Ancient Empire Calendar Year 1819
Ricardo was looking at the Congbrum Mountain Range, a series of hundreds of mountains lined up one after another, with a breathtaking landscape half-covered in snow.
"Is this the place?" he asked.
Ricardo's Shadow Spirit, Giskar, answered confidently.
"Yes, Master. After months of research, this area perfectly matches your descriptions."
As Ricardo watched the landscape, he became lost in thought.
"The cliff leading to the Realm of Spirits from the book I read months ago must be somewhere around here."
Ricardo turned to Giskar.
"Let's hope we haven't wasted all this time on a futile task."
Giskar was a mix of excitement and worry. Ricardo noticed this and asked curiously.
"What's wrong, Giskar?"
Giskar panicked.
"Nothing. It's just... are you sure about this? I mean, the King of Spirits... even we have never seen him."
Ricardo didn't understand this.
"The King of Spirits is real? On the other hand, how have you never seen your King?"
"To give an example, Master, how many people from the Western lands have been able to see Orsman?"
"Hmm, logical. Hey, isn't this the place where the Congbrum War took place?"
Ricardo and his Spirits had arrived at the site of the Congbrum War, which happened 6 years ago.
"Years ago, a bloody battle took place in such a beautiful terrain. Isn't it hard to believe?"
Giskar flew around for a short while.
"Yes, it really is."
"Hey, Giskar, this is quite a steep cliff too."
"I don't think this is the place, Master. Although some of the bloody aura left behind by those who died in the war remains, it's not as much as indicated in the book."
"You're right, Giskar. Let's go."
Two weeks later.
Ricardo was poking the fire with a stick, in an irritable mood.
"For two weeks, we've literally circled the entire Congbrum Mountain Range."
Ricardo threw the stick into the fire angrily.
"THERE'S NOTHING! IT WAS A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME!"
Ricardo sat on the ground, put his hand on his forehead, took a deep breath, and frowned.
"Whatever, looking on the bright side, it was a fun journey."
Giskar came to Ricardo's side excitedly.
"Master, we found a place. Come with us."
Ricardo's mood improved.
"Hahah, finally."
Ricardo jumped up excitedly and, guided by the Spirits, went to the place mentioned in the book.
"It really is a very steep cliff. Giskar, go to the bottom of the cliff and find out how deep it is."
Giskar hesitated to go.
"What's wrong, Giskar?"
"Master, I can't go down there."
Ricardo noticed that his other spirits were also hesitant to go.
"What's wrong with you all? What exactly is at the bottom of this cliff?"
"Master, use your Light power. Then you will feel it."
Ricardo channeled his Light power into his senses. His eyes widened; a tremendous Bloody Aura was spreading.
"No wonder the spirits hesitate to go down," he thought.
Ricardo withdrew the Light power from his senses, thus freeing himself from the pressure of the Blood Aura.
"You wait here. I will go down to the bottom of the cliff."
The spirits looked at Ricardo in astonishment.
"Master, don't be absurd. It's not worth it for a legend."
Ricardo raised his hand.
"Even if the legend isn't real, I need to find out what's at the bottom of this place."
Ricardo jumped towards the cliff.
"MASTER!"
The screams of the spirits echoed along the cliff. Ricardo glided for minutes in a seemingly endless, bottomless chasm.
"When will this cliff end?"
After a while, Ricardo saw the bottom of the cliff. Using a wind spell, he slowed his descent and carefully landed on the ground.
The Blood Aura rushed into Ricardo's body.
"Khhh!"
Ricardo resisted kneeling.
He enveloped his body with Light power, forming a thick, thin bluish-white armor.
This armor protected Ricardo from the dominance of the Blood Aura.
"Haa haa haa, I can finally breathe a little."
After taking a few steps, something caught his attention. He knelt and placed his hand on the ground.
"Ha HAAAAA!"
Ricardo couldn't believe his eyes. He looked around with an expression full of astonishment.
"IMPOSSIBLE! EVERYWHERE IS BLOOD STONE!"
Ricardo created a pickaxe with his aura and forcibly pried a blood stone from the ground. After examining it for a while, he placed his hand on the ground again and channeled his Light power into the ground.
"No way! A Blood Stone mine this large doesn't even exist in the Western Lands."
Crazy ideas came to Ricardo's mind.
"If we establish a mine here, we could equip many Legions with full gear."
Ricardo, as if he had forgotten why he came here, became lost in thought, and a detail caught his attention.
"Wait a minute, I can stand with my Light power... Dammit! Since my father and I can't mine all the mines ourselves, establishing a mine here is impossible."
Giving up on the mine idea, Ricardo remembered why he had come here.
"Right, how could I forget?"
Ricardo marked the area with his Light power and started walking. He walked for hours without stopping, defending himself against the pressure of the Blood Aura with his Light power.
"How big is this place? How much further do I need to go? Everywhere is full of Blood Stones and Blood Aura. My Light power isn't limitless. Eventually, I'll have to leave. Was all this for nothing?"
Just as Ricardo was about to turn back, a dark, round gate appeared behind him. Dark arms grabbed his shoulders, waist, and legs, forcibly pulling him towards the gate.
"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!"
As Ricardo passed through the gate, he fell into a massive chasm.
"FUCK, AGAIN? DAMN IT!"