Chapter 243: The Lord of the Spirit World
Who knows how many hours had passed before they set out again. In the Spirit World, the passage of time was difficult to sense.
With Cofagrigus guarding him, Will strode forward with the confidence of someone who owned the place. If any spirits blocked the path, he'd just send them flying with a kick.
"(Will, I don't think you should show your face. Let the little girl go first and feel out the situation,)" Cofagrigus advised, floating slowly beside him. He knew Will's name now.
"Eep..." Yui ducked her head in fear.
She didn't dare go find her sister alone. But with Cofagrigus staring at her, she was too scared to refuse. She could only pick Will up from the ground to express her anxiety.
"Is that 'Lord' really so dangerous?" Will asked.
"For you, extremely dangerous."
"Why?"
"Because your soul is too strong. It's about five times stronger than a normal being's. If she throws you into the Vortex of Reincarnation, she can become even stronger."
"..."
Will frowned. He was in his fourth life. Counting his original human life, he had lived five lives, so his soul being five times stronger made sense.
But "Why does she get stronger if I enter the Vortex?"
"The Vortex of Reincarnation and the Lord of the Spirit World have a symbiotic relationship. She protects it, and in return, the souls that enter the Vortex feed a portion of their spiritual energy back to her, helping her grow stronger. A normal soul is useless to her now... but a soul like yours is very useful."
"No wonder." Will nodded, understanding completely.
AZ was the "cheat" of the living world, and his cheat was the [Ultimate Weapon]. The price was half the Kalos region.
The Lord of the Spirit World was the "cheat" of the Spirit World, and her cheat was the [Vortex of Reincarnation]. The price was that she had to maintain the order of life and death, ensuring all souls were reincarnated.
Both had their pros and cons.
AZ was immortal and had his freedom. But that was it. He himself wasn't strong and could easily be "sealed" for life (imprisoned).
The Lord of the Spirit World was incredibly powerful and also immortal, in a way. But she could be killed, and she was forever bound to the Spirit World, a prisoner.
Looking at it that way, Will still felt his own cheat was better.
But, you had to admit, the Lord's path to power was easy, up to a certain point. She just had to send souls into the Vortex to get stronger. And in the living world, millions, or even tens of millions, died every year. That Vortex was probably sucking in souls 24/7.
There was just one thing Will didn't know.
What would happen if he fell into the Vortex?
First, he would die on the spot, that was certain. But after?
Would he be reincarnated through the Vortex, his memory erased?
Or would his own cheat snatch his soul back and send him to his next life?
Will figured it was the latter. His cheat was powerful enough to store a Plate of Arceus. Its "level" had to be on par with Arceus itself. And Will highly doubted the Vortex could force Arceus to reincarnate.
"She won't... I won't let my sister do that," Yui whispered, then mumbled, "I'll protect Will."
"See? Yui said so herself," Will said, shrugging.
"...Fine. If it comes to it, we'll just go find that Dusknoir."
"But I thought you weren't on good terms with him?"
"I'm not. So we'll beat him until he submits and forces him to open a gate for you. Or just kill him. If the Gatekeeper dies, hundreds of gates will open at once. You'll get out then." Cofagrigus nodded, as if there was nothing wrong with this plan.
"...No, no, we absolutely cannot do that. The living world would be done for," Will said, frantically shaking his head. He couldn't imagine the chaos that would be unleashed if all the spirits and Ghost-type Pokémon trapped here were released.
They talked as they moved. Thanks to Cofagrigus, Will now had a detailed understanding of the Spirit World.
The Vortex of Reincarnation was the "Way of Heaven" in this realm.
The normal spirits were the common people.
The Lord of the Spirit World was the immortal "Emperor."
The Dusknoir clan obeyed the Lord, acting as her "government."
The Chandelure clan... they fed on the essence of spirits. The Lord and Dusknoir didn't stop them, probably because it didn't affect the reincarnation process. In fact, Will suspected the Chandelure clan worked for the Lord. After all, that Chandelure had clearly known who Yui was—it didn't dare kill her, but it felt free to bully her. Cofagrigus didn't even know Yui existed, but a common Chandelure did. That made no sense without an information network.
Will even suspected the Lord ordered the Chandelure to do it. After all, Yui said her sister didn't like her.
The Chandelure clan was like the "secret police," doing the government's dirty work in exchange for the "convenience" of openly feeding on the populace.
