Ikrei P.O.V.
Fifth Strata of Outer Darkness. Fifteen years inside the realm.
The vast desolate plane was slightly different and infinitively more dangerous. The large darkened mountains, empty valleys, included hosts of never ending flaming beings of different style of flames blue, red, bright yellow or a combination of them.
The dark clouds in the sky accentuated the dark atmosphere.
Even giants, shadowy giants with serpents coiling around their extremities with blue fire. A giant serpent roaming around the many pits were hundreds of spirit bodies were burning, regenerating and burning again. The process repeated over and over without end. The creatures guarded the pits.
FifthStrata [https://i.imgur.com/Ff9paUi.png]
‘I have no words for this.’
As the icing on the cake, flaming and burning skeletons of red and blue fire running around trying to catch the unsuspecting to eat them at incredible speeds.
The place struck the proverbial spider core, fear. There was a gorgeous extensive palace in the northern region of the strata. We weren’t going to go there.
We had been running around for a year looking, searching for the blacksmith.
‘Hey master, can’t we just expand our consciousness to search for her?’
[No. The rulers know everything but they enjoy variations in their stratas, we are one. Others will detect us and chase us. If we die here now, we will be stuck here for a very, very long time, if not forever.]
That was until that point, the scariest thing I’ve ever heard. So, I just shut the hell up, bad taste pun intended.
‘Why don’t other spirit beings expand their consciousness to detect us, master?’
[The ones that are here are trapped within themselves, it is terrible. A never ending cycle of nightmares and suffering and the underlings have duties. Unless you bother them, they will leave us alone.]
We were welcomed in the seventh strata, King Bayl liked me very much, I didn’t know why, no one was telling me anything on that matter. But everywhere else, just as the king said it was dangerous.
‘Thankfully master is a monster, otherwise I would shit my spirit pants.’
Master searched everywhere carefully without alerting the growling burning creatures. It made things harder since we kept our distance plenty of times. Until we finally found a mountain that was deserted of creatures or flaming burning things, hidden inside a strange mist.
The mountain had a cave and the cave was brightly lit with an unusual blue fire. We entered announcing our presence. Before the small distinct forge was an armor wearing woman working with the flames.
‘Xia Bia!’
“A visitor? Who might you be?” She seemed absorbed in whatever she was doing.
Akathos was going to do the introductions. We put down the heavy bag and master ripped it open, letting the metal pieces fall unto the floor.
[Great Xia Bia!] I come with a request and a proposal.
We vowed with the proper salutation.
She stopped her work and reached for a couple of pieces.
“Interesting.” The one winged goddess said.
In the spirit world there are no languages, instant translation or something.
Readjusting her crown, she ordered Akathos to speak.
[Great Xia Bia, there’s enough for at least seven blades, we want just one. We will adjust to your conditions, goddess.]
We bowed again and waited.
“I assume it is for your little friend beside you, he cannot handle a godly weapon.”
[It is precisely why we want a godly weapon; it is for training in the realm.]
‘Master Akathos look up a little, I want to see her face.’
We weren’t using consciousness so I had no chance to see properly. Sixteen years without any, was starting to get to me. Feelings, desires, senses are all amplified here. The negative energies constantly trying to unscrupulously enter one’s soul.
Eastern godess [https://i.imgur.com/zNmJC7k.png]
Controlling, fear, regret, and desire were a few of the many goals set by master.
The desire portion was becoming a problem.
“Very well. I’ll create something for my needs that will help you as long as you do some leg work.”
‘Leg work? Master?’
Her index finger touched my spirit body and images, places and names were given to us through the goddess touch.
“You are going to hunt them, they are all uninvited, they shouldn’t be here. Just like you Akathos, the only reason I don’t throw you into a pit myself is because Eriel is welcomed by a few here. You are quite famous little soul.”
She was laughing, she laughed for a while.
‘What? What is going on, master?’
[You are taking over; you are going to meditate until the goddess finishes your weapon.]
