Soren could hear murmurs and whispers all around him. Blurred and gurgled as if he had been subrged underwater. Darkness flooded his surroundings, making it hard to see where he was.
The whispers were frequent and ca in all kinds of languages. Vinuan, Yasini, Dulvali… Even English, Spanish, Latin… As if both worlds were tugging at the fabric of his soul.
Amidst the chaos, he heard a familiar voice:
[Farewell, Lamb of this Era.]
Suddenly, the darkness around him shattered to pieces. He was now in the midst of skyborne clouds… An aurora borealis could be seen over his head—its vibrant colors highlighted by the twinkling of distant stars.
In the distance, he could see a colossal monunt. The clouds were orbiting it, as if unable to escape its grasp. Its gargantuan form went higher, as if aiming to pierce through the northern lights.
Mount Tolarion? The mont the words reached his mind, Soren felt the very strings holding up this distant dream crumble before his very eyes. He was lucid throughout the whole process, unlike before.
Raining down from the vibrant lights were blinking orbs that seed to follow the current of the orbiting clouds. As if they had been pulled by the sa attraction. He tried to swim through the air—to close the gap between him and the titanic summit covered in snow and ice. But nothing worked in the end.
He was once again pulled back to reality.
Soren awoke from his groggy dream, unable to move a muscle. The world around him remained dark, but he could tell he had been laying in so kind of bed. Past the hollow walls, he could hear the wind weeping its somber tunes, carrying its usual numbing chill.
Thank god there’s a blanket… He was thankful to whoever had taken care of him after he went unconscious. Judging by the fact that his entire body was tightly wrapped in bandages, it was most likely Myrin.
“Does this an the battle is over?”
“Perhaps it does,” a young sounding voice echoed in his mind. Soren’s eyes widened.
“Tazzith? Is that really you?!”
“The one and only,” He chuckled in His usual way.
There were many questions in his mind, but he decided to hold them back for now. “I honestly don’t know if I should be happy to hear your voice again or not.”
“As I would expect from my contractee. Ever so quip with their words.”
“You’re one to talk,” Soren rolled his eyes. “I heard from the Petalsword Sovereign that you had to deal with a lot in Yadria…”
“That damned thing told you about that?” The old demon didn’t seem surprised—only annoyed.
Soren tried to nod, but his body remained stiff.
“Interesting. I guess I wasn’t the only one that had an eventful few week… I can sense a strange anima coming from your Runic Existence. The anchor you placed upon is quivering.”
Soren’s lips curled up. “I finally obtained my second rune. Though, I still haven’t set up the Soul Alchemy ritual. I just awoke after being knocked unconscious.”
“Knocked unconscious?”
Soren sighed and explained to Him everything that had occurred while He was gone. He didn’t expect it to take so long.
“I still don’t know what happened to the village. But judging by how cold everything is, we should still be in the grand Hedra Plains…”
“So the Vynasians had this planned all along…” Soren could almost taste the excitent in His voice.
“During the Vynasian attack on the Subterranean Shunning Grounds, many of my fellow Daemons sided with them. But there were a few who managed to escape as well. I on the other hand, decided to join hands with the Fae spirits and the Yadrian forces to fight against them.
“I am sure you are already aware of my reasoning.”
Soren chuckled. “It was far too easy to know.”
The ancient demon sighed. “Even so, back then, I had theorized that maybe the Vynasians were only acting this way because they were planning sothing big. To think their goal was to completely neutralize Yadria’s defenses. The continent is once again going to usher in a Divine War.”
His words left Soren speechless. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t formulated a similar theory—the signs were fairly obvious. But to hear a confirmation from Tazzith of all people…
Stolen story; please report.
Frowning, he tried to pull himself up with everything he’s got. “I can’t sit around for much longer. There’s a lot left to do.
“I wonder where the others are right now… Are they safe? Did Isha survive?” His mories from those last few monts were fairly hazy. Overexerting his anima that much was prone to cause damage. Either way, the fact that he was still alive at all had to an they won… With the village barrier destroyed, the Blossom Sword Flower should have had no issue dealing with Elder Kaalan and the rest.
Speaking of Elder Kaalan…
Soren didn’t really know how to feel about him anymore. Not after what he had witnessed. After seeing the vision from Cassia’s mories as well as the information obtained from within the Beacon of Guidance, a very contradictory image began to form in his mind. One of self deception and cowardice. But also… guilt.
