Deep in the Dream Realm, Purgatory

Atop a flaming star, a humanoid figure sat on a throne wrapped in layers of chains, surrounded by a sea of raging fire.

Beneath his feet lay a terrifying, fiery purgatory where countless souls wailed and screamed in agony.

These beings struggled in the flames and on the ground, most with only their upper bodies visible.

This place was nothing like the Abyss. While the Abyss served as a gathering ground for dark monsters and a haven for Abyss Kings and Evil Gods, this was the Lord of Purgatory’s prison of death.

The Lord of Purgatory imprisoned fallen beings here, torturing and whipping them at will while feeding on their pain and despair.

This was his domain, and he was its only master.

Besides him, all other beings were his prisoners.

Outside the flaming star, something was gradually drawn from the darkness by the Lord of Purgatory’s will.

It was a book, a leather-bound volume radiating strange vibrations.

The cover bore no name. Its author had not given it one.

In time, later generations bestowed upon it a name.

【The Book of Xiuborn】

This book was written hundreds of years ago by Xiuborn, the legendary madman of Avel. It was said to hold secrets about divine beings.

It reportedly recorded the true names of gods, ancient secrets unknown to mankind, and truths lost to the passage of time.

Legend says Xiuborn gained unimaginable power through this book.

This book was never intended for mortal eyes.

In his descent into madness, the Avel man Xiuborn launched an assault on the Snake Deity Temple of the Mother of Life.

Ultimately, his own insanity consumed him.

For hundreds of years, a powerful curse had coiled around this book, intertwining with its essence and shaping its destiny.

Combined with its drifting through the supernatural domains of the Dream Realm, that formless curse power seemed to gradually bestow special abilities upon the book, transforming what was once merely a record of the previous era’s secrets into something extraordinary.

Above the flaming star, the Lord of Purgatory extended his hand, reaching out to catch the book as it descended from the darkness.

Suddenly, a formless, bone-chilling cold enveloped him.

In the void, he seemed to hear whispers.

They spoke in a language so ancient it defied description, with a primitive, desolate cadence.

The Lord of Purgatory was indifferent to the book itself. He had already seen its contents and understood what was written within.

In truth, it was Yafuan who had seen its contents.

Yafuan himself had once followed the Ghost Race Polik to witness the War of the Divine Beings in the previous era. Many of this world’s secrets were no longer secrets to him.

This time, the Lord of Purgatory retrieved The Book of Xiuborn for another purpose.

It was for the haunting whisper that had just resonated in his ears.

From the moment Xiuborn began writing this book, he sensed beings in the void who harbored intense malice toward his actions and obstructed his attempts to glimpse secrets that did not belong to him.

The curses and malice of ordinary people.

Those were merely things that existed in the heart, without any tangible effect.

However, when countless spirits focused their malice upon you, that malice gained the strength to transcend space and become overwhelming. This concentrated force could even warp reality itself.

It acted directly upon the mind and spirit, leaving no room for resistance.

Xiuborn was the first to discover it, but he did not consider it significant at the time.

The Lord of Purgatory, however, had perceived it to be an extremely powerful force.

The Lord of Purgatory named it “Curse Power.”

He obtained The Book of Xiuborn because he wanted to acquire this curse power and grant it to Purgatory.

He sought to transform curses into his strength and his path forward.

The Lord of Purgatory took The Book of Xiuborn and opened it time and again, peering into the secrets of curses.

He inherited Yafuan’s memories and also the Witch Spirit’s methods for exploring and researching truth. These methods and habits could be traced back to the Temple of Truth from the previous era.

Finally, he placed the book beside his throne.

The flames from the flaming star licked at it but could not harm it in the slightest, as a special power enveloped and protected it.

The Lord of Purgatory stood up. Chains extended from beneath his throne, lashing like whips at various giant spirits and monsters.

The screams of agony from the sea of fire below grew louder as the Lord of Purgatory played the tyrant in this terrible prison.

“Curses originate from the darkest emotions in people’s hearts, from the dark side of intelligent races.”

As the master, the Lord of Purgatory issued his command.

“Those spirits with the darkest and most corrupt experiences.”

“Obey my will and stand before me!”

Under a dense network of crisscrossing chains, one fallen being after another was brought before the Lord of Purgatory.

