[Kara] Chapter 23: Breakthrough (Patreon)

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Don’t forget to read chapter 22 which came out a few hours before this chapter!

Enjoy chapter 23 :)

Zlo’tan had a breakthrough in his understanding of the soul.

Kara didn’t know what that meant. However, that sounded like a substantial enough thing to her that she immediately bade farewell to Issa and followed him. On the troll’s part, she didn’t prod further or ask any questions. She simply said that they could meet again tomorrow since this was an important matter.

Which was true. They could always hang out somewhere else in another part of the city tomorrow. So they parted ways.

Kara and Angel followed Zlo’tan back to his tent-shop where he closed the curtains behind him. They eyed him curiously as he sat on the ground and took in a deep breath.

“This one must once again apologize for the suddenness of my appearance,” the minotaur said as he placed a hand on his chest. “However, this one believes he has finally learned the basics of the Soulmaster’s ways.”

“What do you mean by that?” Kara asked, taking a seat across from him. “What is the Soulmaster’s ways?”

Zlo’tan explained, “As his name implies, the Soulmaster is indeed the master of the soul. For what he has done was learn how to manipulate the essence of a soul. That is how his soulrock was able to alter the very essence of Angel’s monstersoul upon their attunement.”

“And Angel’s monstersoul is more like a manacore now, right. I remember that.” Kara nodded, following along so far.

“This one believes that he has previously mischaracterized the change. As he understands it now, the change to the monstersoul was not that substantial. Perhaps it was due to the weak nature of the soulrock, but it was only an alteration that enabled Angel to store mana within his monstersoul to cast spells. He is unable to advance in tiers with his monstersoul like a manacore.”

The minotaur gave an apologetic look. Angel deflated at that. But Kara thought it made sense. Even if she was confused about another aspect of his explanation.

She crossed her arms. “So you now know that the Soulmaster can manipulate the soul… but didn’t we already know that?”

Zlo’tan placed a hand on his chest. “This one previously believed that the Soulmaster’s alterations were limited to the core— that all could be done was changing a monstersoul into a manacore into an inert core. And that was how this one thought the Soulmaster was capable of using magic without the System.”

“By turning his inert core into a manacore of sorts, right,” Kara said, her brows furrowing.

“But this one realized that that line of logic made no sense. For if the Soulmaster’s powers came from turning his inert human core into a manacore, then he had no reason to take in a demimonster such as this one as an apprentice.” Zlo’tan lowered his head as he spoke.

And Kara snapped her fingers, understanding. “Because you already have a manacore.”

“That is correct.” The minotaur took in a deep breath before looking down at himself. “That is why this one has come to conclude that the manipulation of the Soulmaster cannot be limited to just that.”

Looking back up, he met Kara’s gaze. And he repeated himself.

“That is why this one has come to conclude that the Soulmaster is capable of bringing the soul’s power out of the body and into the world to use as a weapon.”

Kara’s eyes went wide. “Wait, what?”

She stared at him, utterly confused. Angel didn’t seem to understand it either. Neither of them could see where the minotaur came to this conclusion from. It almost didn’t make any sense.

“But… how would you know that?” Kara asked, before shaking her head. “Like how exactly did you come to that conclusion?”

“This one decided to look inward to try to understand what the Soulmaster had done. At first, this one had attempted to change the essence of his own manacore, hoping he could replicate what happened to Angel without a soulrock. But this one failed. Even after weeks of trying. This one found no success.”

Zlo’tan sighed. He almost seemed frustrated at himself. Kara and Angel exchanged a glance. But the minotaur straightened.

“This one failed to alter his own manacore, but during his failures, he noticed one thing,” he said as he looked towards Angel’s staff. “This one realized that his manacore was similar in nature to that soulrock.”

“Uh, right… because the soulrock is a gem infused with the power of the Soulmaster’s soul, right?” Kara asked, trying to remember what Zlo’tan explained to her the last time around.

