Chapter 177: Chapter 175

Soul stitching was not a process that I would enjoy having to go through again. If it weren't for the fact that I was already quite used to memories and abilities from another suddenly becoming mine, I imagine I would have easily lost myself to the Shadow Phoenix Rill. It had more memories than the rest of the lives I'd experienced combined, though a majority of them were from this cavern, a place that had been built for the sole purpose of containing powerful creatures and weakening them into a harmless state.

There were four other caverns like this in the kingdom, one for each of the ducal houses, and another more impressive one for the royal family. Each of them contained some form of the mythic beast they claimed to have been blessed by, though since the royal family didn't have a claim on a beast, Rill had never known what had been captured by them.

Rill's memories were extremely informative, at least of how the world had been long ago, but I didn't have much time to sit back and ponder on them as my spiritual form floated into a matching position with my body. The barrier that trapped me had certain restrictions and flaws that had to be in it for those who crafted it to hold a Phoenix indefinitely. One such thing was that it couldn't restrict all Skills, though it did manage to do the majority, however, if one wanted to permanently house a Phoenix, it needed to be able to undergo rebirth, an ability that I had always had, yet never knew how to properly use.

With the help of Rill's memories and knowledge of himself and his abilities I was able to undergo the same process, I had died just recently and my spirit had not passed on, so I met the conditions required for it. I watched as my form was engulfed in dark flames, and could feel the coldness of my Yinfire as it felt like I began to melt away like candle wax. It wasn't painful, but it was strange and disorienting as color began to return to the world and after a few moments I was suddenly once again a physical being.

I had successfully been reborn and had escaped from the shackles that had bound me, however, I felt weak. It was as if I had regressed to when I was only a child, and even though I was unable to view my Status, I realized that the only abilities I had were ones that came from my physical body. The majority of those were being suppressed however, so I wasn't able to confirm if they had also been affected as well. 

Just as I adjusted to the difference from what I normally felt the torches flared to life and I could see Alcrem and Gabriel rushing towards me. At the same time I also saw the contraption that had been filtering my blood and Aspect Skills. The blood that should have been there wasn't, though the black liquid was, though it had lost its golden sheen and was now like a black void. I realized that the reason for my weakness was that I had been stripped of my Aspect Skills, and likely most of my other Skills, and perhaps even some of my Gifts.

A memory of Rill's flashed through my head while looking at the extracted Skills. One where it had actually ripped a piece of its soul off and created a black liquid from it that it gave to an Elven woman. The black liquid in the contraption was likely a part of my soul, something I should have realized when Gabriel had said she was preparing me for a true death. My soul had been a problem for them to destroy normally, but I began to think that perhaps she had stripped away whatever it was that had been giving me protection, which meant if I was careless, I could actually die.

Even with the ability to be reborn, a Phoenix wasn't actually immortal, if someone managed to destroy the soul before it could return to the body it would die, or if one could move the majority of the flesh away from the spirit they could prevent it from being reborn, which was not far off from death anyway. This realization was like a bucket of cold ice being poured on my head, I had been careful of death before, but I had faith in the Skills I'd learned, and the resilience of my physical body, however it was different now. While I might be alive right now, two enemies were charging at me, and I had no idea of how I was going to deal with them.

Without much time to think I sprinted forward grabbing the contraption and breaking off just the tank of black liquid. As I crossed the boundary of the barrier, I could feel the access to my Skills return, though I wasn't sure what had or hadn't, and I didn't have the time to check if the one Skill I hoped to be there, was. I poured the container into my mouth and drank it like a dehydrated man who found an oasis in the desert.

There was a bizarre feeling that rather than the liquid passing into my mouth and down my throat, it stuck to the surface of what it touched and seemed to bleed into and throughout my body. Along with it was a feeling of scorching heat, a freezing chill, and a sense of completeness. It was as if I was constantly changing environments from a blazing desert to a frozen wasteland, while slowly watching a puzzle be completed. It was both uncomfortable and satisfying, a sensation that I both doubted and hoped I would ever experience again.

Since I was still unable to use any Skill other than the one's that were Racial in nature, I could only manifest my chitinous carapace as Gabriel suddenly sprouted a pair of white feathered wings, fine golden armor suddenly appearing on her with a large two-handed sword appearing in her hands. Her equipment screamed that she was some kind of holy being, but I was almost certain that she was anything but.

I was at a disadvantage as Gabriel swung her large blade that had become sheathed in golden flames, barely managing to avoid the attack. While I was physically superior in most ways, she was extremely mobile and nigh on unreachable due to her ability to fly. On top of that she had much longer reach and heavier strikes with the large two-handed sword she was wielding. It wasn't able to do much to my carapace, but over time the damage would build up if I prolonged this too long, and there was no best case in that scenario, it would only lead to my death.

Things got worse when Alcrem caught up, as it suddenly became a 2v1 as I struggled to fend off their blows and still try to fight back. While I still felt full of energy, I didn't know how long that would last. Would it be just as it was before, where I was a tireless machine perfect for wearing down opponents until I could defeat them? Or now that most of my Skills were gone, and the consumption of the black liquid uncertain, was I going to be worn out first?

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