The spirit fog clung to my skin like sweat in winter—clammy, ghost-slick, cold in a way heat couldn't reach.
I couldn't shake the whispers. They weren't just around me. They were me. Slipping through cracks in my thoughts like water through old stone. Every breath I took tasted like someone else's last.
Froilan was behind me, probably pacing, or panicking, or digging a panic hole. But I couldn't move. Not yet. I wasn't done.
[Notice: Through Necromancy, I may have access to see the deceased's skills. Imitation will still be possible. The only requirement is high level skill such as Unique skill needed to be sacrifice. Would you like to proceed?]
Is that even possible? How far can you evolve skills?
[Answer: As long as I see potential and will benefited you]
Okay. If you say it'll benefit me, proceed.
[Confirmed]
[Necromancer abilities are this follows:
Soul manipulation, Death Magic, undead summoning, forbidden knowledge, spirit manipulation.
Ready…
Scanning lesser skills…
Scanned.
Suitable skills to Dragon Tamer.
Would you like to use it?]
Wait, I have that skill?
[Yes]
Why the hell didn't you tell me about it when I fought that dragon bastard?
[The dragon has been leashed by a Necromancer. Skill: Soul chain was active. And the Dragon was long dead.]
I see. Do it then. I don't need Necromancy and that damn Dragon tamer!
[Confirmed: Mana is sufficient. Necromancy and Dragon tamer in fusion.]
…
…
[Completed]
[Confirmed: You acquired Dracomancy]
[Ability: Draconimancy is a Unique skill. Summon undead dragons. Capture the lingering soul of dragons and fuse them into weapons and armors.]
Woah, that sounds like a badass skill. But I don't' need it. Eat it, Cheru.
[Confirmed: Cherubim under upgrade. Any active operation will be suspended and resume after. Initaiting…]
I waited as Froilan phasing, urging me to get the hell out of here. But I stay. I told him to give me a minute or something.
And then suddenly there was a hum in my head like someone has been born again.
[Skill: Cherubim has upgraded. Do you wish to initiate the Soul glare?]
Soul glare?
[The passive skill I recieved after the upgrade]
Will I'll be able to them too?
[Positive. All Necromcy skills has been processed and distributed to the evolved skill like Theia. It means you will still able to see them]
Alright. Thank you.
"Gods damn it, Troy! What the hell are you still doing there? Let's go! This is serious!" Froilan yelled like he wanted to run away but couldn't.
I ignored him.
As I used my Theia skill, I was created by black and shattered atmosphre, its like some 4D thing or something.
A shapeless thing rose from the pit.
It wasn't twitching or whispering or melting into the scenery like smoke. No, this one stood.
[Notice: Echo Frenzy Skill Aquired]
[Type: Physical boost]
[Description: produce high- adrenaline boost from rage, fear and desparation. The body tap into the combat instinct of channeling physical transformation. Can boost any physical skill]
The thing started to have shape.
Tall. Human. His form was blurred, but not broken—still retaining something like pride. His eyes glowed faint blue in the shadows of his face, and when he looked at me…
It wasn't hate.
It was recognition.
"You…" he rasped. "You're one of us."
My heart dropped.
"One of who?"
The spirit moved closer. Not walked—glided. Like he'd forgotten gravity existed.
"The lost. The ripped. The summoned and discarded."
"Wait," I said, eyes wide. "You're not from here?"
His mouth curled in a twisted smile.
"Not unless medieval death cults are part of Texas now."
"…Texas?"
He nodded solemnly. "Used to be. Jason Tulliver. Twenty-eight. Was working HVAC when the sky cracked open and a chicken-lizard-thing dragged me into a burning circle."
I swallowed. "You're serious."
Jason's ghost shimmered. "As a tombstone. Got dropped in Zephyrus thirty years ago—Earth time. Classless, like you. No system tag. Just me, a wrench, and too many teeth in too many mouths."
He gestured to the pit.
"Met the Bishop ten years in. Thought he was salvation. Thought he was from Earth too, the way she talked—smooth, clever, like he remembered how Wi-Fi used to work. But she wasn't."
"What was she?" I asked.
Jason's blue eyes pulsed. "A collector. Finds otherworlders, bleeds 'em dry, feeds 'em to the Knight."
"That Knight," I murmured. "The one they all fear."
Jason didn't nod. He didn't have to.
"He doesn't level. Doesn't skill up. Doesn't have a system. Just a sword and silence. When he looks at you, your words die. Your powers glitch. He'll control you."
I felt the sweat drip down my neck. Not fear-sweat. Not quite.
It was dread. The slow, heavy kind that made bones ache.
"He found me," Jason went on, voice hollow. "Found the others too. Every one of us dragged here without a tether. We called it the Nullbrand Curse. No System Tag, no Class Unlock. The Bishop said we were chosen. Said we had potential to be back on Earth."
"Let me guess," I muttered. "He said you were special."
Jason chuckled dryly. "That's the bait. The hook's in the grave."
I stared down into the pit.
"So all these… they were people like you?"
