Chapter 32
Sometimes You Just Have to Sit back and Watch Justice Happen
Now I have never been too big on Karma, as a thief getting into the Karma game is a bad business. That said, there are certain things that go beyond day to day Karma, somethings that mark your soul for all eternity. When those events happen, they leave an ugly mark that apparently even shines in the spirit world.
Ms. Umbra was unconscious, but more then that her soul was pulsing brightly. I could almost imagine that pulsing being the pulses of Karma pulling slain enemies forward from the depths of time and space. I almost imagine it being a beacon in the darkness, one that summons for enemies that you have wronged throughout your life. Enemies that would have a deep cosmic tie to stick around and ensure you died horribly. Seeing the pulses, quite a few strands shot off out infinitely wide into the ether, until they seemingly struck a target and then pulled.
No less than a dozen of these threads shot out, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of danger. Not for me directly, but for the unconscious form on the ground. Then almost in direct reply to my thoughts on this being linked to Karma, I am met with a system message.
New Skill Gained: Insight has increased to level 1.
Insight is a Perception and Intelligence based skill.
That was it, but enough of a sign to point that I was heading in the right direction with my thoughts on this being linked to Karma in some way.
Seeing the strands, I couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of danger and malice coming. This wasn’t the type of malice one would have from being short changed on a deal, getting out played at cards, or many other reasons for revenge. This seemed to be the deep Karmic threads that are born from the act of killing.
Seeing the threads, I realized I likely needed to move quickly to awaken the professor. I still had questions and felt that I could still get them, so long as three things happened. First, I needed to stay here in the spirit realm as this was clearly a place where I held power. Second, the professor while needing to awaken, didn’t need much else. Third, I needed to make sure that whatever was coming was not going to kill her before I got my answers.
With those three points in mind, I began tending to the wounds that the professor got while exiting.
Darts, literal darts with big fluffy ends and everything stuck out from the side of the vice principal. I pulled on and looked at it and couldn’t see much. There wasn’t a glow or trail of magic on the dart tip. Well, there was the faint glow of magic, but it was from the blood of the professor that now coated the dart.
“Aye, that’s deep sleeping poison.” A voice calls out from behind me.
Hearing the voice and the menacing vibe that seems to be radiating from the spirit behind me, I pause. Holding up both my hands I turn to face the speaker.
“Hello.”
“Hello there.” The speaker says in a friendly tone that lets me think of a slight accent. “Can I ask what you are doing over the body of the professor?”
“It’s not what it looks like…”
“It looks like you are trying to take out the darts laced with a sleeping poison from the professor.” The obviously high-level spirit states. I mean I am terrible at this, but the spirit’s relative level of strength is far greater than my own, of that I am certain.
“Oh, well. In that case, yes, it is exactly what it looks like.”
“Can I ask why you would be doing such a thing?”
I pause, not quite knowing how best to answer this question. I know judging by the bonds that drew this spirit here so quickly that they likely have a vested interest in killing the good professor, but can I be absolutely certain of that? I mean, did she have a guardian spirit? You know what, the odds of that seem slim, especially with the way she was clearly willing to summon and burn away spirits. Realizing that, I decide to tell the truth.
“I really just had a few questions for her. She had me in a setup, specialty wards set up so I couldn’t escape and everything. My only real concern is, how much has she done and do I need to leave the University.” I say, effectively detailing my few main questions I had left.
“So she set you up too?” The voice says.
Tingle.
“What is this about a set up? Oh, and if it isn’t the ever-vindictive Jacquelinne Umbra.” A second voice says, appear right out of nowhere, right by us.
“Jacquelinne?” I repeat, staring down at the old dark elf and realizing that was a terrible name for her.
“You are wrong, her first name is Lillian.” The first spirit said.
Poof.
There is an influx of energy as another one of the cords snaps shut, revealing a third spirit in its place. “Ah, my dear sweet Bethany Umbra, how my daggers have missed you.” The third spirit says, as he quickly produces two daggers out of nowhere.
At this, I take a step back from the body, making sure to drop the poisoned dart. Whatever this is, if this is some type of black widow convention of all former lovers of the professor coming to exact revenge or what I don’t know. All I do know is that there is a lot of malicious intent being bandied about that seems to radiate off of these spirits in waves.
New Skill Gained: Emotional Insight has increased to level 1.
Emotional Insight is a Personality, Sociability, and Perception based skill.
That message was enough to let me know that I was in fact onto something when I realized that these emotions the spirits all had were all but palpable to my senses.
