___Author's Notes:___
Hello guys! My tests are now over! The chapter upload schedule is going to continue like it used to. I made sure to make these coming chapters interesting and lenghty to make up for the lack of chapters in the last 2 weeks. Pls Enjoy!!!
___Chapter-Start!___
*HAHAHAHAHA!*
A loud laughter boomed through the Black bulls HQ. Yami was laughing happily, while addressing Asta, Ray, Magna and Noelle.
"You guys... Had a real rough time out there!!" He said, laughing, after Ray and the others had returned from the mission.
"Whatever... good job, you idiots." He said, wiping his eyes.
"Yessir!" Asta Yelled enthusiatically.
"Nice work" Vanessa said from the couch, yawning.
"The magic investigation department is examining what the criminals left behind, but they haven't got any important info out of it." She continued. "That pocket watch he left was valuable. Considering that, and how they acted... they might be extremists or dissidents from the noble realm." She said.
"Well, it doesn't matter." Yami cut in.
"In recognition of your actions, the wizard king has awarded us a star!!" Yami stated happily, pulling out and showing the group a golden star.
"Whoooaaaaa!!! For real!?" - Magna
"A star? What's a star!?!?" - Asta
"The nine magic knight groups compete to see how many stars they can collect. Its an honour thing. Golden dawn's at the top right now. they've got 70 stars." - Vanessa
"That's alot!" Asta exclaimed.
While they were talking amongst each other, Yami brought the star to a board on the wall. The moment the star was brought close, it became pure mana and stuck to the board. the board now had exactly 30 black stars.
"Great! that makes for a nice, neat minus thirty!" Yami exclaimed.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?!?!?!?" - Asta
"And here's your wages for this month." Yami added, handing Asta, Ray and Noelle a bag filled with coins each.
"Whoaaaa! so much money!!!" Asta yelled in excitement.
"It's barely anything." Noelle stated.
"Thanks" Ray muttered as he received the bag. Inside were exactly 20 gold coins.
"Congratulations on your first payday." Vanessa said.
"This means you'll want to go shopping in the castle town right? ♡ Im free. I'll take you." She said, winking at them.
"Castle town?" Asta asked, confused.
"I'll pass" Ray said, already heading upstairs to his room.
Without waiting for an response, Ray headed upstairs towards his room. But along the way, he stopped infront of a door, leaking unrestrained Soul power. Puzzled, he stepped inside.
inside was a large, quiet, dimly lit chamber. In the middle of it was a large bed, In the middle was a bed. A man was lying weakly in the bed, his body frail and pale, his hair long and white.
Ray immediately recognised the man. This was Henry Legolant, one of the black bulls oldest members.
Henry was born a noble, but due to his strange illness, which requires him to siphon magic from others, his family was forced to live in a secluded house in the Common Realm. Years later, his parents left the house and never returned. After a few months alone, Henry was near death when Captain Yami discovered about his condition and recruits him into the Black Bulls squad.
A tragic backstory indeed.
"Youuu... Aaaare... thee.... neeeew... reeecruiittt...." Henry spoke, slowly.
"Yeah. And who might you be? I'm pretty sure i met all the black bulls members." Ray asked, acting like he didn't know Henry.
"I..... Aaaam.... Heenrryyy.... Leegoolaanttt....." He said.
"I..... Aaamm.... aa.... meemmbeerrr.... offf.... bbllaaackk.... buulllsss.... tooooo..."
"I... aaaamm... currrseeddd... too.... ssipphooon.... maaagiiiccc.... frroooomm.... ottthheeeerss....." He said.
Ray nodded. though he wondered if Henry's curse was similar to the Curse of mana that the Cursed Ones had.
"Nice to meet you too Mr. Henry." Ray said respectfully as he approached the bed.
"May I sit?" He asked.
"Gooo.... riiiighhhtttt..... ahheeaaddd...." Henry replied.
With the green secured, Ray sat down beside Henry's bed.
"I... want to ask you something, Mr. Henry" Ray began.
"Gooo..... Riiiighhhtttt..... ahhheeaadddd....." Henry said.
"Since when have you had this curse?" Ray asked, then quickly added,
"Of course its not right for me to pry into your past on our first meeting, and if your uncomfortable with it, you dont have to answer. I'm asking because i myself am cursed."
Henry smiled lightly and replied, "Iiiittt.... iiiisss.... Ooookkk.... Iiii.... dooonn'ttt..... miiindd.... tttaalkkkinnngg..... abbouuut.... myyy.... paasttt... Iiii'vveee.... haaadd... thiiisss... curseee.... siiiincee.... chiiiiilddhooooood....." Henry said, while Ray patiently listened to him in silence.
