Lingering Ghosts

Kalei felt his consciousness being swept into an invisible vortex. After a hazy and trance-like journey, he finally arrived in a completely unfamiliar space.

This space was not large. Beneath his feet lay a ground as white as snow, smooth as a mirror; overhead stretched a deep blue starry sky, where the twinkling stars shone like diamonds.

Beneath this tranquil sky, two blood-smeared eyes floated abruptly. They looked incredibly eerie, appearing completely out of place in what should have been a pure soul space.

As soon as Kalei entered this strange space, his consciousness cleared instantly. He immediately realized that this must be the soul space Priestess Laria had spoken of. Those unsettling, blood-smeared eyeballs in the sky were likely the physical manifestation of the cursed power Ordos had left within his body.

At this moment, the two eyeballs clearly sensed Kalei's consciousness appearing in the space and shrieked with excitement: "Kalei, haha, Kalei, you've come."

Hearing this voice, Kalei was both shocked and furious: "Ordos, you actually didn't die?"

Ordos snorted: "Die? I did die, killed by a treacherous brat like you. But at the cost of my soul and eyes, I have planted the master's curse deep within your soul, so don't think you'll have an easy time."

As they spoke, Ordos, that wretch, resorted to his old tricks. Before he had even finished speaking, he controlled the eyeballs to slam toward Kalei like giant boulders.

Kalei said: "You treacherous wretch, you don't think you can beat me here, do you? This is my soul space."

As Kalei spoke, his body expanded rapidly along with his consciousness. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a Warrior clad in full plate armor, wielding a greatsword.

Ordos laughed: "Is that so? Then let's put it to the test."

Ordos remained reckless, controlling the eyeballs to crash into Kalei.

Kalei raised his greatsword and easily blocked Ordos's eyeballs.

Ordos was not the least bit discouraged. Under his conscious control, the two eyes transformed into two massive stones that landed on the ground, only to leap up and smash toward Kalei once more.

Kalei continued to parry with his greatsword, knocking the boulders away.

The two of them conjured all sorts of matter and magic through their consciousness, attacking back and forth, yet neither could harm the other.

However, Kalei gradually began to feel that something was wrong. He discovered that fighting Ordos back and forth was achieving nothing; instead, his own body began to feel dull pains, as if he were suffering some form of damage invisibly.

He thought it over carefully and soon understood: that treacherous wretch Ordos was deliberately baiting him into fighting within the soul space, thereby causing his own soul to suffer damage without him even realizing it.

It had to be said that this dog of a man was truly insidious. Even with only this wisp of a remnant soul left, he still had no intention of letting him go. He was even willing to use himself as bait, attempting to drag Kalei into an abyss of self-destruction.

Ordos was enjoying himself, but seeing Kalei suddenly stop, he asked in surprise: "What's wrong? Don't you want to kill me anymore?"

Kalei sneered: "Ordos, you old thing, you don't think everyone else is a fool, do you?"

Ordos laughed triumphantly: "Haha, it seems you've figured it out. So, what will you do now? Can you kill me without damaging your own soul space?"

"You can't do it. My consciousness is under the protection of the master; you cannot kill me unless you shatter your own soul space."

"So don't think you can get rid of me, don't think you can escape the master's gaze. You are the sacrifice I offer to the master; this is your ultimate fate."

Kalei smiled: "Is that so? I indeed cannot kill you, but what about Her?"

Ordos froze for a moment, his two eyeballs shifting uneasily: "Who? Who are you talking about?"

Kalei ignored Ordos further. He knelt on one knee, spread his hands toward the sky, and whispered: "May Elune be with you!"

These few simple words contained a mysterious power, stirring ripples throughout the soul space.

Upon hearing the name "Elune," Ordos shuddered all over and shrieked: "No, no, Master, save me..."

Unfortunately, his master was only capable of tucking his tail and fleeing in the face of Elune.

A hazy moonlight, summoned by Kalei's call, appeared in his soul space through some unknown method. The moonlight was neither blinding nor intense, yet it carried an irresistible, pure power that instantly filled the entire space.

The two eyeballs, transformed by Ordos's curse, were unable to move the moment they were touched by the moonlight, and they began to dissolve bit by bit within the light.

The pain brought by the dissolution of a soul was incomparable to anything physical. Ordos let out continuous, shrill screams. Having already died once, and unwilling to experience the terror of death again, he hurriedly shouted: "Damn brat... no... Kalei... stop... stop it... I'll tell you... the whereabouts of your father."

Kalei maintained his prayer posture, unmoved, and said: "Oh, you old thing are full of lies, how can I trust you? Why don't you tell me about my father's situation first? As long as you aren't lying, I will spare you."

In his terror, Ordos had completely lost his composure. Enduring the pain, he shouted: "Fine... I... I'll tell you. Your father was captured by me, but I didn't intend to kill him; I only wanted to turn him into a Satyr. Later, on the way back to Fel Fire Valley, that fellow took advantage of our lack of attention and jumped off a waterfall to escape. As for what happened to him afterward, I don't know. That waterfall isn't far from Fel Fire Valley; you can go look for yourself."

"Now I've told you everything. Can you let me go? If you let me go, I will help you lift the curse and leave your soul space..."

Kalei said coldly: "Is that so? Are you sure you aren't lying this time?"

By now, nearly half of Ordos's soul had been melted by the moonlight, making him increasingly terrified. Seeing that Kalei didn't believe him, he yelled: "Everything I said is true... I absolutely didn't lie... hurry... hurry and let me go... otherwise it will be too late..."

Seeing that his words didn't seem false, Kalei smiled with satisfaction and released his prayer posture.

Ordos thought the moonlight would dissipate with his actions, but to his surprise, the moonlight in the sky didn't change in the slightest. Shocked and furious, he cried: "Damn brat, you little beast, you lied! You tricked me, I curse you!"

