Book 6, chapter 31

Leaving her previous work behind, Zee wandered the tunnels. Given the labyrinth's ability to repair itself, any sign of her work would likely be gone within a few years. That was okay, though. She had no intention of ever coming back when she escaped.

Humming softly to herself, she followed a series of seemingly random corridors. Zee didn't really have a specific destination in mind, but found what she was looking for, nonetheless.

Dead ends were not all that rare to find down here. It only took her a few hours of searching to find one. Zee suspected all these dead ends were arrival spots where unsuspecting cultivators would be dumped into the tunnels.

Escaping through a dead end had crossed her mind, but the ritual markings here were just too complex. Not to mention the fact that the stone here was reinforced, and could probably take a full force strike from at least a peak D grade cultivator. 

Zee was tempted to give it a try anyway. She wasn't just some run-of-the-mill peak E grade cultivator.

If she tapped into the power of her inner world, she could momentarily exhibit power at the level of a peak D grade cultivator. The problem was that there were subtle etchings in the walls that would send out an alarm if tampered with.

Strangely, most of the tunnels didn't have that feature. Or at least none that she could detect. Whoever created this system probably didn't think it was necessary, considering the walls repaired themselves.

Zee took in her new work space. This dead end was similar to the one she had arrived through. It was a straight tunnel of about a hundred meters that met a ninety-degree turn. That was quite a lot of wall to use for her rituals and set her trap.

Using the floor and ceiling could help, giving more surface area to improve the diagrams.

A notable fact was that these dead ends always connected directly to a junction. It meant that she should be able to set up her trap, and go to the junction to try luring in her prey. Before that though, she needed to set the trap. Lines of draining rituals, with the main soul sacrifice ritual just before the dead end.

 With the place of the ambush found, she set to work. Just before the ninety degrees turn, she started carving. Instead of one really sophisticated ritual, she created a chain of them.

The energy drain ritual was only ninth tier, and was quite simple, yet should be effective. The ritual only had one function, draw energy from the area of effect. 

Zee finished the first ritual in under a day. Imbedding it into the stone was far slower than with her own energy, but also much easier to create multiple. 

The ritual diagram was about ten feet wide, from the ceiling to the floor. This first one was on the inner side of the wall at the corner. Wanting to test it out, she activated the ritual. Energy flowed along the complex pathways of the diagram.

As expected, nothing happened. Or at least nothing that could be seen by the naked eye. Using her spatial ripple skill, it was a completely different story. Inside the diagram, the world river was being sucked into the ritual. 

It looked like water going down a drain as the ritual sucked everything in. 

Taking a breath, she stepped inside, and immediately grimaced as torrents of her energy were wrenched from her body. It was a significant drain, though the drain stopped when she stepped back out.

A smile tugged at her lips. That was perfect. Now she could just let the ritual suck in ambient energy. Charge the pathways, and solidify the ritual into the stone. One down, only like a hundred more to go. Zee wasn't going to risk dying because she was lazy.

There was a lot of hallway to work with, so why not use it? It was tedious work, carving rituals into the walls with a sword, but she found she quite enjoyed it. Something oddly cathartic about creating ritual diagrams. 

As she completed each ritual, she worked away at the diagram. She even made changes to a few, adding more complex patterns to the diagrams inner working for better efficiency, and a stronger pull.

This is what being a ritualist was all about. Just because you could copy from a book, that didn't make you a ritualist. No, it was understanding the fundamental workings of what you were doing, and being able to adapt them to your desire.

The process of creating them was exciting. Zee's first estimation, that it was going to be a hundred rituals, was off. Though not because she had overestimated the amount of space she had. No, it was off because she decided to fill the hallway that led to the junction as well. 

It was double the work, and took twice as long, but she had nothing better to do. And since she made it this far, why not keep going?

Something about this place just made her want to work on her projects. When the second tunnel was filled, she moved onto the junction. 

Why not? What could it hurt? It was better to be cautious. Time seemed to fly by, a blur of carving patterns into stone. It was as if she was in a trance; her only concern was carving the next ritual into the stone. 

Zee reached up to carve another pattern into the rock, and paused. 

Out of the corner of her eye, something burst into view. There was a flash of blue and silver that shot down the tunnel as it streaked towards her. It was on her in moments, slamming into her chest before she could react.

