Interconnected: Spliced Souls

Ten minutes ago, my mummy and its skeletons had discovered an odd, large room filled with dozens of humanoid-like golems. They weren’t moving, though. They destroyed a few and didn’t sense a soul, so maybe they were already dead?  

“That’s probably the spot Suusa sensed with [Earthen Radar.]” Momo stepped back and swung her sword, killing a skeleton squire that had tried to drop from above. She had heard it stumbling and was prepared to end it.   

“Then let’s get to it. I’m tired of seeing these rooms. That should be the last corridor.” Sissy and the others still hadn’t encountered any enemies other than one or two weak golems. However, their passageway was much more complicated and maze-like than ours. Suusa had used his magic to leave a path behind to confirm which way they had traveled. Luckily, they hadn’t sensed the undead I sent to watch out for them.    

And my mummy faced very little resistance and made short work of its enemies. It fought with fear-inducing screams, which didn’t work on other necromantic creations, curses-- useless against these enemies, and earth magic, which worked very well. It killed all it could, but the gaggle of undead we were fighting had manifested and clawed from the ground the moment we arrived.    

I shouldered my shotgun and blasted a zombie in the head, dashing back carefully to avoid a pathetically slow sword slash by a decayed soldier crawling along the ground. I swiftly swapped to my scythe and cleaved the monster in half, returning to the shotgun to take out the two trying to approach from behind.    

Momo danced around the zombies and fought with crossbow and sword, alternating attacks to stun and decapitate them, and she worked together with Albert to end the last giant undead rat in a synchronized strike.    

“Hey, Albert?”  

“Yes?” He turned to Momo as we investigated the two connected rooms. She cleaned her sword with a stained cloth and groaned that she needed to wash her polishing rags.  

“Do you think you can train me? In the soul world, I mean? Hearing you and Servy talking about wanting to get better has lit a fire under my butt. I can’t let my students leave me in the dust, can I?”  

“Ohoho!” Albert laughed. “It’s been a decade since I’ve taught, but I can do that. Maybe that’s what I need to refocus my mind.”  

“Then count me in. It wouldn’t hurt to get more technical,” I added.    

Itarr made me a candelabra, and I placed a few spinal cord torches on the end before attaching it to my shotgun like a makeshift flame flashlight. The illumination orb Sissy had cast on Momo died a few seconds beforehand.    

We walked through this final corridor and emerged into the room filled with golems. Momo skipped over to the mummy and thanked it.   

“That is not necessary,” it said in its raspy voice.  

“Yeah, but thanks should be given when the time is right. That’s another thing my grampy taught me.”  

“… Then you are welcome, Momo. Lord Servi, what are your orders?”  

“I don’t want Sissy and the others to know I can summon the undead. Sorry, but I think your job is done.”  

“Apologies are not needed, Lord Servi. Please, call upon us whenever you want.” The mummy and other undead vanished upon being canceled, and we just had to wait. 

If only I could store them in my ring... 

The room was just a storage-type space.   

“These things look just like a human. Do you know much about them, Albert?”  

“I’ve fought against many golems,” said the butler, tapping a head with his blade. “But this is a first. They almost look sculpted.”  

“Is that possible?” I asked. Albert said sculpting earth magic existed. There were probably quite a few people around here specializing in the element. Or the necromancers could’ve had a past time. The undead child butler said he needed just one or two more clues. His mind was already formulating different theories.   

“But some mysteries are impossible to solve. I pray this isn’t one of them.”  

“Huh? That’s weird. Servi, I can’t absorb them,” Itarr suddenly said. “It’s like that prison cage that giant golem made. It’s very slight, but I cannot lock onto their shapes because they’re always changing. At least…I think that’s the reason. I’m starting to feel strange about them.”  

My phone buzzed. It was an alert from the ghost. Sissy and the others would arrive in a few minutes, so Itarr said goodbye and hung up.   

