Magical Soul Parade

Chapter 252: Soul Mass of Frost

Of all the lower corridors so far, Corridor 19 was the longest yet. They walked in silence for what felt like ten minutes, the passage stretching deeper into the temple than any before. The walls here were rough stone, raggedly coated and ancient-looking, like it was one of the very first chambers ever carved in this temple.

The air grew colder with each step, the temperature dropping sharply as they forged forward.

Finn’s breath misted in the air. Behind him, the others subconsciously pulled their clothes tighter. The air had turned sharp, the kind of cold that made breathing hurt.

As usual, besides Finn who had obviously gotten more powerful, and therefore practically numb to the cold, only Ailin seemed unaffected, moving through the frigid air like it was pleasant spring weather.

Finally, they reached the chamber at the end and stepped in.

The space was massive, easily three times the size of the previous chambers. Ice coated every surface — the walls, floor, ceiling… all of it was frozen solid and gleaming in the strange sourceless light. The temperature here was brutal, but that was not the main focus.

Immediately they all entered, their eyes snapped to the figure of a creature at the center of the room. Massive and quadrupedal, with thick white fur and glowing blue eyes. It was as large as a bear, yet looked like some kind of prehistoric saber-toothed snow tiger.

Its form wasn’t exactly solid though. Even someone like Slick Jones, who had the least strongest soul here and was purely a mundane human, could still tell that this was a soul mass — as Finn had called it. From the vague, somewhat translucent look of the creature, the way the air deformed around its mass, it was without a doubt a soul mass. But that didn’t take away the fact that this one was different. Predatory. Dangerous.

Unlike the previous soul masses that had waited passively in their containers, this one noticed them the moment they entered and roared.

The sound reverberated through the chamber, and with it came a blast of arctic wind that would have frozen a normal person solid. Shards of ice materialized in the air, dozens of them, all pointed directly at the group.

Finn’s eyes widened slightly as the ice shards launched forward.

Straight to the soul mass again… No trials here, just like the last two chambers…

Finn noted the fact silently in his mind just as he raised his hand, activating the adaptive ability from Corridor 21. His flesh shifted, becoming harder and more resistant to cold and piercing damage. The ice shards struck him and shattered harmlessly against his altered skin.

Behind him, Althea had drawn her sword, deflecting shards with precise strikes. Ailin stood untouched, ice melting before it could reach her. Vara and Slick Jones had taken cover behind a frozen outcropping.

Since chamber 21, there haven’t been any trials… Why?

Finn thought as the creature charged, massive paws leaving craters in the ice with each step. The Crimson Tyrant had three trials before I could assimilate it. The temple even spoke to my mind, making it official…But Corridors 21 and 20 just… gave me the soul mass directly.

The creature was on him now, jaws opening wide enough to swallow him whole. Finn didn’t dodge. Instead, he channeled the firepower from Corridor 20, heat flooding through his body and radiating outward. The air around him shimmered, steam rising where extreme heat met extreme cold.

The creature bit down on empty air as Finn sidestepped at the last moment, his hand shooting out to grab the creature’s neck. His fingers sank into frozen fur, and he pulled, using his enhanced soul density to anchor himself while yanking the massive beast off balance.

Maybe the soul masses could sense my strength, Finn reasoned as the creature thrashed, trying to break free. Maybe they recognized that trials were pointless. That I was already beyond whatever tests they could pose.

The creature roared again, and the entire chamber responded. Ice spikes erupted from every surface, converging on Finn from all directions. Hundreds of them, moving too fast to dodge.

Finn didn’t try to dodge.

He simply existed with greater density than the ice attempting to pierce him.

The spikes struck his body and shattered. All of them. Like striking a wall that was somehow more real than they were.

The creature’s glowing blue eyes widened. Actual shock registered in its consciousness. This prey is dangerously wrong! Its expression seemed to say.

Or perhaps, Finn continued to think as he tightened his grip on the creature’s neck, it didn’t matter which corridor I chose first. If I’d entered Corridor 20 before 22, maybe the fire soul mass would have given me the trials instead. Maybe the Tyrant’s trial was simply because it was first. A test to see if I was worthy of claiming any of them at all.

The creature thrashed harder, desperate now. Ice spread from its body, trying to freeze Finn solid. The temperature dropped even further, reaching levels that would have turned flesh to brittle ice in seconds.

Finn channeled heat again, harder this time. The ice touching him sublimated instantly, bypassing liquid to become steam. The creature howled in pain as extreme heat radiated through Finn’s grip into its neck.

That would make sense,

Finn concluded. The temple itself tested me once. Saw that I passed. And now it’s simply allowing me collect what I came for.

The creature made one final desperate attempt, rearing back and slamming Finn into the frozen floor with enough force to crater the ice. The impact would have pulverized a normal person, and even a powerful person too.

But Finn wasn’t just any powerful person now. He simply stood up from the crater, his grip never even loosening the entire time.

The creature’s eyes dimmed immediately it saw that. It had tried everything. Every ability it possessed. And nothing had worked. This human-shaped thing was simply too dense and too hardy for its attacks to prove effective in any way. In fact, it seemed like he had not paid it much attention while it fought for its pride and ego.

And the creature was right. Finn’s mind finally refocused on the task at hand fully. He lifted the massive creature with one hand, his soul density allowing him to exert force beyond what his physical form should permit.

“It’s over.”

He began his edict without further preamble.

“Will.”

The creature froze in his grip without struggle. It understood what was about to happen.

“Anchor.”

This time he didn’t bother to use as many words to deliver the same impact. His presence locked in place, fully grounded.

“Focus.”

Just like before, he found that he needed less words to deliver the same impact. Everything else fell away. Just him and the soul mass before him.

“Phasma.”

His consciousness plunged into the creature, finding its core. It instinctively tried to resist his invading presence. But it was futile.

“Order.”

The creature’s instinctive struggles stilled. It had already given up in the first place, but now, even its subconscious reactions recognized superior authority and submitted.

“Bind.”

The physical form began dissolving, the translucent flesh and frozen fur breaking down into pure consciousness. The soul mass revealed itself, a sphere of pale blue light that pulsed with cold.

Finn dropped his hand. The sphere remained suspended at chest height.

He took a breath and spoke the final word.

“Subjugate.”