Chapter 6: Blood Soul Curse

Lu Yisi struggled desperately, but the guard beside him held him tightly, unable to move.

The black guillotine was lowered in the middle of the square, and Lu Yisi was pushed to its front.

He looked terrified, turned to Deng Pusi beside him, and pleaded, "Lord Deng Pusi, you've arrested the wrong person! I was only ill, now I'm fine, truly not corrupted, please release me."

Deng Pusi remained unmoved, calmly watching Lu Yisi being pressed onto the guillotine, his neck caught in the depression at the platform's center, exposed.

"Goddess above, I can prove my innocence, release me…"

Lu Yisi let out a fearful, hissing scream, his face smeared with tears and snot.

He turned to the onlookers, calling out the names of several familiar friends and neighbors, hoping they would plead for him, but he only saw indifferent faces, no one speaking.

In desperation, Lu Yisi looked again at Deng Pusi, hatred filling his eyes, "I was only sick, would have recovered quickly, yet you dragged me here, claiming to judge me, calling yourselves followers of the God of Justice—does this count as justice?"

"My whole family depends on me for income; if I die, who will support my wife and three children?"

"Do you want to watch them starve to death? Bah!"

"Why treat me like this!"

At this point, blood welled from Lu Yisi's eyes, mixing with tears, a terrifying sight. He began to wildly invoke God's Curse against Deng Pusi, the church, and finally the watching citizens, cursing that none of them would meet a good death.

In the vast square, only Lu Yisi's voice echoed.

Among the crowd, Lei En watched it all, feeling deeply conflicted.

Yet no one present dared to speak for Lu Yisi; this was not indifference nor a failure to help, but a habit of such occurrences.

From Lu Yisi's condition, anyone with a hint of insight could tell his curse had activated; he had already fallen.

This curse, called Blood Soul Curse, resides in every human soul in this world, an eternal nightmare in all hearts!

Legend says that thousands of years ago—historians estimate around four thousand years, exact dates unknown—but certainly at the end of the previous era, humans somehow angered a terrifying ancient Abyss evil god, and the whole race was cursed, persisting to this day.

This dreadful evil god is named You Ke Suoen, hailing from the Abyss, its existence age unknown.

You Ke Suoen has countless names through long civilizations; many races called Him "Demon of Ten Thousand Demons," "Mouthpiece," "Source of Fear," "Abyss Ruler," "Thousand-Throated Demon," "Indescribable God," and humans usually refer to Him as Lord of Darkness!

As the chief of the four great Abyss evil gods, Lord of Darkness's curse is utterly unsolvable.

The Blood Soul Curse normally lurks within human souls, appearing ordinary.

However, when people are weak or suffer setbacks that cause emotional loss of control, the curse seizes the chance to activate, making them hear an evil whisper.

This terrifying sound seems to emanate from the Abyss, gradually driving people mad, stripping reason.

Thus the Blood Soul Curse is also called Lord of Darkness's Whisper; anyone lured by this whisper into corruption can no longer be called a "person," but a "fallen one."

Their souls are polluted by the Abyss's "evil energy"; even if slain, their souls fall into the Abyss, becoming the evil god's slaves and minions, never redeemed.

When the Blood Soul Curse erupts, it draws out the greatest malice in a person's heart, prompting the most insane and horrific acts.

To prevent greater harm, there is no choice but to kill the fallen.

Thousands of years ago,

Humans were born with great strength and long lifespans, comparable to elves and dwarves, living in settlements in remote regions. Yet after the curse, humans turned on each other; within a hundred years, the population plummeted to one‑tenth of its former size!

The most terrifying part is that the Blood Soul Curse passes through bloodlines to the next generation.

Each infant is cursed at birth; their Willpower is weak, making them prone to become fallen, and even if they survive to adulthood, their bodies remain frail.

Thus the curse continues generation after generation; after several generations, human lifespans shrink dramatically, with few living past seventy.

Moreover, humans lost their great talents; bodies rapidly degenerated, sensitivity to supernatural forces dulled, and no matter how hard they tried, they could not match other races, nor produce top‑tier champions.

From the end of the previous era to the start of the new one, a thousand‑year Dark Age left humanity on the brink of extinction.

During the Dark Age, humanity tried various methods to combat the Blood Soul Curse.

Eventually someone discovered that ingesting an herb called "Soul‑Eater Grass" could counter the Blood Soul Curse, reducing its activation chance.