Poof.
A fourth spirit appeared, this one seeming to radiate power and malice in equal measures.
“And what do we have here?” A female voice calls out, this one all but drips with honey and venom at the body of the unconscious professor.
There is a wave of spiritual energy that surges out from the overpowering form of the new female, that I think is an elf, and more than likely a dark elf.
Gasp.
“GGHUHHH.” Professor Umbra lurches up, as air is seemingly forced into her lungs by magic. Panicking she looks around to see us all gathered around staring at her.
Zero is beside me, wrapping herself around me as she stares off at the professor.
“What is this…” Umbra begins, but is quickly cut off.
“I could ask you the same thing. Here I was expecting to have to wait for the moment of my vengeance, but here it is you are served up on a silver plate for me.” The female says, her voice both enchanting and frightening in equal measures.
“Mother?” Professor Umbra asks.
“That is right, did you miss me, Petra?”
“Petra?” The three males chorus, having also listened into the byplay between the two.
“What, what is this?” Vice Principal, and class professor Petra Umbra asks, looking around wildly. As she moves, she feels the tug and slight pull of resistance from the two-remaining darts in her side. Seeing the darts, she pulls them out and examines them for a moment, before having her eyes scan around wildly and finally lock onto me from well behind the group of angry ghosts. Seeing me, Petra hisses out with venom clear in voice. “You.”
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At that the other four ghosts that have been summoned here all turn to me.
“Yes, we have to ask, how do you play into all of this?” The most powerful of the spirits presents, the mother, asks shifting her gaze and stance slightly to engulf me. “I have to say, that you are clearly alive, but for some reason I don’t feel the inherent need to rip your soul from your mortal shell and eat it raw for all its power.”
This is all done as she saunters her way forward to truly look at me, or as a way to grab ahold of me easier. I don’t exactly know which.
I just pause, as I stare at her, while she stares back at me. I’d like to say I did this out of bravery, but that would be a lie. Here in this moment, I was going through a myriad of different options in my head of what I could do, and everyone of them ended up with me dying.
After a second the ancient elven spirit twists her coldly malicious face as if trying to peer deep into my soul, before speaking. “You are Shade Touched, and yet your soul is not tainted as one who is shade touched should be.”
She then paused as her eyes seemed to go deep into my body, then she jerked back with surprise. “You managed to unlock my secret?” The elf said, as she turned from me to Petra who had been slowly trying to slip away from the people that were spell bound watching me and this unfathomably powerful monster interact. And she was a monster, one from the deepest pits of the void. A monster who apparently had strong Karmic ties to her daughter Petra.
“You let the family secret of Spirit Mana Potency go to an outsider?” She says, before lashing out violently with a ball of highly condensed spirit mana.
Oof.
The spell hit Petra’s shoulder, then spiraled through and behind her causing the formerly assassinated spirits that had been behind her to jump out of the way as well.
Silent screams.
I don’t know what was more horrifying, the complete look of pain on Petra’s face, or the fact that her voice has been seemingly removed, as an apparent side effect from her mother’s attack. An attack that seems like it might be justified given the amount of malice and contempt that the mother seems to have rolling off her in waves.
“Stay down. Unless I need to demonstrate what happens when you attempt to defy me. There will be no poisoning my well or killing me in my sleep this time.” The mother says, and with that I felt a slight chill run down my back.
For the moment I was safe, as the mother seemed to not be enraged by my presence. I could almost feel her contempt for the other ghosts present, and particularly her daughter. Oddly Zero wasn’t around, mentally I scanned the area looking for him, but he was well and truly hidden from this monster. Not that I blamed him, had the events been turned I feel that I would also be trying to avoid the situation he found himself in, but for the moment that meant it was just me here alone with my wits. I knew I could likely rip a hole in reality and escape, but that would take time to go through, time I was fairly certain I didn’t have. Also, if I ran, it would all but assure that this monster would be waiting to ambush me the moment I reentered the spirit realm.
With her threat, Petra who had been whimpering, regained control of her mind as she at least stopped heaving like she was screaming. Instead, now her body just trembled as she stared on in fear at her mother. Her mother seeing this change in Petra’s demeanor nodded to herself and let a malicious smile fill her face.
“Yes, now you seem to understand. Don’t worry, I will get to you in time.” She said. Then turning her attention back to me, she stared once more and I could almost feel the pressure of foreign mana pressing against my body. With but a slight pulse of the power she used a moment ago on her daughter, this monster could rip my entire spirit apart to shreds. Staring at me, she also nodded to herself. “You did well. You saw the design flaw that nearly crippled Petra here, and you managed to make it your own.”
