R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 17

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 17 (In editing-v2) (typos corrected) 

In the depths of the Dark Canyon, there existed a rather normal looking stone wall.

This wall was marked with cracks and creases, weathered and aged by the sands of time. From first glance, it didn’t seem any different than the many other stone boulders and cliffs around it. The Dark Canyon stretched for hundreds of miles, after all, with much of the same scenery repeated over and over.

Standing in front of this unremarkable wall was a young woman dressed in a simple brown dress and boots, resting the palm of her right hand on two sheathed shortswords attached to a belt around her waist.

“This is the spot.” Sophia muttered as she stared at the wall, her Fairy Eyes glowing with faint pink light.

The Limited Ability not only allowed her to befuddle her enemies with stunningly realistic illusions but also enhanced her vision dramatically, allowing her to see things others couldn’t.

“Really? I don’t see anything different.” Shin abruptly teleported into existence next to Sophia, squatting down on the ground and staring at the wall suspiciously.

“It just is, it’s hard to describe. It looks… weird. This should be the spot.” Sophia shrugged as she stared at the wall.

“You already killed your Shadow Seeker, now I just need to kill mine.” Sophia turned away from the nondescript wall and began to pan her eyes around, scanning the environment.

The mostly empty canyon was eerily silent, the afternoon light faded and dim due to the ever-present cloud cover above.

Behind Sophia, the ordinary stone wall seemed to shiver ever so faintly as Shin walked near it.

The Soul King’s Inheritance had laid here undiscovered in this location for thousands of years, and that was for good reason.

Not only was it located in one of the danger zones of the Second Layer, the Dark Canyon, but it also was incredibly difficult to spot.

In the first timeline, this ancient tomb was discovered by someone with the Pathfinder Type Ability, an Ability that used mystical energy to seek out lost treasures, hidden relics, and places that housed great secrets. If humanity never came to the Second Layer, it was quite conceivable that the tomb would never be discovered again.

It was an unusual Inheritance; most Inheritances were designed to be difficult to complete, not difficult to find at all. If anything, the Soul King’s Inheritance went against the norm…

Which was intentional, as it turned out.

The Soul King’s Inheritance wasn’t designed to be discovered by humans, Byrens, or any of the main races on the Second Layer in the first place.

It was a tomb meant to be found by the brethren of the Soul King: the nigh extinct Dark Wraiths.

“Well, alright. I’ll set up watch.” Shin waved at Sophia and then vanished, teleporting dozens of meters away to a high vantage point near the top of the canyon. He pulled out his sleek Soul Rifle and began to adjust its aim, panning up and down the canyon as he looked for enemies.

The teamwork between the duo had grown exponentially after working together the past several weeks. Shin had grown into the role of a scout and teleporting sharpshooter, while Sophia put every iota of her being into mastering close combat.

Sophia took a deep breath as she sat down on a nearby boulder, crossing her legs comfortably. From her waist, she pulled out two grey shortswords, each one an Artifact called a Dust Blade from the Shop. The swords cost 36,780 Points each, Sophia had managed to get both by hunting Morenkai on the First Layer, just before she and Shin went up to the Second.

The swords were sharp, with a smaller-than-average grip that fit perfectly into Sophia’s hands. Each weapon had the special property that, when charged with Ki, emitted trails of grey dust that floated in the air, obstructing the vision of her targets. The swords weren’t perfect, the dust trails also blocked her own view, but with her ability to manipulate wind thanks to her Wind Sweeper Ability, the downsides could be minimized.

Time passed by.

Minutes slipped away as Sophia sat and meditated, breathing in and out at a steady pace, focusing her senses outward. Her entire body relaxed and entered a state of calm readiness.

Finally, after roughly 10 minutes of waiting…

“Incoming from the East, Sofa!” Shin’s voice echoed out loud.

Immediately, Sophia’s head snapped to her right, staring towards the direction Shin pointed out.

Roughly 400 meters out, She could just make out a vague, shadowy figure moving towards her. The Shadow Seeker’s body came into focus as it rushed at her, a replica of Sophia herself.

Sophia stood up, spreading her two short swords out and to the side. Her Fairy Eyes flashed pink as she enhanced her vision. While her Fairy Eyes couldn’t trap the Shadow Seeker in an world of illusions, it did make time around her seem to slow down when she zeroed in on her opponent, proving to be more than helpful.

The air around Sophia began to fluctuate as she activated her Wind Sweeper Ability, manipulating the wind around her.

As the air began to whip behind her, she bent her knees and faced the charging shadowy copy of herself.

The Shadow Seeker, by this point, had blitzed towards Sophia at an incredible speed. After being hunted for 5 days in a row, this iteration of Shadow Seeker had grown to be extremely fast and strong.

In just a few split seconds, it sprinted more than 375 meters, its body transforming to a blur. Every step the creature took seemed to almost glide off the ground, leaving no trail or trace behind.

Sophia never lost track of the monster as she stared it down quietly, her body tensing up as it grew close.

‘It’s still just as unnerving as before.’ She thought in the moment before it reached her.

Shadow Seekers made little to no sound, unlike a normal monster. They didn’t pant or growl and their movements had almost no interaction with the surrounding environment… if it wasn’t for the murderous chase and attacks against their targets, it was almost like they didn’t exist at all.

The creature arrived and attacked.