"I see.... then, in your entire life, have you seen anything supernatural? like ghosts or monsters that are invisible to others, and only visible to you?" Ray asked.
"Iiiii'mmm..... Noooottt....suuureeee... i... haaven'tt.... leeffttt.... ttthiiiiisss.... buiiillldinnngggg..... siiinceee.... chhiiillldhoood...." Henry replied, forwning a bit.
"Whhyyy.... dooo.... yooouuu.... aaaskkk....?"
"It's because i've been able to see Souls of dead people since childhood." Ray said, lying.
"So when i heard that you were cursed.... i thought maybe you may have seen similar stuff...." Ray mumbled the last part to himself.
"Iii.... seee.... yyoooouuurr.... chhhiiilllddhoooodd.... muuust'veee... beeen... roouughhh..." Henry said.
Ray just smiled and stood up.
"Well, Nice meeting you Mr. Henry. I'll leave now. I need to search for answers to this." Ray said as he shook hands with Henry.
"Niiiiceee.... tooo...meeettt....yyoouuu... tooo.... Raaayy...." Henry said, as Ray slowly closed the behind him after giving Henry a smile. Once Ray had left, Henry got comfortable again, smiling to himself, when suddenly he realized that Ray had touched Him, without fainting or falling into a mana deficiency syndrome.
"Raaayyyy.... Yooouuu.... aaaaree.... veeeryyy.... straaanngee... aaannddd... iiinntreestinng...." Henry smiling while staring at the door.
____Ray's Room.____
Ray entered the room and flopped down on the bed, His hands reaching for his bag beside the bed. He grabbed it and pulled it closer, rummaging through it and finding what he needed.
He pulled out a Black medallion with Glowing Blue highlights running through it. They resembled the lines running through his own grimoire. It had a Black skull on the middle, its eyes glowing the same aethereal blue as the lines on it.
Ray brought to the quincy cross on his left hand and insterted the cross, spoke first, into the forehead of the skull.
*VMMM...*
The medallion glowed with dazzling light and showed a hologram of a man silver haired man.
*BEEP!*
"Yhrael." Ray greeted.
"Hey there Boy. Heard that you got your first mission today." Yhrael asked.
"Yes. I did. we just returned." Ray answered.
"And your already contacting me...? Are you that hungry for action, boy?" Yhrael asked, his lips subtely curving upwards, as he teased Ray.
Ray shook his head. "I need to get stronger." He said then launched into a detailed account of the mission, mainly highlighting that he hadn't managed to react to the black portal that killed Heath Graice.
"I'm afraid that if someone attacks one of my friends in such a ruthless way, i'll be unable to do anything." Ray concluded.
Yhrael stayed silent for a while, before replying.
"I... do have a solution to it. but we'll need to meet face to face for it. Meet me at the usual meeting spot. Get there as soon as possible. We'll have a talk here." Yhrael said, then proceeded to cut the call abruptly.
*BEEP!*
Ray blinked once, before adapting and got up, grabbing his bag. He stuffed emergency rations in it and headed out. Something told him this outing was going to be long. Hence, to avoid worrying Nero and asta and the other black bulls, he even wrote a letter, kept it on the table and left.
As he stepped out of the black bulls HQ, He used Hirenkyaku to propel himself forwards, going towards the western part of the Forsaken realm. Once he exited the noble realm (The capital's borders, to be precise.) He split off from his original path and rushed north-west.
After travelling for an hour, he stopped at a massive Snow-capped mountain. Here, He approached a cave, hidden on a ledge under a cliff that lead to nothing but death. Ray leaped off the cliff, and using hirenkyaku, stepped on air, and vaulted towards the ledge.
He broke his fall with a roll and stood up, dusting himself. The cave loomed infront of him, with stalactites hanging from the top, and some at the bottom. With the right light settings it could be mistaken for a gaping wide mouth.
Ray entered the cave and entered tunnels, taking a right here, and a left there, with practiced ease. He had come here with yhrael multiple times. according to Yhrael, this cave was very important, as it was once a site of inhuman experiments that lead to the deaths of thousands, within these tunnels. In other words, the soul power here was off charts, and subsequently, the perfect place for Yhrael to research the origins of Cursed Ones in secret.
As Ray turned another corner, a familiar room came into view. It was a brightly lit chamber, with a high ceiling, a King sized bed at one side, a couch directly opposite to it, and a study table beside it. On the table sat Yhrael, watching Ray, while contemplating something.
