"It was merely a means to an end."

Ellis turned his skull, his Soul Fire sweeping over the slaughtered soldiers of the River Domain. His jaw seemed to twitch, forming something akin to an upward curve.

"In my eyes, those so-called Gods are nothing more than Transcendents with greater Power. They hold no value worth worshipping."

In response to Ellis’s statement, Holland just noncommittally raised his non-existent eyebrows and decisively changed the subject.

"Alright, let’s not talk about that..."

He lifted his chin slightly, gesturing to Fisher’s kneeling body nearby.

"What about this shell? Is it adequate to support your daily activities?"

Ellis slowly shook his head, his bones making a faint grinding sound.

"The Transcendents in this region... are far too few."

His tone carried a hint of imperceptible disappointment.

"Even after provoking the River Domain to this extent, I only managed to lure out a mere three Transcendents..."

After muttering this, he turned his attention back to Holland’s question.

"The physical strength is acceptable, but it lacks the potential for Casting."

Ellis’s Soul Fire swept over Fisher’s corpse.

"Therefore, I intend to use him as a sacrifice to awaken Van Buren."

"Whoa!"

Hearing Van Buren’s name, Holland’s mouth fell open in an exaggerated fashion.

The gesture looked rather bizarre on his pale face.

"That guy’s not like me! He’s a true-blue Paladin! You haven’t forgotten how stubborn and bullheaded he was back when we were adventuring, have you? If he wakes up and finds you’ve turned him into one of the Undead..."

Holland made an exaggerated chopping motion.

"You’ll absolutely be the first one he tries to cut down! And let me be clear..."

He raised both hands high in a gesture of surrender.

"I was no match for him when I was alive, and I’m still not. So don’t expect me to hold him back for you when the time comes."

"That’s enough, Holland!"

A rare wave of impatience rippled through Ellis’s usually detached tone.

Watching his companion’s antics, he said in a low voice.

"Don’t forget, you were a devout Priest in your past life! I’m sure Van Buren... urgh..."

Recalling his companion’s granite-like stubbornness, Ellis was at a loss for words. A moment later, he let out a long, hollow sigh.

"I need your help, Holland."

"When all this is over, I will release your souls back to the Void, to resume your eternal rest..."

"Heh..."

Holland simply responded with a soft, ambiguous chuckle.

Seeing this, Ellis seemed to take a deep breath and changed the subject.

"How are things on your end?"

"I ran into a rather interesting little fellow."

Holland shook the cracked Silver Shield in his hand, his tone casual, as if discussing an insignificant sparring match.

"His Breathing Technique is quite polished. If it weren’t for the Undying Attribute of this bag of bones, a few swings from that kid would have probably scattered my Soul Fire."

"As expected."

Ellis was indifferent to Holland’s assessment of Graham’s strength.

"As one of the Undead, you can no longer channel even a sliver of Holy Power. Add to that this... frail shell."

His voice held a hint of imperceptible contempt.

"It’s a stroke of luck that you could fight an Extraordinary Professional Knight up close and return in one piece."

"I’ll take that as a compliment."

Holland shrugged, completely unbothered.

"Still, I used those few little spells you taught me to give the kid a hard time... Oh, right!"

His previously calm and witty tone suddenly sharpened as he turned to Ellis with great interest.

"I smelled something familiar on that kid! You’ll never guess who it was!"

As he finished speaking, the atmosphere fell into a brief silence, with only the fading sounds of battle from the distant field remaining.

"Fine, fine, you’re as boring as ever."

Seeing that Ellis had no intention of asking, Holland curled his lip in dissatisfaction and spoke, unwilling to let it go.

"It was that bastard Rudolph! The kid’s Breathing Technique is at least sixty percent similar to Rudolph’s style! But..."

Holland raised a bony finger to rub his smooth jawbone, a glint in his spectral eyes.

"I seem to recall that bastard didn’t leave any bloodline behind before he disappeared, did he?"

"But Van Buren can absolutely never know about this."

"After all, that scoundrel Rudolph... he had a thing with the Saintess from Van Buren’s Church... Tsk, tsk, tsk!"

