He had read many descriptions of strange places in his world, but he had never seen or heard of anything resembling what he was witnessing now. His body froze, and his blood began to simmer faintly. His eyes remained fixed on the black figure in the center of the dark, vast hall.
The figure wasn’t clear; it looked like a massive abyss filled with a sticky black substance moving in all directions randomly.
Although the sides of the hall were illuminated by dozens of glowing stones, the light seemed to be absorbed into that black hole, from which a cold breeze whispered like the breath of death, accompanied by an indescribable, strange odor.
"Move." The priest pushed him from behind, snapping him out of his daze and causing him to take a stumbling step forward.
He stopped himself and quickly glanced around before his eyes returned to the pit that resembled a deep abyss—or rather, a well of tragedies.
During his quick scan of the room, he noticed several people present, dressed in black robes like all the priests he had seen before. However, unlike them, the auras of these individuals seemed faint and muddled, as if they had been dipped in a pit of sticky mud.
He walked slowly and hesitantly, approaching the strange pit.
As he got closer, the simmering in his blood intensified, but this time it wasn’t hot. Instead, he felt an intense cold running through him, as if his blood was rushing with eagerness and longing, accompanied by something else.
Unconsciously, his nose began to bleed. Drops of his blood fell to the ground, and with each drop, the darkness in the black well rippled toward him, as if drawn by a mysterious force.
His hesitant steps came to a halt, and he wanted to retreat, but suddenly he saw the darkness gather together, forming a large, tentacle-like appendage. It wasn’t solid but rather sticky, like a muddy tentacle dripping with drops of darkness.
The appendage crawled across the ground, leaving behind a trail of black liquid. At that moment, Sollivan wanted to retreat and escape, but he couldn’t. He faintly realized that his body was frozen in place by a mysterious force that prevented him from moving.
His expression contorted, but he didn’t allow panic to take over. He kept watching the appendage as it slowly crawled toward him until it reached the spot where his blood had fallen.
"What is this thing?" he thought silently as he observed the appendage touching his blood and beginning to absorb it.
The appendage emitted a strong pulsating sound, then suddenly leaped toward his face—or rather, toward his blood.
Sollivan wanted to retreat, but he forgot that his body was immobilized. Before he could react, the priests in the hall finally moved, making strange gestures with their hands at a frantic speed.
Their energy harmonized, and several black chains emerged from their hands, intertwining before falling over the mouth of the well, covering it like a large net that emitted an annoying clinking sound.
The shadowy appendage that had reached Sollivan’s face disintegrated into a black mist, colliding with him and scattering in all directions.
Cough! Cough!
The darkness in the hall lessened, and all the priests around the well let out a long sigh. They looked at him simultaneously with eyes filled with shock and resentment.
The chains in their hands disintegrated, and the darkness returned to spread throughout the place, but the well became calmer than before.
As for the High Priest, he remained standing in his spot, watching everything that had happened with an ambiguous expression, but his dark eyes gleamed faintly when he saw the strange appendage.
After everything had calmed down, he walked forward and placed his hand on Sollivan’s shoulder, who was sweating profusely, and ordered coldly, "Move forward."
Although his mind was still chaotic and hadn’t fully recovered from what had happened, Sollivan walked involuntarily and approached the pit, causing all the priests around him to heighten their vigilance and prepare for any emergency. But this time, nothing happened.
"Kneel."
Sollivan, who had felt the chill of death moments ago, didn’t dare to disobey the priest’s orders.
Without hesitation, he knelt down while his eyes remained fixed on the dark well before him, filled with fear and awe.
But at that moment, he noticed that the turbulent darkness began to calm down slightly, and then small red eyes appeared, looking at him for a moment before disappearing.
Everything happened so quickly that he couldn’t clearly see the mysterious figure, but his expression stiffened.
He turned his head and looked at everyone around him, noticing that their expressions hadn’t changed. He wondered with furrowed brows that didn’t hide his fear.
’Did they not see that? Or is it something normal in this crazy pit? What the hell is this place, and what do they plan to do with me here?’
His questions and confusion multiplied, making his heart race, but suddenly he regained his composure and focused all his attention on the priest, who suddenly placed his hand on his head.
The priest’s long fingers touched his forehead, making him feel disgusted, but his expression didn’t change, and he kept staring blankly at the pit before him.
He began to hear a mysterious muttering coming from behind him, but it also seemed distant at the same time.
He felt a slight dizziness that made him forget his terror, and it seemed as if he had fallen into a long illusion. But that dark feeling lasted only a moment before disappearing. At that moment, he saw the faint black mist floating above the pit moving strangely and harmonizing with the obscure words.
The mist gathered and began to take shape, transforming into a long, thin chain. Before he could realize what it was, the chain flew toward him at high speed.
His eyes widened, and his fear returned. He wanted to avoid the chain, but he was helpless to move, and all he could do was watch helplessly. The chain hit his forehead, but he felt no pain.
Instead, his mental state began to change suddenly. His fear and the feeling of helplessness he had felt disappeared, and he no longer thought about anything.
