Rex’s eyes flared open, and he drew a ragged, shuddering breath—the kind one takes after drowning and breaking the water’s surface. For a fleeting moment, his vision swam as though the world itself had not yet settled into place.

    Where am I...?

    He questioned inside, seeing the world around him being veiled by darkness.

    It took a second for him to realize what had happened.

    Right, I should be in the Spirit Realm now but what is this? It’s different than the one Devo showed me.

    Having his soul transferred into a new body scrambled his mind too, it was as if there was a fog inside of his head that was clouding his judgment and thought processes. As he waited for recovery, his ears picked up distant, ethereal growls.

    One that definitely didn’t belong to anything Rex had ever known.

    Notice: the user has entered the Spirit Realm

    Notice: the user has entered the Black Rift—the Voidal Monsters’ lair

    Completing the transference process...

    Initiating spirit conversion based on the fixed setting...

    Despite the notifications that appeared in front of him, Rex ignored them as they made him dizzier.

    Slowly, his gaze drifted downward, drawn by a strange intuition.

    His hands trembled slightly as he inspected his body, expecting something alien or malformed.

    But he found no obvious differences—no missing pieces of himself.

    Just as the System explained, this body is an exact replica. However, now I’m not a Human but a spirit.

    The Soul and Spirit Conversion ritual made a spirit vessel inside the Spirit Realm where the soul could reside safely without being noticed by the world’s energy of this realm, it was similar to the method the spirits used in the Mortal Realm where they bound themselves to an Awakened to not be noticed as well as reside there as long as they wanted.

    Unlike the latter though, this spirit vessel will not last forever.

    However, it was plenty of time to cover the full 40 days Rex was planning to stay in this realm.

    Forty days in this world before Nivellen dies, that’s plenty of time that is as long as I’ve no remorse.

    As seconds turned to minutes and his body adapted to the surroundings and the pressure from the Spirit Realm, he noticed something was different about him, something beneath the surface. Rex closed his eyes and focused, and the sensation hit him like a tidal wave.

    His energy senses, honed and sharp in his original body, were now magnified to an astonishing degree.

    Rex could feel the faintest currents of energy weaving through the air, tracing unseen paths all around him. It felt like sensing other elemental mana in the air without having an affinity relating to it, he could really sense every single kind of energy in this place.

    Not much variety as it was dominated by one but it was a clear spike to his energy sense.

    It must be the side effect of becoming a spirit.

    Swoosh...

    A single gust of wind brushed his skin, and his entire form shivered as if struck by an electric charge.

    Every particle of this realm thrummed with life and power, and it was as if his body had become an instrument, perfectly tuned to resonate with its song. Rex exhaled slowly, overwhelmed but intrigued, the sharp clarity of his senses hinting at both opportunity—and danger.

    At that exact moment, a surge of spirit energy swelled inside of him.@@@@

    Spirit Conversion: 100%!

    Soul Artifact—it’s the same as a Spirit Core for the Awakened—the source of power for Spirits. Since I’ll have more than one Soul Artifact, three to be exact—as all of my King Marks are transferred here, can you merge all of them into one mark?

    Yes! Please specify the location for the user’s combined Soul Artifact mark

    Put it on my back.

    Despite the grotesque sight, there was no pain—only liberation.

    Soon, the energy within him flowed like a tidal wave and gathered at his back.

    A tingling heat rose there, growing steadily into a powerful force.

    Rex’s muscles tensed as a mark began to take shape on his back, the mark of his Soul Artifacts.

    First, a black three grew, its roots entwined along his spine and its branches stretching across his broad upper back. Uniquely, this tree was wrought entirely from black chains, the intricate details glinting as if boasting its power.

    Masked of the Banished Eclipse, assimilated!

    Once the tree formed, a radiant yellow-golden ring formed over the tree.

    It exudes a formidable and permanence aura into his flesh.

    Aegis of Moon Sentinel, assimilated!

    Lastly, the final touch came in a flash of violet crimson—two blood claw marks raked across his upper back in an X-shape, starting from upper left and right back—searing the image into his skin like a fiery brand—that last one hurts, forcing a groan out of his lips.

    Red Dawn of Kaiser, assimilated!

    Once the combined mark pulsed, Rex exhaled sharply.

    He could feel the overwhelming resonance of his Soul Artifacts, a symbol of him being a spirit.

    Just as he grew accustomed to the existence of Spiritual Veins inside of him and also the Soul Artifacts, his eyes widened slightly and he snapped his head to the side, "Linthia..." He murmured, forgetting that unlike him, Linthia has no empowerment.

    Since her soul was perfect and clean, all of her powers would be converted.

    But her Spiritual Veins are unpredictable and she also might experience shock from the crossing.

    Unlike what Rex expected, Linthia was kneeling on the side—panting heavily but seemed to be fine.

    She’s fine. Most of her pain was endured by me so this shouldn’t surprise me.

    Approaching her while trying to accustom himself to his new body, Rex cupped her face and checked her condition. He turned her face left and right and even circled around her to see if she had some flaws but it didn’t seem to be the case.

    Like him, she crossed over to her new body perfectly.

    "How are you feeling?" Rex asked, staring into her eyes intently.

    Linthia forced out a weak smile, reaching for Rex’s hand, "I’ll be better, Your Majesty. Thank you"

    Despite the chaos, she knew that Rex saved her.

    Rex didn’t put that in mind as he already had the desire to help her, seeing that her willpower might be the strongest out of the captains. She has her flaws—but with her mental awakening, she might now fit to be a captain and also the future general of the Clarentium Empire.

    Helping her cross was nothing but a goodwill gesture.

    "I apologize for disturbing your moments," A voice echoed from the side. "but can you help me?!"

    Upon hearing this, Rex and Linthia turned to the side and saw Amanir.

    Using his flabby ears that he once mentioned to be his Soul Artifact, Amanir created a bubble around them that suppressed their surging spirit energy. His face was pale as the growls—and screeches in the distance were approaching their direction fast.

    "Stand up, we’re going to fight our way," Rex instructed as he stood up.

    Hearing this, Linthia nodded and stood up—facing the darkness beyond.

    "We’ll fight our way to the nearest Vein of Life," Rex continued before his hand glowed, summoning two black robes. One he wore while the other he handed over to Linthia, "Cover yourself with this and stay between me and Amanir"

    Linthia accepted the robe and looked down, finding that she was completely naked.

    It was the same with Rex but he was already wearing the black robe now.

    Covering herself, she went closer to Rex and gazed ahead, "What are we dealing with, exactly?"

    "Voidal Monsters," Rex answered, his eyes narrowed—a flash of blue light swept the distance ahead as the System scanned the incoming Voidal Monsters. As opposed to finding one or two, hundreds of stat windows appeared. "They are the nemesis of spirits and unfortunately, we’re within their territory..."

    Roar!!