The Paladin in the Abyss

"That was a type of Necromancy known as 'Speak with the Dead,'" Kalalin drew out his cold iron short spear and fiddled with the malformed corpse on the ground, "The spell merely animates the residual memory within the body itself, and cannot actually summon the soul of the deceased back, so it can only answer simple, direct questions. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire

After five questions have been asked, any remaining energy will be completely exhausted, leaving the corpse in this mummy-like state."

"They seemed to have mentioned an artifact that was stolen, called the Eye of Sarezdon," Alamir reminded, "Do you know what that is?"

"I have not heard of that item, but I have heard the name Sarezdon," Kalalin frowned, "Sarezdon, the God of Shackles, an ancient god who vanished before mortals appeared in the Multiverse. Legend has it that Their disappearance has a direct connection to the birth of the Abyss, and to this day, they are still imprisoned in the deepest part of the Great Abyss.

Aside from a powerful Celestial Servant, no one has seen Them since."

"Let me guess," Lancelot stroked his chin, "That Celestial Servant wouldn't happen to be the current Lord of the Nine Hells, would it?"

"Correct, but no prize," Kalalin shrugged, "It is said that in the bottom of the Great Abyss, alongside the God of Shackles, also lies the purest seed of evil in the universe. It was from that seed that Asmodeus obtained a power comparable to the Deities, as well as his corruption."

"I knew nothing of these things," Elothysia looked at the Scholar in surprise, "Tijana says you're a member of the Black Cult? What exactly is this organization? In the Prime Material Plane, this cult has always been searching for me. I thought it was some kind of evil cult that worships Demons, so I've been hiding from them."

"The Black Cult has little to do with religion or faith. We are a group of Scholars who study the Abyss and Demons. Half of us hope to use this insight to combat the continuous invasions of Demons, and the other half are more interested in understanding the source of that immense power of the Demons, which is the Abyss itself," Kalalin explained, "However, your choice was not wrong.

If it had been one of those fanatic researchers who found you, it probably would not have ended well. A living Demon is always excellent dissection material."

"Well, that's a relief," Elothysia shrugged, "Glad you're not one of those fanatics."

"I think he's rather fanatical," Bruto muttered with a curled lip, "Enough with those stale and overdiscussed tales, let's see what kind of loot we can find on these guys."

The group was already qualified Adventurers, and items from the enemy's bodies were quickly gathered together. There were about several hundred Gold Coins, some common weapons and Armor, as well as other assorted items, but it was a small box made of obsidian that attracted Lancelot's attention because it completely blocked his Divine Sense.

"What's inside this?" The Dwarf had also noticed the exquisite box and went ahead to open it.

A sudden hum sounded, and Lancelot leaped from the ground, looking around warily, ready for any potential threat.

No Demons or monsters appeared, as if nothing had happened at all.

But, not exactly nothing. Lancelot quickly picked up on the anomaly; the glow that had constantly been emanating from Elothysia's Longsword had extinguished, and the Magic shields flickering on Kalalin and Alamir seemed to dissipate into nothingness.

"Uh, what happened?" Bruto asked, confused, as he lifted the box in his hand. "I thought there was something good inside, but it's just an ordinary black stone."

"This is no ordinary stone," Kalalin said as he came over and motioned for Lancelot not to be alarmed. "It's an Anti-Magic Stone that can neutralize magic around it, a product of the Time of Troubles."

"Anti-Magic Stone?" Lancelot probed the surroundings with his Divine Sense once more, ensuring there were no threats nearby. "And what is the Time of Troubles?"

"The Time of Troubles happened about a century ago, triggered by the theft of the Tablets of Fate by the three gods of death, an item that recorded the divine offices of the deities. Don't ask me why they stole that thing; many deities would like to know as well." Kalalin fiddled with the small box. "The Supreme Deity, Ao, whose existence had never been known before, was outraged by this act.

He exiled all the gods from their Divine Kingdoms in the Outer Layers, forbidding any to return without recovering the Tablets of Fate."

"What a glorious time." Alamir's face showed a contented smile. "The Goddess came among us faithful followers. I had the honor of dining with Her and enjoying beautiful music and splendid dances together."

"The followers of other deities didn't feel the same," Kalalin said with a twist of his mouth. "During that period, all priests lost their Divine Arts, and casting spells became a dangerous act without the management of the Goddess of Magic. By the time everything settled down, many gods had died completely, vanishing forever from the Multiverse."

"That's quite a story," Lancelot said, genuinely startled by the tale. "The gods walked the earth in person?"

"Yes, and since their connection to the Divine Kingdoms was severed, the powers of these deities were greatly reduced. In those years, even mortals managed to achieve the feat of slaying a god, something unprecedented in the past." Kalalin handed the small box to Lancelot.

"Stones like this are products of the Time of Troubles, said to be byproducts of divine beings falling into the Mortal Realm, quite rare."

"I have heard of such things as well," Elothysia added as she came closer. "Many powerful Demon Lords are willing to pay a hefty price for them, especially when a daring spellcaster gets hold of a Demon Lord's true name, because these stones can free them from the binding of Summoning Formations."

"Indeed, while this item is not as rare as a Divine Artifact, in the hands of the demon lords weighing thousands of pounds, its effects are almost equal to that of a Divine Artifact," the Scholar said, frowning. "The masters behind these shapeshifters have really gone all out.

There must be scores of Defensive Formations around the Eye of Sarizdon, but this Anti-Magic Stone renders all the anti-theft measures useless."

Lancelot looked curiously at the stone in the box, touched it, and found it to be much colder than it looked, almost like a chunk of ice. He dropped one hand and silently activated the Qingyun Sword Art, generating a Sword Aura from his palm made of Innate True Qi, and quietly poked a hole in the ground.

The efficacy of magic originated from the manipulation of the Magic Net, and the strength of Divine Arts came directly from the deities, fundamentally both being external forces. His own True Qi, as well as the physical strength that came from his Spiritual Cultivation, stemmed from himself and were not restricted by the Anti-Magic Stone.

"How large is the effective range of this stone?" he looked up and asked Kalalin.

"Why not try and find out," the Scholar shrugged. "Alamir, take your Hardhead Hammer and walk off into the distance."