The world within was revealed to the young servants, making them all gasp in astonishment at the gust of spirit qi that spilled out and brushed past them all ,even making their newly formed cores tremble in excitement.
Their faces beamed with awe and amazement at the world that laid within, with the spirit servants sharing a part of that feeling.
But Corvus, though awed,as he was certain witnessing a spirit realm would forever leave him in awe ,he couldn't help but notice the stark difference between what he'd seen the clan members enter and what laid before them.
Unlike what he'd seen before, the world before him was not filled with all the greenery, splendor, and beautiful mountainous regions he'd seen in the distance; but instead this one only contained a desolate landscape.
Though the obvious spiritual qi gave the landscape a dreamy atmosphere, it still didn't stop him from seeing the stark difference, which was even obvious from the spirit qi that had poured out; it was more of a rejuvenating gust of wind compared to the vast yellow qi that had gushed out before.
'Why is it different?' Corvus wondered to himself, before having his thoughts cut off by Cyprus, who had risen and turned to them.
"Remember, you only have three hours within, so you'd better spend it wisely," he uttered before shifting sideways, gesturing for the young servants to enter the spirit realm.
The young servants couldn't hold down their excitement , making them move past their hesitation as they rushed inside the spirit realm with Corvus following behind. And as soon as he stepped past the fog wall, he felt the immediate change in the air, which was more dry and carried a rigid pressure compared to the usual mountainous winds he was used to.
"You all should return back to this hill as soon as you've bound a lost spirit ,and mind you, those who fail to bind one and arrogantly choose not to return at the exact deadline "he paused for a bit"such a person would be left behind to die at the hands of the spirit beasts that have been held back for your sake," Cyprus, who had followed the young servants into the spirit realm, warned in a cold tone, making them tremble slightly at the thought of being devoured.
"Go on then, your time is ticking," he added calmly, prompting them to immediately descend the hill they had appeared on.
Corvus turned to look at the spirit gate that seemed to connect back to the outside world and memorized the layout of the hill. Unlike the outside world, where the spirit gate was linked to the fog wall that seemed to obscure it somehow, the one within this desolate landscape was merged with a cave atop the hill that endlessly spilled out fog.
Corvus took a deep breath, inhaling the air and the spirit qi, savoring the warm sensation that moved towards his core. He followed the path the other servants used to descend the not-so-high hill while also assessing the landscape he could see.
The land was filled with jagged rocks, with some as big as the hill he was descending and a few in the distance being meters taller.
Thud.
He leaped down from a more bearable height, landing on the hard ground that made crunching sounds with each step he took. He knelt on the floor while using his hands to scoop up small amounts of the brownish-red sand, feeling its sharpness. He was just about to taste it when a hand tapped his shoulder.
Corvus, though startled by that, slowly turned his head to a boy no younger than himself, sharing similar ragged clothing and much shorter black hair.
Corvus didn't really know this one at least not by name, for he was certain he'd memorized every single face of his fellow classmates; he just didn't bother with their names.
The young boy had flinched when Corvus had turned to him with his expressionless face that seemed not so pleased by the shoulder tap. He couldn't help but blame his bad luck that he was the one they had sent.
"Uhm, Aaron and Blake suggested we form into groups to explore and find lost spirits and..." he hesitated for a bit, already seeing Corvus turn his head back to his inspection of the reddish sand. The boy gritted his teeth before saying, "And they invite you to join one of their groups."
Corvus felt a slight salty and also metallic taste assault his taste buds after he'd used his tongue to scoop a tiny dot of sand from his palm. He didn't know what to make of its odd taste, though he was certain sand didn't taste like that.
He rose to his feet while dusting off his hands of the little sand that had clung to his palms.
Before finally turning to the young boy and giving him a simple answer: "No."
The boy didn't know if he should feel relieved or offended that Corvus had taken his time just to decline their offer.
' Well, it's way better than having him around', the boy thought to himself before heading towards the small crowd of young servants in the distance.
Corvus watched him go from the corner of his eyes and at the same time eyed certain figures from the gathered crowd. He shook his head as he could see the other young servants crowding around Luna, Blake, and Aaron; obviously, they seemed to have figured out their importance compared to themselves.
"Hierarchy, heh," he mumbled to himself. He wasn't about to blame them, for if the older generations of spirit servants could be used as an example, one would see the fear and bootlicking that surrounded the overseers, not to mention the head servant.
And If no tragedy occurred, he and the rest that had awakened solid cores would eventually become overseers or hold responsibilities equal to that, and in the little world of servitude they lived in, that was akin to nobility.
But he knew it was nothing but a shroud used by the clan members anyway, which was proven by the little conversation between the head servant Cyprus and who he believed to be a grand elder of the clan; it was simple. Regardless of responsibilities or title, even Cyprus was just a servant, just an entitled slave nonetheless.
Corvus decided to head in the opposite direction of the groups, but after taking a few steps forward, he noticed Leon too seemed to share his own thought, as he too was wandering in a different direction and alone.