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Elayne smiled warmly. Despite his nature, Shade was actually a shy creature. Shadows were known as so of the creepiest ghosts, often hateful beings dripping with curses. Shade, however, was different, and that was likely why they had thrown him into the pit back in the Demon King of Death’s Undead Camp.
Shade had long been infamous for his cowardice and fear of others. He had been mistreated and tossed around for it, which only deepened his terror. His seniors, including the Curse Rune Master, frequently found him hiding behind buildings or inside storage sheds, where he was scolded and tornted.
Eventually, they had enough. They discovered he had fled midway through inscribing a curse on soone, causing that Undead to mutate into a Curse—a wild, monster-like specter that wreaked havoc.
Indeed, if a Curse Master abandoned their work partway through, the consequences could be disastrous.
After that incident, Shade was cast into the pit and forced to wait ten years until he would be sacrificed in the arena against Blazer’s "Champion," the brainwashed Mark.
Thankfully, everything went wrong for them. Elayne managed to save him—and everyone else—from their grasp.
Since then, Shade had grown more confident and had begun working as a Curse Master. At first, he feared he might not be capable, but Elayne had trusted him with her very soul ti and again.
"Elayne... thanks..." he murmured from within her shadow. "For trusting ..."
"Hm?" Elayne glanced back as Shade slowly re-erged behind her. "It’s nothing, Shade. Why wouldn’t I trust you? You’re my friend."
"...Friend," Shade repeated, lowering his gaze. His eyes glowed brighter.
To most, he would seem eerie, but Elayne could see the truth of his soul.
Shade possessed a remarkably pure spirit. He had beco a Shadow after enduring endless torture in life.
Perhaps he had been a slave to a cruel master, or a prisoner of war.
Whatever his past, Elayne accepted him fully as he was now.
And that acceptance ant everything to Shade.
No one had ever accepted him before.
"Friend, friend... friend... friends... friend, friend... friends... friend? Friend, friend..."
"Hahah... y-yeah."
Elayne let out a nervous giggle as Shade kept repeating the word under his breath.
She had to admit; it was a little creepy.
Even so, he was a good soul.
As she walked back with the others, Elayne checked her Status, curious to see how much her stats had increased from the Curse Rune upgrade and the new Curse of Flesh.
♢♢♢♢
[Na]: [Elayne]
[Titles]: [Cult Leader of the Demon Tree Religious Order] [Netherworld’s First Spirit Master] [Netherworld’s First Spirit Weapon Blacksmith]
[Race]: [Zombie] [Netherworld Plant Colony Vessel]
[Job Class]: [Nether Spirit Harvester – Tier 1]
[Spiritual Heart]: [Tier 1: Rank 7 – Nether Ghost Yggdrasil Heart]
[Soul Cultivation]: [Tier 4: Rank 3 – Nature Soul: The World]
[Level]: [10/100]
[Soul Fortitude]: [50.000] -> [53.000]
[Nether Essence]: [40.700] -> [45.000]
[Body Durability]: [38.600] -> [39.600]
[Ghostly Power]: [39.000] -> [42.000]
[Cursed Energy]: [32.600] -> [48.000]
[Spiritual Energy Reserves]: [1.055.000]
[Spiritual Particles]: [895.000]
[Spirit Power]: [530.000]
[Soul Traits]: [Amaterasu-no-Kami’s Heavenly Sun Prison Pagoda – Tier 1: 41%]
[Skills]: [Undead Body – Tier 1: Level 6/10] [Ghostly Soul – Tier 1: Level 7/10] [ERROR_INPUT Arts – Tier ?: Level ?/X] [Netherworld Farming Arts – Tier 1: Level 6/10] [Soul Rune Imprint – Tier 1: Level 4/10] [Great Spirit Vessel Rebirth: Gardenia – Tier 1: Level 6/10] [Ghostly Spirit Consciousness – Tier 1: Level 10/10] [Cyclical Energy Conversion – Tier 1: Level 3/10] [Harvest of Duality – Tier 1: Level 2/10]
