From the looks of it, the Witch's phylactery was probably connected to the iron boxes sealing their hearts. Now that the Witch's energy had been absorbed by the Crystal Ball, perhaps that had affected them as well.
Li Shaolin raised the Crystal Ball, now completely black, and lightly wiped it. Faces filled with terror appeared inside—young and old, men and women. As he observed them, they seemed able to see him too. Every one of them screamed soundlessly in despair, their faces twisted in struggle, yet not a single sound emerged.
"Sir Mage, Sir Mage!" A deep voice faintly rang out. Looking carefully, Li Shaolin saw a familiar figure behind the countless people within the Crystal Ball. It was Soul Captain Grayson. For some reason, Li Shaolin could hear his voice clearly and steadily.
"Captain Grayson, can you hear me?" Li Shaolin tried shouting at the Crystal Ball. Sure enough, Grayson inside nodded and answered. Just as he was about to squeeze his way forward, the vast mass of souls surged over him, and he vanished in an instant.
"Grayson? Grayson!" Li Shaolin shouted. Without realizing it, he put a little force into his hand. Black mist rose in waves, wrapping around those circling, howling souls. When it cleared again, Captain Grayson was the only one left inside.
"Captain Grayson, what is going on? Do you know? Where did those souls go? Were they absorbed?" Though they had all been imprisoned in the iron boxes and could never escape, that was still better than being turned into energy by the Crystal Ball. If they had truly been destroyed because of a passing thought of his, it would be terrifying.
"There is a strange pulling force in here. They are all stuck to it and cannot move. They are the innocent souls of those aboard the ships attacked by Murlocs at Long Beach. Their desire to survive kept them from finding release, so the Witch imprisoned them in iron boxes," Soul Grayson explained.
Strange. Hadn't he said he didn't know? Was he hiding something from me?
"How did you know?" Li Shaolin asked.
"It's like this. Ever since all of us were sucked into this Crystal Ball, it seems some inexplicable connection formed between us. I can't really describe it, but I can vaguely sense their consciousness. That is probably the best way to put it." Grayson tried to explain the sensation, but could not make it clear.
It seemed he would not get anything more out of him. Forget it. He should take another look at Karnak's manuscript.
He set aside the Crystal Ball, which had turned black, then rummaged through his Storage Space and pulled out the manuscript he had obtained before. He read it carefully. Aside from Karnak's personal history of noble rise and fall, the end unexpectedly recorded some of his findings on Scourge Alchemy. It turned out that Karnak had been an exceptionally clever talent. Not only had he studied the mysteries of ice magic, he had also been a genuine alchemist. The bottles and jars in the room at Jason's Farm had been his alchemical equipment. Naturally, with the foundation of an alchemist, learning Scourge Alchemy had come twice as easily for him.
Below that were some notes on using the Scourge Alchemy Stone. It turned out that, besides absorbing and releasing Death Force, the stone could also imprison souls, making it easier to absorb those wandering through graveyards. However, according to the manuscript, once a soul was sucked into the alchemy stone, it lost the ability to control itself. Even its life, death, and speech were restricted by the owner. Without Li Shaolin's permission, it should have been impossible for it to communicate with the outside world. What was going on with Captain Grayson?
Now that he knew this, he naturally had to get to the bottom of it.
He picked up the Crystal Ball from the table and gently brushed it with his hand. Layer upon layer of black mist dispersed, revealing Grayson's face at the rise of his thought.
"Captain, I want to know something. Why was your soul able to break free from the iron box and exist independently back then? And how were you able to contact me?" Though Li Shaolin believed the captain bore no ill intent, caution came first. In this dangerous foreign world, no one would pity him if he lost his life through a moment of carelessness.
Grayson in the Crystal Ball hesitated, seeming to want to speak but stopping himself.
This guy definitely had some secret! Li Shaolin thought. But if he did not want to say it, Li Shaolin could not force him, could he? He was a good citizen of the twenty-first century, law-abiding and dutiful. Of course, if he wished, all it would take was a thought, and the black mist within the Crystal Ball would corrode the souls inside until they begged for life but could not live, begged for death but could not die.
Just as he was about to put away the Crystal Ball, Grayson inside seemed to make up his mind. Gritting his teeth, he bowed to Li Shaolin and said, "Sir Mage, please promise me one thing first, and then I will tell you the reason."
"What is it?"
