A New World, An Immersive Game Experience

As he was pushing back the chains, Eldrian noticed a bubble approaching him. It felt similar to when Ziraili visited, but he could feel no good will from this visitor. In fact, he felt great danger. Not in the form of bloodlust, the closest example would be the danger one would feel from a stalker.

'Wait, is that?' Eldrian couldn't believe what he was sensing. He was nearly confident that this was the lich. 'Is she insane? Sending her soul into mine before even disarming me? Well, don't mind if I do...'

Eldrian made no attempts to rebuild the barrier of his mind which the chains had torn down. In fact, he pulled them down even further. Stopping the self repair process and allowing the lich's soul into his own. Her soul was a large ball of gray filled substances with tortured souls and rune-array-chain like images throughout. Like a snow globe representing what one would think of when considering a lich's mind.

Eldrian was loathed to let the vileness that the lich's soul was into his own soul, but this was the easiest way to end things. And his wish to end things won over any caution he might have.

He knew what he was planning was insane, but he no longer cared. Keeping control over his emotions for so long had been truly demanding. And now to have the source of all his troubles had entered his world, his realm. How could he stop himself?

Perhaps because she entered his soul with no difficulties, the lich felt overconfident. Believing that Eldrian had focused all his power to protect only half of his soul.

She moved closer and closer, observing the fight between fire and chain. Marveling at Eldrian's abilities and becoming more drawn into uncovering his mysteries.

Moving deeper and deeper into his soul, the ice barrier surrounding Eldrian's created world slowly coming into sight. It fascinated her and she rushed forward. Wishing to get a better look. And once she got that better look she realized just how much danger she was in.

But it was too late.

Eldrian had waited until her soul entered as deeply as possible. He knew doing so was dangerous, but it was the only way to ensure that she wouldn't be able to retreat should his first strike fail. Besides, he wasn't exactly thinking rationally anymore.

Having needed to juggle his pain, anger, fear, hatred... It had taken its toll and his emotions were slowly taking control. He kept his wrath in check since he was overly cautious of losing control of the flames, but in so doing, he let his impatience and greed surface.

Teleporting to where Liuva's conciousness was, Eldrian formed a 'physical' body and thrust his hand through the liches conciousness. Pulling out her link to her phylactery and crushing it with a smile.

His arrival was too quick for her to do anything and the precision of his attack perfect. Severing her link to the physical world and effectively killing her, without her even being able to comprehend what had happened.

"Im-possible..." Liuva's voice faded as pain racked her consciousness. She was not yet dead, but the severance made it impossible for her to think or act.

Not wishing to give her a chance, Eldrian smashed what remained of her consciousness before she could form any defenses, summoning his flames of wrath to devour what remained. His assassination finished within seconds. Perfectly executed.

Without a master, the chains stopped moving, and without a conciousness, her soul started dissipating. And this was when greed truly overcame Eldrian's sanity.

A realm, nearly as large as his, was right there for the taking. Why would he not take it?

Just because it was filled with death?

Just because it was the lifeforce of a lich?

Don't be ridiculous. For so long, he had been worrying about how he could grow stronger quickly. He knew he wouldn't be able to jump to Tier 6 anytime soon. He first had to reconfirm his basics and then master Tier 5 itself.

Thinking of his situation against Miracle and how hopeless it all seemed, Eldrian felt this was a golden opportunity. It might not directly increase his magical prowess on Earth, but it would doubtless increase his connection with mana and his overall strength.

Perhaps this might even help him better understand the aspect of death. To finally understand how it worked compared to elemental and spirit magic. Perhaps he might even be able to gleam some knowledge from the lich's life.

What he did next was something he had once considered beyond forgiveness. To devour another's soul, no one deserves that, right? No! Incorrect! A lich who literally played with people's souls, who found pleasure in stealing their chance at an afterlife. Eldrian felt no guilt in destroying her chance as she had hundreds, thousands of others. Besides, he had already killed her consciousness. Devouring her dissipating soul was just not letting the energy go to waste.

With a wave of his hand, he let his flames pour through her soul, leaving only enough flames outside to cleanse the miasmic venom of the ghoul. He turned to ash all that he considered too terrible to assimilate, the rest he absorbed right into his own soul.

He kept the ice barrier up, just in case. Designating it his core, pure and clean. The rest, he stuffed as much of the lich's soul into as he possibly could. His soul bulging from the excess, but Eldrian couldn't slow down since the longer this too the more energy would be lost.

This time was profoundly different from when he had absorbed Milgoroth's soul. Back then Milgoroth's had been an average soul manipulater. While he fed on the power of lifeforce, he could not control it. He was incapable of controlling his mind, and as a result his soul took on a reflection of his physical body. Representing his inner belief.

Also, due to how Eldrian had managed things, most of the energy/essence that had made up Milgoroth's soul had dissipated before he started assimilating the devil's soul under Ziraili's guidance. Eldrian having been stunned from the act of killing someone.

The only similarity between now and back then, Eldrian had robbed both's chance at an afterlife. With Milgoroth, he had immensely regretted his action for a time. He had hated himself for it. Back then, he had needed Jen to console him. This time, he knew he was enacting justice for countless voiceless, soul-stolen people.

While assimilating the soul of the lich, Eldrian felt their combining souls being pulled somewhere. He didn't fight this.

Eldrian could feel the pressure of the outside world building, trying to pull apart his soul. He could fight it if he wished, but he didn't have the focus to spare. Assimilating a soul as large as his own wasn't a simple task.

Two had to deal with the pressure and he was constantly complaining that the barrier around their soul won't return until the assimilation was completed. Which only made his job all the harder, but he too agreed that this was a great opportunity.

And so they drifted through space and through different realms. Time passing slowly as Eldrian's entire focus remained on making the most that he could out of the encounter.

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