Ray had only seen Yhrael like this once. When he was debating whether or not to tell Ray about this cave hidout of his. Ray, didn't say anything and instead, dropped his bag on the couch, before flopping down beside it, paitently waiting for yhrael to make up his mind.
Yhrael blinked at the unexpected move. He expected something.... more extreme. He sighed as he got up and sat on the edge of the bed, facing Ray.
"Listen quietly. There is only one way for you to get stronger in the fastest time possible. It is to travel to the underworld and train there." Yhrael began.
"Underworld? like the grimm reaper's base?" Ray asked.
"Yes." Yhrael replied. "Honestly, i've only interacted with them once. but it wasn't... exactly what you would call, ideal. we had a bit of a rough interaction. so, im still not sure whether these grimm reapers are hostile to us, Cursed Ones or not. But at this point. i have realised that i myself, also need to get stronger. Hence, I'll accompany you to the Underworld too. If the grimm reapers are hostile to us, we go down together. How about it." Yhrael asked.
Ray tilted his head, a small smile playing on the corner pf his lips.
'The old man is worried about me now? How sweet.'
"All i care about is getting stronger. It doesn't matter what method. if the Grimm Reapers are hostile, they will definitely attack us. fighting them will be helpful." Ray spoke.
Yhrael shook his while muttering, "Damn battle freak."
"What'd you say?"
"I was saying, Let's get to opening the portal to the underworld then." Yhrael said quickly.
"Where?" Ray asked.
"Here." Yhrael replied, smirking at Ray.
"What. Here?"
"Yes. Like i explained to you before. this cave was once a site of inhuman experiments that lead to the death of thousands within these tunnels. In other words, the soul power here is off charts, which makes creating a portal to the Underworld easier." Saying this Yhrael grabbed a satchel and exited the room. Ray hesitated for a second before quickly grabbing his bag and following suite.
Yhrael led him deep into the cave. Deeper than he had gone before. The tunnels slowly began to become steep, and slippery, with traces of red that looked eeriely like blood, coated on the walls. Voices began to whisper in Ray's ears as they went deeper.
*WHISPER... WHISPER... WHISPER...*
*WAIL! WAIL! WAIL!*
*CHATTER CHATTER CHATTER*
"Dont listen to the voices. those are the remnant sounds of the dead. It is something like the reishi that all souls leave behind after being vanquished." Yhrael said, as he began walking faster.
Ray followed.
Soon they turned a corner and enter yet another room. This one was larger, almost the size of a villa from earth. Pillars lined the Room from both sides of the entrance. Exactly in front was a Massive Crack in space. It hummed with silent, yet unrestrained reishi.
*VMMMM...*
*WHOOSH!*
Yhrael approached the crack, slowly raising his hand to touch it. He held out his other hand.
"Hold me. Let's go." He said.
Ray nodded and grabbed Yhrael's outstretched hand. Yhrael touched the crack with his free hand.
*CRACK!*
*BOOM!*
Suddenly, a loud crack echoed around the chamber and a sickening feeling of being twisted engulfed Ray.
He looked down and saw himself being twisted on the spot, and the world snapped inwards. It felt as though a great invisible hand had gripped his entire body and squeezed him through a space far too small for human form. His lungs compressed, his ribs tightened, and for a split second, he couldn't breathe. Every inch of him was pulled, stretched, and crushed all at once.
There was no sense of direction other than Yhrael's hand. His eyes were clamped shut. The world outside suddenly ceased to exist; there was only the rush of displaced air and a strange sound, as if a monstrous being was rushing towards them.
*STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!*
*ROAR!*
Ray forced his eyes to open and saw that he was floating in space. rushing towards them was a grotesque monstrosity, its mouth open wide.
And then, as suddenly as it had began, it was over. The air popped back into place with a soft crack. He stumbled forward, the world reasserting itself around him—the feeling of ground, the sound of wind, the sudden light after the dark void. His stomach rolled, his ears rang faintly, but the suffocating pressure was gone.
Ray blinked. He was now no longer in the strange space. The monster had vanished, along with the dimension, as if it hadn't existed at all. They were now in another place.
__The Underworld__
*DUN DUNNN DUNNNNN!!!!*
The Underworld stretched vast and eternal beneath a crimson sky that never brightened nor dimmed. At its heart rose a towering fortress of black stone and silver flame. Its spires reached high into the ashen clouds, and from its walls flowed threads of spirit-light that connected to every corner of the realm.
