Rebirth Of The Bastard Spirit Summoner

Stark's vision darkened for less than a fraction of a second, and when he opened his eyes he was back in that space.

The blazing blue sun was just as imposing as ever, and his cabin was still there, an abnormality in the wasteland that went on for miles.

"So this is my soul?" He glanced around the space and frowned.

The imposing pillars he had seen the first time he had been here were still there, just as eerie as they had always been, but strangely, that was not what bothered him the most.

"Why is there no air?"

It felt weird having to breathe nothing. Stark felt dead but at the same time alive.

He was about to step into the cabin when his clothes suddenly fluttered by his side.

The white flags hanging at the top of the gargantuan pillars began to billow in the wind as well, causing him to pause.

"What the hell happened?"

All he did was think about the wind, and it ended up materializing…

'Does that mean?'

Stark closed his eyes, hoping to bring something into existence.

"Waterfall."

"…"

Nothing happened.

Stark began to walk around the small cabin, his hands on his chin as he contemplated. "But the wind worked…"

Deciding to try something else, he imagined the next thing that came to his mind.

"Mountain!"

'What is wrong with me? A mountain of all things?'

But to his surprise, the earth suddenly began to shudder and Stark's eyes widened as a large rock emerged from the ground. It kept rising until it became so tall that he had to raise his head.

Stark smiled, a theory already forming in his head. This was his soul, wasn't it? Then it made sense that he would be able to bring his imaginations to life.

The question was, how far could he even go? The waterfall had not appeared, but was it because he could not bring it into being?

He glanced at the mountain that had now fully formed, the black stone imposing in the dark world that was his soul.

'…or was it because I skipped a few steps?'

"Waterfall."

Whooosh!

Stark jumped back as a flood of water came into being, pouring down from the top of the mountain and splashing against the floor, sending drops of cold water flying to his face.

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "I'm beginning to get a hang of this—Lake!"

The ground in front of him suddenly depressed and was filled to the brim with crystal clear waters. Now the waterfall had a place to fall into.

Stark's soul was finally beginning to look a bit better. He cracked his fingers and took a step forward. "Let's see the extent of this new ability…"

Over the next couple of minutes, Stark had managed to turn his dark soul into something unrecognisable.

There were things he could not change, such as the pillars and the cabin. No matter how much he tried, he could not remove them or even change their position, but everything else was different.

The terrain was now a vast grassland with a number of trees dotting the space, the lake had a number of imaginary animals that brought the water to life, and he had created a large house next to the cabin as a type of extension.

After everything, Stark was feeling exhausted, which was strange since this was a spiritual body.

"Welcome to the inner world!" he said to himself, deciding to call his soul space that name, before laughing and plopping down on the grass to catch his breath.

But Stark did not get to rest for long because another thought came to mind, one that made him immediately stand.

If he could create so many buildings and even create imaginary animals…

He lifted his hand and a long sword appeared in his grip, the blue light abundant in his soul reflecting on its sleek blade.

All this while he had been wondering what he could use his soul space for, and now he had finally found the answer.

Although he had only worked on about 2% of his soul, building it had been fun, like a game where he played a city planner.

But now, he had seen the true strength of the inner world…

All it took was a thought, and before him stood none other than Calylus Goldstein, Darell's knight captain, or rather, an imaginary version of him.

Caylus was no ordinary man, he was a crusader, one of the higher-ranking knights of the order as well as an imperial knight of the kingdom.

He was by far Stark's biggest obstacle, so he was more than happy to be able to face him. Not only would he gain some insight, it was also a way of honing his sword skills.

This knight was just an imagination—Stark's impression of him after seeing him fight a few times in the past, so he was nothing near the original.

Still, it would have to do.

"Come at me with the intention to kill…"

Caylus' copy nodded and unsheathed his sword, his eyes staring at him with utmost focus.

And then he moved…

Whoosh!

Stark met Caylus' strike with a slash of his own, both weapons reverberating and sending an echo through the world.

Twisting his body, Stark redirected the blade and spun, feeling the wind speed past him as he lashed out with a horizontal swipe.

Caylus parried it with ease, despite his hulking body, the middle-aged man moved with outstanding speed, closing the distance between them in seconds.

As a deadly swipe came racing towards his head, Stark lifted his sword to block, but for a moment, his vision blurred.

Before he could right himself, Caylus' blade sliced into his skull, splitting it in half.

"Haaaa!"

Stark's body reformed a second later, and he dove right back into the battle, swinging his sword with ruthless precision.

He moved a little better this time, dodging an elbow strike from the knight and delivering a heavy blow that knocked him back.

But once again he made a mistake that led to a sword sticking into his heart.

"Again!"

This time, Stark went all out, using every part of his body as a weapon. He slid underneath a well placed slash and managed to bring the knight to the floor with a kick to the back of his knees.

Rising quickly, Stark drove his sword at the man's neck, but he caught the blade just moments before it could make contact.

Stark frowned, just as the knight's armoured leg flew into his gut, sending him up into the air.

Caylus waited, his grip tightening on his blade as Stark descended. Stark pulled out a dagger and threw it at his face, but he deflected it with the side of his blade, and when Stark descended…

He split him in half.

"Again!"

Strangely, this routine death and resurrection felt somehow familiar, but Stark had no idea why.

He switched to his dagger this time for the extra speed and managed to last a bit longer, just before an elbow to his head dazed him, and with a ruthless expression, Caylus split him sideways.

"AGAIN!"

Cough!

Stark suddenly staggered back, dark dots appearing in his vision as the world completely faded into nothing.

He blinked, his eyes shooting open only to land on the dark interior of his room. He was back in the real world, but before he could register anything, he buckled and coughed.

His head was aching, a dull pain that made it hard to concentrate. "I must have overexerted myself…"

He had spent many hours in the inner world, much of which he had spent creating and reshaping the place. It was foolish to think it would have no effect on him.

"Damn it, and I really wanted to fight Caylus more."

Stark sighed and shook his head, massaging his temple with his fingers, then he placed his hands on the floor to push himself to his feet.

But just as he did, he felt a warm substance on his fingers. When he lifted his hand to check, bringing it to the dim light streaming through his window, his gaze darkened.

It was blood.

He was covered in a small pool of his own blood, all of which had come from his nose.

"Just how much did I bleed?"

The inner world… it had its limits.