Chapter 129: Soul Path Ritual [1]
It was only the next day that Ronan decided to use the materials Freya had given him.
After classes, sparring with the Princess, and then training with Aura, he finally went back to his dorm. But this time, he had Aura come with him as a black cat perched on his shoulder. When they reached the room, Aura jumped down, transforming mid-air and landing in her usual demon form, horns and all. She crossed her arms, frowning.
"What do you want?"
Ronan set the storage pouch on his desk. "What pathway are you on?"
Aura’s frown deepened. "Why?"
"Answer the question."
She sighed. "Nature pathway. Why?"
Ronan nodded. He already knew, but he wanted to hear the details. "Tell me about it."
Aura hesitated, clearly unsure where this was going, but eventually relented. "The nature pathway is common among demons. Humans use it too." She paused, watching him. "The ritual recipe is four ingredients: seven hundred grams of greenheart moss, four hundred milliliters of springwell sap, one living seed from a mana-bearing tree, and five milliliters of the caster’s blood."
Ronan smiled faintly. He had not known that detail. "Four ingredients?"
"Yes." Aura’s voice carried a hint of pride. "My family’s method. It’s a powerful pathway. Not easy to use properly."
Ronan considered that. The Flame Pathway typically used three ingredients: a fire-aligned mana crystal, emberstone powder, and sunroot oil. There were variations, but most were public knowledge. The Ashbourne family recipe, however, was a guarded secret. It used four ingredients – fire-aligned mana crystal, emberstone powder, salamander scale ash, and volcanic glass dust – and yielded a far stronger connection to innate flame magic than the standard recipe.
More ingredients did not necessarily mean immediate power, but they created a deeper, more natural connection to the element.
Ronan turned back to Aura.
"What do you know about the soul path?" As he spoke, he began removing the ingredients from the pouch.
Aura watched him, her expression shifting from confusion to wariness as she failed to recognize what he was trying to head towards.
"The soul path is weak," she said slowly. "It is very hard to cultivate. From what I know, it’s forbidden among humans, but not taboo among demons." She paused. "Even so, no demons really use it. It’s too difficult to advance in the early stages, and the benefits don’t show until much later, so many people think it to be a waste of time and recourses."
Ronan listened, spreading the materials across his desk.
"There are powerful soul users, though," Aura continued. "Like Mesmer the Soul Hopper."
She cringed when she said his name.
Ronan hummed in acknowledgment. "How many ingredients does the ritual usually require, and what are they?"
Aura hesitated. "Three. Soul sand, ember tree bark, and holy water."
Ronan smiled. "You’re knowledgeable."
A flicker of pride crossed her face before she hid it, straightening slightly. "Of course."
Then she frowned again. "But the way you said that suggests you already know. Wait. Are you planning to do the ritual?"
Ronan did not answer immediately.
"You can’t," Aura said. "Soul sand isn’t found on the human continent. It’s impossible to get here."
"No," Ronan said calmly. "And even if I had soul sand, I wouldn’t use that recipe."
Aura’s eyes narrowed. "Why not?"
"Because three ingredients for the soul path isn’t good enough."
Aura stared at him. "What are you talking about? There’s only a three-ingredient recipe for the soul path."
Ronan shook his head. "Do you really think Mesmer became that powerful using a three-ingredient recipe?"
Aura froze.
It was then that she noticed what Ronan was drawing on the floor.
A pathway ritual circle.
A star with multiple rings surrounding it. Each ring represented one ingredient. Three rings meant a three-ingredient recipe.
The one Ronan was drawing had five rings.
Aura’s voice turned sharp. "There’s no such thing as a five-ingredient recipe."
Ronan paused, glancing up at her. "You’re wrong."
She stared.
"There are four known pathways that have five-ingredient recipes," Ronan continued. "The soul pathway is one of them."
Aura looked wary now, stepping closer to the circle but keeping her distance.
Ronan brought out the ingredients Freya had given him. He placed the ashen mothscale powder on the outer ring, the gravebell wildflower on the next, and the red myrrh extract in the ring after that.
Then Ronan took out a knife and cut into his palm, dripping blood into the second-to-last ring. Finally, he turned to Aura and held out the knife.
"The final ingredient," he said, "is the blood of a noble demon."
Aura’s breath caught. She stared at the knife, then at the circle. "Isn’t the blood of the caster supposed to go in the innermost circle when it’s involved?"
"You’re right," Ronan said. "But not in this case."
He did not elaborate.
Aura shook her head slowly. "This isn’t going to work."
Even as she said it, she took the knife and cut into her palm. Blood spilled from her flesh, red as crimson, and she hesitated only a moment before stepping forward. Ronan watched her carefully position herself over the innermost circle, holding her palm upwards.
"Don’t drip your blood into the other circles," Ronan said. "Or we’ll have to restart."
Aura nodded absently, turning her palm and letting the blood fall. It settled into the center, spreading through the carved lines and pooling in the innermost circle.
Ronan glanced back at her.
"Take ten paces back."
She was already moving before he finished speaking, suspicious eyes fixed on the circle. She clearly wanted to ask questions, but realized now was not the time. And from the looks of hit, half her suspicion also came from doubt. Doubt that this ritual would even work.
Ronan turned back to the ritual. He closed his eyes, placed both thumbs into the innermost circle, and began channeling mana.
He remembered the instructions from the novel. A character named Bruce had a POV Chapter where Mesmer showed him the five ingredient recipe and put him on the advanced soul path as he called it.
Ronan still remembered every step from the novel. Every ingredient, every action – the novel had detailed it well.
And while he hadn’t always planned to do something so dangerous as walk the advanced soul path in the human realm, he had no choice now. Thinking this, saving Aura may have been the most important decision he’d made since coming to this world.
Warmth washed over him, the same sensation Bruce had described.
Then came the stab towards his heart. It pierced his flesh... but not actually, it just felt like it did.
In reality, it pierced his soul.
Ronan gasped.
Behind him, Aura shouted something, but his vision was already turning dark.
Even as Ronan’s consciousness slipped away, a small smile crossed his face.
The ritual was working.
Now he just had to finish the procedure.
