House of Amarin

Slipping out of their room was made extremely easy. They could feel the clashing auras and spells from the cave itself, and deep inside the mountain, the two factions were going toe-to-toe.

"What a lovely community… working together in harmony!" Lia murmured, disgust oozing from her words.

"Don't be surprised… they are all like this. You won't find anybody who is willing to help without aiming to strengthen themselves. Or playing you for a fool."

"Sssh… and follow me." Somia scolded them as they headed down the mountain, leading them into another cave that sneaked downwards. The pathway was unlit as for the Soulbound cultivators; the darkness posed no obstruction to navigate their way.

"Is the pathway inside the mountain? Why?" Lia questioned, finding it illogical. Then, any of the other factions could just slip in and cause way too much trouble.

"It is the personal chamber of the previous Supreme Elder. I cracked the defenses of it and got in. It was easy; her formations were only layered four times." She explained, making Lia open her mouth, but Erias stopped her from voicing her questions.

"Somia is good with formations. Don't get so surprised, and most of all, don't ask!"

When they got to the place, the wall was already opened and revealing a chamber with a pulsating, half-active formation. Unlike the others, the walls here were decorated with items, ancient artifacts glowing with a very faint aura of power, and jade pieces floating in energy fields. Unlike many other things… these were still actual, tangible items from the real world.

"Relics from the old world…" Erias whispered, feeling excited. "I bet these things belonged to the previous Supreme Elder… as she was someone who lived way before the cataclysmic war…"

"You know a lot… I knew you were trouble!"

The voice that surprised them was Qima's, who appeared there, a bit haggard-looking but brimming with energy.

"You are not here to support any side; you are here for Master's treasures… Well… I am thankful to you for cracking the defenses! We couldn't get in! While my idiotic 'sister' deals with the others, I can become even more powerful!"

He didn't hesitate and rushed forth, aiming to strike down Erias. Qima felt that he was the most troublesome of the three, and the faster he dealt with him, the better it would be. What he didn't expect was that Erias was neither fearful nor troubled. With a simple move, Qima's body was trapped in a black, ink-like bubble, imprisoning him. No matter what he did, punching against it or releasing his soul, exploding with power, it only sent ripples through Erias's spell but couldn't break out of it.

"We have a little time, Lia, come, take over! You still need power, so I will let you cook this one!"

"With pleasure!" She giggled, hopping forward, placing her hand on her ancestor's spell.

"We really don't…" Somia argued, but Erias just winked at her.

"Come on, we do! Go, take down the items; we are stealing it all! Let them think the same as Qima! More chaos, more fun!"

The Grand Elder watched with horror as the black prison shot tentacles out, burrowing into his soul and restraining him easily. He was so sure of his power and his capabilities to be the next Supreme Elder, replacing his fallen master, that he was blinded to one simple fact… All Supreme Elders are chosen by the Sect Master.

There is no competition, no democracy… all of them who rose to the rank did so after they themselves devoured the previous owner of the position, gaining the approval of the Sect Master, or he appointed individuals he found amusing. Qima and Shila? They were specks, simple footsoldiers of Loonah, disciples who were raised to their current position out of necessity and not because of skill. Erias's black tentacles were soon followed by Lia's ice, spreading and surrounding Qima before it began contracting, shrinking into a small blue ball retrieved from the black prison.

"Somia is right; we have not much time. I will absorb him later!" She got ahold of it, smiling at Erias.

"Come to the formation!" Somia urged them, and the moment they did, she activated it.

Feeling their vision swim, the room changed in a snap of a finger, and they were standing in a completely different room. It was luxuriously decorated. Looking around made Lia think of her parent's bedroom, making her homesick. Rows of bookshelves, a giant bed, a fireplace that was on and crackling with flame, painting the room orange. Turning towards the simple, small window, they could see the night sky and the big, silvery moon above them.

"Where are we?" Erias and Lia asked, wholly befuddled as this was the polar opposite of the previous home of a Supreme Elder.

"This is the abode of another leader."

