Strafe had met a power cultivator and one that could have a shot at actually healing him from his suffering. The hope of death was finally made possible.

“What amazing luck! This Sovereign can even determine the will of gods! If Dyne didn’t make reckless attempts to acquire Jedo, he would not have met trouble that made me forcibly take him out of this world and into this place! If this world could not have a similar scenario as Star Ocean 2, Dyne wouldn’t have been interested! But now, We just arrived, and I found a means of communicating with the Slime God!” Strafe marveled.

The Slime God’s expression grew grim. But even that didn’t make Strafe feel down. He knew that what the Slime God believed to be impossible would have been something that the Sovereign of Basileus Basileon would have accounted for.

“Very difficult. I know that Poison Soul you carry. It’s from him. The only being capable of harming me with poison. Venom Overlord!”

“Yes. He was one of his top Commanders in the ambush against Master.

“You see… The poison that inflicted you cannot be cured by mere medicines. Even trying to prolong your lifespan would be impossible!”

“So no medicine can cure me?”

“Medicine is not the issue! While there could be medicines in your current world that can help you, the main problem is that you have a problem in your soul! This means you need not only a powerful alchemist but also a powerful Soul Cultivator who can help you in your problem!”

Strafe was silent but was relieved. He was right in assuming that the Sovereign did plan all this, including his survival.

“What exactly do I need?”

“Not only will you need to find the highest level of herbs and medicines on that planet, but you will also need someone who can convert the medicines into Soul power! Unfortunately, the region you are in is so far away that sending Soul Cultivators to you is almost impossible!”

“Highest Levels of herbs and medicines? Hmm…. Dyne’s luck is good. This should be easy. What herbs do I need?”

“Herbs? That’s your concern? Didn’t you hear me? You need a Powerful Cultivator who is an alchemist! He needs to know at least more than half of what my incarnation in that place has!”

“You’re referring to Calamitus Slime?”

“Yes. I have long sensed the evil spreading around in this world. To do that, I used one of my most powerful techniques. I divided and created clones. Thousands of them! Each clone has different personalities, and they do not know or have any memories of me. They are not me, but I am them! This way, I can bypass the many secret organizations and those who are trying to find those of the Light!”

“Is that why Calamitus Slime is extremely skilled in Alchemy?”

“Yes! He has my potential, and I can even feed him some of my memories. But getting to him will not help. He is not a powerful Soul Cultivator. So even with my memories, he has to achieve Soul Cultivation on his own. And while he has touched it, it will take more than a hundred years for him to be of any help!”

“What if I find another Soul Cultivator to help him?” Strafe asked.

“Not possible. It has to be one person. You cannot divide the task to a Soul Cultivator and an Alchemist!” The Slime God answered.

“And unless you can find someone who is at the Soul Master stage!”

Strafe was in deep thoughts.

“Soul Master… Can Strafe reach that high?”

“And that’s just the minimum! The crux of the matter is that the herbs that you need are very dangerous and dark! Many of them are actually poison! And if you take these, you will suffer great limitations and pains! The only way to survive is to find a Soul Cultivator that is strong or someone that has an Elemental Affinity of Brimstone!”

Strafe perked up.

“I understand. Where are the herbs on this planet that I am? Which do I look for?” Strafe asked urgently.

“You are not hearing me! The herbs are the least of your worries! You need a Soul Cultivator, at least in the Soul Master realm! And other than that, he has to have a strong amount of knowledge in Alchemy!”

Strafe turned to Dyne to ask him if he was able to learn so much in the few memories that he did. Soul Search enabled Dyne to create a link that brought him to this world. But since it began, Strafe knew that it wouldn’t have just that effect on Dyne. He had seen Dyne’s potential, and showing him how to do Soul Search will only end in Dyne’s growth that breaches the heavens.

As he glanced at Dyne, he saw that Dyne was in a deep trance.

Strafe was in a state of euphoria. He would survive this calamity!

“Where are you going to find that? You won't even reach the next galaxy with the remaining energy I can sense in the Imaginarium Bond! And there are no Soul Cultivators in the Fringe Regions of Eternity! Much more the desolate region of the Edge of Eternity!” Slime God continued with his rant.

“How long can you maintain this state? Is it enough to wait for Dyne to finish his enlightenment?” Strafe asked.

“Enlightenment? That isn’t enlightenment! This was part of my plan! Whenever one of my clones reaches a certain level of power, I use my inner connection with them and make them fall into a trance state. They will unconsciously create something and leave a spark of their soul in anything they create.”

