Etched into the stone archway was the word ‘Salamanca.’ Its black lettering was in stark contrast to the white, marble-like stone. He tried to phase into the stone using his Spectral ability but couldn’t do it. That wasn’t exactly true, he felt he could phase into it, but the mana cost was so high that it might kill or maim him for the attempt. Regardless, that method was off the table. It didn’t matter since the crypt was unguarded—at least the entrance was empty.

The crypt was at the back of the territory designated for the witch faction, so he wasn’t sure if this situation was normal. The entire region was void of people, which didn’t seem normal. Young practitioners would find this area appealing because it had high concentrations of mana. When asked, Zoe couldn’t answer why no one had visited this area. The more Crow pushed for an answer, the more confused she became, which provided him the answer he needed—a geas of some type. It was a powerful one, but the question he couldn’t shake was why it wasn’t working against them.

A geas that powerful had to be backed by a formation, which meant it was possible to disable it. Crow doubted they’d do that unless they were going to inter someone. Only one thing came to mind—a trap!

“What is it?” Zoe asked.

“Kafe is here.”

“You sure?”

Crow nodded.

“What do we do?”

Ten minutes later, Crow decided. “We enter. They’ll wait for us at your mother’s site.”

Zoe giggled at hearing that.

“What?”

“I told Kafe the wrong location.”

“Huh.” Crow stared at Zoe’s beaming face and chuckled. “Looks like Kafe is as naïve as ever. But… who else knows which tomb you placed your mother in?”

“Only my grandma. The rest of our clan doesn’t care for my family. No one came to her funeral except my coven. Grandma’s coven broke apart over a century ago, so none of them even knew she had a daughter.”

Crow nodded and squatted down some. “Climb on my back. I’m going to move fast and under camouflage. I need you to be as unobtrusive as possible.”

Zoe did as asked, and Crow used the night and trees for cover while moving toward the entrance. There was a set of massive doors, but they were open and looked like they’d been that way for centuries. Still, it looked well kept, which meant someone did regular maintenance around here.

Using the shadows, he entered the crypt and ducked into the first alcove he found. They remained there for about five minutes. Crow wanted to see if anyone had been watching the entrance and was disappointed. He expected more from Kafe, and his lack of foresight bothered him.

Zoe clung to him like a little monkey, which worked for him. He could move more swiftly this way. Approaching the first triangle on the map, he felt the danger more than he saw it. However, natural stone and dirt comprised the crypt’s interior, so phasing wasn’t a problem. Passing through it was tough on his mana but within his expectations. They smoothly bypassed the guardians, which didn’t make him happy but concerned.

The guardians appeared to only guard the passage because their sensing ability didn’t extend into the chambers. As long as he entered a chamber before reaching the guardian, he could phase through the wall to the next room and walk out leisurely. While bypassing the third and final guardian before reaching his destination, he almost turned back. No matter how ancient, the scene in front of him was disturbing. Jars filled with a viscous liquid had organs from many beasts and humans. It was the infant corpses that sickened and enraged him the most. The ritual circle drawn in human blood probably came from those infants.

“Is this room safe?” Crow whispered his question to Zoe, who was probably more disturbed than him. Still, it was a question he had to ask.

“Rituals can’t be self-sustained using mana or Mana Crystals. They are willed into power through a medium, usually the High Priestess. Like powerful formations, only me, or a High Priestess, became the formation’s core while the other twelve are paired.”

“How do I play a role in that?”

“That…”

“What?”

“Naked…” Zoe muttered with her face on fire. “And joined with me. We’d make up the core together, and supposedly the pairing would balance the ritual, creating more powerful results.”

“Ah, that makes sense. Song Lin says that men and women are Yang and Yin, two forces that balance each other out.”

“She’s the martial practitioner? The one you called an Alchemist?”

“Yes.”

“Interesting. Is that what you were referring to when you talked about your inner fire taking over?”

“Yes. Because of my curse and some other strange choices I made, I’m overflowing with yang, as she calls it. If I’m too unbalanced, I’ll seek out women forcefully.”

“H-has that ever happened?”

“Only with Song Lin, but she was much stronger than now and could have easily stopped me. Instead, she bedded me. My first wife, but not the first wife. That is her sister.”

“You rank them?”

“No. Faelan… it’s complicated. I never intended to marry many women. Song Xue was the woman I intended to marry when I met her. We were only four, but I knew she’d be mine. Things spiraled out of my control, so I promised she’d be my prime wife. Faelan isn’t the type of person who leads. Mara takes on the duties of the prime wife instead but still defers to Faelan. Mara also feels guilty because she grew up with me, too.”

“And the rest of your wives?”

“They are my wives. None of them are more important to me than the others, including you. I won’t bother answering questions about who I prefer more because I think it’s pointless,” Crow said, moving to take a book from a podium. He noticed it after he dragged his eyes away from the preserved organic matter.

“Don’t!” Zoe called out when she saw what Crow was doing.

“What is it?”

“A Dark Grimoire—it’ll most likely kill you if you touch it. They contain a spirit, a dark, twisted soul. At first, you wouldn’t notice the whispers until they eventually take over your mind. Once it forces a contract with you, you’ll be nothing more than a mindless slave. The previous owner is probably that set of bones over there.”

“Can we at least burn it? I’d prefer not to leave something like that lying around.”

“I doubt it, but you can try,” Zoe said.

Crow’s Night Fire rushed from his palm toward the black book. At first, nothing happened until it let out an ungodly screech. The sound was a mental attack that tried to disrupt Crow’s actions, but he wasn’t giving in that easily.

By the time the sound faded, flames had already engulfed the book. Zoe didn’t have his Sage’s Mind, so she succumbed to the screech and collapsed to the ground. Crow didn’t dare stop at this point but worried the sound might draw unwanted attention. He didn’t know that it already drew attention, but the kind that made people move away from the sound, not toward it. The mortals present knew the sound wasn’t issued by anything human, and considering its power, they wanted nothing to do with it.