[Cultivation thods]: [Netherworld Nature Soul Commuting – Grand Perfection Stage] [Divine Soul Spirit Root Branching – Middle Stage] [Earthly Spirit Ring – Initial Stage] [Spirit Blossoming – Initial Stage (Gardenia)] [Rotten Flesh Strengthening thod – Middle Stage] [Bone Reinforcent Ritual – Middle Stage] [Phantasmal Soul Consciousness thod – Peak Stage] [White Ghostly Mist Consciousness thod – Middle Stage]
[Cursed Runes]: [Cursed Rune of Nether – Tier 2: 10%] [Cursed Rune of Ghosts – Tier 2: 10%] [Cursed Rune of Pain – Tier 2: 10%] [Cursed Rune of Flesh – Tier 1: 1%]
[Spiritual Arts]: [Spiritual Soul Weapon Art – Tier 1: Rank 10] [Spirit Weapon Forging Art – Tier 1: Rank 7]
[Spiritual Soul Weapon]: [Nether Soil-Shaping Ghostly Bones Hoe: Bianca – Tier 3] {Abilities}: [Soil Shaping (D-)] [Nether Terrain Modification (D)]
[Refined Soul Treasures]: [Nether Spirit Totem Nail x103 – Tier 1] [Soul Spirit Crystal Tree Sapling – Tier 1] [Ancient Bone Beast Blade: Asteria – Tier ??? (Sealed Power)]
♢♢♢♢
"I see, that’s a solid boost. Each Tier 2 Cursed Rune gave 5k Cursed Energy, and the Tier 1 added 1k, for a total of 16k. The Curse Rune of Nether at Tier 2 granted 5k Nether, while the Ghost Rune provided 3k Soul Fortitude and Ghostly Power. The Flesh Rune only added 1k Body Durability, but that’s acceptable for now. I’ve grown trendously. Combining Curse Runes, Cultivation thods, and Soul Treasures truly is the path forward. Now, it’s ti to level up and grow even stronger."
Elayne needed strength more than ever. Every small gain brought her closer to her goals. She had to remain relentless, never giving up, never stopping her progress. It was the only way to survive in this harsh new world and, one day, find the path back to the Living World—back ho.
"All right, everyone, shall we get going?" Elayne asked. "Granny Yaga, are you coming along?"
"Heh, but of course! Do you take for a slacker, girl?" Granny Yaga laughed heartily. "Back in my day, when I was young and a beauty every young man desired, I was a feared witch and adventurer across these treacherous lands!"
"Is that so?" Elayne asked, intrigued.
"I bet she’s exaggerating. She’s lived far too long—I bet she was born old," Sailor teased.
"Y-You insolent little brat!" Yaga roared, smacking his head with her wooden staff.
"Hahaha!" Lisette giggled at the sight.
"P-Please, Granny Yaga, don’t go overboard. Sailor’s skull is empty, you see..." Norman added. "It could crack like an egg any mont..."
"Y-You jerk, you’re not helping! And who says it’s empty?!" Sailor shouted furiously.
"Hey, please, no fighting inside the house..." Mark tried to intervene.
Elayne watched them bicker, argue, and tease one another, and a soft smile touched her lips. In this lively chaos, she found an inner peace she had not felt in far too long.
Though so much remained uncertain—her constant worry for her daughter and her lost friends ever-present—she allowed herself this brief mont of respite.
She chose to simply enjoy the warmth of being with everyone.
"Then, shall we get going?" Blank asked. "Our destination is White Tooth Mountain; it isn’t far. We’ll take my carriage."
"Ooh, I love the carriage!" Lisette cheered.
"Yeah, it’s nice!" Elayne agreed with a nod.
As they stepped inside the carriage, Gardenia appeared beside Elayne as a tiny fairy ford of weeds, moss, and mushrooms, her jewel-like eyes sparkling as she looked around curiously.
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