Spirit Soul

While the other Undeads were enraged about what was going on, the Lich seemed unruffled.

it simply stared down at Kyle, who was barely able to endure the suppression he was focused on.

Kyle didn't know for sure if it was one of the various intents the Lich had comprehended or its Death aura.

However, what Kyle knew was that the Lich may not be the leader of the Undeads, or possibly even the strongest. But it was definitely the most hot-tempered and had the worst intentions, which was something he had to be careful of.

Unfortunately, the other Undeads didn't seem to be able to hear or see them, otherwise, they would have acted already.

At least, that was what Kyle assumed according to the words the unknown being had spoken through the unique crystal.

How could both the Lich and Kyle know that every single thing that happened in the Lich's abode was being eyed and listened to by five other beings?

Oblivious to the truth, the Lich forced him to sit down on a chair it had taken out before barraging him with a lot of questions.

At the same time, it threatened Kyle to kill and torture him after asking almost every single question.

This was annoying, but instead of commenting, he simply listened to the barrage of questions that were, in fact, pretty simple.

"Who are you? How old are you? What are you hiding? Who are your parents? What exactly is the Horned Tempest Fox? What kind of ability allows you to harbor the Fox? What is this other ability of yours? How exactly can you devour the souls of others? How did the devouring process of souls help you to stay energised?"

There were dozens of more questions thrown at him, and Kyle knew that most answers were pretty easy, but for some questions, he had no answer either.

Thus, he scratched the back of his head, before he began to answer the questions one after another.

At the same time, he was trying his best to ignore the mana fluctuations that were enveloping him.

They made him uncomfortable and they would readily torture Kyle the moment the Lich sensed a lie.

It was annoying, but he wasn't sure what else could he do to escape the Lich.

'I miscalculated my worth to the Undeads...I was too blind to believe that they would need me to the extent that I can do whatever I want and get away with it...That was foolish!'

Kyle realized his mistake, but at the same time, he knew that there was nothing he could do against it.

This was sad, but oddly enough it made him recall his past life, and the few good moments through the bad decades he had lived.

There were also those moments where people who were ought to be his friends had betrayed him just for their own gains.

Somehow, it felt as if he was reliving those moments yet again.

Because of that, it was as if nothing had really changed, which caused Kyle to clench his fist in anger. Tidal waves of emotions surged through his body, and it would be a lie if Kyle were to say that he was doing fine right now.

In the end, there was always an obstacle bigger than the one he had crossed before waiting for him.

It was as if he would never be able to escape the grasps of powerhouses as long as he possessed something they wanted.

As such, he found himself in a similar scenario.

Though he believed that the Lich was being far less considerate than Knirg and Lahan.

At least, the two warriors didn't threaten him and use force to make him behave as per their wish.

But, the Lich nonchalantly stated that he would die of unbearable torture if he were to lie.

In the case of Knirg and Lahan, he was also allowed to give up against them, and ignore their training.

But the Lich wanted Kyle to be his mindless puppet and meekly follow its orders.

This was not how he had lived in the past, even after everything and everyone seemed to have turned against him.

Even if he was unable to cultivate in his past life, Kyle had never given up.

As such, he didn't want to start all over again after he had worked so hard to receive a second chance.

Yet, somehow, he felt as if all his efforts were futile right now while answering the questions.

All the frustration and worry made a single tear trickle down his cheeks.

The tear was filled with all of his pent-up frustration accumulated over the decades in his past life.

For a second, Kyle felt as if his second life would continue the way his first life had ended.

All his life, he had toiled and worked desperately to achieve something he will never receive-freedom.

Kyle had always wanted to be able to roam through the universe, explore mysterious phenomena, and live the life he had missed out on in his past.

Grudgingly, Kyle's mind was slowly starting to accept his ill fate.

It was then that something contrary to everyone's expectations happened.

The tear-filled with all of his accumulated emotions that should have dropped to the ground met an obstacle. It had fallen on the spatial ring with the bat emblem that had been engraved on it.

Unbeknownst to anyone, this had caused a mystical reaction within the ring.

The moment his tear had touched the ring, the crimson red bat eyes began to glow faintly.

Subtle shockwaves that were untraceable and barely audible radiated from the spatial ring, resounding through the Lich's abode.

Kyle felt that something about his spatial ring was changing.

He felt as if his entire being that had almost been overshadowed by the numerous hurdles of his path was slowly snatching back the reins of control.

'What happened just now?' He wondered unsure of the unusual feeling he had experienced.

It had been like a flash, gone in an instant so he didn't even get the time to process it.. In order to protect himself, Kyle's mind had shut itself off.

And, it was exactly because of this fact that he was able to remain almost the same as before.

However, something important had changed!

With him receiving a second chance to live, Kyle knew that he had overcome the biggest hurdle of his past life- his incapability to cultivate.

