From the adjacent 'Research Room', the greedy clamor of the Elders bargaining over corpses drifted in. But in the suffocating darkness of the Fusion Chamber, two lurking shadows remained utterly indifferent.
Their existence had only one focus—the massive crystal sphere on the table and the pulsing red orb imprisoned within it.
The first shadow extended a hand toward the glass. The accumulated dust vanished at his touch.
He whispered, a strange devotion trembling in his voice,
"My Lord... we have come. We have come to set you free."
The second shadow shifted restlessly. His pupils trembled.
"Should we not take it now? The opportunity is slipping away..."
The first shadow shook his head with stony gravity.
"No. Wait until they return to their dens. Haste will disrupt the cosmic balance. Our mission is not merely theft, but flawless execution."
But they did not have the luxury of wasting time. They had work to do.
They turned their attention to the shelves of the Fusion Chamber. Here lay rare ingredients accumulated over centuries.
The first shadow began to pull down jars and bottles with rapid hands. His every movement was precise and swift, like that of a skilled surgeon.
He retrieved:
One Eye of a Lightning Wolf, two Fangs of a Purple Cobra, nine Leaves of Lava Mint, six Fingers of a Shadow Wolf, one Heart of a Shadow Wolf, two liters of Shadow Wolf Blood, four Tails of a Dark Tortoise, and another two liters of Dark Tiger's Blood.
He approached the massive 'Fusion Cauldron' sitting on the table. Without hesitation, he dumped the three liters of green blood already inside onto the floor. Trash.
He poured in the fresh Shadow Wolf blood. Beneath the cauldron, a magical blue flame roared to life. As the blood began to boil, he added the ingredients one by one.
SIZZLE!
The Lava Mint leaves smoked as they touched the blood. Finally, he poured in the Dark Tiger's Blood. The mixture turned a deep, pitch-black color, like liquid tar.
The second shadow then drew a special Spirit from his 'Soul Realm'.
It looked like an ordinary stone, but it radiated an aura of absolute nothingness.
'Rank 4 Void Spirit'.
This was essential for fusion. Using it would suck all the air out of the cauldron, ensuring no external particles could contaminate the reaction.
He threw the Spirit into the boiling cauldron.
CRACKLE!
The Spirit let out a bone-chilling sound as it melted, as if a living creature had been dipped in acid. In the airless environment, the entire mixture transformed into a 'Viscous Liquid'. It began to emit dense Dark and Shadow Path auras.
The second shadow quickly waved his hand, creating a 'Soundproof Barrier' so the eerie noises and aura of the fusion would not reach Habib Biswas's ears next door.
"Faster..." the first shadow urged. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. "We don't have much time."
The second shadow took out another Spirit. It looked like a torn piece of black cloth, but it emitted mysterious smoke.
'Rank 5 Shadow Cloth Spirit'.
It could render the user temporarily invisible in darkness. Although not as powerful as the 'Rank 3' versions they used, it was incredibly expensive and rare.
He didn't sacrifice one. He threw three 'Shadow Cloth Spirits' into the boiling liquid, one after another.
The first shadow stirred the mixture with a special rod. The viscous liquid slowly began to coagulate, turning into a 'Dense Mass'. This was no ordinary lump; it looked like a living chunk of solid darkness, radiating terrifying power.
Next, the first shadow retrieved four 'Sky Lily Crystals' from the storage.
Controlling the temperature, he added the crystals to the mixture one by one. The mass slowly hardened, taking the form of a crystal. An ash-colored crystal, within which darkness pulsed like a heartbeat.
Suddenly, the first shadow gasped, "It's ready..."
The second shadow pulled out the Key of Time from his pocket.
A green droplet of water, the size of a finger.
'Rank 4 Hour Drop Spirit'.
It was an 'Expendable' Spirit. Using it could complete a process that normally took an hour in just one minute.
He dropped the droplet onto the crystal.
Instantly, the crystal vibrated. It was as if a monster was trying to claw its way out from the inside.
Tick... tick…
Exactly 49 seconds later, a crack appeared on the surface.
Another 5 seconds later—
SHATTER!
The crystal shell broke apart with the sound of shattering mirrors. The true form emerged.
Inside lay an ash-colored, living heart.
It beat, but very slowly. It resembled the heart of a Shadow Wolf, but through its veins flowed thick, black mist instead of blood.
Both pairs of eyes lit up with joy.
"Rank 4 Stealth Heart Spirit..."
Fusion was never this easy. It required the correct ratio of ingredients, heat control, and luck. Even those who spent their lives researching Spirits faced a high probability of failure.
However, when one sacrifices a high-ranked spirit to create a spirit of equal or lower rank, the risk of failure drops drastically. It is an extravagance—but a victory.
The first Stealth Heart was complete.
Without wasting a moment, they began the process for the second one.
