Through this door was a hallway that led all the way to the room that Ray looked at when he first approached the throne room. Through his mana sense he could see that there was another room branching off from the hallway, though there was just a pile of spent mana crystals and a replica throne, so he looked over it.
At the end of the hallway there was a room made out entirely of a shiny black stone with glowing blue lines etched into it. A woman, dressed in nothing but rags, was chained up to the wall.
Ray could have easily seen this long before entering the throne room, but such a thing could only be seen as disrespectful. Since he didn't know if others could detect his mana sense, he wasn't going to go around and use it willy-nilly.
The woman was rather skinny, with her ribs exposed, and her skin was an unhealthy pale, as if there was no blood in her body. Her hair was long and white, covering up her face as her head hung low. Making an estimate, she should stand at around 6'5, even taller than Ray's human form.
When he used his mana sense to try to investigate her face, her head suddenly shot up as she looked at him.
"Holy fuck, I guess I answered my own question." His mana sense was obviously detected by the woman and based on how quickly she noticed it, it must have been easy.
When their eyes met, it felt like she saw through his entire body, leaving no secrets hidden. The thing that left him confused however, was that she was obviously blind, with cataracts covering both of her eyes.
"A high human?" She said, with disappointment steeped in her voice, as if she was expecting Ray to be someone else.
Sighing, she put her head back down. "And an acquired one at that. So, this must be what she left me alive for, nutrients for her next prodigy." Her voice was beautiful yet piercing.
Even though there were hundreds of meters between the two of them, it sounded like she was right in front of him while also not being too loud. A bit confused, Ray spook up.
"Hello, I assume that you are the queen of this colony. I came to speak of migration, though I do not know what you mean by 'her next prodigy' and 'nutrients.'" As he said that, the uncomfortable feeling passed over him again.
"What? How is that possible!" She yelled. "No, there has to be some mistake. There is no way that a human from a lower world could transform into a high human on their own. This has to be some planted memories!"
"How the hell do you know I came from a lower world? And what do you mean 'a human from a lower world'? The only world that humans come from is earth!" The uncomfortable feeling washed over him again. "And stop doing that thing that you are doing!"
Genuine confusion covered her face. Not knowing how to respond she blurted out "What?"
"What do you mean 'what'? That uncomfortable feeling that happens every time I speak. Just because I don't know what you are doing doesn't mean that I can't tell that you are the one doing it." Again, the feeling washed over him. "There it is again!"
Still confused, she made a shot in the dark. "You mean my divine sense? How could you not know what that is? As far as I can see you are a saint, this should be natural to you."
"I don't care what it is, all I know is that I don't like how it feels," he responded "But first, let's get you down from there. I don't know what those chains are made of, but they are sucking away at your vitality. At the rate they are going you have maybe 5 years left with your current levels." He vanished and reappeared next to the woman.
"Wait! Don't touch the chains!" She tried to warn him, but as she didn't expect him to be able to move so quickly, by the time she thought of it, it was too late.
"What? Why shouldn't I touch the chains?" He said with one of them in hand. He could feel that they were leaching away at his life, but it was nothing compared to the life leech curse that was imprinted on the ancient Shagroth flute.
"Speaking of which." He crushed the chains and analyzed the pieces. "There it is."
[Life-drain (SSS): A basic spell, hex, or curse refined to the peak of perfection. Drains the vitality and soul power of the target to strengthen the caster. Can be placed on a suitable object and all strengthening effects will affect the afflicted object. With multiple afflicted objects, a core can be formed where the soul power and vitality will be stored.]
As he crushed the chains, the stored vitality and soul power rushed back to the mysterious woman. Through analyzing how they flowed out of the chain and the residual mana in the chain he managed to learn the spell.
With a wave of a hand, the other chains all erupted into dust and the stolen energy returned.
Very quickly the woman seemed invigorated. Her skin turned a dark olive, and her flesh grew out. Her hair became curly and a vibrant ruby with her eyes clearing up, becoming the same color. She became larger and larger before suddenly shrinking down to about 5 '10, tall for a human woman but short compared to what she was before.
Through his sixth sense, Ray could see that her life signature rocketed up. Before it covered the entire palace, but now it covered the entire underground cavern.
What confused him, however, was the fact that such a small body could have such a powerful vitality.
As far as he knew there was a limit to how much life energy a body could hold, but the woman was shattering that seemingly false assumption.