Ark Undead

"Pretty much, but to alleviate the zombie-like state, humanity isn't enough."

The Undead shook his head, lowered his right hand, and turned to see Onstan staring intently at his lowered right hand.

Onstan realized his lapse in composure, closed his eyes, shook his head, and said helplessly.

“During the soul-splitting ceremony, I received no less power than Artorias.”

The Undead nodded. Gwyn, before heading towards the First Forge, bestowed his power upon those around him before sacrificing himself to continue the flame. This was something anyone familiar with the history of the Dragonfighting Wars and the details of the Linking of the Flame knew.

King Gwyn's power originated from the First Flame, which is attractive to all beings of the Age of Fire. This is a rule, an unchangeable rule.

Onstan quickly shifted his attention from the initial fire to humanity.

"You mean, to revitalize humanity? Is it similar to the monsters that appeared during the abyss eruption that destroyed the Golden Kingdom of Ulasilu?"

"Yes, you can understand it that way."

The Undead nodded, becoming serious as the topic came up.

"Humanity, brought to life by the abyss, will be drawn to the soul. And it is extremely dangerous."

I don't know if it's because they've absorbed human nature, but the undead's brains are very active. Although they speak in fits and starts, their thoughts are quite clear.

"It would happen in Shangshu. That in itself is very dangerous."

Upon hearing the Immortal's words, Onstan immediately understood.

"Do you think Liang Xun's decision to keep you in Shangshu is related to this?"

"possible."

The immortal nodded.

"I found many corpses in that place. They belonged to Shang Shu."

The Undead believed that Shang Shu lacked the ability to revitalize humanity, and that the Undead had appeared at just the right time. Therefore, he conceived the idea of ​​having the Undead deal with the Abyss.

But this raises another question. If that's really the case, then Shang Shu shouldn't just simply close off the underground port area of ​​Wangjingmen, but directly disperse the crowd, right?

Is the Great Yan Dynasty so indifferent to its own people?

Onstan gave his own answer.

No, I don't think so.

Onstan shook his head.

"The reason why the Great Yan Dynasty has been able to stand for a thousand years is because it has its own methods for dealing with natural disasters. And I believe you have also come to some sense of this during your years in Terra. What is the essence of natural disasters?"

"The abyss erupted."

The Undead paused for a moment, then added.

"More like, a product of the abyss?"

"I call it, Abyss Projection."

Onstan nodded and said.

"To put it this way, natural disasters can cause the concentration of Originium in the area to increase, producing an incalculable amount of uncontrollable Originium. The essence of Originium is actually a soul mixed with uncontrollable humanity; it is a materialized energy product. You've come into contact with many Infected and have had exchanges with Rhodes Island, so you must know this."

The immortal nodded.

"Rhodes Island can extract humanity from Originium. Oripathy can also enhance the power of Originium Arts."

"I believe that Originium itself is a solidified energy product, perhaps those souls that cannot be driven. And the active Originium that appears in natural disasters is the soul that has been affected by the activation of humanity and has gone berserk, thus affecting and destroying the surroundings."

Onstan looked at the undead and said frankly.

"Furthermore, I don't consider Oripathy a disease. It's more like an undead curse... No, the Dark Ring is King Gwyn's curse. Hmm... perhaps undead or abyssal transformation would be better."

As a member of the Protoss, Ornstein knew the inside story of the Dark Ring.

It is not a disease in itself, but a restriction set by the gods to suppress one of the four original flames born beside the First Flame, the Dark Soul.

As a race with dark souls, the dwarves are more susceptible to being corrupted by the abyss.

The reason for this is that dark souls are the closest thing to the abyss, or in a sense, dark souls are the cause of the abyss.

And every dwarf possesses a dark soul, precisely because Manus was transformed into countless fragments of dark soul.

It is a gift, but in another sense, it is also a curse.

"The Dark Ring, Necrosis... Oripathy?"

Upon hearing this, the Undead were suddenly awakened.

He then realized that the nature of Oripathy was very similar to that of necrosis.

The Dark Ring causes the dwarf's body to undergo a zombification reaction. The Dark Ring grants the undead the ability to absorb souls, allowing them to grow stronger by defeating enemies while remaining immortal.

It will also cause the undead to gradually lose their reason and humanity, until they become living corpses that cannot distinguish themselves.

However, the essence of the Dark Ring is not the power given to the dwarves by the gods, but the result of the clash between the seal of fire and the dark soul.

However, without the fire seal, once the dark souls start to run rampant, they cannot be suppressed.

Oripathy is like a weakened version of the Dark Ring, allowing it to spread in a traceable manner and causing people to spend a short life in pain and suffering. But it also grants them the ability to use Originium Arts without a medium, and can even amplify it.

