In an unspoiled valley, it is far beyond the reach of any race.
Standing a castle with shades of black so solid, shrouded in dark clouds, no moonlight or anything. There is only darkness and silence.
The occasional flash of lightning in the black clouds at the top of the castle added to the gloom of that tall building. Someone appeared from behind the bushes behind the castle, with a black cloak that wrapped the whole body from head to toe making his figure sink and merge into the darkness of the night.
His footsteps were so relaxed, heading towards the castle gate alone.
From the outside, the smell of blood wafted up, making the figure stop for a moment, take a deep breath of air while closing his eyes. It was as if the scent had become an addiction to him.
A smirk plastered on his lips, the figure then resumed walking.
The occasional sound of a crow filled the silence, making anyone shiver if they heard it in an atmosphere like this.
But that didn't apply to the figure who had almost reached the entrance of the castle as if he had gotten used to the scenery and situation around there.
He raised his hand and pushed the castle door slowly without knocking. Anyone can see his slightly elongated nails adorn his pale fingers.
Entering the castle, there were only candles and torches attached to the stone walls. Inside the room are three different passages, each leading to a different place.
The figure then stepped back into the hallway that was right in the middle. It looks dark from the outside, but when someone enters it, the atmosphere is not as dark as before.
Candles were lined up against the walls, about two meters apart each, and managed to provide dim light.
The figure's footsteps echoed, bouncing down the hall.
Stopped his steps at the end of the hall, slowly raised his hand and a streak of black smoke appeared in his palm, along with that, a complicated rune appeared on the floor.
In just about a few seconds, the floor shook lightly. Which previously seemed to be united, slowly split with the other parts descending and forming a ladder.
As if heading to the basement.
The figure rushed back down the stairs until reaching the last step, a very large room immediately greeted him.
The aroma of the potion mixed with the smell of blood, causing him to close his eyes once again, inhaling deeply as if enjoying it immensely.
"You're home?" a woman's voice suddenly crept into his eardrums. Causing the figure to immediately turn to the source of the voice.
There, several people wearing black robes seemed to be busy with several containers filled with light orbs.
The light is not as simple as one thinks. Those balls of light are Arhata.
Arhata is a soul that has been extracted.
Arhata originally came from the soul of someone who was still alive, whether it was from the human race, wizard race, fairy, or other race.
Souls that are forcibly removed from one's body through a soul-splitting ritual then with the help of forbidden magic, those souls cannot return to the spirit world to begin reincarnation but remain in this world as if bound.
The souls are then processed by those in the room to make them empty and new souls. That is Arhata.
Even so, not all the souls they extract become Arhata.
The soul that is successful to be extracted is called Arhata, while the soul that experiences failure from the ritual is called a phirata.
Arhata and phirata have a big difference.
Arhata can form their own body if placed in a tube that resembles a large capsule filled with blood.
As for Phirata, the soul cannot form its own body, so it needs a place to grow. The body of a living toddler was the most compatible with that soul.
If it has got its body, a phirata can then grow by itself by drinking blood and absorbing people's life energy.
Their growth, Arhata, and Phirata tend to be fast, it's just that the process of extracting their souls takes months to years.
Their form resembles that of ordinary humans, but what distinguishes Arhata or phirata from other creatures is that they can imitate people using their form.
However, Arhata's life span is longer than Phirata's.
They are also able to use the mana in the body, and it is according to their victims. The more mana they absorbed, they became stronger.
Phirata tends to always thirst for blood, their behavior is also not much different from other races.
Also, these creatures don't belong to any race.
Walking over to the woman, the figure passed several large glass tubes, with blood-like liquid filling the large capsule-shaped object.
On the walls of the tube, it was clear that the intricate rune carvings filled it.
The room was very large, and all contained similar capsules. The only difference between them is their content.
Some are just balls of light, while others are filled with fully formed human bodies. Some are still children and some have grown up.
All the creatures seemed to close their eyes as if they were asleep. On the forehead of each formed body, a rose petal-shaped mark could be seen that glowed faintly, penetrating the red liquid that filled the capsule, the light seemed to be connected to the runes that filled their place.
It can be seen that they are a type of Arhata.
"How? Did it work?" the woman asked again when she saw the figure who had just arrived, approaching her.
The figure only cleared his throat in response to the woman's words.
"What happened? Did you see him turn into an adult?" she asked.
"Erm, just a glance then I left from there," replied the figure in a deep voice.
"It seems you are not interested in the creature," replied the woman then returned to continue her work which had been delayed.
"He's just a failed product."
"But anyway, I hope he can make a big mess, tsk," he said again.
"Yes, at least to buy time until the silver blood moon to occur," the woman replied.
"How are her condition?"
"Still the same as usual, no signs at all," the woman replied.
"Whereas the silver blood moon is about to happen."
"Don't worry, there's still a few months left."
"What about the others?"
The man didn't answer and just looked at the woman in front of him.
"I mean the tower."
"Which tower?"
"If your mean is the tower who was in the human territory, it's already destroyed," he replied in an ordinary-looking voice.
Immediately the movement of the woman's hand stopped for a moment. She then turned to the man with one eyebrow raised.
Received such a gaze, the man sighed for a moment.
"That person did it," he said simply.
"That person?"
"Yeah, who else has unlimited mana in this world besides that Lord Gu Yi," he explained.