Whispers.

'Aeron…wake up.'

'Open your eyes…'

'Aeron!'

Thirty kilometers away from Fourth Sanctuary City, Aeron lay on his back at the Kram Riverbank in the Z-rank Dark Ruin, Dark Claw Forest.

There was no wound on his body, but his heart had stopped due to a heart attack induced by a Haunt with a curse the moment he arrived in this strange place directly from the warehouse's exit.

From the river beside him, a pair of ghastly hands held the edge, and a warped face of a middle-aged man with red whirling eyes and a scarred face emerged.

Those ghastly hands with long sharp nails only had one target. Aeron's head.

If the mysterious voice in Aeron's head failed to wake him up, it wouldn't end well.

'Wake up, Aeron, or your head will roll off your shoulders! Darn it!'

*Khra!*

Right before the Haunt pounced on the Aeron, his bright sunset eyes shot open.

Aeron instinctively pushed away the ghost in panic with all of his might. A wave of spiritual power gushed forth from his body and obliterated the ghost into black motes.

[You have purified an E-grade Haunt. +10 Phantom Points.]

"Who are you?" Aeron asked when he heard the voice in his head. He was used to hearing voices of cursed spirits and evil ghosts in his head when he would get cursed by them, so this situation was familiar.

[Calm down and listen carefully, Aeron. First, my name is Lapis.]

'The voice changed…' Aeron was shocked. This voice was a sweet and melodious feminine voice.

[Yeah, that was just a notification voice. Anyway, I am Lapis, and I was the one who brought you here.]

Aeron looked around and quickly stood up before his eyes widened. "Where am I?! Why are there two moons? One is normal, but another is dark orange!"

[You are in another world, another planet. It used to be dominated by humans like Earth until the cosmic terror descended and unleashed horrors on humans.]

Aeron suddenly noticed another dead body beside him and sprang away in shock, "What the fuck?"

Of course, dead bodies do not scare him, but this body was eerily similar to his!

"Why does he look the same as me? Eyes, face, hair…everything is same except that I am more handsome with my trained physically lean body and he looks malnourished."

[He is a poor boy who died and I could only bring you here thanks to him.]

Aeron frowned and got a bit away from the riverbank before feeling no presence around him, however….

His eyes glinted, and an instinctive thrill started spreading in him. "The fear around here is crazy…Something big is in that direction."

"Let's go there."

[Stop! Are you crazy? The situation is dire at the moment as it is.]

"Right, I need more information," Aeron nodded with a grin. "This world feels amazing even though I haven't seen it. So, let's hear from you, the mysterious lady in my head."

"Tell me more about this world," Aeron said while he looked around, his eyes filled with excitement. 'I can feel many ghosts in the forest.'

Lapis wryly shook her head and began telling him about the world.

[This world is roughly the same size as Earth, but with one Sun and two Moons. However, due to a rather big problem and invasion in the grand scheme of things, the rules have changed.]

"I don't understand rules in the first place, but ok. What's next?" Aeron nodded.

[The current concerning thing is that this world is not dominated by humans anymore. It is dominated by Haunts and is littered with Dark Ruins. In fact, there are only seven cities in the whole world, and only 83 million humans spread across those seven cities at various places.]

"Wow…" Aeron was dumbfounded. "So, Haunts are basically ghosts, right?"

[Yes. But just as you have seen powerful ghosts in your world, there are even more powerful Haunts here. They roam freely in the material plane, unbound by the rules. Your planet Earth will eventually become like this because you can't fight ghosts with guns.]

[They act based on their instinct and singularities and use curse power and fear of others. Get killed by them, and your soul will be devoured. No rebirth, reincarnation, or cosmic cycle anymore, but you won't understand this, so forget it.]

Aeron felt goosebumps with thrill.

[Aeron, this world is in shambles. There are no orphanages here for parentless kids. Food is the most important resource in this haunted world where humans only have seven little cities to their name, which are also not 100% safe.]

"I understand. This world is in deep shit," Aeron nodded while smiling. "I like it. Now, can you tell me more about that so-called notification? E-grade Haunt? Phantom Points? What was that?"

[Before that, you must know about the young man who died. He was an orphan struggling to live with his little sister and he died for her sake.]

Aeron raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything and let Lapis continue.

