Chapter 85: The Spirit’s Transformation

Instead of scales, there were fangs.

In its once intelligent eyes, there were now tears of blood.

From the mouth where boundless energy should have flowed, an unknown substance was oozing out.

This was a dragon that was modeled after Raviata, the descendant of a dragon who had failed to ascend, and whom Shane had confronted in his past life.

In that past life, Raviata had fallen into a trap set by an organization and consumed the corrupted dragon’s heart. She became tainted with corruption and transformed into a monster beyond even the organization’s control.

At least in terms of sheer power, Raviata at that time was stronger than any being Shane had ever encountered.

She had burned down the entire Great Mezayia Forest and only exhausted all her energy and met her end after the devastation.

Shane unconsciously recalled Raviata, the pure embodiment of destruction, and now, that image was being recreated by the Origin of Greed.

The corrupted dragon opened its jaws and lunged forward.

The Mountain King slashed at the dragon’s jaws with his glaive, but the glaive was quickly devoured by the fangs that had replaced its scales.

Pagabutan’s flesh was being torn to pieces by the dragon.

It’s over.

If the Mountain King had been in his true form, he would have torn the dragon apart before his power was absorbed, but this body lacked such strength.

As he was disintegrating, leaving behind only a speck of the Mountain King’s soul, he faced the crimson sky.

There, seated on a throne, Shane looked down as if he was surveying the world.

“You have won. You are the third to win a bet with me.”

“I know one, but who was the other?”

“A young orc who lost his homeland long ago and sought me out. With his small body, he led his race and won a battle against a cyclops.”

An orc who couldn’t even use magic, yet single-handedly defeated a cyclops—a feat that normally required dozens of warriors risking their lives—had brought the Mountain King fresh amusement.

That’s why he became the guardian deity of the orcs and made sure they wouldn’t be sealed away in Akasha’s Great Seal.

“Interesting.”

“Anyway, child who has defied the river of fate, what is it you desire from me?”

At that question, Shane fell into a moment of contemplation.

Though he had already made up his mind, standing before the Mountain King now brought a different question to mind.

The reason he had returned to the past.

If he could reach a level where he could understand that with his analytical abilities…

Wouldn’t that mean he could defy the absolute flow of time itself?

But Shane reconsidered.

It’s a power beyond my reach.

Time was an incomprehensible realm that even the mountain king who had lived since mythical times could not resist.

Shane was not a fool who would covet a power that defied reason.

“I want the power to restore a damaged soul.”

“…A wise request. Yes, the damage to a soul can bring existence itself to a halt. It’s a very dangerous thing.”

The Mountain King’s soul seemed to smile with satisfaction.

No, to be precise, it felt that way.

Though he looked to be nothing more than a cluster of light, the joy emanating from his soul was unmistakable.

“She was a woman who brought me no small amount of amusement. Though it happened in a different timeline, it makes no difference to me.”

Perhaps sensing Shane’s intentions, the Mountain King lightly added,

“There are three methods to restore a damaged soul. The first is time.”

“Time?”

“Yes. As long as it isn’t completely destroyed, a damaged soul will naturally recover as time passes. But this doesn’t apply to the living.”

“Then it’s useless.”

“Generally, yes. The second method is the awakening of the soul. This occurs when one reaches a state you humans often call ‘rebirth’, or when the soul itself grows and breaks through its limits.”

“…That’s not an easy feat either.”

“It’s not common for a soul to be wounded in the first place. Likewise, restoring it is no simple task.”

“And the last method?”

“It involves consuming what you humans often refer to as the Source of Magic. If you do that, you can restore a damaged soul. To be precise, it forcibly triggers the second method.”

“…There must be side effects.”

The Source of Magic.

It was a stone that allowed a monster to shed its current form and evolve into a higher being when consumed.

This was the rare mineral Shane had earlier fed to the dark spirit.

However, it was something humans could not consume.

For some reason, when humans ingested the Source of Magic, the magic within their bodies would go berserk and lead to their death.

Countless mages had attempted to find a solution to this, but all had failed.

Every human who participated in the experiments met the same fate, and in the end, the coalition deemed such research illegal and completely banned it.

“Isn’t your race the one that produced the god Akasha? There’s no way for the Source to grow beyond that. It’s something that goes against the natural order, and the world won’t allow it.”

“Isn’t the soul the Source? If it can’t grow, how can it evolve?”

“The soul and the Source follow different principles. The Source is the inherent value possessed by the race itself, while the soul is unique to each individual.”

“……”

He didn’t fully understand, but he got the gist of it.

He then asked if there was a safe way to consume the Source of Magic, just in case.

“I possess all the knowledge of the world, but I do not know knowledge that has not yet come into existence. Little one, you must walk that path on your own.”

