Sir Prayn unsheathed a dagger from his waist, radiating a degree of power that was not only beyond anything Noah had ever witnessed, but also beyond Sir Prayn’s own armor and weapon. It was like a personification of the Sun itself, a milky white dagger that had a very sharp, pointed edge; reminiscent of ivory, but crafted of a material far superior, perhaps the tooth of some ancient, terrifyingly powerful beast. It only had a golden wrap around the hilt, lacking a cross guard, that seemed to be formed of the same material underneath.

Noah received the weapon with both hands, trembling as the cool, double-edged blade touched the palm of his hands, terrified that it might slice his fingers off at the slightest movement. His face warped in horror as the twisted essence of the weapon made itself known to him; This was not a weapon to be revered, but something that should not exist in the hands of man, and certainly not his hands.

Soul Devourer, single- use ??? artifact.

Requirements- None.

Description- ???

Noah gently held the weapon in his right hand, by the hilt, pointing it away from himself and near the ground and treating it with more care than a loaded gun would demand.

“You must make physical contact with the target, and in your mind, you must intend to cause harm to the target; Otherwise the dagger will be no different than a common knife,” Sir Prayn explained with a serious expression on his face, and Noah just tried to not show discomfort on his face, nodding agreeably instead.

“Ah, before you leave, there is one more thing,” A flash of orange light enveloped the space around Sir Prayn, the ethereal silhouette of a bushy tail, two fox ears matted with translucent orange fur, and face obscured by the projection of a three eyed majestic fox- two opposing each other like a regular fox, and a third in the center of the forehead, vertically positioned instead of horizontally.

“Primordial Spirit of the Blessed Fox,” Sir Prayn explained in a low voice, pointing a finger towards Noah’s forehead. He braced himself for mind control or some other insidious art, hoping Liam could save him from it, but instead received a burst of tremendous strength; No, a more apt description would be an elevation in the state of being itself. He was no longer human, and he wasn’t sure if the term monster would encompass what he had become either.

Blessing of the Fox will last for 1 hour.

+60 Strength

+60 Dexterity

+60 Wisdom

+60 Intelligence

+60 Constitution

Origin Regeneration Rate x3

Origin Pool +100

‘So powerful!’ thought Noah, almost unable to believe what he was witnessing. He had been buffed for more than his entire stat pool, and not only was his entire body a wellspring of massive strength, it felt like his muscles were welded from steel cables, his blood liquid metal. If Samain’s Bladed Liazardman was fast, then Noah was confident he could trounce him with base stats alone now. He could compute and process far greater amounts of information, and every aspect of his environment; The details dingy house, estimates on the power levels of Sir Prayn and the other Sect Elders, the primordial spirits used such far, among other things. He also realized that the Truthseekers Sir Prayn spoke about were nothing more than people that had Primordial Spirits focused on observation, analysis and deduction; It made sense, so far he had witnessed primordial spirits for speed (Bladed Lizardman), strength (his own), hypnosis (the elder called Halaui) and buffing (Blessed Fox/ Sir Prayn). Compared to what Sir Prayn could do… his own Primordial Spirit paled in comparison, causing Noah to deduce that it probably belonged to a higher tier.

“Bring everything that was in his possession back to me, I promise I will take only the one item I require; the rest is for you all to do with as you please,” Sir Prayn commanded with a tone that would brook no reprisal, and after a brief nod the four sect elders and Noah burst out into action.

Five men zoomed through their surroundings at a rapid pace, though one of the five was clearly lagging behind by a significant distance. After a brief sprint that couldn’t have lasted more than a couple minutes, they reached their destination, a barren patch of land that lacked any cover or vegetation that could get in the way of their duel; Also making it a terrible place for ambush.

“How long do we have until your messenger reaches the Saemanis Sect?” Azmahak asked Halaui, who immediately responded, “I’d figure ten, maybe fifteen minutes before he comes along? He has no reason to suspect we have any intention but to parlay, and revealing the secret would only bring destruction on us all- or at least that’s what he’ll believe.”

Azmahak nodded, and said, “Sinai, have you got the artifact we agreed upon?”

He nodded, and pulled out a long spear that seemed to be crafted out of the leg bone of a slender, tall creature like a gigantic bird or some other manner of warped existence. Noah looked at the man with an odd expression, unable to understand what his intention was.

The man cut through air in a straight line, followed by three more cuts made in succession- forming a rectangular pattern in the air. Noah’s jaw dropped in stupefaction, as he saw a…. piece of, well, his surroundings collapse inward to reveal a black void, and saw the spear in his hands shatter into a million small particles of bone.

“It may not be as profound as the dagger you carry, but make no mistake; This was part of an Ancient Sect’s key inheritance, only to be used in matters of grave urgency. Hide inside the void and reseal the area, it is an illusion, but it cannot be detected by any normal means- Our job is to lure the Saemanis Sect leader near you, whence you shall burst into as many illusions you can form at once and deal him the killing blow. Failure is not an acceptable possibility,” he warned with a certain amount of bitterness in his voice, pained at the necessary, yet heavy expenditure.

Noah did as instructed, and ‘picked up’ the weightless piece of scenery, pushing it towards the gap- He marveled as it resealed itself, watching through the scenery; as a part of the scenery- completely indistinguishable from the surroundings. The four men nodded at the scene, immediately distancing themselves by a hundred meters- trying to immediately ambush the Sect Leader was naïve, only when he was tired, maybe wounded or distracted, did he have a semblance of a chance.

As Noah stood there waiting, a speeding blur made its way over the horizon and Noah knew his quarry had arrived.