Directly before the castle stood the Judging Bastion, a colossal amphitheatre carved from obsidian and marble, where every soul, newly arrived from the mortal plane, was brought before the Judges of Fate. These spectral arbiters, cloaked in Gray and wearing white masks, weighed each spirit's dharma and karma upon scales of shimmering reishi. Their verdict determined the soul's path: redemption, punishment, or neutrality.
Two great rivers defined the realm's flow.
To the west ran a molten torrent of crimson lava that hissed and roared as it carved its way ever downward into the Abyss. The air above it shimmered with heat, and the screams of the damned echoed faintly through the rising smoke.
To the east flowed a serene current of pure, glowing water that ascended against gravity, spiralling upward into the clouds. Its surface shimmered with countless soul-lights — those granted release, rising to their next life.
Between these two extremes lay a massive city. The city was vast, built in rings around the castle. Its streets were lined with low, pale-gray structures crafted from spirit stone, each dwelling softly illuminated from within by the glow of its inhabitants. The architecture resembled an eternal twilight town — calm, orderly, and eerily quiet. No sun rose or set here; time drifted like mist.
Patrolling the outer walls were the Grimm Reapers, cloaked in black Armor and wearing white masks. They moved in silence, enforcing balance and preventing lost souls from straying outside the city. Their weapons shimmered faintly with spiritual energy — scythes, spears, and swords forged in the Castle's core.
Guarding the gates of the Underworld was a Three-Headed Hound. Each head watched a different path — one toward the lava river, the River of Hell, one toward the serene river, the River of Heaven, and one toward the world of the living. Its chains were made of enchanted silver, and its eyes burned with ghostly fire. Few dared to approach it.
Beyond the walls, the land fell away into a vast expanse of shifting stone plains, dotted with ruins — remnants of forgotten eras.
High above the Underworld's dark expanse, fragments of black stone and glowing crystal floated in the air like shattered meteorites caught mid-fall. These drifting islands varied in size — some no larger than a house, others vast enough to hold entire ruins. Their undersides glowed faintly with streams of molten energy that dripped into the void like falling stars. The fragments moved slowly, orbiting the towering Castle below, bound to it by massive iron chains that groaned and shimmered with ancient power. Each chain stretched for miles, carved with runes that pulsed like veins of light, keeping the floating isles from drifting into oblivion.
Ray and Yhrael were on one such island, giving them the best view of the Underworld city. They looked at each other, both of their faces filled with amazement at the sight. However, this amazement didn't last long. As the last of the Reishi used to transport them to the underworld faded, they felt an immense amount of pressure descended on them.
Ray immediately tried to locate the source of the pressure using soul sight, but what he found left him dumfounded. The pressure coming from all around them. In other words, the entire Underworld was exuding this pressure.
'"No way!" Yhrael exclaimed. "This much reishi pressure is abnormal."
"It's probably because the amount of reishi here is Incredibly higher than the Reishi back in the world of living." Ray mused.
Yhrael nodded, "It sure is. and not only that, the reishi here is incredibly clean and pure, unlike the reishi back home. That reishi was a mix of the reishi from evil souls, pure souls, and vacuans."
Ray nodded in agreement.
*DING!*
Detected that User has entered region with high reishi Availability!
Reward: Passive Reishi absorption +100%!
Detected that User has entered region with High reishi Purity!
Reward: Passive Reishi absorption +200%!
Detected that User has entered the Underworld!
Reward: Dual soul established!
*DING!*
User Data –
Name: Ray
Age: 15 (+18)
Race: Human (Quincy)
Race Passives: Reishi Absorption (5.4 Reishi per day in World of living; 21.6 reishi per hour in Underworld), Reishi Strengthening (0.5 per day in Underworld (All stats); 0.0625 per day in World of living.)
Magic (Reishi): 2059.6
STR – 25 +0.5 (Affect's User's Natural Strength)
DEX – 27 +0.5 (Affect's User's Natura Speed)
DEF – 22 +0.5(Affect's User's Natural Toughness)
INT – 143 IQ (Gifted)
Innate talents: [Archery (Unsealed) Lv. 2.5], …, [Hand-to-Hand Combat (Unsealed) Lv. 4], [Dual souls Lv. ???]
Grimoire – Quincy Cross
Spells –
[Seele Schneider (Strum (New!))],
[Hirenkyaku Lv.2 (Air step {2} (Unlocked!))],
[Kojaku],
[Heilig Pfeil (Focused shot (New!)), (Explosion shot (New!)), (Slowing Shot (New!))]