"Should we go down? It seems like we would be going into a cemetery." Trey asked.

  "I don't know. I mean it's clear that we have to go down there if we want to advance. Just stay close?" I stared at the former battlefield as my danger sense piqued. It wasn't screaming at me, it was more like a passive fear. A lingering fear. I shook my head and expanded my Tao field to cover us. "Stay close. Something dangerous is out there."

  I had to force open a window for us to get down but as soon as we did my anxiety increased. It felt like we were in some kind of horror movie and the background music picked up. Every step made me feel like a hand was reaching for the back of my neck.

  "You alright? I haven't seen you look so scattered and afraid." Aaliyah asked. As her blade hand trembled slightly.

  "Yeah, yeah just danger sense and all. Honestly, it's a bit irritating to deal with. I would much rather whatever—" We were suddenly blasted with a wave of killing intent that made my blood run cold. I circulated my spiritual energy ready to blast any and everything. The others moved as Xerxes growled. A second later a pair of spectral giants appeared. One behind and one in front. The giants were in different clothes, with one in what was a weird interpretation of plate male while the other was in black robes.

  I was about to activate Psychic Aegis when my danger sense screamed. I wasn't sure why but activating the spell seemed like it would get us all killed. "Move!" I grabbed Aaliyah and launched us nearly ten feet away. I saw Trey pop out his wings in the corner of my eye as Xerxes moved away. Aaliyah and I landed with a thud seconds before the giants slammed into each other. Their weapons clashed with a sickening thud before the two apparitions exploded. I stared at the spot where they had been in confusion.

  "Wh—what?" I asked as I pushed spiritual energy into the Eye of Heaven. The eye revealed nothing which only made me more worried. I formed a halo of blades half expecting to get a new warning but nothing happened.

  "Were they illusions?" Aaliyah asked as she got to her feet and brushed the dirt off her clothes.

  I looked up as Trey slowly landed next to us and Xerxes leaped over a pile of stone. "It was real or at least the attack was real. Was it an array? Maybe something designed to battle invaders?"

  I shook my head and circulated the Tao of Adamance to calm myself faster. "There were no array flags nor were there any energy flows. There is nothing that would indicate an array. Nor were they puppets."

  "Is it possible they were real ghosts?" Aaliyah asked. "I mean I remember the tutorial worker mentioning that the undead existed. Maybe this was an undead castle?"

  I slowly nodded. "I don't think they are undead or at least that this place wasn't originally for the undead. Maybe they were attacked by undead but this scene doesn't make sense. Either way, we should keep going."

  There were a few murmurs at that but the group wasn't ready to run away. Once again I expanded my Tao field. I kept the Eye of Heaven primed on everything just in case some ghosts were watching. We pushed forward and came across several more scenes. Only some of which involved us. We were forced to duck behind a half-broken statue when a trio of giants clashed with axes raised. For some reason, these spirits were stronger more "real" than the rest. I wasn't sure if that was due to how strong they were or if it was something else. I was starting to put together a theory about what was happening.

  "I think we are witnessing the battle. Like the spirits or images are people who fought here. It's like the memory of the battle is replaying itself for us."

  "If it's just a memory why can it hurt us?" Trey asked. "If it were to kill us would we actually die or would something happen?"

  "I doubt it. I think the battle happened but the echoes or memories are still able to affect things. The wounds from their battles are still breaking things. We should avoid the attacks the best we can."

  "I can't smell any of them." Xerxes replied. "It's like they aren't really there."

  When everyone was up for it we continued. We passed through an area with a solitary corpse when my treasure sense picked up. I scanned the body hoping to find a weapon or piece of armor but that wasn't it. The only important thing on the body was a ring on the giant's left hand. I was about to march over and take it off when I thought better of it. Instead, I reached out with psychokinesis and tried to gently remove it. The process was harder than I initially thought. It was like trying to use fine control over a muscle I just learned how to use.

  When I finally got the ring off I had to resist shouting in excitement. I pulled the ring, which was big enough to be a bracelet over. I bound it to myself and it shrunk. I was about to send my consciousness into the ring when Trey spoke up. His excitement was almost palpable.

  "Wait, wait, wait could we do this with the armor too? Could make the giant armor fit us?"

