In front of all the Naga there, the crystal ball, a Relic, began to faintly glow and shimmer. This light grew brighter with every passing second until it was a luminous ball akin to a miniature sun.
"I received this crystal ball by solving the puzzle of the five small obelisks surrounding Mara's statue. It led to a deeper, sacred chamber, where I think the Werewolves also managed to sneak into."
"This ball will allow you to speak to a vessel of the divine, the Gods."
Suddenly, the crystal ball exploded with profound energy, and the visage of a rather imposing spirit made themself known to William.
"After decades of usage, I found out that this ball could be used to summon spirits of the past, similar to sorcery, hence why I named myself the Sorcerer King, despite sorcery being widely known as forbidden or "taboo magic" or "black magic". But, I believe that this is not bad sorcery… instead, it is…"
The Sorcerer King's sentence ended there, just before a spirit radiating golden energy approached William. It was as if time had paused, and the person who visited William was not anyone close to him, like his parents, nor was it a special encounter either.
The spirit was a bearded, tan and tall male who was muscular and the size of a bear. He wore the clothes of a barbarian, had massive scars over his back, chest and face and he also wielded the largest battle axe William had ever seen in his life.
"So…"
"It's you, huh? An ordinary human of Earth, of all people?" The barbaric man asked.
"It's been too long since I was reminded of my old home, but ever since I was brought to the Desolate Lands, I have known a life of violence ever since. It's a shame I wasn't one of the natives."
The barbarian man looked him up and down and then chuckled deeply. William scratched his head. He didn't even know whether to be afraid of this highly-imposing man, or whether to embrace his surprisingly courteous aura.
"Heh. The expression on your face is exactly what I expected it to be." The barbarian said.
"Through the crystal ball over there, the Gods created a backdoor and allowed me to receive a way out of the blood sea, the realm of the dead, the Crimson Hell, and they even changed things slightly to make this visit less burdensome for me as a temporary messenger."
'What the… is he just blabbering?' William thought, scratching his head again.
The barbarian man spoke so fast and so loudly that he could only half the words he was saying, and those words didn't even make sense to him either!
"Anyway, you were meant to see your parents, but I'm sure that you know fully well that they need to rest now, for eternity, and meeting their deceased selves again wouldn't be good for your heart, which I can see is already hiding the burden of so much rage and grief because of that." The barbarian said, and William was able to understand those words quite clearly this time.
"But, hah… nonetheless, you're surprisingly weak." The barbarian said, pointing at William's flimsy muscles.
"Take it from me, kid, you need to develop your mind, or else you won't be able to handle a "good" sword, or a sword that'll last you for life."
"…Really?" William asked.
"Huh… you don't think I'm trustworthy? Ah, then it's probably because you just don't know my name. After all, the Era of Adventurers is long over. But, just know that the colour radiating off of my soul-self means that I am a fabled man. I am probably still included in myths or legends even today."
"But regardless, you must know that the Gods are dissatisfied with you."
"From what I can see from your memories, a Deity lent a fickle amount of power to you, and even degenerated a part of their omniscient nature just enough to enjoy seeing you use their power, but you used it in such a horrible way that made it impossible for you to defeat your opponent."
"Despite your confidence during that moment, if those two men hadn't saved you at the last second, you would have died due to a lack of proper knowledge and understanding, alongside everyone else in that cave."
"So, they have told me to pass on a message. If you do not slay all the werewolves in the underground depths within six months, that are committing the heinous act of trying to unleash the sinful descendants of the long lost Bloodclaw Dynasty, that were sealed in a separate realm, you will have a Divine Restriction placed upon your soul, shackling you to a damned fate."
The barbarian man laughed, as he noticed William's alarmed expression.
"I'm sure you've already figured out the implications of my words! So, don't fail them, or else, you will be stripped of your right to be a "Cocoon", to ultimately alter the world!" After he declared those words, he disappeared, not even leaving a gust of wind in his place, and time returned to normal.
The Sorcerer King blinked as the crystal ball had returned to normal out of nowhere, nesting in his palm, right in front of his eyes.
"…That's all?" One of the watching Nagas murmured.
"A spirit didn't arrive…? How unfortunate," The Sorcerer King said, turning to William, "I hope you're not disheartened. Perhaps we should try the other method of scrying—"
William waved his hand.
"Ah, no… It's fine."
The Sorcerer King was confused but decided to dismiss it. Meanwhile, the rest of the Naga bowed their heads in silence and began to leave the grand hall, each of them blessed by the light of the crystal ball.
If asked, any of them would swear that they saw the lost spirits within that bright display of sorcery.
"…Six months, huh? That probably means that the werewolves are gonna be a struggle to face alone. But, aren't the Nagas gonna help me?" William muttered as he looked at the Sorcerer King.
From what that old Naga said, unlike the other magic professions that people took on, like being a Mage or Magician, being a sorcerer seemed to be labelled as taboo, in other words, blasphemy for whatever reason.
But, the Sorcerer King would certainly be a real help. And so, he asked the king whether he could perhaps borrow some help.
However, the Sorcerer King merely shook his head.
"Us Naga cannot go down into the depths. We, as a species, are incredibly weak to the poison that is Karmic Debt. Meanwhile, the werewolves are incredibly resistant to it."
William wondered how werewolves could possibly be connected to one of the two seemingly omnipresent elements of the world, Karmic Debt, but the Sorcerer King immediately dispelled his doubts.
"The utilisation of Karmic Debt is one of the sole causes for the birth of the Bloodclaw Dynasty, after all, so it wouldn't make sense any other way."
William nodded. It seemed he needed those six months, then. With just his Golden Ink alone, he wasn't sure how he'd be able to utilise it in a way that would surely be able to take down the werewolves, but he had to try.
"Come with me. I'll show you to our storage and weaponry chamber first before we head deeper into the underground depths."