The Rich Cultivator-Chapter 322. Ashes to Ashes.

As Tyler pointed his ladle toward the monstrous entity, he made a sweeping gesture.

The effect was immediate.

The countless souls that had been clinging to the creature’s form were suddenly stripped away, vanishing in an instant.

They weren’t destroyed—no, they were inside the ladle.

Tyler exhaled, steadying his thoughts. He knew the Copper Pot didn’t have the ability to copy souls, so there was no point in even trying. Instead, he simply released them. The souls, momentarily freed, drifted away... only to merge back into the Soul Monster.

His brows furrowed. ’That’s not enough. I need to separate them from the monster completely.’

Just then, Mana’s voice rang in his head.

"Found it!"

Tyler snapped his attention to the center of the monster’s writhing form.

A faint glow pulsed from deep within its mass.

The Pinky Finger.

There it was—floating inside the core of the creature, radiating that eerie, silver light.

A wave of unease crawled down Tyler’s spine. He had to extract it, but how? If he destroyed the monster outright, the souls trapped inside it might be lost forever. He needed another way.

The Soul Monster let out an ear-splitting wail, its form contorting as if in agony. Then, without warning, it lashed out.

A tidal wave of souls surged toward Mana.

Tyler’s breath hitched. ’Is she in danger?!’

But Mana just... laughed.

"Ahaha! That tickles!" she giggled, spinning playfully as the souls swirled around her like ocean currents.

Tyler mouth twitched, he casually took a soul using the copper ladle and touched the soul. He felt sting in his hand.

"How the heck she feels tickled?" Tyler muttered.

The monster’s form shifted again, refocusing its wrath on him.

Tendrils shot out, slamming into the massive stone giant he stood on. The force sent cracks spider-webbing across its rocky body.

Tyler gritted his teeth. "Yeah, yeah. Keep swinging. This punching bag can take it."

Another attack. Another thunderous shockwave. The air itself seemed to vibrate from the sheer intensity of the battle.

The Soul Monster roared in frustration, its howls growing more chaotic.

Mana used the momentary distraction to dive deeper into the creature’s core.

"I’m almost there!" she called out.

Tyler exhaled sharply, gripping his ladle in his hand. "No pressure, but hurry the hell up!"

The monster lunged again.

This time, its entire form shifted into a monstrous maw, lined with countless wailing faces. The sheer horror of it sent a shiver down Tyler’s spine.

The giant beneath him reacted instinctively, raising a massive stone arm to block the attack.

CRACK!

Fissures splintered across the giant’s body. Its form was weakening.

Tyler winced. ’Not good.’

Mana’s voice rang out again, but this time, it wasn’t a playful giggle.

Something was wrong.

Just as she reached for the Pinky Finger, the Soul Monster let out an earsplitting, inhuman shriek. The sheer intensity of it made Tyler’s head feel like it was about to split open.

Mana, however, just laughed.

"Haha! Not again!" she cried as another wave of souls washed over her. They were ’attacking’ her again. Tyler could tell. It was more like they were trying to stop her in some strange, desperate way. Or it’s just soul attacks didn’t work on Mana.

But then—

The Pinky Finger vanished.

One second, it was right in front of Mana. The next, it was simply gone.

The Soul Monster froze.

For the first time since the battle had started, it stopped moving.

Mana floated backward, tilting her head in confusion. "Huh? Where’d it go?"

Then—something shifted.

The countless trapped souls inside the monster... their hollow, vacant eyes flickered with something new.

Recognition.

It was as if, for the first time in who knows how long, they understood what had happened to them. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

And in that moment—

The monster collapsed.

Its massive, grotesque form unraveled, breaking apart like mist caught in the wind.

The remaining souls, now freed, drifted away—some ascending into the sky, others simply fading into nothingness.

Tyler, standing atop the broken stone giant, looked down at his ladle.

And there it was.

A small, shriveled pinky finger sat in the center of it, glowing with that ominous silver light.

Tyler let out a small smile as he casually twirled his copper ladle. The once-elusive Pinky Finger now rested securely inside it.

The world around them shifted.

The eerie, unnatural landscape dissolved as the Village of Vale began to reappear in its original form. The oppressive aura lifted, replaced by an almost peaceful silence.

Just then, the others arrived, rushing toward him.

"Wow, you guys are fast," Tyler said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Mathilda, slightly out of breath, rolled her eyes. "Huh... We tried running toward the village, but no matter how fast we ran, we couldn’t get any closer. It was like an illusion." She paused before asking, "So... what happened?"

Tyler was about to answer, but Misra spoke first.

"It’s over."

Her voice was soft yet filled with certainty. She lifted her gaze, her expression unreadable. "I can feel it..."

Above them, countless souls appeared, flickering like fireflies against the dim sky. Some hovered momentarily before vanishing, while others drifted upward, dissolving into the heavens.

Mana, who had been floating nearby, suddenly flew back toward Tyler. Without warning, she threw herself at him, she disappeared into Tyler.

"Tyler... Mana is tired. Mana’s gonna sleep," she murmured drowsily.

He let out a chuckle. "Yeah, yeah. Just don’t drool in me."

"Yeah... No insertion of liquid inside you." Mana replied.

"Can you please stop phrasing like that." Tyler sighed.

She didn’t respond—her breathing had already slowed into a soft, steady rhythm.

Tyler sighed, shifting his gaze back to the scene unfolding before them.

Misra stood still, her eyes locked onto a single soul drifting toward her.

It looked just like her.

The two figures stared at each other for a long moment, neither speaking. Then, gently, the soul extended a hand.

Misra hesitated before reaching out.

Their fingers barely brushed—then suddenly, a soft smile appeared on Misra’s lips.

A silent understanding passed between them.

Back in the village of Vale, the inhabitants of Vale began to regain their memories.

But as they did—one by one, they faded into dust.

A husband and wife held each other tightly, sadness and acceptance etched onto their faces. They shared one final embrace before their bodies crumbled away.

Children, who had been trapped in time, now bore mature expressions far beyond their years. With quiet sighs of relief, they too dissolved.

The village itself—the wooden homes, the winding river, the dense forest—began vanishing.

One after another, they turned to dust.

The Monsters in the forest, the animals, the plants. Everything was disappearing one by one. Finally the Dark Horizon is also disappearing.

Back inside the Dark Horizon,

"Looks like I was just consciousness created by that Finger ..." A handsome man in a clay form said.

"Vale?" Tyler asked.

"Bye My friend." Vale simply waved his hand and disappeared.

Misra stood frozen, her gaze fixed on her own soul.

Then—she too began to fade along with her soul.

Her hands, her arms, her legs... little by little, she was disappearing.

Mathilda’s breath caught in her throat. "Misra..."

Misra turned, smiling softly.

"Don’t be sad... Leon, darling." She reached out, patting Mathilda’s head. But her hands disappeared.

Mathilda trembled. "But—"

Before she could say more, Misra suddenly giggled.

"Ahh... I wanted to give a long, dramatic speech," she said quickly, her words rushing as if she knew she was running out of time. "Something inspiring, maybe even a little poetic—Anyways I love yo-"

She vanished turned into Ashes and disappeared.

Her final words were cut off mid-sentence, leaving nothing but empty air where she had stood.

Mathilda stood frozen, her hands clenched into fists. Then, silently—

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

Tyler hugged her and patted her back. He didn’t notice the finger inside the Ladle is slightly glowing a little.

Then it disappeared.