Chapter 274: Hanging Souls

’A Japanese shrine?!’ Kael thought as he immediately recognized the structure. Its size was enormous, already covering a radius of more than a hundred kilometers as it continued emerging from beneath the ground. He looked at the massive structure for a moment before asking internally, ’He said Shrine of the Eternals. What’s that, System?’

[Shrine of the Eternals refers to a Shrine created by an extraterrestrial race known as the Eternals. Their actual species name is something else, but they are referred to as Eternals because they have existed since ancient times.]

’What the fuck?! Are you kidding me right now? Extraterrestrials this early?’ Kael complained internally as he stared at the enormous Shrine, ’I’ve been in this world for just a single year... aren’t things moving a little too fast?’

He couldn’t help comparing the situation to the novels he had read on Earth, where events involving extraterrestrial races and beings from outside the world usually appeared much later in the story. Compared to his current situation, it felt as though everything was being forced upon him while he was still far too weak to deal with it.

The System didn’t respond this time, making Kael sigh as he looked toward the countless red roots extending from the Shrine. They spread in every direction, stretching farther and farther until many of them disappeared beyond the distant horizon. The sight alone made it difficult to determine how deep the roots had reached or how far the Shrine itself extended beneath the surface.

DRRR... DRRR...

The Shrine continued emerging from beneath the shattered ground as countless red roots pushed their way into the open air. However, instead of falling toward the ground like ordinary roots, they remained suspended in the air as though some unknown force was supporting them.

Their structures were completely unnatural, with thousands of tiny branches extending from every root and twisting in different directions without any visible source of support. More and more roots continued rising from beneath the ground until thousands, if not tens of thousands of them, had reached roughly five meters above the surface.

Then, every single root stopped at exactly the same time.

Atlas, Kael, Zaakrax, Sylvaris, and everyone else present narrowed their eyes as they watched the massive Shrine finally stop emerging. Its enormous structure now stood far above the ground, while the countless red roots remained suspended beneath and around it.

Nothing appeared to be supporting them, yet none of the roots showed even the slightest sign of falling. They simply remained there, spreading throughout the surrounding space as though gravity no longer affected them.

The moment the roots stopped moving, something ethereal suddenly emerged from their countless tiny branches. A faint, translucent figure appeared beside one of the branches, and everyone present immediately recognized what it was.

It was a soul, and judging from its appearance and the faint aura surrounding it, it belonged to an ordinary explorer who had most likely died somewhere within Eliomor.

Zaakrax and Sylvaris immediately frowned upon seeing it, but before either of them could understand what was happening, every tiny branch across every root began producing the same phenomenon.

One soul after another emerged from the branches and remained suspended in the air beside them, with each soul separated slightly from the others. The number continued increasing at an unbelievable rate, and within moments, millions of souls were already floating throughout the enormous space beneath the Shrine.

The number didn’t stop there.

Millions quickly became hundreds of millions, and hundreds of millions continued increasing until the number reached the billions. Countless souls now filled the space beneath the Shrine, each one suspended beside one of the tiny branches connected to the enormous red roots.

There were so many of them that the souls stretched across the entire visible area, making it impossible to see where the collection of souls ended.

Zaakrax’s eyes suddenly snapped toward one particular soul when he felt a familiar connection. His pupils widened as he stared at the draconic soul hanging from one of the branches far behind the Shrine.

"My son?!" he shouted before immediately disappearing from his position. Even in his true Dragon form, his massive body moved at an incredible speed as he reappeared directly in front of the soul of Xakro. His enormous hand immediately reached toward his son’s soul, intending to secure it without hesitation.

However, just before his hand could touch Xakro’s soul, it was violently repelled by something invisible. Zaakrax’s eyes narrowed as he examined the space in front of him, unable to determine what had stopped him.

The others noticed the same phenomenon and immediately began moving as well. Eliana appeared where the souls of her people were hanging, Sylvaris moved toward the souls of the Ancients, and Solaris immediately appeared among the souls belonging to the Angels, searching for Seraphiel and the others.

Thorsin’s soul itself was hanging on one of the branches along with the Dwarven souls, while Kael and Atlas remained where they were for a moment longer before witnessing the same phenomenon. Whenever someone tried to reach one of the souls, an invisible force repelled their hand before they could make contact.

None of them could understand what kind of barrier was protecting the souls, but it was clearly preventing anyone from taking them away.

Zaakrax refused to stop. A moment later, Nihility spread across his hand as he attempted to bypass the invisible barrier directly. This time, his hand successfully passed through the force that had previously repelled him. However, when his fingers finally reached Xakro’s soul, they passed directly through it as though the soul had no physical existence at all.

"Huh?" A confused voice escaped Zaakrax as he looked at his hand. He tried again, only for the same thing to happen. His hand continued forward and accidentally touched the red branch supporting Xakro’s soul instead.

The moment his Nihility-coated hand came into contact with the branch, an intense brightness suddenly erupted from the point of contact without producing any explosion or shockwave.

Before Zaakrax could understand what was happening, he suddenly felt a powerful pull directly against his soul. His expression changed as he immediately focused on the sensation, but the force disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared, almost as though whatever had attempted to pull his soul had suddenly failed.

Zaakrax narrowed his eyes as he looked around at the countless souls surrounding him. "These are all the people in Eliomor... every single soul is hanging here. I can’t feel any of my people alive anymore..."

His expression became increasingly serious as he closed his eyes and reached out with his perception, confirming what he had already suspected. He then raised his head and directly called out, "Eliomor, how much lower are you going to stoop? These are your own children, beings born within your world. What is it that has made you so desperate?"

His voice spread throughout the surrounding area, but there was no response from Eliomor.

Velmira had been watching everything from a distance while floating in front of the souls of her people, Semekrus still held in her hand. She understood what was happening better than most of the others. If Eliomor hadn’t allowed this to happen, even Orivian shouldn’t have been capable of capturing the souls of every being in Eliomor at once.

Yet...just like the previous time, Eliomor remained completely silent.

Atlas had already moved toward the soul he cared about the most. Among all the countless souls suspended beneath the Shrine, Seraphiel was the only one he properly knew and had personally cared about. Without saying anything, Atlas focused on the red branch holding her soul and began interfering with its very Logic.

The moment he did so, the same immense strain he had experienced when interfering with the Dragon Emperor’s entire body immediately spread through his mind. Atlas endured the pressure without stopping and continued interfering with the Logic of the branch until the structure finally began breaking apart. The red branch slowly turned into dust, releasing Seraphiel’s soul and allowing it to fall freely through the air.

Atlas immediately reached toward her.

However, before he could catch her soul, it suddenly vanished.

Atlas frowned as his hand stopped in the air. He immediately searched for Seraphiel’s presence, but before he could determine where her soul had gone, a voice suddenly reached him from high above.

"This soul is the most unusual among all the others captured here, I can see that she possesses the manifestation of two Unique Abilities, and..."

Atlas’s eyes immediately moved upward.

Orivian was standing high above the battlefield, calmly holding Seraphiel’s soul by the neck. His expression remained completely calm as he looked down at Atlas before continuing, "This was the girl who saved you, right? Now, it is a must that I consume her soul."

There was no amusement in his voice as he spoke those words. He simply stated his intention as though he had already decided what would happen next.

The moment those words reached Atlas...

His mind went completely blank.