Heinald gripped both swords tightly and dashed forward. He didn't think this corpse woman had any physical strength available, if he managed to reach her, he could finish her off.
Black fire surges appeared around the corpse woman, at the same time an intense amount of Dark Energy engulfed the entire area.
"No! How could she cast a spell so quickly?" Heinald's eyes widened.
He could feel that these black flames were extremely deadly. It was as if time had stopped for him at that moment, as if he were living his last seconds before death.
Black fire surges gathered around the corpse woman had begun to spread all around.
Heinald closed his eyes in resignation while he was still in air, but what he expected did not happen when the black flames touched his body.
No harm had been done to him or the environment.
The sudden change in events had affected their positions.
Heinald lost his balance and was able to stop after a few somersaults on the ground, while the corpse woman staggered back holding her head.
"What's going on with him!?" Heinald began to observe the corpse woman intently. She was staggering violently and banging her head against the walls.
"Destroy it!" Heinald heard a voice that did not belong to the corpse woman.
After his eyes flickered momentarily, he sent Magical Energy to Embers and dashed towards the corpse woman.
His sword was wrapped by fire and drew an arc in the air.
"Aaaaeeehhgggg!" The corpse woman let out a deafening scream before splitting in two.
The layer of black smoke surrounding him began to split in half, burning like a piece of paper and turning to ash and being blown through the air.
The layer of black smoke surrounding her began to split in half, burning like a piece of paper and turning to ash and being blown through the air.
When the layer of black smoke surrounding the corpse woman disappeared, a white light emerged. Although this light was very small, it illuminated the whole area.
"Thank you for rescuing me from that dark curse…" A tired female voice was heard.
"You...are you a soul piece?" Heinald was speechless.
"After tens of thousands of years of captivity..."
Heinald waited for the tired woman voice to finish her sentence, but she never finished. He couldn't feel anything from her except a weak aura. From what he understood, this soul piece was a soul that had previously been held captive.
"That body…was it yours?" Heinald asked.
"No...it's just a body I've been forcibly imprisoned in."
"Was it you who just saved me?" Heinald asked.
"Yes. I've been imprisoned by that curse for tens of thousands of years, and no matter how hard I resisted, I couldn't get over it. That's when I used my last remaining resistance." The tired woman voice was heard again.
"What was that?" Heinald asked.
"A curse. The curse inflicted on me is a very terrible spirit curse. My own spirit degenerated over time and became an independent part of me.
"Out of the current state..." Heinald sighed, "You said tens of thousands of years ago, do you know why the war between the Ancient Ainsars began?"
"Many wars took place among the Ancient Ainsars...I couldn't understand what you were talking about."
"I'm talking about the lost millennium." Heinald said.
"..." There was a long silence, "I don't have time to tell you what I know, I'll be gone soon. But I can show you some memories."
The little light entered Heinald's forehead. At that moment, his vision was completely white.
When he regained his sight, he found himself in a garden. He looked around and saw a young girl standing next to him. She had long black hair and blue eyes, wearing a purple robe with many embroideries. In her right hand, she was holding a staff slightly longer than her height.
"Eslem! Come here, we have to go to the mentor." Someone called from a distant place.
"I'm coming!"
"This is ... Am I in her memory?" Heinald began following the young girl. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her every time he realized that that piece of light was the only thing left of the spirit of this young woman named Eslem.
They walked with him down a long, ostentatious corridor. This corridor was made of pure white marble, and the walls were filled with various artifacts.
When they came out of the corridor, they came to a great hall. There were many young women and young men here, chatting with each other in groups.
"Eslem! Did you hear? Our sect leader, upon our sect founder's testament, will personally enter his tomb and receive his legacy."
A tall girl wearing a white robe came up to them. She also had a staff in her hand, like most people around.
"For the ancient Ainsars, staffs were treasures that reflected their glory. Staffs made with their vast knowledge and experience were far more powerful than staffs made in our time. Unfortunately, as with most things, staffs of ancient times were lost with the lost millennium "
Heinald remembered a text he had read in a book called The Ancient History of Yukra.
