Volume 1, the Reappearance

Floral Moral
The Reappearance

Virtuous Swallow

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About Author
Virtuous Swallow, a pessimistic young girl, running in the storms.
Life of a secondary school student is not the smoothest, this is fine.
Born with the cursed brain, ending stories to the mood of the day.
Very much of a professional procrastinator, someone send help-

If the world’s a large raging waves of an ocean,

Then I’m setting sail in my half-broken little boat.
Not the best, but not the worst,

Just someone who loves writing.

(I know this poem sucks, I just wanted to show off, okay?) TT

ALSO MORE FROM VIRTUOUS SWALLOW:

Fate of Kingston - 2023

Cherry Ink - coming soon! (prob in the next 20000 years, who knows?)

Contact : talidayan02@gmail.com (personal email)

Note : I’m not doing this as a business, the writing is just for a hobby. Any
coincidences about events or people are unintentional, they are only creations of
my mind and imagination.

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Table of contents
Prologue: Let me tell a tale ………………………………………………………4

Chapter - 1 Bitch, I Lived ………………………………………………………. 11

Chapter - 2 But I also like stories ……………………………………………… 22

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Prologue
Let me tell you a tale
There were multiple tales about the spirit realm 1
among the common folks.

Many refer to the spirit realm as 'Wonderland', a universe believed to exist only in
tales and imagination. It’s a place where no mortals can reach, or would even be
aware of its existence right under their noses. Legends said that if someone
managed to follow the sun as it went down the hill, they would finally be able to
step foot in this forbidden realm. As centuries passed, people realised that the sun
never actually set behind the hills. In short, the attempt was plain impossible.
Thus, they call it a “non-existent” location.
Little did they know… it always had been there, even before the existence of the
mortal realm itself, with a history of countless years.
Ancient battles and victories were only told, never to be seen with eyes. It was hard
to tell which was true or just some nonsense made up by adults. However there was
once a historical event which everyone witnessed right in front of their salads.
The first tale took place at the coronation ceremony of the new mistress of the
Abyssal Palace, a palace with centuries of history and glories. The last palace
master, the Dark Agony, was told to be perished due to an unfortunate incident
involving a backlash of his powers. The official account was brief and devoid of
details, leaving many to speculate about the true nature of the Dark Agony's
demise. Everyone was very clear that the reality ran deeper than how it was told,
but the past remained in the past.
With the former master gone, all attention turned to the new palace mistress, The
Dark Rose, the very first female head in 10,000 years.
Every 100 years was counted as a 1 spirit year. Indeed, there was something
different about this new master, most former ones ascended to this position in their
3000s, aka 30 years of their spirit lifespan. This one however ascended at the age
of 1900s (19 spirit years). After throwing off the former palace’s master ‘beloved’

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Spirits are supernatural species, able to dwell without a physical body and possess abilities

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adopted daughter off the throne, this new girl was finally able to walk up the place,
step by step.
It was a cloudy day, thick clouds covered the skies, matching the atmosphere of the
palace itself. The huge gate was finally opened, and the metal chains were
unlocked. Light reached the cold, coffin-like interior, lending it a touch of life.
Although the building was lifeless, no one could deny the grand atmosphere. The
ceilings were high, dark silk curtains adorned the walls and the torch light flickered
along the breeze. The guests finally managed to step inside the infamous building,
from a normal entrance.
Usually, most un-welcomed incomers were thrown into the soul prison.
Being able to walk straight and tall openly was considered a once in a lifetime
occasion. One couldn’t help but feel that they are doing something forbidden.
As the tradition, masters and mistresses from various palaces gathered in the
hallway, witnessing the coronation of the first member of the younger generation.
Mixed feelings poured into their hearts, they were not sure whether they should
feel proud or feel sour about the upcoming event. None of them spoke, they
silently fixed their gazes in front, focused.
From a dark corridor, a young delicate-faced woman walked in. Her skin was pale
as snow, her dark eyes both deep and mysterious and a small smile played on her
face. This smile showed neither arrogance or flattery, it was rather ambiguous. It
was hard to believe that the owner of such an innocent face was the master of such
an ominous place. She wore the traditional black attire of the Abyssal, the
signature black gown.
Walking up the stairs, she finally reached beside the throne. A dark hooded figure
appeared beside her, holding out a halo crown made out of dark diamonds and
silver. A crown which many had paid with their lives, the reason why rivers of red
flowed and a piece of history. She felt a cold shudder, but she picked up the crown
herself and carefully placed it on her own head. The crown glistened on her dark
raven hair, and from that very moment, she was officially the new master of the
place. From the very first moment it landed on her head, she felt as if her insides
went frozen and empty, but she was sure it wasn’t a sense of satisfaction like it was
supposed to be. The metal chain was now securely locked, there was no escape.
The burden of countless eyes and expectation fell onto her head, she gave the stoic
audience a glance then smiled.