"Shit…" Erias cursed, but Somia quickly added, calming him down.

"Relax. He is dead. This one was named Io, and he died. He was the one who Yuya consumed before killing Lia." She explained quickly, pointing at a physical painting on the wall of Io from when he still had a fleshy body.

"Err… It is still weird to hear that I died." Lia chuckled but continued surveying the place, and just like in the previous place, she could feel an overwhelming presence of two elements here, namely the element of darkness and metal.

"Only in body." Erias joked before looking around with raised eyebrows. "Someone here was really keen to keep up their illusion of life, huh?"

"What now?" Lia asked, looking mainly at Somia.

"From what we can tell is that these two were in contact… directly. Which we can use, again." With that, she fished out two refined souls that still carried the feeling of Loonah's faction. "Let's rob the place clean. Many of the items here also feel like something real… and if they get a whiff of who did it..."

"Oh!" Lia and Erias grinned, not waiting for more explanation, taking everything that looked mildly interesting and wasn't nailed down.

…
….
…..

Was it a day later? It was hard to tell as this layer of the Soulbound Sect remained in a constant night with the moon shining above them for all eternity. The trio was hiding in an abandoned-looking wooden house in a lush field of wheat. The moment they moved the first item, some kind of automatic warning system kicked off as the wailing of sirens echoed throughout not just the castle but the whole layer itself.

They found this place by accident after narrowly escaping, remaining undetected, sneaking through corridors, and flying away in the dark. It was quickly apparent that most strong followers were not present at the moment, sent down to Meriath, leaving behind only one Grand Elder level disciple and a few Elders who were now scrambling like rats on a shrinking ship. The apparent robbery incensed them beyond belief, and they could see hundreds of souls hurrying toward the castle in the past hours, gathering like an army would.

"This place is set up like a kingdom… how nostalgic," Erias murmured, mostly to himself because Lia was meditating, consuming the soul of Qima while Somia was going through their treasures from the two abode of the fallen Supreme Elders.

"Everyone has their comfort zone. Your field of grass with the lake was yours. Isn't it how your home looked like when married to that dragon?"

"Yeah… True…” He answered with a soft sigh, "But this Io set up his own place like a proper kingdom with nobles being his elders and disciples as peasants. How quaint! Anyway! Found anything interesting?" He smiled, turning towards her.

"Not much. Most of these items look like they were more sentimental mementos than anything. Our current development of artifacts long surpassed them!"

"They did?" Erias crouched next to her, examining a fancy-looking obsidian dagger that they had taken from Io's home.

"You would be surprised how the current Meriath looks. The ships you are used to are no longer new, wonderful inventions but archaic pieces of history belonging to a museum. We had a great leap in magic technology in the second and third eras."

"Fine by me!" He grinned, pleased to hear, "So… these are worthless?"

"Very much so. These artifacts have deteriorated a lot… The only ones that have any value are the documents and still preserved jade slips, recording our lost history. Those I already read and recorded. If we have time, I want to establish a connection with Meriath again and send them back to Hajna. If we die, it would be lost once again..."

"Charming... But you can do it… we can't move for now, not until we see what happens! Not to mention, we need to find another route deeper! I am unsure if we would be just as lucky as before to land in another Supreme Elder's private door to her secret lover!"

"I didn't find any information about Loonah and Io being lovers," Somia answered quickly.

"Just… let me make up some funny things for myself, hm?" He shrugged, looking at Lia, who was meditating, completely lost in it. "Did you also feel it?"

"Lia?" Somia nodded, looking towards her, "She is a natural. She assimilated some of the earth elements in the previous layer, and now she is doing the same with the dark and metal that is present here. It is a good idea; later on, when she tries to truly pick up any of those, she will have a springboard she can use."

"And I didn't have to guide her to do it! She is making me proud~!"

"You should follow her example."

"Nah!" Erias waved, grinning, "I am fine as I am right now! I am old with many preconceptions that cloud my judgment when learning an element. She has a much more open mind and one with fewer rules binding it! If our home is free again, I will pick it up, but for now? I am focused on what I have!"

