The blood clouds began growing darker as sothing erged from within them. It was so far that Diana could not recognize their shapes, but she could tell that whatever was coming was bad. She picked up the stone statue and made a run for it.
"Where should I go?" Diana asked the spirit in panic.
"A place as far away from here as possible," the spirit said. "As long as you don't use spiritual energy, they can't find you. Go north from here."
"And how can I tell north?"
"The sun here is always to the west. Use that, and run as fast as you can!" the spirit urged her. Diana bolted across the sandy dunes, her loose pants and shirt proving a great choice. If she had picked a dress, it would have hindered her mobility.
Diana ran without looking back as the low rumble approached. Her heart hamred in her chest as the sound grew louder. It was only when the noise grew distant that she dared to look back.
"It stopped?" Diana muttered, staring at the distant dark clouds.
"They are searching for you in our earlier location," the spirit answered from Diana's embrace. "If we were just a second late, it would have been disastrous. You shouldn't have used spiritual energy so carelessly."
"What else can I use in this godforsaken world?" Diana asked, her expression tired as she collapsed, panting. The statue fell into the sand as its ruby eyes studied her.
"What?"
"You have an alarming pool of spiritual energy. You said you were a demi-human?"
"And what about it?"
"Demi-humans have the least spiritual energy among all races," said the feminine voice in her mind as Diana furrowed her brows. "They rely so much on their genetic traits that they neglect the use of their mana."
"What does mana have to do with spiritual energy?"
"Albeit separate, mana is the crude thod of growing a soul. Consider the body a vessel and the soul the fluid that fills it. Mana helps the vessel grow to hold more spiritual energy, which lets the soul grow when encountering life-and-death situations."
"You an that's the concept behind the Level-Up Legacy?"
"I have no idea what that is," the spirit answered.
"I an… that's the reason fights help us grow?" Diana rephrased.
"Precisely. It lets the soul grow and pushes the body to grow with it. Having an abundance of spiritual energy but not a strong enough vessel is what seekers call 'potential.' It ans your body will grow in tis and ways you need it."
"That makes so sense," Diana said, panting on the sand. "Where do we go now?"
"There is nowhere to go," said the spirit. "You must survive long enough to see the fall of the person who brought you here. We call him Vharos, a na that ans 'the stealer.'"
"We just wait for his fall? We can't fight him?" Diana asked in confusion as she turned. Her silky blond hair spread like water on the sand. "I don't like passive approaches."
"Passive ans safe," the statue said. "If you want to be caught and turned into a hollow shell, then be my guest. Otherwise, we have no choice but to stay low and hope we aren't found."
"There must be others out there," Diana said as she pushed herself upward, refusing to listen to the spirit. "If I can find them and form a team, we might stand a chance."
"A team of what? You have no abilities, and your control over spiritual energy is pathetic," said the spirit. "I can teach you how to fight using it, but it will take a long ti and so calculated risks. If we are found because of our training, we'll be as good as dead."
"You're rather pessimistic for a spirit," Diana said with amusent as she looked at the owl. "It sounds like you tried sothing similar."
"…I did," said the spirit. "I worked with seekers, feeding on their spiritual energy to fight alongside them. We all did—a group of spirits captured by Vharos."
"And what happened?"
"People make mistakes based on emotions. We were found, and everything fell apart, including my comrades. I was the only one to escape, but it wasn't long before I turned to stone because I had no spiritual energy."
"Do you not have spiritual energy of your own?"
"Spirits are constructs of spiritual energy. That question is similar to asking you if you don't have excess flesh you can chop off and eat," the owl answered. "Our realm is filled with energy. We cannot exist in physical realms without a contract."
"I understand," Diana said with a nod. "I'm still going to seek others and try to defeat Vharos. You can either co with or sit here and wait for your doom."
"…You are an unreasonable woman," said the spirit. "But you will die alone, and I don't abandon my benefactors. Take with you, and I will guide you to others."
"Great. What's your na?"
"The na is Athos, Spirit of Knowledge."
"Nice to et you, Athos. My na is Diana."
"I am aware," said Athos as it studied Diana. "Are you going to tell how you managed to assimilate that amount of spiritual energy despite being a demi-human?"
"I encased myself in spiritual ice that let gather it to survive," Diana said as she picked up the stone statue. "And then I spent one hundred and fifty years inside it."
"…What reason would any sane person do that for?" asked Athos as Diana picked it up with a grin.
"For love, of course."
***
Arthur and Tiara stood inside the Waking Glade within the Temple of Awakening. The Gatekeeper in front of them had just told them about the imminent war awaiting the Spirits Realm.
"A war against who?" asked Tiara, but Arthur already knew the answer.
"Against Devaheim," Arthur said before the gatekeeper could. "It seems they've realized that the Spirits Realm is an obstacle and a weakness to them. They couldn't exert their influence here and resorted to using a borrowed knife."
"A borrowed knife indeed," the gatekeeper said, his deep voice resonating throughout the white temple. "That creature created a realm similar to ours, but one that is… different."
"Different how?" asked Tiara.
"A realm that is spiritual in nature, but the exact opposite of the Spirits Realm. Our realm works to support the physical world and enrich it with spiritual energy, whereas that realm does the exact opposite."
"…A pool for famine to grow before destroying the physical world," Arthur realized with a frown. "The fallen prince is creating an incubator for both famine and envy to destroy everything. How do we get there?"
"The bridge between our realm and his was severed by none other than our sovereign. You must reach the final layer and seek his help."
"I know he can see right now, so why doesn't he just bring us to his side like he did in the alternate tiline?" Arthur asked, his tone more questioning than confrontational.
"Our sovereign knows all, but there are obstacles," said the gatekeeper, shaking his head. "You might survive the transport to the highest realm, but your friend will not. Furthermore, he asks for your help in disposing of the abyssal armies you will find during your journey."
"I cannot waste any more ti," Arthur said with a frown, glaring at the gatekeeper. "My friends are in danger as we speak."
"We are aware," the gatekeeper said. "But you are still far from capable of saving them. Your journey to the highest layer is not a waste, but training for you. If you can master the use of your energy before you reach the highest layer… then he will let you enter that dinsion."
"And if I don't et his standards?"
"Then he refuses to watch as his friend destroys his soul," the gatekeeper answered. "This challenge is not without reason, dear seeker. It is an opportunity for you to grow once again—just another step to becoming capable of fighting against the gods."
Arthur was silent, but his wrath was evident in the flas leaking from his body. The temple beneath his feet shook and distorted as the flas touched it. The air around him began wrapping around itself in a vortex, threatening to open a hole inside the Spirits Realm.
"Your friend, the witch, is here as well in our world," said the gatekeeper to appease Arthur. It worked. Arthur's surprise made his wrath dissipate.
"I believe she is in the higher layers."
"Which one?" Arthur asked with a frown.
"I cannot—"
"Tell ," Arthur commanded, his voice overbearing. The gatekeeper paused, looking at Arthur with a troubled gaze. Arthur t his eyes with unbridled confidence and authority that the gatekeeper could not disobey.
"Your friend is in the Skyey Layer," the gatekeeper said. "She has been a guest in our world for a very long ti. Things have changed, and she beca an integral part of the Spirits Realm."
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