The eternal flickers of torchlight followed a rhythm. Even without [Eyes of the Fairy], noticing the pattern after a few hours of resting in the same place was a guaranteed thing. During that time, Soren focused on regaining his anima as well as resting his mind from overusing his abilities. Even though the taste of the food pills was bland, they at least provided enough energy for them to continue on with their explorations.

During those few hours, they also discussed their plans… Since this current scouting mission was commissioned by Rodrick who promised to help smuggle them across the border using a safe route he had already mapped, they had already been guaranteed safe passage to Staterra.

As of this moment, their main goals were to gather more resources and to finish the tasks handed to them… With the Hall of Death being close by, they would soon descend down into the metropolis to look for relics…

"To think that the Floor Guardian would die like that without us needing to do anything…" Myrin leaned against the wall as he drank from his water pouch. "We struck it big without even trying…"

Soren nodded back as he flipped through his Soul Weapon's information entries. He was reading up on a few spellform equations he had chronicled previously…

"I already scanned everything down there with [Eyes of the Fairy]—there shouldn't be any enemies for us to worry about… That woman had taken her army of Soul Skinners with her."

Myrin nodded, "And the skeleton constructs seem to have died as well… Without the Floor Guardian controlling them, they are nothing more than lifeless puppets… It's unfortunate, but the Philosopher Stones inside them will likely go to Rodrick and his team—we can't take them all with us."

"Indeed…" Soren answered, though, there was only one thing he cared for more than any other treasure waiting for him down there.

The Apostle of Forbidden Blood's rune pages.

Out of the five pages that hovered over his head, three of them still remain alongside his corpse. He flipped back to the entry recording his information:

Apostle of Forbidden Blood (Malevolent Hex)

That which was forged in the crucible of knowledge. A construct blessed in its creation… Once a commander in the dragon slayer legions, its splendid Philosopher's Stone now shines amidst an empty city long forgotten by fate… May its deeds return to the Tower of Runes.

Addendum 1:

Holds an affinity with Blood and Bone magecraft. Granted to him through his connection to the philosopher's stone he was born from. A nascent will was created through some kind of Mystery.

Addendum 2:

Five rune pages made from skin, spines, and marrow ink hover over the Apostle's head. These are remnants of an ancient authority manufactured by the Tower of Runes—the eternal beacon of knowledge. Each one contains a unique ability that was granted to him for his achievements on the battlefield. Together, they form The Five Ossuary Verses.

The First Verse - Exaltation of the Bleeding Idol. A filthy effigy born from forbidden blood that can curse the person it was created for.

The Second Verse - Gospel of Forsaken Blood. An ever growing mass of blood and flesh that seeks its own growth in others.

The Third Verse - Testament of the Living Tombs. A sanctuary of sleep for the damned that is beyond the destructive hands of time.

The Fourth Verse - Liturgy of Splintered Chaos: An authoritative command to all bones that will splinter and break away from their host.

The Fifth Verse - Oath of Scarlet Revelations: Pierce through the flesh and bones of your enemies and inscribe secrets within their blood.

As Soren read the entry once again, he couldn't help but frown. So this is what Tazzith wanted me to know, he thought. This construct—through the blessing of the Tower of Runes—was able to manifest a Mystery from his very own magecraft affinity…

This situation—it felt very similar to his own. Mesmerism as an affinity also exhibited behaviors similar to that of a Mystery, even though under normal circumstances, that should have been impossible. But because his True Self also happened to be his very own Soul Weapon—likely due to some form of interference from [The Faerie Court], every Abstract Rune he merges with will now likely impact how his affinities behave as well…

Similarly, this Apostle also had the ability to do something like that—albeit, in a more restrictive form. The Ossuary Pages as they were called were somehow manifested through the powers of a God—the Tower of Runes. He had somehow managed to create objects that elevated a common affinity like blood magecraft into a higher authority—a Mystery.

If I study those pages, maybe I'll glimpse a bit into how my own affinity works at a deeper level… In a way, he was glad to have listened to Tazzith in that moment. Although the Demon of Knowledge had His own agenda, there was no reason for Soren to not take advantage of that in the meantime…

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However, there was something else he found interesting about the Apostle of Forbidden Blood. Some of the information he had obtained held valuable information regarding the Avalon Empire's history.

The dragon slayer legions… Soren thought. He had heard of something similar to this once before—how the Avalon Empire's might once stretched across the entire continent. The dragons on the other hand still exist today—they continue to reside in their ancestral lands North West from here in what many call the Runic Mountains…

It was also now home to the Dragon Communion Monastery which was where many of the worshippers of Vyak head to for pilgrimage.