But he bowed apologetically. “This one was incorrect. For the soulrock is not merely a rock infused with the power of the Soulmaster’s soul. In fact, the soulrock was not infused by the Soulmaster’s soul at all. This one has come to realize that the soulrock must have been infused with a manacore. And that is how Angel was able to attunement to it changed his soul’s essence.”

“I’m, uh, completely lost now.” Kara pursed her lips.

Zlo’tan just continued, “This one believes that to create a soulrock, the soulmaster extricated the soul from another living creature, before imbuing its powers onto the stone. And in the case of the soulrock Angel had in his possession, it was the manacore of a demimonster.”

Kara looked towards Angel, and he seemed to be understanding what was going on better than her. Probably thanks to the fact that he had also been studying the soulrock with the minotaur. She chewed on her lower lip.

“Right… but that doesn’t explain how you know all this.”

“Perhaps it was because this one was studying his own soul, but this one managed to recall one faint memory from his time with the Soulmaster— when this one remembered when he was first given his soulrock by the Soulmaster.” Zlo’tan closed his eyes as he spoke wistfully. “This one remembers the Soulmaster felling a great monster, before he had produced a soulrock. And it was that soulrock which he had given to this one to keep.”

“Which you ended up losing,” Kara said flatly.

Zlo’tan shrugged. “Not before this one studied it for years. And this one recalls its essence— how it was completely distinct to the soulrock Angel had in his possession.”

“Because your soulrock was made from a monstersoul, while his soulrock was made from a manacore.” Kara was starting to finally understand it. “And that’s why you believe the Soulmaster is capable of bringing out the power of the soul like a weapon?”

“That is not all,” Zlo’tan said as tilted his head back. “For this one remembers a detail about the battle he had previously forgotten— that the Soulmaster was not only capable of wielding magic without the System, he was capable of wielding magic without mana at all.”

And that made Kara’s eyes flicker. “Without mana? But… that’s impossible. Isn’t mana the basis of all magic? Are you sure he didn’t use something else like technology?”

“That was what this one thought as well. But this one remembered seeing the strange magic that cleaved even the sky. That bent the world to the Soulmaster’s will. And this one is certain that it was the manifestation of the Soulmaster’s soul brought forth into reality.”

“I… see.” Kara pursed her lips.

Even Angel, who had been following the explanation better than her, seemed to be somewhat dubious of this claim. They exchanged a glance, before she turned back to the minotaur uncertainly.

“So, uh, can you prove this?”

“Unfortunately, this one cannot do such a thing,” Zlo’tan said, opening his eyes once again. “That is why this one has called you here.”

“And how am I supposed to help with that?” Kara blinked.

The minotaur looked towards Angel then her. “This one hypothesizes that his manacore has advanced too greatly, so manipulating his soul or manifesting its power will require a great deal of difficulty and expertise that this one lacks. However, as this one has observed from Angel’s ease of attunement with the soulrock…”

“You think that an undeveloped soul would be easier to manipulate,” she finished his thought for him. “I get what you’re saying.”

“This one knows that Ms Kara, as a human, has an inert core,” Zlo’tan said as he proffered her a hand. “So this one would like to believe that he can help you while proving his hypothesis. And if his hypothesis is proven, he might one day be able to fully manifest the power of his soul as a weapon.”

Kara hesitated as she heard his offer. He saw the look she wore on her face, and he tried to reassure her.

“This one only wishes to open up your core’s capacity to store mana. This one cannot harm you with this process. This one’s understanding of the soul is too basic to cause any permanent damage.”

“You want to turn my core into a manacore. I got that. But…” Kara trailed off.

Her concerns were nothing like what the minotaur could have thought they possibly were. The first thought that came to mind was her wondering what would happen if the minotaur tried to alter her core. After all, she wasn’t from this world, so did she even have a core to begin with?

