HE WAS CALLED GIDEON
Within the first few chapters of why Gideon started the journal, I learned Gideon was inspired by Plight of Soul and sought to achieve raw power. Hmph, he had no reason other than power; if he did, he definitely did not jot it down.
I continued to read Gideon's journal, skipping several years because the beginning was Gideon's plans to climb the ranks. Gideon was quite sneaky—training in secret, writing spells and skills in secret, making deals with the black market by selling outlawed books, using his deals to bribe individuals of power and rank, and secretly poisoning those who got in his way.
Interestingly, he poisoned his grandfather, Jurabaal, who had barred Gideon from visiting the sealed ent. His father, whose name was not mentioned, cared less of the sealed ent and studied Limbo due to his clerical nature.
My hair stood on end at the information about Limbo, Jurabaal, and the mention of the ent that I was positive was Lek. Continuing, Gideon pleaded with his father to speak with Jurabaal, but it was all in vain. Gideon eventually had enough and poisoned his own grandfather using the poison of a bio spirit that was, ironically, conjured and forgotten by Gideon's father.
With Recall Memory, I effortlessly skimmed through the journal and digested every word in every passage. I learned Gideon worked with the black market—his connection was a person named Little.
I also learned what happened after scribes came of age. I clenched my jaws after learning my old friends were likely killed or sold into slavery. Knowing what became of them did not comfort me, but I forced myself to continue.
After some time, Gideon's father went missing, and a search party went after him. I then learned he was a valuable asset because he was a Priest. Hmph, a third-tiered class of the Mage and an advanced class of the Cleric. He also held the title 3rd Bishop of the Fire Kingdom.
Near the end of the diary, Gideon receives a copy journaling the search party for his missing father. My jaw dropped at the title of the book—The Missing Bishop!
I quickly materialized my stash of books I had not read before. I reached out and grabbed The Missing Bishop and flipped through the pages. I smiled; it was indeed talking about Gideon's father.
Something suddenly caught my attention from my ghosts. One had stopped before the Old Watchtower just northeast of here. I noticed some activity in the form of flickering lights spewing out the entrance. Hmph, the light barred my ghost from getting any closer, so I ignored it to read the last remaining details of Gideon's journal.
It ended with Gideon learning Soul Harvest, and in his excitement to inform Little about it, he decided to surprise the person by creating copies of the skill. I frantically flipped the pages and saw blank pages were all that was left.
PAIN
Well, that was that.
I closed the journal and Stashed it into my Inventory. As I started reading The Missing Bishop, I glanced through the eyes of my ghosts and saw that five Fire Kingdom soldiers occupied Raycon Village. Dan's body, one of the soldiers I had killed the other day, had been moved to the center of the village and bizarrely left unburied.
I noticed my ghosts had a hunger when they looked down upon the living soldiers—must be Soul Siphon. So, with a Blaster and a regular Fire Kingdom soldier on patrol, I had two ghosts sneak into the ruined homes where the soldiers slept.
I watched through the eyes of the second ghost and saw how the first ghost opened its mouth of wiggly teeth and proceeded to siphon the soul out of the soldier. The process was slow, and the sleeping soldier was completely unbothered as he continued to sleep. Oblivious to how long it would take, I sent my other ghosts to feast on the other sleeping soldiers' souls while I continued reading The Missing Bishop.
In The Missing Bishop, I learned about the Priest, Abimelech Delamont Goodgent, who was sucked into the dark magics while he searched abandoned ruins for Solver.
Reading on, I learned that Emberfell was the name of this city, and the manor was called the College of Emberfell. According to the author, Ezekiel, it was customary for Clerics of all ages to chase after Solever, a clerical skill to bring the dead back to life. I wonder how it differed from Solusion, but unfortunately, the book had no answers.
According to Ezekiel, as Abimelech's determination to bring the dead back to life grew, his attention was overtaken by the pull of dark magic. Abimelech then went missing with a small party of Clerics to search nearby ruins for clues on Solever.
The subject quickly changed, and I learned that magic could change a person's personality. The severity depended on the person's biological genetics that determined what type of magic and how badly it impacted their personality. For example, dark magic could make people curious, seek power, and cause greediness.
PAIN
Oh? Really now?
I asked into the air with a nervous smile.
PAIN
That explains a lot about my love for books.
