71 Grave Hand

"Tch."

The strange man only snorted in Darcel and Aniela's direction for their temporary distraction.

After all, from what he could sense, it was only two pitiful kids in the fifth level of the Nascent Core realm.

Darcel and Aniela, however, didn't bother with the man's disrespectful attitude. They simply ignored it and unhesitatingly kept on walking up to the grave, getting dangerously close to the gravestone.

As Darcel and Aniela got closer to the gravestone, the intenser their soul continues to stir. Both of their eyes focused squarely on this exotic looking gravestone like they never have seen anything like it.

For a second, Darcel and Aniela suddenly stop.

A very faint vague trace of a familiar essence was gracing their minds. And yet at such close distance now, neither can remember just where or why this familiarity was appearing.

"Hmm?"

As Darcel and Aniela were only a couple of feet beside him, the strange man couldn't help but notice this peculiar state of the duo.

But quickly, even more disdain hazed his eyes, still only believing these kids are merely fooling around.

Of course, Darcel and Aniela didn't notice the look of continued disdain.

The unusual markings of this green gravestone pulled all of their attention. Their eyes stared unblinkingly as if trying to piece together the meaning.

Yet, neither Darcel nor Aniela could or would be able to understand no matter how much focus they put it.

This confusion and allure only pulled Darcel and Aniela interest more, barring their souls' intense calling.

After a couple of seconds, Darcel and Aniela continued their slow, methodical steps towards the green gravestone.

With every single step taken, the magnetic tingling sensation from their souls spewed and smoothly course through their bodies like running water.

Only mere inches apart from the gravestone, Darcel and Aniela stopped once again.

Neither of the two spoke a single word. And abruptly, then Aniela was struck with a strong compulsion.

Almost akin to an emotionless human-machine, Aniela began lifting her hand to touch the green gravestone.

Although, immediately when attempting this, the strange man had finally grown tired of these ridiculous shenanigans.

"Hey, brats…." The strange man began talking, and slowly he surged his fifth layer link True Soul Core aura.

His initial goal was to scare these annoyances off until he abruptly became entirely still.

Darcel and Aniela didn't even register the strange man's words. But they too abruptly became rigidly frozen in place.

At the same time, all three were frozen by an overwhelming unfathomable presence of power.

Though Darcel, Aniela, and the man's body didn't move, their eyes did dart directly at the ground just before the gravestone. The dirt was eerily moving like there was someone or something down there.

And then….a bright green glow enriched the dirt!

'Chi!'

Under the widening of three humans' eyes, a bright green silverish hand popped right out of the ground! The hand was directly in front of the gravestone, generating a haunting curse imagery.

However, neither the man, Darcel, or Aniela had any time to get chills from the haunting scene.

Right when the hand ominously popped up from the ground, so did a tremendous influx of power burst throughout the whole Demesne Grave!

"This…." The man breathed out as he swiftly jumped back under this abrupt influx of power.

Darcel and Aniela as well quickly jumped back, finding the situation growing, especially odd.

Admittedly though, this eerie green silverish hand carried a magnetic allure. Darcel, Aniela, and the strange man couldn't actually take their eyes off the hand once it appeared.

However, before anyone of three could attempt to move or even talk, a piercing green shine refracted deeply into their eyes. They witnessed a bright, enchanting green glow intensely swirl at three of the green hand fingertips.

Puzzlement encompasses Darcel, Aniela, and the strange man's faces.

Truthfully, the sudden influx of power wasn't enough to scare anyone of them. The trio sensed the power to be equated somewhere around the True Soul Core realm.

It's why only curiosity and questions plaster their faces instead of feeling any real danger.

And yet, while staring into the soul capturing bright green glow, the hand abruptly blasted out three streams of green energy from its fingertips!

"Wha?!" Darcel, Aniela, and the strange man all utter yelps of shock.

None of them couldn't react to the hand's green energy streams, and they were all quickly wrapped up in this strange energy.

"Ah! What is this?!"

The strange man shouted as immediately he, Darcel, and Aniela all felt intense scorching pain fiercely course throughout their bodies.

