The Astral soul system-Chapter 226: Sanity in cinders

"That looks like it hurt"

Syl commented blankly

His eyes were closed. Whether or not he was conscious, they couldn’t tell

"Did it work?"

They leaned in closer, examining him

"He looks the sa-"

*Wheeze*

He suddenly sprang upright. Eyes wide

His hand suddenly went to his neck, grabbing it tightly.

"Calm down,big guy. You’re going to hurt yourself"

"Listen to her boy, just relax"

He suddenly snapped out of it, looking at his hand in confusion. He pulled it off before slowly getting up

"Did you ...pour water over me?"

"What? Were we supposed to?"

Zen shook his head. Was that a memory ?

"Loud..."

He muttered,hands over his ears.

They were still ringing

"What is it?"

"Thunder"

Theia and Zephyr exchanged looks

This weird thing around his neck seemed to unearth some of his trauma, but he was having trouble discerning the memories from reality

"This stupid thing really had no upsides"

Theia said, exasperated

"I originally thought there had to be a way. After all no artefact can only be used one way even if it only had one function, but this thing really is just a curse"

"Maybe rest for now. We can -"

"No"

He quickly dusted himself off, getting up

"No one understands your frustrations more than me boy, but you’re about to fall apart. Whatever this cursed item is,it also does a great deal of damage to your mind. It would be wise to -"

"DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO"

Zephyr paused, the shadow had no facial features but it gave off the feeling it just raised a brow.

He looked at the boy’s crimson eye, noticing they’d switched again

"You’re unstable"

"I hate to agree with this guy but he’s right. You’re glitching in an out like an old computer. At least take a few deep breaths "

Zaine scowled and was about to retort when they glitched again, putting Zen back at the helm

"That’s bett-"

"This thing still fucking hur-"

He took a deep breath.

He suddenly closed his eyes,hugged his knees and started humming, rocking back and forth gently.

They watched as he did this for a few minutes before opening his eyes again.

"I think it’s stopped "

He said with a sigh

"What was that?"

"What?"

"The humming"

Theia clarified.

"Oh, it’s...a song. Our sister and mom used to sing to me. Our re– biological mom. I used to remember pieces before but we remembered more of it during the trial, though we still don’t know the words, just the tune"

"Do you remember anything else?"

He shook his head before pausing and nodding

"Our sister is blonde. I’m guessing at least five years older than us"

"Mother? Father?"

Heard their voices... barely. No clue what they look like though"

"I see"

He looked into the distance, looking a bit nostalgic, he slowly reached out as if to touch something

"I remember playing with her hair. It was soft, and it smelled nice. Like...."

He quickly clutched his head again. He’d tried to remember that smell, but just as he felt close, another migraine started, and although it wasn’t enough to make him scream,it made him stop and take a breath

"Relax, don’t push it. Your brain still isn’t ready for this stuff "

Wincing, he dropped his hand

"Everytime I try to remember them ,I hit a wall, and then, lightning and thunder,too loud to even hear my own thoughts,too bright to see even a foot ahead of me"

Zephyr suddenly spoke up

"Mental walls can often manifest as literal ones when dealing with magic"

"And for astrals especially"

Theia added

"So I might be able to figure out what’s going wrong if I get past the thunder"

"Perhaps"

"It won’t happen"

Zen said with the certainty of someone who’s tried and tried again only to fail repeatedly.

Theia sighed. They’d spent far too long on this particular problem, and it felt like they were going to spend much much more before figuring it out .

Zen suddenly got up, and started walking out of the cave

"Where are you going?"

"The dungeon"

"What?! Why, it’ll just end up like the last time. Nothing’s changed "

Zen stopped. That was true. He’d gotten a new level and a few new skills but in the end he was just about as effective as before . He still needed a way to increase his strength and the ratio of difficulty to increase in strength had been blown out of order.

And Theia had said there was a way to increase his strength if he could get to the end of a dungeon but he couldn’t even finish that?

"What if you ask your friends?"

Zen raised a brow

"It’s quite common for people to enter dungeons as a group,in fact it’s mandatory in some cases. I think they’d be happy to help"

Zen shook his head

Maximilian is still investigating who was trying to kill him. He barely even sleeps in the dorm anymore. Xavier’s similar, family issues. Neo is too unstable, Diane would rather cuss me out, Zaria’s powers are about as stable as mine and Jade..."

