Drenched in the dark rain, Jason felt the corrosive energy slowly influencing his body and mind. His head felt like it was going to burst, the whole world was spinning around him. Due to his soul, the corruption happened very slowly, but Jason could feel his limbs slowly go numb. The corrosive energy coursed through his veins, poisoning and altering his body. Even with his abnormal soul, Jason could feel the energy slowly seeping in. The red shackles that sealed Vepar began to rust, before it finally shattered. "IT WILL TAKE MORE THAN NECROMANCY TO TAKE US DOWN!" the voice rang in Jason's mind. With Vepar taking the reins, Jason uncontrollably turned into a cloud of purple mist. Although the corrosive energy inside his body was still wreaking havoc, at least the black rain failed to inflict further damage in this state.
Zahra, with an umbrella conjured out of plants, was faring much better compared to Jason who was out of mana. "Please be alright," Zahra prayed in her heart, with their house in sight. The straw roof was sizzling, which definitely wasn't a good sign. Bursting through the doors, Zahra was relieved to see Ela still sound asleep. The black rain was slowly seeping through the cracks in the roof, had she been even a couple seconds slower, it would've been a tragedy. Aiming her palms at the ceiling, thick vines shot out. Temporarily enhancing the structure, Zahra slumped to the ground, panting as she forcefully calmed herself down. "Surely Jason would be alright," Zahra thought, since she always thought of him as an invincible figure.
Purple smoke seeped through the door, condensing before forming a severely weakened Jason. Spatting out blood, Jason hit the floor with a loud thud. Zahra scrambled over, helping Jason up onto a chair. "This body is dying," Jason murmured, trying to stop the corrosive energy in his veins. Red chains appeared, wrapping around his limbs. "What's wrong?" Zahra asked, worried since Jason was as pale as chalk. "The rain was corrupting this vessel. Supply me with some vitality," Jason ordered, closing his eyes. He was forcefully suppressing the spread of the necrotic energy by sealing his circulation. Zahra's eyes shone green as roots began to break through the floor, before directly penertrating Jason's flesh. But even with the roots supplying Jason with a ton of energy, his body was still withering at a visible speed. "Will you be alright?" Zahra asked, sweat dripping down her forehead as she maintained the roots.
Sighing, Jason knew that the body would definitely perish if he didn't come up with a different approach. Parts of his skin were flaking off, his lips cracking, and color drained from his face. There were multiple ways he could've dealt with the corruption if he was not a six-year-old without any supplies or money. "Zahra, listen to me carefully, bring us to the nearest town. Leave as soon as you can, forget the others and try to fight the being," he said, as more chains wrapped around his whole body. He decided that his best bet was to seal his whole body, only waking up for brief moments before he could find a way to deal with the corruption. He didn't want to abandon his current vessel, since he had already spent several years optimizing and enhancing it to fit his needs. Seeing Jason go limp, Zahra knew that it was all up to her. Pulling open the drawers, Zahra grabbed the wooden pieces that Jason had carved runes on. She had seen Jason used them before, and she had a vague idea of how to use them. The wooden pieces were radiating a tiny bit of mana, different spells were sealed inside them by Jason in case of an emergency.
The rain outside had stop, but the complete lack of sound gave Zahra goosebumps. Something bad was definitely coming, or else Jason wouldn't have told her to leave as soon as she could. Stuffing the wooden pieces into her pouch, she conjured several vines to form a sled to drag Jason and Ela. Zahra, who had lived in the nearby forests, had a brief idea of where the nearest human village was. But the biggest problem for her now was bringing two unconscious people with her. As she left the house dragging the sled, she was shocked by the sight. The villagers were walking around with rotting bodies, wandering around in search of any life force. The grass under their feet withered, a thick aura of death lingered around them. Fortunately for Zahra, the undead villagers seemed to be distracted by something else. They were slowly gathering around in a circle, clawing at something. Squinting, Zahra finally realized that they were trying to break open the life cocoon that was nurturing priest Aldway. The cocoon that was brimming with life force was like a lighthouse for the zombies.