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“This day” her sharp voice suddenly echoed in the silent halls, “marks the dawn of
a new era. I shall devote my sincerity and dedication to guard the realm of the
unconscious and the peace of the realm until my very last breath. To the honour of
the past predecessors, and all of the respectable guests, I shall toast this cup of
wine as my gratitude and honour to have you all at my very special day. Long live
peace and justice.”
Then she sipped that cup of wine in front of the crowd, they were speechless.
Every single soul knew about her low alcohol tolerance, the person who could not
even stand more than a few drops, now had emptied the entire cup without any
reaction. What a show off.
The audience also raised their cup and drank a bit, until something interrupted the
smooth sailing ceremony. A voice of a middle-aged man barged into the thin air.
“What a joke, since there was no one to crown you, you crowned yourself, huh?”
The Dark Rose raised her eyebrow in dissatisfaction, as she slowly put her cup
back to the tray beside her and sat back leg-crossed on the throne chair, her head
resting on her palm. “Oh? Then tell me, who’s worthy enough to crown me?”
A man wearing luxurious purple robes and a stick in his hand, entered the room,
with his face enraged and unpleasant, pointing a finger at her, he yelled with the
top of his lungs. “You power hungry fox! Where’s Lucida? What did you do to
her? Everyone here knows who should be the person sitting on the throne right
now! After killing off the father, now you have locked up the daughter as well?
You got your throne now, release her!”
After his yelling had ceased, she smirked. “So finally, you have done your barking,
congratulations!” She removed her head from her palm, adjusting her position.
“And yes, we do not speak about prisoners in the mall hall, make sure to read the
rules before coming in.”
The audience, however, surprisingly did not comment, as they just observed from a
distance in silence. Although they were not speaking, the Dark Rose understood
that they soon might get involved if the person in front of her kept fanning the fire.
But that mister from who-knew-where exploded louder furiously that he laughed in
anger. “You–You even have the gut to talk back! The thief is talking back to the
owner, look! Everyone! You, merely a young kid talking back to elders? The
audacity!”

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Someone finally could not take it any longer. “If you want to argue, roll back to
your own house and do your thing. Yelling and arguing up to the moon! This is a
formal ceremony, retain some decorum, would you?”
The new palace mistress had lost her last trace of patience, removed her veil of
politeness, as she reached her hand out and grasped it. The purple-robed man also
floated into the air, struggling to breathe as if something invisible was grabbing
him by the neck. Burning crimson light glowed from her dark eyes, she finally
stood up.
“Since from the very beginning, there was no such rule as family-heritage. Yes,
that one in the prison might be a leftover of the Dark Agony, but the throne is for
someone capable. Not for a “daddy”'s girl.” she responded. “Whoever has the skill
can take the place, as a member of the upper court, Sir Veremud, you should
already be aware of this. Why make things tough for me?”
Despite his shortness of breath, his trembled voice still managed to ask in a
sneerish tone, “You think you are capable?”
“Capable enough to put an end to your miserable life.”
With this reply, the overlookers no longer could remain as observers, or they would
also have to witness a murder live. “Your excellency, Veremud is just muddled for
a moment of being. This day is not only your first day, it’s also a day that will be
marked down in every future legacy . Leaving blood stains may not be very wise.”
The man floated in the air for quite a few seconds, but then he was dropped onto
the floor like a bag of sand. The glowing red light dissipated from her eyes along
with her cold rage, seemed to have refreshed her mind. She could have killed this
man, even if everyone here wished to defend him, they were also helpless to do
anything. After all, he was just a subordinate and she was the master, outsiders
could not intervene or make judgements easily.
But, this was not what she wanted.
“Apologies,” she said, her tone almost detached, as if speaking from a distance. “I
had failed to discipline this old dog of mine, and had brought disturbances for
everybody.” Then she eyed the guards, signalling them to drag the purple-robed
man on the floor who was coughing and gasping for air. “I trust this does not
inconvenience you.” she added with the faintest trace of irony in her voice.