Soul‑Eater Grass itself is a highly toxic plant; its toxin acts directly on the soul, and only a minuscule amount avoids death, though it is excruciating, comparable to torture. Though it cannot lift the Blood Soul Curse, it halts further bodily degeneration that would otherwise lead to extinction.

After a millennium of struggle, humanity finally endured.

Later, humanity turned disaster into blessing.

The near‑thousand‑year soul torment granted humans a talent to fuse other souls, acquiring special abilities from beasts, aberrations, monsters, insects, and even Demons.

All living things with souls in the world can be claimed by humans and cultivated to grow stronger.

By fusing souls and combining abilities, humans developed dozens of extraordinary professions.

About three thousand years ago, the world saw its first transcendent, a "Wizard" who cast spells with soul power; two hundred years later, a group of Sun Knights devoted to the sun god "Ge Weng" founded humanity's first nation, the "Lamont Kingdom," on the Black‑Afidran Continent!

Thus, the Ai Lun E Si world entered a new era for humanity, now 2,528 years old.

Nevertheless, no matter how glorious a civilization humans built, how many mighty foes they defeated, or how vast and fertile lands they ruled, the Blood Soul Curse remains unbroken, like a festering bone ulcer that cannot be removed.

In any human nation, city, or settlement, each day someone succumbs to the curse, becoming a mad fallen one, spawning countless tragedies.

The Blood Soul Curse will forever be an inescapable nightmare in people's hearts!

Lei En recalled the nightmare he had while unconscious, and felt a deep dread.

At that time he was at his weakest, and if not for the protection of his phone, he would surely have gone mad by now.

But the Lu Yisi before him was not so fortunate; he claimed he was merely ill and now recovered, yet no one would believe.

The frail sick are the group most prone to curse activation; nearly half of the fallen are patients, and of the other half, sixty percent are elders, whose weak constitutions and thin Willpower make them especially vulnerable.

Thus few elders remain among humans, as they rarely live past seventy before falling.

"Your wife and children are already dead."

Deng Pusi suddenly spoke, his voice carrying across the entire square so everyone could hear.

Lu Yisi's curses abruptly stopped, and Deng Pusi continued, "You personally killed your wife last night, and strangled your three children—do you remember now?"

"I didn't, I…," Lu Yisi reflexively retorted, then seemed to recall something terrible, a look of remorse and pain appearing on his face.

Gradually, his expression twisted, his eyes filled with an eerie blackness, and a chilling aura radiated outward.

"Hahaha…"

A burst of manic laughter erupted from Lu Yisi's mouth, a sound that made listeners feel nauseous, head‑spinning.

"Shut up! Demon!"

Dengpus's voice rang in people's ears, its tone imbued with a strange power that lifted their spirits and instantly restored them to normal.

On the guillotine, Lu Yisi strained to open his mouth but could not make a sound, like a drowning person.

His body suddenly exhaled a faint black vapor; his limbs twisted and swelled unnaturally, flesh and bone knotting together into a horrific clump of rotten mud, trying to break free.

A row of strange characters appeared on the silver chain, tightly binding Lu Yisi like an invisible cage, sealing even his black vapor so it could not escape.

People watched the scene fearfully and involuntarily stepped back a few paces.

Lei En saw a fallen one go mad for the first time; wanting a clearer view, he thought briefly and activated the camera.

The scene in his view shifted, and everything became crystal clear.

Lei En was startled; he discovered he could see far more than just super vision.

In his eyes, each surrounding person's head turned ethereal, allowing him to see through their skull and flesh to the interior, where a vague light glowed.

Lei En subconsciously guessed, "Is this the human soul?"

His gaze swept the crowd, then, certain his guess was correct, he thought to himself, "I can actually see souls directly!"

Upon closer inspection, Lei En found each person's soul was different.

The most striking difference was soul color—red, white, yellow, green, blue—every hue, constantly shifting as if tied to the person's emotions.

Next, soul size varied; larger souls felt stronger to Lei En, while smaller ones felt weak.

This could be distinguished by the Holy Sword Attendants in the square.

Each Holy Sword Attendant's soul was far stronger than that of the onlooking citizens, at least half a size larger and more solid. Most citizens' souls were relatively weak; a few were already damaged, flickering like a candle in the wind, seeming ready to extinguish at any moment.

Finally, Lei En looked at Dengpus in the square and was stunned.