The Gengar clan and other Ghost-types were just here for the "fun." They were trapped and just did whatever they wanted.
Cofagrigus was like a wandering martial artist, a lone hero who feared no one and followed his own code of honor.
As for the Spirit World itself... it wasn't that big. Maybe the size of the Hoenn region.
That's why Will had thought it was terrifying that such a small place had at least four Champion-class beings. And that was assuming the Lord was only Champion-class...
They continued toward the center of the realm. Cofagrigus, impatient with their pace, eventually just put them on his lid and flew at full speed. Even so, it took over two hours to reach their destination.
"We're here."
"I see it."
Will stared at the massive shadow hidden behind the fog.
According to Yui and Cofagrigus, only the Lord of the Spirit World lived in this castle.
Living in a castle this big all by yourself... wouldn't you go crazy? Or maybe, for the Lord and other Ghost-types, this environment was what made them feel safe and comfortable.
"What's the plan?" Cofagrigus looked at Will. If Will said "fight," he would crash the gate. It didn't matter if he couldn't win. With Nico and Niven gone, he had no reason to keep existing. If it wasn't for the debt he owed Will, he would have already tried to take Dusknoir down with him.
"A polite visit," Will said quietly. Since they were here to ask for a favor, it was best to be polite. Not that they had a choice. They didn't have the strength to be arrogant.
"Alright. If anything looks wrong, hide inside me." Cofagrigus pointed to his own coffin-body.
Will nodded. He jumped to the ground and walked forward, raising his flipper.
Creak~
Before he could even knock, the massive doors swung open.
"Looks like she was expecting us."
Will lowered his flipper, tilting his head back. All he saw was the high ceiling of the castle's main hall. But in his Aura-sense, a wave of incredibly heavy, yet deathly still, Aura was at the edge of his vision.
The Lord of the Spirit World was... only 15 meters away.
Upstairs.
Watching them.
Will rubbed his temples. Sometimes, Aura-sense wasn't a good thing. The moment the doors opened and he felt that cold gaze, his heart had nearly leaped out of his chest.
"Don't worry," Cofagrigus said. "She not only knows we're here, she knows everything we talked about on the way."
"?!" Will's eyes went wide. If he remembered correctly, Cofagrigus had been bad-mouthing the Lord a lot on the way here.
"The fog outside is her creation. This place didn't have fog, originally. She knows everything that happens within it." Cofagrigus said, completely unconcerned.
"You knew?! And you still kept insulting her?" Will was speechless.
"Heh~ I told you, that thing is a machine. A puppet for the Vortex. You can curse her to her face, and she won't react. Besides, we're not on good terms anyway."
Cofagrigus wasn't as strong as her, but he also wasn't afraid to die. And he just didn't like her, because she was on the same side as Dusknoir.
"Fine. We're already here. Let's just go in."
Will sighed and strode into the castle. Yui followed close behind, her head down.
They went up to the second floor and entered a large throne room.
The room was empty, save for a single throne at the far end.
A black-haired woman sat silently on the throne.
She was expressionless, her eyes a dead gray. She just stared at the three of them as they entered. She didn't speak. She just... stared. She was just like the mindless husks outside.
Despite being a "Lord," she wore no royal dress, only simple, wrinkled white... fur-hide clothes.
But none of that was the point.
"You said she looked just like Yui?" Will turned to Cofagrigus.
The woman on the throne was an adult, nearly 1.8 meters tall. The one behind him was barely 1 meter.
"I only recognize the face. She can change her physical age," Cofagrigus said quietly, his gaze never leaving the woman.
"Oh."
"...Sister," Yui called out softly, her shoulders trembling as she took two steps forward.
At that sound, an emotion finally flickered in the Lord's dead eyes.
It was hatred.
Will sensed the violent spike in her Aura and immediately yanked Yui behind him.
"Will?" Yui looked up at the little penguin, confused.
"Are you sure she won't kill you?" Will raised an eyebrow, swallowing. If he hadn't misread that... the Lord of the Spirit World had just projected a flash of killing intent.
Aimed at Yui.
"Heh. Now I believe you. This little girl isn't the Lord," Cofagrigus said.
"No, Cofagrigus. You're wrong about that," the Lord of the Spirit World finally spoke.
Her voice was clear and cold, echoing in the air.
"She is me. And that... is why I will not kill her."
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