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It was not wrong to say that this short tale was one of the most popular among
young children, the tale of a villainous figure who handled the situation was even
more popular than the glorious victories of the past heroes. In conclusion, everyone
lives for the drama, do they?
The second tale however, was rather different from the first tale. If the first one
described the rise of power; the second one was the downfall.
This story however had different versions and theories, spread across the world like
petals and rain. If one had to decide which was the real version; well in this world
of lies and complexity, it would not be wrong to say that The Dark Rose also had a
similar disappearance as the former master, The Dark Agony.
“... Wait a minute, hold up. It has only been 500 years and how?”
“I know right? What’s up with the upper court these days? People are playing
Marco Polo, eh?”
“What do they mean by ‘perished’ and ‘disappeared’??!! At least give people some
reasonable excuses, okay? Treating us like idiots – those people aren’t some
freaking dolls. Appear in a snap and just disappear out in the thin air?”
“It’s quite a pity, the girl was still young. What on earth really happened?”
“It’s not only happening in the Abyssal, I heard something was up with the Melody
Palace too. They are all disappearing one by one, only the heavens know who will
disappear next!”
“Well, she did usurp the throne? Guess this is karma?”
“Don’t talk nonsense! None of us know what happened, better not accusing people
and getting yourself in trouble! Shut your mouth.”
“Alright, alight. Why be so careful anyways, it is not like they can hear us.”
The gates were shut down, the doors were sealed and the palace of mystery
returned to its original untouchable state. There however, never was a new palace
master, nor the crown would accept the new self-proclaimed master. Thus there
never was an official ascending of a new master. The crown recognize
The seat remained empty.
Despite the news, some still knew that she was alive, hoping that she would still be
somewhere out there. Someone who had passed through the mountains of knives

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and sea of fire wouldn’t just fall down this easily. No matter how they looked from
any corner, the news just looked more and more unrealistic.
What was left was extra pages in history books for children to study, well that’s
unfair. What did that do anything with them anyways?
Centuries of flames won’t end so easily, would it?

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Chapter - 1
Bitch, I Lived
Lila shot open her eyes. She wasn’t sure if she had her eyes open or not; there
wasn’t any difference. It was still pitch dark. The walls were cold and damp, and a
thin, chilling wind slipped through the small, narrow space. There wasn’t a single
window in sight, and the suffocating atmosphere pressed down on her. Or maybe it
was even more suffocating because of the cloth forcing her mouth closed like a
patient in a mental hospital. She tried to move, but her limbs wouldn't obey her.
They were bound in metal chains, so tightly that she could feel the cold metal
biting into her skin, almost blocking her pulse. Surely, finding yourself in such a
state wouldn’t be pleasant. The first thought that flashed into her mind was:

“Really? Seriously? What did I even do?”

Her head felt empty, her conscious mind just fished out from confusion, and her
thoughts were a mess. It might have been a good idea to be tied up like this so she
won’t be able to scream or have a dramatic panic attack. Lila tried to move around,
only to discover that the chains were tied to the wall, glueing her to a place. Who
in the heavens had the time to carefully tie someone up like this? It was useless to
get up and make a scene anyways; she decided to save her energy for later.

Even though she was tied up, she noticed the bandages wrapped around her arms
and stomach. She could clearly feel the dried blood on her skin and the lingering
pain from wounds she couldn’t recall. Whoever locked her up didn’t have the
intent to kill her, or else they could have just left her there to die. She wasn't sure
whether to feel relieved or even more stressed.

One minute passed... Well, this is cold, can someone at least give me a blanket?
Two minutes... Was that a mouse over there?. As the third minute ticked by, she
finally heard footsteps approaching from outside. As expected, the metal door
crashed open, spilling light into the room. A silhouette of a woman entered. Lila
slightly turned her head, as if she had been waiting for this person for a long time.

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The woman in front of her had her face covered with a white fur hood, a seemingly
unnecessary step. Even without the hood, Lila wouldn't have been able to see
clearly due to the very intense light. However, the silver hair seemed to glitter and
glow in the dark.