Hearing that, I remember the diary that I had been learning from, the ones with the second more deft hand that came behind and marked through symbols and designs.
“Dextrocardia.” I said, as I nodded.
“Dextro what?” The mother asked.
“Dextrocardia, your heart is on the right side of your body. Meaning you had to rework all your spells to compensate for your abnormality.” I say, feeling the tension lessen slightly as the mother leaned back to look at me. “It must have been tough. Honestly, I don’t know if I could have done the same, if I were in your shoes.” I begin.
“But you did…” The mother said, a coy look on her face. She knew I was flattering her, but she liked it all the same.
“I did, but I only followed your footsteps. I followed the path you laid out for me.” I paused, as I realized something, “I mean, the path you laid out for her.” I say, pointing to Petra.
“YES!” At this revelation the mother snarls her answer. “Yes, all I wanted was for her to live up to a smidge of her potential.”
“But she wasn’t shade touched,” I say, speaking facts.
“No she wasn’t, which meant if she wanted to rule, she would have to try twice as hard as me. As us. She wouldn’t be able to just steal the power of her slain foes the way we can.”
At that I paused.
“What?”
The mother paused, an amused smile on her face. “You don’t know? Haven’t you been indoctrinated yet?”
I shake my head.
At this, the mother turned towards Petra. “What is the meaning of this? Have you lost all semblance of the code, since you ran away and secluded yourself in this prison? Did you think these walls would protect you from the wrath?”
“No, that’s what this was. She was to be captured. I gave her the book as a decoy, knowing that if I made it so she had to return the book at a specific time I could set a trap for her.” Petra says, climbing to her feet and apparently no longer suffering from the silencing effect that had plagued her a moment ago.
I’m wondering if it is an at will thing that the mother can do, some type of silencing Trait or a spell? That might be an antiquated way of dealing with casters, though silence spells are generally ineffective at lower levels, mainly because all lower level spells are easier to picture in your mind as they are generally a concept. Though thinking about it, having the ability to silence someone just might be good. As a mother I could fully get behind having an ability that would cause the kids to be silent for a moment. Inflicting pain to my kids, was a bit much, but the silencing ward, that was something I could fully get behind.
“I have say, that is a pretty nice trick.” I say, distracting the mother away from Petra and her betrayal of me.
“What was?” The mother asks, seemingly intrigued by me.
“The whole silencing thing. As a parent that has to be handy.” I say, gesturing back to Petra. “The ability to just stare at them and get them to remain quiet, that has to be something. Was that a spell?” I ask.
Chuckle.
The old elf chuckles in a manner that is both frightening and seductive. I almost feel myself being drawn in by her laugh and I don’t have any inclination that way. The males that were surrounding Petra also seem to be taken in by the mirthful laugh, as they seem to have a slightly glazed look come over their faces as they stare at the mother.
“No, my dear. That is not a spell. It was a Trait that I had to barter for.”
“You can barter for Traits?”
“Oh my dear, you can barter for just about anything, if you are willing to get your hands a little dirty.” The mother said, as she held up her hands and I could see black pulsing lines that appeared within her. Black pulsing lines that screamed of corruption and violence.
Chuckle.
“Oh my dear, you have a lot to learn if you are frightened by the mere sight of my hands. No, rather than being frightened of my hands, you should be frightened of what I did to make my hands appear to be so.”
At that, there was a look of challenge in her stare. It was the face that all but dared me to ask, to push my understanding of this world and its dark corners just that much further. And like a sucker, I was drawn in to ask.
“What did you do?”
“THIS!” She said, then she was gone. Or at least that was the way she appeared at first, darting and dancing between the different male guards who had been holding Petra in place during this whole conversation.
I watched as she would disappear one second, only to reappear the next, her hand slicing through the chest of one of Petra’s former assassinations. The second her hand was through, the spirit began to crumble to ash, as a bright ball of energy filled her hand. Taking the balled up energy she opened her mouth and smiled wide as she placed the ball inside her mouth and swallowed like it was some oversized hors d’oeuvre.
The minute the spirit was swallowed a swell of energy engulfed the ancient spirit, as bands of karma shot out from her off into the void.
“Now I will show you what it truly means to be a Shade Touched. This is why our kind are so revered, this is why we are put through such tortures and training. So we can do what must be done to unlock our true power.” The matriarch said, as she then appeared behind the second lover, once again ripping her hand through his chest.