---

“Eh? How the hell did you get here?!” Gerld’s confusion was infectious when he wandered into the room. Four illumination orbs hovered above him, offering enough light to brighten our surroundings. “Weren’t you in Arcton?”   

“I was, but then I came here.”   

“First of all, how? And second, how’d you know where to find us? And that’s that weird thing you’re holding?”   

“I share a telepathic connection with my spirit. And I ran here,” I replied. Their jaws dropped. Sissy seriously asked if I legitimately ran the whole way, and I nodded. I then showed them my shotgun and said it was [Acid Arrow] enchanted into a different shape.    

“Well, I’m happy you showed up.” Sissy flashed a smile and asked about the spinal cord torches.    

“Yeah...” It was difficult to explain, but Momo jumped in and said we had fought monsters with rotting flesh and diseased rats. Not exactly a lie, but not the whole truth.    

“And a whole bunch of secret rooms with ruined books. And a lot of secret passages. But it only went in one direction.”   

“That’s…not what we faced. It was like a maze. But are you okay? Is anyone hurt?”   

I shook my head and said we were unscathed.    

“But about these statues… I don’t think they’re golems.”   

“And you’d be correct.” Suusa approached and kneeled. He rubbed his hand over a statue’s head and said these were shells. “Artwork, if you will. Detailed sculptures and nothing more or less.  

But there has to be more. Why can’t I absorb any? Itarr didn’t have an answer. Now that she didn’t have another ongoing project, she wanted to solve this mystery. She was probably pacing around the fountain with this scholarly glaze highlighting her gorgeous eyes.     

“I thought you said you detected golems?”   

“I did, Gerld, but they kept moving.” Annoyed by his friend, Suusa used [Earthen Radar] and frowned. “I can’t sense them. But there are more paths under us.”   

“Let’s not press our luck.” Sissy was the voice of reason. “Between the weird monsters Servi fought and those creepy torches, I’m not liking the vibe. Let’s leave. We need to report this to the guild, right?” Sissy asked if I had any proof. We led her and the others into the previous hub room, where they saw the evidence with their own eyes. Gerld almost vomited, but he held it in.    

“What? No. Hell no. Fuck no. I’m—”   

“Nah. I’ll carry it,” I said. I grabbed a decapitated head and stored it.    

Just to be sure, I stashed a few other corpses for extra proof.     

If the necromancer is still around, what will you do? Itarr texted me.    

Kill them, probably, if they’re evil. While they could be good or mean well, I doubt that’s the case.    

“Here’s some advice,” Gerld said as we returned to the room with the statues. “Give your ring a deep, deep clean. Hey, you’re the earth mage guy. Suusa, have any tips for polishing jewelry?”   

Suusa groaned and rolled his eyes. The young ogre wasn’t happy as we walked through the corridor they entered from.    

It was better to leave via their path and follow the rocky orbs Suusa had pressed into the wall with his magic.    

“Again… I’m much more than some ‘earth mage guy.’ Can’t you try to—” Suusa was cut off by the ground suddenly shaking. It wasn’t so much an earthquake as…the noise of something moving?   

“It’s coming…from ahead? There’s a room if you take the left at the intersection. It was empty when we passed by a few minutes ago!” Suusa ran and pressed his back against the wall. Slowly, he shuffled, his daggers at the ready. Momo stayed behind me, and I had my shotgun at the ready. “Okay, I’m going to take a look.” His voice was quiet as a mouse’s whisper.    

He readied himself for the worst, but Suusa sighed and put away his daggers. He walked around the corner, and we followed.    

It was empty, but a section of the far back wall had been raised or lowered because I saw a path lined with green torches descending further into the cascading darkness.    

“That…wasn’t here before… Let’s just leave... I have a bad feeling about this.” Sissy gingerly grabbed Suusa’s sleeve, and we turned to depart.    

Whatever evils or mysteries there could wait for me to return. Momo gave me a look like she knew I was gonna come back, and she wasn’t upset or mad. But her expression... Momo suddenly shut her eyes and focused. Her ears curiously twitched. “I hear a voice,” she said. “It’s faint, but it’s coming from there.” She pointed at the torch-lined path. “It sounds…so familiar.”   