“Finally, you are awake,” said a very familiar voice in a tender tone, unlike the
kind typically used toward a prisoner.

“Mhm,” Lila replied shortly, muffled.

“Do–Do you remember who I am?” the woman asked, her voice uncertain.

… Why the hell are you stuttering? I can’t even see your face, how am I supposed
to recognize you? And PLEASE REMOVE THE GODDAMN CLOTH, MISS! You
ask me a question and how do you expect me to answer without speaking?

That meant she had two options: nod or shake her head. Her mind was blank,
devoid of any information about the past or how she ended up here. She just shook
her head, ignoring the long internal monologue from moments ago.

The woman sighed and waved her hand to the guards outside, who slammed the
door shut again. Darkness returned, making the room feel even colder. She did not
know either to feel relieved or feel more stressed instead. What?

She heard the faint sound of a knife being unsheathed, sharpening her senses and
clearing her mind. And now, the threat was real, a knife was at her very front with
a complete stranger. She did not dare guess what awaited her, but she was most
likely about to get stabbed (or heavens know what). Her pupil contracted, her hand
fisted but it was still useless. Both escape or defence was not an option.

She tightly closed her eyes, holding her breath, ready for the final blow. Whether
she went to heaven or hell (likely hell probably), she was prepared.

Slash.

Something was cut, but it wasn’t her limbs or her fingers…her eyes finally relaxed
a bit. The iron grip on her wrists and forearms loosened. Lila was speechless, both
shocked and relieved. The chains fell away easily, as if they were never metal to
begin with. After freeing her hands, she removed the cloth from her mouth, finally

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able to breathe properly, gasping for air. It felt so much better. OH MY GOSH,
FINALLY TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!

She tossed the cloth away and brushed some hair from her eye with her now freed
hand. Standing up too quickly, she felt the old wound on her side open a bit, blood
likely leaking through the bandages. She quickly covered the wound area with her
left hand, hoping the blood would not leak further.

“Don’t be so rash!” the woman in front of her snapped, somehow noticed her
condition. “Thank goodness the wound didn’t reach the internal organs, or I’ll have
to find a new body for you. I’ve already applied some medicine, it should heal in a
week or two as long as you stay still and don’t reopen it.”

Lila frowned at how she was treating her like a spoiled child, but slightly nodded.
No matter how she thought of the one in front of her before, she seemed more like
a friend, not a foe. An uncanny feeling kept telling her that this person was very
familiar, yet also very unfamiliar. They felt like a close person, but her brain stored
no information about them. She was supposed to be feeling something, just that she
did not know how to feel anymore.

Before Lila could open her mouth, the woman spoke again.

“And now,” she paused, catching her breath, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not trusting
you, for not taking your side, I–” Her tone was sincere, filled with distress. “Even
if you don’t understand, I want you to know that one day, I’ll come back to you.
For everything I’m about to do… once again, I’m sorry.”

…? What’s with all these apologies, and what do you mean by ‘what you’re about
to do’... WAIT A MINUTE, HOLD UP–

“What are you doing–” But Lila was too late. Something hit the back of her head, a
blinding white light rushed into her vision, and everything faded to black…

She snapped her torso upwards as cold beads of sweat swarmed on her forehead. It
was her old dream, more like a good old nightmare. She probably lost count from
having it too many times, until one began to confuse the difference between a
dream and the reality. Usually, having the same dream was not an uncommon case
but she should have memorised everything head to toe. But every time the scene
played, she would forget every logic and the fact that it was just the same old
dream. One day, it’s new. Another day, it was still new. It really was something.

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Her gaze shifted towards the window, where the afternoon sun illuminated the
outside world. She had definitely overslept, meaning she had missed her first
section of work. Oh crap. The unfinished pile of papers lay beside her head. She
felt her back about to break from sitting (and sleeping) at her desk for an unknown
amount of time. Stretching her hand, she slowly got up from her chair to go wash
up. She walked to the backyard where the well was, the dead silence along the way
adding to the eerie atmosphere. The back garden featured an old well, its brick
walls overgrown with seaweeds. She carefully walked over the slippery ground and
dipped her palm into the water. The cool water refreshed her senses, wiping away
the cold feeling she had a moment ago. Even though it was just a dream, she was
sure she still felt those wounds from a moment ago. Shaking off those thoughts
from her head, she went back inside to finish rearranging the potion formulas from
last night (which were supposed to be handed in today).

