After Rafael's consciousness left his clone and returned to his body, he began the final preparations to enter Stygai…
Just as Zhang had warned him in the many letters, he performed a total of 3 light purifications, using spells from a level 5 artifact that Omar had made for him. It was an artifact that allowed 3 consecutive uses of the same spell, causing an amplification of the effects at a high cost. With each use of the totem-like artifact, cracks formed, while a huge light shone on Rafael's body, eliminating all the souls that followed him.
If he had the so-called "spiritual vision" of the Necromancers, he would surely have seen the souls of many pirates and monsters being destroyed as the spell worked. After the third consecutive use, he even heard some groans as the totem shattered and turned to dust in his hand.
After the purification, he did not stop and performed a long ritual to strengthen his soul temporarily*, followed by another ritual that created a weaker version of the "Conceal Life" spell. With everything prepared, when the clock struck 12:00, he activated his "Shadow Cloak," which was now a spell of its own, and entered the city.
As soon as he crossed the gates and set foot in the city, he did not run, his goal was not to get to where Zhang was, but to find out why the messengers were no longer able to deliver their messages.
Walking slowly, he observed the many houses, mansions, and small buildings that should have existed for civil and commercial use. But now they were completely abandoned and empty.
Some with their doors and windows still open. Even in the darkness, Rafael's eyes could see tables with plates, cutlery, glasses, and chairs. The fact that some dishes had traces of food on them showed how severe and fast the Calamity of Souls was, people probably died before they could even leave their homes…
Not much different from Asshai, everything was made of the same mysterious black stones, and right at the entrance of the city, he could already see some Small and Medium Towers identical to those in Asshai. But before he could go any further, something expected happened, followed by several absurd things.
[BEEP]
[You have entered Stygai - The Corpse City]
[The Curse of Souls has been applied to you!]
[If you die within the territory of Stygai, your soul will remain here forever protecting the place for all eternity!]
[The Curse of Corpses has been applied to you!]
[If you die in Stygai, your body will instantly become Undead. Any corpses that are brought into the city are also affected by this curse.]
[Your curse resistance (low) is ineffective against the curses of the Calamity of Souls.]
...
[The Stygai Reaper sees through all your spells and defenses and notices your presence!]
[You have been affected by the Eye Curse of Weakness(Average)]
[You have been affected by the Eye Curse of Magic Distortion(Average)]
[You have been affected by the Eye Curse of Inferior Race(Average)]
[You have been affected by the Eye Curse of Life(Average)
[You have been affected by the Eye Curse of Soul(Average)
[Your Curse Resistance (Low) cannot eliminate Eye Curses of (Average) level]
[Curse Resistance (Low) partially reduces the effects of Eye Curses.]
[It is recommended to leave the range of Eye Curses]
"Does this bastard have a curse-type Sharin*an?" Rafael thought as he read the effects of the curses…
[You lose stamina quickly, and your actions cost twice the normal stamina.]
[There is a (low) chance that basic spells will fail during casting, and there is an (extremely low) chance that advanced spells will fail during casting]
[Your Race is at least twice as inferior to the Stygai Reaper, the negative status Fear (Medium)* will be applied during combat]
[Your body suffers (medium) damage constantly under the Reaper's vision]
[Your soul suffers (medium) damage constantly under the Reaper's vision]
[Your "Soul Reinforcement" spell has had its time reduced by half.]
[Your "Hide Life" spell has had its time reduced by half.]
"Damn… First, my mother makes comments about my race, now even the Reaper decides to bully me for it?"
Damn, there was no time to observe anything… I had to quickly do the tests and get out of the city. If "conceal life" fell, the "Shadows"[1] would soon find me, and I would have to fight for my life… I chose a house large enough for my rituals, blocked the door, and began preparations. I cleared out a large dining table and began placing several modified soul stones.
These stones were a type of messenger that I only learned about after Zhang came to this city. They were a type of soul that could cross the city without being influenced by their Calamity, and could even enter the Towers if they had a contract with someone inside them. I managed to buy some of them through the Master of Whispers, and he also gave me a key item that would allow me to understand what was happening here…
The item was an artifact in the form of a monocle that I equipped on my right eye, and I began to summon the first spirit after using Zhang's means of contact. An old man whose soul had no arms appeared in front of me, silently opening his mouth, waiting for the message. After placing the message in his mouth, I permitted him to continue.
I activated the monocle's ability, placing a mark on the messenger, and saw him float as he crossed the wall of the house where we were and continued at an extremely high speed, crossing all the buildings in Stygai with ease, only deviating from Zhang's location when there was a tower in his path. I could see his movements even through the walls due to the use of this strange monocle.
But as the creature moved more than 1 kilometer away, its shape was barely visible through the item. But before it got any further away, it disappeared into thin air. Its connection with me was cut, and the modified soul stone on the table that was its container was broken.
Not satisfied, I redid the entire process again, sending another soul with the same copy of the previous message. But this time, the messenger only wandered through Stygai for 600 meters, following the previous route before disappearing into thin air again. Once again, the soul stone broke, and with nothing else to do, I decided to do one last test.
So, when I sent the third messenger, he only got away for a mere 200 meters before disappearing again, and his container was also destroyed. But this time it was not in vain, because due to his proximity when he disappeared, I had seen something just before he "disappeared"…
****
Special thanks to the Patreons:
Sage's Supporter: Jan, Vinnie, frimorigo, Leery Falcon, Parsa, Scott Robertson, and Pato Senalima!
Magical Apprentice: Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio, Takatchi, mandeep singh, Austin, Kobe Robertson, Paul Gaslac, Niteo akuma, and 704Corleon!
Senior Magic Apprentice: Cole Bromley!
[1] Shadows Souls*