As deep night blanketed the Dead Lands and the broken castle, the duo trapped underground was finally ready to break through.

  “Are you ready? I’m at my limit, my back is killing me,” Kai groaned.

  “Are you an old man now? Well, sorry, Grandpa. My weak body needs more time than you fighters with your buff bodies,” Liliya teased.

  “So, you think I’m buff?” Kai smirked. They had grown much closer after spending hours trapped in such close quarters.

  “No, I think you’re an old, broken man,” she chuckled. “I’m ready. Once I cast the spell to protect us both, you’ve got that barrier spell, right? Cast it around us and grab me, then run as fast as you can.”

  “I’ll cast Water Barrier as soon as you start. Don’t worry,” Kai said with a gentle smile.

  “All right, here goes.” Liliya took a deep breath and began chanting under the dim glow of the nearly spent mana crystal.

  “Boreal winds, bless my path. Let the gentle breeze remove my obstacles, Boreal Path!”

  A green magic circle formed above their heads, creating a meter-wide tunnel of slicing winds that shredded rubble into fine dust. The area began to collapse as the spell launched.

  Kai reacted instantly. “Water Barrier! Haste!” He grabbed Liliya and activated his barely recovered Lightning Tree, gaining a burst of speed. He coiled mana into his lower body, cast Strengthen on his legs, and dashed through the collapsing tunnel.

  Liliya screamed as Kai pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her waist. She blushed and clung to him as he slid forward with all his might.

  The tunnel crumbled behind them, but they managed to escape into what appeared to be a man-made passage leading deeper underground.

  Kai finally stood upright, his back and neck cracking as he exhaled. Liliya still clung to him, her legs dangling in the air.

  “You can let go now. We’re safe,” he said with a smile, though his heart raced from the closeness of her arms around his neck and shoulders.

  Liliya blushed and dropped softly to the ground. “Hmph. I only did that to make sure you didn’t leave me behind. Who can trust a ruffian like you?” She puffed her cheeks.

  Kai chuckled and stared at her for a moment, maybe a moment too long.

  She caught his gaze and raised an eyebrow. He quickly cleared his throat and turned to scan their surroundings.

  “The path leads deeper underground. Everything behind us is caved in. Let’s move, we might find something useful,” Kai suggested.

  “Agreed. Let’s just hope there’s nothing dangerous down there. The air feels stuffy… and the mana here is strange. Old. Older than anything I’ve ever tasted.” She stuck out her tongue, letting the ambient mana settle on it.

  Kai stared, then burst into laughter. “What are you doing?”

  “What? I’m tasting the mana. You can learn a lot from the flavor and scent of the local energy,” she said defensively.

  “Haha, sure, sure. You weirdo.” He hadn’t seen this side of her before, and it amused him more than he expected. It made the tension ease, just a little.

  He was yet to learn why the magic community called her Liliya the Magic Junkie.

  ***

  The bloody creature grew rapidly, absorbing an unbelievable amount of green liquid until it took the form of a young adult male.

  Under the harsh glow of mana-powered light crystals, the man opened his eyes. His face resembled a young Florian, but his eyes were vacant, devoid of will or intelligence.

  The ancient, disturbed voice had long since fallen silent, her madness spent.

  The new Florian opened the hatch of the container, and the green liquid spilled out as he stepped forward.

  His body was renewed, yet still crimson in color.

  It was unclear whether his skin was red because he had regrown himself from blood or if some forbidden method had kept him alive, leaving this as a lingering aftereffect.

  He moved slowly, staggering a few meters before stopping to stare at his hands.

  His soul was in tatters. He moved only by instinct, guided by fragments of memory preserved in the remnants of his shattered essence.

  The beast souls he had once relied on were gone, sacrificed in the final explosion.

  Florian had hoped that by preserving only the most vital memories and pieces of his soul, he could be reborn.

  But the creature now standing in the ruins was beyond broken.

  He stood like a puppet with cut strings, trying to remember who he was… and why he had come back.

  Flashbacks of the recent battle flickered through his fractured mind. One face appeared again and again, a black-haired youth with burning red, draconic eyes, staring at him with pure hatred.