  "I don't think so. The ring is a spatial item for one and for two I think it would need to be of higher quality. Maybe if they were relics." I passed my gaze over the ring and what I saw made me gasp. Most of the ring had collapsed likely from the ages but what was still there was special. First, there was a small mountain of spirit stones, all of which were 2nd realm. Second, there was a skill stone. I pulled out the stone and sent a small stream of energy into it. It wasn't enough to learn the ability but it was enough to figure out what it was.

  As soon as I saw it I lost interest. It was a weapon skill meant for a short sword though it could work with a dagger. The skill would cause a ramping effect where each hit made you a bit faster. It wasn't anywhere near good for me but Aaliyah was a different story. I tossed it to her. "See if you can learn that."

  "Are you sure? Even if you don't want it you could sell it or something?"

  "It's fine I am going to keep the stones to help me level later so I am good. If it helps you get stronger then Amara gets a bit stronger. Which really means I get a bit stronger." I flashed her grin as she sat down in front of a half-collapsed wall. While she learned the spell I glanced over at the others. "When she is finished I want to head into the castle. I am a bit worried that the battlefield will get more dangerous."

  I wanted to sit down and start absorbing my stones but I couldn't focus. The passive danger had me on edge. Instead, I explored the area and tried to push together what happened here. From what I could tell it was the robed giants that had attacked. They advanced on the castle from the north where they were met by the knights. The broken pieces of statues told me that whoever lived here could control them or at least direct them.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  I had no idea why they were fighting. Neither the corpses nor the memories provided any hints for that. When Aaliyah finished with her skill we decided to continue. We got to the door without any more warriors appearing which was a stroke of fortune. I activated Apportation to take us inside the building since I wasn't sure if breaking the door down would be dangerous or not. The last thing we needed was to get attacked by the spirit of an ancient king because we were rude.

  The room we entered was more beautiful than the rest. It had a grand staircase with black and red carpet. The carpet was faded, though it was in much better shape than the other building. There was a heraldic symbol in the middle of the carpet. One was two crossed hammers with a spark of fire behind it. "I wonder if these people were a family of crafters. Could that be the reason they were killed?"

  "Why would they kill crafters?" Aaliyah asked.

  "Well they could have refused to build something or they could have tried to build something too dangerous." I decided not to mention that if it were the latter it was possible that whatever they tried to build could still be here. If it was I wanted it and if it wasn't then there was no point in getting everyone's hopes up. "Let's explore everything on this floor before we go up the stairs."

  Two halls lead off from this room. I picked the right and started walking. We walked for less than fifteen minutes before we found the jackpot. A room devoted to alchemy. There was even a faint medicinal smell in the air. It wasn't enough to make me hungry but it was enough to make me steal everything. "Collect everything." I rubbed both hands together as my mind filled with the image of a literal pill mill. One that produced every pill Amara could ever need.

  The others were clearly in agreement because we looted the place in less than five minutes. Cauldrons, pillcases, and everything else found their way into a ring or bag. Xerxes even found a few dried herbs that he wanted. I wasn't sure if beasts were better off with pills or the natural product so we stored them all. Desbera would likely be able to answer it. Only after we took everything that wasn't nailed down did we leave.

  There was a staircase that led down from here and after a short conversation we decided to follow it. If our hunch was correct we should be able to go down and then back over. We descended into an area that was more basement and catacombs than a fancy castle. It was made of bare grey stone and dark metals. There was even a hallway that led to cells. "You know the fact that this is a real dungeon or prison makes everything much more real."

  "Well the dead people did that for me," Aaliyah replied with a deadpan expression on her face. "These people were probably assholes. I don't think the dungeons will have anything for us. Maybe we should head back now? Or just leave. The last thing I want to deal with is the ghost or memory of a torturer."

  I cocked my head at her and then we picked up the pace. I used my soul sense to check each hall as we went through it. There was nothing of note down here. There were remains. Skeletons chained to walls, dried blood, and bits of clothes. I wasn't sure why but the dead here felt worse. I guess it was because the people who died outside died fighting but these people. These people likely suffered greatly. By the time we left this area, we all were relieved.

  Strangely enough, the next room was a forge. The difference was so stark I had to step back into the dungeon. "Who puts a dungeon next to a forge?"