But then she remembered her first few days in this world. Before she had managed to utilize the power of her dragonsoul. Back then, when she peered into her dragonsoul, it looked like it was an amorphous mist that circled a dull sphere. Almost like a core. And even now, that core seemed to exist within her, beneath the burning ball of golden flames that was the dragonsoul.

Did that mean she had a core? Kara didn’t know for sure. But even if she did and agreed to Zlo’tan’s proposition and she did in fact have a core, would he then be able to see her dragonsoul?

Perhaps Kara could be comfortable with sharing the fact that she had a dragonsoul to the minotaur. However, that wasn’t the end of all her concerns. Because she wondered what would happen if he did manipulate her core.

Would that cause another disconnect between her and her dragonsoul like during her first week in Xantos?

There were too many questions— too many concerns. Both Angel and Zlo’tan could see her apprehension on the creases lining her face. But then she thought of something else.

She thought of the Soulmaster’s machine waiting right outside of the Sanctuary City of Alyona. She remembered seeing the way it eyed her. The way it seemed to lock onto her every move. It was waiting for her to leave so it could capture her. So it could kill her.

But can it even kill me now? Kara asked herself as she lowered her head. She had grown much stronger since she last encountered the Soulmaster’s machine. So for a moment, she thought she stood a chance of defeating it.

Then she remembered their battle. She recalled just how unstoppable it was. And she determined that she was still too weak.

And she raiised her head as she considered the potential outcomes that came from helping Zlo’tan here. Certainly, if she had a manacore, she’d be able to use a wider array of magic, rather than just burning things that came her way. But more than that—

If Zlo’tan was able to further his understanding of this soul power, he would be able to teach it to Kara as well. She would eventually be able to even manifest her own soul’s strength in battle without needing mana or anything of the like.

This was a risk. But it was certainly better than sitting around and doing nothing, unable to even ascend to the next stage of her dragonsoul. This would be doing something about her current predicament.

Perhaps then she would be strong enough to take on even an army of the Soulmaster’s machines without a problem.

“Fine,” Kara acquiesced as she crossed her arms. “You can try to do your thing. But if I feel like something is off and tell you to stop, you better stop.”

Zlo’tan smiled and rose to his feet. “This one assures you this one has no intentions of harming you. This one will heed your every word.”

He approached her as she turned to Angel. The utlas bear wore a look of concern on both of his faces. But she gave him a placating look.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” she said as she patted him on one of his heads. “I mean, you turned out more than just fine when Zlo’tan helped you, right?”

Angel nodded hesitantly. And then he drew back as he looked between the human and the minotaur.

Zlo’tan placed his massive hand on Kara’s head as he knelt before her. He closed his eyes.

“This one wants you to focus with him. This one wants you to look into yourself. This one understands if that is hard, as you have never done it before. But this one wants you to try.”

“Right…” Kara murmured, not bothering to tell him that she could very easily do that.

Her eyes fluttered shut as she peered into her own dragonsoul with him. And she felt a strange sensation washing over her. It was almost reminiscent of the sensation she felt when she was first given her dragonsoul by Zarkoth.

Kara shuddered as she slowly felt the sensation grow stronger.

“Relax, Ms Kara,” Zlo’tan grunted as if he was struggling to reach for her soul.

“I am relaxed,” she replied simply.

But she heard his breathing quicken as his hand began to tremble. She found that odd.

“Are you alright?”

“This one… has practiced trying to peer into the soul of lizards and rats. B-but this is the first time this one has… tried this… with a person…”

The minotaur’s voice was straining, almost like he was in pain. He almost let go of Kara, but he remained steady.

And she began to feel the strange sensation reach her dragonsoul. It wasn’t painful, although it was a little bit unsettling. Kara just watched as the golden flames coating her core began to flicker.

“This one… almost… has it…” Zlo’tan continued as his voice continued to shake.