A sense of completeness washed over here.

"Zee! Finally! What is wrong with you? You look awful," Dern shouted in her mind..

"Dern, what's going on?" Zee asked, swaying on her feet.

"You tell me, why do you look like a corpse?" Dern asked.

"What are you talking about?" Zee asked.

"Look at yourself dummy, you look like shit," Dern said.

Zee shook her head, raising her hand. She froze. Her hand, which still gripped her sword, looked so gaunt. Almost like skin and bones.

She licked her suddenly dry lips, glancing down at herself. Horror washed through her. 

Her body looked emaciated, like she hadn't eaten in months. Zee suddenly felt so hungry. Why hadn't she noticed it?

Had she been so focused on completing her work that she forgot to eat? 

"Dern, the tunnels, they are messing with us," Zee exclaimed.

"No shit! What are you even doing?" Dern asked.

"Making a trap to capture that monster," Zee explained. "What are you doing here? I thought you were off with Sersie somewhere," Zee asked.

"I was until that monster killed me. I led it away from Sersie, and ended up running into a dead end. That was game over for me," Dern said, unhappily.

"How did you find me?" Zee asked, confused.

"A lot of searching. I have been wandering these damned tunnels for years. I thought I was going insane," Dern said.

Zee shook herself, a wave of exhaustion washing over her.

"Years? Have we really been in here that long?" Zee asked.

"Yes, just look at you. You look pathetic. Did you eat all your food already?" Dern asked.

With a mental nudge, she reached into her spatial storage and scowled.

"Not all of my food. Ugh, what a mess, Dern, what are we going to do?" Zee asked, pulling some dried lizard jerky from a wooden crate and chewing on it. 

"So, do you have a plan to deal with that monster? Please tell me you have a plan?" Dern asked.

Zee grimaced, gesturing back down the tunnel she had been carving on.

The tunnel looked like a gauntlet of ritual diagrams. They were all lit up, each of them active, and drawing in energy. By now, many were embedded deep into the rock, having built up enough power to solidify themselves.

"My trap is that way. Not sure how far though. I think I have been mindlessly making these rituals for a while now," Zee said, tiredly.

"Well, from what I can glean from your mind, your idea seems feasible. Have you created the soul sacrifice ritual yet?" Dern asked conversationally.

"I…. I am not sure. Why?" Zee asked.

"Well… You know how I said I was running from that thing when it destroyed my body? Well, it is still chasing me," Dern said casually.

Zee turned around just as a slithering snake shot around the corner, its long obsidian coil smacking into the far wall with its speed. 

Slithering, its eyes locked on her and it let out an excited hiss.

 "Dern! Why the hell would you bring that thing here?" Zee shouted, her heart skipping a beat as she turned to run.

"Sorry, better you than Sersie," Dern said.

"You unreliable scrap heap! When we get out of this I'm going to throw you from the tallest cliff I can find," Zee swore inwardly. 

Dern laughed in her mind.

"If we get out of this alive i'll jump,"

Zee weakened muscles groaned as she forced them into action. Pins and needles shot up her legs as she ran into the chain of powered rituals.

The drain was immediate and intense. She compressed her aura as much as she could to stem the loss, which helped, but didn't stop the drain entirely.

Behind her, the snake shot down the hallway, coming after her with frightening speed. It didn't even slow as it reached her chain of rituals, slithering after her.

The fact that streamers of power were siphoned off from the monster didn't calm her at all as it barreled down the tunnel after her.

Zee ran for her life, activating her movement skill in rapid succession to keep ahead of the monster. Once again she was surprised by just how many rituals covered the hallways.

Hundreds of them, carved over what must have been years. It was shocking to think just how long she had been down here. This place really did mess with her sense of time, which was more terrifying than the monster chasing her.

Zee fought to keep going, her body protesting at the abuse. If not for the fact she was a peak E grade cultivator, there would be no way she could even run in this condition.

Even with energy flowing through her emaciated body, strengthening her muscles and bones, it was still hard. On the bright side, It was like her body was coming alive after years of inactivity. 

No wonder she looked so emaciated. It wasn't because she hadn't been eating. No, it was because she hadn't been infusing energy through her limbs. 

Now that she was, her muscles drank it in, like plants in a desert. With each step, her muscles swelled, her vitality returning. 

