(Spiritual Awareness - Third Person POV)
A lone soul stood at the shores of an equally lonely beach. The land stretched far back into an infinite expanse and the sea ahead of him also did same. There was no light in the young boy's eyes.
Without uttering a word, he stepped onto the surface of the water and began to walk without a clear destination in mind.
...
"Even the entire truth is hidden from me", a woman who wore a blue black trench coat muttered as she stood motionless in the centre of an ever-expanding sea. "But, once you can experience certain things for yourself, things should start to become clear."
She raised her head as a portion of the water began to turn pitch black.
The liquid bubbled as a murky entity revealed itself from the depths, donned in a black coat and trousers. It took the form of a teenage boy, but lacked any facial features. It's face was completely blank, yet one could feel the malice coming from a hidden expression.
"Ah, it seems the light is fading", a sinister voice echoed in the expanse. "And it has presented me with the opportunity to be rid of the annoying wall that always gets in my way."
A large volume of water burst into the air as it fully emerged from the depths. Both entities stood in silence as they observed each other.
"You", the woman's eyes narrowed. "How and when did you infiltrate this core?"
The faceless entity burst into laughter, "Do you really expect me to simply blurt it out??"
"Perhaps, I may have been careless at a certain point in time", she held her chin and mused for a bit.
After a while, a daunting realisation fell upon her.
Her eyes widened, "The Opaque-"
"Oh?", the faceless entity clapped. "Took you quite a while to notice. Every corner of this awareness has already been contaminated. No matter how many times I am dispelled, I'll always revive."
"No", the lady glared at the infiltrator. "To be more precise, as long as his spirit energy lives and as long as you can feed on it, you'll always revive"
"Wow!", it clapped again, this time much louder. "Indeed! Makes sense, both of you are directly linked afterall."
An unsettling pressure fell on the lady's shoulders as the entity suddenly grew silent. For a moment, she could've sworn she saw a twisted grin on its face.
"AHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Sudden laughter filled the expanse, taking the lady back.
"Of course! You're directly linked to this soul!", it began to walk closer. "So, once I take you out, I'll simply replace you and once that's done..."
It held back its words and stood inches away from the lady in the trench coat.
"You're...", she tilted her head. "Delusional."
*BOOM!*
An enormous wall of water erupted from behind her and took the form of a six-eyed snake. The serpentine creature gave a ear-piercing screech as it bared its distorted fangs and descended on the infiltrator.
There was a brief drizzle as the attack settled.
The lady sighed and turned around, "I'll have to purify this expanse's edges."
"Did you really think something like that would be enough?"
A rippling sensation spread across the lady's back as she immediately turned around. In the blink of an eye, several black tentacles tightly grabbed hold of her neck.
The entity emerged from beneath the water and laughed.
"I'll contaminate you and then proceed to replace this expanse with something much better", its back began to distort as a nasty black substance slowly revealed itself from beneath its skin.
There was no expression of grief on the woman's face as her eyes locked into the evil entity.
"I suggest you flee", she smirked. "After all, the tides of memories have ceased to flow"
"Hah?"
At that moment, someone's hand grabbed on to the entity's shoulder. It turned its head in response and was about to utter a word when- *WHAM!*
A colossal force from a rocket-like fist slammed into its face, sending it flying away at an insane speed. The entity slammed onto the water's surface, rebounding several times before melting into the deep.
"Are you okay?", Zanetor's eyes stayed fixed on the enemy.
"You remembered, didn't you?", the lady rubbed her neck. "Then perhaps, I can finally entrust my strength to you."
"Thank you", the shadow soul closed his eyes. "...Selene."
Selene broke down into blue particles of light as a blazing aura burst out around Zanetor. His eyes gleamed a frigid blue as he opened them.
The entity emerged from the water again. It glared at him and roared in fury as it began to grow several feet in height.
Zanetor's figure blurred as he activated serene swift, appearing before his opponent in a mere second.
"Don't get cocky"
*SLAM!*
The shadow soul connected his fist with the enemy's chest with a phenomenal force that shot shock waves from the impact.
It didn't end there
Zanetor delivered a flurry of punches, causing the water to move in ripples and soon, relentless waves. The faceless entity's body became lump as Zanetor raised him by the head.
"I don't know how you got here...", he began. "But, something tells me that you can useful to me at some point."
The entity struggled to move, "W- What are you... planning to do?"
A disturbing smirk appeared on the Shadow soul's face, "Darkness corrupts light in the same way light dispels darkness, no? If I were to extend that idea to this case, Darkness corrupts light to cease control in the same way light dispels darkness to command control, maybe."
A faint gasp left the entity, "Ahaha... HAHAHAHA! You have absolutely NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH! SHADOW SOUL!"
Zanetor kept silent for a bit, "I've deemed you as a possible useful asset. Shut up and be used."
The Shadow soul's Aura flared to life and rose into the air, taking Selene's form. She moved over to the entity and cupped its face in her palms.
"N- No", it desperately tried to break free. "I WON'T ALLOW YOU!"
"I did tell you to shut up, didn't I?", the shadow soul sighed.
All the murky darkness began to dissipate as blue energy began to surround the entity, turning it into nothing but particles of light.