Kara looked on as the golden flames coating her core began to part ways. An invisible hand brushed it aside, even as it was burned, trying to reach for her core. Perhaps if she wanted to, she could have tried to brush the invisible hand away. But she didn’t want to make things more difficult for the minotaur.

So she continued to let him reach for the core beneath the golden flames. And the fire continued to move aside, letting it get closer and closer to what was underneath. Until Kara could fully see the surface of her core.

“This one—” the minotaur started.

And her brows snapped together at what she saw there.

It was different from when she had last seen it on its own. Before it had been lit ablaze by the golden flames. It had been an inert gray sphere with no texture to its surface. But now, there was something there. It wasn’t a substantial difference. However, it was visible nonetheless.

Because there was a streak cutting across her core—

And Zlo’tan yelped as he recoiled from her. Kara blinked her eyes open as he fell onto the ground. He panted, staring at her with round eyes. And when she looked into herself for a brief moment, she saw the golden flames being restored to normal over her core.

Her dragonsoul returned to its ordinary size like nothing had happened.

Angel ran up to both of them as he stared at them with both his heads in confusion. He was worried and lost as to what happened. And while Kara would have given him an explanation, she wasn’t sure what happened too. She just turned to the minotaur as he caught his breath.

“This one does not understand,” he said as he looked down at his hand. “This one felt like he was reaching through fire to get to your core.”

Kara pursed her lips at that. She wondered if that was her fault he was hurt. But he quickly refuted that possibility and blamed himself.

“Perhaps this one was too inexperienced. But this one failed to even touch your core. So this one must apologize for his arrogance in assuming he could alter its essence.” He bowed and spoke dejectedly.

It was like he was more disappointed in himself than he was in actual pain. So Kara was glad to see he wasn’t truly hurt. She rose to her feet as she placed a hand on his back.

“There’s no need to apologize. It was worth a try, I guess.” She got him to stand back up.

He gritted his teeth. “It appears this one must work on furthering his mastery over his own manacore before he can hope to alter the souls of others.”

“Well… let’s not be too disheartened…” Kara said, averting her gaze. “Who knows, maybe there are other reasons for what happened…”

She didn’t want to clue him into too much on why he failed, because she knew that it was due to her dragonsoul. But Zlo’tan craned his head back curiously.

“Perhaps you are correct,” he said as his brows scrunched together. “This one certainly sensed something amiss when he tried to reach into your core.”

“I mean, you already said that, didn’t you?” Kara tried to wave it off.

But the minotaur was insistent. “It was not simply the burning sensation this one sensed. But it was the feeling that something was wrong. That something was… incomplete.”

Kara paused. “Incomplete?”

She tried to look into her dragonsoul again— to find where the scar marked her core. But she couldn’t see it through the coat of golden flames. Raising her head, she met Zlo’tan’s gaze seriously.

“And did you see anything?” Kara asked as she pressed her lips together. “Like maybe a scar on my core?”

“This one is…” The minotaur took in a deep breath, before giving her a defeated look. “This one is uncertain. This one could not see anything. All he felt was something was off. This one wishes he could give a better explanation. But as he is right now, this one cannot elaborate.”

Kara’s shoulders sagged at that. “I… see.”

—--

And Kara and Angel took their leave. They bade their farewells to Zlo’tan who looked very disappointed in himself.

“Even now, this one is a failure to the Soulmaster…” he said as he vanished back into his tent.

Kara wanted to say something. She wanted to cheer him up. But she thought of the scar in her core once again. And she wondered just exactly what that was supposed to be. She knew it wasn’t new. She knew it wasn’t caused by the minotaur. She hadn’t felt anything intrusive from him during the entire process. So it had to have been there since she had obtained her dragonsoul.

“But… why?” she asked herself quietly.

Only to receive a reply from Angel who poked her side when he saw her worried face. She turned to face him, and he made a soft sound. She hesitated, thinking about what she saw within her dragonsoul— within her core.

But then she shrugged as she scratched the bear under his two chins.

