We finally arrived in Stygai, even though its large gates were always open, the carriage did not immediately enter the city. The reason for this was that there were still a few minutes left until the only safe time to enter and leave. After a few days inside the carriage, my master decided to get out of it and wait outside. Seeing this, I also followed him, after all, it was my first time in the dangerous ShadowLands.
As soon as I got out of the carriage, I looked at the city full of black structures that varied in size. The city was identical to Asshai in all its structure and architecture, the only thing different would be its walls and ordinary houses. I wondered if its size was similar to Asshai as well. Almost as if hearing my thoughts, my master answered.
"It may seem like it is big, but its size is three times smaller than Asshai. But it is still a big city even when compared to other cities on the continent."
I nodded and asked another question, this time much more personal.
"I know we can only enter the city at noon and only for 1 hour, but does that rule apply to you too?"
"Yes, actually, I could even leave or enter in an emergency, but I would have to pay a very high cost to do so. I will explain the rest later... The time has come…" Immortal replied with a very serious face.
Finally, a bit of sunlight illuminated the city, of course, "illuminating the city" was a bit of an exaggeration, sunlight could never completely illuminate any place in the ShadowLands, but here it was even worse, the light barely reached the top of the buildings and smaller houses, and the alleys and streets were still very dark, similar to those in Asshai.
I got back into the carriage, which I had discovered earlier was a level 5 Artifact. This type of Artifact with unique, specific spells was very valuable and rare, normally, they were only made to order. The carriage couldn't float. That wasn't its effect, but rather the effect of the souls and undead that moved it. Its special spell was "Conceal Life," a basic spell with the ability to hide the life energy of the living.
It could hide the fact that there were two living beings inside it, but even so, some more aggressive animals still attacked the carriage simply because we passed through their territory. But none of them ever got close enough to touch it. They all quickly lost their lives at the hands of the souls that flew around the carriage or the undead. Speaking of which, I saw several types of them for the first time… The Immortal was one of the most powerful Masters I had ever seen, and I was looking forward to the day when I could be as strong as him…
As the carriage moved through the dark city, I looked out the window, expecting to see someone, but there was nothing. I continued to watch carefully and soon saw some shadows moving, their shapes were distorted, and they were smaller than a normal human. But there were so many of them, there were so many of them all over the place, almost as if they were patrolling at a predetermined pace…
The immortal, seeing me observe the strange creatures, spoke again:
"We call them Shadow Souls, they attack any living being that enters the city. Since they are soul-type monsters, they cannot be killed by common physical attacks. Only spells or special items can take their lives. But avoid fighting them, the strategy is to hide your life energy, and if you can't do that, just run until you leave the city or enter the tower you want to go to."
Zhang swallowed hard, looking at the huge amount of Shadow Souls there were. Who would be foolish enough to fight? He looked at his master and asked:
"Is there anything else I should know about the city?"
"Yes, never fly inside the city or you will die without even knowing what killed you, and if you need to enter or leave the city outside of the specific time, you will need to deal with… The Reaper of Stygai…"
"Is he really real?" Zhang asked in alarm. All of Asshai's apprentices had heard of such a terrible monster. They said it was a creature that lived on the streets of Stygai and easily took the lives of visitors. Many thought the rumor was exaggerated and was only made to scare the apprentices who were curious about Corpse City.
"Yes, it is! I've fought it twice, and I can say that it's the most dangerous monster I've ever faced. It's also the reason why everyone only enters and leaves during this specific time, when the sun reaches the city. At that time, it hides at the top of Stygai's Central Tower."
Zhang quickly took out a piece of paper with a quill and began to write:
-Never fly inside the city
-Do not fight Shadow Souls
-Do not enter or leave the city when it's dark.
-Never go to the city's Central Tower...
"Anything else, master?"
Immortal smiled when he saw the boy so afraid, but fear was good in this place, since the brave quickly became corpses…
"Yes! Whenever you leave the city and kill any living thing, you must eliminate the vengeful souls that follow you. Otherwise, they may harm and curse you when they enter the city. This is because the city strengthens the dead. Even a simple soul can quickly become a powerful poltergeist and harm you. The same happens when someone dies inside the city."
"AHH" Zhang shouted as his eyes scanned the surroundings, looking for the souls that could be following him.
Immortal smiled again and calmed him down. "I have already gotten rid of the souls that wanted to harm you. Soon you will know how to do it too… Look, we have finally arrived, this is my tower and where you will live and study from now on, memorize the area well, some of the medium towers in the surroundings are mine too, and that Large Tower nearby is the Central Tower I mentioned."
Zhang saw a large tower, which was surrounded by three other medium towers, and not far away, there was another identical large tower, although the size and appearance were the same, it had a kind of medieval roof with a balcony on top. When he stared at the balcony of the place for a while, he felt a terrible chill. He quickly approached his master, leaving the streets behind, and the two of them left the streets before the sunlight faded…
****
Special thanks to the Patreons:
Sage's Supporter: Jan, Vinnie, frimorigo, Leery Falcon, Parsa, Scott Robertson, and Pato Senalima!
Magical Apprentice: Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio, Takatchi, mandeep singh, Austin, Kobe Robertson, Paul Gaslac, and Niteo akuma!
Senior Magic Apprentice: Cole Bromley!