  Something stirred deep within. A flicker of emotion. Hatred.

  His crimson skin shivered at the memory of that gaze.

  Slowly, he began to move through the facility, searching for something, anything.

  Behind him, a trail of bloody footprints marked his path.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  ***

  Liliya and Kai walked down the dark path, the only light coming from a small wisp Liliya had summoned.

  “Do you see that? I have a bad feeling,” Liliya said, pointing at a faint, bloody trail leading deeper into the passage.

  “Yeah, that’s blood, and it doesn’t look old,” Kai replied, his expression growing serious.

  “It’s him, isn’t it?” Liliya frowned.

  “Probably. He’s like a cockroach, you just can’t get rid of the bastard,” Kai muttered, clearly frustrated. This was the second time the monster had somehow escaped.

  “What’s a cockroach?” Liliya asked, unfamiliar with the term.

  Kai scratched the back of his head. “Uh… It’s a bug. Almost immortal. There are tons of them where I come from.”

  “Hmmm… I’d love to research that bug. I’ve never heard of an immortal insect before. Could we go to your realm one day?” Her mind was already racing with possibilities.

  Kai sighed. “I’m not sure if I can go back. But maybe… if it’s possible, you could come with. One day…” His eyes darkened as he tried to suppress the emotions rising within him.

  Seeing his expression, Liliya softened. “I’m sorry I asked. I didn’t mean to bring up something painful.”

  “No, don’t worry. It’s not your fault. There’s nothing you, me, or anyone can do about it right now. It’s fine, really,” he said honestly.

  Cautiously, they followed the bloody trail until they reached a massive set of ancient gates.

  “The trail stops here. He must be inside,” Kai said.

  Liliya placed her palm against the doors, scanning them with her magic.

  “These are sealed with ancient magic. Only someone with a matching soul frequency can open them,” she said with a sigh. “We could try to gather more mana and force them open, but they’re reinforced with ancient rune magic. They’ve survived centuries like this.”

  Kai stood in thought, then an idea struck him.

  He reached into his core region, sensing his soul serpent resting within. Grey energy still radiated from it, the remnants of the soul energy it had devoured from Florian, slowly strengthening both Kai and the serpent.

  “I have an idea. Not sure if it’ll work,” he said, and willed the Winged Serpent to awaken.

  It manifested behind him like a serpent god, wings unfurling with a quiet, majestic presence.

  The serpent understood what Kai needed; they were one, though not entirely. It had a will of its own at times.

  It flew toward the gate, releasing fragments of Florian’s soul through its shimmering scales. Grey energy washed over the ancient runes.

  The runes glowed, and the gates groaned open, grinding against the stone floor.

  Liliya stared at the serpent as it returned to Kai and vanished into his core.

  Kai smiled, relieved that the plan had worked.

  “You really are a mystery. ‘Oh, let me just summon my soul spirit, something only beasts have, by the way, and use the souls of my enemies to unlock ancient doors.’ One of these days, you will let me study you. I swear,” she said, eyeing him like a treasure chest full of secrets.

  Kai chuckled. “Don’t count on it. Now let’s go inside. Be ready for anything.”

  He took the lead, and she followed, still watching him closely.

  ***

  Florian dug through the shattered remains of the laboratory, his instincts carnal and urgent.

  He needed a weapon, anything he could use to defend himself if someone came after him.

  Beneath a pile of broken containers and thick shards of glass, he uncovered fragments of what looked like a surgical scalpel. He reached for the blade, but something strange happened.

  His arm liquefied into a mass of blood-red fluid, wrapping around the metal like a hungry serpent. In an instant, the scalpel vanished, absorbed into his body. His arm reformed, whole and unchanged.

  Staring at his hand, Florian blinked in confusion. He turned it over, again and again, searching for the blade.

  Nothing.

  Eventually, he gave up and continued his search.

  He found more sharp objects scattered throughout the wreckage, and each time, the same thing occurred: his body absorbed them.

  Now a blood-slick figure, Florian wandered deeper into the ruins, driven by instinct alone.

  He wasn’t just scavenging. He was growing stronger, piece by piece.

  Something deep within him whispered, no, demanded that he grow stronger. That he becomes perfect. That he ascends.

