Book 4: Chapter 58: The Hole VII

Book 4: Chapter 58: The Hole VII

Zeke watched silently as the Chimeroi girl finished her meal. He tried to put on a carefree expression, but it became increasingly difficult to do so. Now that she had a name and a face, his guilt had increased exponentially.

Why did he even ask her name?

Zeke didnt know. Yet he wasnt able to help himself at that moment. No, that wasnt entirely true. He had a pretty good guess as to why he had asked, but he deeply regretted it now.

Moments later, the girl finished the chunk of raw meat. Her gaze found him, but she didnt seem in a hurry to speak. It was as if she expected him to take charge in this situation. Was that it? Was she waiting for him to give orders? Too bad he wasnt about to do anything of the sort.

Soria slowly grew impatient as she noticed that he wasnt about to speak. What will happen to me now?

Zeke raised a single brow. Nothing.

Then what do you want me to do? she asked. I promised to follow your orders.

Zeke shook his head. You can do whatever you want. But I suggest you continue practicing the breathing technique. It will come in handy later on.

later on?

When you are back in the hole, Zeke clarified.

You are letting me go?! she exclaimed. To Zekes surprise, her voice contained a mix of both excitement and regret. How strange. No, this wasnt the time to ponder this peculiarity.

Zeke nodded at her. Yes, Ill let you go.

When?

When you wake up the next time, you are most likely going to be back in the hole.

Why dont you let me go now? Soria asked, a teasing note entering her voice. Are you planning to attack me in my sleep?

Zeke rolled his eyes. I am going to erase your memories before I send you out.

The girl looked horrified. There is no way you can do that.

Zeke smiled slightly. Then you have nothing to worry about, do you?Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

Soria's expression darkened further. His words clearly hadn't managed to ease her concerns; if anything, she appeared more convinced now. She was a strange girl. Whenever he pushed, she resisted, but when he withdrew, she pushed on her own. What kind of a life had this girl lived to become so twisted?

Can you really do that? she asked eventually.

Zeke scratched his head. I am not quite sure myself. But it seems possible.

Then how much am I going to forget? For some reason, there was a hint of longing in her gaze as she asked that question.

Why do you ask?

Is is there a way to make me forget other things? the girl asked, clearly hesitant to broach the subject. Zeke looked at her, silently assessing her request. He had a good idea of what kind of memories she wanted to erase.

It depends on the memory, he said after a while. The more meaningful it is to you, the more damaging if I were to get rid of it.

Following the usual steps, Zeke infiltrated the Soul of the Archmage. This procedure had already become second nature to him. Yet, the moment he entered, he noticed that something was off. The surrounding thoughts and memories were moving in a bizarre pattern.

Was was the Archmage in a good mood?

Zeke had never encountered this situation before. At first, he assumed that the man had to be drunk or under the influence of other substances, but that didnt seem to be the case either. What was this situation? Had something good happened?

Zeke frowned deeply; anything that could make the old fart happy had to be terrible news. Despite his reservations, he couldn't resist attempting to uncover the nature of this potentially dire information. With utmost focus, he closed in on the nearest memory, well aware that if he screwed up now, he would have to retreat immediately.

As he neared the memory, the resistance intensified. It was the same hurdle he'd faced before. Previous attempts at using force had resulted in disaster, so he opted for a different strategy. Instead of trying to force a breakthrough, he countered the resistance by emitting equal pressure. In this realm, it wasn't muscles but intent and thought that controlled his movements, underscoring the significance of the thoughts in his mind.

Without feeling any resistance, Zeke approached the memory. He was absolutely baffled by how smooth the entire process went. This was the beauty and curse of the Soul. Even the slightest change in your mental state could make or break you.

When he reached the core of the memory, Zeke exerted his utmost control. Now that he had come so far, he didnt want to screw it up at the last moment. He merely existed, soaking in the experience without consuming it. After remaining in this state for a while, Zeke started to get a clear idea of what this memory was about.

He found himself in the body of the Archmage, studying his own reflection in a full-length mirror. The color red makes me look slim.



Zeke wanted to do a double-take. Slim? Did he really think so? Recalling the pudgy stature of the Archmage, Zeke could hardly believe the man actually thought that the red clothing made him look slim. What a ridiculous thought

Moving on, from memory to memory, Zeke learned a lot about the Archmages day-to-day life.

I should kill him soon.

Should I promote her?

I want to eat something.

Where is that girl?

Where did I put that?

My throne is not big enough.

They fear me.

Should I call for her?

Zeke was baffled. What a carefree life this man led. Not a single one of his thoughts seemed to revolve around anything substantial. He didnt contemplate Magic, philosophy, or human nature. All he ever thought about was the pursuit of pleasure and his own standing in the world.

After delving into several dozen memories, Zeke began to perceive the Archmage more like an exotic creature than a fellow human being. His thought patterns were so foreign that Zeke started questioning whether he even belonged to the same species.

Zeke was so absorbed in his research that he almost missed it when he finally learned the reason for the Archmages sudden happiness. It was something that seemed trivial to Zeke but made the man incredibly happy. The reason for his happiness was that he had managed to purchase a trio of slaves. It was a set of triplets made up of three identical sisters.

From the Archmages memories, Zeke learned that they were a rare breed of Chimeroi with a lot of combat and growth potential. That was the reason that the Venomous Cabal in the north also had their eyes on them. The three would make a fine addition to their forces. However, the Ember Scar Cartel had somehow managed to get their hands on them before anybody else could secure them.

Zekes first thought was that the man had been quite fortunate to secure such promising talents. Yet, Zekes face changed when he dove deeper. He shuddered in disgust when he learned what the Archmage planned to do with them. He had been right. Anything that could make this person happy was terrible news.

All of a sudden, Zeke lost interest in reading any more of the Archmages thoughts. It was time he got going anyway. He still needed to find the location of Sorias Soul connection. If he was lucky, he might even be able to learn a bit more about the nature of the Slave Ritual.