“A Soul Legacy Artifact”

“Yes. When they pour their heart out in crafting it, they leave a small portion of their soul in it. So these objects become popular books, manuals, artworks, and whatever. And since it's originally my soul, every time I detect a strong Soul Cultivator holding these Legacy Artifacts, I draw out their Souls and force them to do Soul Search.”

“This allows me to bring a person into this place without knowing it! If the person is good, I will impart certain god-tiered techniques to help him change the fate of their world. If they are bad, I will scan their soul to see the current situation of the world and see the situation and determine if our enemies have been making moves on that planet!”

Strafe frowned.

The way the Slime God explained it is that the technique should have forced them into this place. But Dyne was able to resist the first and only achieve Soul Search. It was only after that when he willingly touched on the words that they were brought here.

“Amazing… Dyne resisted the Soul power of the Slime King. Although the Soul he left in his incarnations should be very weak, still…” Strafe marveled.

Strafe’s luminous and transparent body turned towards Dyne.

“Is he really under your control?”

“What kind of a- oh my Sovereign!” the Slime God shouted.

“This… This is… Soul Steal!” The Slime King felt that the soul he imparted on the book was disappearing.

“Oh… So that’s compounding… Hehehe… Interesting… Hey Strafe! I think I can delay your illness and keep you alive for about a year or so!” Dyne laughed.

It was then that Dyne remembered where he was.

“Oh! Right. I forgot. Sorry. It was just that Soul was disappearing. I figured that it would be a waste since it was dispersing. So I tried to take that Soul's memories. Anyways, where is this place? I feel powerful Soul energy around here.”

“Wha-What?” The Slime God exclaimed.

“You broke through my technique? You managed to destroy my attempts of beguiling you?”

“Strafe, is this guy evil?”

“No. He belongs to the faction of Light. Dyne, meet the Slime God. A Slime cultivator who reached the same heights as a god. He’s quite strong. He wanted to beguile you or put you in a trance to see if you’re good or bad. Basically, he’s trying to create powerful cultivators, or if this book lands on some bad guy, he plans to take advantage of that bad guy and make him a spy.”

“Oh. So that means this place is in more trouble than I thought. Hey, Slime God. I’m sorry I fought back. I also ate the Soul lingering on that book. Er… Do I have to pay you anything?” Dyne asked.

“Ho-How did you eat my soul? How did you do Soul Steal?”

“←→↘↓↙←→ + [ATTACK]” Dyne answered.

“What?”

“Er- sorry… Dyne. He meant how you ate his soul, not the commands in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry. I was confused since he also called it Soul Steal, though. Well, compared to Alucard’s version, I was only able to absorb that one. So I managed to acquire quite a bit of his memories. It’s a good thing that the book I got was something he wrote personally since it was some form of a special book. Was that like the first edition?” Dyne explained.

“Quite a bit? You ate it all! It’s now only by my powers that you are linked to this place! Once you leave, you no longer have any more chances of meeting up with me!” The Slime God angrily chastised.

“Do you realize what you’ve done? You’re Master, Strafe losses his small chance of surviving!”

“Erm… Well… Can’t I just make the Soul Reviling Pill myself and channel Brimestone energy to it to make its wild nature tamer? With Jedo’s help, I think I can make a pill that should help Strafe live for another two years. Maybe even three!” Dyne answered back.

“You can’t just- Wait… Brimstone?” The Slime God shouted in shock.

“Your Majesty, Slime God. This is Dyne. A Soul Gathering Brimstone Cultivator.”

“So-Soul Gathering?!” The Slime God was surprised.

“How long has he been cultivating?” The Slime God asked Strafe.

“Nearly three months. It should be in around a week when he began cultivating.”

“What the fragment?!” The Slime God cursed.

“Impossible! Three months?”

“Yes. Through the Imaginarium Bond, I made him ten years old. You can check his bone age. And he hasn't aged much since his rebirth.”

The Slime God began his scan.

“Wait! Don’t check his heart! Otherwise, you’d collapse this link in shock!” Strafe shouted as if recalling something.

“His heart? What’s with his- OH MY SOVEREIGN?!

"Tch! Too late! Slime God! Relax!"

What the fragmenting fraction is that friction doing?!” The Slime God cursed and cursed.

The space began to tremble, and the entire place was somehow distorting.

“Slime God! Your Majesty! Calm down!” Strafe shouted.

Dyne shook his head as he saw the Slime God shouting curses.

"So undignified..."Dyne judged.

The Slime God realized what was happening and used his powers to fortify the place.

A bright light glowed and enveloped the surrounding, and the trembling disappeared.

As the light vanished, the Slime God gazed at Strafe as if he was looking at a horrifying creature.