“That’s not creepy at all,” commented Gerld. “It’s a trap. It has to be one. I mean, walking monsters that look like they should be dead? Who’s to say they can’t mimic a voice?! Sissy’s right. Let’s leave.”   

Could it be a trap?   

Maybe. Can you hear anything, Itarr?   

No. But I believe Momo.   

Me too.     

Yeah. I was definitely coming back here. I’d like to have investigated and checked it out, but safety came first.     

We turned to leave, but then a passionate, weeping voice echoed around us. “Servy, help me!! Please!! it’s Srassa!! I need you!!”   

We all froze and stared at each other as Albert asked what name we had heard.    

It was Srassa for me, Momo’s grandfather for her, and his mother for Albert. Sissy heard her grandmother, and Gerld said it was his brother calling for him. Suusa kept quiet.     

“It’d a trick—a trap designed to confuse us,” said Albert, his gaze cold and calculating. “I’ve experienced something a few decades ago when I had another summoner. Someone made me hear my mother when she hadn’t been alive for twenty years.” He texted me and said an illusionist could do this.    

But necromancers, too, could buy the right skills within [Brainwash] and accomplish the same thing.     

And we had encountered the undead, so we couldn’t rule out the possibility.    

But they would have to get in close, right? Itarr said she would’ve detected any tampering. [True Immortality] would’ve done something since one could argue the soul and mind were the same.    

Therefore, it was probably illusionists. But the how, why, and when could come later.    

“What a disgusting trick...” Gerld growled and gripped his spear. Sissy covered her ears and squirmed, crouching. Momo gripped my hand for strength and remained close.    

“Focus… Just breathe, Momo… Just breathe…” she chanted to herself.    

“Let’s leave,” I said. “Let’s just get the hell out of here.”   

We all walked. Gerld had to lend Sissy an arm, but…    

Suusa remained still. He had this look… I’d always seen him as someone with a stone heart who kept his emotions locked away, but he wore his feelings on his sleeves at this very moment.     

“Annie…l   

“She’s not here, man,” Gerld said over his shoulder. “Come on. We—”   

“Annie, I’m coming… I won’t…lose you again!!” Suddenly, he took off running. Gerld acted and swept Suusa’s legs, tripping him. He rushed to the front and gripped the ogre by his collar, getting in his face. “What the hell?! Let me go!” Get…off me!”   

“Like hell I will! It’s a trick, man. Annabelle’s dead—”   

“DON’T SAY THAT!!!!” Suusa’s outburst shocked us. He pushed Gerld away and drew back a fist. The Rhinokin grabbed the fist and demanded he calm down. Sissy ran between the two and begged them to stop.   

Suusa slammed his head into Gerld’s nose, breaking it, and then he pushed him to the side, where Sissy tried to catch him. The ogre ran into the room, hell-bent on reaching who or whatever was calling for him.    

“STOP HIM!! It has to be a trap!!” Gerld clutched his nose.    

I chased after Suusa. The thin ogre was fast, but I was quicker. “Let’s just think rationally about this! Stop! Don’t—”   

Suddenly, I saw something…twitch beneath the ground. The soil had gone unnaturally soft, like sand. And I feared the worst. My instinct shouted that Suusa was in danger.    

I focused strength in my legs and jumped towards him as the ground crumbled like glass. I stretched as much as possible, my fingers glancing at his fluttering robe as we fell into the darkened abyss below.     

Suusa thrashed around, which closed the distance enough to pull him close. I then angled my back towards the rapidly approaching ground.   

“NOOOOOO!!!! SUUSA!!!!! SERVI!!!!!!!” A witch’s cries reverberated through the darkness as she stared at us from above, a hand outstretched. Momo and Gerld shouted for us as they looked on.    