All that remained was a haze and a deep desire to sleep. Yet, he still had a vague feeling of something cold wandering through his body unchecked.
Time passed extremely slowly, and after what felt like an eternity, he regained his clarity and mental stability. At that moment, his eyes widened, and he turned his head in confusion.
His senses returned to full strength, and he realized that the mysterious muttering coming from the priest’s mouth had stopped.
But he didn’t feel relieved; on the contrary, his mood became disturbed. He slowly lowered his head and looked at his chest. He didn’t know why, but he felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart, capable of crushing it at any moment.
’Is this an illusion? Or is this the Well’s seal their leader spoke of?’
All he could think of was more questions. He raised his head and looked at the dark abyss, letting out a long sigh.
’More questions. Ever since I set foot in this world, dozens of questions have piled up in my mind, and it doesn’t seem like I’ll get any answers soon. An uncertain fate and lost thoughts. Things don’t seem to be getting any better.’
While lost in his sarcasm, he saw the darkness of the well ripple ominously again before the small red eyes he had observed earlier appeared.
His body shivered involuntarily as he remembered the black appendage from before.
He moved slowly, and this time he found himself able to move. He turned toward the priest standing behind him and noticed that he was breathing heavily. "Does the seal exhaust him?"
When this question crossed his mind, he saw the priest, who was breathing heavily, suddenly raise his head and look at him with astonished eyes before shouting in a tone filled with anger and fear.
"Stop the shadow!" The priest moved quickly and pushed Sollivan, who was lost in his daze, aside, causing him to fall to the ground and skid several steps, scraping the black soil beneath him. His expression twisted, and he groaned in pain, but he didn’t let his guard down.
He looked at the spot where he had been standing and saw the High Priest and the other priests surrounding something black—or rather, a dark humanoid figure with red eyes moving frantically in all directions, dodging the priests’ attacks. But despite its speed, the shadow wasn’t strong enough.
One of the chains sent by the priests pierced its chest, and the monster’s chest deformed and exploded, turning into a vague mist accompanied by a loud, annoying scream.
"Damn it, more trouble!" Sollivan cursed loudly while covering his ears as tightly as he could.
But his eyes didn’t leave the misty figure, which continued to flee despite its injury. At that moment, the atmosphere around them cooled, and the cold breeze coming from the well stopped.
All the priests turned at the same time and looked at the well, which had become strangely still, with grim expressions.
Sollivan didn’t understand what was happening, but the priests’ expressions made his heart race.
"Damn it!" One of the priests wanted to curse, but the words got stuck in his throat when the sticky substance in the well rippled violently, and a massive, grotesque head emerged from it, so horrifying that the sight alone was enough to induce nausea.
The monster had a lizard-like head, but it had ten eyes scattered irregularly across its face, along with dozens of short, sharp horns protruding from below its mouth. The well wasn’t very wide, but it was enough for something this huge to pass through.
"What’s happening to the well?!"
"Is there something wrong with the concealment seal?"
All the priests muttered in hoarse voices, lacking the composure they had earlier. But their confusion and astonishment lasted only a moment before they heard the High Priest’s stern orders, snapping them out of their shock.
"Seal the entrance and close the gate! No one or anything is allowed to leave this place."
His hands didn’t stop moving as he spoke, and as soon as he finished his orders, a small red square appeared in his hand. The shape expanded rapidly and turned into a massive barrier protecting the gate leading to the surface.
At the same time, more than half of the priests moved together and surrounded the well, beginning to form some mysterious seals with their hands, their expressions stern.
Amid this monstrous chaos, Sollivan remained sprawled on the ground like a dead rat, and the only thing moving in his stiff body was his cold, calculating eyes.
He had been trapped with the others inside the large hall, and although he was somewhat far from the well, the chilling aura of death emanating from it made him unable to maintain his composure. But despite everything that had happened, he didn’t allow fear to take over and decided to stay in his spot until everything was over.
Roar!
The massive head roared loudly and began to slowly emerge from the dark well, but the priests didn’t stand idly by. They formed dozens of intertwined chains that fell over its head and pushed it down with tremendous force. Sparks flew everywhere the chains collided with the monster’s metallic, armor-like skin.
But even though the monster was pushed down slightly, the priests couldn’t force it further.
The monster opened its mouth filled with sharp teeth and began to bite through the chains effortlessly, causing the priests to stagger and fall back. The weakest among them coughed up blood, while the stronger ones quickly regained their footing and formed more chains.
Even after the monster had severed hundreds of chains, it couldn’t free itself or bring out more of its limbs, as more chains continued to surround its head. Even if only faintly, the monster was being pushed back into the well.
On the nearer side, some priests continued to surround the black shadow that was trying to escape. Although their numbers were small compared to the others, they didn’t face much difficulty due to the shadow’s weakness.
Every attack they made caused the shadow to disperse, and although its body reformed, it became smaller and smaller, leaving it in a dead end and screaming in a desperate, repulsive voice.
...
A stern expression appeared on Priest Otieno’s face as he worked quickly to stabilize the barrier he had created, but his focus remained on the monster whose head had emerged from the well. He felt a silent regret as he thought, ’I shouldn’t have provoked this hybrid’s blood. I didn’t expect the reaction to be this strong... This isn’t normal, even for a soul lineage.’