Now that I think about it, Tazzith mentioned that the Beast of Knowledge might have information on this era… If there was a war waged against His people, He should be aware of it…

There was also a connection to the Old Gods. The Tower of Runes… His name was brought up in the description countless times. He was the one who blessed the creation of these constructed hexes… An entire army of them.

To think that a single commander in one of these war legions the Avalon Empire held was this powerful. The Apostle of Forbidden Blood was just one of many warriors fighting against the dragons of old…

How terrifying was their might, really? How did such a powerful empire fall… Even their king was said to have been an Empyrean—closest to the level of the gods themselves…

How did those deities perish…

As these thoughts spun endlessly in his mind, Soren finally closed the ancient tome and looked up towards Myrin.

"I think we've rested enough. Let's get this done with." He stood up and dusted his clothes.

Hearing this, Myrin also nodded then stood up. The smile on his face slowly vanished—replaced with a serious expression. Although the both of them knew that the danger was mostly gone, they still needed to be vigilant. All of their experiences so far have shown just how unpredictably inhospitable these ancient ruins are…

With the help of Myrin's illustrated wings, the pair slowly descended into the hall of death. Lingering dust clouds swarmed the surrounding mossuleams—even now, the remnants of their battle had yet to disappear.

Skeletal corpses lay scattered everywhere—some in pieces, others whole. And yet, most still held onto their weapons… They had lived as warriors, died as warriors, and risen once again as warriors… That was their purpose—their calling.

"We'll leave their Philosopher's Stones to Rodrick and his crew… Let's pick up the most valuable stuff quickly and head back to the safe zone."

Soren nodded, but still decided to pick up a few of them in order to sell them later. With how vast the metropolis was, finding every single one was largely impossible. There were countless enchanted weapons as well that seemed to hold a lot of value, but were too heavy to pick up.

It was unfortunate, but their Spatial Bracelet could only hold up so much… Most of the space was already full of supplies to begin with. That didn't stop the two of them from hoarding as much as they could however.

Along the way, Soren spotted something shiny nearby… A golden dagger. It was embroidered in countless archaic patterns—likely belonging to a noble. [Eyes of the Fairy] quickly scanned it:

Ghostfang the Pale (Mystery)

A dagger that once belonged to ??? who gifted it to Duke Sylin of House Edmond. It became the main weapon of his loyal bodyguard. Contains the ability to draw blood quickly.

Draw blood? The description sounded regal and yet its ability was much more savage… As for how fast it draws blood, that will be something he'll need to test…

A while ago, he had already considered using some kind of melee weapon alongside his spells, but without any enchantments, such weapons tend to be useless. This one however, seemed promising…

It's lightweight, so I can probably draw it pretty quickly… Violet Mirage will make it harder to notice too…

His main concern was still his anima… Magi tend to become defenseless the moment they run out of it. Although he had no training with this sort of weapon, it at least gave him some level of comfort knowing he still had something to fight with if it ever came down to it…

Satisfied, Soren decided to place it in his pouch with the rest of the looted items. Aside from a few other relics and some Philosopher's Stones that seemed much more pure in quality, everything else was relatively useless spiritually… Though, regular gold and jewelry was still a welcome gift.

It's not like I am robbing the dead! These things are not even human! He reassured himself of his humanity while picking up another golden ring.

After a while, they had managed to scour most of the underground graveyard… There was one last place to visit before their departure.

The remains of the Floor Guardian.

The pair slowly maneuvered between the mounds of corpses until they finally reached it… A crimson robe donned in countless ancient scriptures… Forever covering the remains of its owner. Three ancient pages made of skin were scattered around him—their crimson runes had long dimmed from their usual radiance.

The pair glanced at each other for a moment, then, without hesitating any further, picked them up.

"I guess that's everything…" Myrin said slowly. "Do you need anything else?"

Soren looked at him for a moment, then shook his head. "No, that's it. I think we looted the place enough—we'll leave the rest to Rodrick. I am sure he'll compensate us fairly for our discovery of the place."

As for the rune pages, he did not want to risk analyzing them right now… Not when the information inside could be dangerous… After his experiences of Astral Projecting in the Beyond, Soren had become much more aware of the dangers of forbidden knowledge… Even his current understanding of the Apostle of Forbidden Blood didn't come without a cost—the whispers of some kind of entity still reside in his memories.

It was now finally the time to head back towards the surface…

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