Magical Soul Parade

Chapter 313: Stratus

Cade remained silent for several long minutes after Finn spoke. He seemed to be weighing the weight of the name Althea against the casual way Finn had mentioned her.

They continued their flight toward the heart of Stratus, the massive serpentine dragon Ryuga gliding through the air with a grace that made the surrounding griffin mounts look clumsy.

Cade’s expression was one of deep thought, his eyes occasionally drifting to the floating landmasses that were growing larger in their field of vision. He didn’t ask any more questions for the time being, but the way he glanced at Finn suggested he was recalculating his entire approach to this mysterious young man.

As they crossed the threshold into the main city area, the full scale of Stratus became apparent. It was a staggering sight. Just a month ago, this place had been nothing but empty, gravity-distorted space within the world tear. But now, a fully realized city hung in the sky.

Massive chains of floating earth were anchored to one another by thick iron cables and bridge-like structures made of bone and brass. Buildings were erected on every available surface, some clinging to the sides of the floating rocks while others stood tall in the center of the larger islands.

Finn took a moment to appreciate the sheer logistics of the feat. Building a city of this size in such a short amount of time required more than just labor. It required a level of coordination and power that only a truly dominant force could provide.

The order here was extremely apparent. Perhaps even too much. There was no chaos or lawlessness. Every movement of the flying creatures and mechanical artifacts followed a specific flow, like blood through the veins of a living creature.

At the back of his mind, Finn knew what this meant. This level of organization was not without precedent. It signaled the presence of a very powerful individual who was backing the entire operation.

Whether it was the head of a Sepulchre family or an Archon, whoever was at the top had a grip on this territory that was near absolute, especially considering that the people Finn could see flying through the clear air between islands were Arcanists of the Adept and Master ranks.

These were not weak in individuals. If Finn had to guess, he’d place the general average Ossuarist Grade in this city as Grade 1 Initiate, or even Grade 3 Caretaker rank!

The same could be said about the Arcanists, the average rank Finn could sense was Master rank, or at the very least, Grade 1 Adept, just about to enter into the Master rank.

As Finn carefully noticed all of these, Cade finally began to speak again, though his tone was more guarded than before.

He directed his griffin to fly closer to Ryuga as he began to point out the various districts. He showed Finn the central floating lands where the largest islands were clustered together. These were the arenas. On almost every one of these central islands, people could be seen engaged in heated battles.

Arcanists fought Arcanists in displays of elemental fury. Fireballs collided with walls of ice, and lightning crackled through the air, only to be absorbed by mechanical shields.

Ossuarists fought one another in more subtle, yet more terrifying duels. Their soul masses clashed like shadows in the sky, and the sound of soul strength grinding against soul strength created a low, vibrating hum that filled the central district. Crowds of spectators gathered on the edges of these floating arenas, watching with a level of focus and intensity that went beyond simple entertainment.

Finn’s eyes narrowed as he focused on a particular fight that was just coming to an end on an island to their left. It involved two Ossuarists, both of whom appeared to be of the Caretaker rank.

The battle had been brief but vicious. One of the men was now on his knees, his robes torn and his face pale with a mixture of terror and exhaustion. The victor stood a few paces away, his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn’t moving to deliver a finishing blow. Instead, he simply stood there and laughed out loud, a sound that was full of a dark, predatory triumph.

Suddenly, a stream of black, smoky essence began to leak from the loser’s chest. The man let out a piercing scream that tore through the air, his hands clutching at his heart as if something were being ripped from his very soul. The black smoke coiled in the air for a moment before it began to move toward the victor.

It flowed like a river of ink, entering the victor’s body through his palms. The loser collapsed onto the stone floor of the arena, his eyes vacant and his body shaking with a deep, spiritual unwillingness.

Cade glanced at Finn, a small, knowing smile playing on his lips as he watched the scene. Finn frowned slightly, his Error vision already trying to decipher the mechanism of what he had just witnessed. He knew the basic laws of the world. Soul masses were not things that could be simply handed over like coins. They were bound to the soul of the owner by debts and spiritual weight.

"Is that what I think it is?" Finn asked, his voice flat. "Are you telling me a soul mass was just transferred between two people as if it were a common trade?"

Cade chuckled, looking pleased that Finn was finally showing interest. "It is one of the wonders of Stratus. You might find it hard to believe, given that the outside world considers such a thing impossible, but inside here, it is a natural law. We call it the Law of the Pact."

He gestured to the surrounding islands. "So long as a pact is made within the bounds of this city and the terms are clearly set, the world itself will enforce the outcome. If the conditions of the battle are met, even a soul mass will relinquish its connection to its owner and seek out the victor as its new vessel."