"What is soul binding" Shawn asked as he pulled out the book of knowledge from his cloak. Since we has waiting for his stamina to recharge he decided to do some research in the mean time.
Soul binding is an ability created by beings of the nether realm many eons ago to help increase their numbers during the war since they do not reproduce very frequently. It connects the two souls together, usually giving the caster a loyal servant and the other usually gets a power boost...
It has been forbidden since the demon uprising many years ago and those caught performing it usually get executed as devil worshipers. When performed by humans it usually require a quite large amount of blood sacrifice and even then it rarely worked like it was supposed to.....
Soul binding requires consent from both parties before it is initiated. It is an immensely painful process that kills those that are weak of will turning their corpse into a revenant that serves the caster. If somehow you manage to live throught the pain then the survivor will be granted power usually at the cost of their humanity and most times sanity.....
The first step of soul binding is hellish torture that is meant to bring out the true self of who ever it is casted upon. This soul binding has no long term negative effect whatsoever upon the caster when performed perfectly, which doesn't happen very often according to history. Whether the victim lives or dies the caster end up with a servant either way...
"Interesting, definitely should add that to the list of thing to check out later" Shawn thought as he returned the book to his cloak and continued through the underground fortress.
The rest of the exploration was quite boring. There were no more powerful enemies to find anywhere. Just a bunch of weak humans screaming about long live the collector or some crap like that as they charged to their deaths.
Shawn even found a bunch tied up prisoners who were not even worth the waste of energy it would take to free them so instead he just ignored him. After a while the soldiers stopped rushing toward him, he could sense their mana but they were too busy hiding to be hostile so the time it would take to hunt them down individually was not at all worth it. Cowards like these to afraid to do their job like these were the people that annoyed Shawn the most. Pathetic the whole lot of them.
As Shawn was thinking about how much longer he would have to do this a slight fluctuation in the air caught his attention.
He threw up his rectangular barrier ready to block it. When the attack came into view it was a blue-ish beam of light that moved incredibly fast. As it raced towards Shawn's barrier it suddenly changed directions and curved around the barrier striking Shawn directly in the side of his head.
As soon as the attack connected. Shawn's eyes dimmed instantly and his barrier slowly disappeared leaving him completely exposed.
'What the hell am I doing shoot that guy with the gun, why can't I move' Shawn thought as he felt himself slowly getting pulled backwards away from reality.
Shawn's body swayed slowly from side to side as the blue beam connected with him and linked all the way back to the mage's hand. Whatever was happening it seemed to have incapacitated him for the time being.
"Excellent, you were not that strong after all. Physically you are quite the specimens but mentally you were weak. You succumbed to my power just like so many others" said a robed figure with a slight laugh as he captured the insect that had been tormenting his operation and killed so many of his men.
'And adding him to the collection will be a wonderful prize. He is definitely strong enough to tip the vote for me in the next election' the robed figure thought as he walked towards Shawn without even a hint of hesitation.
"Now let's see what's under that hood" said the figure as he reached upwards unmask the hooded Shawn.
As he approached Shawn looked up and smiled menacingly, the smile was much more wicked than it normally was.
"What. the. fuck. are. you. doing. Why does this not feel like a dream"
"What why the hell isn't the hypnosis working on you. Your mind should be like putty for me to mold. What the hell is going on, why are you not being affected. You should be in deep sleep right now" said the figure in a state of confusion not realizing he had put himself directly in the mouth of the beast.
"Ahhhh. I see, you are the one I have to thank for freeing me. Even though I can feel it is only temporary it does feel great to stretch my leg, his legs, well our legs" said Shawn as he stretched his arms and cracked his neck.
"What are you talking about" asked the figure confused at the persons very bizzare actions, did the hypnosis drive him insane he wondered as the figure continued talking to himself without paying any attention to the mage.
"Who are you" said the robed man finally realizing that if he wasn't controlling this monster then he was within the danger zone.
'One wrong step and he will try to take my life, I should try to distract him while I escape' he thought as he glanced at the monster before him.
"Well, it is hard to explain. I am technically the same person but... well you know what never mind. Even I don't understand it but we have the same will, kinda. So I am just gonna go ahead and finish.... Where do you think you're going" as Shawn said that his nails elongated until they became black claws and were coated in mana.
Shawn swung his hand and five crecent shaped waves flew from his fingers and slices apart everything in it's path slicing the roof, wall, floor and whoever the hooded man was to pieces and began to laugh like a manic.
"The real world feels so much better. Feeling the other me kill is so much more boring than actually doing it yourself" shouted Shawn as he turn around and ran back in the other direction slicing up all the people who Shawn had decide that killing wasn't worth the effort.