I sat in a lotus position in a deeper part of the cave, despite being away from the main fire I was surrounded by the unique symbols and artifacts that hung from the walls. Magic sigils and runic enchantments. A master’s lair.
Disturbing the goddess was unwise, so, I asked master for clarification.
“What’s going on, great elder? Why are you excited, I could tell, you know?”
A message with images was sent to my soul.
[She is building you a soul eater, tailored for hunting the beings here. A unique artifact, special doesn’t even begin to describe it.]
“Really? That’s why I couldn’t make heads or tails of the transmission.”
[You cannot take the weapon out of this realm, it is a balance breaker for our world. And you cannot control it alone at the beginning, I’ll help you.]
Akathos expanded even further.
‘Bummer, huge bummer!’
“By the way, why is Eriel famous around here?”
[Beats me. Nobody who knows is sharing anything. Not even king Bayl.]
I felt how Akathos wanted to teach Eriel now that he knew this new information, more than teaching the current owner of the spirit body. He hid not his true feelings.
‘At least you are more upfront than other pricks.’
[Stop it and begin meditating, repel the encroaching energies, stabilize.]
‘Inhale, exhale, release.’
“ANAM KALIM DES GLAOH!”
The chant for soul and core interlacing served to combine blessings under soul fusion, we restarted the grueling spirit body training, control of dark energies grandmaster difficulty level. The weapon was going to take a considerable amount of time.
The use of the chant for meditating was temporary, I needed to learn resistance by myself. Just like building muscle.
----------------------------------------
Freslia P.O.V.
Mirror World. Day of Ioƛl, fourth week of the tenth month, year 9002.
“You have been quite a surprise my lady, I wasn’t expecting such an approach.”
“Seize the day, seize the day, Basgram!” I was uncharacteristically bold for the young me.
Walking down the main streets of Katopr was hard. Too many memories, too many feelings. The stalls and the lights were exactly as I remembered them. Even down to the little guy selling bread. I decided to head over to his basket.
‘I’ve missed you, my young lad.’
“Hello kid, how are you?” I saluted my old acquaintance.
“Hello my lady, beautiful, radiant.” He handed me a couple of choice breads from his basket.
“Five Ucra, my lady.”
“I got it, Freslia.” Basgram paid the kid with a little hesitation.
Five Ucra for two pieces of bread from a basket in a corner without a stall is steep. But I wasn’t here for the bread, just for the kid. The kid and his words.
I bended a knee for him to place myself at eye level.
“So, what will you say to me today, huh?” A welcoming gesture followed.
“There once was a man who was trapped inside a grand castle with four massive walls around him with wards, guards and formations. As the great master he was, he spent years trying and devising until one day, he escaped. Then he went to live in a small town away from everyone he ever knew.”
As he was telling the story he gave a couple more pieces.
‘Yummy, I missed this taste.’
“In time, scavengers and mercenaries lead by powerful brigands crossed paths with the townsfolk. A town burning, lottering, stealing and raping began. The great man fought valiantly to save as many as he could and many he did save. Sadly, he fell, he fell on the verge of death. The little girl he had taken in came running, shouting, suffering, looking for help. Help that would never come.”
This tale is terrible kid; you need help? Are you nuts?” Basgram put a word in.
“Let him finish, Bas.” I held his hand, Basgram backed down.
“The little girl asked the man why he didn’t run away with her? What was so precious that he had to fight to the death with people more powerful than him? You asked me to protect this place remember? Pinky promise. That’s all he managed to say before he died.”
Basgram was mad, a ruse, that’s all that he thought. His energy wanted to leak out. The kid gave me another bread.
I was waiting, waiting for whatever punchline he would give. I was on edge.
“You are the same as that man. Your own heart holds you captive. A very long time ago, wasn’t that little girl named Karis?”
‘There it is; you are not just a boy. Who are you or who were you?’
“I think we have had enough of this charlatan Freslia.”