When Micheal told Sophia about the Shadow Seekers, he had described them in a rather succinct way.

‘When you’re outside the Soul King’s Inheritance, think of them like super-strong Morenkai that come back stronger every 6 hours after you kill them. They can block attacks and move stealthily, but that’s the limit to their intelligence.’

In a similar vein to how the Morenkai fought, the Shadow Seeker lunged at Sophia with both hands, slamming one in from each side in a sort of murderous hug attempt. Despite its simple nature, the attack was not something Sophia would survive if it landed on her. Even a single glancing blow from this Shadow Seeker would be enough to break several bones in her body, while a full on attack would fatally injure her.

‘But it has to actually land that attack first.’ Sophia’s eyes flashed as she kicked her right foot off the ground, winds of over 100 mph rocketing her upward in one smooth, graceful motion.

She flipped over the Shadow Seeker, dodging its attack completely.

The Shadow Seeker noticed immediately and twisted its body as it began to turn, eerily silent as it lurched to a halt. The creature slid across the ground as it forcibly cancelled its momentum.

In the midst of her flip, while she was still upside-down and mid-air, Sophia pulled her right arm in, clutching the Dust Blade tight and covering it with the glow of Intermediate Tier Sword Energy, rippling power that showed the faintest hints of evolving into Advanced Sword Energy. 

A split second later, just as the Shadow Seeker was beginning to turn, Sophia flung her right arm forward with all her might, sending the short sword hurtling through the air towards the Shadow Seeker and leaving a trail of floating dust.

Deft, guided winds sprung into existence and accelerated the blade, blasting it forth even faster.

And, in the same split second the Shadow Seeker took to turn around…

Sophia’s glittering sword slammed into its chest and pierced it down to the hilt, bringing the creature to a stuttering halt.

Sophia took advantage of that halt as, while still upside down and in mid-air, she formed a platform of solid air and kicked off that platform, spinning her body around to land on her feet right in front of the Shadow Seeker.

The Shadow Seeker tried to react, its inhuman durability letting it overcome the shock of getting stabbed through the chest. The trail of floating dust in front of its chest partially obscured its vision, forcing it to lash out wildly at Sophia.

Sophia crouched supernaturally fast by manipulating the wind to help her duck down, while simultaneously raising her other remaining Dust Sword up in a defensive block.

The Shadow Seekers right arm flew over her head, missing completely, while its left arm got deflected by Sophia’s raised sword, glancing off at an angle. The power behind the blow was enough to make Sophia’s left arm go numb, but unable to injure her.

There was a split moment in time where neither Sophia nor the Shadow Seeker were attacking each other. Sophia’s left arm had been knocked outward, her Dust Sword nearly flying from her grip at the force of the monster’s attack, while the Shadow Seekers arms hung loose and awkwardly out.

That moment ended as Sophia’s right hand snaked up and grabbed the Dust Sword that was pierced through the Shadow Seeker’s chest.

She latched onto the grey sword and then ripped it up vertically, instantly splitting the monster’s chest, neck, and head in half in a fraction of a second as she stood up.

The Shadow Seeker immediately died, black, shadowy essence spattering through the air in a wide arc from Sophia’s attack.

“Tch.” A stiff breeze rustled over Sophia, making sure none of the black substance landed on her as she cleaned off her sword and stepped away. 

“Strength without skill is no strength at all.” Sophia muttered a quote she’d heard Micheal say as she looked at the remains of the creature, her eyes cold and calm as she sheathed her shortswords. 

In that moment, if Micheal had been there, he would’ve been unable to hold back a smile.

Sophia Morgan, the infamous Demon Fairy of the first timeline, was officially back.

A genius who possessed an incredible ability to adapt, learn, and fight, a veritable monster in her own right, one of the strongest First Layer S Rankers.

“Woah, nice job. You’re getting kinda scary now, Sofa.” Shin’s voice sounded off right next to her as he popped in out of nowhere, teleporting beside her. Shin had his Soul Rifle aimed down, but still at the ready, in case the Shadow Seeker was somehow not dead.

“Let’s not fight each other, like, ever.”

Sophia rolled her eyes.

“It’s dead now, let’s not waste any more time.” She replied as she began walking over to the nondescript entrance to the Soul King’s Inheritance.

“Alright, alright. Fair enough. I was getting bored of killing these things over and over anyway.” Shin shrugged and walked up behind her, his cheerful demeanor dampening as his gaze grew a little more serious.

“I guess we finally get to see why Micheal had us do that.”

Sophia lifted her right hand up to the stone wall, storing her two Dust Blades in her Spatial Ring as she did so. She carefully rested her hand on the cracked stone and waited.

Only a couple of seconds after she touched the rock, warm, yellow light began to appear, emanating from all the nearby cracks in a 5 meter radius. From this light, strange symbols began to emerge, glowing yellow glyphs that surrounded both Sophia and Shin.

Sophia took it all in steadfastly while Shin gazed about in delight, waving his hand through the glyphs to see what happened. Nothing, as it turned out. Sophia shot him a glare in response.

And then…

Just like that, the duo vanished, the glowing symbols exploding with light and teleporting them away.

The light slowly faded away from the rocky wall. Soon, this area of the Dark Canyon returned to normal, looking just as boring and uninteresting as any other part.

…

Sophia and Shin had successfully entered the Soul King’s Inheritance.

.