Public Release: Feb. 25th, 2019 - 17:00 pm EST

The caravan started moving again. I continued to hunt creatures that approached in secret, constantly slipping it to do so, but I didn’t find myself falling into a depression during it. Having laid out everything, leaving myself bare in front of my friend Lily, it felt right.

She knew who I was, now. I knew who I was, now.

-

On the third day of travel things started to get a bit more hectic than before. The problem began when we arrived at where the third and final ‘safehouse’ was supposed to be.

All we found were ruins and a myriad of footprints belonging to both man and beast. There were signs of a struggle.

The Inspectors from Barbory paled when they looked over the evidence, and one of them whispered a word in hushed horror, so quiet that I could barely hear, even with my senses working full bore, “Tsavo.”

He was pointing towards the tracks of what looked to be a feline-type creature. They were larger than the human footprints next to them, but not by much. I spread out my [Mana Sense] but I couldn’t feel any dangerous monsters in the vicinity.

We had to move on, unable to stay in such an unfortified position for long. The last break we took was at the giant tree over 10 hours earlier, and everyone was exhausted. Sal and I started working harder behind the scenes just to keep things safe.

The escorts were running on less sleep than normal. Several of the horses were barely standing, and we lost one when it slipped on a wet piece of root and fell over the side of a large cliff, dragging its rider down with it.

I couldn’t save them because I was too far away, battling a Rank 6 beast just ahead of the bend.

I killed the monster quick and rushed back to the group. They were silent and looking down over the cliffside, staring at the mess below.

To his credit, the knight that fell down was still alive, but his body was mangled. Even if I pulled him out he wouldn’t survive the rest of the trip. He wouldn’t last long enough for us to get him to the healer in Barbory.

I didn’t have any more potions from the Calico Labyrinth either. He called out for his mother and family between screams. 

“Give him mercy,” said Sal as he rode his horse near the edge. He tapped on the shoulder of one knight who had a short bow strapped to his back.

I closed my eyes and moved on ahead. I didn’t want to watch that scene. I could only be thankful that Lily’s carriage was angled in such a way that she couldn’t see it from the windows.

-

Beast attacks grew more and more frequent as we moved forward. I could feel my own breathing start to get rough. Even with the stamina of a God I struggled a bit. The monsters were growing in numbers and their abilities started to vary in dangerous ways. It almost felt artificial with how much the difficulty spiked. I couldn’t imagine what those men riding along with us were feeling. Their bodies were very, very mortal in comparison to Sal's, let alone my own.

They all worked hard and did their duties, each showing their value and pride in their home, in the Gransus Kingdom. I watched more than one offer a salute to Lily's carriage when they thought they couldn't be seen.

The atmosphere was grim, but the hearts of the escorts were unbroken. Their wills were made of stronger stuff than my own.

-

A swarm of rank 7 monsters popped up in my [Mana Sense] and I shot out ahead like a rocket. I couldn’t detect any dangers around the main group, so I left everything else in Sal’s hands. He could handle most emergencies by himself.

The path I followed twisted and opened up into another valley, but this one smelled of death. There was no waterfall here. There was no bubbling spring or giant trees. There was only monsters. I found a horde of undead creatures, swirling with a black mana that I found all too familiar.

These were creatures that Nox once touched.

Everything went red in my mind. I couldn’t see straight and I felt my sword appear in my hands. Belial’s Blade trembled with me, and it screamed with joy as I charged into the horde, swinging with abandon.

[Combat State] activated without my consent. My movements became crisp. I danced forward and cut into the gaps of the horde, each of my strikes taking a life like nothing.

I genuinely wondered, at this moment, how ordinary men were supposed to cross this pass. Perhaps it would have been easier to sneak through if they didn’t need to bring along noncombatants, horses, and a carriage.

Maybe I should have just taken Lily in my arms and carried her through. I still could go back and do that. Sal would be fine on his own. The rest of the knights probably wouldn’t make it, but with how loyal they were, they probably wouldn’t mind such a fate…

I stopped myself. Why was I thinking something so dark again?

I noticed, then, that as I cut down the undead creatures, and their souls entered mine, that their darkness spread inside me like a plague, clinging to my vessel with sticky tendrils of evil mana.

My hackles raised and, for the first time, I physically manifested my soul, letting it rip out through my chest like an emerging alien.

Belial’s Blade thrummed and I turned it against myself. A pain unlike anything I ever experienced struck me as I dug the sword’s edge in between me and the corrupting tentacles. My arms flexed and a tremendous force was borne. The tendrils unhitched like suction cups, leaving damage behind. I screamed and forced them off.

The mass of black mana and soul writhed in front of me. My soul sank back into my body and I found myself coherent again. I wasn’t certain how I just did what I did.

[Level Down!]

I felt myself losing strength. It wasn’t a lot, but I could still feel it happening.

I realized that I could stop the soul fusion if I acted fast enough.

I looked down at my hands for a moment and I felt a smile overtake me. I didn’t need to fear killing things and corrupting myself anymore. I could just stay at level 1000 and not let things with dangerous egos fuse with me from hereon.

I decided that I would only kill things untouched by the Fae if possible from this point forward.

I thought about The Oni, the assassin who crippled Lily. His soul was still fused with mine. If I had been capable of this at that time...

I shook my head. I couldn’t go back in time, and I probably couldn’t have manifested my soul back then anyways, even if I knew how. My soul and his were fused now, and there was no point regretting that fact... But I could stop myself from fusing with other terrible people in the future. I could prevent my own corruption.

I looked at my level and saw it sitting at a perfect 1000. I didn’t know what would happen to me if it dropped below the Fae threshold.

“Later,” I said through grit teeth. “I’ll start later.”

I pushed the writing mass of black magic that remained off towards the monster horde. They devoured it like it was a treasure. I wasn't certain what would happen to souls that didn't get absorbed. I glanced upwards but couldn't see the sky or the runes carved into this world. I could feel them, though. It didn't take a rocket scientist to understand. Unclaimed souls would probably end up destroyed or absorbed by whatever was close.

I didn’t kill the rest of the monsters in this area, anymore. I couldn’t risk separating their souls from me again and losing another level. I also couldn’t risk letting their souls corrupt me further. I crippled them one by one and had them kill each other, instead. Eventually, only a single beast remained. I grabbed its immobile body and dragged it away from the path, deeper into the tunnel systems, where it wouldn’t bother the caravan as they passed by.

I needed to get back to Lily and Sal. I needed to tell them about this new ability, the ability to defy part of the Fae’s restriction on the Reincarnation Cycle.