I gave the boy ten Ucra. It wouldn’t matter anyhow. He waved goodbye.
“How much do you love me, Basgram?”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
We began walking among the people again, a bustling picturesque time.
“Enough to save the world or to destroy it if brings me the whole of you.”
I grabbed his hand and pulled without glancing back. A carefree smile and a hard dash, things were about to get wild. You are not supposed to use awakened powers in the midst of common people for simple matters but this wasn’t simple and I was dead serious.
“Freslia, wait!”
Basgram eyes were full of intrigue. I knew he was smiling within himself.
THUD! THUD! THUD! ZOOOM!
“Watch out! “Crazy pair!” “Knights! Knights!”
The stalls went flying, produce, vegetables, ornaments, toys, food scattered all over the streets and on top of the heads of many vendors, dripping liquids.
“Catch them!” “Catch them!” “Don’t let them get away!” Guards, guards!!”
I sped up some more. Avair’s personal modified art, a variant of the original. Star steps, second core version.
ZOOOOOOOOM!
“FREEEEESLIIIAAAAAA” Basgram’s screams were noteworthy.
“Girls just want to have fun!”
----------------------------------------
Ikrei P.O.V.
Fifth Strata of Outer Darkness. Forty years inside the realm.
[Open your eyes.] Master’s order meant one thing, the damn weapon was finished.
[How is it, are you getting affected by the dark energies here?] A soul probe message.
‘I’m fine, no problems for now. It is a little here, a little there. Tough to make them flow through you without being influenced.’
I left my meditation position and headed back to where the goddess was still hammering away.
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
“There are two swords hanging on the wall behind me. Take them. Collect all the souls of the uninvited into them with each capture. One sword is yours, the other is part of my payment, fill them up with their souls and enjoy! I’ve put a seal inside your souls, I’ll know where you are, whenever you are, don’t make me hunt you!”
Xia Bia waved us away. She began working on something else with the other pieces I had collected.
The moment my spirit body touched the dark metal blades they transformed into rings and settled into my right hand’s index and middle fingers.
The only type of equipment that a spirit body can wear in this realm. Godly weapons, spirit bestowed clothing and so forth. The privilege of the beings beyond humanity.
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
I am sure you are wondering if others have done this? The short answer is yes. And they used very different methods. In my case, the seventh strata and the birds are my home inside outer darkness, other spirits and creatures don’t hunt me and that allows for years underwater.
The help of a great elder plus the great dark resistance I had acquired bringing forth the deadly metal as the end result.
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
With a polite bow and master taking over we dashed to the location of our first target. Library 2.0. was about to go into teacher mode for the hunts. There were many things to learn about life in the stratas and you don’t want your soul to die because you missed something.
[The uninvited like us don’t use their ability to expand their consciousness with the spirit body to avoid detection from outer darkness underlings. It is a one hit kill business, if you don’t, they will run away and the chance of finding them later becomes slim.]
‘The gods know everything, don’t they?’
[Pretty much, only when they counter each other does that not happen. Or when they don’t care to know. It is all a game for them and a test for us. If you want to kill outer darkness residents, it is the same, one hit kills, otherwise they will alert the rest by expanding their consciousness through the strata they are at. More importantly, the underlings will hunt us. Keep residents off limits for now.]
We were dashing to a dark mountain with flames surrounding it. A malgrunian practitioner of the dark arts was there.
‘There are three hundred soul requisitions, she didn’t give half of that with locations! I thought you said there aren’t many dark practitioners of our affinity with sufficient level in our world?!’
[Outer darkness, hell, the void interconnects with many worlds, my young Sachear. Our world is special for sure but not the only one. One of the reasons the inhabitants of these places cannot make sense of what is happening when they see things through their consciousness.]
‘Hell visions, different gods, different faiths throughout the worlds? The ones Puri talks about?’
[Precisely, enough teaching. Let me show you how a capture is done. Remember everything you are about to feel.]
