After hearing what Silva said, Bones donned a complex expression. He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask but felt like Silva was done talking and wouldn’t be inclined to answer.

If this place, this inner world was supposed to be a place full of memories, why is it so dark? The fears? The dreams? I’m an undead now - makes sense he wouldn’t find any of those here.

Bones scanned the darkness surrounding them, hoping to see whatever Silva saw that got him spooked, but still couldn’t find anything.

“The thing you said before, that your body is a shriveled husk by now, what do you mean by "now"? How much time had passed? What happened to my body?” Bones asked anyway and saw something absurd happen in front of him. Silva’s body keeled over and started changing shape until it took the form of a completely different human being, a middle aged man with dark hair reaching his shoulders. Silva slowly stood up and exhaled, then gave Bones a dirty look.

“See, this isn’t good. Not good at all!" Silva exclaimed, referring to his changed new form. "It's been a few days. The body outside is fine, still on the bed, and we’ll see if it’ll still be yours! This is going to hurt Bones.” He warned and his form changed again, This time into a woman with no noticeable features. Bones saw the woman dash forward but was unable to dodge her. His body couldn't move, only his head tilted slightly back on reflex. He gritted his teeth and prepared to get hit, but just before they would clash, the woman disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Bones watched in confusion when the smoke, drifting in front of him, suddenly rushed through his mouth, like a snake, and into his body. Before he could react, he swallowed a gulpful. The confusion didn’t stop and for a minute nothing happened. Then he convulsed, clutching his stomach and went down on his knees.

In complete darkness, void of any other sounds, the whimpering of an old man could be heard. Occasionally, vapor could be seen coming off his body. Bones had no power or control of what was happening. He held his eyes shut and fought through the pain - the only thing he could do while Silva rampaged from inside his body that represented the core of his soul.

The days ticked away and three days later, there was a knocking on the door. The patron of the establishment has come to check on the guest and remind him the period he rented the room is ending within the hour. Hearing no reply, the man peeked through the keyhole and spotted a figure on the bed.

*ahem*

"Sir, I'm here to remind you to leave the room within the hour. If you don't leave, I'll be free to extend the duration of your stay at an extra charge, until the next day or until you decide to leave yourself."

The patron waited for a few seconds, then huffed and shouted: "I'm charging you extra for the room. Enjoy your stay!", before leaving.

The night came and before morning, Bones' body twitched. For the next half an hour, his body quivered uncontrollably until it started spasming violently. Inside Bones, an intense confrontation between the two souls surged to the point it started impacting Bones' body outside.

Silva was exchanging blows with a large unknown entity made of darkness within Bones' soul. The same entity Silva sensed earlier and now has stepped forward to fight him. The old man, Muriel Jones, lay on the ground some distance away, not moving. Silva looked haggard, depleted and worn-out. He went through every changed form he ever occupied and every skill he learned, but came up empty against an unknown enemy.

The entity he fought didn't have a physical form, it was made out of pure darkness, had clawy hands and oozed the feeling of dread. It was an unrestrained beast, shackled to this domain, longing to escape. And Silva may have just hinged the door to its cage slightly open.

"Huuuman." The entity spoke for the first time. Silva froze in his tracks, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"This is my domain. I have tolerated your paltry presence for long enough but this is the end of your insolence!"

Glowing, green, demonic eyes opened on what looked like the shape of a head and Silvas' body was enveloped by cyclones of otherworldly emerald flames. His agonizing screams were shattering as his soul was being eroded.

"No! Not like this! Stop! Stooop!" He screamed on deaf ears. He was wholly consumed and then devoured until only the dark entity remained. The entity turned to laying Jones and narrowed its eyes.

"You be the guidance in this world of light and I'll take over when the time is right." The entity whispered as its shape was whisked away back into nothingness.

*thud*

Bones' body hit the floor. He scraped at the wooden floorboard with his fingers as he mustered his strength to push himself up.

*groan*

He sat on the bed, leaned forward and grabbed his head. He didn't know how, but he knew what had transpired in the inner world. First, there was such a thing as the inner world and…

ding

ding

ding

…

Bones swung his hand at the air in front of his face, shooing away the notifications. He was sure they were important but he needed some time to set his thoughts in order. He felt powerless back there. All he could do was male small talk and remarks. Silva had all the control.

"If it wasn't for that - thing…" He couldn't even finish that thought. Everything he did so far and any future prospect he had would amount to nothing. Silva would have a new body and would probably find a way to use it more effectively, to the fullest.

"The bastard laughed at me, at all the years I spent researching… the people I used as test subjects… they weren't for nothing Silva! I am alive and you're not!"

Bones pushed himself off the bed and staggered to the bathroom where he looked in the mirror. The cracks and broken bones have mended and most of his teeth have regrown. He reapplied the concealment ointment and scanned the room on his way out to see if he left anything behind, then continued towards the exit. He unlocked the doors, went down the hallway and down the stairs, and stopped by the reception desk.