For the strange man, specifically for all of his higher prowess, this scorching pain was excruciating unbearable.

In this situation, the only logical option was to erupt their Qi and escape this entrapment.

Darcel snorted a bit and attempted to will his Nascent Qi. Only for his pupil to dilate upon trying to do so.

"The hell….are really that unlucky that we're under a suppression trap?"

A grave tone slithered out Darcel as he, Aniela, and the strange man all quickly realized their Qi was entirely suppressed!

"Ok….let's be calm here! At least this burning pain isn't so bad."

Aniela did manage to say since really, the pain wasn't completely unbearable to the point of it being torture. Darcel, too was inclined to agree with Aniela, though they both swiftly realized why.

Their powerful, mysterious souls were continually wriggling about, surprisingly providing Darcel and Aniela's bodies with enough power to barely resist the burn.

Only the strange man couldn't believe her words and thought Aniela was putting a tough front. After all, something he, a fifth layer link True Soul Core has trouble resisting surely would be fatal to Nascent Core youths.

And it was then, a slight realization hit the strange man.

His eyes briefly glance over to Darcel and Aniela in a slight shock. Just….how the hell were they surviving this pain?!

These kids, ever since they first appeared, are this odd, strange anomaly.

But for now, the strange man had no time to focus on these kids. Wanting to escape as soon as possible, the strange man at least tried to move backward.

Only to immediately mutter a silent curse under his breath when it was quite literally impossible to move back.

Darcel and Aniela as well realize this little problem by their failure to walk backward.

Going back was out of the options; none of them could even turn sideways as well. Which left the three with only one choice.

That is to take whatever this mysterious hand was head-on!

Otherwise, without access to their Qi, they would ultimately be sitting ducks here for god know how long.

Gritting his teeth, forcing down the scorching unbearable pain, the strange man's eyes haze in a determined glint.

He didn't think much would come of it at first, but immediately the man was surprised when he could actually lift his leg forward!

And right then, the man's eyes burst further open like two saucers.

What accompanied this single step of movement was the horrifying sensation of mind-breaking burning pain! Whatever course through him frantically torched his organs, bloodstreams, and bones at an excruciatingly slow rate.

Because of the man's powerful True Soul Core body, of course, having his inside burn wouldn't be enough to kill him.

But that doesn't mean the pain still wasn't torture like!

Hastily the man savagely bit down his teeth, nearly shattering a row of them.

In all of his concertation, the man willed a tiny portion of his soul to see it could affect this hellish situation he was unfortunately wrapped into.

One of the primary and most crucial aspects of the True Soul Core realm, as the name already implies, is to extensively train and develop one's soul.

This was the starting foundation that'll later play a significant role in future realms and cultivation levels.

However, even in all the agonizing efforts of the strange man, he could only just barely put his foot down under this torturous pain. Using his soul powers was pathetically negligible.

Observing the man's struggle got Darcel and Aniela to gain the same idea. Although with them, they haven't had any training with their souls, unlike the strange man.

But also, just unlike the man, Darcel and Aniela could at least mobilize a tiny portion of their souls' powers, even beginning at the Qi Foundation Realm.

In a literal sense, the knowledge of using this power was engraved into them ever since birth.

At the same time, Darcel and Aniela lifted their foot and then raised their eyebrows.

"This….this isn't too bad? At least not too bad in it being too much pain." Aniela lightly commented though her face was still focused.

"Let's just take it slowly at first." Darcel calmly said while still bearing the brunt of raging burning pain.

From Darcel and Aniela's side, the strange man watched in disbelieving awe as the duo finally got moving.

For the first five steps, Darcel and Aniela truly did take it slow and easy. The suppression didn't make it that hard to move their bodies, being the only thing ease about this situation.

Though the scorching pain was still ever-present, at least there was some sort of light Darcel, and Aniela could see now. At their distance, they had only jumped back a few meters from the green flaming hand.

And inspired with a newfound confidence Darcel and Aniela were ready to keep on moving.

