Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1086 - 201: The Danger of the Forbidden Land of Living Souls

Chapter 1086: Chapter 201: The Danger of the Forbidden Land of Living Souls

"However, have you undergone the test?" Catherine asked Flare with some concern, "It seems very dangerous. According to what you’ve said, soul attacks don’t weaken just because you are a demigod and there aren’t reliable defenses. A small mistake could be life-threatening, Your Majesty; this is too risky."

Flare was momentarily startled, then, finding it amusing, looked at Catherine’s serious face and shook her head with a smile, "Thank you for your concern, but there’s no need to worry about this. Enduring soul attacks for a short period won’t cause any harm; at least, it won’t cause any apparent harm, so rest assured, I know what I’m doing."

"Alright, perhaps I’m overthinking it," Catherine said reassured by the Queen’s response, not just as a mere formality, and sat down to ask, "You keep mentioning soul attacks; what exactly are they? What does it feel like to be attacked?"

"Soul attacks...that’s a sensation quite difficult to describe in words," Flare said, staring into the bonfire and speaking somewhat abstractedly, "Everything around you feels hostile, and some unknown force keeps pressing on your soul. It’s something that cannot be understood unless experienced, and you guys, heh, you wouldn’t likely have a chance to experience it. However, Freya, you could try by taking off that little banshee’s necklace, then you’d feel the power of a soul attack."

"Is that really safe?" Freya asked with a twitch of her lips, whispering, "Will it not assimilate my soul directly? If possible, how long is it safe to take it off?"

"It’s hard to say; you’ll feel it when the time comes," Flare shook her head and responded, "Basically, when you start feeling mentally bewildered, your soul becomes unstable, and it feels like your consciousness is trying to leave your body while you sleep, it means your soul has already been severely affected. From entering the range of the Forbidden Land of Living Souls to reaching the state I just described, it varies for each person; it’s usually about ten hours and generally doesn’t exceed twenty-two hours."

"That long?" Lina exclaimed briefly, widening her eyes and saying, "From the way you all talk about it, I thought just a few minutes inside would assimilate your soul. Turns out it takes more than half a day; it doesn’t seem as dangerous then, if you don’t venture too deep. Couldn’t you just escape immediately upon symptoms arising?"

"Tsk tsk, many have thought the same as you," Pannis shifted his focus from the bag on the fire, smirked eerily, and pointed towards the foggy woods at a distance, "The last person to think that way, their Twisted Soul is probably still wandering around inside. Would you like to know their thoughts?"

Even though Lina was teased by Pannis, she didn’t get angry but just bared her pearly white teeth at him in a threatening yet arguably more cute manner. After the threat, she still couldn’t understand and continued to ask, "What’s wrong with my idea? Why would following it possibly lead to trouble?"

"Do you know how long it takes for the soul to be twisted and assimilated from the initial symptoms of mental bewilderment?" Pannis countered, "You probably haven’t considered that, have you?"

"Theoretically, if it takes over ten hours just to show symptoms, then the process from symptoms to fatality shouldn’t be too brief either; at least a few hours," Lina said uncertainly. "But since you’re asking, it implies it’s shorter than I imagined. An hour? Maybe just half an hour?"

"I’m sorry, not that long," Pannis shrugged and held up two fingers, "Two minutes. A normal person can last at most two minutes before their soul is twisted and they turn into a lurking monster in the shadows."

"That quickly?" Lina covered her mouth in shock, "That hardly leaves any time to react, does it?"

"Exactly, it doesn’t give one any time to react," Pannis sighed and said helplessly, "So, by the time someone exhibits symptoms of soul instability inside, it’s generally too late to save them. Moreover, when Flare mentioned ten hours, that’s the normal time most people can endure. However, every time someone enters, the duration can be affected by their state at the time and even by the strength of the Divine Power maintaining the Forbidden Land on that specific day. I’ve heard of the fastest reaction time being sixty-four minutes, and that’s also a higher level of misfortune. Fortunately, that person survived."

"Wasn’t the reaction time only two minutes?" Lina asked puzzled, "If he had already spent sixty-four minutes inside, surely he couldn’t have escaped in time. How did he manage to survive?"

"Oh, haven’t I mentioned it?" Pannis suddenly looked at Flare surprised and after receiving a confirming nod, he awkwardly scratched his head and continued, "Maybe I forgot to say, but this requires an explanation of soul attacks. To put it figuratively, it’s as if each person’s soul is surrounded by an Aggression Shield, while the soul attack continuously assaults this shield. Mind you, this is just a metaphor; in reality, the soul doesn’t have a shield, and soul attacks aren’t targeting a shield, but this makes it easier to understand."

"Right, no need to repeat that, we can understand," Catherine nodded, "So, according to your metaphor, the appearance of mental bewilderment or soul instability suggests the shield has been breached?"

"Yes, you can feel when the shield is attacked, but it doesn’t produce any symptoms," Flare added from the side, nodding, "Once the shield is breached, and the soul directly attacked, various symptoms emerge. Our souls are actually very fragile, unable to withstand much damage. Thus, once directly attacked, within at most two minutes, the ability to resist is completely lost,and is assimilated by the twisted world."

"Therefore, there are two special cases regarding soul attacks within the Forbidden Land," Pannis added, "First, the nonexistent shield outside their soul is exceptionally strong, making it impossible to break. In this case, no matter how long they stay in the Forbidden Land, their soul itself wouldn’t be attacked, hence no symptoms would appear, and they couldn’t be twisted and assimilated. This situation is very rare, often not seen even in hundreds of years."