The palace was even quieter than usual.
Most of the guards were out there assisting the knights. Due to the impressive death toll, the others in the palace adopted some silence, as a silent wish for the people facing the darkness to be safe. The arrival of the knights had lessened this death rate for now. However, this silence was broken by the noises coming from one room, by a terrified scream. In there was one of the princesses, and the other was the source of her terror – the Knight had risen.
Down on her back after falling from her seat, she tilted her gaze upward to face the heaping terror. She had watched this thing, and for a forest folk, of her level, she could see more than the terrifying set of armour she saw the impenetrable blackness hiding what lies beneath. She had volunteered to keep watch, as she was not yet strong enough to assist those in battle, and the palace was too understaffed to spare a guard for the Knight, as per Solace's request. What she had not expected to see though, was the soul the slumbered beneath the armour.
The forest folk are universally able to see and interact with souls much more easily, but for this ability, their population cannot easily grow. Usually when a being is asleep, one barely a notices the change of the soul – for it is very slight. Pure souls for example can grow slightly brighter when sleeping.
But when gazing at the Knight, she felt something strange. The soul did not look to be asleep. It looked more like the soul was trying to reattach back to the body. Usually, a being would be dead as soon as the soul detached. She was not too worried, being a sheltered princess, she knew there exist various powers out there and this might just be another she knew not.
What she had not expected though is that as soon as the soul finished reattaching itself, it became more visible to her. A shift too sudden, too strange. Like the soul was limited in some sense, unable to fully exert itself. Which is not strange for a ghost/spirit, but living souls are always in their most expressed form. Sadly, this was the least of her worries. What she was concerned with was the full image of the soul.
The sight before her was a massive soul, one peerless. She could not see what it was inside the cover of a skill, nor its shape, or composition – but she knew to fear it. She was so terrified she had not heard it speak to her.
"… Where am I? And who are you?"
You have encountered a level 196 forest folk, Princess Forg. Type-None.
'That look in her eyes…'
The Knight looked around and remembered things. The fight with Red Scorch, the orders to the dragon, and the mission of the army.
'How long have I been out…? Right… this is the woods of Elleria, this one is a forest folk… she must be gazing at my soul, trying too anyway.'
Then the Knight tried to use the method of concealment that Marshal Avarice had given it.
'It's on, then how can she see.'
"She can see me too but had gotten used to me, I think even with concealment, your soul still terrifies her. I wonder if she would go mad if she saw just how vile it truly is." – Mugaw then burst into laughter, an eerie and yet joyful one.
The Knight just ignored her, consoling the living has never been its concern, finding the sword is still it's one and only priority. The Knight walked past her. This brought her back to her senses, then she hastily got up and said,
"Knight Bachelor Sir! I am princess Forg, and I have been tasked with checking on your status."
The Knight looked down and focused on assessing the state and whereabouts of the army. Using their connection, it saw that they were all waiting near the boundary of the woods, out of site.
"Where are the rest of the knights?"
"They left a few months back to defend against the darkness."
'He truly must be powerful for his soul to be that massive. I was a little stumped by the sight, but it is nothing to fret about, he is human after all. One powerful one at that. Should I take him to mother? Or should I get him an escort and send him on his way.'
"Princess? I will be leaving then."
"Wait sir. First, I must find you an escort, and secondly you must get ready for the battle, I see you don't have a weapon on you. And lastly, before you leave, I am sure my mother, and the other council members might want to meet you. Otherwise, they might not recognise you during future encounters."
The Knight really did not enjoy having to deal with affairs, 'Zuri sure was helpful.' I thought. Then the princess left and later came back to escort the Knight to the throne room. In the meantime, the Knight decided to check on its current stats.
Dweller ID … 070124
Title – Vile Knight
Power – 250
Knowledge – 250
Skills acquired – [Crimson smith] [Mighty] [Hero] [Sole Survivor] [Battle Monger] [Greed] [Soul craft] [Teleport] [Sense Manipulation] [Soul Touch] [Horror Mirror] [Camouflage] [Impact] [Arbitrary Concealment] [Flame Dragon Absolute Rule] [Fire Famer III]
Followers – 4291
Tamed – [Red Scorch]
Believers – 50 567 609
Spawn – 493 928 813
Void Domain – 1011
Armament – [Vile Armour] [Vile Sword] [Forlorn Feather] [Gift of Speech] [Scent Charm]
Inventory – [Dangerous Medallion] [Bone Thrown] … (dozens of souls and other equipment) … [Ansi's Soul] [Survival Kit] [Monster Cage] … [Book of Souls] [Contract] [Undone Hammer] [Roaring Hammer] [Silent Daggers] [Demonic Mirror] [Comfortable Chair]
Slaughtered – 2451
Dreaded Soul – [Visage of Terror] [Daunting] [Desire] [Retched Void] [Soulless] [Madness] [Unfathomable]
Will – Wisdom (Infused with Whisper of Darkness)
Value Coins – 745 600
'Down to two hammers and a dagger for weapons… Damn dragon cost me my hammers, scythe and the chain… (an intense silence fell upon the room) … Moving on, 50 million believers!? The irritation is still growing… It seems I forgot to leave the chair I took from my room at HQ; they will just have to do without it. Still stuck at level 250 I see. Absolute rule and fire tamer are new. Still can't use the other powers I see. And the value coins are still as high as ever. My slaughter points, they keep going down every time I ask whisper a question. The demonic mirror… Still haven't used it yet. I was out for about half a year; I should test out my new skills. What's taking that princess so long?'