There was silence in the expanse once more and Zanetor stood at its heart, staring at his reflection in the water.
"Selene"
"Yes?", a voice echoed in the expanse.
"Do you... know where I can find mother?"
A brief silence wafted.
"I'm sorry, Zanetor", she replied. "But I wasn't alive when you were living. I became an essence for your soul core once you died since I was the closest thing to your heart after your mother passed away."
"Ah, I see", the young boy's brows furrowed. "It's quite difficult to wrap my head around how this realm works. What is it with these soul cores?"
"A limited well of information was made known to me by an anonymous source once I became your soul core", Selene spoke in a calm tone. "One's soul core can be born from a close relationship between a person and an object or animal."
Zanetor mused for a bit, "What about people? Can people become soul cores?"
Selene kept quiet.
"Selene?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know."
"... I see", Zanetor looked up.
"We can still find out a lot more about your mother", she began. "I'm here to translate your desire into reality. As long as we both want to meet her, it'll be sure to happen one day."
Zanetor's brows rose, "Ah right, I never showed you to her."
A slight smile graced the Shadow soul's lips.
"Alright then, we'll keep searching for her", he looked down. "Right now, I need to get back to the others."
"I'll help you with that then"
"Please do..."
.
.
.
Meanwhile, back in the ancient hall, spirit energies clashed as four souls locked themselves in battle.
Several golden circles materialised in the air and began to vibrate menacingly, only to be wiped off completely after a disruptive sound wave swept through the area.
"Tch", Edem clicked his tongue. "This is getting annoying. I'm not landing a single attack."
He began to control his breathing and calmed himself. His opponent hadn't moved from that single spot and it was beginning to make him extremely cautious. What was the armoured spirit warrior planning.
Not only that, the aura he gave off seemed to tick a memory in Edem's head.
'It's almost as if I'm standing right in front of-'
"Why did it take you so long to reach that conclusion?", a slightly distorted voice emanated from the armoured warrior.
Edem's eyes widened, "This voice."
"Exactly, did you think we had ceased to exist after the forbidden spell you cast on us back in the Great Eye city?"
"Ehehe", Edem grinned. "Well, you see, I didn't intend for that to happen. Still, to think you'd be wearing Spirit warrior uniform, Bob. Isn't wearing an armour going a bit too far though? Aren't you a bit too old to be wearing stuff that heavy?"
There was a daunting silence that fell between the two.
"There is no shell for this armour", Bob uttered in a grim voice.
The man's words sparked a hidden expression in Edem. His eyes grew sharp once heard that.
"Oh", he smirked. "That's rather unfortunate."
"No", Bob raised his right hand. "I must thank you. I'm one with the spirit realm now. An embodiment of pure energy. The Spirit Warrior Corps' corrupt and blood-stained past has indeed left a scar on both Ati and I, there is no lie in that."
Edem silently listened.
"However, that past has been greatly influenced by the Shadow souls. I thought you'd understand my line of reasoning, seeing as we fought against a great enemy once", he let down his hand. "It seems I was wrong and I pity you because of that. I also never thought Xoese would find herself standing at your side again. Afterall, she seemed to despise you after you betrayed the Spirit Warrior Corps."
"So, the shadow soul is so much of a priority that you have decided to side with the very same people who took so much from you?", Edem scratched his head. "Well, it makes a lot of sense. Shadow soul's are stupidly overpowered beings when left unchecked."
Bob began to take steps towards Edem, immediately alarming the cloaked soul. That was the first time he had seen him make a move. What prompted him to suddenly do that?
"Exactly", he began. "If you know this, why do you still side with it?"
"Well", Edem took a step back. Something wasn't right. "You see, HE is a special case."
"I see. I don't intend for working alongside the Spirit warriors after this. There is only one goal I have in mind.", he stopped abruptly. "Even if I've had the pleasure of being one with the stream of energy in this world, it's a fact that I won't be able to survive in this form for long."
"Hmm?", the cloaked man raised an eyebrow as he muttered to himself. "What's he planning?"
Subtle changes in pressure could be felt in the air and Edem's skin was riddled with goosebumps as he felt a sudden impending doom.
"I've known you for a long time and yet you still are a mysterious young man", Bob clenched both fists. "You won't change your mind no matter what anyone says. I can be at least sure of that."
Edem's eyes widened as he began to recognise the subtle energy patterns.
"This isn't guaranteed to succeed but...", his armoured body began to vibrate violently. "I'll do anything to rid this world of a single shadow soul."
'Energy Implosion!', Edem summoned a large array of golden circles that surrounded the armoured man. 'He should be rendered motionless at this point! How long has he progressed since he started the process!? It's impressive that he kept it hidden until now!'
He looked behind him and noticed the stage still occupied by Leticia, Kekeli and Zanetor.
"Damn it!"
He kept clicking his fingers until the number of circles that materialised caused the entire hall to lit up.
'I've got 6 minutes at most!'
The circles began to emit soft soothing sounds as they tried to halt the energy's concentration within the armoured warrior.
"I'm sorry Ati...", Bob muttered. "I... might have to leave you to fend for yourself in this world.
It's a cruel place and you won't always be happy as a member of the Spirit Warrior corps.
But, your hatred for the shadow soul and perhaps Edem, will keep you going...
Good bye"