Now that it had been taken care of, the next issue was his weak strength.

But he could easily change this as long as he was given some time. He just had to endure and overcome the obstacles in front of him. With the aim of growing as fast as possible, he wished to defeat those opponents that wanted to subdue him, before they could even think of doing anything.

Strength ruled Shima, the universe, and everything else!

And the strong were always able to get away with doing anything to the weaker beings.

This was the law of the jungle, and something Kyle knew extremely well.

He very well understood it from the perspective of the weakest possible link in the seemingly endless food chain of stronger beings.

Regaining his senses, Kyle clutched his hands as he made a promise to himself to never give up on trying, and to survive by all means.

In the end, only those that survived and grew stronger would exact revenge.

Only those would be able to let those who had once dominated them to know what it felt to be in their shoes, to know how being treated like an ant, insignificant, and powerless truly felt like.

As such, in this exact moment, Kyle's ambition to become stronger than ever before ignited and his eyes began to gleam brightly.

Yet, at the same time, something else occurred in the room where the five beings were seated together.

They were all watching the entire happenings that were reflected on a table that was shaped out of water.

Only a few beings had the innate capabilities to hear the frequency emitted by the spatial ring.

And those beings were able to feel every single emotion that had been filled to the brim in the tear.

That single drop of tear was rummaging through their body and making them relive everything Kyle had felt in that moment.

This was as long as one specific requirement was met.

Theories prevalent amongst these beings stated what exactly this requirement truly was.

But nobody was able to find proof to substantiate their assumptions.

And one of these beings was the young Lady, who was eyeing the table in front of her in shock. Her heart had begun to beat faster, which shouldn't have been possible.

Having seen everything that happened down to the finest detail, she could barely hold herself.

Meanwhile, the same crystal which the being in the shadow had been holding in its hand earlier appeared in her palm.

Suddenly, just as Kyle had retrieved his determination, something unexpected occurred.

While he had successfully released himself from the shackles his past had put on him, the furious voice of a young woman resounded through the entire room like a thunderstorm.

[Li! If you don't move him to the next trial, I will tear your Undead Core out of your rotten rib cage, and throw it into the Abyssal Ocean! If I don't see him on the next floor in the next thirty seconds, I and the others will take him by force!!]

Even though the others had a fair idea of the young Lady's temper, no one had ever seen her act so extreme.

It was completely out of the ordinary, and the Lich, whose name was Li, couldn't help but feel as if its entire being was cowering in fear.

'What...is going on?! They cannot hear or see anything inside the room, right? It's perfectly sealed, and nothing happened...I was just asking questions, and only a few minutes passed since he told me to move…'

While Li was already confused and starting to feel frustrated at the way he was interrupted from advancing his plans, he couldn't defy the orders.

Li had yet to receive an answer to every question he had asked Kyle, but there was nothing it could do right now.

In the end, it still had a purpose to hang on to its life...or its existence as an Undead being!

There was one thing it had to accomplish by all means, even if it would have to kill everyone.

Thus, the Lich held back himself from doing anything stupid as he let go of Kyle.

After summoning a portal, the Lich threw Kyle through it before shaking its head in anger.

The Lich's soul flames flared up owing to one particular answer it had been given.

'His ability...I need it!!'

Meanwhile,  the Undeads inside the observation hall were so shocked owing to the young woman's angry outburst that they didn't even hear her correctly.

The silver-haired woman mumbled as she bit her lower lip with a whirlwind of emotions surging up within her.

"It's him!! I can feel it!"

The only thing they heard was her exclamation.

"He is mine now!!!"

While staring at the silver-haired woman, the others couldn't help but feel as if a ginormous stone had been lifted from their heart.

Their soul flames flickered with a trace of joy, knowing that the young Lady's exclamation was something exceptional, something they had long since awaited to happen.

"I'll take care of him in the next trial!" The silver-haired woman announced brightly. She got up from her seat, ready to depart as her crimson-colored eyes shone in excitement, only for the being in the shadows to lift his darkness-shrouded arm.

"Even if you think he is the one, let's go with the process we have agreed to!"

It was as if it was lecturing the silver-haired woman, only for the Banshee, who was completely ignorant to what was going on, adding further,

"But..he is supposed to be observed by me on the next floor…"

Hearing this, the woman halted in her tracks as she turned her attention towards the Banshee.

She was staring daggers at the Banshee as a distinct bloodlust erupted from her.

Yet, a moment later she got an idea, which helped her calm down as she reluctantly added,

"...proceed with the trial then…"

She had already waited for her entire life, as such a few more weeks shouldn't be a problem.

However, instead of remaining idle, she turned towards the being that was hidden beneath the veil of the shadows as her expression turned grim.

"Bring me Li, RIGHT NOW!!"

Even if she didn't really care if the Lich had betrayed them, there was something she would never accept- others toying around with what was rightfully hers!!