Undead Lord of Gluttonous Pride

"A Whispering Fracture?"

Howrah nodded solemnly and then explained:

"When one overstrains their core like using up all their soul energy, the protection produced from the energy would weaken, allowing the corruption of the Great Abyss to begin making an appearance in the individual's soul place."

He then gave a short pause. Placing his arms around his back before continuing.

"I hadn't anticipated you having to deal with this, considering there shouldn't have been anything out there other than... "Them" to give you enough trouble... However! You needn't worry about it for now. I doubt it would affect you overly much."

He gave a brief stare at it before turning his back and walking away. Damien stared at him with doubt before following him. A crack that leads to the Abyss wouldn't affect him?

How could something so ominous not affect him!? Just knowing that it's here is giving him enough worry.

He slid down the slope and caught up to Howrah, who had floated down.

"What do you mean it wouldn't affect me? Something as ominous as the "Great Abyss" should be something I should worry about."

"Leave it be."

"But—"

Howrah twisted his head around and stared intensely at him.

"I said Leave. It. Be... We shall deal with it at a more appropriate time. Father knows best, Damien..."

Damien gave up asking any further. Howrah did indeed know best; he, after all, knew more about Soul Energy. It's only right to listen to someone more knowledgeable on the matter.

With that, they left Damien's Soul Place, but only after spending a few more minutes inside to set up something that Howrah was more serious about setting up. More serious than the mysterious crack in his realm.

He had asked about it, but the only thing he had got out of the old man was that it was called a "Soul Anchor".

***

Damien awoke on the seat of one of the cathedral's benches, completely reclined over it with his head staring up. His sight was robbed from him by what seemed to be a dirty handkerchief over his face.

Sitting back up and removing it from his face, he stared at it with a deadpan expression.

'He couldn't have covered my eyes with something not so... Dirty?'

Every once in a while, he couldn't help but feel the urge to stare back at that ceiling and gaze upon the god's appearance. Why was its face scratched out, and were they still alive to watch them from whatever realm they were in?

He was curious to know! But Howrah was very hesitant and stubborn from speaking any more about this particular god.

Pushing himself off the bench while still holding onto the dirty handkerchief, he set off to find Howrah's whereabouts. Had he already disappeared before he even woke up?

He did remember telling him about what happened and what caused him to use up his core. Howrah seemed to have a very strong reaction when he described the bird's appearance.

A reaction someone would make after finally getting what they want after several years of hard work—excitement.

After a few moments into his search, something... strange was happening to the silent ambience around him. It felt like, under the crushing silence, there was a small whisper.

Damien looked left and right, but no one was there. He peeked behind the columns and under the benches, even going up to the altar. No one other than him was in this hall.

Just as he was about to consider himself crazy and continue his search for Howrah, he felt something near the side of his head and whispered something into it.

"Hm!?"

He swung his head back, and the thing that was whispering inside his ear disappeared.

'What's going on?' He thought.

Why had he started hearing strange whispers all of a sudden? They sounded distorted and incomprehensible.

'Could it be because of the Whispering Fracture? That has to be it...'

He sighed deeply; he was right to feel worrisome about it. However, it was, to a degree, something that may affect him entirely; who knows what might happen if it starts whispering and he is in a battle?

His focus might get entirely thrown off!

After exploring the inside of the cathedral, he finally discovered Howrah in his room, staring at his walls that were littered with scrolls pinned onto the walls.

It was a scene straight out of a detective movie.

"What are you doing?"

"Hm? Oh, you finally woken up. Took you long enough."

Damien rolled his eyes before asking the same thing again. This time around, actually getting an answer.

"I'm researching."

"On...?"

Howrah eyed him before sighing, deciding to let him in on it as well.

"I'm researching on the Weakening."

"And what is this... Weakening?"

"If you must know, the reason why you've been encountering so many stained creatures instead of Blighteds this entire time is because of this damn ability!"

He smacked his staff against it, irritated by its effects.

"Not only has this affected those filthy beasts outside, but also me as well! Reducing me, a Circler of the Six circle, to a mere first! The same as you! It's ridiculous how effective it is!"

He ranted on, his arms flailing about. He then walked towards a bed that was in the very corner and sat on it, a few pops making themselves known—originating from his back.

His face wrinkled, smacking his back a few times to alleviate the pain.

"Ugh..." He groaned.

"And how about that wall?"

Howrah raised his eyes to the spot Damien was pointing at. A wall covered in paper with scribbles on it all led to one high-quality image of an old man with an impressive jawline.

He waved his hand dismissively:

"Nobody. Do you have anything else to ask, or is this it?"

Damien thought for a minute before saying:

"You have yet to tell me about these Stained, Blighted, and abyssal stuff."

"I haven't? Well then, I guess we should begin."

He said before pointing over towards a book with his sharp, yellowish fingernails.

"Could you please pass me that book with the quill and ink pot?"

After receiving the three items, Howrah then began to draw a circle with seven sections inside it, each labelled with its own name. He then pointed towards the section titled "Stained" and began to explain it.

"Stained is..."