Stephen was slapped on the head by Kaecilius, hard enough to send him stumbling backward two steps.
Even as his body reeled, a powerful repulsive force surged from Kaecilius's palm, making Stephen's head spin.
The next moment, he felt himself floating, like a leaf blown away by a gale. But when Stephen looked down, he found that the world seemed to have frozen.
He was floating in the air in a semi-transparent state. Kaecilius's palm was still outstretched before him, and a figure identical to Stephen was backing away with a vacant stare, as if about to fall.
Stephen felt as though time had slowed to a crawl. He could even see the dust kicked up from the ground hanging in the air, unable to settle.
The light in the world before him seemed to dim, while his own semi-transparent body gave off a faint glow, like something from a dream.
Before Stephen could figure out what was happening, he saw a semi-transparent phantom emerge from Kaecilius and fly over to him.
Kaecilius seemed to be floating in outer space, where gravity barely affected the soul. They could move by thought alone, at incredible speed.
"What's going on?" Stephen asked in surprise.
"I've separated your soul from your body. Now let me see whether it's been contaminated." As he spoke, Kaecilius circled around Stephen.
Kaecilius soon pointed at Stephen's chest, and a red glow blossomed from his fingertip.
Frightened, Stephen instinctively backed away. Only after putting some distance between them did he realize the red light wasn't coming from Kaecilius's finger; it was shining through from inside his own chest.
"Just as I thought. Your soul has been contaminated. This is your anger, buried deep within your soul. It's so deeply rooted that it can't even be seen when your