Chapter 578
Oof, that was a weird one, Ben said with a shiver after reading another ghost's memories.
Why, what was it this time?
Some star species, only instead of being like any of the others I peeked into, I think its original species wasnt made of matter or mana but instead energy. It was really weird to try and process. Also another notch Im using to confirm that the majority of gods are assholes.
With not much else he could do on their journey out, Ben had taken to exploring the minds of every ghost he could right until they entrapped them, finding both something hed been too busy to notice on the first few, their unique status, same as hed expect of any living individual on the world, but also where theyd each come from, namely a variety of species across the universe and all walks of life.
He was seeing plenty that had evolved on planets, the same as the majority of life he was aware of, but he was also encountering those that had been born to other environments in equal measures too. Gas giants, the void, the stars, with each environment having its own unique set of circumstances for the people in the memories he was seeing, and just as much as anything else, helped confirm a suspicion of Bens.
While he was seeing his share of terrors and tyrants, he was also seeing plenty of minds that he would happily call innocent of the sort of wrongdoing that would demand damnation, instead fitting more snugly to his earlier assumption.
Many were the victims or enemies of evil gods who had fought against them a bit too heavily, but more than a few were sent there by their own gods for largely superficial reasons or due to being eyesores, not the sort of heinous crimes that would demand that type of punishment.
Each time he found one undeserving of their sentence, he gave them a small prayer, even as he condemned them to a different imprisonment. They may have been innocent, but they were being controlled. He couldnt let them be used to cause chaos and destruction and death across the world.
Which means if I survive Ill have to figure out what to do with the soul crystal later. Maybe I can get Lux to help?
I really dont! She yelled back as she barreled through them, unable to get the new spell fired in time while Ben checked behind them to be sure they werent about to deal with any surprise attacks.
In that case, youve got it for the next group of them! I believe in you!
Despite her struggles, Thera persevered in the face of Bens endless optimism as she did her best to process all the spell entailed.
It in no way felt like a life spell. It wasnt even something to be applied to a body like any of the others shed use, instead being targeted on disembodied souls. The entire experience of casting it felt foreign as she tried to put it together, all in an attempt to do a single thing. Bring the dead to peace.
And she could feel her mana fighting against her with every second she tried to cast it. It wasnt a way it wanted to be bent, like she was fighting against its basic nature. Just because the two powers grew closer, didnt mean it was going to come easily and she felt every bit of struggle trying to make it work, all the while she had to keep the basket carrying them in the air and rushing on.
They passed through more ghosts as she struggled with the spell, evading when she needed to as Ben kept an eye out for any attacks from the ones they passed as well, giving her the leeway she needed. Despite all of the other work to be done, she tried casting the unusual spell, letting her mana radiate out in all directions as Ben watched the passing souls to confirm the effects.
And it was instantaneous. When Theras mana hit any of them, they froze in place, seeming more confused than anything else before gently fading away, as if theyd never been there at all, leaving him to cheer.
Knew you could do it! He laughed, feeling just a bit of relief to have at least one thing go well. Shed still need some practice to really get used to casting that spell but with everything going on, she was going to get it. What really mattered was that they now had a way of dealing with the ever-growing ghost army, leaving only the big problem left to deal with.
Myriad told him.
