The dim lighting in the room only served to further intensify the eerie terror of the creature attached to the raw flesh of the man laying on the ground.
Calio grimaced. An instinctual sense of repulsion filled every inch of his body.
.
"Beyond existing in the physical world, it also had a hold on the soul, so it seems." Cain muttered.
"A soul parasite..." Blaze said with a frown.
Cain nodded, "Getting rid of it has to be done both physically and on the psyche."
"Well that's a problem." Steve said with a chuckle.
He turned around and stared at the others,
"Do any of you know how to perform an operation on the soul? Because I sure as hell have no idea how."
Calio grimaced, "How does one even make contact with a soul in the first place? It isn't sothing physical that can be touched, is it?"
Cain frowned, 'It also isn't sothing that can be sensed with {Spirit Sense} like the Spirit.'
The three parts of every living being; the body, the spirit, and the soul, each a fundantal part. One could not exist without the other two.
Staring at the flat wriggling mass attached to the bloody spinal plates, Steve's expression turned dark,
"Trying to take it out normally will not only doom this guy, but it will also alert whatever hive mind is behind these things. We should proceed with caution."
After saying that, he pulled a small container filled with an amber liquid. Within the liquid was a strange eye floating around.
Closing his eyes, Steve murmured an incantation under his breath.
With his other hand, he etched a strange sigil onto the container. It glowed for a mont, then vanished into it.
Seconds later, the amber liquid's hue changed, turning from vibrant to a viscous black.
Without wasting ti, Steve uncorked the bottle and poured the viscous liquid onto the open wound.
The mont it touched his flesh, it sizzled, solidifying monts later.
Once he as done, Steve let out a sigh,
"What was that about?" Blaze asked with a raised brow.
Steve grimaced,
"We can't allow the wound to get infected. More importantly, we can't allow ourselves to get infected. Who knows how the hell these things spread. It might release airborne spores that could infect any of us. I'd rather not take any chances."
Calio shivered and covered his nose, a look of horror on his face.
Cain rolled his eyes and plopped down to the ground.
Staring at the three unconscious hosts, Cain decided to consult a higher power.
'System... How does one touch the soul?'
{Replying to Host: The Soul is an abstract entity that is a part of being that possessed life. While a creature might not have a body, or a spirit, all creatures possess a soul. It is mind, and essence. The psyche, and the bond between the physical and spiritual realms}.
{It does not exist in any realm, but a realm of its own}.
{To touch the soul, a being must first access its 'Sea of Consciousness'}.
Cain frowned.
He believed he had been to this legendary 'Sea of Consciousness' before. That dark ocean Ashur had descended into.
'Could it be that place?' he thought to himself.
'How do I access the Sea of Consciousness?'
{Replying to Host: Before one can access the Sea of Consciousness, one must first sense Soul Essence. Sensing Soil Essence is impossible for a vast majority of living beings, especially those who are not born with the characteristics of organs that facilitate this already}.
'Sensing Soul Essence... Is it similar to sensing Spirit Essence?'
{Replying to Host: Negative. The characteristics of Spirit and Soul are intrinsically distinct from one another. Sensing the Essence of Soul is similar to seeing sothing that does not exist}.
Cain felt the urge to smash his head against a wall.
'Then why do {Phantasm} and these {Parasyte Soulfiend} seem to have such a field day with it?!'
{Replying to Host: These Devil beings have had millions upon millions of years to evolve these characteristics. Their souls are also as old as the passage of ti itself. Sensing and cultivating Soil Essence is second nature to them. The only beings with equivalent souls would be beings of the Celestial race and a few of the dark things that dwell in the empty void}.
Cain frowned, 'In other words, there is no hope of every sensing this Soil Essence?'
{Replying to Host: Not quite. But the odds are very low, as the host is a human primarily, and humans do not have particularly special or powerful souls}.
'I see. In utehr words, this is a challenge.' Cain thought.
A smile slowly crept up his face.
'Since the system isn't useful right now, I might as well seek my answers elsewhere.'
He pulled a strange device out of his inventory.
Steve threw him a curious glance,
"What is that?"