The third apparently being fairly intelligent tried to run.
Cackle.
Of course, the running only caused the mother spirit to think of this as a game, one that she apparently delighted in. As she ran down the third guard just as quickly. With both her hands now full of balled up spiritual essences she smiled.
Petra used this moment to get up and try to flee herself. There was just one major problem with her trying to escape, namely the fact that she ran away from me. Though I guess when fear has that big of a hold over you, logic is secondary to escaping.
The mother turned, now almost completely feral with a lust for power as she put both glowing balls into one hand, then charged forward to strike down the fleeing prey before her. Her mind too far gone to realize that the target she was stalking after was her own daughter.
Poof.
The mother disappeared and then reappeared right before Petra. At that moment, I realized how the mother was able to move around so quickly. She was Teleporting, likely doing the same type of Teleporting that I used. Suddenly a few more pieces fell into place, Petra being aware of not only my ability to Teleport, but a way to prevent it. Did this mean that all Shade Touched dark elves could Teleport? Meaning that by my taking it and not assigning myself a race, I all but guaranteed this starting race and racial characteristic? Also, a slightly more troubling thought was the fact that should I ever be challenged by a Shade Touched princess, I would be going up against a fellow Teleporter, meaning that most of my escape plans would be mute.
These thoughts and more filled my mind, all of these thoughts were ultimately distractions of course. These were all just thoughts trying to keep me from realizing the true horror before me. The fact that this mother was killing her child and then consuming her spirit energy whole.
Of course, in a way it was sort of karmic justice, as the daughter clearly killed her mother. Now it all came back full circle.
Munch.
Three more balls of spirit energy entered the monster’s mouth. Followed shortly by three more sets of karmic bands that lashed out into the ether. Each band summoning forth four more spirits for a total of twelve spirits.
The mother was feral at this point, nearly mad with the lust and lure for power.
RARRR!
She lashed out and snarled at the ghosts that appeared.
At this point, I found Zero, coming just to the edge of my vision and gesturing for me to go to them with their claws. Seeing the fact that my familiar finally decided to show up and help, I listened, and found myself slinking away. I didn’t want to draw the feral monsters attention by Teleporting, as I had no doubt that they could not only track me as I could them, but they were also much better at Teleporting than I was. Instead I backed away slowly, never keeping my eyes, as dead as they were, off of the monster. This way I wasn’t retreating, I was just getting more distance. I worked my way back through different corridors and passage ways, until finally I was next to Zero.
“A lot of help you were.”
“I don’t have your Spiritlight, I would have been targeted and eaten just as easily as those others.” Zero said.
At that I paused, and wondered if my last name was really enough to keep me from being slaughtered right now. It did put me at Neutral with all spirits, which likely was why the mother was so intent on studying me.
“What should we do?” I ask after a few seconds.
Zero just shook their long snout of a head and spoke, “nothing. We just need to get back and try to avoid the spill out.”
“Spill out?” I ask.
“Yes, the Matriarch is getting too powerful too quickly. Her spiritual body will soon no longer be able to contain the pressure.”
“What happens then?” I ask, suddenly feeling like something big was going to happen.
“You’ve heard of the blighted lands?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, you are about to see how they begin.”
Then almost as if on cue, the matriarch swallowed the twelfth and final soul present, still more bands of karma were sewn, but it was too much. Then in an instant a surge of fiery rage filled energy fire out, coating the land and everyone present. Even from this distance I can feel the burning tang of acid coating me, this is a far different effect than what I previously experienced with the other souls going along in a burst of golden brilliance. This time, there is a painful burn associated with the soul remnant, but at the same time I am met with a system message.
Spiritual Doppelganger limit increased (11/100).
Before I even have time to think about this, Zero cuts into my thoughts with their own advice, “I think we should go.”
Hearing that, I look to see that the spirit realm of the university is suddenly growing wild with broken and charred earth. The mirrored building that we are in begins to crumble to dust around us and only begins to spread out in a circle of destruction from the Shade Touched Matron’s spirit. Or at least the dark silhouette that marks where she erupted. Seeing that, I can’t help but agree.
“Yeah, perhaps we should.” I say, quickly opening a hole and gesturing for Zero to follow me. Of course, Zero always has one of my Death Shroud spots permanently taken, meaning that when they come over to the mortal plane they are not affected by the damage the world normally inflicts upon spirits who get a little too curious with their investigation of other realms.
Of course, this was just the start of the type of fallout we would have to deal with.