‘Attacking an unsuspecting Malgrunian is dark and cold master, you aren’t much better than me!’
[Be quiet! You are about to learn something. Judgements later.]
“ANAM KALIM DES GLAOH!”
Our souls unified all blessings and the pool of energy, master forced this connection. I sensed that it had to do with teaching me how to wield the special weapon. I did try to poke inside his memories several times.
‘Sorry but I’ll never trust blindly again!’
A sad or funny case came to be. Depending on how you look at it.
SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!
My soul was getting slapped every time I tried to peer into the great elder.
‘What?! How?! Why?!’
[The Will is protecting me, Ikrei. That’s why. Now focus!]
‘What?! A god has time to slap a suffering kid? Why? Why?!!! Why?!!’
Twenty breaths. I finally calmed down. The plan proceeded, souls fused with a quarter of a spiritual reddened cheek.
Five-furlong distance.
“ADOHI!
The double colored streak of light charged at full speed straight into the Malgrunian through the deluge of watery flames, a very rare phenomenon. Then again liquid flames in the realm of dreams, nightmares and curses is barely bending anything.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE! CRACKLE! GROUSH! GROUSH! GROUSH! CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
ZHEEEEZH! We crossed through, master had his right hand ready.
“ARLUN!” “FAILEN!”
A chant unknown to me came from the malgrunian practitioner. The flames consumed him in half a breath. He was no more.
My master closed his eyes and shouted.
“BUYIL!”
The godly dark metal blade morphed from a ring and into the dark glittering thing it really was and made a perfect cut.
SWASP!
In one motion, master cut the hiding, unseen malgrunian that was behind him without even turning around. There was no need, that was what the previous chant was for. The target mistakenly thought that he could take on one the great elders of the Andurin.
Bu-Yil, andurian for true eyes. A simpler version in scope, reach and usefulness from the real thing. A small radius of absolute perception with the aid of the Will, four cubits in all directions for two breaths. Consumes two and a half cores of energy for those without the affinity. Use wisely.
‘He was probably a powerhouse. Master is a monster, scary, scary!’
The power of the soul infused weapon was terrifying. From a single cut that wasn’t that deep, the spirit body of the opponent was having a terrible episode.
[That’s a reverse grip backward thrust, Ikrei, awakened arts.]
‘That means not for normal people, set of moves, right?’
“Yes, now watch and learn.” Akathos worded using my mouth.
The convulsing malgrunian couldn’t scream, couldn’t expand his energy, couldn’t do anything. The shaking kept going and going without end.
‘What’s going on, master?’
[This is what happens when ascension masters fight others that are not at their level. The weapons of our Patriarchs would drop you down flat if not death with just a scratch. This one is transferring all the hate, pain, sorrow and all the energies from the souls drawn out from the river through the metal into him. This weapon in particular is superior to anything allowed in Ladnahlayr. How about it?]
I was befuddled due to the magnitude of a single attack.
[Never go around trying to play hero. Leave that to Krigsain, you concentrate on learning, growing until you can punch him in the mouth. That also applies to me, the future me!]
‘Master!? Master, 9002! You might be a better man today than tomorrow, kind of got the precept in reverse!’
“Ah, ah, ah, ah.”
‘That didn’t work master, that wasn’t funny, inverted laugh.’
[Reverse precept, ain’t it? Anyway, hold on to your ethereal butt, kid.] He trusted the dark blade into the malgrunian. Akathos firmly held the handle, fully focused.
URGHWHOH!
The blade sucked the entire spirit body into itself. The soul eater.
Killings, rituals, sacrifices, rapes, intensive brutal training, his companions, the Kolga, Andara forest, a whole life flashed through our connected souls. Intense isn’t the way to describe it. The process lasted for almost an hour.
I was spiritually gasping like crazy.
[He thought he was a tough nut, right? No, you are tougher Ikrei. The hundredth kill feels like an afterthought for dark practitioners. But for you, there will always be a grain of your own pain.]
