11. Archdevil

Clifford lay stretched out on a soft mat directly placed on the floor, every inch of his body except his head covered with bandages. These bandages prevented the bleeding caused by him from removing the foreign parts that didn't belong to him. Kheon, the cultivator he had tried to take on, sat in a meditative position near him, silently observing his body from time to time.

Kheon was a third-tier beast, a highly intelligent monster capable of attaining a humanoid form and cultivating. After forming a will and breaking through to the World Foundation stage, Kheon was able to sense souls just like any other cultivator. The strange human lying before her surprised her time after time again; it had been a day since she bandaged him, and the souls attached to his body started decreasing one after another.

What surprised her the most was the fact that the souls weren't freed at all; rather, they transformed into soul essence somehow and were absorbed by him. She thought that Clifford would wake up once all of these souls were eradicated, but to her surprise, another wave of souls appeared and somehow merged, becoming one after the first ones were absorbed. Then suddenly, she felt the subtle changes happening to his human soul, slowly becoming stronger as he slept peacefully.

Kheon had nothing to do besides comprehending the great laws to expand and transform her world. She couldn't do anything to help him further, even though she planned to take him as a disciple. Although what was happening to him felt unnatural, she didn't plan to interfere since she didn't feel any flaws coming along with the changes happening to his soul.

Kheon sighed softly as she easily noticed the reaction of the core after a couple of times stalking Clifford's soul. It had been 10 days since Clifford's soul started transforming into a devil's soul, and she could no longer sense any change, as the Devil's Core sensed her will, which was now protective of Clifford's soul. Thus, it created a veil around his soul, hiding its true nature.

Three more months passed with the same routine. Clifford's soul continued changing, and Kheon kept protecting his body, although nothing dared to enter the vicinity of this place. All this time, his body never showed any signs of needing nutrients due to all that he consumed before entering this state.

By the start of the fifth month, Clifford's soul entered the final stage of transformation. His potential began rising slowly along with his soul strength. Another three months passed in this stage, and finally, the time arrived for Clifford to break free from the cocoon he had been sleeping in.

The barren ground shook as Clifford's inner world rumbled. His eyes slowly opened, surrounded by the darkness that clung to every inch of his soul, preventing his movement. Irritation prompted him to clench his fist and hit the closest thing to him. Waves rippled through the cocoon as he pounded it with all he had, causing its shell to fissure and crack.

Before long, the cocoon's shell shattered into fragments, launching them in every direction and enveloping the area in a dusty cloud. Within the remnants of the shattered shell, a young man knelt, one arm resting on the interior of the broken shell, while the other supported his knee.

Dark, rock-like scales covered every inch of his body, replacing his skin, while two sharp horns protruded from the sides of his head and aimed forward. His long, bony fingers ended in sharp claws, and blade-like scales extended from his elbows.

Two large, dark wings covered his back, while a long, thick, spiky tail extended from below. His crimson eyes gleamed brightly, matching the crimson veins covering his body. His height reached 7.5 feet, far exceeding his previous height by 1.5 feet.

The core's surprise reached its peak when it witnessed his appearance; a normal devil wouldn't have horns, wings, or a tail at all. This meant his soul had reached a new height. Although the core was responsible for transforming its possessor into a devil, only their personality and ambitions decide what they become.

Perfect… The core's thoughts reached Clifford as it flew, circling him and checking his soul thoroughly. Normally, mutations would happen to the soul and they would remain as they are; no new parts would appear. But in this instance, not only did his soul completely change, but new parts also appeared, and his height rose significantly.

"Perfect indeed, but do you mind clearing up my doubts?" A sigh escaped Clifford's mouth as he responded to the core while inspecting his new soul form. Although he liked his new form, he was confused about almost everything since coming to this place.

Ask away, as long as I can answer I will. The core's response reached Clifford, prompting him to begin. Among all the questions he had, the most important one to him was how he survived the awakening incident. By all means, that should have killed him. Even if it didn't kill him, then what about the fall?

The dark force healed your wounds bringing them to peak state. As for your soul, I could retain it for a full day. After that, your soul can be returned to your body once it's ready to function. The core's thoughts reached Clifford right away before he could even ask. This made him understand that the core could hear his thoughts just like he could. Nodding his head, Clifford recalled what happened in the past, acknowledging the core's answer.

This continued for a while; Clifford would ask, and the core would answer. In the end, he got all the answers to the questions he asked. Apparently, what he absorbed the first time from the obsidian crystal was an artificial life force that seemingly didn't react well to the dark force. The dark liquid he absorbed was the Devil's Essence. Just like the Dark Force, this was the output of the core absorbing Soul Essence. The souls he fought early were a sort of test to decide whether he was worthy of this power or not. Finally, Clifford left his Sea of Consensus after the core guided him on how to do it.