“Well, it hasn’t been a problem before, so I’m sure it’s fine...”

And the two of them continued making their way back to the upper tunnels. But unbeknownst to them…

—--

A group of armed figures made their way through the lower tunnels, heading to the innsmith. There were over twenty of them, and they all looked ready to kill. Kurg walked amongst them. Even though he didn’t want to be here, he followed.

He was the son of the Elder of the Swordtooth Clan, and that placed upon his shoulder many responsibilities. Some of which he didn’t want to follow. But when his father told him to listen, he had to listen.

Still, he didn’t want to do what was asked of him. He was being sent to kill that prostitute who was responsible for Grok’s death. Even though that wasn’t actually true.

Kurg had thought that was the case at first, and he had gone to punish her for what she had done. After all, he and Grok were close friends. They had grown up with each other. They might not have always seen eye-to-eye on all aspects in life, however they were still close. So he wanted to avenge his fallen friend.

But after conversing with the elf that saved his sister’s life, a human woman, and his own fellow orcs, he realized that this had all been a misunderstanding. That prostitute hadn’t been responsible for Grok’s death.

A human thief had been the one to kill Grok. And that same human woman Kurg had spoken to had already killed him. So Grok’s murderer was dead.

And yet, the prostitute was still being framed for Grok’s murder.

Because Grok’s father, Elder Golag of the Ironehide Clan, was still grieving over his son’s death. So if the Swordtooth Clan brought him the prostitute’s head and told him she was responsible for Grok’s passing, then he would be indebted to them.

The orc clans would then be united under the Swordtooth Clan’s banner, and they could rebel against the Sanctuary City of Alyona.

They would then be able to escape their forceful imprisonment.

Or at least, that was the plan.

Kurg didn’t like this plan in the slightest, and that was for a variety of reasons. For one, he didn’t think revolting against Dark Lord Koros was beneficial to the future of the orc clans. And for another, he didn’t like the idea of killing an innocent woman— whether it be an orc, a dark elf, or even a human— for any reason whatsoever.

But he wasn’t going to protest against it. Especially when he wasn’t the only one sent on this mission.

He looked up to see the other orcs gathered with him. They were all mostly powerful orcs within the Swordtooth Clan. They were those he had no authority over.

And perhaps Klogg must have sensed the apprehension his son felt. Because the one that was tasked to be in charge of this task was his right hand man, Senior Olarg himself.

Olarg and Kurg historically never got along, because the former thought the latter was too weak to lead the Swordtooth Clan. And Klogg was aware of this feud between the two of them. Yet, he sent them together on this mission.

So Kurg was going to behave. He wasn’t going to risk his position as the next elder of the clan by doing anything stupid like trying to intervene and stop the prostitute’s unjust murder. But he wasn’t going to partake in it either. He would find a way to keep his hands clean.

Even if he didn’t want to do this. Even if he really hoped something went wrong. Even if he hoped the prostitute could somehow escape unscathed. Sometimes…

Things just go wrong.

And there was nothing anyone could do about it.

—--

And that was what happened tonight.

Things went wrong.

Even if nobody wanted it to go that way. There was nothing anyone could do about it. Even with all the preparation in the world.

Sometimes, things just went wrong.

As Kara and Angel reached the edge of the upper tunnels.

As Issa lay in bed, trying to fall asleep.

As Caius clambered up the side of the Dark Lord’s tower as usual.

As Zlo’tan mulled over his failures once again.

As Arjin showed Dammir her Tier 9 Manacore Ability.

As Kurg and the group of orcs paused on their way to the innsmith, letting a patrol of guards pass through.

As the elders of the orc clans schemed to escape the city.

As Tashia pleaded with a tired Hayder to go to sleep.

As Koros sat on his desk and narrowed his eyes, sensing something amiss.

As the Sanctuary City of Alyona waited behind their impenetrable barrier for another night to pass.

As all this happened.

