The two of them continued downward along the sloping path.
Just as Lucian had predicted, the ramp gradually spiraled outward, eventually pressing up against the inner wall of the towering structure.
From that point onward, the path clung to the wall on one side, offering at least a faint sense of security.
After their earlier encounter with an enemy, Lucian now walked in front, wary of anything suddenly emerging within their limited field of vision.
His left hand trailed lightly along the stone wall, while his right hand held Aesthra's.
For the time being, nothing unusual occurred. They simply kept their heads down and pressed onward at a steady pace.
They descended for a long, long time.
Yet the path seemed endless.
Even Lucian began to feel a growing sense of urgency.
Darkness is one of humanity's deepest and most primal fears.
Now, with his strength unable to be fully exerted, if they truly became trapped within this abyss—could he really bring Aesthra out unharmed?
Relying on the advantages he had gained over time, Lucian had only felt true scarcity and weakness in the early days, when resources were few and his power limited.
Now, though the Humanity in his possession was not insignificant, it was far from abundant. Worse, his abilities had almost no room to function here.
For the first time in a long while, he felt that old tension creeping back.
Lucian let out a silent sigh.
He needed to find a method of dealing direct damage to souls as soon as possible. Otherwise, he would have no choice but to become a spirit-summoning trainer, relying entirely on Spirit Ashes for combat.
Though he possessed several powerful ashes, the Spirit Calling Bell could summon at most two or three distinct spirits at once.
The stronger summoning tools he had once hoped to acquire had never been found. For now, he had no choice but to continue using the bell.
If he had a truly powerful summoning relic, he could unleash something akin to an undead scourge.
After a while, Aesthra took the initiative to speak.
The prolonged immersion in darkness was clearly weighing heavily on her mind.
Once they began talking, the road no longer felt quite so oppressive.
Some time later, Lucian recalled what Aesthra had previously mentioned—the method of resolving the ritual.
Destroy the spirit mausoleums. Sever the connection between the Spirit World and the Lands Between.
He turned to her.
"If the connection between the Spirit World and the Lands Between is cut… what happens?"
Aesthra thought for a moment before replying.
"Even if you ask me… I'm not entirely certain. That method is only my speculation."
"If I had to guess, the corresponding region of the Spirit World would probably collapse and be completely destroyed."
"As for the souls within it, whether they would shatter entirely or drift to another region, I don't know."
Lucian fell silent.
He recalled his brief earlier experience within this realm.
He remembered the mud-like creatures, their movements.
Though they had harmed him upon contact, before Asimi shattered the skull, those sludge-like beings had shown no overt hostility. If anything, they had seemed… curious.
The Spirit World might be distorted, but these souls had once been living beings.
They still appeared to retain awareness.
Moreover, Lucian knew far too little about this realm. He had not yet interacted with other forms of spirit-life.
To classify them all as enemies now felt rash.
His enemies were the followers of Godwyn the Golden, not the entire Spirit World constructed under the influence of the Deathbirds.
"Aesthra, before this… have you encountered Spirit World beings that showed no hostility?"
A look of sorrow passed over her face.
"Such beings do exist here. That much is certain."
"But regardless of their origin, they've all been twisted by suffering; distorted into grotesque forms."
"Those warped, agonized souls are not natural. This Spirit World is not natural."
"Lucian… instead of worrying about harming the innocent, perhaps it's better to grant them release sooner rather than later."
Lucian pondered her words in silence, unable to reach a conclusion for now.
He would wait until they encountered another non-hostile soul.
Some time later, Lucian heard a faint sound from above.
He signaled for Aesthra to increase the light.
They both looked up.
Above them, a thin, elongated figure stood upside down upon the staircase overhead, its head tilted back as it stared at them from the underside of the steps.
Its form resembled a true shadow—pitch-black and indistinct, comparable to the Cemetery Shades found in the Lands Between.
Yet this creature was clearly not one of them.
Its body was riddled with protrusions, horns or bones piercing through its flesh. Its frame was twisted, like a corpse whose bones had been violently contorted and forced through skin.
The moment it saw the light, it reacted.
With a meaningless hiss, it leapt downward in an attack posture, hurtling toward them.
It looked like little more than a minor enemy.
Lucian chose not to summon Asimi. Instead, he decided to let another Spirit Ash take the field, to test its strength and gain some combat practice.
He immediately rang the Spirit Calling Bell and summoned the spirit of Banished Knight Oleg.
Oleg materialized before Lucian and Aesthra, his towering figure exuding reassurance.
The shadow-creature was already nearly upon them.
Yet Oleg remained composed.
Unhurriedly, he drew two greatswords from his waist in a crossing motion.
As the blades cleared their sheaths, he executed a crossing downward slash, cleaving the shadow creature in two.
He followed with a powerful kick, sending it flying backward.