They twisted in fear and wailed in despair.

Scene after scene from their consciousness was revealed, their sins exposed one by one before the Lord of Purgatory.

Among these people, some had killed others during famines and then eaten them.

Some had once been soldiers of the Royal Court or bandits who had turned their own kind into food, creating horrifying scenes that sickened anyone who witnessed them.

Some had been nobles who consumed human hearts and livers, believing such acts would preserve their youth and beauty.

Under the Lord of Purgatory’s melting process, these people were twisted into one mass amid their wails.

Finally, they merged into a terrifying and concentrated source of curses.

It was a pale, skeletal shadow resembling a corpse.

It stood silently behind the Purgatory throne, its body emanating an aura of hatred and fear.

It did not appear to be a living person, or even a living being at all, for it was simply a mass of curses.

This shadow was still weak, but it would gradually grow stronger. As long as people’s sins and evils did not cease, it would continue to grow.

【Divine Artifact: Purgatory】

【Sequence Number 19】

【Purgatory was born from the primordial black mud of mythical material, forged as an embryo through the Purgatory Ritual by the priest Senge of the Abyss Cult, sacrificing tens of thousands of beings. Finally, the Avel man Yafuan sacrificed himself and numerous Abyss Monsters to forge the core will, carrying the Darkness of All Spirits into the Dream Realm.】

【Ability 1 Source of Curses: Purgatory was created using the primordial black mud of mythical material. The Lord of Purgatory has refined it into a curse source. Curses form from the darkest aspects of people’s hearts and curse those with the darkest hearts. The more people who die under the curse, the stronger the curse becomes, and all who are cursed will fall into Purgatory.】

【Cannibal’s Curse: Those who consume the corpses of their own kind will be cursed. They can gain power from the curse but will also be controlled by it, inevitably falling into Purgatory in the end.】

【Ability 2 Dark Banishment: Purgatory and the Abyss share common origins but also harbor innate hatred. Anyone can open the gates of Purgatory to banish beings belonging to the Abyss into Purgatory. The Lord of Purgatory will make them experience true despair. It is a prison burning with eternal Purgatory fire from which no one can escape.】

【Ability 3 Race Covenant: Purgatory originates from primordial black mud, inheriting the pledge of the Abyss Race, bound by the Crown of Wisdom Covenant. At the same time, it can serve as the dark side of all spirits, borrowing power from the Dream Realm.】

【Ability 4 Purgatory Kingdom: Purgatory has not achieved mythology, and the Lord of Purgatory has not fully merged with the Purgatory core. The kingdom has not yet fully formed.】

The Lord of Purgatory’s current form was somewhat similar to Elena’s previous state.

He controlled this powerful artifact through the Purgatory core but had not completely merged with the artifact’s core.

Before Purgatory achieved mythology, he dared not fully merge with the Purgatory core.

Otherwise, in that instant, he would be completely devoured by chaos and madness.

The Lord of Purgatory sat on his throne, looking down upon the mortal world.

A proud voice without a trace of mercy echoed from the depths of the Dream Realm.

“Indulge!”

“Fall!”

“Sink into darkness!”

“You dark disciples struggling in the mortal mire, Purgatory is your only destination.”

Behind the Lord of Purgatory, the Cannibal’s Curse shadow twisted and writhed, issuing hungry roars from its abdomen.

The roar was like thunder, and one could sense the hunger in its belly as it waited to devour those tainted by curses.

The weather had shifted into early winter.

For some reason, Mooneclipse City had been under a spell of continuous rain lately. The air was damp, and the cold felt unbearable.

At this time of year, rain was more troublesome than snow.

The outside world was wet and damp, while a fire burned in the hearth of the Contract Guild. With people coming and going in the hall and voices constantly chattering, it actually felt quite warm.

No actual Contract Lawyers could be seen in the hall. The guild had hired many young, beautiful women to handle reception and transcribe documents.

Even the attendants were tall, handsome young men, giving the place an air of grandeur.

These young women and men had also received brief training, learning how to answer the most common questions.

Generally, Contract Lawyers only appeared when it was time to finalize a contract.

Contract Lawyers would write contract documents, review them with the signatories, and finally declare the contract established under the witness of gods and the Spirit of Legal Code.