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Although priest Aldway was probably still alive, Zahra had Jason's words in mind. "Conjure Forest Spirit," she chanted, as her hair fluttered. The spell clearly consumed a hefty amount of mana, a ethereal dear manifested out of thin air. Quickly leaping onto the deer before tying the sled to its neck, Zahra willed it to rush towards the nearest village. But the fluctuation of mana hadn't gone unnoticed, a figure appearing in front of Zahra, blocking her path. "Little girl, why leave in such a hurry?" it cackled. "Wraith," Zahra thought, instantly recognizing the unwelcomed guest. Looking at the floating skeleton that was wrapped in tattered rags, Zahra instantly knew that this was the being Jason was warning her of. Judging by the thick feeling of death radiating from the being, Zahra's chances of beating it was slim to none.
Gritting her teeth, Zahra quickly reached for a wooden piece. Launching it at the skeleton, the wooden pieces ignited midair before a wave of demonic flames washed over the wraith. Clearly wary of the flames, the wraith disappeared with a puff of black smoke. The ethreal deer instantly took off as soon as the wooden piece left Zahra's hand, taking long and powerful strides. Looking behind her, Zahra could see the wraith reappearing once the demonic flames dissipated. "Not so fast little girl," the wraith's sharp voice could be heard echoing through the woods. Normally, it wouldn't be too hard for the deer to outrun a wraith. But with it pulling two people, it speed was drastically reduced. Looking at the wraith who was slowly catching up to them, Zahra's heart was beating faster than ever. Zahra waited patiently for the wraith to catch up. Just before the wraith got into range, she unleashed her second and last wood piece that contained Jason's demonic flames. There were still other wood pieces, but the spells sealed inside were not that useful against an intangible ghost.
Demonic flames erupted, engulfing the unsuspecting wraith. A chilling scream pierced Zahra's ear drums, making her eyes and ears bleed. From the sea of flames the wraith emerged, the rags that covered its body scorched black. Seeing that the wraith was still alive, Zahra felt her heart drop. Her pupils glowed, the surrounding trees began to grow rapidly. "Trees?" snickered the wraith, looking at the thick branches that was blocking it. With a wave of its boney hands, a wave of dark mana washed over the trees. Noticing that the trees failed to even slow the wraith down, Zahra was out of ideas. She could only watch as the wraith flew closer and closer, the thick aura of death enveloping her.
"Out of spells?" it mocked, as dark energy condensed around its boney fingers. "Torment," it whispered, black lighting shot out from its fingertips, directly striking Zahra's back. Almost falling off the deer, a wave of pure agony washed over Zahra. It was as if thousands of ants were crawling inside her, the itch and pain was unbearable. The wraith was quite surprised, even strong-willed individuals would've fallen unconscious from the spell.
"How about this?" the wraith cackled, as it let out a blood curdling scream. The piercing sound was even louder than the previous one, and with Torment still effective, Zahra was quickly losing her consciousness. Suddenly, Jason's eyelids opened slightly, releasing his aura. Although his body was decaying, his soul was still stronger than most beings. And with wraiths being the embodiment of undead souls, the suppression Jason's soul had on it was more effective than others. "Think again before interrupting my sleep," Jason threatened, irritated.
Had the wraith not feel the deep tremors in its own soul, it would've laughed at the small boy who was threatening it. But feeling the immense power, it was contemplating whether or not it should continue on chasing the little girl. Zahra was in awe of Jason's power, easily scaring off the wraith that she had no way of dealing with. After some consideration, the wraith disappeared, giving up on hunting Zahra. Spotting signs of a nearby town in the distance, Zahra was relieved. Quickly dismissing the ethreal deer, she didn't want others to see a six-year-old wielding high-level spells. Pulling the sled towards the front gates, Zahra was stopped by two guards.