Planting his feet and twisting his waist, Oleg summoned a violent storm.
In the next instant, he surged forward in a tempestuous charge, closing the distance in a blink. His twin blades whirled as he unleashed a barrage of midair slashes upon the airborne creature.
Under the relentless assault, the monster's shadowy body began to collapse.
With a final explosive burst of wind tearing through its wounds, the creature crashed to the ground and gradually dissipated into the air.
After dispatching the enemy, Oleg calmly sheathed his swords.
He bowed toward Lucian before returning to his ashes.
Watching Oleg eliminate the foe with such fluid mastery of storm techniques, Lucian felt helpless.
Discrimination. The Spirit World was blatantly discriminating against him.
The techniques he performed with his physical body could not harm souls at all.
Yet the magic and skills used by Spirit Ashes worked normally against these enemies.
He possessed strength, but his attacks had no interaction with these spectral beings. Only direct collisions between souls caused damage.
After collecting the Humanity drifting from the monster's remains, Lucian looked thoughtfully at where it had vanished.
Earlier, the creature had stood inverted upon the staircase, yet after leaping down, it had landed upright on the underside of the same stair surface as them.
Was that its innate ability?
Or was the structure of this place inherently inverted?
Lucian handed all the Humanity to Aesthra.
This time, the amount was small, apparently tied to the creature's relatively weak strength.
Still, as long as no one required healing, it was pure profit.
They continued onward.
Along the way, they encountered several more of these twisted shadow-creatures. Each differed slightly in appearance, but none were particularly powerful.
Oleg alone was more than sufficient.
Since there was almost no expenditure or injury, they gradually accumulated a modest reserve of Humanity.
Aesthra once again suggested fully healing Lucian's soul.
Even if they restored him completely now, they would still retain a considerable amount.
And given how many enemies they had encountered so far, they would likely replenish supplies as they progressed.
Lucian examined his condition.
His existing injuries had worsened slightly from sustained minor damage—but overall, it was manageable.
"No. Let's wait until we've gathered more," he said.
"We still don't have enough Humanity."
Fortunately, only Lucian—possessing a physical body, suffered continuous spiritual erosion.
Aesthra did not.
She only needed occasional Humanity to relieve mental interference. Their team's healing demands were not excessive.
But this time, Aesthra did not yield.
"No. Your soul must be fully restored."
"I know you think you can endure it."
"But don't forget, staying here too long affects the mind."
"And when your soul is already wounded, that influence intensifies."
"Even if it doesn't drive you to madness, it may cause subtle judgment errors. You won't notice such gradual changes yourself."
"Only if you remain in peak condition do we stand a chance of conquering the Black Steeple of the Helphen."
Lucian could not argue against her reasoning.
Reluctantly, he allowed her to consume another portion of Humanity to fully heal him.
As for the Spirit Ashes, there was no urgent need to restore them.
They would wait until they exited, and if surplus Humanity remained, they would treat them then.
Earlier, during their conversation, Aesthra had also mentioned the strengthening of Spirit Ashes.
In the Lands Between, enhancing ashes through Grave or Ghost Glovewort merely deepened the bond between summoner and spirit, allowing them to manifest their full original strength.
But here, within the Spirit World, dark souls could be used to directly raise their upper limits, potentially even surpassing the power they possessed in life.
Aesthra's family appeared to be one of spirit tuners. She was well-versed in matters concerning souls.
After consuming the burning Humanity, Lucian felt a wave of clarity wash over him.
His thoughts sharpened. The subtle pressure and creeping mental interference from the darkness vanished instantly.
It seemed regular purification was indeed necessary.
After descending further, the path ahead abruptly ended.
Before them lay nothing but endless darkness.
Even with Aesthra's light, the far side of the break remained invisible.
She increased the intensity of the burning Humanity once more, flooding the surroundings with brilliance.
What they saw stunned her.
The spiral staircase, once hugging the tower's interior, had completely shattered ahead.
In the empty gap where the path should have been, only a few narrow fragments of steps clung precariously to the wall.
Below them, the next lower tier of stairs had also vanished, replaced by abyssal darkness.
Even when Aesthra burned Humanity to its limit, she could only illuminate twenty or thirty meters downward.
The layers below were similarly broken.
Anything further lay beyond the reach of light.
With no complete pathway visible, jumping directly down was impossible.
If there was no structure beneath, they would fall into the abyss—into an unknown fate.
Aesthra stared at the void, her face pale.
She turned and forced a smile.
"It seems… there's no path."
"It looks like this Helphen's Steeple isn't viable after all."
"We'll go back. Try the next tower."
"The next one will succeed."
Though she regretted the Humanity already spent, exploration could never be perfectly smooth—especially in a realm as poorly understood as this.
At least neither of them was injured.
As long as they rebuilt their reserves, they could attempt another Helphen's Steeple.