Eventually…   

I couldn’t see them   

The deep shaft and its abyssal voice had seemingly swallowed us. Darkness was everywhere. Twenty seconds had passed, and we were still falling with no end in sight.   

Suusa kept struggling. He panicked and went hysterical, doing his best to get away. “Sorry about this, but you need to calm down!” I choked him until his body went limp, then verified his pulse.    

Good.    

I hadn’t overdone it.    

After wrapping my legs around Suusa’s waist to free my arms, I retrieved a green torch to see my surroundings. The shaft was wide—maybe twenty feet. The rock seemed soft enough. Perhaps just a hair bumpy, but no outward sticking sharp protrusions to cut us up.     

If I could just…   

I manifested my scythe, then held it with both hands as tightly as possible while jabbing it into the wall.    

“RRRAAAHHHHHH!!!!” My arms were dislocated almost immediately, but they weren’t ripped off.     

My weapon held on for ten seconds before the tip shattered, but I summoned it again, and again, and again until we dangled high above the ground. Itarr asked what I was going to do.    

“I can climb up. Or I can go down. One’s obviously harder than the other.” I created another ghost and ravenwatcher, then sent both below with orders to find the ground.   

And they did after just ten seconds. We were closer than I thought. Itarr wondered how we were going to descend. I could store my scythe, fall, summon it to stop my descent, and repeat. Or I could do something else…I scanned my phone and found a type of undead called an arachnecrosis weaver.    

“Okay, it’s a mid-tier spider-type undead.” I felt…weird—dangling from one arm while my legs prevented an unconscious ogre from slamming into the ground. “Huh… There are a ton of low-tier spiders, too. Goddamn, now I really feel like a fool…”   

We didn't have a guide or help menu before this. We do now, but...  

"But better late than never, huh?” When I thought of the undead, spiders and bugs weren’t the first to come to mind. It was zombies, skeletons, and maybe mummies. Ghosts and vampires, too, and ghouls. But roaches? Spiders?    

Granted, having undead spiders at my beck and call wouldn’t have done that much in Waveret or when I fought Fisher, but…   

Itarr’s sweet voice begged me not to be too hard on myself.    

If anything, this is a new beginning. A new mindset. We now know we have to look at things with a different focus.   

She was right. What would throwing a bitch fit at myself accomplish?   

She told me we had enough blood crystals for five mid-tier undead, so I created the arachnecrosis weaver. The energy gathered around my scythe’s blade and slowly spread behind me.    

It crackled like thunder, and a grotesque fusion of arachnid horrors and necrotic decay crawled out. Its bloated, venom-dripping fangs were surrounded by desiccated, mummified flesh. And its legs were adorned with tattered, spectral webs.    

“Oh? This is my creator?” Its voice was oddly feminine. What kind of personality did it have?   

“That’s right. Wanna help out? Can you…I dunno, make some webs to slow our fall?”   

“Oh, I suppose. Give me a moment, Lord Servi.” The 9-foot-tall spider with twisted, elongated legs scrambled down the shaft while spewing webs that shimmered with an eerie, iridescent glow. The threads transitioned between sickly greens, ethereal blues, and ominous purples.   

The spider told me to let go, and I did, hitting the first layer of webs. The soft silk gave way, and we hit the next layer, but it was like falling in slow motion with a dozen beds to gently guide us to the ground.   

“And there we are,” I kneeled, lowered Suusa, and stood.     

It was difficult to see our surroundings since it was so dark, but the arachnecrosis weaver eased my worries when I retrieved a torch. “We are alone,” it said. “But I sense enemies in the distance. More importantly, are you struck speechless?” The spider’s voice contained a hint of smugness. “My webs are beautiful, are they not? Oh, they’re so gorgeous…”   

“Yeah. They really are. Thanks for that, by the way.”   

“Ah, and you’re kind as well? I suppose I’m lucky for being your first arachnecrosis weaver. The others will be so jealous…”   

If a spider could blush, it would’ve done so.    