That is until they both heard a crazed and demanding voice shout from behind them,

"Im-impossible!! Ju-just wha-what are you two damn brats?!" The strange man struggles to utter out under intense, fiery pain.

This just had to be a trick!

No way two Nascent Core juniors could possibly surpass him, a mighty True Soul Core warrior!

Darcel and Aniela, however, merely took a slight glance behind them. No matter the pain she felt, Aniela offered a pleasant but seemingly mocking smile.

"Us? Just two brats at the Nascent Core realm~."

With those simple yet underlying words utter, the duo had then turned their attention back on the green flaming hand. Truthfully, they had zero reasons to care about some weird man disbelief delusions.

Though hearing Aniela's answer made something inside, the strange man snap a little. Practically speaking, it really was all of their faults that he was put into this grueling situation!

"Heh….al-alright. Le-let truly sees then." The strange man silently utters under his breath.

He couldn't accept this bizarre reality transpiring in front of him. And he sure as hell wouldn't simply roll over and die here!

Inside the strange man, his soul was violently churning. Throughout the strange man body, frantic, wild surges of power spewed providing him a much higher resistance to the pain though at a severe cost.

This process, the strange man was undergoing, is the dangerous risk of overtaxing his soul. If failure were to occur, the strange man could very well blow up in a horrifying mid mist explosion.

Although compared to the Yoderine True Soul Core youths Darcel and Aniela had encountered previously. This strange man obviously had far more experience utilizing his soul.

Quickly some of the burning pain of the strange man gruel through lifted up.

Just one small error could be the fatal end for him now.

But under this highly unstable state of his body, the strange man began hurriedly walking!

"Eh?" Aniela mouthed a short breath of mild shock once seeing the man abruptly walk at a faster pace than her and Darcel.

Although Darcel instead had a disdain smirk seeing the man get ahead of himself.

Swiftly the strange man crossed a couple of meters between the green gravestone, stopping just several feet from it.

Without even fully turning around, the man managed to say,

"No matter what, you freaks can't live up to his." Now the strange man's voice sounded clear and even held a hint of awe-inspiring power.

Though the man was struggling to keep to this over-taxation of his soul, he was able to clear up even more of the scorching pain.

Without waiting for a response from Darcel and Aniela, the man carefully continued his trek.

While walking up here, the man did try to go back only to once again find it impossible. Meaning this green flaming hand will all the answers he needs!

However, once he got merely a few inches near the green flaming hand,

"GAHH?!?"

The strange man abruptly collapsed right to his knees! Overwhelming pain, dominating suppression crushed his body like several tons of mountains.

Even under his soul state, whatever energy that flowed in his body had just dramatically shot up to ridiculous degrees. Moreover, the strange man felt the slipping of his life as his soul became unbearably frantic.

From behind, Darcel and Aniela curiously watched on.

That is as they obverse wisps of green flames suddenly continuously spew from the strange man. It was as if the green flames were revving up and then,

"AHHHHH!!!"

Blood-curdling shrieks echoed from the strange man as his body erupted in brilliant, beautiful green flames! To his body, Spirit Sense, and soul, the man felt everything get scorched under the intensity of the blazing sun.

His dying shrieks of pain only lasted about a few seconds.

Darcel and Aniela watched as the man was incinerated to mere green ashes on the ground with slight weariness.

Neither Darcel nor Aniela dared to move then. After witnessing such horrifying events, they couldn't help but worry about their own lives if they approach those spots.

But, just like the strange man found it, going back was utterly impossible at this point.

"What happened to him…. couldn't possibly happen to us! We were quite literally called here!" Aniela reminded herself and Darcel with rising confidence.

Feeling inspired by Aniela, Darcel confidently nodded, reaffirming with, "It would make no sense for our souls to call us to someplace to get killed. Let's go, Aniela!"

Both Darcel and Aniela gathered their courage. Cautiously and slowly, the duo walked towards the same spot; the strange man was incinerated.

Each step, the familiar sensations in their souls got stronger, but their weariness didn't lessen in the slightest.

And with one final step, Darcel and Aniela walked right into the same spot of the ashes of the strange man.