“May your next life be full of blessings,” Daniel said to the twentieth wolf. There was a huge problem plaguing his mind as he did so.
Namely, he was running out of things to say. Every beast deserved a farewell, and what kind of dishonest ruler would reuse the same phrases? Of course, he changed his tune after the eighty-fifth soul. There was no choice but to change his tactic. Picking out the ten best ones, he cycled through them, betting on the fact that the eleventh was far enough away not to hear.
In all honesty, it didn’t matter, but there had to be a certain gravity to the situation. Daniel feared what would happen if he lost respect for the souls, treating the position of Soul Reaper as nothing more than a job. Besides, he took joy in recalling ancient kings, their ceremonies and rituals.
“May you find purpose and fulfilment in your next life,” he recited as the wyvern stepped through the iridescent gate, noting that its soul was worth five Soul Points.
Soul Points: 182
Following that, he conjured the pitch-black book, staring intently at the options.
Constructible Buildings:
Soulbound Forge (100 SP) - Allows the wielder to imbue unique souls into equipment or craft entirely new equipment using Soul Points.
Hall of Trials (100 SP) - Allows the wielder access to the trials created by other Soul Reapers of the different worlds. Allows the wielder to earn skills and equipment upon passing the trial.
Spirit Extraction Chamber (100 SP) - Allows the wielder to use Soul Points to extract memories from a particular soul.
Three skills, three buildings, three bounty targets - he was starting to see a pattern. This time, Daniel had made the choice a while ago. One by one, the golden letters shimmered and folded inwards, ascending from the white pages. Resembling a swarm of fireflies, they paved the way forward, conjuring a new platform where their light fell.
When they joined together, the burst of light turned the void radiant, brighter than any supernova. A horrible, inhuman screech emerged from the scar that Morvina had carved into his domain. It widened just a fracture only to reveal a blackened sun entwined by world-rending leviathans passing through the eternal cosmos. Before the eldritch horror could retaliate, the scar healed, leaving nothing but emptiness.
At the place where the letters exploded was now a jagged tower, rising out of the platform like a mountain of obsidian. Halfway, it split into two different spires. Then four. Then eight. The spires endlessly multiplied until they blotted out the void, and even then they stretched on for infinity.
“Ominous,” Daniel said, observing golden letters engraved into the base of the tower.
Hall of Trials
Stepping inside, he noticed how the walls dripped shadows that collected in the middle of the circular room, merging to form a sea of black. He noticed how the three different statues drank deep from the liquid darkness. He noticed how his own shadow was slipping away, joining the darkness that rested at the top of the tower.
Walking closer, he stopped next to the first statue, taking in all of its glory. At first glance, the figure appeared to be a human, draped in a flowing, tattered cloak riddled with holes. Then, one might notice how the cloak bulged, the outline of a hundred limbs hidden in plain sight. The figure’s face was obscured, but the bony hands, holding an oversized scythe that dripped with blood, were as plain as day. Below, two black boxes caught Daniel’s attention.
Yyserian of Orvina
Saint of Infinite Blades
Trial of Combat
Just below that floated a separate box, shaded in grey.
Requirements - Level 20
Cost - 50 Soul Points
Reward - Scythe of Eclipse
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The second statue was in the likeness of a gaunt man, only his pale face visible underneath the thick robes. His haunted gaze portrayed a sense of heaviness and age unlike anything Daniel had witnessed. A bloodied crown of thorns sat on his head, and a perfectly symmetrical wheel of bone hands sprouted from his back, each welcoming Daniel into their embrace.
Vermillion
Forgotten Saint
Trial of Curses
Requirements - Destroy a soul
Cost - 50 Soul Points
Reward - Create Nightmare (Unique)
Warni
It was the first time Daniel had seen something affect the black boxes. Vermillion’s class/title was blurred as if someone had tried to censor it using force. They had succeeded in the second box. Either the System was the one who failed, or whoever tried to do it was strong enough to best even the System. Both options were equally horrifying.
The third figure was much taller than the other two, dressed in an elegant white robe, stars dotting the cloth. She had turquoise green hair, a calming smile on her lips, and her four arms were clasped together in a prayer, each bearing a different tattoo.
Kel’Tharia Myrmeleon
Saint of Hallowed Ground
Trial of Rituals
Requirements - Pacify a spirit
Cost - 50 Soul Points
Reward - Ritual of Sanctity (Rare)
Besides the three statues, there was a hidden stairway going up to the next level, but when he tried to walk there, he was blocked by another black box.
Must clear 2/3 trials
Trials cleared 0/3
Daniel carefully considered his options, or rather, the lack of them. Level 20 was still far away, and destroying a soul went against everything his class stood for. He could take on the Trial of Rituals, but, if he failed, would his points be wasted? Or, even worse, could he die in them? Another option was to save up for the Soul Forge, but without any extra Soul Points, he wouldn’t be able to craft anything.
In the end, it came down to whether the trial or Velkir was scarier, and he was pretty sure he knew the answer. There was still a risk of the skill not being useful, but at least he wouldn’t regret not facing the trial when he died inside the wolf’s jaws. His phantasmal fingers reached out to touch the black box, and the next moment, Daniel vanished from the tower.
When he came to, his viewpoint had shrunk and the very air he breathed rested heavy in his lungs. Coughing up a storm, he opened his eyes to the sight of Kel’Tharia in flesh, just as she was depicted in the statue.
“Stop daydreaming, Kel’Val. Remember, three short breaths and a long exhale. The darkness here taints the very air,” she said, her voice soft but strict.
Daniel nodded, looking around with bewilderment. Beneath his feet was a glass road flanked by stone statues every few feet. They depicted a hooded figure with a robe very similar to the grim reaper, which held an intricate blue-crystal lantern in its hands, illuminating the surroundings. Underneath the road twisted black and blue tentacles, their eyes following his every step.
The rest of the world was bathed in a darkness deeper even than his void. Even staring at it made his heart start beating like crazy, a sudden impulse driving him to walk off into the distance. It was lonely and needed company, and it wasn’t even remotely hungry.
“What’s wrong with you?”
A kick to his shins made him whirl around, finally noticing that he had other companions. The one who nudged him was a boy in his teens with short, blue hair, dressed in similar white robes. In his hands, he carried a ringed staff that jingled and lit up every time he took a step. The boy also had a single black line running through his pupils.
“Just thinking,” Daniel said, surprised at how young he sounded.
He wished for a mirror, but lacking the option, he could only look down. Subconsciously, he was gripping the same staff the other teen had. Except, his left hand, which held the staff, was a deep shade of black. He tried to move it to no avail.
“About what? Don’t tell me you’re worried about the rite - you’re the best in class.”
“Even the best can worry sometimes,” Daniel said, unsure of how arrogant he should be.
“We’ve gone over this a thousand times, and I bet she’ll do it again. Only the stupid Kel trainees die in the darkness,” his “friend” commented, which only made Daniel’s anxiety spike.
“Then again, you have your past with the darkness,” the boy grimaced, and then shut up as Kel’Tharia glanced at them.
Once again, he found himself looking around. There were ten different teens here, including him. All of them were mutated, for the lack of a better term, in one way or the other, though none had an entire body part turn black like his. He wondered what this body’s story was.
“We’ll be stepping off the Virmenia road here. Clasp your staves tight and watch out for your fellow apprentices. No one shall die under my watch.”
With that said, she clasped her palms together, capturing a glimmer of white light between them. As Kel’Tharia passed between the statues, the tentacles shrieked and recoiled from her as if she were the devil herself. Where she went, she left behind a trail of light, illuminating the path for any behind her.