Lucian looked at the faint remnants of stair fragments ahead and smiled.
How could there be no path?
The path was right there.
If they wanted to proceed, they would simply have to step carefully onto those remnants and leap from one to the next.
At times like this, it was best to rely on the power of a Tarnished.
In the game, he had cleared far worse platforming challenges countless times.
This would be no exception.
A mere platforming section? He would clear it in one go.
"It's fine. We can keep going."
Aesthra turned to him, eyes wide with disbelief.
"What? But there's clearly no path ahead—"
Lucian released her hand, then wrapped an arm tightly around her waist.
Her face flushed instantly.
"W-What are you doing?"
Lucian smiled faintly, then leapt forward toward the shattered remains of the staircase.
"Hold on tight."
"Wah—!"
Aesthra clung to him, unable to suppress a startled cry.
Thankfully, she did not forget to maintain the burning Humanity in her hand, continuing to illuminate the path ahead. Without that light, Lucian would have been blind.
Lucian moved with remarkable agility, bounding swiftly from one fragment of stair to the next.
Most of the steps had broken away cleanly, leaving only palm-sized footholds clinging to the wall.
He tapped down lightly with the tip of his foot, landing with precision and pushing off again without incident.
Some sections still retained the width of one or two steps, appearing deceptively safe. Yet the moment he landed on them, they crumbled instantly.
But before the stone could fall away into the abyss, Lucian had already borrowed the force needed to propel himself onward to the next fragment.
After her initial scream, Aesthra gradually steadied herself.
Though still shaken and tense, she remained quiet in Lucian's arms, careful not to interfere.
If she disrupted him and he lost his footing, they would both be finished.
Though Lucian could not harm souls, his physical strength remained intact.
For him, this level of traversal was no challenge at all.
Finally, after crossing the equivalent of three or four levels of shattered stairs, they saw intact steps ahead once more.
With a final powerful leap, Lucian landed safely, bringing Aesthra down onto solid ground.
She released him and slid from his arms, her legs going weak as she collapsed onto the steps.
"Seriously! That was reckless!"
"And why are you so good at this?!"
Lucian scratched his head awkwardly and offered no explanation.
After all, carrying Sellen across rooftops at the Academy had given him plenty of practice.
Aesthra sat there for a moment to recover before quickly standing again.
Time was precious. She couldn't afford to waste it, or Humanity.
The interior of Helphen's Steeple was vast beyond imagination. They still hadn't glimpsed any sign of its end. There was no telling how long a full exploration would take.
This was her first time venturing this deeply into one of Helphen's Steeples. She had no prior experience to rely on.
Lucian noticed her legs still trembling slightly and suggested resting longer, but she refused. Reluctantly, he continued forward with her.
The staircase once again seemed endless.
They walked for an extremely long time.
This time, even the monsters vanished.
They traveled through darkness longer than all their previous descent combined.
There was nothing here.
Only pitch-black silence, enough to drive a person mad.
Aesthra had already consumed burning Humanity twice to dispel creeping mental interference.
At this point, even whispers or strange noises would have been preferable. At least that would offer some distraction.
Lucian noticed that the light in her hand had dimmed slightly.
"What's wrong? Running low on Humanity?"
Aesthra shook her head, then hesitated and nodded faintly.
"There's still a decent amount left. But we've been walking for so long without seeing an end… I'm worried."
"There haven't been any monsters on this stretch to replenish Humanity. There's no danger either, so I reduced the burn rate to conserve it, to keep the light going longer."
Lucian nodded in agreement.
Given the lack of enemies to replenish their supply, her concern was understandable.
They pressed onward.
At last, something changed.
Lucian's left hand, which had been gliding along the wall, brushed against something unusual.
A mechanism clicked.
A concealed section of wall slowly opened before them, revealing a doorway.
When the door fully opened, Aesthra tried to shine her light inside.
But the entrance was covered by a thick, gray-black fog. The light could not penetrate it.
Lucian and Aesthra exchanged a glance.
"Looks like a hidden room. There might be something inside."
"I'm going in."
A dark side chamber was practically a rite of passage in this kind of journey.
Aesthra hesitated, then nodded.
Continuing forward without knowing when the end would come made little sense. It was better to investigate.
Lucian reached out and touched the black fog, stepping through as his body gradually vanished into it.
Inside was pitch darkness once more, until Aesthra followed and her flame illuminated the space.
A straight, gently sloping corridor stretched ahead, vanishing into shadow.
They moved forward without hesitation.
As they advanced, lights suddenly flared to life along the walls.
Lucian looked toward the glow.
Torches lining both sides of the chamber had ignited spontaneously, lit with pale spiritflame.
The corridor brightened.
Yet beyond the path itself, darkness still churned along the sides like thick, viscous liquid. From within it came faint, unsettling sounds.
As they continued, the torches ignited one after another ahead of them, illuminating the path forward.