In the next room, Habib Biswas was still bargaining over the price of corpses, unaware that on the other side of the wall, a new terror of the dark was being born in silence.
✦✦✦
4:00 AM.
The Private Sanctum of Kabir Mahal.
Absolute silence reigned in the room. Yet, overpowering the silence was an unbearable, nauseating smell—the pungent stench of rotting blood.
Humayun Kabir, the Village Leader, sat in the lotus position on the floor. Spread before him was a sheet of special parchment. He was performing a ritual.
He drew a curved circle in the center of the paper, within which the outline of a wolf took shape.
Three black candles were placed at the front, left, and right of the paper.
Humayun pulled an ink bottle from his pocket. As he opened the cork, the smell of blood intensified.
He sighed inwardly.
"In recent centuries, 'Lightning Wolves' have become almost extinct. I was lucky to find one last year at Tulatoli and hunt it down."
Frustration was etched on his face.
"My luck is truly bad. Just when I am close to mastering 'Wolf Style Mysticism', I have to rely on ingredients from a species that is nearly gone. Where have all the Lightning Wolves gone?"
He dipped a quill pen into the bottle of blood. The blood was thick as ink.
Carefully, he traced lines over the wolf design with the blood. He drew small circles around the candles.
Finally, on the side of the circle facing him, he drew a terrifying 'Fang' design. Around it, he sketched jagged lines representing lightning to define its nature.
The chanting began.
"O Wolf God... Descendant of Lightning... pour your power here."
He pointed his finger at a Wooden Dummy placed on the other side of his desk.
Suddenly—
The blood on the paper evaporated. The fang design vanished.
The vaporized blood condensed in the air, forming an invisible lump of power. In the next instant, it shot toward the dummy with a hiss.
Mid-air, it took the form of a Lightning Fang.
CRACK!
The lightning fang bit into the dummy. The room filled with the smell of burning wood.
Humayun was momentarily mesmerized, but his expression darkened the next second.
"No... it's not enough. It's nowhere near as powerful as a real 'Thunder Fang Spirit'. It doesn't even compare to the Rank 6 version. The problem isn't the ingredients... the problem might be me."
Just then—
Humayun felt the shadows in the corner of the room thicken. A figure stood at the door.
Pale skin, long ash-black hair, thin-framed glasses. And dangling from his left ear was a golden earring that glinted in the torchlight.
Azgaar Ahmed.
A warm smile played on his lips, but beneath that smile lay a bone-chilling coldness.
Azgaar stepped forward. He gently touched the scorched spot on the dummy where the lightning had struck.
"Better than nothing," Azgaar said calmly. "But Humayun, you cannot change the fact that... you are not a true believer of the 'Wolf God'. A ritual without belief is like a body without life."
Hearing Azgaar's words, Humayun placed his hands over his chest and belly, tracing the sign of an 'Inverted Triangle' in the air.
"Praise the lady. We are devoted only to the worship of Goddess Lushita, Azgaar."
Azgaar sighed. For a fleeting moment, infinite weariness appeared in his eyes.
"If you could put yourself in my place... you wouldn't say that today, Humayun."
The next moment, both men burst into loud laughter. As if two old friends were catching up after a long time. But beneath this laughter, a silent cold war raged.
Azgaar tossed a box from within his robes toward Humayun. The box was sealed tight with plastic strips.
"This will help with your next ritual. But remember, after 10 PM tomorrow, I will not wait any longer."
Humayun caught the box. Curiosity got the better of him.
"Is maintaining that ritual really so difficult? Can't you take a break?"
The smile vanished from Azgaar's face. A deep melancholy settled over his features. He looked directly into Humayun's eyes.
There was something in that gaze that sent a shiver down the spine of Shitapur's most powerful leader.
"That question... you should ask 'Her', Clan Leader."
Humayun was startled. 'Her'? Did he mean the Goddess? Or someone else?
He mumbled to himself, "Does he... does he communicate with 'Her' too?"
Outwardly, he maintained his composure. He smiled.
"Thank you. I am grateful for the gift you gave my son. He has been training well with it."
Azgaar turned toward the door. Before leaving, he flashed that warm smile again.
"Praise the Lady..."
He walked out. The door closed.
He left behind a fearful void and a biting chill.
Humayun Kabir stared at the door for a while. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
"When he was standing here... he used a 'Void Spirit' to clean the air around him... so that my 'Wind Path' investigation spirits couldn't detect him."
He swallowed hard.
"My entire room was rigged with spirits. He deceived them all. That means he has at least a Rank 3 Void Spirit. Or..."
Humayun's pupils contracted. A terrifying truth struck his mind.
"Or... that wasn't a Spirit at all. It was his power... it was Arcanis!"
Mysticism: A belief system and practice where one seeks to connect with hidden truths, supernatural forces, or the Divine, transcending the limits of reason and senses. It is not just knowledge—but a path of feeling, realization, and spiritual experience to explore the deeper layers of reality.
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