Over the next hundred years, Kai and Viridya would awaken occasionally. Each time, the agony of her shattered body and missing spark fractured her sanity further. Kai, bound to her soul, felt every ounce of her suffering. He tried everything to endure the pain, every method, every trick, but nothing worked.

  The only moments of peace came when Viridya’s mind drifted into delirium. In those fleeting intervals, Kai found respite.

  And so, the torment continued. Slowly, Kai’s mind and soul adapted. His pain tolerance grew beyond measure, and with it, a strange clarity. He could remain perfectly calm even as waves of excruciating pain surged through him.

  He lost track of time. The outside world faded from memory. All he knew was pain, and he had made peace with it.

  Then, one day, Viridya opened her eyes.

  Light flooded Kai’s senses for the first time in what felt like eternity.

  He saw the familiar glass tank, filled with deep blue liquid, countless tubes snaking into Viridya’s body. Around them, a vast laboratory buzzed with magetech devices. Containers lined the walls, each holding strange beasts and test subjects.

  From every creature, a black liquid dripped slowly into vials of viscous darkness.

  Then he saw them, the Soul Forgers. Clad in blue robes etched with golden glyphs, they worked tirelessly, grafting body parts onto various subjects.

  “This is going great!” one exclaimed. “Ever since we found this body, our research has grown beyond expectation.”

  Another added, “Luckily, our soul servant tested the liquid by accident when we sent him to retrieve the body. Who knew that even touching the blood would awaken the abilities of the soul we merged into him? Truly a stroke of luck.”

  A smaller figure, her voice unmistakably feminine, chimed in, “With this, we’ll create something truly new. Our soul magic, combined with this gift of blood, we’ll forge the strongest beings Sacra has ever seen!”

  They all cheered.

  Viridya stirred, ready to strike, but before she could act, consciousness slipped away once more.

  ***

  Like that, they would awaken here and there, each time witnessing more advanced monsters serving the Forgers. Until one day, as Viridya opened her eyes in a haze of delirium, she saw it.

  A Thalunid's body, desecrated by their experiments.

  Two extra arms had been crudely grafted onto it, ripped from some other humanoid. A serpentine tail was etched into its back, and in a gaping cavity in its chest, a still-beating lizard heart pulsed, stolen from the corpse on the adjacent table.

  “This body is incredible,” a small, womanly figure giggled. “It’s been dead for years, yet it’s still in such good shape. Once we add a soul and a bit of blood... haha. It’s going to be powerful. I can feel it.”

  “Exactly what we need,” a deeper voice replied. “He’ll be our strongest creation yet. Soon, all of Eastsun will bow to us. We’ve already taken more than half.”

  Viridya tried to scream, to open her mouth, to widen her eyes, but she was too weak. Kai, within her, felt a different kind of pain this time. The pain of a parent watching their child defiled. She fought to stay conscious, watching in horror as the Forgers continued their work.

  They inserted a patchwork of souls into the body, then sealed it inside a containment chamber. As the doors shut, green blood flooded the tank, seeping into the corpse as if returning home.

  The body drank in the blood greedily. Its mismatched parts began to fuse. Then, the soul screamed, a bloodcurdling cry that echoed through the facility.

  The container shattered.

  The Forgers laughed, shouting in unison, “Soul Chains, bind this creature to the will of its makers!”

  A grey, mist-like mana surged toward the creature, transforming into ethereal chains that sank into its flesh. The moment they latched onto its soul, the creature froze. Its gaze turned blank.

  “Good soldier,” one of them praised. “You shall be our commander in the war.”

  “Look at its body,” the woman whispered in awe. “The green blood flows through its veins. The compatibility rate is beyond anything we’ve ever seen.”

  But then, a thunderous scream echoed from the southern hall.

  “What was that? Did something escape?” one asked, turning, only to see a half-broken body of a woman slamming against the glass.

  “She’s awake! How is this possible? I thought she was dead!” the woman shrieked in terror.

  The gaze of the woman in the tank burned with rage and madness.

  “You... YOU! YOU DARE!”

  Viridya’s mind was completely shattered at the sight of her child defiled and enslaved.

