After seeing how alluring his concepts were to spirits during his review of his death, he was slightly hesitant to enter the lower levels of the Spirit Realm. While the upper ones were surely policed by the Shaman’s, he knew they couldn’t control all the wild space, and didn’t want to risk dragging armies of powerful spirits crashing against their gates; that being said, he didn’t have to bring all the spirits in the city.

  He was healed enough so, shaking off the smaller spirits around him, he stood up and walked towards the gate.

  * * *

  Standing off to the side but not joining the fight yet, Dei felt for the hidden instincts he knew were there, somewhere within [Cradle of Life] or, more specifically, [Command]. The Skill was more than just a random magic condition, it was a key to the Spirit Realm, and exactly as the name implied. It was administrator privileges, but using it irresponsibly would only draw ire from the Leviathans.

  In the current moment and with how he intended to use it though? It was a fine combination of creative, skillful, and respectful to the Leviathans’ morals.

  Breathing in, he tapped [Fluid Shape], transforming part of his upper soul to extend not outwards but… down, into the first layer of the Spirit Realm.

  He’d seen Gargeth do something close to this, so he knew it was possible. Partially entering the layers.

  His vision didn’t split, per se, but he was suddenly aware of a second space overlapping with his own, and surprised when he felt more than a hundred incredibly powerful presences nearby, mostly obscured by the storm of demon-kin. He didn’t know how he’d missed them before when he entered the Spirit Realm during his fight with Viper, but he could only guess that the demonic energies he’d been surrounded with at the time were even more effective when he was in the thick of it.

  Through the wall of bodies, he caught glimpses of monstrous forms tearing through… yet more demon-kin.

  ‘They’re attacking through the Spirit Realm too?’

  It felt obvious when pointed out. After all, why leave an entire front unmolested, but it simply made the situation so much worse. The Shaman’s weren’t fighting a horde of demon-kin, they were fighting four, one for Physical, three for the attached Realms.

  ‘I’m slacking off. I’m supposed to be strong from all the chances I’ve been given, but these Shamans are working harder with less resources, and longer hours.’

  “Not quite,” Perumah said, and he addressed her in his mind. “Those living staffs they have are doing a lot of heavy lifting, including partial possession when the Shaman needs to rest, and bearing the weight of soul-damage. I’d say we can ask about it later, but its clear Shamanic staffs are a marvel of technology and closely guarded secret, so they likely will not answer us.

  “If it makes you feel any better about the different fronts though, I’m beginning to interface with the local Dream; you’re correct in that there are demon-kin there as well, but I’m noticing that the ones in the Physical Realm are, hands down, the strongest. Still, I will send an opposing army to the Dream if you bring spirits in for the Spirit Realm.”

  He hummed his assent and pushed down to the second layer of the Spirit Realm, feeling the monstrous presences spread out further, gaining even less humanoid shapes. Dei now realized he was looking at the shape of the Shamanic staffs, the souls within releasing echoes in the same way that Lani and the other living armaments did, except Dei saw now that Aloran’s weren’t nearly as advanced. After all, every Shaman only got a single staff, why would someone who wasn’t a Gem Dweller, even if they were a close ally, receive four? Instead, Aloran received simpler- albeit still monstrously powerful- enchantments on his armaments.

  ‘Gem Dwellers were present during and before The Fall, and they’re very tradition oriented. Shamanic staffs aren’t random tech, they’re forgotten magitech, hyper-advanced for the current era.

  ‘Incredible. No wonder there’s a difference between regular Elite and Shamans, despite them functionally having the same Achievement. It’s not just that Shamans have permanently tied themselves to the civilization, it’s the staff.’

  Going down another layer, Dei saw the shapes blurred but expanded outwards once more, growing like trees as the laws of conventional physics relaxed the closer one drew to the pure Leviathan Realm.

  Dei felt it as well, utilizing the same weightlessness to push his transformation Racial ability to new heights, the roiling mass of flesh that appeared in each layer taking up more space than the last despite all of them technically overlapping.

  Despite entering the third layer, there were absolutely no spirits to be found, all likely killed by the twisting mass of demon-kin.

  Fourth, fifth, sixth layer, the demon-kin growing stronger, staffs more expansive as they covered ground and cast spells independent of their wielder, yet never quite fully fending off the demon-kin. As the laws relaxed, so too did the restrictions, both sides growing more chaotic.

  Beams of spirit flesh and molten crystals tore at friend and foe, lights flashed and skin vaporized, demon-kin were slain and dissipated to have their ashes scattered away in some places, while others had the staffs becoming gravely injured, drawing back into their physical vessels to heal somewhat.