She was not in peak condition by any means, but was able to run much more easily.

The tunnels were a blur around her as she ran, the rituals forcefully drawing at her energy reserves. Releasing an aura of compression, she tightly compressed her aura, forcibly keeping what she had.

Hot on her heels, the snake didn't even seem to care as its power was being drained. As it slithered after her, it looked to be smoking, plumes of spiritual energy leaking off its body. 

She could sense its aura diminishing, but to what end? In her manic state, she had completely forgotten if she had created the soul sacrifice ritual. Even knowing that, she didn't change course, fleeing towards the dead end.

Despite the fact it was slowing, the monster pursued without hesitation, as if unconcerned by any trap. It took only a few minutes before she slid out into a familiar junction, her heart pounding in her chest as she hesitated.

Going down the deadend was perhaps the most risky choice, but just maybe.

She created a lot of rituals while she was out of it. Just maybe she had created the soul sacrifice ritual. 

With only a moment's hesitation, she ran towards the dead end. Now was not the time to play it safe. Hopefully, even while under a trance, she had the foresight to create the most important ritual.

With the monster breathing down her neck, hissing loudly, she slid into the final corner that led to the dead end. Smoking like a chimney, the monster unhesitantly came after her.

Zee took in the dead end as she ran towards it, searching for the ritual she hoped was there.

Her blood ran cold as she spotted the empty gap on the stone floor at the end of the tunnel. 

The heart of fire beat loudly in her chest, the sound loud in her mind. No! How could she have forgotten such a critical component of the trap? Zee slid to a stop over the empty stone, whirling and raising her sword.

The monster, much slower than before, slid to a stop in front of her. It hissed, its long forked tongue darting out from between two massive fangs. 

It eyed her up, its head swaying as it prepared to strike.

Inwardly, Zee was panicking. How could she have forgotten something so important? Then she remembered something else. It was so frustrating, what kind of idiot left out such a crucial piece?

Just when she thought all hope might be lost, her attention turned to the stasis ritual she usually stored in her chest. 

She almost cried in relief at what she found. 

"Dern, buy me a few seconds," Zee shouted.

"On it," 

Conjuring him, she flung Dern right at the snake head, not bothering to see what happened. Instead, she craned her neck, looking down at her chest. With a stream of mental energy, she reached inward and dragged the stasis ritual to the surface.

The ritual burned as it passed through her muscles, scorching her ribs as it exited her body. The small, compressed rituals looked like a drugged out spider formed hundreds of overlapping webs into a ball from raw energy. On the outside was the stasis ritual, while on the inside was a ritual that gave off a chilling aura. 

Exposed to the air, the combined rituals were incredibly difficult to keep stable. Shaking from the strain, she reached out with her mind and released the bindings on the stasis ritual.

Hundreds of thin lines of crisscrossed energy suddenly fell apart, revealing the complex ritual within.

With little prompting, It unfolded around her, with the patterns spreading out to cover the walls, floor and ceilings. Any available space was covered, with some of the pattern hovering in midair. Zee stood at the center, the focal point, and the catalyst for this ritual. 

She really wished she could have gone over this ritual thoroughly before she used it, but time was of the essence. 

The giant snake's tail, which was as thick as a tree trunk, smashed Dern into the wall with enough force to shatter his chest plate and the wall behind him. Dust rained from the ceiling, the loud screech of metal breaking urging her onward.

With anxiety rising in her chest, Zee pulled out a box with two middle stage natural treasures, one of ice, and one of darkness from her spatial storage. She really hoped the spirituality from these two treasures worked as an offering to jumpstart the ritual.

Next, she drew her palm along the incredibly sharp edge of her sword. Wincing, she slammed her bleeding palm onto the stone. 

The ritual pulsed, harmonizing with her aura. Kneeling, she placed one hand on the stone, looking up just as another lightning-quick strike from the snake destroyed Dern's body.

Turning from its latest victim, the enormous snake's beady eyes locked on her, malice filling them. Zee met that cold unfeeling gaze, knowing with absolute certainty that it would kill her without a moment's hesitation. 

And that is exactly what it tried to do. Striking forward, the monster opened its cavernous maw, its fangs oozing venom. Zee's stomach lurched as she held her ground, praying the damned soul ritual would work.