Kalei shrugged and said: "Old thing, don't judge a gentleman by the heart of a villain. I didn't lie to you; it's just that this moonlight isn't entirely under my control."

Ordos didn't believe a word of it and cursed loudly in his rage, but no matter how he cursed, the moonlight in the sky did not diminish at all; instead, it grew even brighter.

Before long, Ordos's remaining soul was completely dissolved amidst his screams.

Kalei hadn't expected Ordos to suffer such torment even after death, but it was a fitting end for his crimes.

After the two eyeballs were dissolved by the moonlight, only a black shadow remained. As soon as this shadow appeared, it had no time to struggle before being frozen by the moonlight, unable to move like an insect trapped in amber.

The black shadow let out a roar, its entire body expanding rapidly as it tried to break free from the moonlight's restraint. But no matter how it struggled, it was useless. It was dissolved bit by bit by the moonlight, eventually turning into nothingness.

Kalei knew this black shadow was the power Xavius had left within him, but he hadn't expected that in the face of Elune's power, this shadow wouldn't even have the strength to struggle, acting entirely like fish on a chopping block. This gave him a deeper understanding and awe of the Moon Goddess's power.

With the disappearance of the black shadow, the curse left in Kalei's soul was completely eradicated. The moonlight descended by Elune seemed to have a consciousness of its own, fading away accordingly.

Shortly after, Kalei awoke from his meditation to find Laria watching him with concern. Seeing him wake up, she asked hurriedly: "How is it? Has the curse been lifted?"

Kalei nodded and said: "Thanks to the Goddess, the curse has been lifted."

Laria smiled and said, "That is good."

Kalei stood up to stretch his limbs and asked, "What time is it now?"

Laria replied, "Dusk is approaching."

Kalei said in surprise, "So soon? It feels like no time has passed at all." In his perception, the battle within the soul space had only lasted a short dozen minutes or so.

Laria explained, "That is because you were within the soul space, where time flows differently than it does outside."

Very well, Kalei did not dwell on it. He thanked Laria once more for her assistance and chatted with the High Priestess for a while, discussing the faith of Elune and, in particular, how to gain more of Elune's favor, before departing the Temple of the Moon.

He had come to the Temple of the Moon primarily to lift his curse, yet he had unexpectedly gained clues regarding his father's whereabouts from the remnant soul of Ordos.

Although he still did not know if his father was dead or alive, or exactly where he had gone, he at least had a lead to follow, which put him in a much better mood.

However, he did not have the time to search for his father just yet; he wanted to know the outcome of the Sentinel Corps' battle in Fel Fire Valley.

He arrived on the street, but finding no one about, he had no choice but to go to his teacher Matt to ask for the results.

His teacher Matt had evidently participated in the battle as well. He was unable to sleep and was pacing back and forth in his small courtyard, his face showing the excitement and exhaustion that follows a fight. Seeing Kalei ask about the battle, he began to recount the events in a torrent of words.

Just as Kalei had anticipated, the battle in Fel Fire Valley had indeed concluded.

Upon receiving the message from Thisalee, the Maestra Fortress immediately braved the daylight to dispatch four hundred sentinels, launching a surprise attack on Fel Fire Valley.

Leading this raid was Kalei's old acquaintance, Arenia.

This beautiful, stern-faced captain with extensive combat experience had been promoted to Commander of Maestra Fortress by Shandris Feathermoon due to her contributions during the recent Furbolg crisis.

Under the leadership of this newly appointed Commander, the Maestra forces had, without question, achieved victory once again.

They had wiped out the majority of the demons and Satyr in Fel Fire Valley, capturing the few survivors to be imprisoned and interrogated.

Two hours ago, Arenia had already led her troops back from Fel Fire Valley, escorting the captured demons and Satyr.

Because this battle had been launched during the day, the civilians were largely unaware of it, which explained the lack of activity in town.

Kalei held a cup of Golden Skin Juice, sitting across from his teacher as he watched him recount the details of the battle with high spirits, a strange feeling welling up in his heart.

He knew his teacher had participated in the fight, but he had not expected him to be so exhilarated by it.

He sometimes wondered if, for the immortal Night Elf, their supposed love for peace was merely a facade, and that their hearts actually craved battle. Only a hearty, unbridled fight could awaken the passion within them and make them feel the existence and value of life.

Such contradictory personality traits were perhaps something only long-lived races could manifest.

Matt clearly did not notice his own peculiarity. After finishing the account of the entire battle, he began to describe some of the more brilliant moments, such as the heroic performance of a certain sentinel or the ingenuity of a specific tactic.

Kalei had to change the subject, asking, "Teacher, where has Thisalee gone?"

Matt paused, picked up the Morning Dew Wine on the table, and took a few sips to moisten his throat before saying, "She... er, she went to chase after that Satyr leader."

Kalei asked in surprise, "That Satyr leader wasn't captured?"

Matt shook his head and said, "That dog is powerful and cunning. He was struck by an arrow from Arenia, abandoned his troops, and turned to flee."

Kalei's heart stirred as he asked, "Where did that fellow escape to?"

Matt thought for a moment and said, "North, I suppose. I'm not sure exactly where he ran; the battlefield was too chaotic at the time." He sighed, "I hope Thisalee returns safely; that Satyr leader is not an easy opponent."

North? Kalei was lost in thought. He remembered that to the north of Fel Fire Valley, there was a place later known as the Fel Fire Path. In the game's lore, the Fel Fire Path was also a gathering place for Satyr. Could Savatheras have fled there?

He pondered it and felt it was not impossible. It seemed that to cut the weeds and dig up the roots, he would have to find a way to leak information about the Fel Fire Path.