  The seventh and eight layers only exacerbated the issue, even Dei feeling the prickling bite of mana at the edges of his soul, deafening booms echoing from all directions, every battle too chaotic to predict, the only thing keeping demon-kin from raiding the echo of the Gem-Dweller city hidden enchantments in the stone of the Physical world that needed to be damaged there first before cracks could form in this place below.

  He entered the ninth layer.

  Silence.

  Four presences so monstrous Dei knew he would stand no chance against them, each with a soul signature as black as tar. For a split second, he thought they were demon-kin and immediately fled to the eighth layer, deeming his entire endeavor hopeless, but when he reviewed his memory, he felt the unmistakable signature of a Shamanic staff, though none that he’d seen before.

  Hesitantly, he extended a singular eye to look around carefully, to see what he was dealing with instead of relying on the surface-level assessment Presence gave.

  The scope was not attacked the moment it appeared, so he let an eyestalk form in the air of the Spirit Realm as it snaked around, looking at the open space.

  Four pale naked humanoid shapes hovered unmovingly, three men and a woman, all of them staring at Dei yet not attacking.

  Their eyes and mouths were stitched shut in an unnerving display, their figures were emaciated to the point he could see the bones beneath, and the little hair each had was splotchy and thin. Worst of all, though, was a perfect vertical cut, right down the center of their bodies, that was held together only by the same stitches that covered their eyes and mouths.

  The staredown lasted for several seconds, Dei thinking that perhaps he was wrong and these were demon-kin, until one actually appeared.

  Off to the side, he saw a monstrous gray plant spirit appear- and promptly be vaporized by waves emanating from all three, none of them having so much as glanced at it.

  “What are you?” Dei finally asked.

  “Hollow,” an androgynous voice resounded off of all four.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Dei’s eyes widened in recognition, ‘Hollow staffs. These are the remnants of the failed Shamans that were strong enough to become hollow staffs

  “Are you a threat to me?”

  “For as long as you are in service of the Gem Dwellers, no,” they synchronized once more.

  “I hold the Command Skill and am going to ferry an army of spirits under my control upwards to assist in the battle, will you stop me?”

  “Will they be perfectly under your control?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then no, do as you please.”

  Still, they did not look away. They unnerved him, but he assumed it was so they could attack him if he did pose some sort of threat.

  He noted their placement at the ninth level and their strength, not believing it to be a coincidence. Cistasaria, his “Linked” Leviathan, only ever appeared to him past the tenth layer. If he had to assume, any God-tier beings that tried to enter the ninth would have the layer collapse on them or somehow otherwise be hindered.

  The hollow staffs absolutely had something unique about them, but Dei didn’t want to push his luck by Identifying them.

  Expecting a wall of divine demon-kin at the tenth layer, Dei sighed in relief when he entered it and found everything to be… normal. The spirits were stronger than he’d seen at the tenth outside of quarantine, but that was only to be expected considering everything else in the world. There were spirit-based plants everywhere, giving him the impression that he’d suddenly entered a forest rather than a battlefield. Fish swam to and fro, more than a few glancing at him.

  The ecosystem here was flourishing.

  They didn’t even know there was a war going on above their heads. The barrier of the Gem Dweller capital didn’t extend this far down either, meaning the space was untouched by humans. He almost felt bad for what he was about to do, but he absolutely was not going to force any of them into conscription, and those that chose to advance would be thoroughly compensated.

  He stabilized his body in the tenth layer and prepared for what came next; without even trying, he could already see various signatures inching closer to his location, not quite able to pinpoint where his scent was coming from but knowing it was in the area. Those that’d actually seen him so far were not brave enough to approach, as they were some of the weakest, but he could tell they were hanging around to see if he would perhaps make a mistake or leave something behind.

  Ignoring them for a moment, he tapped into [Soul Echo] to release a powerful pulse. [Command] active, he chose not to demand they fight, but to imbue a request into anything that could detect his search, which was everything considering how loud he made it.

  He offered to let them feed on his Soul Strength, which was a valuable renewable resource on its own, and in exchange, they would fight the demon-kin. Those that did and succeeded would be granted the right to delve even deeper into the more permanent aspects of his soul, being fed actual memories from him that would serve as a terrifyingly high-tier upgrade.

  In the description, he made absolutely sure to tell them what they were getting into, to know that the likelihood of their death was very high.

  With [Soul Echo] now being (Greater) with his transformation into a Reaper, he had a much finer control over it. Despite sending it further than he could read it, by hundreds of miles, he hadn’t turned the spirits closest to him into fleshy soup, merely disorienting them for a moment.

