Chapter 4: The First Seal

"This is wonderful!"

"Chris, he's not burning up anymore, he really can survive!"

Irene couldn't help but reveal a joyous smile, feeling an extreme sense of reverence and gratitude toward the Lord of the Lost deep in her heart!

It was a great miracle!

The Lord of the Lost truly was an extremely powerful and benevolent deity!

So, what did He want to take away from me?

Irene had never seen a unilateral act of giving without expecting something in return, kneeling before the transparent bottle, trembling like a harmless little animal.

"Great Lord of the Lost! I praise You! It was Your power that saved my brother, and I have nothing with which to repay You!"

She said to the flickering black light inside the bottle, her voice trembling:

"If You wish to ask for any kind of repayment, my life, my soul, or anything else, I am willing to offer it all to You."

"I only hope that You will show mercy, and wait until my brother has grown up before You come to collect what I owe You."

According to myths and legends, all kinds of "temptations" often came with a price, and for the sake of her only family member, she had prepared herself for the worst.

To the girl's fearful attitude, Karl was somewhat baffled, feeling that she was too wary and cautious.

He decided to be straightforward and openly state "the client's requirements".

His will transmitted very clearly that all the girl needed to do was to bring forth a Mysterious rare artifact as a tribute, and that would satisfy His request.

A Mysterious rare artifact?

Irene's hands trembled slightly, as she remembered the town chief once mentioning what a "Mysterious rare artifact" was—it was a treasure that could only be possessed by Extraordinary Exponents with great power.

For the common people of the town, Mysterious rare artifacts were legendary objects that they had never seen!

How could an ordinary girl from a coastal harbor town possibly find such an item, but if the Lord of the Lost was not satisfied... what would happen then?

She dared not think of the terrible consequences that would surely bring destruction! The Lord of the Lost was definitely a powerful and fearsome deity, whose great power could potentially level the entire town!

What should I do?

"Yes, yes, I understand, I will do my best to find the Mysterious rare artifact for You!"

Irene suddenly saw the flickering crucifix black light inside the bottle again.

It was as if she had entered a black and white world once more, where all sounds ceased, as if she was trapped inside a suffocating painting, witnessing the approach of destruction, feeling as if she could not look away, almost fainting!

It took her a great effort to fearfully lower her head.

Karl also felt something was amiss.

Why did the girl before him seem so scared, did he appear frightening?

Karl fell into contemplation. Could it be that the bottle with a soul attached was terrifying?

He broadened his view to take a glance at the transparent bottle, and found nothing unusual; perhaps it was just that the girl was overly timid, there was nothing he could do.

Karl continued to observe the baby's state, finding that he had completely recovered, peacefully asleep without a trace of illness.

The "Extraordinary power" to "heal disease and pain" originally didn't belong to him; it came from that mysterious rare artifact in the bottle whose Spirituality he had completely devoured.

"It seems that the Mysterious rare artifacts whose Spirituality has been devoured truly become part of one's own Soul Power."

Karl clearly felt that the power attributes of the purple fingertip amulet were very slight, a protective type of effect, now transformed into a crucifix rune with a purple glow.

Beyond that, there was another piece of good news that was even more important; after absorbing two Mysterious rare artifacts, he felt the first seal deep within his soul loosen even more, ready to be completely shattered at any moment.

After a while, Irene noticed that the Lord of the Lost was no longer conveying thoughts.

"Have You left?"

She gradually relaxed, sealed the door blown open with a wooden board from her home, and sat back down on the wooden bed, feeling that everything that night was incredibly astonishing.

Humming a small tune from the children's lullabies, Irene accompanied her sleeping brother for a few hours until the rain at night gradually subsided. The girl, exhausted, lay down beside him and curled up to sleep.

Karl silently sensed the peculiar bond between them. Now, he could vaguely sense Irene's location and emotions.

As long as she was within a five-kilometer range, even if the girl encountered danger, Karl's consciousness could arrive at the scene at a moment's notice.

"An extremely peculiar beginning."

Karl, attached to the bottle, quietly listened to the rain outside, contemplating the power he currently possessed.

The black light gradually escaped from the bottle, causing everything nearby to lose its original color, turning into a silent, emotionless world of black and white.

He realized that this black light seemed to be the source of his own power.

