Without any safe avenues to explore, I decided to go for the troublesome options. Namely, to try and force the issue, to see if I could break into the guy’s soul. Knowing it would almost certainly result in the guy’s demise, I considered the possible consequences. Depending on those, I would have to make preparations to avoid negative repercussions. The guy was bound to Sunna, so it wasn’t impossible that the deity would notice his death. Or the breaking of his Soul, meaning I might have to evacuate suddenly, without leaving any traces.

  With that in mind, I began to pull the concealment I had draped over the cavern together, anchoring it to myself and partially in the shadows. It lessened the actual effect of the magic, making it somewhat flimsy and easily disrupted by other spellcasters, but that didn’t really matter. I didn’t need the concealment to remain active for a few more hours, nor did I have to worry about somebody stumbling across the cave if I would be gone within the hour. Probably a lot sooner.

  Once I was confident in my ability to vanish without a trace in the blink of an eye, I readied myself for the next step. I could sense the guy’s soul, had Observe’d it with the ability and with my own skills, giving me a fair idea what I wanted to manipulate. Now, I needed to project perception into the soul itself, without a clear idea of what to expect within. I was, effectively, operating blind.

  Regardless, I wanted to see what would happen. And so, I closed my eyes and started to focus. Astral Power was flowing out of me and rapidly enveloped the guy’s soul. That much was pretty simple, and if I wanted to change his elemental affinities, I would simply start painting, for lack of a better word, the outside of his soul, letting the appropriate affinity seep into the shell. But that wasn’t the plan for today. Instead, I started to push and prod against the soul, looking for any spots on the outside that stood out to me.

  Maybe my mental sensitivity was too low, or the issue was that I just didn’t know what I was actually looking for. Regardless, I was unable to spot anything that gave me the impression that some particular point was especially suited, so I picked one at random and started to prod a little more firmly.

  It took more Astral Power, but not enough to be noticeable on my level. Sadly, it also didn’t do all that much. The guy might have twitched a little as I started prodding his soul, but it might have been some sort of reflexive action. I would have to investigate if I wanted to know more. But that didn’t help me to examine the deeper layers of his soul.

  So I pushed harder, using a little more Astral Power and wrapping it around the entire soul, making sure the mental representation I was using couldn’t move or absorb the energy I put into my prods.

  Using more and more Astral Power, and occasionally trying different spots, just to see if that changed anything, I continued my poking and prodding until my annoyance got the better of me and I activated Overflow.

  The resulting burst of Astral Power crashed into the guy’s soul. For a moment, the soul managed to withstand the flood of Astral Power, but then, I felt something change. It was almost like hitting an egg with a hammer. The shell, previously able to withstand the repeated prods, shattered suddenly, causing some unknown substance to burst out and splash everywhere. It wasn’t physical, nor was it Astral or Divine Power, for that matter. It was something else entirely. And, most importantly, it felt utterly disgusting, quite possibly the worst thing I had ever experienced.

  To make matters worse, the wave of disgusting stuff was accompanied by a faint, but completely desperate pulse of Astral Power. It was too strong to contain, or maybe too inherently desperate, a sensation I noted down for later examination even while I started to act.

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  With the pulse spreading, I did not doubt that the people of the Blessed City would feel the desperation and, more importantly, it was entirely plausible that Sunna herself did, too.

  There was no hesitation in my moves as I acted. My hand flashed out, striking the guy’s head even as his eyes were in the process of burning out, likely to be replaced by the flames symbolising his status as a Shattered. A process that was never completed, as the strike, driven by my entire physical strength, was more than enough to reduce the guy’s skull to mush and splatter its contents across the walls of the cave.

  Then, as I was still drawing my hand back, I shifted into the shadows, pulling the Darkness Astral Power I had used to conceal the cave and its contents with me, erasing as much of the evidence as I could in the process. Sure, the guy’s body would remain, but without the head, it was just that, a destroyed body. And the head was pulped, making it difficult, if not impossible, to restore enough of it to learn what happened. Maybe Sunna could question the guy’s soul, but given that the entire problem was the shattering of that soul, I wasn’t willing to bet on that.

  Nor was I willing to hang around, just in case Sunna put in a serious effort into a violent reaction. Barely a second after the guy’s soul had Shattered, I was moving through the Shadows, shifting away from the area as quickly as I could.

  For a moment, I considered moving into one of my distant bases, maybe the Nexus Tower, but then I decided against it. If Sunna wanted to use her divine power to strike me, being in Jademoon Tower, with its shrine being part of the structure, would be my best bet. There, I might be able to count on Lady Hecate’s support, as opposed to having the Nexus at my disposal if something serious happened.

  In a year or five, I might be able to use the Nexus to withstand a divine attack, but, for now, I was better off hoping for divine support from Lady Hecate if something went seriously wrong.

  Additionally, the Oculus atop Jademoon Tower allowed me to observe the cave I had used for my experiments. I had no idea if Sunna’s reaction, if there were one, would be visible and target the location where her follower had died, but it was the only realistic option I had to observe without putting myself at too much of a risk. Even observing with the Oculus carried some risk. Still, the Oculus was a divine creation of Lady Hecate, so there was a layer of separation, hopefully shielding me from possible retaliation.

  And that was precisely where I left the Shadows, atop my tower, sitting on the throne I used when viewing the world through the Oculus. Immediately, I channelled my power into the divine apparatus and my sight shifted.

  Through the Oculus, I could see the world with unparalleled clarity. It allowed me to see heaven and earth, watch humans and the stars with equal ease. But now, I was only interested in that one cave, though I didn’t zoom in too much. Instead, I simply let the Oculus pan across the mountains, occasionally focusing on one location or another for a moment but never lingering on anything for very long. I had no idea about Sunna’s abilities and limitations. Still, given that she was a deity of Light and the Sun in particular, I wasn’t willing to bet that she was unable to discern if someone was focused on a location. It was unlikely, certainly, but I was trying to eliminate any actionable evidence.

  In the first few minutes, I was almost vibrating with a combination of dread and excitement. Fully aware that I might be doomed already, but also intensely curious about the possible reaction. But with every minute that passed without anything happening, I felt a little more let down, both contradictory emotions draining me, leaving me with nothing but a faint sense of annoyance and dissatisfaction.

  After an hour or two of observing the mountains, I decided to give up, at least for now. Maybe Sunna would only act after the sun rose, which gave me a few hours I could use to rest, maybe sleep in the shrine for a bit. There were a few things I had to consider, and the sanctity of the shrine was the best place for me right now, especially if Sunna decided to use dawn to attack me.

  Letting out a sigh, I disengaged myself from the Oculus and started to walk down the stairs. This had been a bit of a mess, though I had learned a valuable lesson. What exactly that lesson was, I would have to figure out later, but I was confident it would be important. Maybe.