“Perhaps it's ti to check on that information again…” With that said, Soren gave the ntal command to his Soul Weapon. Fortunately, it was placed on the bed side table next to him. It quickly began to glow in a golden hue once again, levitating off the table and flipping through its own pages to find the information Soren had requested. It did not take long to do so:
Status
Na: Kaalan Ulatumal
Race: Human
Age: 76
Vocation: Ashen Guide & Hollow Devourer
Magi Rank: Arcanist (5th Circle)
Magi Affinities: Wards, Afflictions, Water
Soul Realm: Colors of Will (Unique) (Awakened Stage)
Soul Weapon: Warden of Ashes (Unique) (Tier 3)
Skills: [Soul Splitter], [Soul Possession], [Soul Speaker], [Wrath of the Dead], [Song of the Dead], [Resentnt Amplifier], [Cage of the Hungering]
Rune Collection: [Soul Graft] (1 Expression and 3 Insight), [Forgotten Choir] (4 Insight), [Ghoulforge] (4 Insight)
Reading the information, all Soren could do was sigh.
“I knew it…”
As strange as it may be, Soren was now sure of one thing: Elder Kaalan had two personalities. Or more specifically, two souls.
This was clear from the fact that his status page included two different vocations, hinting at the existence of two separate Runic Existences inhabiting the sa body…
What’s more, Soren was sure that these two souls did not like each other very much. Their behaviors seed contradictory—as if they disagreed vehently. He assud this was likely due to the Vynasians. One of the two souls—Hollow Devourer—decided to beco Fallen, but the other might have opposed that decision.
And this divergence seed to only grow more apparent after Cassia’s lie was told.
The lie twisted reality. It made the perpetrators of the heinous sin its victims. Kaalan was one such individual under its influence at the ti. But for that lie to co true, those being influenced had to also believe in that new reality… In that untruth.
Not only was the Beyond itself cleansed of the true history, but so too were the minds of those it affected. Their mories were erased—changed and twisted without them knowing. This was true for Cassia herself as well, who only rembered everything once the lie unraveled from Elder Kaalan’s words.
But for so reason, that miracle didn’t fully apply to Elder Kaalan… His mories were also twisted, but only half them… The other soul inhabiting the body retained its mories.
Soren had a lot of theories as to why this discrepancy occurred, but what truly mattered was its effects. Out of all the Fallen who had been massacring the village, he was the only one who managed to retain the truth… And unfortunately, the side that retained those mories wasn’t the Ashen Guide.
It was the Hollow Devourer. The one who had sided with the Vynasians from the start.
Despite this advantage, an issue still arose for this loneso Fallen. Elder Kaalan was unsure of how long it would last. After all, his other half which had its mories erased could still regain them—they were still sharing the sa body and mind… And if that happened, perhaps the untruth would once again try to influence their mories—this ti targeting him rather than his other half…
And so, the Hollow Devourer decided on a contingency plan: to place his other half—the Ashen Guide—inside the Beacon of Guidance using [Soul Possession]. By doing so, the risk of it regaining its mories would cease, retaining the lie placed upon the Nagashi Village.
What’s more, it also gave him the opportunity to utilize the limitless power of the Beacon of Guidance to his own advantage. Cassia’s miracle lie could have unraveled on its own. WIth ti, small discrepancies would pile up until it becos impossible for the Beyond not to self correct. But by casting the village barrier, that untruth remained in existence for decades longer—perhaps even centuries if Kaalan hadn’t unraveled it himself in the end.
The Ashen Guide must not have been fully aware… Not until the lie was unraveled. But he still knew that sothing was wrong.
Kaalan’s other half had faithfully remained to his role of managing the Village Barrier, unaware of its true purpose. Since his mories were erased, he had no longer even known what his sibling soul had beco.
And yet, over the span of fifty years, cracks had likely ford in that faith. It was likely due to this that Soren’s Heartdrinker Sigil was never taken forcibly. The Ashen Guide had been protecting him from his other half all along.
What’s more, the Hollow Devourer had no way of saying no to his other half, despite holding the advantage of retaining his own mories. The Village Barrier could only be maintained by the Ashen Guide, so opposing his other half on certain matters could risk unraveling Cassia’s lie before the Vynasians could finish what they were after.
“In the end, Elder Kaalan beca his own bane…”
Or perhaps, even the Hollow Devourer expected such an end. Soren couldn't really be certain.
“Tazzith, are you still there?”
He heard the usual voice reply back. “Indeed.”
“I have a question—it might seem strange. Where did you obtain the Abstract Rune that provides the Heartdrinker Sigil its [Ophidian Transfer] and [Ophidian Insight] abilities?”
“Oh, that?” He laughed. “I usurped it from an ancient Daemon spirit nad Nagashi. She was not very happy…”
“.....”
Soren was about to reply when he heard a knock on the door. He turned his neck painfully in the direction of the sound.
“You’re awake. How fortunate.” The sweet voice ca from a girl he couldn’t recognize. He couldn’t see anything in the dark.
“Welco, Soren Andersen.
“Welco to the Temple of the Stars.”
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