The moment he did so, he felt the surface of the obelisk tremble, and the hum emanating from it intensified. In the next second, a wave of blue energy surged from the crown-like top of the structure to a spot not far from where he stood. A ghostly figure materialized there, and soon after, the hum and vibrations from the structure returned to their normal level.
Jake withdrew his hand from the hand-shaped indentation and turned to face the ghost. He anticipated it to immediately attack him, so he was taken aback when it didn’t. The ghost motionlessly hovered a couple of feet above the floor, staring at him in silence. Jake attempted to summon its description, but to his surprise, nothing happened.
This was strange. In the dungeon, every single creature he encountered tried to kill him. It was unusual to come across one that seemingly wasn’t intent on doing so. For a brief moment, Jake continued staring at the ghost, pondering his next move. The ghost was blue and semi-transparent. It resembled a human being, except it was missing the lower half of its body. In the end, Jake decided to take the ghost out to see what would happen.
He tightened his grip on the battleaxe handle and stepped closer to the ghost. It didn’t flinch as he swung the weapon. The blade, smeared with ointment, sliced through the ghost’s form, encountering unexpected resistance as if it were made of flesh.
That was when the ghost sprang into action. Clearly not fond of being harmed again, it whooshed away from Jake and unleashed a pulsing wave of energy that instantly struck him in the middle of his chest. However, the amulet he wore around his neck absorbed the damage, fully protecting him. He dashed after the ghost and attacked again only for it to drift away once more after taking the damage.
This cat-and-mouse game continued for half a minute until he landed the fatal blow on the ghost, causing its translucent form to burst apart with a brilliant light. Just before the ghost disappeared as if it had never existed, it seemed to scream something. It sounded like a single word from some ancient arcane language.
For a second or two, Jake stared at the empty spot where the ghost had just been. What was the point of all of this? He returned to the obelisk. Wisps of bluish energy kept rising from the crown-like top, while the structure emitted a faint hum and filled the surrounding air with an electric charge. Jake placed his hand into the hand-shaped indentation once again.
As soon as he did so, a wave of energy flowed from the top of the obelisk, creating another ghost that looked exactly like the one he had just defeated. Scratch that, it was definitely the same ghost. Out of curiosity, he pressed his hand into the indentation once again. No more ghosts appeared, though. Obviously, only one could be summoned from the obelisk at any given time.
Jake stepped away from the obelisk and looked at the ghost. It hovered motionlessly in the air, watching him intently. It was obvious it wouldn’t attack unless he attacked first. Since he hadn’t gained any XP from defeating the previous ghost, there was no reason to attack this one. It was obvious that this wasn’t just an ordinary enemy to defeat—its presence held a deeper meaning.
He remembered the word the first ghost had shouted just before it shattered into a brilliant flash of light and thought back to the five symbols carved into the portal’s arch. There might be a link between those symbols and the word the ghost had uttered in its final moments. There had to be. It was definitely worth investigating his theory. The only question was how to guide the ghost to the portal.
Jake stepped back a few paces, but the ghost continued to hover in place, silently observing him. He took a few more steps, yet nothing changed. It seemed he would need to engage the ghost to get it to follow him. However, he didn’t relish the idea of running through the tunnels toward the portal while being constantly attacked by the ghost. After all, there was only so much charge in his ethereal protective amulet. But if the ghost didn’t follow him on its own, he would have no choice but to provoke it.
He decided to take a few more steps back before giving up trying to get the ghost to follow him. He took one final step, putting about fifteen yards of distance between himself and the ghost. He was ready to charge, but it suddenly surged toward him, gliding silently through the air. Jake froze, watching as it approached him. When the ghost was within five yards, it stopped and hovered motionlessly, its gaze fixed on him. So the ghost would actually follow him when he moved far enough away from it. Jake looked around to get his bearings and then set off toward the portal.
For the next several minutes, he made his way through the tunnels, with the ghost constantly following him wherever he went. He was becoming increasingly convinced that his theory was correct. Finally, he arrived at the chamber housing the portal. When the ghost floated inside as well, he stepped closer to the arch to make sure the ghost moved as close to the portal as possible. It flew toward him and halted about five yards from the towering structure.
Jake turned his attention from the ghost to the arch. He stepped back a few paces to get a better view of all five symbols etched into its front surface. Although he had brought the ghost to the portal, its mere proximity didn’t seem to have any effect on the symbols. Still, he was convinced that the word the ghost would howl after he defeated it would trigger one of the symbols. It was time to put his theory to the test.
Before stepping toward the ghost, he checked the energy level of his protective amulet: a little over fifty percent. That was more than enough for a single fight. Gripping his weapon tightly, he lunged at the ghost. The battle ended pretty quickly. Just before vanishing in a flash of bright light, the ghost screamed the same strange word as before. Jake quickly glanced at the portal to see if there was any effect on the engraved symbols.
To his surprise and disappointment, nothing changed. None of the symbols lit up, remaining as dull and faded as before. What the heck? Was his theory wrong? Or was he missing something? Jake wasn’t quite sure. It felt strange. He had absolutely been sure his theory was right. But if the word the ghost screamed before disappearing in a bright flash of light didn’t have a connection to any of the symbols inscribed on the portal, then what was the true purpose of summoning that ghost from the Dark Spirit Conduit?
Jake mulled it over for a minute but couldn’t think of anything at the moment. In the end, he decided to continue exploring the dungeon for now. While he couldn’t fully grasp the meaning behind it all, he was sure he would eventually be able to piece this puzzle together. Perhaps he wasn’t as far off as he thought. He likely just needed to find more clues.