Chapter 544: The Realm Of Spirits

"Power? What kind of power?" Rain was suspicious, but if she could become stronger, she would take the chance to gain it.

"Between you and your twin sister, you are the one with the most compassion for those around you. You gained this from your mother. To gain the power I am offering you, you may need to lose some of that compassion in order to survive and stand at the top. But even so, are you willing?" The old man asked.

"It depends. What do I need to do?" Rain did want power, but she did not like this old man much.

"As you know, there are humans, demi humans, and other races, but there is also a realm for spirits. A place where a handful of people have stepped and is shrouded in many mysteries. Your mother's friend Tri'an is such a spirit. They are an ancient race that are able to see and tap into the ley lines of all the existing planes and see both the past and the future. But in order to gain true power, I would like you to become their empress. Like your sister who has entered the realm of the dead to gain the title of ghost empress, I want you to enter the realm of spirits and sit upon the empty throne that has never once had anyone sit upon it. 

"You see, there are three realms that I had created long ago. Only two of which have had someone rise up and sit upon their throne. The realm of the dead where the ghost empress ruled for many years, and the realm of blood a place where war is rampant and where the first god of war sat and brought death to those who opposed them and raged war when he saw fit. Unlike these two realms, the realm of spirits has never had a single person sit upon its throne. 

"You could say out of the three trials for the seat, the realm of spirits has the hardest test. Everyone who has tried to pass this test has failed and died as a result. The tests are unforgiving, and some of the spirits inside the realm are by no means as nice as Tri'an. There are evil spirits who will feast on your flesh and soak in your blood. So you can not go in unprepared and think all spirits are kind.

"I, of course, will not send you in there unprepared. Unlike your two sisters, you have been stagnant for many years. So I will send you to a place to train under a friend of mine who can teach you about the ley lines and how to keep yours from being read. I will ask you once more, are you willing to take on this task?" The old man looked deeply at  Rain, who was looking down at her feet, seemingly deep in thought. 

Rain did not answer right away. She fell into thought and tried to take in everything he had said. The power to see ley lines was indeed a strong power. It could easily find a person's weakness and learn anything you wished about a person, whether it be past or future. After much thought, she looked up at the old man with eyes filled with determination. "As long as I do not have to kill innocents, I will do it." 

"Good! The person who will be training you so that you can take on the realm of spirits is already waiting for you. I will bring you to him now." The old man waved his hand, and the two of them both disappeared. The next thing Rain knew was that she was standing in some kind of magic lab. 

"Huh? Old geezer, you finally came. You contacted me a few years ago and never showed up. Is this the girl?" A female spirit that looked more human than a spirit like Tri'an, flapped her wings as she flew around Rain, looking her up and down. After nodding her head and mumbling to herself, she finally flew over to the old man and said: "She looks dumb."

"You!" Rain couldn't believe how rude this spirit was! She may not know a lot, but she was by no means dumb!

"Haha! That is why I am asking you to train her. She is her daughter, after all." The old man said with a chuckle. He readily agreed with the spirit's conclusion. Seeing this, Rain felt very defeated.

"Alright, I will do it if it is for her." The spirit replied somewhat reluctantly.  She then turned to Rain with a smile and said: "My name is Gale. From this moment on, you will train under me, and just so you know, it will not be easy. Learning how to read the ley lines or even see them is not something that comes easy. Are you ready?"

Rain looked at Gale and nodded. "Yes! I am more than ready." 

"Good! So first, let me just say..." Gale turned to the old man and yelled: "Get out!"

"Alright, I am going!" The old man pouted but still waved his hand and disappeared. He had one more stop to make anyway.

Once the old man was gone, Gale let out a sigh of relief before turning back to Rain. "Strip, I will need to begin the rune carving. In order to even enter the spirit realm or even begin learning how to see the Ley lines to begin your training, you will need to endure some pain first while I infuse your body with spirit energy. Only spirits are able to see ley lines, so in order to make this happen, you must become a spirit..." 

Rain was startled at first but after hearing the explanation she nodded her head and began undressing. Gale wasted no time and had Rain first take a bath in a special fluid that she had to be fully submerged in. "I created a bubble inside so you can breathe. You need to stay in this spirit fluid for a week. Then I will begin engraving."