Mage And Wolf
Chapter 203

Chapter 203: Chapter 203

Living things, or even the appearance of living things, inside the spirit ocean is definitely something new to the Research team. And to the exotic cultivation experts they call in, even to the King when he comes to check on the commotion in the morning.

I’m out of ideas, so I get busy making another batch of yesterday’s final recipe for pills to help new cultivators in Immortal or Divine energy rich worlds, while the experts discuss the ramifications of the information I gave them. They’re taking forever, so I move on to making snacks.

Eventually the curiosity gets the better of them and they request the presence of an expert from the Dragon Race. I’m just finishing today’s tests and enjoying fresh baked pastries with our volunteers when they arrive, so I send Ahra and the boy Aziz off to get dinner early and rest for the evening.

The Dragon that shows up to help determine the peculiarity with my Spirit Ocean is also a Second Rank High Priestess and our outfits match perfectly. It’s nice to fit in again.

"Interesting. Demon and Lycan Mixed, chosen by the Death God. I knew Lycans were equal opportunity horn dogs, but who let one loose in the Demon Realms?" she talks to herself while she casts a variety of spells over me, nodding as she gets results back.

"That’s very interesting. I’ve only heard of these, I didn’t think I would get to see one in person." She smiles at me before turning to the others.

"It’s nothing to be concerned about, her partially formed Nascent Soul contains a Soul Shrine. They occur very rarely in Priestesses of the various gods who devote themselves to service. In short, the Young Lycan here is so loyal to the Ideals of the Death God that her very being, the Spirit Ocean that embodies the soul, has gained a shrine dedicated to the Black Dragon." The High Priestess explains.

That explanation doesn’t seem to have set anyone’s mind at ease. I should say something.

"Loyalty is innate to Lycans, but to be honored with a shrine in my soul sounds pretty cool."

"She doesn’t get why we’re concerned does she?" The King says.

"Zero percent chance. She’s just happy she got a reward." The High Priestess says and I frown.

The King sighs and decides to explain. "You see, with that level of dedication, it’s expected that you yourself will become part of the Death God’s pantheon as soon as you ascend to Divinity. Usually a minor Goddess of Carnage, Slaughter or something similar, though Necromancy, Retribution and a few other aspects also also fall into the Death Pantheon. The rise of a new Death God is almost always very bad news for whatever Realm they Ascend in."

Well, when he puts it that way I can see why he might be concerned.

"I don’t think it will be Carnage or Slaughter. I have killed a few people, but not senseless mass murder style. Just necessary ones and a few unlucky bystanders in the wrong place when we leveled their city."

"Wait, that came out wrong."

The other Priestess is finding the whole situation hilarious. But she gathers herself together enough to cast a spell on me that feels like it uses only Death Energy.

"Yes, your aspect isn’t leading you to Carnage or Slaughter. I can vouch for that." She informs the group, who finally begins to relax.

"Would anyone like snacks? I cooked today while we were waiting on test results." I offer everyone the cream puffs I made and we sit to discuss the details of a Soul Shrine in detail.

According to the information we could find, it should bolster my mental strength, and provide me with a steady source of energy from the Goddess in even the most deprived of environments. But mostly the effect is personal, making the Spirit Ocean a more welcoming place during meditation and easing the transition to an Origin Soul from a Nascent Soul once I have formed and fused with a domain.

They’ve pretty much lost me on that one, but the domain seems to be a form of Aura, like an Alpha aura, but better, that begins as an area effect that can suppress those weaker than you, and evolves into a tiny pocket dimension you can exert control over.

From what I’ve gathered, the Origin Soul is like the Nascent Soul that grants the Immortality of Immortal Realm Cultivation, but with more divine energy, or a refined form of it, that will slowly become a Divine Body, the Core of a God from which they can rebuild their physical body if it’s destroyed.

The Dragon Priestess is very curious about our work with the pills, having thought herself that it might be interesting to try power leveling mortals in Divine Realms but not having a viable method, so she petitions the King to stay a while as a guest and help with our research.

After two more weeks of experiments Ahra has reached Immortality and is officially a person under Nephilim law, freeing her from her shackles and earning her a job offer to assist the research team. Aziz made it to late Condensation in a few days before his cultivation became incredibly unstable from the rapid changes, so he’s washing dishes in the palace while he gets his cultivation base in order.

This is my cue to call the experiment a success. Besides, I’m going crazy trapped inside a lab all day.

The shrine I’m building in my Spirit Ocean is missing something and nothing I try feels right. I don’t know if I’ve made a mistake or if I just need inspiration, but I’m going with the second option. It’s time for a change of scenery, no matter how great the energy here is.

Before I can head out though, a group comes looking for me. Beta John and a few of his lower ranked Lycans in the Immortal Realm of cultivation, along with two Green Robed Dragon Priestesses.

The Lycans inform me through the mind link they forced open with pure cultivation strength that they were asked to come check on me again one month from my arrival, and it’s close to that. So this is the rescue party Karl and Elder Song arranged. But Beta John and his Lycans have the look of someone who discovered a really great new thing, so I suspect there’s more to this than just a rescue attempt.

"Greetings High Priestess Katrina." One of the Priestesses says formally once basic introductions are done.

"The Black Dragon Avatar from this Realm has requested your assistance recovering a relic."