He was having an absolute blast, it felt like he was at an amusement park. All the blood and terror is was like cotton candy to him, it was wonderful.
...Some amount of time later.....
Shawn opened his eyes for the first time in what felt like months and realized that he was covered in blood. As he looked around he noticed that everything he had dreamed actually took place. He was standing in what looked like a throne room but there were bodies all other the place carved up beyond recognition.
The last thing he remembered was killing those gaurds then suddenly he couldn't move then he felt as though he was thrown into a dream. Everything he did felt like it wasn't really real. Almost like he was swimming in honey, he remembered all the words that the other him spoke but it felt distant even though he knew it was his own body doing it.
Every action he took he felt like it was his own choice but at the same time it did not feel like he was in control. Almost like he had one hand on the steering wheel but someone else had two hands on it. It was a bizzare feeling that he expirence when he fought against Shira and lost but the last time he wasn't actually able to see what was happening outside.
[Yeah, it was pretty strange for me as well but I actually learned something kinda cool] said the voice that was within his psyche.
"Damn how did you get free, I thought I had to give in to you for you to take control" asked Shawn angry that, the other him somehow managed to hijack his body.
[Well apparently when you are mentally incapacitated or unfit to control that wonderful body of ours, I get put in control. I wonder what happens when we get knocked unconscious do I get to take over again] asked the voice as it began to wonder about it's own existence and all the things it would do next time it managed to get free.
Shawn pulled out his trusty book knowledge and began reading, in an attempt to find out why the other him had taken control and if it would be a problem.
Well, this is just speculation since there are no records about dark elves anywhere. Not even the godess of wisdom knows anything about them so most of my information about these questions are my conclusions that I have came to after analyzing all the facts that I know.....
Based on how the negative version of you acts and thinks, it also has no idea what it is. So for the time being we can assume that he is not some foreign entity or trick set by the gods to take over your body and devour your soul. For what it is worth it does not seem like he necessarily wishes harm upon your body as it sees itself as you. If anything it just wants to steal your body. It perceives everything you do and vice versa, you two might be two sides to the same coin. As long as you exist he may exist as well....
As for what this creature might be, it is a product of you being a dark elf. I am not sure why he is inside you psyche or what his purpose is but a positive a byproduct of having him is that you are essentially immune to mind control and any other spell or effect that would incapacitate or cloud your judgment. Also based on reasonable conclusions if you were attacked in your sleep negative you will protect you if your lives are in danger.....
After you riding the Bicorn, plus casting soul binding, plus have a second self that seems to feed off negative emotions I have come to the conclusion that dark elves have some sort of connection to the underworld. Though I am 100 percent sure you are not a demon since your race is not demon so that information is a little questionable since all creatures from the nether realm are classified as demons. More research should be conducted to gather conclusive evidence....
The book was amazing as usual answering questions that I hadn't even thinking of asking but that demon and nether world business opened up more questions about my identity that I feel may be important in the future. Unfortunately it seems like it is going to take a whole nether adventure just to figure those things out. What a pain.
"Why did you spare her by the way" asked Shawn as he finished reading he looked at the only girl who was left alive but there was no answer from the negative him.
The girl hand white skin and blonde hair that would surely send a human man into a state of pure lust. Her body had curves and crevices that were begging to be explored. These filthy humans would never be able to hold themselves back which was probably why she was here but to Shawn there was a sense of purity about her that just annoyed him.
It was much stronger when the other him was in control but he could still feel a very slight repulsion when he looked at her. Yet along with that repulsion he still felt a very, very slight urge to protect her and kill the person that did this to her. One of which he already managed to do while the other him was in control.
(When I say repulsion I don't mean like when you hate someone. I mean like actually repulsion like when two +ve magnets push away from one another).
Shawn left the elf girl in a corner as he continued behind the throne towards a gigantic door that the treasure map was leading to. Whatever was behind this door was what the quest wanted him to come and find.
Shawn was amazed my the amount of treasure that was beyond the door. There were literally mountains of gold and more magical artifacts and items than he could even bother to count. Everything looked important but only one thing caught his eye.
A small vial of red liquid that was placed in the center of the treasure hoard. Whatever it was it was expensive because dozens of protection runes were placed around it to keep it where it was. A simple bullet to the center of the runes was all it took to deactivate them.
Shawn inspected it as he held it in his hands.
[Warlock's blood : incomplete : allow system to refine]
[Refinig : unstable Warlock's blood : successful]
[Philosopher's stone : Legendary magical artifact acquired]
[Step one of quest completed : not strong enough to attempt stage two : User is advised to halt quest until necessary strength is acquired]
[Warning : If the user dies, the contract with the gods will be voided and your soul will be eviscerated : you are advised to halt quest]
[Would you like to continue quest]
[YES/NO]