“Got anything to light up the room? You can see in the dark, right? I can’t.”   

“Anything for you, my lord. As long as you shower me with praise, that is… Hehe! [Necroillumination Web]!” The spider raised its front two legs and shot out a magical, glowing web that shimmered from the collected skill energy orb it held.  

The light was dull until it gradually brightened, reminding me of string lights. And then...   

Our surroundings came into view…   

“What?l” I was astonished.    

I had expected bodies, but… There were so many blood stains.   

“Do not be naïve. The bodies that produced this blood were once here. I cannot be sure where they were taken.”   

Other than that, it was empty.    

Albert’s informing the others, but Gerld and Sissy are finding it difficult to believe. They’ll walk around the trap and try to find a way down.    

“Tell them to be extra safe.”   

“Shall I provide assistance?” inquired my spider.    

“I don’t want you to be seen.”   

“Ohohohoho!” If the spider had arms, it would probably be covering its face like a pompous, spoiled princess. Or at least, that was the sense I got from it. “That shan’t be a problem. Please observe once more the power your beloved arachnecrosis weaver wields! [Spectral Vanish].” The spider melted into the shadows, but I still felt it near me.    

“Okay. Then go for it. Stay back. And if my friends encounter any enemies, help from a distance. But you know, step in and make yourself known if it comes to it. Protect them.”   

“And your wishes are mine to fulfill, my lord.” The spider spun some more of the glowing webbing. It collected it in a nice little ball and handed it to me, and I attached it to my hip as if it were a lasso. “Oh, please, command me some more once I return. Bye bye!!” The spider scrambled up the shaft, and Itarr texted Albert what to expect.     

“Now… Might as well use 'em. Like hell will I ignore such useful abilities,” I said, creating a dozen ghosts. The army of ghastly beings received my orders and flew off. I texted the spider a pressing question.  

That felt so weird to do.    

And its response came in the form of a notification.    

Low-tier Ghosts cannot travel through locations protected by seals or holy magic.    

Holy magic?   

Indeed. That is the undead’s mightiest flaw. Others may hold multiple weaknesses, or some may be immune to the elements, but holy magic is our bane.    

That was still good to know.    

Two ghosts I sent down the only way out reported a horde of stumbling zombies. They weren’t immune to physical damage—the help menu said they were weak to silver, so silver swords or silver-tipped arrows. And magical weapons could slay them. The same went for necromantic catalysts like my scythe and Myrokos’s dagger. Spells could also hit them. 

“But before we get going…” I turned to Suusa and thought about how I was to carry him. I didn’t want him to wake up in the arms of a skeleton or zombie. But I needed both hands to fight with my shotgun. That acid gun was the best weapon thus far, especially since the reported undead were weak low-tiers.   

Even then, I wouldn’t doubt its effectiveness against stronger foes. And there were still various forms. Itarr had a bazooka beside her, just waiting to be enchanted. She tested it out with Duskgun and confirmed the explosion was…   

Large.    

Perhaps even too destructive. The last thing I needed was to cause a cave-in and kill Suusa. So, the shotgun was going to stay. However, Itarr had taken my other designs, like a sniper, an assault rifle, and a submachine gun, and made prototypes with [Shadow Shot]. She often did that between making crystals and having fun shooting the ground. Blood crystals, even targets, were a valuable resource, and until we had a way out of here, they needed to be conserved above all else.    

Suusa can’t walk. How are you going to carry him and fight?   

“Like this…” A few minutes of tinkering and a dozen crystals later, I had made a chair-like backpack with straps, hooks, and ropes. I placed Suusa in it, secured him, and slipped my arms through. “He’s not that heavy,” I said, standing. I took a few seconds to familiarize myself with the added weight while tying the ropes around my stomach, ensuring they were extra secure.     

Suusa was surprisingly smaller than other ogres—according to Momo. Even if he wasn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered.    

That's a good idea.  

“Yep. Now… I hope we find a way out of here soon.” After shouldering the shotgun, I began to move.