The more deeply a warlock is infected, the more powerful they tend to be.

"You certainly know more about the Abyss, the Dark Ring, and the Dark Souls than I do."

Onstan paused for a moment, then continued.

"Under the influence of natural disasters, ordinary Terrans can contract Oripathy, but is this change truly an infection?"

Changes like Oripathy and Zombification are less a form of active erosion and more...

"Induced".

After thinking it over, the immortal said.

"It's not Originium infection, but rather the induction of Oripathy in the human body."

"Yes, that's right. That's how I understand it."

Onstan said somewhat heavily.

"Oripathy is inherent in the human body, just as the dwarves were more susceptible to the corruption of the abyss in the past."

"Perhaps, the process of Oripathy is a special kind of necrosis?"

The theory put forward by Onstan gave even the immortals a moment of horror.

“Now, strange phenomena are occurring frequently in various parts of Terra. I believe you have also noticed some clues, which is exactly what I am worried about.”

"At present, Oripathy does not appear to directly lead to the appearance of the Abyss."

“But I’m worried that Oripathy will eventually evolve into something like necrosis… or something like the relationship between dark souls and the abyss.”

"Shang Shu's emergence has revitalized humanity and attracted the souls around him. This kind of thing will only happen more frequently in the future, and we must find the reason."

Even the wolf knight Artorias could not resist the influence of the abyss, demonstrating its destructive power.

Oripathy is a weakened form of abyssification, and this understanding doesn't seem wrong.

At present, the spread of Oripathy does not seem as terrifying as the original Abyss. Why is that?

The Undead, in silence, broke off a piece of firewood and threw it into the campfire in front of him, sending up a few sparks.

"We've gone off on a tangent, but there's still some connection. At least the Great Yan Dynasty has a way to combat natural disasters, which means they also possess some power to fight the Abyss. Perhaps it's related to the lightning magic they mentioned."

After calming himself down, Onstan sighed and changed the subject back to the topic of revitalizing humanity.

"If the Great Yan Dynasty has methods to combat natural disasters, why can't it even solve the problem of reviving humanity?"

Upon hearing Ongstein mention this, the Undying Man suddenly thought of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The Undead had met three Imperial Guards, all of whom could command the Abyss and suppress its power by relying on the so-called divine beasts.

The existence of the Embroidered Uniform Guard confirms that the Great Yan Dynasty is at least capable of handling this revitalized humanity. Not to mention the Celestial Master who cultivates so-called thunder magic, which is in reality a miracle. The Celestial Master even set up talismanic restrictions around the revitalized humanity.

The conclusion seems to have emerged as to why Shang Shu did not take the initiative.

Seeing the Undead looking thoughtful, Onstan continued.

"I'm afraid the Great Yan government is aware of the threat posed by the activation of human nature. But instead of directly addressing it, they might be using it to lure out other people."

Onstan looked at the Undead and asked in a deep voice.

"The nameless immortal, have you heard of him? Is he old?"

...

"Come in and sit down wherever you like. I'll... um, I'll think of a way to get you a glass of water."

Greyhound opened the door, turned on the light, let the woman behind him in, and then ran to the back to rummage through things.

He was probably looking for a kettle, since he hadn't used one in a long time.

As he walked in, he looked around at the room's decorations and layout.

When she saw the state of the room, she couldn't help but frown. But she still found a stool that looked quite clean and sat down.

The Rhodes Island branch looks so dilapidated; this is something I really didn't expect.

If it weren't for the fact that this guy called Greyhound had something on him, Nian probably wouldn't have been willing to stay here any longer.

Even though the greyhound's scent could remind her of past pain, that pain, in this era where change seems impossible, has become the best news for seeking change.

"Uh, well... I took a look, and the kettle cord is broken. Sorry, I'm afraid there won't be any water to drink."

The greyhound was carrying a water bottle in one hand and a power strip in the other. The wire on the power strip was broken in two, and there were obvious bite marks on the broken surface.

"It's okay, I'm not thirsty."

Nian shook her head, leaned back, crossed her left leg over her right, and looked completely at ease.

"I'm not thirsty, okay."

Upon hearing this, Greyhound put down the kettle and power strip he was holding, picked up the chair that had fallen to the ground during the fight with the undead, sat down casually on it, and then looked at Nian, scrutinizing him carefully.

Her eyes are beautiful and impressive.

When the dim light reflected from her eyes, they made Nian's eyes look like shimmering pale purple crystals.

But Greyhound remained vigilant. He had a feeling that this girl could take him down in a single exchange; their fighting abilities were not on the same level.