The white expanse of the Soul Space seed to ripple as Crul adjusted her explanation, her eyes becoming twin pools of cold, infinite data.
[Master. The harvest of passive energy is a slow, tedious path. You possess a far more direct—and dangerous—thod. You can now devour life itself. Just as you did with the hatchlings in the cavern, the Void within you is the ultimate adversary of all living things. It does not simply kill; it erases and assimilates. ]
Ethan looked at his hand, where the phantom ink of the black spirals seed to pulse even here in his mind. "I can devour anything?"
[ Anything that breathes, anything that possesses a soul, ] Crul replied, her voice dropping to a haunting, lodic register. [ The more powerful the being, the more concentrated the spiritual essence you will gain. Your Void lineage acts as the vessel, unrestricted by the laws of this world, allowing your power to swell without limit. However... you must be selective. ]
Ethan’s brow furrowed. "Selective? If I can eat everything, why hold back?"
[ Because of the Scales of the Universe, ] Crul said, her form shimring as if the very air was growing heavy. [ You must not consu the lesser beings—the weak, the innocent, the many. If you devour those beneath your station without cause, you will accumulate Karma. ]
"Karma?" Ethan asked, a dry chuckle escaping his lips. "I thought that was just a story for monks and beggars."
[ It is the asure of the soul’s debt to existence, Master, ] Crul explained, walking a slow circle around the trembling, miniature Worm Queen. [ A spiritual beast that kills to survive feels no Karma; its heart knows no malice, only the chanical necessity of life. But a sentient being who slaughters for sport, or who consus more than they need to grow, creates a ripple in the fabric of reality. If you accumulate too much, the World itself will demand paynt. It may co as a Heavenly Tribulation... or sothing far worse. ]
Ethan felt a cold chill settle in his chest. "And you can’t tell what that ’sothing worse’ is, can you?"
[ I cannot speak of the Final Judgnts of the Karma Laws, ] Crul said, her voice briefly flickering with that terrifying celestial static. [ But know this: The Void is a hungry master. If you do not feed it with powerful, worthy souls, it will eventually turn its hunger inward, toward your own sanity. You must hunt the strong to remain human. ]
Ethan looked at the little Queen. She was a "worthy" soul—a high-tier beast that had lived for eons. By sparing her and binding her, he had avoided a massive karmic debt, turning a slaughter into a pact.
"So, I’m a predator with a moral compass," Ethan muttered, his Athyst eyes reflecting the infinite white of his soul. "A king who only eats other kings."
[ Precisely, ] Crul whispered. [ Now, Master, it is ti to return.]
The white light began to fracture. Ethan felt the weight of the Matriarch return to his arms and the heavy, humid air of the cavern fill his lungs once more.
Ethan looked at the massive, trembling form of the Worm Queen. "Crul, how do I get her out of here? The barrier is still active, and she’s the size of a skyscraper."
[ It is complex, Master. The ’Two-Headed Dragon’ matrix is designed to trap her specifically. But since she is now bound to your soul, and the ’Void Orb’ she was ant to guard has been assimilated, the matrix’s primary directive is void. We could dismantle the array from its core and let her erge. ]
"Let’s do it," Ethan said. He glanced back at the now-empty, dry basin that once held the azure nectar. He tapped his comms. "Extraction complete. Pull the line. All units, reel in the hoses and clear the main radius. I’m coming up in a mont."
Above, the massive heavy-duty automated winches began to groan, their high-torque motors spinning as they coiled the reinforced hoses back toward the surface drones.
Following Crul’s precise ntal markers, Ethan moved toward the center of the containnt chamber. Hidden beneath a layer of ancient sedint sat the base of the matrix—eight obsidian pillars pulsing with a rhythmic, violent crimson power.
[ Touch the central pedestal, Master, ] Crul instructed.
As Ethan’s palm t the cold stone, Crul channeled his energy, emitting a high-frequency Athyst pulse that resonated with the ancient seal. "Master, brace yourself."
Suddenly, Ethan felt a violent tugging at his hand. The black spiral patterns erupted from the obsidian ring once more, but this ti they acted as conduits. The crimson light of the barrier was forcibly siphoned into his body. He felt a surge of energy so massive he thought he might detonate. His Spirit Collapse-stage body groaned under the pressure, but his newly hardened flesh held firm.
[ Guide the energy to your lower dantian! ] Crul’s voice was urgent. [ This is the mont to forge the foundation. Generate the Spirit Core Embryo! ]
Ethan gritted his teeth, his vision turning white as the raw power of the ancient array flooded into him like a bottomless well. Deep within his abdon, a tiny, glowing seed the size of a fingernail appeared, rotating slowly in a sea of violet and black energy. When the last of the red light vanished, the pressure subsided.
[ Fortune smiles upon you, Master, ] Crul whispered. [ Your physical vessel and your spiritual sea have reached equilibrium. You are now a Half-Step Spirit Core cultivator. In this realm, you are truly invincible. ]
Ethan let out a breath that crackled with static. Previously, he had feared unleashing his full power, terrified of draining his reserves and collapsing. But now? He felt as if he had just finished a divine feast.
"I’ve never felt... this alive," Ethan muttered.
He unleashed all his new power. Colossal bolts of violet lightning erupted from his skin, arcing across the cavern walls. The Worm Queen, sensing the terrifying surge, didn’t wait for an order; she turned and bolted toward the surface tunnels in a frantic crawl, fleeing for her life. Behind her, the lightning chased her like hungry serpents.
Ethan threw his head back and roared. The sensation was overwhelming—a total ecstasy that felt sexual, ntal, and physical all at once. It was a climax of the soul. In his state of pure euphoria, he pointed a finger upward.
"THUNDERFALL!"
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