Aengus shook his head, realizing there was no point in dwelling on the questions for now. He shifted his attention to the dwarves and the outstretched hand of the statue where raw energy was being gathered.
“By the Shard, are you talking about this?” he asked, pointing at the statue’s hand.
The ancient dwarves nodded, a hint of fear flickering in their eyes.
“Yes, my lord, it is,” Sirgrid replied cautiously. “It belongs to you. We created the runic formation to gather the energy. But It’s your might that the monsters are attracted here for sacrifice and ensure our safety from that person by making us invisible and untraceable.”
“It belongs to me?” Aengus muttered, his suspicions rising. Something about the situation didn’t feel right.
“Or perhaps it belongs to ZERO… his enigmatic soul?” he realised.
Curious and wary, Aengus cast Appraisal. The moment he did, everything became clear.
[Appraisal]
[Soul Shard]
[A fragment of the great being’s soul who was once known as the Ruination Extremity]
[Grade: Unknown]
[Effects: Unknown]
“Ruination Extremity?” Aengus muttered in realisation. “It does seem connected to my soul, somehow.”
From the description, he understood that he could either be from the future or the past, possibly both timelines.
“So, will there be any problem if I remove it? The barrier, I mean.”
Aengus was concerned that if he removed the shard, the barrier would disappear, leaving them exposed to the dangers outside.
Sirgrid hesitated, “I don’t know, your eminence. Forgive me, but I cannot answer that.”
“It’s fine… Just let me touch it, and you can pray that nothing too bad happens,” Aengus joked.
Sirgrid chuckled nervously. “Please, give it a try, your eminence. I’m sure it holds a meaningful purpose for you. Why else would it be placed here?”
Noticing their tension, Aengus spoke to calm them down. “Relax. If anything happens to the barrier, I’ll do everything in my power to protect you,” he said resolutely.
The dwarves gave a curt nod, trusting him, and they quickly turned off the mechanism that was converting energy from the monsters.
The remaining monsters immediately regained their senses and fled in all directions.
Aengus stepped in front of the statue with a determined leap, feeling a connection with the soul fragment. The shard seemed alive, filled with a potent essence that shimmered with energy.
Whoosh!
As soon as he touched it, the soul shard swiftly disappeared, burrowing into his body without causing him any harm.
He sat down, focusing on observing what the shard was doing to his soul.
The dwarves, watching him silently, let out a collective sigh of relief as the barrier remained intact.
Aengus quickly delved into his consciousness and saw the small soul shard being absorbed into his chaotic, near-destroyed soul.
Even though the shard was tiny in comparison, as soon as it was absorbed, the spider-like cracks in his soul began to heal significantly.
The shard healed up only one of million of his soul’s original size, but that was still an immense number considering his soul was once the size of an stretching universe.
Aengus opened his eyes, feeling a newfound lightness throughout his entire body, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
“To think this tiny shard could fix so much damage,” he mused.
Though satisfied, the thought of how powerful his soul had once been filled him with both awe and unease. What exactly was the Ruination Extremity?
[Your soul has recovered by a significant margin.]
[You have gained a special skill: Soul Devour.]
[Soul Devour: A special ability originated from a being, once who spread horrors everywhere. With this skill, you can absorb others’ soul powers, increasing your own. It can heal the user’s soul until fully recovered. Until then, the user’s soul power won’t increase.]
Aengus’s lips curved into a pleased smile at the sudden notifications.
“So, this shard was placed here to repair my soul?” he wondered aloud, though the realization unsettled him. It felt as though his fate had been orchestrated long before by a powerful being, which didn’t sit well with him.
But being powerless was never his intention. He was going to change everything. He would reshape his destiny with his own hands.
Sirgrid and the other dwarves cautiously approached.
“Your eminence, is everything alright?” Sirgrid asked, his big eyes full of concern.
“Yes, I’m alright, Sirgrid. This has helped me greatly. And I’ll make sure you all get what you deserve,” Aengus responded, his gaze softening as he regarded them.
He appreciated the dwarves’ efforts for keeping the shard safe and feeding it energy for ages. It had been an exhausting and dangerous task. They could have abandoned the agreement and tried to escape, but they hadn’t. Instead, they remained, fulfilling their end of the deal diligently.
Now, it was his turn to hold up his end of the bargain, even if he couldn’t remember the original pact. It was now his responsibility.
He would have to confront and destroy whoever was behind all this, the one orchestrating the deception for ages.
The dwarves smiled joyfully at his words.
“Your eminence is the supreme, and we are certain that under your might, that person will be vanquished, and our sacred homeland will be restored to the former glory,” they said in unison as they bowed, their faith unwavering.
After their excitement subsided, Aengus asked, “Do you want to go outside now. I can make this barrier disappear with my command.”
The dwarves exchanged uneasy glances, recalling the horrors of ages past caused by the person outside.
“Yes, Your Eminence, we would love to leave, but—” Sirgrid began hesitantly, “but you shouldn’t leave with us. That person can track us from miles away through his mysterious means. We would stay here for now, until you are ready to face him.
With no disrespect, you’re not strong enough to defeat him yet.”
They paused, casting doubtful looks at Aengus, as if questioning whether he was hiding some hidden power. His confident demeanor made them wonder.
Aengus smirked.
“How can I say? I haven’t met him yet. But I’ll figure things out. First, I’m going to observe their plan.
He lured so many humans from the outside; it’s clear there’s a malicious trap waiting for them.” He shrugged, remaining calm despite the ominous situation.
Sirgrid looked at Aengus with a mix of worry and admiration.
“Your Eminence, we trust your judgment, but… please be careful. That being’s has schemes and power beyond anything we’ve seen. He had set up this kind of trap for the humans using their greedy nature many times before.”
“I will.”