Something went wrong.

—--

A dark elf man strode through the refugee camp gathered right outside of the Sanctuary City. He was drunk and tired. He could hardly even walk in a straight line. But he didn’t care.

He didn’t care about anything.

He had traveled long and far across the dangerous terrain of the Xor-In Mountains to seek refuge here in the Sanctuary City of Alyona. His home had been destroyed, and he had nothing left. But he thought he could at least find refuge here.

Unfortunately, he arrived a day too late. A barrier had been erected over the city, letting no more refugees into the Sanctuary City. He thought he escaped the dangers of the outside world. He thought he had finally reached safety. But he found only despair.

So nothing mattered to him anymore. Not even his own name.

And he wasn’t the only one whose will had been thoroughly crushed when they saw the gates of Alyona closed as a magical dome kept it protected. All the refugees gathered in this camp had given up hope completely.

Those who still had some semblance of hope had already left, pursuing either the Sanctuary City of Yulia or the Sanctuary City of Tatania. But those who remained accepted their fate.

There were only a few thousand of them at most, but they spent most of their days eating, drinking, or keeping to themselves. This night was no different. Even as the twin moons were hidden by the clouds overhead, the refugees gathered around small fires and drank their sorrows away.

The dark elf man was one of them. But even though it was not that late, he was going to retire for the night, because he had lost a drinking contest with a dwarf. All he wanted to do was lie down in bed and not wake up the next day.

Or so he thought as he bumped into a bulky figure.

He collapsed to the ground as he felt like he walked into a wall made of metal. Blinking a few times, he looked up at the back of a hooded figure in a daze.

“H-hey!” he called out in a slurred voice. “W-watch w-where you’re… hic, going!”

The hooded figure craned his neck back fractionally, and the dark elf man frowned. All he saw was the hint of a metallic mask, before seeing a crimson glint coming from the eyeholes.

The dark elf man narrowed his eyes. “Wait, are you even a person—”

But as he blinked, the hooded figure ignored him and started walking away, and he forgot what he was even confused about. His vision blurred and he tried to pick himself up. Raising a fist, he shouted in a drunken rage.

“You better run!” He picked up a rock and hurled it at the hooded figure.

Stumbling forward, he collapsed to the ground and heard the heavy footsteps of the hooded figure disappear. His brows wrinkled as he looked back up and frowned.

“W-where did that thing go?” he asked no one but a snoozing troll lying nearby him.

Even though he wasn’t in the most lucid state, he knew that he was somewhere around the edge of the refugee camp. And he was pretty sure the hooded figure was walking in the direction away from the Sanctuary City.

“T-that… b-bastard is probably running away to Tatania,” the dark elf man snorted as he sat cross-legged in the dirt. “What a coward.”

He looked up towards the dark shadows of the undulating hills in the distance. And he must have drank too much, because he was pretty sure he saw the shadows moving.

“Or wait—” He squinted, leaning forward. “That’s not my imagination. The shadows are moving.”

He started to laugh as he wondered why that was happening. And then his blood ran cold in the realization of what he was seeing.

His breathing quickened, and he tried to rise to his feet, but his legs failed him. A terrible sense of dread gripped him, keeping him locked in place. He tried to reach for the dagger at his side. But he must have left it back at his tent.

He turned around as he saw the drunken atmosphere of the refugee camp, still having not noticed this. He opened his mouth to warn them of what was coming.

“N—” he started.

But his voice immediately erupted into a blood-curdling scream as a shadow reached him and dragged him up into the night sky. His scream drew the attention of the nearby refugees. But it was too late.

The nightmare had begun.

And as the fires lighting up the refugee camp was snuffed out, the guards atop Alyona’s walls saw what was happening and sounded the alarm. A bell tolled, echoing in the night as a panic washed over the Sanctuary City.

“Sound the alarm— the nightmares have come!”

Author's Notes:

4.8k words. What thonk?

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