Long, the temporary acting president of the Contract Guild, was now discussing matters with his senior, Kiton, in the president’s office.

Kiton was also Sukob’s student, though he was a generation older than Long. Both were quite talented, but Kiton had reached the Second-Rank at the age of forty, while Long had already been Second-Rank before turning twenty.

But in his heart, Long greatly respected Kiton, though his manner of speaking remained the same as always.

Not long after sitting down, Long launched into a series of complaints.

“Are we supposed to be Witch Spirits chasing after truth, or just clerks and merchants squabbling over paperwork?”

“Every day, I’m stuck dealing with petty issues. I barely have time to study Divine Techniques anymore!”

Hearing Long’s complaints, Kiton immediately addressed his impatient junior with the authority of a senior.

“Long, I think even if you weren’t a Contract Lawyer, you would still complain about how troublesome it is to study Divine Techniques every day.”

With a serious expression, he spoke with a hint of humor.

“You would probably say something like, ‘Ugh, this is such a pain! Why isn’t there some Divine Technique that just crams all the knowledge into my head, makes me understand it instantly, and even lets me come up with new ideas from it?'”

Listening to Kiton’s words, Long suddenly felt self-conscious.

These words… sounded very much like something he would say.

Had he actually said that before?

Kiton’s words left Long only able to mutter, no longer daring to complain loudly.

Kiton continued, “If all we wanted was to close our doors and do research, we would have stayed in the wasteland back then.”

“We chose to leave because we wanted to accomplish something with our teacher.”

“We wanted to put what we had learned into practice.”

Kiton had recently taken on the role of judge in the Begalei District of Mooneclipse City. This position was part of Sukob’s first experiment with judges, making Kiton a key representative of the initiative.

On the surface, his position as judge seemed even more prestigious than Long’s, as he often attended various nobility-class balls.

Snake People had loved dancing since the era of the Mother of All Snakes, Sermos. It seemed etched into their souls. Since ancient times, they had used dance to make offerings to gods, and now they used it even more for various social activities.

Kiton recalled his recent life, feeling it was more fulfilling and meaningful than his previous life in the wasteland.

“I think things are quite good now. Recently, my Contract Spirit has been growing stronger. Perhaps in a few years, I might break through.”

“At that time, I must try to understand what our teacher meant by the power of ordinances.”

“Compared to our days in the wasteland, I prefer doing more practical things.”

“And now Witch Spirits have more choices. Those who dislike interacting with people and only enjoy research can choose the pure Scroll Witch Spirit path. Those who like to go out and do practical things to demonstrate their value can choose the Contract Lawyer path.”

“Having more choices is always a good thing.”

“Isn’t that right, Long?”

Both Long and Kiton were still at the Second-Rank, exploring the path of Contract Lawyers and trying to condense the power of ordinances that belonged to them.

A Contract Lawyer’s ordinance was equivalent to a Witch Spirit’s Page of Truth, though it specialized in one specific area.

Seeing Long lost in thought, seemingly pondering his words or perhaps thinking about the power of ordinances, Kiton acted.

He patted Long’s shoulder. “It seems you truly dislike the path of a Contract Lawyer. I can talk to our teacher for you and have him send you back to the wasteland.”

“As I just said, we now have more choices.”

Long immediately snapped out of his thoughts and waved his hands at Kiton.

“Wait, hold on!”

“I never said I wanted to go back. Don’t go telling our teacher that!”

Seeing Kiton’s upturned lips, Long realized his senior had said that on purpose.

“I’m just a bit confused, not sure what I really want to do.”

Kiton shared his thoughts. “If you’re feeling confused, you could try being a judge somewhere for a while. That might give you a deeper understanding of the meaning behind the Contract Lawyer path and our teacher’s choice.”

Seeing Kiton’s sincerity, Long asked him a question.

“So, Kiton, you actually enjoy being a judge, huh?”

“You really like doing this kind of work?”

Kiton nodded. “I’ve gained some initial insights. Through law, I can bring those who have committed crimes to justice and give fairness to those who have been wronged.”

“I feel that everything I do each day is meaningful, no less so than learning new Divine Techniques.”

“I feel I am maintaining order in a place, becoming a symbol of justice and fairness in the Begalei District.”