Ezekiel believed Abimelech's search placed him down a dark path for him and his fellow Clerics. So Ezekiel began to point to the existence of books such as Plight of Souls, did nothing but cause misguidance.
The book continued to further drive Ezekiel's point about the caution needed around clergy gents. Because of their need to cure and heal the wounded, they begin to seek answers when they fail, and such a mindset makes them prone to the alluring pull of dark magic.
Skipping ahead, the last few notes stated that,
Not a soul, not a person, gent, or lady knew of what Great Bishop Abimelech's findings were. The whole of the College became frenzied at the sight of his disappearance, a Great Priest as he, leaving without a word to a soul or body.
If Abimelech sought after Solever and dug through ruins, only two ruins came to mind—my own lair and another, west of Dagon City, where vampires used to live. I pursed my lips as Clifford, Mac, and Bone slipped into my mind.
I stopped to think for a moment—if it were my own ruins, Lady Luck must be fond of me. Hmm... could it be that warded door across the river? My body warmed with anxiety just as one of my ghosts arrived at my liar.
Looking down onto the hills west of a deep ravine, I saw a camp of twelve to sixteen Fire Kingdom soldiers near the collapsed tower. Around them were carts and wagons filled with debris—hmph, they were digging out the tower. Focusing, I sent my ghost into the ravine, left through a gaping door at the ravine's base, and into my dark lair.
Everything inside seemed untouched as I figured the Fire Kingdom soldiers were still oblivious to what was below them. I sent my ghost back into the ravine, and it stopped before the warded door.
PAIN
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Here goes.
I whispered and sent my ghost ahead. My ghost came in contact with the ward and suddenly vanished! Sizzled away as if something burned it.
PAIN
Dammit...
I exhaled. I guess it was not going to be that easy. I skimmed through the books and reached for another book, Call of Necro.
A historical book filled with terms I had never heard of before, such as the Za Era, the Last Laugh, the Great Reform, and Ark Followers. There were two bits of information that I found interesting.
One was the terrifying growth of dark Mages due to the teachings of the Ark Followers. They believed magic of all forms and nature should be freely learned no matter the danger. The other one was apparently the very first Necromancer named Necro, who nearly brought down the Holy City of Alexandria—presently known as Sante June.
I scanned the titles of the other books and felt no need to read them. There was a growing positivity within me that Solusion was certainly behind those warded doors. If not, well, I will keep searching.
My ghost near the Old Watchtower noticed five young, wounded Fire Kingdom soldiers limping out of the tower. Hmm? What were they doing in there—resting or fighting one another? Suddenly, several cold whispers echoed into my head, uttering one word: phantom.
It was coming from my ghosts that I had siphoned the soldier's souls. In my delay in responding, the echoes came again, seemingly asking me a question: phantom? I frowned and mentally responded, yes? And the echoes came once more as if to confirm, phantom.
Through the eyes of my ghosts, I witnessed the shriveled remains of soldiers before seeing and feeling the evolution of my ghosts into phantoms.
They began to reform, their translucent floating head elongated before its bottom half shaped into a limbless kinan torso. Two pairs of eyes formed on its head, and its large mouth of wiggling teeth became slightly smaller. I could only guess they were phantoms now, as their overall stats and abilities were marginally better.
I read enough for now and needed to reclaim these wilds. So I stood, extinguished my flames, and Petty Shadow Phased up through the manor's levels and into the night's brisk wind. I floated above the city upon my sword before taking off north through the skies.
As I flew, I watched the wounded Fire Kingdom soldiers head west. Curious, I decided to send a ghost ahead of them. As for the Fire Kingdom soldiers near my lair, they scuff their feet in their work and seem to bicker with one another. They will eventually rest at one point, and that is when I will strike. Until then, I decided to camp out at the Old Watchtower.
As I approached the tower, the copper-like scent of blood and an array of familiar smells reached my nose. Recall Memory haunted me with a perfect recollection, and I clenched my jaws at what I was about to witness.
I landed before the tower as the faint sounds of someone wheezing reached my ears. I stood there, too afraid to prove my absolute memory correct. My hands curled up tight in fists as the smell of their blood did not excite me but caused my stomach to churn.
I commanded my feet to move forward, and one foot after another, I approached the entrance. Reclaiming my boldness, I conjured a string of flames to light the room. My eyes instantly fell upon dead naked bains covered in gashes blotted with blood.
