novelraw Chapter 260: Frigid Darkness
Chapter 260: Frigid Darkness
Chapter 260: Frigid Darkness “That bastard is already getting used to his freedom…” Soren couldn’t help but chuckle.
He had not instructed Figment to create a new entry for this supposed sub-ability, but The Librarian of the Faerie Court decided to do it anyway. Nevertheless, Soren saw no reason to stop him.
He did promise him freedom, after all. And his actions weren’t exactly detrimental either way.
This relationship is certainly weird… Soren didn’t know how to feel about it. From a certain standpoint, he was still distrustful of Figm—Biblion. But on the other hand, his dilemma was certainly connected to his. They were both endangered by whatever hidden existence was corrupting them through [The Faerie Court].
And then there was the fact that Biblion was just another version of him. Soren was extremely conflicted. With his identity not being fully human anymore, he was no longer sure whether ‘he’ was truly the real Soren Andersen.
Who was the real, and who was the fake? The Soren who travels through a mysterious world, seeking both answers and knowledge. Or the Soren who yearns for freedom and the thrills of adventure—desiring to enter the stories he reads about…
Didn’t that sound somewhat familiar?
Shaking his head, he focused his attention on the dancing critter standing before him. Its presence illuminated the cave vibrantly, like a lantern scaring away the shadows. After resting for another hour or so to recover his anima, he decided to resume his experiments.
His lips curled up slightly. With the connection still present, he gave another mental command:
Expand… Soul Realm…
The Murmur vibrated slightly, as if resonating with the words. With the worldsong still playing in its mind, a miniature bubble formed around it made of violet colored mist and tiny butterflies.
Soren quickly noticed the sweet aroma filling the air and nodded in satisfaction.
“So its ability to use my magecraft is not dependent on my possession…”
This… This was no different from having another magi under his command! And since the Murmur also possessed the same affinities as him, he could now theoretically deceive his opponents twice with the same illusion.
“Isn’t this the very definition of duplicity?” Soren couldn’t hide his excitement. It almost made him feel bad for his future enemies. Almost…
“How evil…” A child-like voice entered his mind, making him flinch slightly.
“Tazzith?”
“Who else? It seems that your gamble was a success… I can’t tell if you’re lucky or unlucky.”
Soren shook his head. “How long have you been prying in secret?”
“Since your return to this wretched world. I was patiently awaiting your arrival to see whether you would succeed or not. But when you returned, you seemed somewhat busy so I decided not to bother you.”
Lies… Soren rolled his eyes, you just wanted to learn about my new abilities in secret.
Putting on a false smile, Soren decided to ask. “Has there been any changes to your situation?”
“None that I know of. Though, I have been noticing the Subterarrian Shunning Ground’s warden being far less… active?
“It's a subtle change, however. The bastard might still be suffering from the trauma of the last Vynasian attack. Their beloved Matron of Faith was slain before their very eyes, after all—the Yadrian morale is still extremely low.”
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Soren frowned slightly. Could there be some developments Tazzith is unaware of happening in Yadria? The next Vynasian attack was slated to happen fairly soon. Or maybe the succession war for the new Matron of Faith position is causing internal rifts…
There was also the Aelloran Kingdom which was still technically at war with them. They had no way of knowing what issues were currently plaguing the continent. He was certain Tazzith had also come to similar conclusions, but without any evidence, it was hard to say what the truth really was.
Time is truly running out… Soren didn’t really care all that much about the Yadrians, but Tazzith was still one of his anchors. He was a valuable asset—losing Him would certainly complicate many things.
Aside from reaching the mountain’s summit was one thing, he also needed to gather more of His Spirit Body fragments. Tazzith was essentially powerless without them.
Lets focus on one thing at a time… Sighing, Soren glanced at the Murmur and gave it another command:
“Walk forward. Activate [Hymns of the Unseen].” He made sure to select the surrounding sounds as the skill’s target. From his observations, Soren concluded that these little spirits could only utilize one ability while they were active. Even in Yeongwon, he had to cycle between [Cards of Insight] and [Hymns of the Unseen] when communicating with Venerable Heavenly Anchor.
Satisfied with his initial orders, he followed it up with more specific instructions:
“Head deeper into the cave. Notify me for any anomalies. ”
There was no need to risk anything himself when the Murmur could do it instead. Since most of its thoughts were shared directly with him, he could immediately receive notice of anything it discovered. This was the safest approach.
Hearing this, Tazzith decided to weigh in as well:
“My premonition is telling me a distant danger exists deep within this cavern. But there is also a small chance at salvation. Whether you can grasp it or not will fully depend on you.”
As he looked ahead into the darkness, a profound feeling of danger washed over him. Certainly, the cave that Asterix guided him toward couldn’t be normal. He had already anticipated it to a certain degree when he decided to follow that strange Spirit Beast, but what Tazzith had said made him reframe his strategy.
He decided to follow the dancing spirit from a certain distance, making sure his and the Murmur’s Soul Realm ranges didn’t exceed each other. This ensured protection for both of them in case of emergencies. And since it had [Hymns of the Unseen] passively scanning the surroundings at all times, Soren could be sure to anticipate any possible danger before fully approaching it.
Further and further down the cave they walked—the darkness becoming thicker with each step. There was a certain suffocating quality to it. Just like the storm, it felt somewhat alive… In a way, it kind of reminded him of the Avalon Ruins. But this was a more raw and primordial feeling. It lacked structure, organization, or meaning… Akin to a rabid and mindless beast.
When he tried asking Tazzith, He simply clicked his tongue in frustration at His own lack of knowledge. It seemed that even during the Third Age of Fantasia, travels to the Estuary of the Stars were rarely recorded. The Demon of Knowledge had heard of a similar phenomenon occurring, but He had no awareness of the details.
Aside from that, the cave itself was structured in a very strange manner. Sometimes, its passages slithered left and right. Other times, it dipped several meters below before jutting out into a steep cliff. Falling stalactites made of frozen ice posed more of an issue the deeper they went, but there were still no sightings of any Spirit Beasts or other dangers.
Strangely, his sanity also seemed to be wavering. He noticed himself feeling more and more pessimistic the deeper he went. The echoes of his footfalls after every step felt like hammers striking at his heart. Soren could immediately tell that the emotions were external—something deep with this cavern was somehow influencing him…
An hour passed on with the cave continuing to stretch forward with no end in sight. There weren’t even any other passages or splits. The cavern simply stretched on and on, like an infinite corridor leading to hell.
Exhaustion began to take hold once again.
“It seems a break is necessary…” He sighed while overlooking the surrounding darkness. In that moment, he truly felt alone—even Tazzith had stopped responding for whatever reason. The anima needed to keep the Murmur going was growing far past his limit, so he decided to deactivate the skill.
It seems I can keep it moving for about two to three hours, as long as I don’t overuse its powers.
Furthermore, his testing confirmed that he could keep a maximum distance of about a hundred or so meters before his connection to the spirit began to waver. As for possession, he could likely last ten to thirty minutes before being forced to return to his body.
All of this indicated that his theory was correct. The amount of strength the Murmur possessed was heavily related to the Worldsong Embodiment. Since his understanding of Yarian was extremely high, the spirit it corresponded to also grew in unison.
A part of him wondered what kind of capabilities the Murmurs would have if he reached 100% on his understanding of Yarian.
“Knowledge really is power…” He said with a chuckle while leaning against the frigid and wet cave walls. Occasionally, he would hear strange voices from deep within the abyss that only made him question his own rationality further. Trying to probe into it with [Eyes of the Fairy] once again showed no results. The same went for the darkness itself.
All of this kept him on edge. He was afraid to even fall asleep.