“Therefore, when I place my hand on the Witch Spirit book that has become a legal code, I feel its weight every single time.”

“I carry responsibility. This responsibility constrains me and puts great pressure on me, but it also makes me feel fulfilled, truly alive.”

Long nodded. “If our teacher stops letting me be the guild president, I’ll definitely try being a judge.”

Kiton then asked Long, “Our teacher has become more mysterious lately. Have you seen him? I can’t seem to find him anywhere.”

His teacher, Sukob, had been busy establishing a school, which was why Long had become the temporary acting president of the Contract Guild.

In this era, most noble families relied on home tutors to educate the next generation.

In the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents, there was no such thing as schools.

Schools were an academy system that had spread from the White Tower Alchemy Alliance in the Land of Sunrise.

Every city in Suinhor had temples that recruited apprentices for systematic training, but those were only for training clergy.

Sukob’s Mooneclipse City Contract Lawyer School was somewhat similar to this.

After all, Contract Lawyers in this era were also considered a type of clergy in some sense.

Long replied, “You know our teacher. He’s been traveling all over the Royal Court of Ten Thousand Serpents, looking for talented kids and young people.”

“When he gets back, the school should be up and running. Looks like we might all end up teaching there, huh?”

Long slumped in his chair, his entire demeanor conveying a sense of despair and exhaustion.

“Ugh, I bet things are going to get even crazier then.”

Living is so tiring, so weary.

At this moment, Kiton stood up, took his coat from the door, put it on, and then donned his hat.

At the doorway, he looked back at Long. “Are you busy now?”

Long was taken aback. “Not really.”

“Things at the guild are running pretty smoothly lately. Luckily, I’m smart enough to delegate. I hired some folks, gave them a few days of training, and they’re almost as good as we are.”

“See? The guild is running fine, no major issues.”

“The only real problem is we don’t have enough Contract Lawyers. Once our teacher gets the school up and running, we’ll have more people, and the guild can expand to other cities.”

Kiton smiled. “Since you’re not busy, come help me with something!”

Long instantly regretted his words and desperately wanted to say he was busy after all.

But under Kiton’s urging, he could only follow him out the door.

Begalei District in Mooneclipse City

This was a commercially prosperous area, inhabited mostly by middle and lower-class merchants, as well as workers, peddlers, laborers, cart drivers, and people in similar professions.

It was a middle-of-the-road district in Mooneclipse City, but because of its commercial prosperity, various cases frequently erupted.

Beneath the surface of prosperity, darkness thrived.

Robberies, thefts, and murders were common occurrences in this district.

Long and Kiton walked through streets and alleys. It was drizzling outside. Long held an oilcloth umbrella as he followed behind, looking like Kiton’s little attendant.

As the two arrived at an alley entrance, someone shouted.

“Lord Kiton!”

“Over here!”

“Over here!”

Kiton walked toward the person, who was a man missing three fingers.

There had previously been a notorious gang in the Begalei District that specialized in extortion. The man was one of their victims, and his brother had also died at their hands.

After recording what the man had to say, Kiton told him something.

“Very good.”

“The evidence you’ve provided fully proves their crimes.”

The man was dissatisfied but helpless. “But he knows you’re on this case. He fled as soon as he heard your name.”

“With him gone, how can he be judged?”

The man was referring to the gang leader. When his activities became too notorious and reached Kiton’s attention, the gang leader knew he was finished.

Someone like Kiton could not be threatened or bribed, so fleeing was his only option.

Kiton reassured him, “Don’t worry. I’ve already applied for an arrest warrant. The Spirit of Legal Code will track his location.”

“If he’s in Mooneclipse City, the security officers will definitely catch him. If he’s fled to another city, we’ll notify the security officers there as well.”

The man did not understand what the Spirit of Legal Code was, but he knew that before him stood an Ability User who surely possessed mysterious powers he could not comprehend.

That was why he dared to testify.

Next, Long followed Kiton.

Some cases involved questioning and evidence collection.

Others were smaller disputes, conflicts too minor to go to court, yet Kiton handled them personally.

Kiton mediated these disputes, spending half the day on them. A high-ranking Ability User had spent his breath mediating such conflicts.

Long had not expected that this was what Kiton did every day.

