Chapter 318 Stake of Souls
After successfully gaining some trust from my grandfather, the hardest part of my plan was finally complete. All I needed to do was solidify his trust until he finally passed on the family head title.
I didn't know how long it would take, but my goal was to be finished in a year at most. There is no telling when The Pope may act again, making it feel like holding a bomb that could go off at any moment.
I also can't forget the ordeal with Freja. Even now we still don't know why she was working with The Pope to seal Shaman's parents. There were a lot of moving parts, making me wonder how Shaman isn't overwhelmed by all this pressure.
She is being pushed into the hero role because of her unique abilities, but will it even be enough? We are all trying to get to Tier 10 as quickly as we can, but surely there are others who are better positioned to handle this matter.
'This isn't a problem I should be thinking about now. I'm sure we are not the only ones who will be fighting. Aside from the Demon lands there is also Elfheim, which has some strong fighters of its own who will likely follow Elanor into battle.
'For now, I'll just focus on getting stronger and avenging my parents. I'm sure everything will be fine… I hope.' While immersed in my own thoughts, I was sitting in Teivel's office, waiting for him to return. He said there were a few books I will need to read, as well as some tools I should get familiar with.
I didn't know what tools could be all that useful, but perhaps they are needed for some kind of initiation process.
Speaking of Teivel, a fireball suddenly conjured up in the middle of the room right in front of me. Out of the fire came not just my grandfather, but stacks of books manifested as well, stacked so tall that they just about reached my height. It was daunting to look at, as I couldn't imagine reading all this without the system.
It would take me weeks just to get through them and probably months to fully understand them.
"Read those at your own pace, but I highly recommend you get started quickly as some of these contain spells that will be extremely useful for you." At the mention of spells, I instantly thought of the teleportation fire that he has been using this entire time. It would make things so much easier if I was able to just relocate in an instant.
"Now, before we move on to training you, first I need to register you as a proper family member." Walking over to his desk, he took a seat and waved his hand over the desk, revealing a few items.
They consisted of a stake and a stone tablet, which had a bunch of engravings on it. I was a bit sceptical of the stake, as I'm pretty sure it's meant to be used to kill vampires.
"And what does that entail?" The last thing I wanted was to enter some kind of blood contract and never be able to leave this place. I wouldn't put it past Teivel to use some kind of method to keep me here forever.
"First, I will need to take some of your blood and, using this stake, I will engrave your name on the tablet. This is more of a tradition, but with that you will be officially recognised as the heir of the Dahlia family." Having heard the process, I couldn't help but feel there was something off about that tablet.
'System, inspect that tablet.' I wanted to be sure that it was just a tablet and not some kind of artifact.
[Tablet of inheritance]
[There is nothing special about the tablet itself. However, it has been inscribed by magic to bind souls.]
I quickly skimmed the system message and turned my focus to the stake, which appeared to be made of simple wood at first glance.
[Stake of souls]
[Origin unknown. An item that uses blood in order to bind souls together. Affects only those of the same bloodline. Anyone who is added will end up absorbing all the memories of the previously bound souls. However, if the original user's blood is drawn again, it will release all the souls within the stake.]
[Disclaimer: Those bound would still be under these effects no matter what happens to the item and regardless of whether the souls are released.]
'Oh no.' Not only had my fears materialised, but it also clarified the source of Teivel's deeply held beliefs. His entire persona originated from the accumulation of memories from all past family members into one person.
'If I let him take my blood, I will just become him and everything will go to waste.' I didn't want to get too close, but I also knew that Teivel would kill me if I did not follow through.
"I assure you there are no tricks. Now give me your hand." Teivel stared at me, waiting for me to offer my hand.
'Hang on, who is the original owner?' It occurred to me that Alice either created or discovered this stake. I bet she made us inherit our ancestor's memories as a way to allow her beloved to live on forever.
'If that's the case, aren't I technically the owner now? I've inherited her will and abilities so that only leaves an issue of whether it will recognize her through my blood. It would be a gamble to follow through, but if it recognises me as the original owner, then the effects will be void.'
"Can I look at the tablet first? I want to see the names." In case something went wrong, I needed to message Shaman, so I needed to buy myself some time. Her mentor is an expert in souls, so in the worst-case scenario, she comes and saves me.
"Go ahead." Teivel narrowed his eyes, suspicious of my actions, but also accepting that my request wasn't unreasonable.
Picking it up from his desk, I instantly opened up my system window and quickly wrote a message to the group chat.
[Guys, I am about to take a gamble, which may result in my soul being corrupted. Still, as long as things work out as they should I'll be fine… probably. If I do not act like my usual self, assume the worst has happened. Love you all and pray for me.]
With my assurance set in place, I returned the tablet and held out my hand to Teivel.
"I'm ready." This was such a stupid idea, but I'm willing to do anything for this revenge plan to work.
"Let's begin then." A wide smile appeared on Teivel's face as he gripped the stake in his hand. There was no doubt that he knew the effects of the stake and surely he felt like he had just won.
He took hold of my hand and gave me a light stab wound, leaving a tiny pool of blood in my palm. Once the stake was completely covered with my blood he withdrew and started writing my name on the tablet.
I saw as he wrote each letter, each one glowing a faint red, as though magic were at work.
[Warning! An entity is trying to invade the user's mind!]
I was surprised to see that the system was reacting and appeared to be actively defending me. The system was already up in arms and that's before my name was even fully engraved. Would it be able to resist the artefact once its magic was in full effect?.
[Warning! An entity is trying to invade the user's mind! Do you wish to let the entity enter your mind?]
Teivel had finally finished writing down my name and it began to sink into the tablet. Along with it, the system asked me if I wanted to allow this entity to enter my consciousness. The obvious answer was no, but it still intrigued me how the system implied it could prevent the stake's effect in its entirety.
Though I knew the system was beyond reality, I mistakenly believed it to be merely a simple application, incapable of reacting to complex situations, especially since Rea was no longer keeping an eye on us. It also made me think of the time back in Ebonscale when the skeleton knight mentally attacked Shaman.
'No.' I turned down the request and saw Teivel staring at me as though he was waiting for something to happen. It seemed to shock him that my name was now on the tablet and nothing was happening.
Suddenly, the tablet cracked down in the middle, splitting almost in half. A bunch of light green orbs were released as it finally crumbled into pieces after a few more cracks appeared. These, I suppose, were the entities that attempted to enter my consciousness, freed from their servitude now that the tablet was broken.
"WHAT!? HOW!?" Teivel got to his feet, confused and furious, but then something clicked.
"Who are you?" I had no idea what conclusion he had reached, but since being acknowledged as the original owner was one of the requirements to free the souls, I might be able to take advantage of that.
"I am your dear granddaughter, Elysia. Who else would I be?" I intended to rile him up to see what kind of desperate face he would make, so I spoke in such a nonchalant way that there was no way in hell he'd believe me.
"No! Tell me who you really are, Elysia!?" Teivel pushed his desk so hard it crumbled to pieces and proceeded to tower over me, trying to scare me into giving an answer.
*Sigh* "Should you be treating a queen so rudely?" Knowing that I have Alice's power, I pushed mana through my body cloaking myself in a thick red aura. My pupils resembled that of a cat, and my eyes shone a bright red light.
"N-No, this can't be… Alice?"
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