I could feel the powerful vitality emanating from the tree, although it could not take root in my purple-gold ring. It would survive for a time. I would have to find a place to plant it before it perished.I gathered all the corpses of the slain t.i.tan.o.boas and didn"t see any sign of s.h.i.+ Da around the tree. He wasn"t within the snake head"s belly, so I headed back to the cave to see how s.h.i.+ Da survived his melee with the t.i.tan.o.boa.
Chubs had a new respect for me after witnessing the battle, of course the cowardly turtle didn"t partic.i.p.ate. Even though he was a Viscount, he was only good for ferrying this young lord around the garden.
As soon as I got back to the cave, I noticed s.h.i.+ Da secluded within his room with countless injuries. His arrogant pride had caused him to bite off more than he could chew engaging the Viscount t.i.tan.o.boa.
"So.. Soulless you"re back, quickly refine me a Tier-4 healing pill to help with my injuries," said s.h.i.+ Da, coughing up blood as I came beside his bed.
I shook my head as I looked down on the pitiful human.
"A pity," I said.
"I"m going to lose a good miner today."
"What do you mean Soulless? A Tier-4 healing pill can easily save me," said s.h.i.+ Da as his eyes filled with terror.
"You still don"t realize it, do you human? Right now you are worth more to this young lord dead than alive. Every p.a.w.n must understand when it"s their time to be sacrificed for the king," I said as I motioned for the red-feathered raptor by the side of the bed to get up.
The raptor was calm and docile ever since getting my u003cSoul Brandu003e. He had even followed s.h.i.+ Da"s orders to the letter. They even slept in the same room like bonded partners.
But behind the tranquility of the raptor"s eyes lay the savagery of a beast that wanted to be free. It wasn"t in his nature to behave like a house dog, and s.h.i.+ Da should have known better. If I died, the first thing this raptor would do was attack this stupid human.
"Despicable raptor, you"re much more intelligent than the human. You always knew this day would come," I said as I patted the red-feathered raptor on the head.
"The day I freed you from your bonds."
I left the red-feathered raptor standing by the bed, walked out of s.h.i.+ Da"s cave room, and closed the door.
"Be free and wreak havoc," I said as I lifted my hand and grasped towards the red-feathered raptor ripping out my u003cSoul Brandu003e.
Immediately I heard screeching and screaming behind the door as the raptor was unchained.
"Soulless you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I curse you to die a thousand times!" screamed s.h.i.+ Da.
The raptor"s savage nature was on full display, murdering the defenseless s.h.i.+ Da before succ.u.mbing to its own grim fate from the removal of my u003cSoul Brandu003e.
I shook my head again as I entered my true form releasing my u003cHollow Domainu003e to collect their souls.
"Tisk Tisk, two good miners gone just like that," I solemnly said.
It really upset me to let them go, but it was about time I got out of this world. The best thing s.h.i.+ Da could do for me now was to give me the coordinates of his world, so I can go for a stroll there one day.
The resentment surrounding s.h.i.+ Da"s soul was relentless, it was the most frightening resentment I had ever seen. He hated me to the very bone for betraying him in such a brutal fas.h.i.+on. Just like that a proud son of heaven, the one sword of whatever stupid human realm he"s from was dead.
Ah well, just a little more time refining and he will behave like a good little soul within my u003cHollow Domainu003e.
I entered seclusion within my cave to digest my gains. The battle with the t.i.tan.o.boas really let me understand my Nephilim form better. I was still a ways from completely mastering it, but I now felt comfortable in my own skin.
After resting and rejuvenating myself, I decided to go check out the danger that lied near the Void Ore. I knew it was a weird little bug because of Zat, so I wasn"t afraid of it.
"What do you want?" said the weird little bug when I got close to the Void Ore.
"You can speak, that makes this simpler," I said as I transformed to my true form using my u003cSoul Visionu003e to gaze upon the little bug.
It was a tiny fat dark blue insect. I had no idea what it actually was.
"Kneel or die," I said, releasing my u003cHollow Domainu003e. The ma.s.sive Viscount t.i.tan.o.boa soul was at the forefront of my u003cHollow Domainu003e releasing the pressure of his u003cConstricting Domainu003e bearing its fangs towards the bug.
"Queens don"t kneel!" said the bug"s little voice.
"Why does this Viscount sound so childish?" I thought upon listening to the voice a second time.
"Hold," I said, stopping the river of souls within my u003cHollow Domainu003e from moving forward.
"What are you?" I said.
"I am the most glorious of insects a Void Queen! You should bow in my presence devil," said the fat dark blue insect as it wiggled around.
I released u003cConstricting Domainu003e and dove at the Void Queen, grasping her in my hand.
"Let me go!" said the Void Queen in its childish voice as it tried to wiggle out of my grasp.
"I don"t have time to play with children," I said as I tossed the Void Queen in the beast sack Zat gave me, tied it up, and walked back to my cave.
"Your sack can"t hold me!" screamed the Void Queen as she went on a tantrum, unable to free herself from the sack.
"Children should know there place," I said as I shook the sack, startling the bug.
This Void Queen had to be some kind of exotic race if she was already a Viscount while being a child. I wondered if she came from that chaotic area in the void that Zat told me to never go to. No wonder Zat left this beast sack in my ring. It was so I could collect her. I"ll ask him about it when I get back to Satyr Castle.