Karl discovered that the true power he possessed within the depths of his soul was formidable.

Firstly, it could devour the spirituality from mysterious rare artifacts and the souls of favored members, transforming it into a permanent power within his own soul, strengthening the lower limit while raising the upper limit of his soul power.

Secondly, it showed the manifestation of "temporary powers," he naturally could convert the life sacrificed into a "death-inducing Curse," afflicting any individual within his field of vision.

"I wonder if different sacrifices besides 'life' would have the same effect."

He had already realized the importance of that girl.

She was his favored member, that is, a "chess piece," just like the first character one gets in a mobile game.

Being attached inside a bottle, he couldn't move freely, and acting personally would consume an immense amount of spirituality, so utilizing convenient "chess pieces" to influence the world became very important.

As Karl pondered, it was best to train Irene and even the entire Fischer bloodline to become powerful Extraordinary Exponents.

He vaguely sensed that there were two other members of the Fischer family with their bloodline in the vicinity.

However, with a distance of over five kilometers, Karl still couldn't communicate directly with their consciousness.

But those two family members, drawn by the fate of their bloodline, would sooner or later come here to see him.

What needed to be done next was very clear.

On one hand, he needed loyal "chess pieces" to collect mysterious rare artifacts, providing him with more spirituality and runes.

On the other hand, the spirituality of favored members who have died returns to him; therefore, as long as he created favored members with strong spirituality,

once their souls returned to him after their death, they could provide him with enough "spirituality" to nourish himself.

"It seems that I and the favored clan are fundamentally in prosperity and in adversity together."

Suddenly, as the purple amulet was completely absorbed, the first heavy seal within the depths of his soul was finally entirely shattered!

Karl was overjoyed, feeling a surge of fragmented memories emerging, and he quickly learned a great deal about the "Claud World" in which he resided.

It turned out that this place was Nasir City on the East Coast of the Ouden Continent.

On the Ouden Continent, there were numerous countries, with the ruling class being powerful nobles who controlled extraordinary powers, and Nasir City was under the rule of the Hovern baronial family.

Without doubt, extraordinary power was an absolute symbol of status and identity!

Approximately ninety percent of the resources and channels for cultivating extraordinary powers were entirely in the hands of the nobility and the True Gods Curia.

Extraordinaries in the world mainly fell into two categories: those who studied to wield more magical power with mental power, and those who strengthened the power of the bloodline in their corporeal form.

Yet regardless of the type of Extraordinary, the essence of their soul had not sublimated, meaning that even in death, the extraordinaries were still purely mortal, and their soul's spirituality would not differ much from that of ordinary people.

"Ah?"

Wait, something's wrong!

Karl quickly realized that something was terribly amiss!

In his mind, there was a complete system of powers for the "God Pantheon Consecution," whereby mortals could ascend the God Pantheon stairway through magic potions and rituals, gradually sublimating the essence of their soul, increasing their spirituality.

However, in the present world, there was no God Pantheon Consecution at all!

People, even if they took the corresponding magic potions and performed rituals, could not possibly grasp the power of the consecution!

"Because the extraordinary laws related to spirituality consecution simply do not exist, a far more advanced system of power is of no help..."

Karl felt profoundly helpless within.

Furthermore, whether it was bloodline or spellcasting talent, they were gifts given at birth by the gods, and mortals without bloodline or talent could never become Extraordinary Exponents!

At least that was the theory.

Even if, theoretically speaking, he really could train members of the Fischer family to harness magic power or the power of bloodline, becoming powerful spellcasters or knights, they would not be able to contribute much spirituality to him after their death.

Enlightenment on the power of the soul was completely a blind spot in the knowledge of the current Claud World!

"..."

After a long silence, Karl finally thought of the only solution that wasn't really a solution.

With the recovery of memories after removing the first seal, it contained many fragmented pieces of information about the "God Pantheon Consecution."

Although the related information in the memories was incomplete and even scattered, as long as he continued to shatter the seals, he would be able to deduce a complete God Pantheon Consecution.

Moreover, in his memories, he possessed the method to visit the Spirit Realm through dreams, theoretically able to reconstruct all the Spiritual Laws of the God Pantheon Consecution, eventually enabling the people of the world to have the opportunity to grasp the power of consecution.

"Build the stairway to deification, creating an entirely different new generation of extraordinaries!"