Otieno furrowed his brows.
’No matter how I think about it, there’s something strange about this person... His lineage seems unstable, as if it was just born. Is this because he’s a hybrid? Or is there another reason I’m not yet aware of?’
These thoughts weren’t random; it was known that lineages were unstable at birth, especially primal bloodlines. Even the slightest influence could lead to catastrophic results, ranging from the weakening and erosion of infants’ bodies to their deaths.
For this reason, the births of children with distinctive bloodlines were conducted with extreme caution, attended only by trusted parents and grandparents and supervised by a "Keeper of Secrets."
This keeper possessed special abilities used to temporarily seal the newborn’s lineage until it stabilized completely.
After birth, the child and mother were isolated for a full month before the purity of the lineage was declared, a procedure applied to all lineages, regardless of the strength of their blood.
As for Otieno, Sollivan’s blood seemed to him like that of a newborn, as if only two days had passed since he came into the world. This was extremely puzzling, and he couldn’t find a logical explanation for it.
’Even if he belongs to the soul lineage, how was he able to summon this monster from the abyss?’
Suddenly, his expression froze, and astonishment replaced his confusion. His eyes widened as he glanced at Sollivan lying on the ground.
’He’s a hybrid... half-human... and his lineage traces back to lands far from the vast plains.
They can’t easily reach this place, and if they do, they wouldn’t move freely for fear of drawing the attention of other lineages. Doesn’t this make him an irreplaceable opportunity? Despite the impurity of his blood, he isn’t much different from pure bloodlines.’
His confusion gradually faded, replaced by a faint smile as he muttered vaguely, "Isn’t this the best?"
But his thoughts were soon interrupted as he finished stabilizing the barrier. After taking a deep breath, he gathered his momentum and rushed toward the well, ignoring the shadow, which wasn’t as much of a threat as the other monster.
He stood before the massive head with dark eyes, but unlike the other priests, he felt no fear and didn’t form any seals with his hands. He remained in place while his robes fluttered in the cold wind.
"Secure this monster!"
His words carried the authority of a leader, and as soon as they reached the priests’ ears, they unleashed all the energy they had been conserving, doubling their momentum.
More chains appeared and surrounded the monster from all directions, even binding its mouth, which had been trying to bite through the chains, rendering it unable to move. It could only look around with its sharp yellow eyes, filled with indescribable malice.
Otieno’s expression didn’t change, but he nodded slightly, showing his satisfaction.
He didn’t have much time before the priests reached the limits of their energy, so he didn’t hesitate. He unleashed all his power and assumed a combat stance, completely contrasting his pale, frail appearance, but this contrast lasted only seconds before disappearing.
His thin body began to swell, and his muscles bulged, pulsating with overwhelming strength and dominance.
His loose robes became tight, accentuating his powerful body like a carved statue. He looked at the monster with sharp eyes, making him seem like a completely different person. In moments, he had transformed into a fierce warrior, with no trace of the priestly presence he had had before.
But he didn’t stop there. He clenched his fist and focused all his energy into it. The monster they were facing wasn’t weak enough to be taken lightly, so he decided to end things with a single blow before the situation worsened.
The air around his fist began to ripple, as if trying to escape his overwhelming force. Then, after a few seconds of preparation, the priest leaped high above the well, leaving a small crater in the ground beneath his feet. He soared through the air, his eyes fixed on the monster’s head, which stared back at him with fear.
Boom!
Without hesitation, he delivered his deadly strike directly to the deformed head. His fist collided with the monster’s body, sending sparks flying in all directions.
But this time, the tough skin dented under the immense pressure and shattered. The chains binding the monster broke, and it was freed, but it didn’t attempt to struggle. All it did was let out a desperate roar as its teeth flew out and its eyes deformed, half of them turning into a sticky, bloody paste.
L
The black liquid in the well rippled, and a massive shockwave spread, forcing the priests to retreat several steps. Even Sollivan, lying on the ground, couldn’t prevent his body from rolling away.
As for the shadow, it was flung backward with tremendous force, crashing into the red barrier separating them from the door.
Its body deformed and turned into black smoke that scattered in all directions, but it quickly reformed. It stared around with its dark eyes until its gaze fell on Sollivan, lying motionless.
In a fleeting moment, the shadow stretched across the ground like a creeping mass and rushed toward him at insane speed, taking advantage of the priests’ distraction.
On the other side, Otieno forcefully pushed the monster back into the well, then turned smoothly and landed on his feet. Without hesitation, he ordered sternly, "Renew the concealment seal!"
The priests moved immediately, surrounding the well despite their physical exhaustion. They steadied themselves and channeled their remaining energy into forming mysterious seals and obscure symbols.
"Stop!"
A strange cry echoed from behind them. Otieno turned quickly and looked at his companions to find them chasing the shadow, which had finally reached Sollivan and pounced on him!
The priest’s expression twisted, but he couldn’t move due to the seal he was forming. All he could do was shout in despair.
"You can’t!"