I was listening intently as I calmed down.
‘Monsters, all of you are monsters!’
[Absorb their pain, their despair, their hate, their sorrow. Bare it, use your happy memories, anything to resist. Let it flow through you or reject it with your own darkness. Do try everything. We are going to go through many of the stratas hunting until we get these two blades ready for the goddess.]
‘This has to happen two hundred and ninety-nine more times?!?’
[We are overcomers of the dark path, not just simple dark path practitioners. Don’t let the blades, the stratas nor anything overtake you, you may never leave this place if that happens.]
‘Shit this is going to get tough. Where’s the love, the peace in all of this? Did you train here?’
[You are alive and training instead of going through soul torture for not being Eriel, that’s love right there. I did train in a place similar to this, another world, different rules.]
We started to become that blue, dark trace of energy,
‘Why do I have to go through this, just why?’
[I’ll tell you this, you are a tri god blessing carrier. You will be hunted and used as an experiment if you don’t become strong. Strong enough to crush all who come. Great power without a great price? That’s only in the novels, boy!]
My emotions got so intense that I crossed over and used my mouth and spoke.
“What’s the fucking plan, master?!”
[I saw the Fùchóu Zhi Rèn your little dark princess has. I’ll train you in the mirror art for that, you can never be too careful with demonics, Ikrei.]
‘You truly are a living library, master!’
[Not really, we are going to create the art from a mixtures of others, the Vengeful Blade is the Heavenly Demon’s baby, it is time to see if I’m up to par.]
‘So, you have no idea. Got me excited for nothing!’
[I do have a name in honor of those two, I will call it Byeolfeng!]
‘Sounds cool, what does it mean, great elder?’
[It depends how you want to write it but in general, Star Blade, just like Claimere Burin, Ikrei’s cultivator version with awakened sprinkles on top. Remember to give me credit one day.]
‘For once, I’m happy about something here. Even if the energies here are constantly impinging. Hey! Master, master!! Won’t the cultivators get angry for mixing up their tongues?!’
[Tell them that Auter Samuris approved the naming, that will cool them down. Now, let’s get to training and capturing, most here are incorrigible evil bastards, if not all. You need something for your other ailment. Too much of that word pound, coming from you, lately.]
We started to go at top velocity through mountains, valleys, mists and petrified forests, evading many beings and potential foes.
Even more blushing that couldn’t be blushing.
‘You are looking into things too much, master! And that’s a lie!’
[Not really, show him the art once you go back, he’ll know it was me! And I am very respectful or do you want me to check if she’s faking it under the sheets with you, don’t mind right?]
Master was pricking where it hurt.
ZHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZH!
Next stop, the Fourth Strata of Outer Darkness.
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Freslia P.O.V.
Katopr. The Jasmine Twilight Luxury Camere, Fourth Royal Suite. Thirtieth floor. Fifteen minutes after sundown.
I was overlooking the entire city through the magic strengthened glass window, everyone seemed so small. I had always wanted to come here for my first night in this life. The clothes were far from what I deemed, proper Freslia, but the constraints were unavoidable.
The perfect place for absolute seclusion and larges-se at the same time. Wards, formations, crystals, art, magic beast sheets, three different rooms with their themes plus liquor, flowers and ambiance music. The best this world can offer for a night.
Twenty thousand Ucra. A lovely slow paced rendition of Road to Lemuria was playing.
“I cannot believe we are here.” A beaming Basgram was behind me.
“I cannot believe I am doing this.” The words came exactly as I wanted, perfect intonation.
Basgram embraced me trapping my waist from his position.
“Be gentle.” A whisper, barely audible.
And the dream of many girls and women, a princess carry unto a flower filled bed with just the right amount of light for a viewing experience but also just enough shadow to let you be expectant.
‘It is time for a show!’
Basgram’s hands traversed my velvet clothing with expertise. One hand on my waist and the other unbuttoning everything that could be unbuttoned.
“Mm.” The kiss on the neck was so good that I hummed.