Back in the workshop, the silence remained. The sun was already high in the sky.
Even if the night shifters were asleep, where had the remaining ones gone? They
either went outside to drink or probably skipped the section again, dumping all the
work on her head once more. Work was one thing, her mind was on another thing.
Even though her work did not pay off much, she mostly did out of boredom. It was
much better than rotting inside her house and ripping away as time passed by.

Working with papers really wasn’t her cup of tea but she was somehow good at it.
They say practice makes perfect, but she was still going to complain, it was still
boring. She finally sat down and opened the last page she had left hanging since
last night. The first thing she saw was “Deer blood” on the top of the page. She
grabbed her quill and wrote down some words. If someone read the upper page and
the lower page, they would definitely think there were 2 different people writing on
that page. The upper half page’s writing was curvy and messy while the lower page
was neat. Well, mood affects the handwriting.

She was about to finish the second page until a hurried knock emerged from the
door. Without even looking, she continued her writing. “Come in.”

The door swung open, and a young boy around eleven rushed inside the room.
“Help! My mom—” he panted from running all the way here. “She—she’s not—”

“Slow down, little guy. What’s wrong with your mom?”

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“She’s not waking up! I tried to wake her up, but it has been a week! Even if she
was in her hibernating period, it never took this long! Miss, please do something,
I’m really—”

“Mn, got it. Where’s your father, anyway? Does he know about this?”

“... He hasn’t returned for the past 200 years,” the boy replied, looking even more
miserable than before, on the verge of tears.

What in the universe– oh my. uh...

“It’s alright, never mind. Before anything starts, we’ll need to examine her core. Is
it still intact? Have you scanned it before?”

Hearing her question, the boy abruptly nodded. Lila felt a slight relief—it was not
an emergency yet. Spirits were immortal, and their core was their root of existence.
If the core was still working, the case might not be so severe. Still, however, it was
better to get things checked up rather than let her stay as she was. There was,
however, one small problem. She was the only one in the entire department. If she
went with the boy to check up on the woman, then she would be leaving the
workshop empty. If she chose to stay, then she would be irresponsible.

It was exactly because she was the only healer available around that she should be
acting more responsibly. In conclusion, she decided to ditch that pile of
papers—pfft, as if anyone cared about that stuff anyway. She wasn’t the only one
to be absent in the afternoon section, and if their boss came to blame, she wouldn’t
be alone. Besides, she was doing something serious while the others hopped off to
who-knew-where. So…

Better late than never.

“Would you mind taking me to your mom’s place?” she asked, though she had no
plans to carry a box of books and equipment. The young boy’s face lightened up,
as if he found a hope of sunray after a thousand years of searching (alright, that’s a
bit exaggerated). Putting on her dark blue hood and tying her hair up, she exited
the door. The outside evening was burning, the glaring heat attacked them as soon
as they stepped one foot outside. Everything was identical to the usual normal days
apart from that unsettling silence echoing the atmosphere.

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Before leaving, she spared a moment to snap her fingers. With a flick of teal spark,
the doors and the windows shut itself with a slam. With everything secured and
closed, she followed the young lad running ahead.

Just below the hill, a forest stretched its shadows, a shortcut that connected the
lower realm to the middle realm. The lower realm, home to civilians and spirits,
was a place of humble beginnings. Many who climbed the ranks of the court or
their professions often forgot their origins, their noses held high in arrogance. What
a bunch of assholes.

She had grown up here, in the embrace of this forest. Memories of her childhood
flickered in her mind—playing with her sister, the laughter of friends echoing
through the trees. But one day, 400 years ago, she woke up to find everything gone.
Her home vanished, her loved ones disappeared. The old town, her sanctuary, was
said to have burned down, replaced by a new settlement that held no traces of her
past. What left was the images in her mind of the past, nothing else anymore.

To the point she herself began to confuse her past with never existing in real life.

The rivers and the old mountains remained, the sky remained blue and the rivers
kept flowing but the world looked more and more alien to her.

Years had passed, the spirit world remained without any differences. It was hard to
believe that it was the same place where multiple battles and flames had risen. The
wood was dark and shabby, showered with maple orange leaves across the uneven
path. Two figures swiftly passed above the trees, one was a young woman who
looked around in her 19s, another was a young boy who looked 10. In fact, in
reality one was close to their 3rd thousand while the other was about to reach their
very first 1000. The leaves fluttered away as soon as they landed on the ground.