Dengpus's soul was so powerful that even compared to a Holy Sword Attendant, both size and texture differed by several levels.

Let alone ordinary people; their gap with Dengpus was like fireflies versus a bright moon.

Dengpus's soul was a ball of white light; Lei En felt a steadfast Willpower and a lake‑like calm.

Moreover, Dengpus's soul had an internal structure, like an onion with layers; from outside to inside there were five layers, each deeper layer denser, with soul power surging within.

Deep within the innermost core, Lei En saw three strange abstract symbols.

The three symbols differed—two large, one small—each with distinct shapes, like separate souls, then the three souls merged together.

"These must be the Elements within the soul; each Element represents a distinct ability,"

Lei En felt something and was greatly delighted.

He knew exactly what being able to see souls directly meant; for humans who fuse souls to gain power, nothing was stronger.

Then, Lei En looked at Lu Yisi on the guillotine.

Lu Yisi's soul was also unique, a mass of pitch‑black, like smoke, almost spilling from his head, visible even to the naked eye as black vapor on his body.

The black soul continuously expanded, twisted, writhed, sprouting tangled tentacles outward like a living thing. At its center, a pair of blood‑red eyes flickered, twitching rapidly.

Lei En glanced at Lu Yisi's soul and felt a surge of madness and evil, nearly losing his composure.

"The fallen one's soul is truly terrifying; even a glance is dangerous,"

At that moment, under the crowd's gaze, Dengpus stepped forward, drew his sword; the silver blade gleamed with cold light, its broad edges etched with characters on both sides. He moved his lips, apparently chanting a spell, making the characters on the sword shine brighter.

"In the name of Tiriel, I, Dengpus Bil, hereby sentence you to death. May your soul escape the Abyss, achieve self‑redemption, and return to the Divine Realm."

Dengpus loudly recited the verdict, then raised the silver sword above his head.

Lei En initially tried to turn away, not to watch the bloody scene. For someone who lived in a peaceful society in his previous life, the impact of witnessing a beheading up close was still overwhelming.

However, he noticed everyone around stared unblinkingly at the guillotine—adults, youths, women, children—their expressions eager, eyes tinged with fervor, as if enjoying a splendid drama.

Their soul colors gradually turned red, indicating heightened emotion.

Lei En suddenly realized that watching others beheaded was a routine entertainment for people of this world.

Turning away would instead make one appear too alien.

Lei En could only stare wide‑eyed as a flash of silver light saw Dengpus's sword slash down at a speed beyond naked eye.

Lu Yisi's head fell to the ground, blood splattering and staining the black guillotine with fresh red. The headless corpse still writhed, then after a few moments finally ceased, reverting to a mass of muddled flesh; the terrifying aura quickly dissipated.

The onlookers let out a sigh of satisfaction, then silently shook their heads and gradually dispersed.

Lei En stood there, motionless as if frightened by the beheading scene.

He was indeed startled; seeing a living person have their head cut off before his eyes made him feel both nauseous and oddly fascinated.

However, what shocked Lei En most was that after Lu Yisi's head was severed, he "saw" a black light burst from the fallen head, presumably Lu Yisi's soul.

It had been drifting upward, then suddenly turned, rushing toward him like a moth to flame.

Before he could react—perhaps in the blink of an eye—the black light darted into his eyes and vanished.

Lei En's whole body stiffened, nearly dying of fright.

Lu Yisi is a fallen one; his soul is tainted by demonic energy, certainly not a good thing. Logically it should have fallen into the Abyss, becoming a servant of the Abyssal demon god, yet now it has burrowed into his own head—what will be the result?

What if others discover it?

That Holy Sword Warrior Dengpus is still here!

Lei En remained terrified for a long while, daring not to act, fearing Dengpus would notice the anomaly and strike with a sword.

Fortunately, Dengpus evidently could not see souls; he ordered the guards to burn the corpse, then sheathed the silver sword unblemished by blood and returned to the church.

Only after most of the crowd had dispersed did Lei En sigh in relief, noticing cold sweat dampening his back.

He hurried to examine his body and immediately noticed an abnormality.

On the virtual interface, his mobile phone's battery surged by eight bars, reaching 16% total, and a force seemed to fill his body, granting boundless energy; he felt itchy and swollen, eager to release the power somewhere at once.

Lei En was both startled and delighted, roughly guessing, "Can I absorb others' souls to recharge?"