"Eslem! Juina!" Another girl came running up to them, "Follow me, I have something to tell you."
"What's going on?" Eslem asked.
"You better get away from the sect as soon as possible, our sect leader is making a big mistake!" The young girl had a very worried expression on her face.
"What do you mean?" Eslem's eyebrows were slightly furrowed.
"Our sect is preparing a big celebration and is announcing that it will enter the tomb of our sect founder...Al-Yuen will be here!"
"I thought you were going to say something serious!" Eslem laughed and continued, "The Manjoreiz Alliance was after them, they were probably all found and executed."
"The Manjoreiz Alliance failed to catch them. Al-Yuen is destroying everything left from ancient times, along with those who seek them. Our sect has made it known to everyone..."
As the young girl continued to speak, she was interrupted by Eslem.
"I'm sorry but I have to go to my mentor. My advice to you is to get rid of these ridiculous thoughts, the celebrations will begin soon. Just Relax!"
"Please Eslem, wait. I'm serious, I'll be leaving soon. Please listen to my words."
While Heinald was listening to the conversation, his field of vision suddenly turned white again and returned to normal.
The little light was gone.
"The remaining energy of the spirit piece must have been completely depleted…" Heinald sighed. He hadn't found out what was going on yet.
Heinald had never heard of or read Al-Yuen before. As he understood it, this organization was hunting and destroying remnants from ancient times.
"Al-Yuen must be some kind of organization..." Heinald scratched his chin, "I'll do some research on this when I get back to Saylam City."
Heinald turned back the way he came and left the underground.
When he got back to the ground, he found a small safe area and began to meditate and regenerate his Magical Energy there.
After about a day of meditation, Heinald had completely renewed his Magical Energy. After he became a Level 2 Ainsar, the amount of Magic Energy he could use had greatly increased. That's why it was taking so long to renew.
Heinald began making his way back to the east coast at full speed. This time he ran nonstop, using all his speed. When he reached the east coast after about half a day's run, he saw many Level 1 Ainsars there with injuries.
Heinald immediately noticed that the other Level 2 Ainsars were not returning. They must still be looking for a clue.
He was almost certain that they wouldn't find a clue. Of course, he couldn't claim that the sect's remnants on this island had been definitively destroyed by Al-Yuen. However, he had a feeling that they would n't be able to find anything from these ruins. That woman couldn't have shown her memories for nothing.
Moreover, he was definitely not going to risk his life further and go to the ruins. He would wait a while for the others to come. If they didn't come, he would take the ship and leave on him own, and how the others would return would be their problem.
The days passed quickly, and a month passed, and the other three rank 2 Ainsars also gave up and returned. The Shadow Island Ruins was one of the most dangerous areas on the continent.
Even for a Level 2 Ainsar, death was quite possible here. The other Ainsars also understood this after their various battles, and they decided not to put themselves at risk any longer.
So they all decided to return in frustration. Although Kiel initially offered to move forward together, Heinald had not accepted it.
He was afraid Albin would punish him if he spent any more time. He did not intend to incur the wrath of a Level 3 Ainsar.
Fortunately, they did not encounter any attack on their return journey. Everyone's morale was pretty low, including Heinald. It was natural for them to risk their lives and return without gaining anything.
"It's normal for situations like this to happen... Sometimes we don't get paid for the actions we take or the risks we take. However, that's no reason to despair, if an Ainsar stops advancing, certainly won't be able to achieve true might."
Heinald tried to comfort himself by remembering his grandfather's advice as well.
When Heinald returned to the seaside town, the baby dragon immediately flew up to him and greeted him.
"The last time I saw you, you were less than half the size you are now... How can you grow so fast?" Heinald could only sigh helplessly when he saw the size of the baby dragon.
After bade farewell to Kiel and the others, he began his journey to Saylam City. When he returned, he had to help Albin everyday for a month, as he promised.