In front of them was a small deserted town, hardly anyone to be seen.

“We are getting close, miss.” he assured her with a bow.

“Are you sure that your mother is the only one in this condition?” she promptly
asked after noticing the dead silent clearly for the first time of the day. The
question somehow triggered some senses to the latter as well, as he also furrowed
his eyebrows in a thoughtful expression.

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“Yes, miss. Nearly most of us are already asleep. I don’t know when I will be like
that, I wish to find help before my turn arrives.” he replied with a weak smile.

“Nonsense, don’t speak ominous words.” she snapped back. “How come the
healing department never was aware of such an incident?”

In confusion the boy tilted his head. “I heard the chief had already contacted the
healers for the past 50 years. There were some healers who came here to take a
look at this matter but…they also ended up asleep just like the victims.”

The words struck her like lightning on a clear day, what did he say? Her peers had
already taken the matter in their hands, so the reason none of them were found was
because…they were asleep. This was why there was barely anyone back at the
main workshop. And how come she never knew of this! If none of them returned,
oh crap, she just fell into the tiger’s den.

“None of them? Not even one?” she asked again, just to be sure. The boy nodded.

The hell? It was not because she was not confident in her job but how did this little
guy expect her to be able to help them out? There were already a bunch of people
ahead in that state, she felt as if she was being sent here to be an additional victim
rather than an actual helping hand! It wasn’t like she was a supreme spirit with
other world powers that she would be able to wipe away an outbreak.

But nevertheless, she decided that she should not be panicking before seeing the
reality of this case. Just take a look, then think later. (probably run away as well)

Walking along the deserted streets, even the noise of a needle dropping could be
heard. There was one vocabulary to describe this : ghastly silent. Multiple little
cottages next to each other, plants planted outside, dry and withered. The sky was
blue, the environment was bright but it was dead.

There was however a larger one, at a further distance from the others, isolated in
the middle of a large field. Lila guessed the owner must be a bit wealthier than the
others, or maybe not. The boy opened the fence doors which were rather rusted and
old. The door creaked open and inside led to the cottage’s main door. The interior
was dark and in a horrible pile of mess, as if something had tried to flip the entire
house up-side down. The furniture tossed and turned, the clothes rustled on the
floor along with the broken cups and plates. She opened her palm, with a flickering
teal light, a small orange fire appeared on her hand. The light of the fire reached

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the ceiling, she finally noticed the spider-webs there too. In conclusion, the house
really needed help, serious help. Without the presence of the mother, the house was
no different than a forest.

It was the traditional two floored cottage, the downstairs was used as the living
room and the dinning room, while the upstairs was the bedroom. On the bed, was a
haggard face woman lying lifelessly.

Lila came closer, the fire extinguished from her hand. Every spirit could feel a
core, no matter if it's theirs or the others. However, when she scanned, there was
nothing wrong with the body. Both the physical body was well, the power vessels
were also working perfectly fine, in fact there was no reason for a person to be
staying like this at all. “How long has she been like this?”

The more he stood there, the more distressed the boy looked. “More than a week.”

Now she finally understood why the other healer could not find the source of the
problem. Since the physical body was fine, she decided to check the condition of
the soul. She quickly reached out to slightly tear open the closed eyes of the
sleeping woman. Physically, the body looked as if it was still sleeping. Eyes were
the window of the soul, but there was nothing, literally nothing. The pupil
disappeared, the eye was nothing more than a clear pearl ball without anything in
its socket. The soul was gone.

The “body” in front of their eyes was nothing more than just an empty shell, like
an egg shell without a single crack on the surface. The soul seemed to be simply
sucked out of the body, the boy’s mother was in fact missing, her spiritual form
was abducted without harming the physical body. Whoever did it, it was indeed a
clean move, impressive.

“So, how’s she? Can we still wake her up?”the boy impatiently asked.

“She’s not sleeping, she’s not even here.” Lila replied shortly, withdrawing her
hand back. “Her soul is not there. I’m afraid to say this but, she’s now a living
corpse. For the cure, it’s unheard of…unless-”

“Unless what?” he snapped, close to losing all his hope.