  ***

  Kai and Liliya followed the bloody trail through the ruined facility until they came upon a puddle of green liquid and an empty glass container.

  “He was here,” Liliya murmured, crouching beside the puddle. “Looks like he did something to himself again.”

  Kai leaned closer, frowning. “This liquid… it looks like blood, but green. Weird. Who knows what kind of torment he put himself through this time?” He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

  “We need to find him before he grows stronger again,” Kai said, urgency creeping into his voice.

  “There, human footprints,” Liliya pointed to a pair of bloody prints leading deeper into the facility. “Looks like he was searching for something… then went further inside.”

  Kai nodded. “Let’s hurry. How are your mana levels?”

  “Not great,” she admitted. “But I can still cast a few level six spells if needed. You?”

  “My mana’s recovering quickly, but my lightning and fire reserves are still too low for my stronger skills. I can use water, moonlight, and a bit of aura for now.” His Thunder Tree needed time to recharge, and the wolf tattoo on his arm was still dim from Scry’s spell.

  “That should be enough,” Liliya said, trying to reassure him. “Let’s go.”

  ***

  Deep underground, on the lowest level of the facility, stood a massive glass tank filled with deep blue water.

  Suspended within it floated the broken body of a woman. Her long green hair drifted like smoke, curling and twisting in the water’s stillness. Her eyes were closed, her expression eerily serene.

  Her lower body was missing. The left half of her ribcage had been crushed, torn open as if something had ripped it out with brutal force.

  What remained of her was riddled with dozens of thin, snaking tubes, each one embedded in her flesh. They pulsed faintly, siphoning a glowing green liquid from her ruined form.

  The tank hummed softly, a quiet, mechanical heartbeat in the silence of the chamber.

  Slowly, a blood-covered figure approached the tank, his gaze locked on the woman suspended within. He didn’t know why, but something about her felt familiar, connected.

  The woman’s eyes snapped open, and a twisted smile spread across her face.

  “Look at you,” she said, voice echoing through the chamber. “Don’t you look amazing. But what’s with the empty look in your eyes?"

  She scanned him, her expression shifting from amusement to delight.

  “You really did it, didn’t you? Tampered with your soul. The great master of soul arts, reduced to this? This is hilarious.”

  Her laughter rang out, sharp and unsettling.

  “You don’t even remember who you are, do you?” she asked, voice softening. “I can help with that… if you promise to end my suffering. Tempting, isn’t it?”

  Florian stared, silent and confused. Her words didn’t make sense, but something in him stirred.

  “Listen closely, you imbecile, I can make you stronger,” she continued, her tone growing more commanding. “This body of yours, it was made from my blood. I’m like a mother to you. So do as I say.”

  The figure finally spoke, his voice low and broken.

  “Stronger?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, eyes gleaming. “Much stronger.”

  “Come closer,” the woman whispered, her voice soft but commanding. “I’ll pour a little of my mana into you. Then you break this container… and end my suffering. Deal?”

  The figure nodded slowly and stepped forward. He didn’t fully understand, but he sensed she could help him, and that was all that mattered.

  She pressed her glowing green palm against the glass. Florian mirrored her, placing his bloodied hand over hers.

  A surge of green mana flowed through the barrier, seeping into his body. It wrapped around his fractured soul, mending the broken pieces and dissolving the remnants of other souls tangled within him.

  The energy converged in his core, forming a simple, stable center, a foundation for his existence. His body shimmered, the bloody aura receding.

  He clutched his head as clarity returned. The chaos in his mind quieted. The light faded, revealing a human-like figure.

  “I can think… I can speak… I am Florian,” he said slowly, his voice no longer broken.

  The woman smiled faintly. “See? I helped you. Now… fulfill your promise.”

  But Florian shook his head. “No. Mother makes me stronger. Mother must live.”

  The woman screamed, “You piece of shit. All of you are the same. Let me die, let me rest, you whoreson.”

  Florian stared at the screaming woman as the sound of footsteps could be heard behind them.

  main page and hit follow and favorite, or leave me a rating! Your reviews and feedback mean the world to me and help spread the word, especially for a small author. Thanks for your support!

  My Patreon