  “Die! You all need to die! Haha! I’ll make sure you suffer!”

  She summoned what little divine mana she had left, drawing on the power of her blood. As she thrashed in the tank, every creature in the facility turned its head toward the laboratory. Their eyes glowed green.

  “All children made of my blood,” she roared, “hear me! I use the last of my divinity to command you to erase these abominations!”

  Kai, too, succumbed to the will of the goddess. He roared with her, his mind remembering the wishes of his Second Circle, its will for destruction and slaughter. He embraced the madness.

  Together, they screamed: “KILL!”

  The Thalunid monstrosity shrieked as if the vestiges of its old soul awakened. A Silver Eclipse Body activated, cloaking it in white mana.

  Now unstoppable, the creature tore through the Soul Forgers. With each strike, a blue-robed figure fell.

  The others screamed, trying to flee, but there was no escape.

  Viridya laughed, cheering the creature on. “Go, my children! End this charade called life!”

  Kai, dazed but calm, watched the carnage unfold, unbothered.

  On the surface, the other creations went wild, slaughtering everything that moved, even their own kind.

  That day became known as the end of the Soultek Empire. Its buildings were razed, its people slaughtered, its creations destroyed.

  When the Zenith Empire heard the news, they sent their strongest mages. The capital was wiped from existence. In its place remained only a vast canyon and a dead land.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  A land that would stay destroyed as a reminder for all ages, known as the Dead Lands of the south.

  ***

  Within the laboratory, once the Thalunid had slaughtered every last Forger, it ended its own life, leaving Viridya alone, floating in silence for years.

  Kai eventually regained his composure. It had taken time, years, perhaps, but he finally felt like himself again. Or at least, someone close to who he used to be. The bloodlust and grief had consumed him so completely that he questioned whether he could ever trust himself again.

  Hopefully, this will help me remember what it feels like to lose oneself completely, he thought. She was once such a kind goddess... and look at what became of her. Damn that Luminarius bastard. If I ever get the chance, I’ll shatter his Divine Spark as he did to her.

  He didn’t know if the thirst for revenge was his own or Viridya’s. But it didn’t matter. She was part of him now, and he of her. She had given him her mana, and in return, he would repay her debts twofold.

  As time passed, others eventually discovered the ruined laboratory. They tried to replicate the Forgers’ work, creating their own abominations.

  Viridya could no longer influence them. She had spent every last drop of her power in that final act of defiance.

  She watched them with scorn, cursing them, mocking them when they returned, defeated and broken.

  Eventually, the nations of Sacra outlawed Soul Forging entirely. Those who practiced the forbidden art were hunted down without mercy.

  And slowly, Viridya fell into slumber.

  Kai’s mind, at last, separated from hers.

  He felt as though he was floating, drifting out of a long, terrible dream. But just as he began to awaken, something stirred within his inner world.

  His Hydragon twitched.

  Its third eye opened.

  Waves of grey mana surged outward, and Kai’s consciousness was pulled into another dream.

  ***

  In the outside world, three months have passed since Kai fell into a deep sleep.

  Now, Nerva was organizing a small sparring competition to evaluate the progress of Kran, Lucius, and Lisa. A friendly contest was about to begin.

  “Alright, everyone! First match: Kran versus Lucius. Second match: Lisa versus Harrietta, who may only use her spirit,” Nerva announced, his voice carrying across the improvised training grounds he had set up months ago on the outskirts of the village.

  The crowd of villagers gathered, buzzing with excitement.

  “You got this, Kran!” Thorpe shouted.

  “Kick his ass, pretty boy!” Bjorn cheered for Lucius. The two had grown surprisingly friendly over time. Bjorn had taken it upon himself to teach Lucius how to fight; he had far more experience than the once-sheltered noble.

  Lucius had learned a hard truth: he wasn’t above anyone. Day by day, he watched villagers and warriors excel in ways he never had. His respect for the so-called 'peasants' grew, and his thinking began to shift, for the better.

  “Whenever you’re ready!” Nerva called out to the two boys.

  “I hope you can handle my speed,” Kran chuckled, wind mana swirling around him as he dashed forward like an arrow.