Cain thought about it, then smiled strangely,
"It's a phone. One with a direct line to a Demon."
Steve smiled and nodded, "I see. Looks like I am not the only one making deals with strange eldritch nightmare entities and horrors. How reassuring..."
Cain ignored Steve for the ti being and channelled his mana into it.
There was a brief mont of delay, but the connection was eventually made.
Staring at the dark screen, Cain was a bit unsure of the connection had actually been successful.
Fortunately, or rather, unfortunately, a loud, shrill noise that resembled a thousand undying souls released from the underworld filled the room.
Blood burst out of all their orifices, forcing every one of them to their knees.
Cain let out a pained groan as he reached for the communicator he had dropped.
Just before his fingers could reach it, the noise stopped.
Then a sigh ca from the other side,
"That was close. You really pick the worst tis to make your calls, don't you?"
The familiar, egotistical voice ca from the other side, although it did sound a bit tired.
Cain gritted his teeth,
"Azazel, you bastard! Are you trying to get killed?"
"Hey, aren't you the one that keeps calling ? Don't put this on ."
Cain wiped the blood off his face.
He looked around, and while the others had been affected, luckily, it wasn't anything too serious.
Cain sighed, then turned back to the communicator. Although the magic device also had a visual display that projected out a holographic screen, for so reason, he wasn't able to see anything.
"What in all the realms are you doing?" Cain couldn't help but ask.
Azazel chuckled, "That, is not for you to know. Sothings are better left to the imagination. Now, speak. I have no ti to waste."
Although Azazel spoke with the sa casual tone and playfulness, Cain couldn't help but sense the slight urgency as well.
Cain steeled his mind, then he asked,
"I want to know; how can I sense Soul Essence?"
There was a brief pausefrom the other end, which was followed by a wry chuckle,
"Human, don't you think you are being a bit greedy here?"
Cain raised a brow, "And what does that an?"
Azazel snorted, "For a human, you are very talented, Cain. Your affinity with Mana, Ki, and Spirit, and is frightening. You also have that strange energy of yours too. I'm all for being a jack of all trades, but you see to forget sothing. All these energy sources require a certain form of cultivation to grow."
Azazel paused for a mont. There was a strange squeal and shrieks sound that followed. Cain grimaced, but was thankful it was nowhere near as terrible as the previous one.
Azazel's voice ca a mont later,
"Your mana pool grows fairly passively, and while Ki does take a bit more effort to grow, it isn't as tasking. Working on your Spirit Cultivation is where things get a bit tricky. There's also that steange energy source within you. Frankly, I'd say adding Soul Arts to the mix is not sothing I would recomnd."
"Is it that bad?" Cain asked curiously.
Azazel humd in affirmation,
"There are worse things, but it could bear down on you, stunt your growth, as you progress further. It becos rare to encounter soone with the talent to keep up with so many things all at once."
Cain shook his head,
"If that's all you are concerned about, then do not worry. I can handle it."
With {Spirit Weaver}, he didn't need to worry about growing the power of his spirit. His spirit was constantly growing everyday thanks to this passive skill. {Golden Wyrm: Asura} and {Black Dragon of Crimson Sky} were two skills that allowed him to both create and utilize Demon Matter. They were also like {Spirit Weaver} in the sense that he no longer needed to make conscious efforts to increase his reserves.
Of course, both were just passive incrents, and their effects would not be as grand as of he made conscious efforts.
But the more powerful he grew, the more the potency of the skills, and the quicker his rate of advancent would be.
Azazel was silent.
"Alright."
Cain raised a brow in surprise,
"That's it?"
He frowned. Sothing felt off.
Azazel chuckled, "Surprised I agreed so easily? Well, I have faith in your potential. Don't read into it too much."
There was another mont of silence.
Then Azazel spoke again,
"You need a Soul Art to even begin sensing Soil Essence. Knowing your circumstances, you might have already been to your Sea of Consciousness a few tis already, albeit unknowingly. But that doesn't matter now does it?"
He cleared his throat,
"Listen carefully. There are three steps involved with using Soul Arts; ditation, Sensing, and Refining."
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