The Greatest Sinner

"I see..." Evan said slowly, looking at the \'Pillar of Soul" floating in the air.

Draven smiled and said calmly: "Great, you\'ve done well in only two hours. Of course, you still need a lot of practice, but it\'s a great result. Now you can see the "Pillar of Soul" of other beings."

Evan marveled at what he saw. It was something incredible and amazing to him.

While the young man had not yet cancelled the spell, Draven calmly said: "Examine the "Pillar of Soul" carefully, it shows which race the creature belongs to and how strong it is."

The "Pillar of Soul" was a high, hollow, snow-white pillar. At the very top was a mark indicating the race of the creature. That was how you could tell if a creature was a monster or a beast. But, from the "Pillar of Soul" one could also determine the strength of the creature.

"Evan, what you see at the very top is a mark showing that this rat is a monster. I\'ll give you the "Pillar of Soul" guide later, it was compiled personally by me. But, you do not see the most important thing, this rat is too weak for its "Pillar of Soul" to be filled with anything. However, you are in the same situation." Draven finished calmly.

"There must be something inside the \'Pillar of Soul"? That rat has it hollow... and so do I... Is it because I haven\'t even reached the "One-Pointed Star"? Evan said slowly.

He was amazed that there was such a phenomenon as the "Pillar of Soul". He would finally be able to distinguish between monsters and beasts, and besides that there was more information to gain.

"Evan, cancel the spell and when I give the signal use it again, just look at me now. Since I\'m many times stronger than you, you won\'t be able to see my "Pillar of Soul" unless I want you to." 

Evan nodded and immediately canceled the spell. He was curious to know how strong his teacher was.

"Just don\'t be frightened. I\'ll have to unleash my aura, for a newbie magician like you it might be too much..." Draven said seriously.

The young man didn\'t answer anything. He waited for Draven to give the signal.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Suddenly Evan felt a strong pressure coming from Draven. With each second, it grew stronger and more powerful. Evan had felt something similar once before-when Marcel had wanted to kill Cade in a rage-but Draven\'s aura was different. It was powerful, without any emotion, pure power.

"Come on, using the "Eye of Truth." Draven said calmly.

Evan nodded and began casting the spell. Under such incredible pressure, it was quite difficult to do, Evan even thought he was having difficulty breathing. Evan was stunned by Draven\'s power.

Whoosh.

The iris of Evan\'s eyes glowed with a bright white light and a moment later, he saw a blinding light. Draven\'s "Pillar of Soul" was much bigger and brighter than the rat\'s, a clear indication of his power.

"Аh?" Evan was surprised, for Draven\'s "Pillar of Soul" was not hollow.  Three round platforms floated inside it, two of which were burning with three white flames, while the third only by one.

"Evan, each of the platforms inside the "Pillar of Soul" shows what level the target of your spell is at. Simply put, the three platforms in my "Pillar of Soul" show that I am at the "Three-Pointed Star" stage." Draven said quietly.

The young man nodded as he continued to stare at Draven\'s "Pillar of Soul". Evan was dumbfounded by how powerful his teacher was, but he couldn\'t take his eyes off the blazing lights. He was mesmerized by their beauty.

"Each flame indicates the number of broken "Barriers", monsters and beasts are very different from humans, but the "Pillar of Soul" is the same for everyone. On the third platform, I have only one flame, which means that at the "Three-Pointed Star" stage I have only broken one "Barrier" so far. Calmly Draven said as if he were giving Evan a lecture.

"I get it..." Slowly Evan muttered and canceled the spell. At the same moment, the pressure coming from Draven quickly diminished and everything returned to normal.

Draven took a sip of the amber drink and headed for one of the cabinets. He pulled out a thin book that looked more like an old frayed diary and handed it to Evan.

"You can read about the "Pillar of Soul" in the library too, but this little book was written by me personally. It\'s yours now, you won\'t learn much new about the "Pillar of Soul", but reading it will add to your knowledge."

"Thank you." With a satisfied smile on his face, Evan said and held the book up to the spatial ring.

Whoosh.

A second late,r the book was already lying in a small space inside the ring.

"I see you\'re getting the hang of it and using this ring easily. By the way, don\'t dare put another spatial ring inside this spatial ring. Your ring is too low ranked to withstand objects like that inside. It will explode from the overload and you will be seriously injured." Draven warned Evan.

"Okay, Draven, is the "Pillar of Soul" the same as the soul?" Evan asked calmly. In his mind, now he saw the soul of Draven and the rat before him.

Draven shook his head, "No, the soul is not such a simple thing to see with a rank zero spell you`ve learned in two hours."

"What did I see then? What is the "Pillar of Soul"?" Evan asked puzzled.

"Pillar of Soul" is only a small part of the soul, though no...that\'s not right. The "Pillar of Soul" does not show the soul of someone, it is a compilation of the power and essence of the creature. That\'s why you saw that rat of a monster and were mesmerized by the white-hot lights inside my "Pillar of Soul".

Draven sighed and continued: "I understand that you might have been confused by the name and what the "Pillar of Soul" looks like, but it\'s not a soul. To see someone\'s soul requires special spells and incredible power. Nevertheless, the "Pillar of Soul" can be called something like a soul, it is proof that you exist in this world and that you are recognized by the world."

Evan didn\'t answer anything, he pondered Draven\'s words. "Pillar of Soul" was a deeper concept than he could have imagined.

<That you are recognized by the world...>. Evan thought about Draven\'s last sentence.

"Evan, use the "Eye of Truth" on the table we\'re sitting at." Suddenly Draven said.

"What do you mean?" Evan didn\'t understand why he would use this spell on an ordinary, wooden table.

"Just do as I say." Draven replied succinctly.

Evan nodded and the next moment his "Warp" spun.

Whoosh.

The irises of Evan\'s eyes glowed brightly and to his surprise he saw the "Pillar of Soul" above the table.

"AHAHAHAHAHA, you should see your face right now. Evan, just because monsters and beasts and we, humans, are living beings capable of thinking and acting doesn\'t mean we are alone in this world. Even a mere stone in the road has its own "Pillar of Soul," for it too exists in this world and is recognized by it."