Necromancer Hecates Ruins were located in the middle of this forest without a dense population of humans for several thousand miles. In addition to this, it wasn’t out in the open either, it was hidden within an illusion array that required very precise steps to enter.
Unlike the array Ryu broke to enter the Natural Order Sect, this one was meant to be opened like a code. Meaning, as long as you didn’t make a mistake, it was no different from a leisurely stroll. Although, if others saw you taking this ‘stroll’, they’d believe you to be a lunatic walking in circles. This was yet another reason why Ryu found it baffling that three adventure squads could just ‘stumble’ upon this ruin.
Of course, Hecate and those who built Ruins prior to their deaths like her didn’t leave the discovery of their Ruins completely up to chance. What would be the point in spending so much time and effort just to build a Ruin no one would ever be able to enter?
Hecate left many clues within texts that published her beliefs on the Necromancy path and even within her auto biography. Sometimes, experts who left Ruins behind even left clues within partial techniques they left behind, allowing successors to fight over their Legacy.
Part of a Ruin Master’s job was to pour over these clues and piece together the truth. To now, Ryu had been the only one to decipher Hecate’s riddles. Though, this achievement wasn’t as grand as finding the Death Shrine. The reality was that Hecate was an eccentric. Those who wanted to follow the path of Necromancy would be unlikely to look upon her favorably. If it wasn’t for Ryu overturning every stone in an attempt to find the Death Shrine, he would have ignored her story as well.
Ryu watched as the three groups and singular Ruin Master entered the illusion array, disappearing one after another. After waiting about half a dozen minutes, he too walked forward, his eyes flashing as he quickly deciphered the array. Though it might seem as simple as following what he had just watched the group before him do, one’s senses would become distorted after perfectly performing the first three steps of the code. So, Ryu could only rely on himself.
Soon, Ryu was greeted with a fog-filled world. Except, this time, unlike the Dream World Osiris, this world was one of death and decay. In the distance, an underground cave entrance could be seen, while not far in front of Ryu, three guards stood.
After the vast improvement in Ryu’s Mental Realm, he could even enter Breath of Heaven for a decent period of time. But, Breath of Earth was more than enough to escape detection with the help of his cloak.
The three men only felt a slight breeze they directly ignored in this eerie place as Ryu passed by.
Just as Ryu was going to enter the underground cave, his footsteps paused, his eyes flashing.
Smiling slightly, he almost laughed. He found it amusing that a Peak Black Grade Ruin Master would try to lay a trap hidden from him. Though Ryu had to commend him for being cautious, even when he couldn’t cultivate his pupils were already sharper than practically anyone … Let alone now.
For others, detecting arrays was difficult. They had to cultivate their Spiritual Qi, then learn how to circulate this qi to their eyes. And even then, the arrays they were qualified to detect were limited by their Mental Realm. However, there wasn’t an array in existence Ryu could detect.
Ryu easily found a flaw in the detection array and slipped by it, entering the underground cave to find a dark path gradually increasing in steepness.
Seeing three paths ahead, Ryu nodded to himself. This was Hecate’s first test. He could clearly see the footprints of the path the grey-haired Ruin Master had chosen, but this reality left Ryu baffled.
‘Why would you choose that path…? Don’t tell me?’
Ryu thought of a possibility. If he was right, he could only be frustrated by the outcome.
He didn’t believe the Ruin Master was stupid enough to take the wrong path. Even if he was a little unqualified to take on a Fifth Order Ruin, this was his seventh attempt. The reason why a Fifth Order Ruin could be cleared by an Earth Grade Ruin Master or a Black Grade Ruin Master with Divine Vessel Battle Prowess was because this sort of strength allowed mistakes within a certain margin.
If this was their seventh attempt and they were still going down the wrong path, there were only two explanations. Either Ryu’s calculations were wrong and this Ruin had fallen further than he thought in its age, becoming a Fourth Order Ruin or there was no real danger anymore.
Ryu highly doubted the first was correct. This Ruin was once of the Seventh Order. Age and attrition are what led it to becoming a Fifth Order Ruin. It should take much more time before it descends to the Fourth. Though there were Ruins that sustained their rankings for longer and even Ruins that could increase their Order over time, Ryu’s research had concluded that this wasn’t one of them.
This only left the second option… But if the second option was correct, that meant Ryu was already too late. The Legacy had already been taken by the Ruin Master and the fat man…
So, why would individuals who already had control of the Legacy allow others in under the pretext of taking part in a Legacy that no longer existed? The answer was simple… What did Necromancers need more if not powerful corpses?
Ryu had known that Hecate was an eccentric from the beginning. Of the three central paths of necromancer – the Soul Necromancer, the Refinement Necromancer, and the Summoning Necromancer – she followed the path of Refinement, but an exceptionally odd one.
Hecate believed that undead could have and gain will of their own. But, she believed that what was blocking this connection between man and corpse was a certain level of intimacy.
This sounded like Hecate was just writing down justification for necrophilia, but if this was the case, Ryu would have never wasted his time on her.
Weirdness of Hecate’s beliefs aside, the substance of them was substantial. Hecate believed the relationship between Necromancer and Corpse should be akin to the relationship between Beast Master and Beast.
In one of her teachings – Will of the Undead: Volume Two – she posited that refining corpses you once knew when they were alive was a shortcut to this level of intimacy. This was what led to her first ostracization from the Necromancer community… she turned her own late husband into a corpse puppet!
In Volume Three, she posited the theorem that caught Ryu’s attention. She introduced a slow refining technique that cultivated the living into undead, allowing them to maintain their will. This would …
Before Ryu could finish remembering the details, the screams of Amarice and Delonte shook him awake.