He didn’t finish but they got the idea

"Besides, I’m not interested in a group. Not yet at least. I’ll fail , escape and go back as many times as it takes, I’m in no hurry"

"Conviction. That’s good, but it’ll be for naught without a plan"

"Yeah, and as much as I hate to say it,you need to get stronger faster. Things are only going to ramp up from here.

"Then I better be careful "

Zephyr’s body immediately started losing integrity, unraveling before jumping back into Zen’s body

***********

Shadows squirmed in the depths and after a few seconds a figure was spat out of it.

Zen looked around.

He’d checked the list before coming and no one else was currently in the dungeon. Curfew was in a few minutes and although it wasn’t strictly upheld,he still needed a valid reason to be out and about this late, plus, Theia said that if he managed to get to the core it could have permanent effects that could be traced back to him, and although he didn’t expect to succeed yet, he didn’t want to take the risk

"What kind of dungeon is this?"

Zen checked his watch and according to the map it was another beast dungeon,flame attributed though

"Fire. This should be interesting?"

He was already pretty resistant to fire due to his childhood with Riley. He also didn’t care much for heat or cold. Perhaps he’d have an easier time here .

He stepped forward, looking around the cave system. It was quite dark but looking closely he could faintly see some light in the distance, not that he needed it to see

He stepped closer, making sure to make as little noise as possible.

This dungeon seemed to follow the same tunnel system as the previous one, meaning he’d have limited room to move.

Looking around the corner, he spotted the beast. It resembled a dog or more closely a hyena but it’s skin was completely bright red with a faint glow to it. It looked about half his size but was turned away so he couldn’t see the whole thing.

He looked around but didn’t see any others

Unfortunately once he attacked this one,the element of suprise would be gone and all the creatures would know of his presence. No one knew how it worked but somehow the dungeon warned creatures once people were spotted. Luckily this wouldn’t mean they could track him. They’d simply know he was somewhere in this level of the dungeon,so he could still hide later.

He pulled out Zaine’s sword. The three didn’t like mixing weapons but they did it when necessary.

Steadying himself, he immediately started activating enhancements

[Charge]

[Shadow step]

[Soul blade]

His stats immediately doubled and his energy became more active

He watched closely for a few seconds before intentionally making a noise,dashing forward and slashing.

The beast immediately turned around, showing Zen it’s head but he was already too close. The sword came down like a guillotine, digging into it’s neck

It yelped, it’s feet suddenly heating up and glowing

It’s feet suddenly burst into flames, launching it away and scorching the ground

"It has jets?"

Zen thought out loud, looking at the beast that narrowly avoided loosing it’s head.

It was bleeding heavily from it’s neck, clearly wounded critically

"It’s fast-"

Before he could finish that thought it immediately charged at him again, it’s paws glowing with intense heat. Within a few seconds it was already upon him,jaws open wide

"Very fast"

He muttered immediately rolling out of the way

’ranged attacks are too slow right now. Just cut it’s head off...or maybe..."

He started charging a blast in his hand, holding his sword out in front. He had to finish this now. These things were way too fast,if he wasted time and let the others on this level find and surrounding him, he’d end up in worse condition than the rhino fight .

Enraged, the hyena charged again,claws reaching for him in an instant and instead of attacking, he held the blade across his chest, stopping the claws and before the beast could try biting him, he immediately released the blast at it’s head.

The beast’s body went limp before dropping lifelessly to the ground

Zen sighed, looking at the sword. He could see marks where it had been hit and even a chip

"Glass cannons. Lots of attack and speed, but lacking in defense"

He gave his evaluation, watching as the beast dissolved into light particles and entered the codex, leaving the core.

"Alright let’s go. We can actually make it this time"

Theia said, bursting with enthusiasm

He sighed, picking up the crystal, noticing it was also hot to the touch

"Hmmm. I wonder how hot this dungeon can get?"

*************

"Zen,or whoever it is in there. Get up, we’re gonna be late again"

*Sniff,sniff*

"... what smells like smoke?"

Zaine groaned pulling the covers off, visibly seething

"We’re coming"