"You have the ability to command souls anew. I hope you can merge me into that monster and grant me a new life." Pain filled the soul's face. He knew that, trapped inside this Crystal Ball, he basically had no chance of getting out. Even if he did, without the Crystal Ball's protection and with his heart destroyed, death would be his only end. Since that was the case, he would rather become a monster. Better a miserable life than a noble death. Perhaps another opportunity would come in the future.
Li Shaolin nodded. This was not difficult for him. Scourge Alchemy recorded that all he needed to do was inject the soul into the Abomination's body. "Mm, all right. I promise."
Seeing him agree, Grayson let out a breath of relief. "Actually, something unexpected happened during my final voyage. Back then, I had dreams burning in my heart. I dreamed that one day I would become the greatest and wealthiest captain in the Endless Sea, then return to Stormwind City's harbor in glorious splendor, admired by all. But as the years passed, those dreams gradually wore away. Of the more than fifty brothers I started with, some left and some fell ill, until only eleven remained." The old captain sighed, immersed in the dreams of his youth.
"Later, everyone decided to make one final shipment before finding another way to make a living. But during that final voyage, we encountered a massive tsunami in the Endless Sea. After struggling desperately, we barely survived. Others were not so fortunate. On a ship overturned by wind and waves, we rescued three lucky fellows. Guided by them, we salvaged a large wooden chest from that ship.
"When we opened the lid, the gold coins blinded us. An entire chest filled with gold coins—one hundred thousand of them."
"What happened next?" Li Shaolin could not help drawing in a sharp breath. One hundred thousand gold coins had not been a small sum even in the game, let alone in reality. It was probably enough to buy an entire town.
"Ah!" Old Grayson sighed, his voice filled with boundless desolation. "Money truly is the root of evil. We were supposed to split those gold coins equally among everyone. But the eleven of us conspired and killed the three men we had rescued on the spot. Their blood stained the gold coins red. Then we began our journey home."
"After that, infighting finally broke out. I had been blinded by greed too. I even joined in, turning against my own brothers. Whenever I think of it now, I regret it terribly." The old captain spoke sadly from within the Crystal Ball.
"It was a chaotic brawl. No one could stand the sight of anyone else. In the end, after being baptized in blood, only three of us remained. We finally stopped fighting. Each of us could take thirty thousand gold coins, enough to become a minor lord. But after we divided them, we discovered a note at the bottom of the chest. It turned out the coins had been accumulated by a group of pirates over a lifetime of plunder. Their leader had secretly kept them all for himself, so the pirates, consumed by resentment, hired a sorcerer to curse the gold coins. Whoever possessed them would sail the seas forever, unable to come ashore for the rest of their life, just as those pirates had once sailed and killed."
"We thought it was nonsense and paid it no mind. Then, when we reached Stranglethorn Vale, we were attacked by a Deep Sea Giant. Since all the crew had died in the infighting, no one was left to operate the cannons. The ship had already been damaged in the tsunami and could not withstand the sea giant's attacks. In the end, it broke apart. Naturally, the gold coins sank with it."
"After losing the gold coins, the three of us worked together again. We found a piece of wreckage from a wooden boat and drifted to a beach. My leg was injured at the time, so I fell a few steps behind. Then... ah!" Terror appeared on Grayson's face, as though the scene of that day still stood vividly before him. "The moment those two brothers stepped onto the beach, their bodies began to rot. In the end, they turned into two skeletons before my very eyes!"
"It was the curse brought by those gold coins!" the old captain cried out.
"After that, I did not dare go ashore. I thought I would drift at sea until I died, but a passing merchant ship rescued me. Then it ran aground at Long Beach and was attacked by Murlocs. After that, I fled into this Lighthouse. Perhaps because the Lighthouse stood a few steps away from the shore, the curse was not triggered. Then the Witch imprisoned me. It seems my soul was also affected by the curse, which is why it could break free from the iron box and exist independently."
After hearing the old captain's account, Li Shaolin was quite surprised. The world was vast, and there was no end to strange things. There was actually such a curse. He wondered whether the spell on those gold coins could be erased. If it could, salvaging them would make him rich. Fargodeep Mine only earned three thousand gold coins a year. It would take thirty-three years without mishap to earn that much.
All right, enough with those unrealistic thoughts. He would try merging Grayson's soul first. He wondered whether the curse would still take effect after Grayson became an Abomination.
He aimed the Crystal Ball at the Abomination's body and softly chanted several spells. A wisp of black mist seeped out, wrapped around a transparent shadow, and slowly drifted toward the Abomination's split-open belly.
The black mist gradually spread. The Abomination gave a "Hmph!" and lifted its single eye, opening it.
Before you continue