the Spirit Paths of Eldramir, they got caught in one of the cracks created by... something from before our time. I don’t know what.”
Images of Eldramir blowing itself up passed through Ezekiel’s mind, but he didn’t vocalize his thoughts. He also kept up a small shield of [Nothingness] around his mind in an attempt to keep his thoughts a secret so that Headren’s apparent [Soul Sight] wouldn’t work on him.
“Regardless, while I managed to recover myself using the innate Death energy that is found in souls, the shard of my Spirit shattered several times. I managed to save the largest shard, but the rest formed a colony, and have been growing out of hand ever since. It is not enough to be a problem for Eldramir, but I cannot let such a thing stand. If left for another thousand years, [Death] will be all that the mana of Eldramir can sustain.”
As much as he doubted that it would get to that point, Ezekiel felt that there was no need to let the chance that Headren’s remnant was right remain.
“If that’s the case, then as one whose ultimate purpose is to save Eldramir, let me help you.” Then, covering his hand in [Nothingness] he stuck it through the barrier, and while it took a moment, he diffused the forces that affected him, and his hand and arm remained unscathed.
The skeleton leapt back in shock, and the insect from before zipped out and started buzzing defensively. However, no additional actions were taken, and Headren’s remnant cautiously approached once more.
“What do you want in exchange?”
Ezekiel smirked, happy to know that he was working with someone just as smart as he was.
“I need you to bring us to another one of those cracks you mentioned. Being in the middle of Eldramir’s Spirit Paths is directly preventing us from making a rift to get out of here. If we can get to a place where the flow is much slower, or nonexistent, then we should be able to get out of here.”
Headren didn’t agree right away. “Why can’t you get to such a spot by yourself?”
“This trick has a time limit, and I will need to take breaks to recharge my mana. I’m fairly certain that you don’t suffer such limitations, and will be able to get me to where I need to be much more easily, right?” Ezekiel was confident he was correct, but getting confirmation would be nice.
“Correct... but if we do this, I’m not letting you leave until the problem is dealt with. Agreed?”
He had been afraid of this, but as he reached out with his [Prediction], he received no ill omens. So, it was possible for him to get out of here relatively quickly if he chose this path.
A sense of anticipation, and a pull in his gut also told him that this would be helpful for his progress, but he wasn’t sure how just yet.
“You have a deal.” With that said, Headren reached out and grabbed Ezekiel’s still outstretched hand, and they shook on it.
The deal was made, within the soul of Eldramir itself, enforcing it directly, and binding both parties to their word.