Selene stood next to Meelara on the top deck as the Liberation dropped anchor. They’d stopped some distance from the shore, and Beren was busy directing the loading of a few dinghies. People loaded crates, and barrels which were then rowed over to the shore before the boats returned.

“Why do I need to be in charge?” Selene grumbled, having just finished a conversation with Beren. “I don’t know anything about that.”

“Because you’re a Native ascended,” Meelara sighed and explained. “One of extremely few, mind you. It’s our only hope, right now. The alternatives are not worth considering if you ask me.”

“Right,” Selene hunched forward slightly before she took a breath. “Fine. At least, I can ask you guys for advice…”

“Of course,” Meelara smiled and nudged Selene. “We’re here with you.”

Selene didn’t respond, she just stared ahead.

After a while, Selene saw Beren walk away from the people working on offloading and turned toward her.

“Alright,” he said in a low voice. “You’re in charge of the city once you reach it. Meelara and Cheela will be there to help you.”

“What about you?” Selene asked, frowning.

“I’ll stay here,” Beren said as he smiled crookedly. “Faren, Mark, and Oria will also stay due to some news we’ve received. The less you know, the better.”

“Uhh,” Selene groaned. “That’s… Alright…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Beren said. “You’re on the next boat over. Cheela has been over and will guide you. Move quickly, and reach the centre as soon as you can. Don’t spend too long fighting, and don’t try to clear the entire place.”

“Alright… See you, Beren,” Selene nodded and walked toward the railing. Meelara followed behind her as she climbed into the boat waiting below.

They said nothing as Meelara rowed, and before long they reached the shore. Cheela sat by a boulder and rose as they walked onto the rocky shore.

“Good. Let’s go,” Cheela gestured for them to follow.

They walked through valleys, avoiding any high ground, until they reached a river. They then traced the river to an outlet on a mountainside. There was a small crack that extended above the river, but it wasn’t big enough for them to pass through. That meant that they had to swim.

“At least I didn’t need to hold my breath for long,” Selene grumbled as she clambered onto a ledge. Meelara pulled her to her feet and ignited a fire in her hands. After spending some time heat-drying themselves, they set off.

“Who goes there?” a voice sounded from the darkness after a few minutes of walking.

“Cheela, Meelara, and Selene,” Cheela responded without stopping. The walls river expanded into a large space.

Selene saw crates and barrels along the wall, and groups of bedrolls scattered around the space. The river passed through the space along one wall before passing through another small tunnel.

“We’ve set up camp here, in preparation,” Cheela explained. “Rest up for a while, prepare yourselves. There’s going to be a lot of fighting tomorrow.”

“What are we fighting?” Meelara asked.

“Wraiths and various undead,” Cheela explained, glancing at Selene.

“Wraiths… Undead…,” Selene frowned. “Could I make use of Channel Spectre? But, according to Meelara, a spectre is a type of creature, as are wraiths…”

“Don’t worry too much about it,” Meelara said. “Do what you can.”

“Right,” Selene nodded. They settled down by some bedrolls, and after eating a bit, Selene dove into her Inner Space.

The corridor was still dark and most windows remained empty. Selene stood in front of the two largest ones and watched the filled one.

“I’ve created this window, but what has it done?” Selene pondered. “It increased my level, but has it changed the skills?”

She closed her eyes before activating Chill of the Grave, followed by Frostshade Form. Suddenly, she felt like she could sense the affected area better, and she focused on moving. Her form blurred, and she reappeared at the new location. She repeated this several times before she felt something change.

“Nothing changed here,” Selene frowned before she left the Inner Space. A notification was waiting for her.

[Ding! Skills merged: Chill of the Grave, Frostshade Form -> Domain of Frost and Shadow.]

Selene smiled and dove back into her Inner Space.

“Alright,” Selene thought as she stared at the space of the last large window. “So, using two skills here sets them up for a merge... What happens if I use the new skill? Can I do that, or do I need to improve it first?”

She tried to channel the new skill into the window, but it refused to settle.

“So, I’ll either have to level it up, or it’s because I got the skill from another window. OK… Hmm… What should I do now? I might be able to get a skill that helps with the fights against the undead, but would that be a good choice? My Path is one of Death, and I’ve already seen hints that it will involve powers over undead creatures… Should I just embrace it?”

She sat down and supported her head with her hands.

“Meelara has always said to follow my instinct, and right now, my instinct is telling me to go with the flow, to embrace it. Which skills would have the effect I want? Channel Spectre sounds like a good option, but it’s limited to the recently deceased. I might not be able to use it either, since it’s only novice… If I use an Adept skill first, could I then use it?”

Selene frowned before she stood up, grabbed a skill, and started channelling it into the empty window.

A dim blue glow started spreading across the space before it stopped, and Selene started channelling Channel Spectre(Frost) into it.

“It’s a shame,” she thought as the cold blue was mixed with a purple and black colour. “Spirit Echoes was a good skill, and I’d just improved it… But, I might be able to learn how to do the same thing without a System skill, though it’ll take a while.”

Spirit Echoes and Channel Spectre(Frost) blended into a swirling fog before a scene started to appear. She couldn’t make out any details when she had to stop. She left the Inner Space, and returned to the cave, drenched in sweat.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Get some sleep,” Meelara said, having noticed Selene’s movement. “You can finish up tomorrow.”

“Right,” Selene nodded and immediately settled down to sleep.

----------------------------------------

The camp was silent when Meelara woke Selene up, only a few people were moving around.

