Soul

Soul
Hometown	Partem
Current Residence	Partem
Affiliations	Ancient God of the Karuppa Pathfinder The Karuppa
Enemies	Kirston
Status	Alive

For information on Soul Weapons, see Soul Weapon.

The Soul is a mysterious entity that dwells in the heart of the ruins of Partem.

Story

The Cursed Relic

During the era of the Ancient Gods, the Karuppa people carved a relic from a sacred tree in Partem, which had the ability to heal the sick and guide the lost. After the Overseers sealed the gods away, the power of the relic gradually faded, with the Soul remaining in the Soul Chamber of the temple built by the Karuppa to honor their god. Ages later, Kirston came to the ruins and attempted to reproduce the power of the relic by turning back time, though the Barrier of Time created by Freud prevented time from flowing back before the moment that the Black Mage was sealed, causing the relic to grow cursed by Kirston's dark magic. To protect the Karuppa from Kirston's curse, the Soul created loud, terrible noises to keep them away from the ruins.

Dampening the Curse

Centuries later, the Pathfinder discovered the relic and was cursed by Kirston's magic. Soon after, she returned to the temple with a Karuppa named Brie, where the Soul recognized her as the one who had walked the hidden path and had shown herself to be qualified to be the bearer of the power. The Soul felt the Pathfinder's heart drawn by confusion and driven by quiet desperation, explaining that it had the answers that she sought. The Pathfinder asked about the relic, to which the Soul explained that long ago, the ancient Karuppa who had resided in Partem had fashioned a sacred icon from the wood of a divine tree, which they had once worshiped. The Pathfinder recognized the item from the carvings on the wall as her relic. The Soul explained that the relic had once been an object of benevolence, capable of healing the injured and guiding the lost. However, as time had passed, the order of the world had been established, and the power of the relic had gradually begun to wane. Gradually, those who knew of the relic's existence had passed on, and with fewer and fewer people remembering the ancient ways, the relic had come to be regarded as merely a legend. Centuries ago, however, a man clad in black robes had come to the ruins and had used cursed magic upon the relic. After his ritual, he had returned the relic to its resting place and had departed. Since then, the relic had been corrupted by impure energies.

The Soul explained that the relic retained both its original nature and its corrupted state, and that the Pathfinder had likely felt both powers inside her. It explained that the corrupted power had already become one with the relic, meaning that it could no longer be erased. However, it told the Pathfinder that the curse could be suppressed if she could become the true inheritor of the relic. As some tools recognized worthy owners, the relic would respond to her mastery and allow her to draw out its hidden powers. It instructed her to explore and grow stronger, promising that the relic would guide her when the time was right. The Soul then sent them back outside the ruins, where Brie noted that it seemed that she and the Pathfinder had heard different things simultaneously from the Soul. She told the Pathfinder that she was glad that they had gotten their answers, as going through the perilous journey once was more than enough for her. She explained that the Soul had told her that the loud noises scaring the villagers would soon cease, as they had been meant to scare away the Karuppa and protect them from being exposed to the evil energies inside the ruins. As the Pathfinder had removed the corruptive power inside the ruins by taking the relic, there was no longer any need to scare the Karuppa away.

After the Pathfinder claimed the full power of the relic, she returned to the Soul Chamber, where the Soul recognized that the relic's power was now fully unfettered, for which it welcomed her as its rightful owner. To answer her questions, the Soul explained that Kirston had intended to reproduce the relic's innate power through a dark rite. As the relic had been made before order had laid its foundations in the world, time itself needed to be turned back to return it to its full power. The Pathfinder pointed out that Kirston had mentioned that something was blocked, to which the Soul explained that Kirston had been unable to fully restore the relic's power, as the Seal of Time had impeded him. However, it warned the Pathfinder that nothing was impossible forever, for while Kirston may have failed, another could appear and attempt to reproduce the relic's ancient power, and that it was equally likely that their intentions may be good or evil. It added that it hoped that if one did succeed in restoring that power, they would use it to protect the world. Until then, it entrusted the Pathfinder with the relic and its safekeeping before teleporting her back outside the ruins. The Pathfinder noted to herself that Kirston seemed tenacious and that he likely hadn't given up on reproducing the ancient power. She realized that she had always been driven merely by satisfying her curiosity, roaming from place to place, just to see what she could find. She laughed that she had never expected to find herself getting attached, realizing that her world had become bigger than just herself. She then vowed to use the relic's power to defend everything that she cared about and to shine a light on the right path in a world filled with darkness.

NPC

Partem

Soul
Location	Soul Chamber