He clicked his tongue, then changed the subject abruptly.

"By the way, Ellis..."

His tone was tinged with a deep confusion.

"Speaking of which, how exactly did I die? My mind... seems to be completely blank on that part."

At this question, the Soul Fire in Ellis’s eye sockets flickered slightly. He fell silent for a moment before whispering in that hollow voice of his.

"I’m the same as you... When I awoke from my inexplicable resurrection, all memories of my death had vanished. Otherwise..."

He raised a skeletal finger and tapped it lightly.

The next moment, a nearly invisible film, shimmering with faint ripples of Negative Energy, instantly enveloped Fisher’s large, kneeling form.

"...I wouldn’t still be unable to find my Life Box."

The mention of that lost core of his existence sent Ellis’s thoughts drifting back to that scene at Distant Harbor.

The phantom of his Life Box, shimmering in those bizarre Flames, began to violently stir his long-dormant emotions.

"Relax..."

Holland reached out again and patted Ellis’s shoulder.

Much more gently this time, however.

"Didn’t you say it yourself?"

He tried to console him.

"Since they didn’t find your Life Box in that place called the Golden Valley Kingdom, it must be hidden somewhere in this land..."

At this, Holland glanced around at the surrounding swamps and wetlands, his once-frivolous tone tinged with a hint of sorrow.

"Who would have thought that a land so prosperous back then could be reduced to such a desolate state in just a few hundred years."

"Let’s go, Holland."

Ellis paid no mind to his companion’s lament.

After dealing with Fisher’s body, he started walking away without a backward glance.

"The sooner we finish things here, the sooner I can release your soul back to the Void. After all..."

He tilted his head up slightly, his empty eye sockets gazing at the fog-shrouded sky.

"If my Perception is correct, with the resurgence of Magic Elements, those greedy Deities are also gradually awakening. If they were to discover that you’ve violated the iron law of life and death..."

Ellis’s voice was cold and certain.

"The only thing awaiting you would be complete Soul Annihilation."

"I know, I know..."

Holland shuffled to catch up, his Armor making dull thuds in the mud.

"By the way, didn’t you capture two Transcendents? What about the other little guy?"

"He carries the Shadow Inheritance. I was unable to keep him."

Ellis’s withered fingers brushed over the completely shattered ribs on his right side.

"However... the inheritance he commands is incomplete."

"Shadow Inheritance?"

Holland seemed to remember something. He reached up and gently stroked his smooth skull, the Soul Fire in his eyes flaring.

"Ah! I remember now! There was that one time you were almost taken out by an Assassin who played with shadows!"

Seeing Ellis ignore him again, Holland could only trail behind resentfully, his tone full of complaint.

"Sigh, to crawl out of a long slumber only to have to go back without even tasting the wine of this era... What a shame."

"Holland."

Ellis spoke without turning back, his voice flat.

"Do I need to remind you? The creed of the Church you belonged to expressly forbids its followers from drinking alcohol."

"Ha!"

Holland let out a short, mocking laugh.

"Then I’ll have to remind you, Ellis! Back in the day, to scrape together the money to buy you that damn Magic Staff, I even stooped to grave robbing!"

"You..." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

For once, Ellis’s voice was tinged with exasperation.

"I have no idea what the Sun God Lodestar ever saw in you to choose a character like you to be a Priest!"

"Right back at you..."

Holland retorted without missing a beat.

"It’s still better than a scoundrel who fell in love with his own mentor!"

"Holland!"

Ellis’s Soul Fire flared violently.

"Alright, alright..."

Holland quickly waved his hands, stopping the argument from escalating.

"By the way."

He changed the subject.

"You successfully summoned my soul using my Shield as a catalyst. So what about summoning Van Buren’s soul? What are you planning to use as a catalyst for him?"

"You don’t need to know that."

"Come on, Ellis, for the sake of..."

Their voices faded as they walked away, and the scorched earth fell back into a dead silence.

Only the meticulously placed magical traps on the ground continued to glimmer with an ominous light in the dense fog.