Heroes Never Die ✓

Chapter 23 Soul Siphoning

"Oh? What could go wrong? Would your victim die? Lost a little bit of magic? I didn't think such minor things could affect, oh so all-powerful Emperor."

The sorcerer banged his hand at the bars. His skin was yellow and paper-thin, and his fingers twisted like claws. "How dare you mock me, foolish prey! We are talking about the Emperor's safety here! Any misstep, any error in the formula that separates the magic from the soul could lead to a complete and utter disaster!"

"Like what?" Gawyn asked mockingly. "The Emperor would get hiccups from too much soul he consumed?"

"Impertinent idiots!" the sorcerer shouted, spitting saliva all around him. "You have no idea how powerful and dangerous a resource the human soul is. Do you think I would go to all these troubles of siphoning the magic from it if one could just consume the whole soul?"

"Obviously not. Someone as smart as you had to have a good reason," Skylar said with a smile. Pulling the tongue of a proud scientist was a child's play. They all loved nothing more than blabbing out about their achievements.

"Of course not! If consuming the whole human soul was possible, the Emperor would rule the whole world for ages already. No, using the souls requires far more precision and finesse. Not many people can do this."

"What would happen if one consumed the whole soul?"

"They would die, most probably. There can't be two souls in one body, just like two bodies can't live on just one soul." Kadir looked at them and cackled. "As you've probably already noticed. Your bodies will fail sooner or later. Probably sooner, by the look of you." He cackled again so hard that it changed into a heavy coughing fit. They waited patiently while the sorcerer took a deep wheezing breath, wiped his mouth with his sleeve and then continued his lecture as if he never stopped. "It's the same the other way around. If you try to assimilate another soul, there is a high chance that the additional soul will try to take control of the body. The internal conflict may lead to severe damage to the body or even the host's death.

"And that's why you can't just let any novice do the procedure. On top of that, pure magic itself is a highly combustive substance. If you don't use proper solvents to make it safer, you can blow this whole thing up."

"Sounds like a risky thing to consume," Gawyn noted.

"It is not so if you supply it in small, safe dosages. Again, I created a perfect formula balancing the required power and the risk of unwanted... accidents. That's why I'm the only one who can proceed with this highly complicated task. The others here are degenerate fools. They would ruin all my hard work if I let them put even a foot in my laboratory. That they would!

"Oh, you made a wonderful audience, my dear preys, but it's high time for us to move on to work! Who wants to go first? I must admit I can't wait to see what your halved soul looks like. I've never seen anything like that!" he said with fanatical fervour. His yellow eyes seemed to glow even brighter. "The lady, perhaps?"

"No, start with me." Gawyn got up and gripped the iron bars.

The sorcerer cackled. "As you wish, dear prey. As you wish." He raised his hand, muttering under his breath, and Gawyn's body seized as if he stood at attention and floated half a foot above the ground. The robed man made another gesture and the barred doors opened with a soft click. He turned on his heel walking toward the table, Gawyn floating behind him helplessly.

Kadir walked to his alchemical tables while Gawyn's body was laid on the table and the leather bounds fastened around him. Only then was the spell bounding him dispersed, and he tensed his muscles and grunted, trying the strength of his bonds.

"No use to struggle now," the sorcerer said, coming to the table. He put a glass bulb full of yellow liquid on the small table with the utensils and picked up a scalpel. The silver blade gleamed in the dark. "Do you know how to extract the soul from the living human body?" he asked conversationally.