A few hundred meters away from the hospital where Logan was and half a mile into the ground was a facility.
The facility appeared to be a metallic cube surrounded by a hollow space carved out from its surroundings,
The metallic cube in question rotated diagonally giving an onlooker a view of the innumerable golden runes that covered its surface.
On any other day, the facility would be empty as there would be no problem for the staff to fix but today was different.
The inside of the cubic facility was filled with all the workers, "Check heart rate!" An imposing voice demanded,
"Heart rate high and still elevating sir!" A younger, more timid voice replied.
Dozens of adults walked with hurried steps around a floor in the facility, the floor remained leveled irrespective of the fact that the actual facility was rotating.
The staff all wore white lab coats, some held test tubes filled with fluids of different colors and densities,
Others held crystals engraved with runes and as for the rest, they were either rushing to get needed apparatus or studying the person in the center of the floor.
The facility looked like a standard office in the sense that each floor was a wide open space that permitted movement but this floor was special today because of what was trapped.
In the center of the floor surrounded by a red circle was a pale figure in chains, it's arms and legs were chained up tightly allowing little to no movement,
The figure rose its head revealing the face of an otherwise good looking man in his early thirties, his body was completely bony as though he hadn't eaten in weeks.
He charged at one of those observing him but because of the chain, his finger stopped directly above the circumference of the red circle thus showing its purpose.
One of the staff was drawing a strange set of lines on the floor with chalk,
She connected the lines and drew runes completing the magic formation she was doing.
The formation took on a bright white glow that died to reveal a young man in his twenties, he had shiny, smooth black hair made into a ponytail,
Had an eyepatch on his left eye, a katana on his back and a black windbreaker with red veins that pulsed with energy.
"We greet the great Death Magus!!" Everyone in the entire floor kowtowed at the same time,
"How many times must I say this? Call me Aaron" Aaron, otherwise known as the Death Magus by peers and enemies alike corrected before pausing,
"So what is this? Is this why I was called?" He asked, observing the person in chains at the center of the floor.
"That is… That was one of our workers, we were experimenting on and studying the energy sample you gave us when…" The staff that was speaking stopped as her voice became shaky, tears streaming down her face, her voice cracking,
"When the energy suddenly went haywire, it phased through our containment runes and formations, stopping only when it entered him" She managed to finish.
"Okay, I understand" Aaron sighed before looking at everyone present, "Leave immediately" He instructed,
"But you can't deal with it just like that, it's a delicate matter and you need the knowledge about how the energy reacts and-" the same woman from before starting complaining.
"Janet, I know he was your husband but… But I don't think we can save him" A fellow worker whispered to her much to Aaron's hearing,
'So that's why she was insisting on staying' Aaron thought to himself as he watched Janet's co-workers convince her to leave and after about six minutes, she left quickly followed by everyone else.
Aaron approached the man that was chained up. Ignoring the red line, he shot his hand to the man's face grabbing his jaw and forcing the man to look him in the eye.
The man's crazed blue eyes hid a layer of hidden turmoil that Aaron didn't fail to notice, "So are you going to keep playing audience Soul King?" Aaron asked to seemingly no one as he kept on looking in the man's eyes,
The man's eyes slowly lost their color until they became entirely grey.
"No escaping your perception, is there Death Magus?" A voice that sounded like a myriad of voices in agony spoke from the man's now wide open mouth,
"What's your endgame? The kingdom only let you live because you hid in the Aereon empire. What do you stand to gain from this?" Aaron question the entity that possessed the man.
"Well since I've been caught, might as well answer your questions. The absolute destruction of the Kingdom that took EVERYTHING FROM ME!" Soul King screamed the last part of its answer,
"Luckily, a certain tyrant with Lightning and Wind magic finds my cause appealing and has brought souls for me to consume" Soul King spoke, twisted joy filling its every word.
"Emperor Kai!" Aaron gasped in shock, the left eye he always covered pulsed in memory of what Emperor Kai had done to him, "What does he stand to gain from this?" Aaron asked,
"Nope, won't tell. Hahahaha" Soul King let out a spine chilling laugh,
"See what you've done to yourself Liam, if only you had listened to me" Aaron said seemingly out of the blue.
"You created soul magic but at what cost? With each soul you consume, you lose more of yourself. Thousands of voices in your head, you lose your body because it can't bare the weight of your soul, it's enough to drive anyone mad" Aaron said with pity in his voice, hinting at a shared past with the being known as soul king.
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Soul King retorted,
"WE ARE PERFECTLY SANE!!" Soul King's voice split into a thousand,
"I… I am perfectly sane" Soul King corrected itself, "Now if you'll excuse me" Soul King said before the body went limp, dead.
***
On another continent, in an orange pagoda that appeared to pierce the sky was a man wearing a kimono, his head neatly shaven and his skin caramel brown,
"That worthless worm better get the job done but even if he fails, I already have someone on the inside" Emperor Kai smirked to himself.