  "It would make good body disposal especially since you do not eat your corpses." Xerxes' words caused me to stumble a step. I locked eyes with the Qilin and once again I was stunned by my companion.

  "What? Did he say something?" Trey asked. His attention returned to us from the wall he was examining.

  "No, no he did not. It is not important, we are just going to move on. Do you think you could get this place up and running? If you could reignite the forge maybe you could get something from it? Or maybe check the forge for a fire treasure?"

  The forge was closer to a giant furnace than anything you would have seen on Earth. There was a singular stone platform suspended over a massive pit. This platform held a giant workshop. Everything from old hammers to tongs and everything in between. Trey flew just above the pit and unleashed several balls of fire at something I couldn't see. The expected sight of an inferno that would turn this place into an oven didn't materialize. After nearly three minutes I would have accepted a dull orange glow. Neither happened. I couldn't help laughing at him as he returned to the ground.

  "Maybe your fire just isn't hot enough? What about any treasures inside?"

  Trey rolled his eyes and withdrew his wings into himself. "I didn't see anything down there. It was just empty. I also didn't feel anything so I don't think there's anything here."

  I expanded my soul sense to check and was about to agree when I saw something. There was a small array at the bottom of the pit. If I hadn't had the benefits of the eye then I probably would have failed to see it. "There is an array." I activated Apportation and stepped into space a few feet above the black pit. I half expected some trap to trigger when I arrived but nothing happened. A moment later Trey stepped out of the portal. "Is it down here?"

  I nodded and started removing the metal pieces with psychokinesis. It took me a few seconds to find what I was looking for. I expected to find another treasure devoted to the Tao of Fire or perhaps metal but that wasn't the case. It was a cube the size of my palm and gave a white transparent glow. "I think this is what would ordinarily power the forge? Maybe the fire would go in here and then you would trigger the cube?"

  I had more than enough experience with array breaking so this wasn't worth thinking about it. I formed a half dozen threads of energy and snapped the array. Once it was gone I collected the cube but before I could put it away my body lurched forward. I could vaguely hear Trey speaking to me but it was like he was a world away. Before I could process what was happening my focus was pulled to my heart or rather the mark that had been placed there. Strands of energy reached out from it and grabbed onto the cube. I tried to resist, to break the connection but it was like the mark was a starving beast that had finally found food.

  I unleashed a blast of psychic and spiritual energy into Trey with enough force to launch him over ten feet away. Power surged through me like lightning the world shifted and I dropped to my knees. My breath caught in my throat as my spiritual energy surged. It felt like I had received a shot of pure adrenaline into my heart and dantian. I was filled with boundless power. I lost control over my energy and my Tao field exploded outward. Golden lines spread and crawled across my skin like fire ants as I struggled with the pain. A primal force took over my body, it felt like every muscle, bone, and cell had become supercharged. It felt like the process took an eternity before it stopped. My energy slowly calmed down until I could control it again. My head and heart throbbed as the golden light faded into my body.

  "Amari!"

  The rest of the world returned in a wave of sound. I held up a hand and tried to tell everyone to stay back but my voice barely whispered. Suddenly hands were on my back and a moment later I was turned over. Trey, Aaliyah, and Xerxes stood over me. Each one had different expressions, Xerxes looked like he wanted to rip the world apart, Trey looked like he had seen a ghost and Aaliyah looked like she was staring at a dead man. I flashed them all a smile but I must've looked worse than I thought.

  "What did you do." Xerxes' words slammed into my mind with the force of a sledgehammer. "What hurt you."

  I groaned and forced myself into a seated position. I quickly withdrew my Tao field not wanting to cause any other problems. "I don't know. I don't know what happened. I think I absorbed whatever the cube was and the energy was too much?"

  I passed my mental eye over my body but there was nothing. The mark was still there and it felt a bit more potent but I couldn't be sure I wasn't imagining it. I pulled up my status screen hoping that the System would be kind enough to explain what happened. There was a change but it didn't explain anything. The cube had allowed me to gain a level. I spent my free points and closed the screen. "Let's rest here for a bit. I have a splitting headache and I don't trust myself in a fight. Not right now anyway." I started to activate Apportation when a pair of hands grabbed me around the shoulders. I looked up as Trey expanded his wings and yanked me into the air.