The raucous breathing came from Dihn, Gent, Kinan/Ylguen, Twenty-seven years old, sitting against the pillar at the center of the room. He was one of the refugees of Raycon village kidnapped by a mad gent named Grungir for reasons beyond me. I glanced around the stone room and looked at the bloody bodies of his counterparts—seven of them. A hint of joy bubbled within me as my eyes fell on three Fire Kingdom soldiers, dead.
Dihn looked up at me—I clenched my jaws at the sight of blood dripping from his swollen eyes and torn lips. His face was a beaten mess. His body was riddled with horrific deep gashes, making it difficult to see him still alive.
DIHN
Sakura...
He croaked at me, his breathing becoming a bloody cough. I said nothing because I had no idea what to say. I should have seen this coming after refusing to help them. Would they all have been alive if I aided them? Would it have all come in vain as they died before me—like Clifford and Mac? I began to question my past decisions...
DIHN
Please... protect...
He coughed, and I watched solemnly as his body became limp and he slumped over. His soul seeped out and floated above his body, forming a tiny silhouette of his former self, seemingly chasing after something in place.
Tears urged to come, but I had become so accustomed to heating them away that my eyes instantly warmed with heat. I eyed the other souls, each a silhouette of their former selves and performing a unique repetitive motion.
SAKURA
Can you help us?
Her voice echoed soundly in my head.
PAIN
What makes you think I want to help you?
I recalled my response, questioning if I had made a wrong decision. But anger suddenly raged within me.
PAIN
Why should I care!?
I began to vent my anger and frustration. I was not the savior of hapless people. That was not my job! I took a deep breath to soothe my frustration. I eyed the old rusty swords and halberds lying near the dead bains—they likely found them within this tower. They at least took my word and armed themselves. With eight dead here, the other seven must have fled.
It took me a while to recollect myself, but once I did, I properly mourned the loss of their lives. I searched the collapsed Inventories of the dead Fire Kingdom soldiers, acquiring bandages and Lesser Vials of Mana and Healing. I then buried their bodies in the shadow of the Old Watchtower so the moonlight of the moonsun would never reach their corpses and raise them as the undead.
Done, I sat once more to respect the loss of their lives—letting Recall Memory play the few interactions I had with this lot, adding more fuel to my anger. I moved my thoughts to their souls residing within me.
After clearing my mind and meditating for a few seconds, I could look into myself and fall into the soul chamber within me. I opened my internal eyes and saw myself floating in a black void before a fiery blue twister.
Looking both up and down, there were no ends in sight. I glanced behind me, and the souls I had harvested were upon a translucent blue platform that shimmered like water. Refacing the twister, I could only assume this raging, never-ending fire was my soul, infinite thanks to my God Item: Infinity.
Returning to the flowing platform, I laid eyes on Dihn's soul running in place and shouting "no" repeatedly. I was able to silence it, reverting his soul into a white-blue sphere. Comparing the bains' and ylguens' souls to the lagardientes, they were three times bigger. Also, the lagardientes did not have any emotional form. Not that I would even want them to. Something triggered my Petty Danger Sense, and I left the soul chamber to spot a pair of blindinus east upon the tip of a small hill.
Wolf-like fiends with no eyes and their teeth were constantly bared as they prowled down the hills toward me. I took a breath of annoyance, figuring the strong scent of blood was attracting them.
Not only were blindinus one of my favorite fiend, but I was also not in the mood to slay them. And to my astonishment, the two stopped before me, sniffed the air, and seemingly looked at the burial site.
I vaguely remembered something about how blindinus reacted to the dead as the pair of blindinus let out a soft whine before turning tail and lurking off into the night.
PAIN
It is pathetic to see that fiends have more respect than us kinans.
I snarled to myself.
PAIN
Myself included.
I took a moment to recall the faces of those soldiers who defiled these refugees. My ghosts had caught up with Sakura and her party as if on cue. They were drenched in sweat and seemingly fighting the urge to rest. One of the bains was carrying an injured bain despite seeming injured himself. Their mouths were moving, but my ghost could not hear a thing. I focused on their assumed leader—he was demanding the bain to abandon the injured. I let out a huff of annoyance.
PAIN
Relax,
I told myself with a deep breath and took to the skies upon my sword.
PAIN
Anger does not solve anything.
And I flew after the soldiers.