Just then she walked into the room, more composed than the last time.
"The council has found some time to meet with you. Not all are there, and please make the meeting short – they are busy."
The Knight followed her out, without as much as a single word.
'He sure is insufferable for a newly added knight Bachelor. First was the soul on the plume, a strange and oddly powerful soul – it reeks of rage. Strange, considering that it has no form, yet it is not fading like the souls of dead do, it's not even a ghost. The other knights weren't kidding when they said he's a little strange. I even heard that he defeated a divine angel, impossible! Even at his current rank, there is no way he could do it.
He even became friends with Red Scorch, the ancestor of every single fire dragon. That's crazy. I heard he's even believed to have pushed the darkness from Maroon city away. On top of everything he keeps ignoring me as if I'm his attendant. He must be confusing me with someone; there's no way he could be so presumptuous.'
They arrived at the throne room. It was decorated and placed in a way that makes the queen look less like a tyrant, and more like a ruler. There was a majestic throne in the centre of a large table. Then there was twenty-four other seats on the table. The person on the throne was even more imposing than the chair she sat in.
You have encountered a level 392 forest folk, Queen Xarion. Type-Disaster.
'I guess that would make her the most powerful disaster I have ever met. I wonder if that chairs of hers is any good though.'
"Are you trying to make me jealous? Just get me a vessel and I'll show you…" Mugaw winced in jealousy at the insult it so casually received, 'Most powerful disaster?'
The Knight ignored Mugaw and continued to analyse the crowd. Most of them were weaker than the Knight, except the few guards still around. Most of the chairs were empty, especially those around the queen. They all had a similar look in their eyes, while not as terrified as the princess, it was a bit more curious, if not anything.
'The most powerful on the council are out. By the looks of where Forg is sitting, most must be her children. Impressive considering the low reproduction of their manifestation as forest folk.'
The meeting itself was also short. Few pleasantries, and some curios questions between them, there was not much to say to a Knight Bachelor though. They all asked about the dragons, and they explained the obvious reason why they could not risk the entry of Red Scorch, even if it's being tamer that previously known to be. The Knight remained mostly passive until the end, only speaking when spoken to. All the while trying to ask the question it had, while seeming less presumptuous.
"May I use your training grounds? I have been sleeping for about a month; I would like to test out my abilities before I leave."
"Surely that can be arranged. Forg here will help you with that. I have one more question before you leave. That soul on your plume, how is it not a spirit and yet it is able to remain in this world?"
"I am afraid explaining that will be complicated. The short of it is that it's a soul that has decided to follow me even in death in death, by holding onto my soul, why? Even I don't know that."
She leaned forward as she heard the answer; it was not impossible, just strange to see it being done, by a human even. She herself could not, so she just assumed it to be some kind of power, as her daughter had, a truly strange one.
"Interesting, it has managed to hold onto its intelligence even after losing its body. That will be all then."
Forg got up and led the Knight to the training grounds. The palace was just like every other thing here. Formed from a misguided human concept of nature. The wood looked like a stump, but really, it was just a branch that had just grown into a flat area. There in the raining halls, were pillars, covered by vineyards, and a very high ceiling. The walls were thick. The area itself was big, about a mountains worth.
The Knight had expected to see scars from previous training sessions, but just like the one at the Knight academy it was almost in pristine condition. It was strange to realise that this place isn't even as big as the castle, just a section. The Knight turned around facing the princess, asking if he could have privacy. If the Knight was human, her beauty might have been alluring, even more so for her mother. Alas, the Knight felt nothing when gazing at those light turquoise eyes, the striking eyes possessed by all forest folk.
"Will you be watching?"
The Knight knew that there was no real privacy in the castle, it could not use the void. But it had not wanted an audience, otherwise the new skills it has might have to pacified. She swayed her head and left.
The Knight pulled a few peculiar souls out of the inventory, and by using soul craft, in unison with crimson smith, it created the [Fire Spear]. The spear came from a few monsters it had killed just outside of Maroon city on patrol. Its primary ability is to always be summoned when thrown or dropped. The ability added by soul crafting was a flame made from the fire elementals the Knight had used to craft Sirus's armour – striking blue flames. Some of the elementals were still left over. It created a flame on the blade part of the spear. The flame only burned what the user wanted it to burn.
Then the Knight tried to strike the spear into the training platform, to no avail, not even a scratch. The wood held, refusing to budge even an inch. In a very fast flash, the Knight used impact, which is focuses all of its strength into a single point. A skill it learned after beating the angel, by forcing all of the void into a single point. Which is what the Knight just did now, but at a speed higher than its teleportation.
The platform still held, but now the spear was wedged in and was standing upright, spear blade up. The Knight then focused on the fire tamer skill. Then the fire moved. With an impressive amount of precision. After figuring it out, due to the knowledge stats, the Knight learned to use it fairly quick.
It was making a rose, out of the flames. Going as far as to shape it into worms digging in dirt made from the same flames with a slightly altered flame intensity. But at just Flame Tamer III, the Knight could not make the flame possess too many forms at the same time or pass the ranged of its specific heat. After that, the Knight took the spear out. Watched the wood heal instantly. This gave the Knight confidence to try what it was about to do next.