  He could only discern the shapes of those spirits closest to him, but from what he could see they were… hesitant. They felt the power he carried, knew that even his Soul Strength, without any of his memories, was a valuable resource, but were not ready to face the risks the demon-kin presented.

  A few moved closer, but his attention was already to the next layer- the eleventh, where he sent out yet another pulse, getting slightly better reactions.

  This repeated until the fifteenth, when he started getting acceptances from the first layer he’d sent out, small, weak contracts forming as several spirits hovered about his body, unsure as to where to go.

  They were too weak to maintain themselves in the Physical Realm for any meaningful length of time, so he instead sent those of layer ten to the layer one, where some of the weakest demon-kin were.

  The hollow staffs watched as the spirits swam through his body, and he felt a few scanning abilities ensure they were actually under his control. While Command didn’t give them a real contract, it was like they knew lying to him or going against his wishes when he invoked his power like this would be utterly taboo. He could see it in each of the spirits, they didn’t even think of going back on their words.

  During the travel upwards, they were provided exactly what he promised, access to his Soul Strength. Dei continued to Meditate and produce Soul, but it was rather unnecessary when most spirits couldn’t even handle a single point, even being close to his energies enough to induce drastic changes.

  They didn’t have to fight his body to siphon these either, as the tunnel he created through the layers was inside his skin, a tube of flesh and ectoplasm.

  Most of the spirits didn’t even have a way to travel the layers. As he searched them, he saw it was a surprisingly uncommon ability, and assumed only those that outgrew their location would form such a thing; that is to say, the apex predators.

  He sensed confusion and curiosity at the novel experience of shifting layers, which fled for most of them when they arrived at the chosen battlefield.

  The first spirits were hesitant to fight- which was okay. He didn’t expect them to simply jump in without reinforcements, so he didn’t pull on his [Command] to force them into anything.

  They hovered around the gateway that was his mass of eyes and flesh, feeding on the small gouts of Soul Strength he released while he waited for more to answer his call. He wanted to consolidate an army before sending them forward, otherwise it would be nothing but a meat-grinder

  He was fascinated at how quickly he watched them level up from simply being near him. Clever had told him before that monsters could grow from some of the most mundane tasks, or by pushing themselves and consuming valuable resources- he’d done something similar, though he gained a Title and Skill instead of levels.

  Those that hit the evolutionary threshold while in his vicinity even earned rare-sounding names, such as “Flesh-Warper Manaintil” or “Abyssal Yatec.”

  In one particularly noteworthy case, he saw a “Satanic Melder of Fury,” and wasn’t sure whether it was an actual adjective or something based on his “Champion’s Devil” title.

  When those of the twelfth layer started to respond, he sent them to the first layer as well. While it was true they might be able to handle the second, he wanted to conquer one battlefield completely before moving on to the next one, and if he managed to utterly dominate the first layer, none of the demon-kin spirits or unions would be able to interfere with the fight above at all.

  The hole he punched through the layers with his flesh was also having some kind of adverse affect, the pressure difference in ambient spirit mana between layers starting to equalize- Dei was draining the lower layers, fountaining them upwards. While this wasn’t the greatest for the lower layers, it was amazing for the upper ones, the ambient mana taking on some of his concepts as they passed through his entrances.

  When they hit the Physical Realm, Dei fully brought his will to bear, capping it so the energy was not allowed to go any higher- considering there weren’t any spirits there, it would only be a waste.

  The first layer quickly became more hospitable, and the spirits stabilized. Still, they were uncomfortable and somewhat rearing to complete their objective and flee back to their home layers, only his Command keeping the more antsy ones from tearing at any who bumped into them.

  While they were here, they were only allowed to attack demon-kin, but even the bravest weren’t quite there yet.

  Next notable acceptance of his command came not from the thirteenth layer, but a jump straight to the fifteenth, as what was clearly an apex predator growled its agreement to fight. He requested an Identify from it, and it effectively shrugged.

  [Moonborn Berserker Krit - Level 416]

  A massive floating bruiser with a millipede swarm of legs as its lower half in the shape of a skirt, its massive claws and armored body gave it a crab-like appearance.

  It appeared amongst the swarm of terrified spirits and ignored them. Letting out a roar, it charged towards the demon-kin without hesitation; there was a lull in the spirits as they watched it go.

  It wasn’t the strongest being he’d seen, but it was enough- the straw that broke the camels back.

  The tension broke, and thousands of spirits joined the fight, with uncountably more on the way.

  He may have been naive to think jumping straight into every battle would be the best he could do. He was a beast-tamer Slaughterer, though more beast than tamer, he did still have sway over animals.

  His flesh was made to be the perfect bribery for spirits, and he felt duty-bound to utilize every tool at his disposal.