Then… a light.
Soft at first, like a spark trembling at the edge of vision. It shimmered, pulsing gently, drawing him closer. Kevin reached for it, not with hands, but his very will leaned toward its glow.
The world brightened.
He stood on solid ground inside a narrow cavern. The air was cool, filled with the metallic smell of ancient stone. Lights danced across the walls—symbols, patterns, spirals, etched with meticulous precision. Others shimmered as if coated with dew.
He turned slowly. The cavern was enormous, expanding into a vaulted chamber that swallowed sound. It felt alive, as though every engraved mark carried whispers of forgotten centuries.
Kevin stepped forward, drawn by instinct, until he saw her.
An old woman stood near the far wall, hunched slightly, wrapped in a thick purple robe that brushed the ground. A hood covered her silver hair. In her hand was a worn notebook filled with yellowed pages. She murmured under her breath, her finger drifting across the stone as she shifted her gaze from the sigils to her notes.
Kevin approached cautiously.
"Excuse me?" he said, voice echoing.
No response. The woman didn't turn, didn't flinch, didn't even pause her whispering. It was as if he were invisible.
He tried again. "Ma'am?"
Still nothing. She simply continued tracing the symbols, muttering strings of meaning, sounding out ancient phrases with a scholar's patience. Kevin stood beside her now, close enough to touch her sleeve. Yet she behaved as though he weren't there.
After a moment that felt far longer, she finished deciphering a section of the wall. Her voice shifted from whisper to recitation, steady and grave.
"A man came to the kingdom of Cordunada and offered the kind king the power of the gods…"
Kevin blinked. He leaned in, listening intently while looking at the image above the symbols.
The image showed a circle with thirteen crossed swords around it, in the middle is a crown. The swords were connected to the crown with lines.
"The king, devoted to his people, agreed to the offer. He asked the man: What price do you require? The man answered: I need nothing. Instead, he requested the king gather thirteen people around him in a circle."
The woman's hand trembled slightly as she spoke.
"The king agreed. Thirteen loyal souls encircled him. And then…"
She swallowed.
"Strands of gold emerged from the thirteen—threads of spirit, essence… soul. Each strand extended toward the king and pierced his body."
Kevin felt a chill drag down his spine.
"The king felt power surge through him and asked the man, What is this? The thirteen collapsed, lifeless bodies slumped to the floor, and the man replied…" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Soul Devourer."
The old woman sighed heavily and walked to another section. Kevin followed without thinking, unable to tear away from the disturbing tale. She resumed deciphering, her murmurs again filling the cavern.
Above the symbols was an image carved in the stone. A creature with a crown raised its sword toward something. Behind him were creatures, probably beasts.
After a while, she recited the next passage:
"The kind king began with thirteen… soon he demanded more. Each request the man fulfilled. The king's hunger for power grew with each soul consumed."
Kevin felt nausea coil in his gut.
"The king requested an army. The man complied—creating beings without soul or will… empty vessels."
Her brow creased deeply.
"The man then asked the king to give the army soul. And with a wave of the King's hand, floating orbs poured into the hollow creatures. They roared… awakened."
The woman stepped back slightly from the wall.
"Kingdoms fell before him. But it wasn't enough. He conquered the continent… the world… still, it wasn't enough."
Kevin whispered, "He became a monster."
Her voice lowered.
"The man realized, he had created the first Soulborne… a world-ender beast. A being who defied gods. One who could slew them."
Dust drifted from the wall, as if the stone itself mourned.
The old woman shook her head. "Even the kindest man can be seduced by limitless power."
She walked to another etched mural and began again.
The image above the symbols had changed this time, it was sharper and more refined.
At the front stood a knight, shield raised and sword held firm. Behind him stretched rows of humans gripping every kind of weapon, their arms extended to rest on the shoulders of the one before them, forming an unbroken chain. The final two at the back pressed their hands against the knight's shoulders, as if the strength of the entire line flowed forward into him.
Kevin watched the imaged as if he was drawn to it, as the old woman deciphered with fluid precision. Her voice took on a curious tone when she recited this one:
"SoulLink… a ritual crafted by Celestial Kin Candice for the Holy Army of Light. A weapon meant to combat the Soulbornes. The souls of the army connected to the Hero of Light… their strength made one."
She paused.
"…That's it? Only that? What happen to the Holy Knight? What happened to the Hero."
Perplexed, she shuffled to the next wall.
But Kevin didn't follow. His attention was caught by a single symbol near the corner—one she had skipped.
He didn't understand how he knew… but he understood what it said.
Or rather, he felt the meaning.
The sum of all power rested in the singular.
The words pulsed within him like a heartbeat.
Suddenly, the cavern dissolved—walls melting into a flood of white, an endless blank world stretching beyond imagination. Kevin stood alone. The silence was suffocating.
But not for long.
Two silhouettes formed in the distance, blurred shadows, wavering like smoke.
He walked closer… then froze.
He knew them.
Black Rabbit.
Sallie.
Or rather… Shadows.
Or perhaps… Souls.
Kevin's breath caught as the phrase echoed again in his mind—steady, thunderous, undeniable.
The sum of all power rested in the singular.
He looked at his companions' silhouettes.
"…SoulLink?" he whispered.
The shadows drifted closer, drawn toward him. He lifted his hands, hesitant, and touched both at once.
The world ruptured.
The shadows were pulled—no, devoured—into him. Kevin staggered back, panicking.
"Stop! Wait—don't—!"
But he couldn't release them. He felt their power threading into him like molten metal poured into empty veins. A torrent surged through his limbs—Sallie's essence manipulation, Black Rabbit's feral precision, his own will sharpening into something immense.
His heart thundered.
His breath deepened.
Unaware of it, his soul origin began to fracture—like a glitch in a program—until the unknown collapsed and was replaced by singularity.
Shadows spiraled around him, swallowing the white world. Darkness folded inward, compressing into a single point—
—then exploded.
Kevin gasped awake.
The blinding white vanished. The cavern vanished. Everything vanished…
…replaced by the ruined temple, and the sickening realization that Kelya's tail tip was still impaled through his chest, pinning him against a shattered column.
Blood smeared the stone. Dust drifted through flickering air.
Kelya loomed before him, eyes wild with victory, the other armored tails coiling like serpents ready to strike again.
But Kevin didn't feel fear anymore.
He smiled faintly, breath ragged but steady.
"So this," he whispered, "is the real power… of the SoulLink."