“……”

“However, this doesn’t seem like an appropriate reward for someone who has won a bet with me. That wouldn’t be right. Take this.”

The Mountain King handed over a cube.

“What is this?”

“It’s the library of a great archmage, a man who has now become a god, but this is the library he kept while he was still human.”

“The Akashic Records…!”

The library of Akasha who ascended.

According to mere rumors, it was said to be a space where the truths of the universe were stored.

However, the Mountain King denied Shane’s words.

“No, it’s different. Unfortunately, that library is not as grand as you think. It’s literally just a library. To put it simply… yes. It’s merely a tiny fraction of the Akashic Records, not even a speck.”

“…I see.”

“I’m sorry if you’re disappointed.”

“No, not at all. In fact, it’s a relief.”

Let me say it once more. Shane never sought power beyond his means.

He had already experienced that once in his past life.

But that doesn’t mean this object isn’t extraordinary.

It was the library left behind by a god when he was still human. How could it not be amazing to have it in his possession?

Even Shane couldn’t begin to imagine the vastness of the knowledge contained within it.

“I hope you’re satisfied with it.”

At that moment, as if to announce that this was the end of the conversation, the Mountain King added.

“Thanks to you, I had a fun time. This next sleep will be a pleasant one.”

“Sleep?”

“The world has expelled me, yet I’ve intervened this far. Now it’s time to pay the price.”

“Is that so? This will be our last meeting, then.”

“That’s right.”

What kind of dreams would a being left behind as a remnant of the mythical era have?

And how long would those dreams last?

As a mortal, Shane couldn’t even begin to imagine.

“And this is my gift to you. I no longer have any need for it.”

“……?”

From the fading remnant of the Mountain King, a small bluish light flowed into Shane and was absorbed.

“Gifts are most exciting when you don’t know what’s inside. I hope you discover how to use it on your own. Farewell.”

“……”

With that, the Mountain King’s remnant soul completely disappeared.

Surely, he would now enter a sleep far longer than a dragon’s.

And so, this incident in which an unexpected being intervened came to a close without anyone knowing.

***

And now.

Shane, who looked into the mirror and confirmed that his soul was fine, contrary to his expectations, summoned the dark spirit.

The path that Shane was already walking was what the Mountain King had mentioned.

Since his return, the only thing related to the source of magic had been the dark spirit, so he summoned it to check.

“Hmm…”

“M-Master…”

But something was off.

There was an unexpected change in the dark spirit.

Long black hair flowing down and roseberry-colored eyes that resembled Shane’s. Though those eyes were filled with fear,

The spirit no longer looked like the near-beastly creature it once was. Instead, a young girl stood trembling and staring at Shane.

“What on earth happened?”

Even with Shane’s vast knowledge, he couldn’t comprehend the situation, and the dark spirit opened her small mouth to speak.

“Well…”

It all went back to the time when Shane had lost consciousness due to the aftermath of the battle. It was right after his conversation with the Mountain King had ended.

The dark spirit was deeply connected to Shane’s condition since it was closely tied to his emotional state.

Given that it was a being that fed on dark emotions by nature, this connection was only natural.

During the battle with the Mountain King, Shane had used his Origin directly without channeling it through the spirit, which resulted in a massive crack forming in Shane’s soul.

This posed a threat of annihilation to the dark spirit.

Not knowing what to do, the spirit recalled the “source of magic” that dwelled inside it.

It was the object that had allowed the mere speck of a spirit it once was to become the being she was now.

The dark spirit who had developed an understanding of souls while staying by Shane’s side hastily swallowed the source of magic that it had yet to fully absorb.

Using itself as a conduit, the spirit passed on the power contained within the source of magic to Shane, just as it had when Origin flowed through it.

Though this act was nearly a gamble, Shane’s soul was in such a precarious state at the time.

However, the crack that had formed in Shane’s soul was so massive that it couldn’t be healed with the remaining source of magic, and once Shane’s soul began to recover, it greedily started to devour the dark spirit.

The result was what now stood before him.

Unintentionally, a new being was born, with Shane’s soul and the spirit partially intertwined.

“I-I’m sorry… Please punish me for committing such an act without your permission, master…”

The scene of the once beast-like being that was now in the form of a young girl, speaking in such a manner might have been considered shameless by anyone who saw it.

But Shane’s thoughts didn’t reach that far.

Rather, he looked at the girl’s appearance more seriously and fell into a deep thought.

Why does she look like that woman?

The girl’s appearance was strikingly familiar to Shane because she resembled someone he knew all too well.

She was the only companion Shane had in his previous life.

Seeing the dark spirit take on the form of that girl, whom he had tried to find several times in this life, Shane found himself sinking into deep thought.