Death... and me

Indeed, there really was a city in front of him. 'How come there's a city in this place? Who lives there?' Roan pondered over it for a bit but couldn't think up of a plausible answer. In the end, he kept his Light bending skill active as he approached it.

However, the closer he got, the weirder it felt. 'There's no one in the front gate?' Surprisingly, everything around the city was empty. What bothered Roan the most wasn't the fact that he couldn't see any inhabitant inside. Instead, with the crazy high number of demon beasts roaming around, it was weird that none of them were close to it. 'That probably means another sphere like the previous one can be found there.'

Roan didn't enter through the front gate, though. Instead, he jumped over the wall so that he could have a better view of the city inside without catching much attention. 'As I thought, the city is empty.'

He could see several buildings extending far, far away. However, there wasn't a single living soul walking on the streets. Well, that's only considering living beings. If one also took in factor the dead... 'So many bones...'

Roan could see bones everywhere. Without a doubt, this city was very lively in the past. Be it the road or the insides of the buildings, Roan could see bones scattered throughout. 'The weird thing is the positions these bones are positioned. Whatever killed all these people did it instantly. None of these bones give me the feeling that the people tried to flee first.'

There were many shops and other things. Normally, such a situation would mean rich profits since an entire city was available for him to explore. However...

*Shhhh...*

The moment Roan touched any of the equipment, furniture, or whatever, they crumbled apart. Some of the buildings he passed by also fell down with just the trembling caused by Roan's steps. That showed just how fragile everything in this city was at the moment. 'Then again, I don't feel like so much time has passed that it would create such a situation. If I'm not wrong, what corroded the city was not time but the crimson environment. Or, to be more specific, that energy from the higher realm the Soul Gem System talked about just before we were teleported inside.'

Ever since everyone entered this dimensional realm, it had been like that. The red glow was simply present in every corner. Roan considered the things that caused this red light to be the energy from the higher realm. Of course, he had no proof of it at the moment.

There was another point Roan noticed as he moved ahead, thinking, 'I passed by a few places that were obviously built to hold demon beasts inside. That is normal since low-level demon beasts would be tamed to do the cultivators' heavy work. Most of the cities in the world have used this method. However, although I could see people's bones around the place, there aren't any demon beast bones whatsoever.' That probably meant that what killed the people didn't have an effect on the demon beasts.

*Crumble...*

Suddenly, Roan heard another building collapse. However, it was much, much further away, to the point it was almost inaudible. 'There's someone else in this city as well.' Roan pondered over it for a bit but didn't feel too concerned. He still had Rean's Light bending skill. Spiritual Sense and Soul Power Scanning didn't work either. Besides, he wouldn't commit the same mistake as Rean did. He knew that the places he moved on still left marks behind. 'From the position it came from, it seems that the other party is also heading to the city's center.' After pondering it for a bit, Roan decided to go there as well.

Roan's steps became even lighter as he did his best to stay far away from the buildings. With that, nothing crumbled around him anymore. That was also good since he could still hear a building or two crumbling far away. Different from him, the other party didn't seem to care too much about showing its position.

It was then that Roan came out of a corner and noticed a giant building in the distance. It was way higher than any of the ones he had seen so far. However, what really caught his attention was the red glow of light coming from the top tower in that building. 'It's the same glow as the red sphere. So there really was another one here.'

Still, Roan didn't pay much attention to that place. Instead, he looked in another direction, waiting to see if the other visitor would show its face. Fortunately, Roan didn't have to wait long.

From behind a crumbling building, Roan noticed a bit of silver fur sticking out. It used its Spiritual Energy to keep the dust away, so the demon beast was completely clean. As for the building, it couldn't care less. "Hmm...? Have I finally found something useful?" The demon beast looked at the same building as Roan did before moving in its direction.

Roan, on the other hand, immediately recognized the other party. 'It's Frin, the Silver Fenrir.' He pondered if he should come out to talk to him or not. After all, he knew the Fenrir hadn't noticed his presence yet. Roan also made sure that the wind wouldn't carry his smell to the Fenrir either.

Yet, Roan noticed that Frin began to act strange. A moment ago, he was walking steadily. But now, he looked more like a drunk, who staggered as he made his way to the building in the distance. 'This...'

Roan didn't need to think much to understand what was happening. He also noticed that the top of the building was showing a much brighter red light than before. 'That sphere with the eye inside it is trying to control Frin!' Without wasting any more time, Roan immediately activated his movement skill and headed in Frin's direction.

'Death Style, First Movement First, Shadow Steps!'

Soon after, he attacked!

'Death Style, First Form, Stellar Piercer!'

*Zuin!*

*Piece!*

Roan's attack landed on Frin's body, opening a small hole. His Dark Element immediately invaded Frin's body, causing enormous pain right after!

*Awwoooooo!*

Frin howled as his mind woke up from his trance. The moment he did that, Roan's Spiritual Sense Message arrived in his mind. 'Get back! That thing is trying to take control of your soul!'

Frin didn't know what was happening, but he could feel the foreign energy entering his head. All he knew was that the voice wasn't lying at all! Frin didn't even try to think about anything else as Spiritual Energy gathered under his feet as he jumped back as fast as possible.

*Whoosh!*

*Bang, bang, bang, bang...*

Frin didn't even try to see where he jumped, so he slammed on many buildings, which immediately crumbled as well. With his Stage Nine (Or Transition Realm) cultivation, the speed of his body looked more like a streak of silver light. It wasn't before several kilometers and hundreds of buildings and houses crumbled that Frin finally stabilized his body.

Of course, he couldn't care less about that. At that moment, he let out cold sweat under his fur as he felt that the energy invading his soul had finally disappeared. 'That was terrifying...'