"Not all. Some were from Zephyrus. Rebels. Survivors. Cultists who outlived their welcome. But at least twenty of us were… foreign."
My stomach twisted.
Twenty people. From Earth.
Dumped here like trash. Eaten by some Classless knight with a murder addiction and no facial expressions, probably.
"How did you die?" I asked quietly.
Jason's face darkened. "I didn't. Not exactly."
My blood turned to ice.
"What?"
"I was erased. Cut, yes. Killed, maybe. But it wasn't a death like you'd think. No blade. Just… silence. The Knight touched my chest, and my body folded in on itself like paper in a fire."
"And yet you're here."
"Fragments linger. Especially when the death is... wrong."
He pointed at the pit. "This place is like a memory loop. We all echo. Not whole. Not sane. Just trapped."
[Warning: The soul is under manipulation thread. I activated control resist but the threas manipulation getting strong]
Cherubim I need more time.
[Negative. Enemy sensed something is wrong. They notice the thread's movement. Seemed like this whole place are the 'torturing location']
What do you mean?
[Would you like me to activate the Soul Bind temporarily]
Wait. What for? How can I do it?
[Touch his head]
Wait!
[Enemy in coming!]
O-okay! Do it!"
"I'm sorry Jayson but I think but I need to do this," I said and placed my hand on his head and he vanished.
[10 minutes before arrival]
"Gods damn it!" I yelled in frustation as everything went back to normal. I activated speed, grabbed Froilan and our carrier before activating teleportation.
We were back at Zenya
"What the actual fuck was that?" Froilan ask as we now back.
"Enemy detected two mice sticking their nose in their playground."
Froilan groaned and left to vomit while I left with confused Jayson as he looked around.
"I used soulbind, Jay. You're in my place right now," I said.
Jason tilted his head. "Soulbind?"
"Yes."
Jason stared at me for a long moment.
"I'm not in that pit?"
"Yes."
"Will I ever go home?"
I hesitated.
[Notice: Necromancy Soul manipulate thread cannot be undone. Unless…]
Unless what?
[Kill the Necromancer]
The Bishop?
[No. She to is manipulated by the necromancer]
The knight?
[No. He was just a pawn. A pretender]
Then who?
[Negative: Necromancer is under High conecealment]
Damn it. So what Jayson saw was what?
[Dark Illusion, necromancer's passive skill]
So it was false memory?
[Yes]
I looked at confused Jasyson.
"I've done dumb things before," I said. "But letting you rot here with secrets we need? That feels dumber."
Jason gave a faint smile. "Then come on, partner. Let's give them something to regret."
[Soulbinding activating]
My body jerked. Cold thunder flooded my chest, like I'd swallowed lightning dipped in tar. My vision blurred—then fractured.
Memory: Jason Tulliver
The Bishop smiled too much.
That was the first thing Jason noticed. That and the smell—like lavender over mold, pleasant but fake.
Jason's camp had been quiet. Off-grid. Hidden. But one day, the Bishop arrived with food, water, and promises.
"You don't have to be afraid," the Bishop said, warm hands on Jason's shoulders. "You were brought here for a reason. Let me help you remember it."
Jason trusted her. Ate the stew. Shared stories. Laughed for the first time in months.
Then came the Knight.
He appeared without sound.
Tall. Masked. Cloaked in gray so dark it swallowed light. His sword wasn't drawn. It didn't have to be. The System died when he appeared. Jason's screen went blank. His health bar vanished.
And then—
Nothing.
No scream. No slash.
Just—
"Silence."
I fell to my knees.
The memory slammed into my spine like a crowbar.
Jason's final moments. His terror. His trust. His betrayal.
And that one word.
Silence.
Stop soulbinding.
[Soulbinding interrupted]
Jason was gone. No shade left. No trace.
Just me. And the knowledge of what waited beyond the Bishop's smile.
I stood, slowly. My hands trembled.
Froilan, still hiding behind a tree, peeked around it. "Troy? You done talking to evil fog, or…?"
"I met someone," I said quietly. "From Earth. Like me."
Froilan's eyes widened. "What?"
"He was betrayed by the Bishop. Killed by that Knight. Killed by necromancer who played his memory."
"Holy gods…"
"Jason Tulliver. HVAC technician turned soul fragment. Thirty years in this world, and that's how he ended up."
Froilan walked toward me, slower now, careful. "You… okay?"
"No. But I will be."
Because now I knew what we were facing.
The Bishop and knight were both pawn. They was used to hunter of people like me. For their power, their skill.
And that Necromancer…
[Necromacer used shadows of the dead to form an army perhaps soldier or otherworlder]
Holy cow!
"Which means?" Froilan asked.
"Create a soldiers."
I looked up, eyes hard.
"What an actual fuck."
"It means someone has been manipulating Zephyrus in search of other wordler."
Froilan paled.
"But I've got something they don't," I added.
He raised a brow. "Oh? Magic sword? Dragon armor? Newfound love of cardio?"
I smirked faintly.
"You and all of my friends."
Froilan blinked. "We're doomed."
I clapped him on the shoulder. "Nah. We're just getting started."
And together, we turned our backs and went inside.