At the end of the corridor, they saw it—
A white sphere of light resting upon an altar.
It appeared unremarkable. Its purpose was unclear.
Just as Lucian stepped forward to touch it—
Every torch in the chamber flared to full brightness.
And the true nature of the room was revealed.
On both sides of the path they had walked lay hidden countless monsters, concealed within the rolling darkness.
Reaching the altar had triggered something.
The creatures were unleashed.
They crawled out from the churning blackness, twisted forms of every shape and size.
Some were small, no larger than the imps found in catacombs, skittering forward in grotesque, contorted motions.
Others were colossal, tens of meters tall.
One in particular towered above the rest: a massive giant formed entirely of shadow. Its lower half strode upright, while a long, thin spine connected to an upper torso that crawled along the ground. Its head was inverted, its face hideously distorted.
Large or small, all of them emerged.
And all of them fixed their gaze upon Lucian and Aesthra.
When the first monster lunged forward, the rest followed in unison, surging from all directions.
Aesthra's face turned deathly pale.
So many enemies.
How could they possibly escape?
The corridor behind them was already flooded with creatures.
They were trapped upon the altar platform.
But unlike Aesthra's panic, Lucian smiled.
Now this was more like it.
A hidden chamber ambush was practically mandatory, and one without enemies wouldn't count.
And the Humanity they lacked?
It had just delivered itself.
Since they had chosen to surround him, he had no reason to hold back.
Lucian shook the Spirit Calling Bell.
What to do against such a large-scale assault?
He had just the ashes for it.
As the bell rang, two enormous figures materialized at his sides.
They were Dragonkin Soldiers—warriors and weapons engineered to be neither fully dragon nor fully human, yet ultimately never granted the chance to fulfill their purpose.
Forgotten alongside the fall of the Eternal Cities, their existence had been a tragedy.
Lucian had found their souls buried in endless obscurity.
Now, at last, they would fulfill their role as weapons of war.
To repay Lucian for granting them this chance, they would fight without hesitation to their final moment.
Seeing the tide of grotesque enemies charging from all directions, the Dragonkin Soldiers' eyes flared with savage red light.
They threw back their heads and roared.
If there had been triumphant battle music in the background, it would have been perfect.
Lucian pointed forward.
"Destroy them."
One Dragonkin Soldier spread the four skeletal wings on its back and leapt skyward.
After a brief glide, it crashed down into the center of the horde—directly atop the towering shadow giant.
The impact crushed numerous smaller creatures beneath the combined weight.
Landing on the giant's back, it began hammering its fists down upon the exposed spine.
The shadow giant writhed violently, its serpentine spine attempting to coil around the Dragonkin. It struck back with thunderous blows, each impact sending tremors through the Dragonkin's soul.
The Dragonkin bit into the giant's arm and tore savagely in retaliation.
Unlike the graceful ancient dragons, the Dragonkin Soldiers fought with brutal ferocity.
As weapons, they did not care for their own injuries.
The shockwaves of their clash obliterated countless nearby monsters.
Yet still the creatures swarmed, climbing onto the Dragonkin's body and tearing at it.
The second Dragonkin Soldier, unable to fly, charged forward on all fours.
This one wielded another power: frozen lightning.
It barreled through the horde, sweeping its arms left and right, carving a path of destruction.
Reaching its companion, it summoned crackling frost-laced lightning in its hands and slammed it downward, instantly clearing the mass of enemies clinging to the other Dragonkin.
Then it formed a spear of icy lightning and hurled it through the massive shadow giant, pinning it to the ground.
At the same time, the first Dragonkin tore free the creature's spine.
The largest and most conspicuous enemy was destroyed.
Though the Dragonkin engaged the majority of the horde, they could not contain all of them.
Many creatures broke through and rushed toward Lucian and Aesthra.
Lucian rang the bell again, summoning Banished Knight Oleg once more, while allowing Asimi to manifest from within him.
He instructed Asimi to assist the Dragonkin Soldiers, prevent them from sustaining excessive damage.
Oleg would handle the stragglers slipping through.
Among the enemies, another hollow armor appeared—similar to the one they had faced before.
This one wore armor reminiscent of the Land of Reeds and wielded a massive Odachi (Great Katana), swinging it toward a Dragonkin's neck.
But Asimi had already leapt onto the Dragonkin's back, intercepting the strike.
She had been dissatisfied with how long it had taken to defeat such an opponent before.
This time, she intended to prove herself.
The two clashed fiercely atop the Dragonkin's back.
After dozens of exchanges, the armor was knocked free, disintegrating into ash before it even hit the ground.
Freed, Asimi cast a Golden Vow incantation, bolstering the Dragonkin Soldiers before diving into the swarm to slaughter.
Ordinary healing incantations could not mend souls—
—but enhancing attack power worked just fine.