"How long am I overdue?" Bones asked, realizing, according to what Silva said, how much time had passed and that he had overstayed his welcome. The receptionist looked up from her desk and asked for his room number, then said he had stayed an extra day and that she would have to charge him more for it. Bones mumbled under his breath, took out a handful of coins and placed them on the desk. The receptionist took what she needed and Bones swiped the rest, then left without saying anything.

I feel sick. Like I'm about to puke my guts out. The notifications…

He displayed the slew of notifications and wobbled towards the nearby bench to sit on it and simply crashed down on it. The notifications threw his mind to a loop and he had to sit down. Something caused his soul to be super sensitive and every action seemed to heavily weigh down on his soul.

The very first notification was a warning about a massive influx of unknown energy, resulting in three levels to his Soul Weaver class, bringing it to nineteen and just a level shy from a new skill. The last notification was about a level up in a race.

Just what in the world happened? Is it because of the inner world? Silva brought me there forcefully and then… No, it's not just that, he was devoured there at the end. I can't think of any other reason why my levels would jump that much. And the influx of unknown energy… I can feel my soul expanding - so much my body has a hard time adjusting. I need more information on the inner world, and I won't find it in the Adventurer's Guild…

*gasps*

"Horace!"

Bones reflexively jumped up but quickly slumped down back on the bench. His mind was willing, but his body didn't listen. He stayed there for another twenty minutes until he slowly picked himself up and headed toward the Guild. He was supposed to pick the information on Iam two days ago.

There shouldn't be a problem just because I'm a day or two late, right?

He entered the crowded guild and waited in line behind the reception desk. When it was his turn, he approached the desk and asked for Horace.

"The head admin is on a business trip out of town. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Right, Horace did say he will be out of town for a week if I remember correctly.

"I'm here to pick up the package."

"Name?"

"Jones."

"Just a moment." The receptionist said and opened the drawer, then shuffled through until she found the envelope addressed to Mr. Jones. She handed the envelope to Bones, along with a small note left behind by Horace and asked if that'll be all. Bones stored the package and looked toward the contract board, then said he will be taking a few contracts before leaving. The receptionist nodded and said to skip the line and come directly to the desk when he finishes picking up the contracts. Bones said his thanks and walked over to the giant board taking up most of the wall.

I guess I'll be heading east, toward The Triwen Kingdom first, then north-east until the town of Draycott in a region controlled by the Goldenforge guild. I've already looked through the board before and if I remember correctly, there were a few suitable contracts I could do along the way…

Bones took one of the contracts close to one he previously did, two contracts near the border and two in The Triwen Kingdom. The rest of them were either too out of his way, or too high a level.

"These five huh?" Bones grabbed the contracts and registered them with the guild before leaving. He didn't immediately set off on the journey. He found a small coffee shop, sat down for a coffee and took out the note left behind by Horace. The content of the note was short and Horace simply wrote to find a colleague of his in Draycott and to be wary of Divine Order.

"Divine Order?" Bones repeated, then opened the envelope with the information on Iam. The former bandit leader and now apparently a deserter, Iam, was in contact with a man running the Black Market and dealing in smuggling the stolen goods, called Tombstone. Iam's and Tombstone's known movements were between the black market and an auction house led by a small-time merchant Eliot Greed, also known for shady dealings. The last known whereabouts of Iam were in an estate just outside of town, owned by the said merchant. What kind of arrangement the three of them had wasn't disclosed to Horace's information network and the report ended with the location of the estate.

Black market? Merchant? Iam was even branded a deserter. He won't be coming into contact with the other bandit leaders. He's looking to sell the item he found in the chest and disappear for good. Well Iam, considering you tried to kill me, I'll be taking whatever it is you deemed so valuable.

"I have the location, but I'm not sure I'm up to the task considering what I've just been through."

*sips*

Tonight I'll go and scout the estate. If I see an opportunity to get to Iam… I'll take it.

Bones' physical condition greatly improved over the last few hours and he no longer had problems controlling his movements, but he had his worries. Mostly, he was reluctant to use Soul Magic in fear of a backlash. He could repair the physical injuries, but the damage to his soul? There's a saying time heals all wounds, and that might be true for the injured soul. The duration of Bones' Weakened status was also time dependent and now, he was aware of the existence of the inner world.

If I level up my Soul Magic, would I gain access to my inner world? Could I enter that subspace now? What if I could and I get stuck there? What about the unknown entity that Silva fought?

*sips*

As always, Bones had too many questions he needed answered. What he was sure of was that there was a whole lot more to Soul Magic than he could ever imagine. As much as it was morally and ethically wrong, Silva used the skill to invade and then transfer his soul to a new body. Now that the whole ordeal was over, Bones' had a weird sense of admiration for the man.

To use both mind and soul magic to control and manipulate those around you…

Deep in thought, Bones hadn't realized he was squeezing Skully's core in his hand.