Lord of Souls

Flain clicked on [Lord of Souls].

[Name: Lord of Souls

Level: 1

Stage: Max

Type: Soul Spell

Consumption: [Here]

Description: A very unique skill created specifically for the undead Flain. The user can enslave the soul of a living being, forcing the victim into complete obedience. The slave must obey your command or he will be punished. The slave will no longer need to sleep, eat, or fulfill any of the normal needs they had before. Naturally, only living organisms can be enslaved. The slave also cannot die — if someone kills the slave, they will simply revert to their original form, and the user will lose an amount of MP based on how strong the slave's soul is. Slaves can absorb the souls of any corpses, which strengthens them and contributes to increasing the skill's level. The stronger the soul the slave absorbs, the greater the effect will be. When someone becomes your slave they will feel great sympathy for the user even though they may not have liked you when they were not yet a user slave. The user can also hide their slaves within their own body, merging them into their own soul, though the slaves can exert pressure on the user's soul. The slave's original weapons and armor will be bound to his body and cannot be destroyed. For someone to become the user's slave, they must sincerely desire to be enslaved.

Slave Slots: 0/1

Next level: Your slaves must absorb enough souls to reach the next level.]

When Flain read this, his eyes wide open, it was amazing — though the limited slots and the condition that the target must genuinely want to be enslaved were clear downsides.

'Let's test this out,' Flain thought as he looked at the broken Aran lying on the ground.

"Lord of Souls," Flain muttered.

[The organism whose soul you want to enslave does not genuinely wish to be enslaved.]

When Flain saw the system message, his good mood dropped slightly. "You don't want to become my slave," Flain muttered.

"No, master, I'm already your slave. Please, just let me rest a little," Aran replied.

"You're not. You really don't want to be. But I'll convince you," Flain said, his eyes glowing ominously.

Then Flain sat on him and began torturing him just enough to keep him alive — tearing off skin, stabbing him, breaking his bones… Aran repeatedly begged to just be killed already.

Flain kept activating Lord of Souls, checking each time to see if Aran had changed his mind. Eventually, he succeeded in convincing him — though the method was anything but pleasant. Flain couldn't care less.

"Lord of Souls," Flain said one last time.

[Congratulations, you have successfully initiated the enslavement process...]

Aran's eyes suddenly swirled, and a large, dull pale blue slave collar appeared around his neck. Green cracks spread across his body, then suddenly stopped. His eyes lit up with a gray hue, and the cracks and collar remained on his body.

[Choose how your slaves will address you.]

Flain thought about it. There was no way he would choose the same title he had to call his own masters — "sir." Flain thought it over and finally made his decision.

"King," Flain muttered.

Aran's gray eyes turned to Flain. "My king, please give me a name," he said.

Flain thought for a moment. "What was your name again? Uran?" Flain mocked.

"Aran," Aran replied.

"Alright, I'll name you Aran," Flain said.

"My king, may I ask what exactly just happened? I'll be honest with you — I feel like I have to address you as king, and I feel like I must obey every single one of your commands or I'll be punished. I also feel... different, and somehow I know I can absorb souls. Also, when I look at my body, it has changed."

"Hmh, I activated my skill on you and enslaved your soul. You'll have to obey me to the letter," said Flain, having no reason to lie.

"I'll tell you the basic commands — you are forbidden from attacking me or my allies. If you want to do something I wouldn't approve of or something that might interest me, you have to tell me. From now on, you won't need to fulfill any basic needs, and you're immortal — but try not to die because it drains my mana, which is my magical energy. When you absorb souls, you'll get stronger. Also, your weapons can't be destroyed," Flain finished.

Aran's gray eyes widened. "So I'm immortal?" he muttered.

"Probably. Now follow me, I'm going to check on Itai, who is our ally," said Flain.

"My king, may I say my final goodbyes to my people one last time?" asked Aran, looking at the massacred and ruined settlement before him.

"No," said Flain with a smirk. With that, Flain and Aran headed towards the base.

On the way, Flain pondered about the skill. He didn't know what would happen to Aran if Flain died. If Flain died, would Aran be stored inside Flain's soul and be reborn with him? Or would Flain have to enslave him again?

And if they were reborn together, what would happen to Aran in the meantime? Would he just suddenly disappear from the settlement if Itai summoned Flain again?

[Tip: When you die, your slaves are automatically stored with you and can be used again normally after your rebirth. As for the original organisms you enslaved, they will disappear after your rebirth.]

The system answered Flain. When Flain read this, he realized he was mostly right. He was also curious whether it was possible to release his slaves from servitude or if that option didn't exist. Of course, Flain had no intention of doing that, but he was simply curious.

[Tip: Slaves cannot be released.]

Flain didn't mind this too much. It just meant that if he found a stronger and more suitable candidate for a slave while his slots were full, he would either have to drag the current one along until he unlocked another slot or kill them and leave them behind.

The last thing that interested Flain was how to store his slaves inside his soul. Flain knew this ability had been mentioned in the description.

[Tip: If you want to recall your slaves into your soul or summon them again, all you need to do is think about who you want to recall/summon, and it will happen. If you want to recall/summon all of them at once, just think about that.]

Flain decided to test it. He thought about recalling Aran. Aran's silhouette behind Flain began to dematerialize and turned into smoke that flowed into Flain's body. It was a very strange sensation for Flain. That was actually pretty good — Flain much preferred traveling alone…