‘Is this the so called ancient dark arts?’
Pluck!
My special metallic bra gave way. I always carry it on me, no matter what for extra protection, dire conditions can occur at a moment’s notice.
An absolute expert, an absolute scammer.
Basgram was enjoying the slurping. He had been eyeing my big guns for a long time.
He knew that I knew that he knew kind of thing, just like someone I missed dearly used to say.
A sudden large covering of Will infused energy enveloped the entire room.
‘Here it is!’
“Whaaargh?” Basgram was still sucking my right nipple when he gibberishly worded something.
He was unable to move anymore.
He began floating backwards and hung in the air like a crucified death row prisoner of the empire in the days of old. His pecker was all excited even after all that.
From my temporal ring, hundreds of needles came forth. Mikros controlled them and inserted them all over his body through his clothing. He bled, Mikros showed no mercy.
Perfectly placed acupuncture needles on all the main energy points. He was still floating in front of the bed. I slowly stood up and walked besides Mikros who was turning “crucified” Basram around. She wanted him to see her.
“I never get tired of seeing your art, blessed of the Will.” A sincere compliment for my sister.
“I’ll check him, give me some minutes.” Mikros got up close and personal and started to do her grandmaster healer thing. A full body, soul checkup on this world’s replica of Basgram.
Prisdirum, a force field type ability where anything within it or in the limits, touching the field, Mikros has full control. Healers need that for successful operations on extremely delicate patients. From blood flow to energy canals and even for reconstituting cores, total control over a space and the patient, it is everything.
Reconstituting cores is her specialty, but if she does you cannot progress any further. Only those who understand their limitations and cannot progress in their stages will use her services to regain back their prowess.
‘You are amazing, blue raven! Brown raven right now, sorry!’
One thousand breaths.
“He has the dark baleful energy. Unreported increases in affinities. He had them before he started training with Eriel in the year 9006. All that was his cover, funny how things transpired later from that point on. He is the hidden necromancer, sister.”
Mikros judgement was final.
“So, you are the one who took Eriel away after all, a hidden deviator.”
All the years of investigation were finally going to bear fruit. The bastard was terrified; he couldn’t move but even more, he couldn’t believe it. I knew those eyes all too well, I loved this bastard once with all my heart. I believed in him, I believed over every doubt in my heart and even a vision from the Will.
“A stupid girl in love just doesn’t want to see some things.” Mikros said as she patted me on the shoulder.
‘Unforgivable!’
“This bastard wanted Eriel’s dark energy sister.” Brown raven gave an educated guess.
“Jealousy and envy amongst the Andurin? Despicable, loathsome, detestable!”
I was angry. And yet thankful for the opportunity to right a wrong, even if it was inside a magical reality.
Mikros passed me an eyepatch she had bought for me. I was growing attached to using that thing, a small ritual for sadistic imprinting. Perfect for what was about to go down.
“Enjoy the view, necromancer. It is the last thing you are going to be delighted with.”
My puffed out milky orbs were in full bloom in front of the hanging, lying, cunning bastard.
“Lift him up just right, sister.” Mikros placed him right at the perfect floating distance for a torture slice with her Prisdirum.
The beaten up offender had tearful eyes, he couldn’t move a muscle thanks to all the needles that were placed upon him, not even a twitch.
I placed the eyepatch on my eye.
“It is time for us to get thoroughly acquainted Basgram, Claimere Freslia, mad eye bitch at your service.”
The words managed to create a surprising result. Even though he shouldn’t have been able to, he trembled, his body trembled.
As Akathos says and does when telling tales, I couldn’t help but smile.
Insurmountable torture was all that awaited him for a while. Information would come later.
SWIIIISH!
No powers, no defense, he screamed like a bitch.
“AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGHH!”
Mikros got close enough for a whisper in his right ear and spoke sweetly yet menacingly.
“Girls just want to have fun.”
A bitch to bitch, heart to heart began.