Whispers of A Dead Empire

Chapter 18

In all directions, the darkness seemed to stretch endlessly around me. So this was my inner self? How do I go deeper? Maybe I should use my mind and try to press down. As I exerted my mental influence, the surrounding darkness warped and shift.

Come on already, give. The darkness visibly bulged before it shattered like glass, revealing a small island that bobbed gently on the air. On each side, a vast blue horizon stretched in every direction. Coming from the bottom of the island was a thin, steady stream of glowing blue liquid. I wish I could say it was something like a magnificent waterfall, but it was more like a leaky pipe. Big enough to know it's there, but nothing else.

As I gazed at this place, it made me wonder what it was. It was just a small island floating in my subconscious with magical-looking water. It looked lonely to be here, yet the surrounding air seemed to be filled with a tangible presence. But I knew that this wasn't deep enough. I closed my eyes and pushed down again, and the world warped as gravity wrapped its tendrils around me once more.

The horizon shifted from light blue to deep, powerful orange. In the center of a boundless space sat a small rock platform. The platform's edges looked to be worn away and chipped from the constant barrage of orange bolts that struck its surface. Streaks of crimson energy shot through the sky, and small globs of blood orange liquid floated through the air. If I had to guess, I'm guessing the realm before was something involving mana and magic. This would be a Qi realm, guessing by the mystical orange color.

That would also mean that this still wasn't deep enough. I looked around once more before I pushed down. This time it fought me, pushing back with all of its might. This world belongs to me, and it would not keep me out. I clenched my teeth and pushed with every fiber of my being before the realm warped once more, and gravity pulled me down.

The sky shifted to a ghostly grey, and in front of me was a ball of glowing white power that was in roughly the shape of a female. So this was my soul. I reached out, and my fingers brushed across the surface. The power clung to my fingertips like syrup, yet it felt like a feather. So this was what he meant when he said it was malleable. I would have to break a piece away and move it to my phone to complete this process.

I dropped my hand away and looked at the surrounding area. There was a ruined fountain next to me, and in front of my soul was the familiar sight of my phone. Black shapes were moving in the distance, and one sat in front of me.

So I could only see shapes through the darkness. Was this a spirit form then? One that allowed me to interact with everything? That would be the thing that makes the most sense or at least one that I could understand. Alright, now, let's get this over with then, shall we?

I reached out and grabbed a piece of my soul. The bits of energy wrapped around my fingers, and I yanked it back. It stretched out, and I felt my body protest as a pain, unlike anything that I ever felt before coursed through my spirit form. It felt like something was on the verge of being shattered and a primal fear coursed through me, a fear that threatened to take over my body.

But I would not yield; I refused to back down from what I was about to do, no matter how wrong it felt or how bad it hurt. I started this, and I swear by whatever gods exist, I would complete it. I pulled again, and my soul gave way, and a piece pulled out.

This action instantly magnified whatever pain that I felt before, and I dropped to my knees. Molted lave poured through my veins as I felt the sphere in my chest shatter. My vision greyed for a moment, but I refused to yield. I stood up, and my spirit form groaned in protest. The sphere in front of me recoiled and shrank down, hiding away the hole that I just tore out.

My vision blurred again as the pain throbbed with the intensity of a jackhammer, and I stumbled as I tried to take a step forward towards my phone. I shoved down the oscillating pain as I reached out and grabbed my phone. My spectral hand gripped it and with my free hand, I pushed my soul into it. For a moment, the screen lit up as the power seeped into it before it began to melt down. As this happened, the pain grew like a tsunami inside of me and chased away the grey haze, my vision shifted and I found myself back into my body, where the pain was further magnified.

I reached out and stuck my hand into the mass of melting material, and it quickly conformed to the shape of my right hand. But just as I did it, the smell of burning flesh filled my nostrils, and the resulting pain helped dull the edge of everything else.

But I was at my limit, the pain was driving me mad, and my vision was slowly fading, and my body refused to respond anymore. Hopefully, that was all I needed to do. I fell forward, and a pair of icy hands caught me and set me gently down as I began to lose all sensation.

You have lost the ability to manipulate mana. All stats related to mana have now been removed. You have gained the Will sub stat and the soul bar.

Will: determines the strength of your soul and resistances to skills that affect it. It also affects soul regeneration.

Titles Earned:

Force of Will: You have ripped a piece of your soul out and transmuted it into an item that is now soul bound to you. You have taken the first step into this branch of power. The question is, how far can you take it?

+3 will.

Pain Unrelenting: You have felt a pain that gnaws at the very psyche of a living being and kept your sanity. Good job.

-Grants you level two in the pain resistance passive

Congratulations! You have fully unlocked the Soul Catalyzation class line! You now have one milestone point! You have also unlocked five stat points as well. Please use this milestone point to determine the path you wish to walk. You can choose more than one specific path at each class milestone.

My tired eyes read over the text that assaulted my vision relentlessly. My head throbbed, and my body ached in ways that I have never experienced. I really didn't want to deal with this right now, but there was no other option to escape from this set of god-forsaken menus. Fine, then let's see what you have to offer.

D.P.S: You value overwhelming damage over anything else. You have no regard for protection and only wish to overwhelm your foes.

Utility: You value tampering with groups of opponents through the use of A.O.E. abilities and various forms of CC.

Support: You bring more to the table than just damage and crowd control. You heal your allies while keeping your opponents on edge.

Guardian: You trade your damage for the defense of yourself and others.

Hybrid: Instead of sacrificing one for the other, you instead have dabbled in everything—a jack of all trades, a master of none.

I read through the list and wiped away a few of the tears that were crawling down my cheek from reading the overly bright words. I instantly knocked off the D.P.S. and the Guardian option. Neither really seemed to fit me. After reading this list, I think the best option for me would be the hybrid milestone. Besides, once I hit my first milestone, I can pick another, so It wasn't too big of a loss. I confirmed Hybrid, and the screen blinked away allowing my vision to be free once more.