“Unless we capture what captured her soul.” Lila paused. “And do you know who
captures souls? And yes, I’m confident that it’s the only way to bring her back.”

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“The-the-soul eaters from the Abyssal Palace-”

Before he could finish his sentence, both of them heard the door being barged
open, the small wooden door was surely broken. The crash’s vibration was so loud
that it felt as if an earthquake had occurred. Lila signalled the young boy with her
finger making a “shut up and don’t make a noise” sign. As for her, she tiptoed
downstairs, and bright teal light shone in her eyes. She was ready to blast away
anyone or anything in her way, just that before she could do anything, a shadowy
dark figure was already standing behind her.

Sensing the presence behind her, she quickly turned her head. The creature, poised
to attack, suddenly froze in mid-air. It began to tremble, and the axe in its hand
dropped to the floor. Before she could shriek in horror, the dark figure started
screaming like a frightened young maiden, completely terrified. Without wasting a
second, it ran out the door as if its life depended on it, leaving Lila blinking
blankly, unable to process what had just happened.

You, excuse me? I’m the one who’s supposed to run away, not you! What’s this?

Of course, who in the world was bold enough to mention the Abyssal palace, that
‘jinxed of all jinxed’ place! A simple mention of it was powerful enough to
automatically send a goddamn who-knows-what creature straight to their houses.
Leave people some chance to at least gossip, alright? This speed was faster than
the speed of your sibling on their way to annoy the hell out of you.

The mysterious figure had left, but the black smokes from its body remained, due
to the rushed departure. However, there was no time to deep clean the house or to
remove the smoke, she hurried back upstairs.

“I’m back, it’s fine now.” she announced, but was surprised to hear some sobbing
noises from the closed closet. “Hello?”

She reached her hand out and swiftly moved it, the closet’s door swung open.
Inside the small space was the young boy, thinking he had hid himself well, both
crying and hiding. Releasing that the door had been opened, he raised his head, his
eyes red and sniffling.

“What are you crying for?”

“I heard the scream, I thought you were gone too, I-”

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Lila found this ridiculous. “Me? Oh please, I would never act in such a disgrace.”
Or maybe, maybe not…., she silently added in her mind.

“What was that by the way? You sent it screaming away, miss, you are so strong!”

“Yeah…” she replied guiltily. Well, this sentence was half correct. She somehow
managed to send it yelping as if its butt was on fire, but she wasn’t sure it was
because she was ‘strong’. It could have been because she was lucky or she
somehow managed to remind it of something. But as long as it wouldn't bother
people, all was fine. At least, that’s what she hoped.

“I’m not exactly sure what that creature was, but it was a smoky, legless sort of
type…,” she explained. “Very hideous. Ugly?”

No one would call a beautiful, ethereal being a monster. Since it’s labelled as a
monster, of course, it’s ugly. That was very helpful, thank you, Captain Obvious.
There are hundreds of mysterious, dark and ugly monsters, finding exactly what
those are was the same as finding a small fish in the ocean.

“As long as we are able to preserve her physical body, her soul can return anytime.
May I have the permission to escort your mother to the main department, so she
can be under our care?” Lila requested. If she could not stop whoever was doing it,
she should at least be able to decrease the amount of victims.

The boy nodded without any hesitation. “I never caught your name, how may I
address you, miss?”

“Oh, Lilliana Everheart here. What about yours?” she replied with a smile.

“Edward Whitlock.”

“Well, Mr Whitlock, if you don’t mind we’ll have to return…however I’m afraid I
would also have to borrow a bit of your energy for a teleportation spell. We are not
passing through the woods again, especially in this situation, are we?”

“What about the others?” he popped out, still unwilling to move.

Ah, this child.

“... There are still others in the similar situation? I assumed the town was empty,
my apologies. Though in our current circumstances, we can only preserve a few,

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not everyone.” Instead of trying to pick up the whole basket of eggs only to end up
breaking them, trying to save a few within capacity seemed better.

Lila turned her head back, to check on the sleeping woman. Between the brown
hair of the woman, stood a few strands of silver, a very familiar colour. Her smile
immediately froze on her face, unable to smile any longer.

Did it had to be that colour?

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Chapter-2
But I also like stories…
It was logical for a normal person to grow old and hair grey but it wasn’t normal
for an immortal being to grow old in the first place.

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