“You really do this every day?” Long asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I thought judges just sat in courtrooms, handing down decisions based on the legal code.”

Kiton told Long, “One can be a judge that way, but that’s not a competent judge.”

“Besides, our path as judges and Contract Lawyers is just beginning, isn’t it?”

“Everything is just starting. Everything is still being explored.”

“No one knows how to be a good judge or what a judge should do.”

“First, I need to figure out what a judge should do. Later, these tasks can be delegated to others. If I just sat high on the court from the beginning, wouldn’t I be like a blind man?”

“When I decided to become a judge, our teacher told me to do as many things as I could manage and then share my thoughts with him.”

Kiton had not brought Long along because he genuinely needed help.

He wanted Long to experience the responsibilities of a judge.

He also wanted him to see the changes he had brought to the Begalei District since becoming a judge.

Long unconsciously developed a sense of reverence for his senior, not just because he was older, but because of something else entirely.

A person who looked like a security patrol soldier approached Kiton and whispered something to him.

Kiton furrowed his brow and looked at Long.

“Something’s happened. A special case.”

“Let’s go take a look together.”

Long glanced at Kiton. “Is this really a judge’s job? Shouldn’t the security officers handle things like this?”

“Aren’t you kind of stepping out of bounds here?”

Kiton explained, “This appears to be a supernatural case.”

“The security officer in the Begalei District is just an ordinary person. This kind of case obviously exceeds what an ordinary person can handle.”

“As the judge of the Begalei District and an Ability User, how can I just sit by when I know such dangers threaten my jurisdiction?”

Long sighed and shook his head. “You really take this responsibility thing seriously, huh?”

Then, with a sly grin, he added, “But hey, I’m not complaining. A supernatural case sounds way more exciting than tagging along while you settle arguments.”

Investigating a supernatural case indeed held a special attraction for a young man like Long.

But during this journey, Long had also felt the charm of being a judge.

Wherever they went, evildoers retreated.

Everyone looked at Kiton with admiring and longing eyes, a feeling Long could not experience while sitting in the guild.

Besides this, Long also felt that a judge’s responsibilities were as Kiton had described. Many things were still immature, and the responsibilities and powers of a judge were not clearly defined.

Kiton was merely a judge, but if he truly wanted to get things done, his actual responsibilities and powers seemed to far exceed Long’s original concept of what a judge was.

Drip, drip!

The rain kept falling as the two arrived at a cemetery.

In such cold weather, with rain coming down, there were still several onlookers outside.

It seemed something truly attention-grabbing had happened inside.

But soon, these onlookers were dispersed by security guards, and Long and Kiton entered the cemetery without any hindrance.

This was no ordinary cemetery. Those buried here were generally people of some means, as they used stone coffins.

Such stone coffins were not something ordinary families could afford.

The coffins were not buried underground but placed on the ground. One end of each coffin was inscribed with the deceased’s epitaph, name, and family.

But one of the stone coffins could be seen to have been opened.

Kiton and Long peered inside and saw it was empty.

Kiton asked the security officer standing nearby, “Whose body was stolen?”

The security officer replied, “The stolen body belonged to the daughter of a former temple attendant.”

“But that attendant is long gone, and their family has declined, otherwise they wouldn’t be buried here.”

“The person had only been dead for two days. When her family came this morning, they noticed the stone coffin seemed to have been disturbed and then discovered the body inside was missing.”

Kiton asked, “What makes you so certain this is a supernatural case?”

The security officer told Kiton, “The lid of this stone coffin is extremely heavy. It’s definitely not something one person could open.”

Kiton said, “It could have been several people, or they might have used tools.”

The security officer led Kiton around the coffin, where several holes were visible in one corner.

Kiton inserted his fingers into the holes and found they were just the right size.

This made things clear.

Ordinary people absolutely could not punch holes in hard stone with their fingers.

Long did not understand. “What do these people want with corpses?”

Kiton suddenly thought of something. “Long, have you heard certain rumors?”

“Rumors about cannibals?”

“You mean those stories about gaining power from eating people?” Long asked.

“Come on, that’s just nonsense, right? Do people actually believe that?”

“If it were that easy, wouldn’t there be Ability Users everywhere?”

Standing in the rain, Kiton looked at the stone coffin and said, “Perhaps some people do.”