Zelvirah was watching the Blake family members and their servants wake up. It was the beginning of a long nightmare for the Blakes, losing the head of their household like that. The news of the event would soon shake the whole city.After all, for Dorothy and Julia, they were reading a book — and the next moment, Thomas was in front of them, dead, with no visible wounds.
'I need to hurry and find a body with perfect potential... Human souls don't last long without a vessel…'
Zelvirah was holding Thomas's soul and spirit in his clawed hand. His spirit was represented by an orb, its color white — showing that the spirit was still connected to a soul.The soul, on the other hand, had a translucent human form — basic outlines, no distinct features. A soul shapes itself based on the body it's attached to.
Raising his free hand, a green mist-like energy began to pour out of it. Slowly, it gathered at a single point, expanding into a spinning disk, rotating outward from the center.A faint glow appeared in the center, quickly becoming blinding.
In his world, "born spirits" had been banished by the gods. The fact that they were able to interact with the physical world — was deemed far too dangerous.Unlike other spirits, they were born as spirits — hence the name. They possessed souls, albeit different, and unlike beings "born physical" like humans, their soul didn't shape a body, but instead gave form to their spirit.
The gods' banishment came with strict laws limiting the influence that born spirits could exert on the world.Hunted by divine followers for thousands of years, Zelvirah was now the only one left.
Zelvirah stepped through the disk — the environment around him shifted.It was like space, but instead of a dark backdrop and stars, everything was coated in a fluorescent green mist, shimmering lights flickering — trying to pierce through the fog.
This space was Zelvirah's ultimate pride. After countless years of research, he had found a way to travel between worlds — even those like Earth, where the gods held no influence.
It was vital to him — for someone who sought revenge against the gods, he needed two critical things.The most difficult part was Thomas…Thomas's soul and spirit were so strong that even in a world with no magic, he could see spirits — a rare gift, even in magical realms like Zelvirah's own.Finding someone like him had taken over a thousand years of obsessive searching.
The second requirement was to possess a human body with perfect potential. Rare, yes, but nowhere near as rare as Thomas.Bodies had several levels of "potential": none, very low, low, normal, high, very high, and perfect.A perfect potential body was the best of the best. This type of body had the luxury of adapting to any soul or spirit of its species and developing better than any other.
Zelvirah hoped that by merging his being with Thomas, he could be reborn into this body without complications.The catch was the body's location — he needed it to be in a country where divine influence was minimal.Even though humans had long forgotten about the born spirits, the risk was too great.
If the experiment succeeded, he would become a being with a double soul — both human with a physical body, and a born spirit.Humans were weak, yes, but they had unlimited potential for growth.By contrast, spirits were born with fixed power they could never develop.He would become, no doubt, the weakest born spirit in history — but without limitation.
'The only question is whether my ego or Thomas's will be dominant… Whatever happens, we'll become one…'
The spectral mist slowly faded, letting light in — and a new world appeared: Eldrad. Zelvirah had finally returned home after more than a thousand years.
He wasted no time, moving like a madman through different countries while avoiding the gaze of the gods.
In nine relentless days of tracking, he identified every known bearer of a body with perfect potential. Only one of them was located in an area acceptable to Zelvirah — not ideal, but good enough.
'At least it's a country usually hostile to religions… But the location… Whatever. I'm out of time. If I'm not the one in control, we're dead...'
Activating the fusion process, Thomas's soul and spirit merged into Zelvirah.A new being was born — an aberration with two souls and two spirits.Something that should never have existed was now real — and as if the laws of the world were rejecting the being's existence, Zelvirah's body began to fade, growing more and more transparent.
'If the body adapts fast enough, it'll stop my erasure.'
Arriving in front of the body, he severed the individual's soul instantly. The body became an empty shell — a lifeless puppet.Now that he technically had a human soul within him, he could link it to the human body in front of him.
Spirits don't feel pain — they don't have nervous systems.But the soul-binding process made Zelvirah feel pain for the first time in his life.
Once the fusion was complete, his vision blurred.
'Please… let my ego be stronger than his.'
***
In a large, dark room, many people were chained to the walls like dogs.They could move, but only within a limited distance — none of them could actually reach one another.
The room was filthy. The air reeked of piss and shit.With barely any freedom to move, the prisoners had no choice but to relieve themselves right where they were.Once a week, someone came to clean the mess.
An old man looked at a young one who had just collapsed.
"Tsk. Acting tough a minute ago — look at him now! Passed out like a little turd. Hehehehe!"
"He looked decent, didn't he?" a woman replied.
"Even better. He'll probably be the next one then," the old man said, visibly pleased.
"Yes! Let's hope he doesn't die before it happens!" someone else shouted, almost gleeful.
The young man who had collapsed looked to be just under 20.Black hair, pale skin like a vampire, and beautiful emerald eyes.If he were clean and well-fed, he'd be considered handsome.Unfortunately, he was undernourished, hair a mess, beard unkempt, and dressed in the filthy rags of the homeless — just like everyone else here.
"CLICK! CLACK! CLAACK!!"
Suddenly, everyone turned toward the sound of chains rattling violently.The young man was thrashing wildly, sometimes twisting into disturbing positions — some just outright inhuman.
He was now bent into something truly unnatural — palms flat on the floor, chest facing upward — on all fours with his head twisted back, mouth wide open.
Everyone frowned.
"Mo-mommy? That man — what's he doing?" asked a little girl beside her mother.
"Sweetheart, please don't look," her mom said with a forced smile.
The girl nodded.
"Aaaa—AAARRGH!!"
...
"GRKHH—!! AAAHHH!!"
...
"HUUUAAAAAAAAAARG!!!"
...
"AAAAHH—glaaarghh—AAAHH!!"
The man's screams of agony intensified. His whole body convulsed violently.Those witnessing the horrific scene tried to crawl as far away as they could.
Suddenly, everything stopped. His body collapsed like a lifeless doll.
It had lasted only a short while… but no one said a word afterward.All eyes were now fixed on the young man.
The guard outside the cell, alerted by the dull thud, came rushing in.
"Hey, by the grace of Igraa, what's going on in here—heretic?!"
"H-he's the one, mister guard! The man over there made those weird noises!" said the little girl.
"Shh! Anna!" her mother hissed harshly.
The guard stepped into the cell and approached the young man.
With his sword, he poked at the boy's body.
"Shame... We lost a good one. He had potential, that one!"
"Tsk."
"KYAAAAAH!!"
Just as the guard moved to unchain him, the boy suddenly woke up with a scream.
"He's still alive—You! Watch him. I'll go fetch food and water for the boy."
Thomas finally regained consciousness once the guard left. His whole body ached, and his vision was blurred.
'Where the fuck am I?'