While Lia continued meditating, Somia established contact with the real world. As they were hiding inside the Evernight realm, a war was brewing. Those who remained here were in mourning after losing their leader. Unlike their previous group, there was little to no infighting, holding up some kind of weird honor which was trampled all over now, right down into the mud. It was almost unanimously decided that they would go and get everything back by force.

On the day they were ready to start an invasion, something happened that not even Erias was expecting. A Grand Elder returned from Meriath to take control of the situation, and his words were transferred throughout everyone in their little sub-realm, quickly picked up and listened to by Erias.

"Think! Our Master was killed by the machinations of the bastard twelfth elder! The same is true of Supreme Elder Loonah and her faction! Do you all think this is a coincidence? We are still strong in our numbers and know what he did! He wants us gone! If we battle, it would be a perfect opportunity for him to use it against us! Marginalize and purge us in one go!"

Of course, in responding to his speech, many demanded their honor to be upheld and that they just couldn't take this lying down. This was when people from Loonah's realm appeared and began explaining what was happening on their end. They even made contact with Kyaranin's faction and realized they had sent nobody over.

Yet, instead of realizing something was wrong, both factions were in agreement that this had to be Killieth's plan. That he must be behind it all, as he sacrificed his own sister just so he could advance further. What was brewing now was an alliance between factions who had lost their leaders, making plans to attack their most hated rival.

"Are they stupid?" Lia asked after waking up from her meditation and being filled in by her ancestor about what she missed.

"They are piranhas." He answered, leaning against the wall, looking out the window, watching the fake moon in the sky. "They smell blood, and they lose all rationality. They may have had some kind of humanity before… but since coming here? They lost all connection with what they were and became distorted monsters. They are nothing more but insane, twisted souls, with the goal of eating and growing. Fighting for honor? Getting into an alliance for revenge? Lies. They just don't want to be gobbled up and instead want to grow stronger themselves."

"And now that many leaders are away… they are without a voice of reason to stop them from doing so. Like rabid dogs off their leash." Lia hummed, thinking about it.

"With people coming and going," Somia interjected quickly, "I found the borders. We can leave. It would be best if we do so now while they are doing constant meetings in their castle."

"Agreed!" Erias nodded, "The three idiot will also realize we may have slipped away sooner or later, so… it is best to get to a spot where I feel closer to their core and initiate the final chapter in their existence!"

Unlike the previous time, leaving the layer of Io proved to have a catch in it. The place from where disciples from the different realms arrived seemed to be a gateway... One that needed a specific activation to connect to the layer they wanted to travel to. As they had no real time to make guesses and start deciphering the symbols, Erias blindly activated it, disappearing… followed by Somia and then Lia.

When the scenery around her changed and transformed into a beautiful world filled with strong sunlight, floating clouds, and magical castles built on them, she could no longer see or feel either Erias or Somia. They expected that it could happen… and if it did, they agreed for Lia to stay put and wait for them to find her.

"Shit…" It was not something she was happy with, not at all, even if the feeling of the element of light and nature was especially strong here.

"Hey!" A female voice interrupted her thoughts, and when she turned towards it, a young, tall, and voluptuous woman appeared before her, wearing a white robe. "What are you doing here, newbie?" She asked with a cold voice, looking down on her, emitting the aura of an Elder.

"I was sent back because of an injury!" Lia cupped her hand, making up a lie quickly after sensing she had to be in the realm of Kyaranin as the woman's soul had the same fluctuations.

"Lucky one, eh?" She smiled, "I see. Good, we are shorthanded with the incoming souls! With most of you disciples being sent out, the mundane tasks fell upon our hands… tsk! Go to Gathering Area 4 and deal with the incoming souls! Select those that have any use to recruit, and send the rest to storage!"

"Y-yes, Elder!" She cupped her hands and watched as she departed, making Lia twitch her mouth, asking herself with a bit of annoyance, "Where the fuck is Gathering Area 4…?"