I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 120: River of Souls

The climb toward the eastern ridge was steeper than Jack expected, a jagged path of black stone cutting through the endless crimson sky like a scar across reality itself.

Each step sent loose pebbles skittering down the cliff face, their echoes swallowed by the unnatural silence that seemed to press against his eardrums.

Ashen wind hissed through the narrow canyons, carrying with it the acrid scent of sulfur.

The constant crackle of his Static Orbs provided a steady accompaniment to his footsteps, twenty spheres of compressed lightning drifting in a slow, protective orbit around him.

Jack had been casting the spell repeatedly as he climbed, deploying new sets of orbs every few hundred meters along the trail behind him.

Each casting cost him 45 mana, and he’d lost count of how many times he’d used it. The orbs themselves required no ongoing energy once created, but the repeated castings had drained his reserves significantly.

He wouldn’t have been able to repeatedly cast this spell if not for his mana regeneration.

The path wound upward through formations of twisted obsidian that looked almost organic, as if the mountain itself had once been some massive, petrified creature.

Strange runes were carved into some of the larger stones, their meaning lost to time but their malevolent purpose still radiating a faint aura that made Jack’s skin crawl.

After what felt like hours of steady climbing, the sound of running water reached his ears. It was soft, steady, and impossibly out of place in this desolate landscape.

Jack halted mid-step as he tried to locate the source.

Below the cliff trail, revealed as he rounded a sharp bend, a river wound through the canyon like liquid moonlight.

But this was no ordinary waterway. The current carried not water, but souls.

Countless spectral forms drifted downstream in a slow, shimmering procession that defied every natural law Jack had ever known.

White-blue silhouettes moved within the luminous flow, translucent faces caught in eternal agony.

Some appeared to be reaching toward the surface, their mouths open in silent screams or pleas.

Others seemed peaceful, resigned to their endless journey through this current.

They wailed, but their sound was so unique that it made it hard for mortal ears to decipher, creating a chorus of voices.

He had seen many strange things since he first entered the Spire.

Creatures that defied logic, magic that rewrote the rules of physics, divine beings that treated mortals as amusing diversions. But nothing quite like this.

The river glowed with its own cold light, casting eerie reflections across the jagged canyon walls.

The souls within moved with purpose, all flowing in the same direction, toward some unknowable destination deeper in the underworld.

Jack found himself wondering where they were going, what awaited them at the end of their journey, and whether he would someday join that eternal procession.

A soft electronic chime broke through his morbid contemplation.

[Status Update: You are being observed.]

[Multiple hostile entities detected across the river]

[Threat assessment: Mixed.]

[Recommend caution.]

Jack’s muscles tensed as his gaze swept across the opposite bank.

At first, he saw nothing but more twisted rock formations and dancing shadows. Then, slowly, the eyes became visible.

Glowing orbs pierced the perpetual gloom.

Red like fresh blood, gold like tarnished coins, sickly green like infected wounds. Dozens of them, maybe hundreds, arranged in clusters, lurking just beyond the edge of visibility.

Most appeared to belong to smaller demons, hunched creatures no larger than children but infinitely more dangerous.

Jack could make out thin claws that gleamed like polished steel, twitching tails barbed with venomous spines, and mouths filled with teeth designed for rending flesh.

A few sets of eyes were much larger.

Those were the Low Grade Demons.

These stood taller than the lesser fiends, their forms more humanoid than the lesser demons.

They made no sound beyond the occasional scrape of claw on stone or the whisper of leathery wings adjusting position.

But their collective stare pressed against Jack like an unseen weight, heavy with malevolent intelligence and barely restrained hunger.

Jack exhaled slowly and resumed walking, his pace steady and unhurried despite the attention focused on him.

He had learned that showing fear to predators, was often the fastest way to provoke an attack.

The System chimed again, its tone carrying what Jack had learned to recognize as concern.

[Mana reserves at 28%. Multiple Static Orb deployments have significantly reduced available energy. Recommend limiting further casting until mana regenerates.]

”Save it,” Jack said aloud, cutting off the suggestion with the casual dismissal he might give to an overly worried friend.

”Anyone tries following me up this trail, they’ll walk right into a minefield. The orbs stay where they are.”

[Understood.]

The glowing eyes across the river tracked his movement as he continued along the precarious trail.

Jack could sense their frustration, their desire to cross the soul-filled barrier and tear him apart with claws and fangs.

But something held them back, whether it was the river itself, some territorial boundary, or simple caution in the face of his displayed power, he couldn’t tell.

The silence stretched for nearly an hour as Jack navigated the increasingly treacherous path. The trail narrowed in places, forcing him to press his back against the cliff face as he sidestepped around gaps where the stone had crumbled away into the abyss below.

The constant presence of the watching demons made every step feel like a performance, every movement scrutinized for signs of weakness.

Then, without warning, the tension broke.

A sudden screech ripped through the silence, sharp enough to make Jack’s teeth ache.

Five of the smaller demons launched themselves from the opposite bank, their desperate leap carrying them high over the river of souls.

Black shapes silhouetted against the crimson sky, claws extended, mouths gaping to reveal rows of needle-sharp teeth.

They were Dread-class entities, Jack realized as his perception cataloged their threat level.

Fast, vicious, and intelligent enough to coordinate their attack. Under normal circumstances, even one would have been a significant challenge.

[Dread Class Horde approaching.]

But these weren’t normal circumstances.

Jack didn’t even break stride.

He flicked a single thought toward the Static Orbs orbiting his position. The spheres responded instantly, their lazy rotation transforming as they positioned themselves between Jack and the incoming threats.

The first demon was still twenty feet from the cliff face when it hit the outermost orb.

BOOM!

Blue lightning erupted in a brilliant flash that turned the entire canyon white for a split second. The demon’s shriek cut off abruptly as electricity coursed through its form, charring flesh.

Its body tumbled backward, trailing smoke and the acrid smell of burned sulfur.

The second and third demons tried to adjust their trajectories, their agility allowing them to twist mid-flight. But the orbs were already moving to intercept, guided by Jack’s will.

BOOM!!

BOOM!!

Two more flashes painted the canyon walls in stark relief. The demons’ charred remains joined their companion in a graceful arc that ended in the soul-river below.

The luminous current accepted their bodies without comment, adding two more dark shapes to its eternal flow.

Their screams of agony could be heard as the souls forced the demon down into the river, unable to escape.