  Lucius’s armor shimmered as he whispered, “Radiant Guard.” His shield glowed with brilliant light mana, forming an ethereal shining shield around him. His ability to cast light barriers had evolved under the guidance of Scry and Liliya.

  Kran leaped into the air, descending with a powerful leg chop. Wind mana sliced through the air as he crashed into Lucius’s shield.

  The barrier vibrated but held.

  Kran flipped backward, landing gracefully and locking eyes with Lucius.

  From the sidelines, Eira shouted, “What did I teach you? Don’t disappoint me!”

  She had been training Kran personally, and the two had grown close. Eira had shed her quiet shell, her true personality now shining through. Beneath her icy exterior was a fiery spirit, always ready with a tease or challenge for Kran.

  Harrietta and Hansen truly liked Eira, as did the villagers. She helped wherever she could, even taking time to train the Frontier’s guards and fighters. Her presence had become a quiet pillar of strength in the community.

  “Yeah, yeah. I was just testing him,” Kran smirked, his confidence soaring lately.

  He released more of his mana and shouted, “Greywind Pack!”

  Wind mana burst from his body, forming five swirling orbs that popped into existence and morphed into a pack of wolves, each one made of pure wind energy.

  Gasps and cheers erupted from the crowd.

  Arama, seated on a stone wall nearby, mused aloud, “He awakened the bloodline ability of a Greywind Wolf. Legends say he could summon hundreds of wolves to hunt with him. It’s a shame he vanished...” He sighed. Even the strong could fall easily in this world.

  Kran lunged at Lucius, his wind wolves flanking him, mirroring his every move. He slashed at Lucius’s shield with clawed hands while the wolves attacked from all sides, pushing the radiant barrier to its limits.

  Lucius, realizing he was being overwhelmed, activated a skill he had developed for moments like this.

  He charged mana into his mace and slammed it into the ground. “Holy Ground!”

  Light mana surged outward, forming a glowing circle etched with radiant runes. A pillar of light erupted from its center, disintegrating the wolves and forcing Kran to leap back, his fur singed.

  “Hey, watch it! That was dangerous!” Kran complained.

  But Lucius didn’t give him time to recover. He charged forward, shield positioned in front of him and mana swirling around him. His shield gleamed like the sun.

  “Haha! You think I’ll just stand here and take it? Dream on!” Kran laughed, preparing to leap, until he heard:

  “Saint’s Bindings!”

  Holy chains materialized, wrapping around Kran and locking him in place.

  He struggled, growling. “Fine, fine. You asked for this!”

  Kran howled, his body expanding. Muscles bulged, his feet cracked the earth beneath him as he braced for impact.

  Lucius slammed into him like a meteor. Kran caught the shield with his claws, roaring as he held his ground. His mana spiraled outward, forming a whirlwind that weakened Lucius’s charge.

  Seeing his momentum falter, Lucius shifted his weight to the left, forcing Kran to lose his balance. He swung his mace toward the exposed side, toward Kran’s ribs.

  Seeing the attack, Kran grinned and didn’t defend; instead, he slashed with wind-infused claws toward Lucius’s face.

  “STOP!” Nerva shouted, leaping between them and separating the fighters with a single push.

  “It’s a sparring match! What the hell are you two doing?” He barked.

  The two boys released their mana, calming down.

  “Forgive me, Master. I was too focused, I lost myself,” Lucius bowed.

  “It was fun fighting him, so I got a bit wild,” Kran chuckled, until a frost-covered slap knocked him face-first into the dirt.

  “Who told you to use reckless tactics? Sacrificing your body just to land a hit? Idiot,” Eira scolded.

  She probably needed to spend less time around Harrietta. She was becoming more like her every day.

  Kran got up, brushing dirt off his face. “Yeah... I lost control. I still need more training.”

  “As long as you both understand,” Nerva said, his tone softening. “But you put on quite a show. You’ve both improved a lot. Good job. Now go clean yourselves up.”

  He turned to the crowd. “Next match, Lisa versus Harrietta!”

  The crowd erupted in cheers.?

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