“Try to finish up,” Meelara whispered. “We’ll head out in a few hours.”

“OK,” Selene rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and yawned before she dove into her Inner Space.

She immediately started channelling her Spirituality into the window and watched the image become clearer.

Eventually, she finished and saw a few figures shrouded in fog. She stood in the centre. Lines of white, purple, and black energy linked her to the other figures. The other figures were varied; some were indistinct blurs, while others looked like shambling corpses.

“It worked?” Selene grinned. “It worked!”

Without hesitating, she started activating the skills. She felt something click and left the Inner Space.

[Ding! Level up!]

[Ding! Skills merged: Spirit Echoes, Channel Spirit(Frost) -> Undead Echoes.]

After activating it, and trying to feel her way through the skill, she understood the core of the skill.

“I can see undead creatures, and can use Spirituality to try to dominate them,” Selene thought. “The stronger the undead, the harder it will be to take control of it, and there is also a cost to maintaining the control.”

Selene nodded and stood. The camp was far more lively at that point, and Meelara and Cheela had gathered a group of people near the path forward. They looked up as Selene approached.

“How’d it go?” Meelara asked. “Any luck?”

“Yes,” Selene nodded and smiled. “I might be able to take some pressure off, but there will still be fighting.”

“That’s fine,” Cheela responded with a nod. “No one expected you to solve it completely. Anything helps.”

“Are we ready to go?” Selene asked.

“No,” Meelara smirked and dragged Selene over to a small table. “You need to eat, girl.”

“Right,” Selene mumbled as her stomach growled. “Yeah. That sounds good.”

As she stuffed food into her mouth, she brought up her Status.

Name:

Selene Parson

Race:

Human

Affiliation:

Earth

Stage:

2 - FrostShade Reaver

Level:

3

Credits:

3470

Stats:

Strength(STR)

30

Agility(AGI)

22

Vitality(VIT)

28

Intelligence(INT)

22

Wisdom(WIS)

14

Charisma(CHA)

3

Skills:

Shadow Strike

Adept

Domain of Cold and Shadow

Novice

Undead Echoes

Novice

Spirit Veil

Novice

Drain Life

Novice

Draugr Resilience

Apprentice

When she activated Undead Echoes, she could faintly sense something through the walls. It wasn’t anything she could identify beyond knowing there were undead creatures in that direction.

“Haah,” Selene thought as she chewed. “It’s going to take some getting used to not having Spirit Echoes… I’ll manage.”

She kept stuffing food in her mouth, chewed and swallowed, before returning to the group with a full stomach.

“Alright,” Selene nodded. “What’s the plan?”

“You, me, and Meelara,” Cheela explained. “We’ll go first, the rest will be right behind us to provide support. We’ll use whatever means we have to break through and secure an area. Once we’ve done that, we’ll leave some people to defend it, while the rest carries on. We’ll make a beeline for the heart of the city, where we’ll take control of it, and with your help summon a Crystal. We’ll adapt as needed on the way.”

Selene took a breath and nodded.

“Let’’s do it,” she said. Meelara and Cheela nodded, turned to the others, and after a few seconds of muttering, they all headed off.

The tunnel was narrow, and low, forcing them to stoop to walk through it. They could only fit one person at a time, so they had to proceed in a single file before the tunnel widened.

In front of Selene was a broken city. Buildings had crumbled, and large boulders littered it. The ceiling and walls had large cracks, and Selene felt a deep discomfort as they watched the city.

“It feels like it can collapse at any moment,” she thought as a shiver ran down her spine. Meelara placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled before nudging her head backwards. When she turned around, she saw people with their hands on the walls and extending their Spirituality into them. Small cracks disappeared gradually around their hands, and the effect was expanding.

“They’re reinforcing the cave!” Selene thought and sighed in relief.

They waited for a few minutes before Cheela gestured for them to follow. Selene activated Undead Echoes and saw a purple haze that covered the city. It seemed to be denser in certain areas, while almost invisible in others.

“There are higher concentrations of undead in that direction,” Selene whispered and pointed. “We should avoid it for now, right?”

“Good,” Cheela nodded and smiled before leading them along the path Selene pointed out.

It didn’t take long before Selene asked them to stop again.

“Something up ahead,” she whispered. “Let me try something.”

The others nodded and gave way for Selene to move to the front. Up ahead, Selene saw a glimmering light of white, purple, and black. As she got closer, it got clearer, until she felt that she was close enough. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and extended her Spirituality toward it, as guided by the skill.

The moment her Spirituality made contact with the light, she felt a cold sensation spread through her body as unfamiliar emotions filled her mind. Rage, pain, fear and sorrow blended into a disorienting cocktail of emotions that caused Selene’s mind to blank out. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and steadied herself, before she furrowed her brows, and pushed more Spirituality into the skill.

“Yield!” she shouted in her mind. She felt a strange sensation as if foreign thoughts entered her mind, but she ignored it and kept pushing. Suddenly, the emotions and the foreign thoughts disappeared, and she felt another strange feeling. It felt like she was in multiple places at once. She saw her companions around her, but also strange shapes. Two scenes filled her mind. What her body saw, and what her new undead minion saw.

With a thought, she shut the sensations from her minion off and ordered it to approach slowly.

“I’m bringing it over,” she muttered. “It’s under my control, don’t panic.”

Coming around the corner, they saw a shimmering, indistinct shape. She’d dominated a wraith.