Threads of the Soul

They say that power always comes at a cost. If there was anything to be learned from this moment, it was that. There was also the lesson of 'Don't randomly stick yourself in things if it could be dangerous' but such was a lesson that most men learned, and often ignored, when it came to certain things.

So let's just stick with the power one.

Like an egg constantly being injected with more and more liquid, the shell that the spirit was possessing cracked and crumbled as his radiant soul filled it with more energy than it could possibly handle, even with its upgrades.

While that energy resulted in overwhelming strength, displays of that strength weren't enough to stop the destruction of the earthly vessel.

By the time the group were stopping to make camp, not even a full hour later, the cracks had spread to such a serious degree that even the most oblivious onlooker would have an impossible time being ignorant of them.

To even call them cracks anymore would be an utter disservice. At this point, there was hardly much of the puppet left.

Both of its arms had crumbled away into dust, its chest cleaved in two by a cut so large and gnarly it would make the grand canyon envious. Chunks of It's legs had dissolved into flakes that were carried away by the evening wind, yet even still it walked properly as if the legs were whole, even if there wasn't a single strand of shell connecting the remaining parts.

As for its head, that was caved in on one side, revealing the ghastly face of the spirit trapped inside, at least to Seth's eyes. To those unaware of the secrets of the spiritual plane, all they saw was an empty shell hobbling along as it crumbled into nothingness.

However, despite the morbid situation it was in, and the unavoidable notion of impending doom, the spirit did not seem sad. Instead, as it looked back at Seth, he had a soft smile on his face. It seemed... Peaceful.

As the spirit inside closed his eyes and took one more step, the physics defying legs finally gave way, forcing the possessed puppet to tilt forward as it collapsed to the ground. However there was no crash or clatter, no thump or bump. As soon as it hit the ground, the crumbling puppet simply collapsed into a hail of white flakes, its form finally giving way as it returned to dust dancing in the wind.

[Your Spiritual Score has increased.]

As Seth watched the flakes of his former puppet dancing in the wind like snow drops, and felt the threads connected to it finally return to him, he heard Angel whisper in his ear once more.

Their voice, however, held a sense of melancholy to it where it was usually congratulatory and somewhat happy for him. But that was understandable. Even as his power increased, Seth didn't feel happy about this one at all.

Considering the source of his latest increase in power, and the cost that came with it, Seth brought up his stats. It had been a while since he had checked them, even after his upgrade.

[Name: Sephtis 'Seth' Quinn

Species: Gaian Human

Biological Score: 210 Elemental Score: 110

Spiritual Score: 395 Psychic Score: 75

Mutation - Puppeteers Thread, Spirit Animal, Resonant Threads

Requitals: Life Lantern, Ravens Raiment, Expeditious Ratreat, Grizzly Reminder, Kiss of Death, Requiem of Blood, Weavers Curse]

Bonds: Omelette]

The increase after his transcendence was honestly staggering. Just from the upgrade alone, his bio score had doubled and his spiritual score had increased by 1.5 times, to a grand total of 350. The only reason it was currently so much higher was all thanks to the souls he had consumed from the ambushing attackers, including the enormous Rat King.

And, of course, the donation from this spiritual wisp.

That donation in and of itself was worth a grand total of 5 points. Considering that his max total was now 1000, that donation of 5 points didn't seem like very much in the long run. At least, that was for his Biological score. It was previously evident that his soul was abnormal and even Angel was unable to accurately predict what his current max was.

However, Even if the donation wasn't all that much, Seth still appreciated it.

But it also showed the crux of his problems. The largest source of soul energy he found had been the soul remnants of creatures in the transcendent tier. At least now, they were unlikely to kill him, since he was now on equal terms with these soul remnants. But it also meant that the gains for them were much less substantial.

When he was lower, the 20 points he gained from the Rat King would have been extra-ordinary and boosted him in power tremendously, it was the same amount of points that rocketed him so much closer to his previous threshold.

Now however? 20 points was worth 2% of his max. The gains he received from the small fries, like the rats and shadow Puma's, were even worse. The gains stayed the same, 1 or 2 points from the small remnants, but the goal was much much higher.

If he wanted to get to his max with just those, it would take literally thousands to do so. He would have to devour half the city and just hope that it was enough, and god knows how many people and animals in this city had survived or transformed for him to devour. But surely... Wait a second.

That was a good thought, how many of the people and animals would have transformed? Thraven had a population of nearly 100,000 people. Add onto that the pets, wild animals, plants and... whatever the hell the Hemogoblins came from, and you started to get some serious numbers.

Even if only 1% of those survived and transformed, which was a serious under estimate and the lowest number Seth could imagine being possible, that still left thousands of possible monsters for them to encounter.

So then... Where in the world were they all? They had been marching through these streets for two hours. Granted, they weren't going far and it's not like they were traversing the entire city, not even half of it. But even at the painstakingly slow pace they were making, they should have seen something but all they had seen was the Wisps.

As much as he hated to admit it, and the horrific things that usually followed such a thought, it was indeed quiet. Perhaps, one might say, too quiet.

Who would have thought that a peaceful night, camping under the stars glittering in the night sky while being surrounded by fairy lights, could carry with it such a dreadful realisation.

Transferring himself over to Corvus, Seth turned his head to look at Astra's back as she stood at the edge of their makeshift camp. The light of the various campfires cast deep shadows throughout the camp and beyond, creating the illusion of creatures lurking in the darkness.

Alas, it was only ever an illusion. There truly was nothing out there, but for some that was a far more terrifying thought.

Walking over and stopping beside her, the pair stood shoulder to shoulder as they gazed out into the still and silent night. Flickering orange light illuminated Astra's back, while her face was wreathed in shadows. All apart from the crackling light of her electric blue pupils, like two raging thunderstorms contained within the windows of her soul.

They stood silently for minutes, not sharing even a glance as they watched the world for any movement, any shred of life out there, but the world was not so kind.

Eventually, Astra spoke. Her voice was low, as if afraid of being overheard, and her tone even and emotionless, just like it always was.

"You noticed it too, didn't you?"

Seth nodded softly, tapping his fingers against his leg and contemplating what the cruel fates had in store for them. Of course what his little spy had seen wasn't enough, there just had to be more, didn't there?

Finally, he decided to respond, his tone a copy of Astra's.

"It seems our little friends have been busy."

"Do you think they know we are coming?"

"...I don't know. Perhaps, perhaps not. But either way they are preparing for something big, whether it is an attack or to mount a defence, does it really matter in the end?"

"I guess not. Should we tell them?"

"No need for details. Let them have tonight. Just make sure that they don't go crazy and are ready for anything the day might throw at us. Worrying them would only harm us in the end."

She nodded softly, pursing her lips as if she was deciding whether or not to speak further. Whatever her mental turmoil, in the end she simply stayed silent.

Seth let out a soft sigh, patting her gently on the shoulder.

"You should get some rest too. You need your energy most of all. Be ready to attack in the morning."