"Come on you stupid thing! Work damit!" She shouted internally.

It seemed as if time slowed as that enormous maw drew closer. It was only a few feet away when bands of power sprouted around them. Each band was thick as an arm, hundreds of them catching the snake mid air. Surprised, it hissed, and flailed, its giant head only a few feet away from gobbling her up.

Sweat beaded on her forehead, her heart racing as she held her ground.

That was far too close for comfort. Phase one complete. The notes on this ritual said there were two methods to complete phase two. One, which was supplying over a dozen souls, wasn't feasible. 

Zee hadn't seen another monster in years, and therefore didn't have the opportunity to capture any more souls. The last option was unpleasant, though had some benefits if you pulled it off. It involved sacrificing a piece of her own soul to reach out and connect to this monster.

Zee really didn't want to do it, as there were huge risks involved. As she stood there, hesitating, one of the bands of power containing the giant snake cracked and fell apart. Then a second quickly followed. She grimaced. Well, no time to second guess herself. 

Forming a contract with this monster was her ticket to survival. If she failed to form a bridge between their souls, death was a near certainty.

The prospect scared her, but she couldn't back down in the face of every little snake. She had bigger fish to fry. This monster was just a minor roadblock on her path to the peak. Or at least that's what she told herself. 

Hoping she wasn't making a huge mistake, Zee stepped forward and drove her sword into the monster's snout. 

Its scales were thick, and durable, but it was drained from her rituals, and unable to move. There was a loud pained hiss and dark ichor gushed out onto the floor. 

The ichor steamed and vanished as it hit the floor, immediately sucked into the ritual. There was a tremendous pull on the energy around them as the ritual diagram spun into motion. 

The energy from the two middle quality treasures on offering were consumed in seconds, turning them to worthless dust. 

Each contained a huge amount of refined energies, and yet it wasn't near enough to satiate the ritual.

Once they were consumed, the ritual tapped into her own power, draining it at a frightening pace. The only bright side to this feature, was that it siphoned both parties equally. It was an enormous amount of energy taken from both of them, but a necessary cost.

This ritual did something incredible, severing a piece of her soul. That was no small feat, requiring colossal amounts of energy. The drain of her energy pool being sucked dry in seconds made her woozy, but she still managed to take a step forward.

She placed her bleeding palm on the snake's snout where she cut it and took a deep breath. It tried to back away, but was held in place by bands of unyielding power. Its power to absorb energy was made completely useless. The ritual was converting her energy to soul energy, a power that very few creatures could absorb.

This creature seemed to have a overpowered ability to absorb and incorporate any type of energy. It appeared that wasn't completely true.

Her excitement was pushed aside as pain like no other shot through every fiber of her being. One of the floating islands in her inner world was severed, as the ritual cut off a piece of her soul. 

Zee had been injured many times throughout the years, but nothing prepared her for this kind of pain. Blinding, soul wrenching agony shot through her. She actually blacked out for a few seconds, coming back to consciousness only to hear Dern's gentle and loving voice in her mind.

"Hey! Stop sleeping on the job dummy! This isn't over yet!" Dern said.

"I know. Now stop distracting me. I need to focus," Zee replied, feeling incredibly nauseous. 

Having a piece of her soul torn from her inner world was incredibly painful, but also a relief. It was like she had a second body now. It had no eyes and yet, through it, she could sense the monster, like a shining beacon in the night. With some effort, she urged the piece of her soul forward. Left behind was a jagged wound, a hole in her inner world that could take years to heal.

If she didn't succeed it might never heal at all, and her soul might crumble.

Despite knowing this, Zee adamantly pushed her soul wisp forward. Like a meteor striking a planet, she shot toward the snake's soul. The monster had a powerful body, and an overpowered ability to absorb energy. It over-matched her in nearly every aspect, except for the soul. 

Despite being in peak E grade, she already formed a fragmented inner world and evolved it. That was a feat that was unique, as far as she was aware.

Not to mention the fact she had been bonded to an Ashary for about sixteen years now. Her soul had been tempered for years by resisting Dern's inherent drain and was stronger for it. 

The monster instinctively erected its soul defenses, but they were futile. Her soul wisp plowed into its defenses like a meteor striking a city. A soul piercing wail echoed throughout the tunnels as both combatants slumped to the ground.