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[He decided to risk his life here to gather money to buy a Phantom Ability Potion for his sister to rid the curse of her and make her powerful with a specific Ability in the market. He was saving for a whole year for this by eating less and working more. If he managed to kill a weak C-grade Haunt today, he would have gathered enough to buy that potion for his sister to let her lead a better life.]

[But he died, killed by the cruel fate. I saw his desire to save his sister and give her a proper life, and so I prevented his soul from being corrupted. Instead, I used it to find a soul with the potential to fight in this world, which led me to you.]

After releasing a sigh, Aeron smiled and said, "A little sister, eh? Now, I am not a heartless guy, so I don't want to leave my newfound sister alone in this dangerous world."

[You can speak in mind, and I'll hear. We have to kill that worm first that's coming towards you. Focus and wait. If it rushes, then run, but don't attack it yet.]

Aeron could also feel a creepy presence approaching him and turned his head in the opposite direction of the river where the forest began fifty meters away from him.

That worm was just thirty meters away from Aeron.

'Alright. But why is it not rushing towards me?'

[It is not sure whether to attack you or not yet, but it will decide soon. The worm is an Insentient-type Haunt, D-grade. It has more powerful cursed energy and ability, so it can kill you with one attack if it lands on you.]

Hearing her, Aeron was dumbfounded. 'Death in one attack? But I am a bit special because I have a mysterious power in me. I call it spiritual force. Surely, I can do something.'

[Yes, I know. But if you get hit, you'll die. However, you can certainly kill that worm with your power, Aeron. Sense the power flowing in you. Your affinity with Haunts and Horrors has also earned you a boon from the Primal Genesis Cosmos even though it is breaking down. This is very unexpected, but great news.]

Lapis's voice turned sharp and firm.

[You are meant to be here and eradicate Haunts, Aeron. From now on, you are the master of your own destiny.]

'Eh, I've always been master of my own destiny,' Aeron grinned. 'As for eradicating Haunts, I'll do that in the passing because my main goal is enjoying my fucking life in this Haunted world!'

'This is a perfect world for me, haha!'

[Get some money to feed yourself and your sister first. You need healthy food, and it's very scarce in this world. With no land to cultivate food and a low amount of cattle, there are only two main sources of food.]

[First is the highly dangerous and secured rivers going through the cities that bring seafood and Huants both.]

[Second, the Phantom Guilds and Markets. Phantom Hunters venture outside to kill Haunts, explore Dark Ruins, and bring back resources that are mutated outside or from Dark Ruins.]

[But this is not easy. The strongest horrors—the Supreme Haunts—are powerful enough to eradicate humanity, but this world-]

Lapis's voice slightly shook.

[This world is alive only because of the whims and singularities of those few fucking ghosts that reside in the deadliest of Cosmic Dark Ruins.]

'What the…' Aeron was dumbfounded. 'This world is in a deeper pile of shit than I thought.'

[It is.]

'But Phantom Hunter sounds cool,' Aeron stretched his limbs to heat his body and kept his focus on the worm.

Lapis chuckled.

[Only those with resolve, ambition, and guts become truly powerful Phantom Hunters, and you are gutsier than any other when it comes to horrors.]

[I know all of the adventures you've been doing with ghosts since you went to the orphanage at five.]

Aeron laughed before it abruptly stopped, and he put his hand on his stomach with a strange expression as he felt heat throughout his body.

'Lapis. I feel something inside me. It's spreading throughout my body.'

[Congratulations. You just finished manifesting your first Phantom Gear with the power of your Phantom Spark. It's from that Humanoid-type E-grade Haunt you killed.]

A burst of black and red motes gathered before Aeron and formed into a black spear with red vein patterns.

[Blood Ripped Spear]

_Type: Melee-Phantom Gear.

_Grade: E

_Cost: 5% of your blood.

_Effect: Exchange of control and power for 1 minute.

[Feel the power of the spear and activate it with your spiritual force]

Aeron nodded as he activated it, causing the spear's red patterns to shine.

This caused the worm to nail its decision as it lurched forward with its thousands of sharp, tiny teeth in its circular mouth.

On the other hand, Aeron felt a bit of pain and a sharp sting in his hand as the spear left his grip. However, it still floated, and its tip was lit up with a mysterious blood flame.

The worm's charge was faster and stronger than he expected, causing Aeron to form a few sweat beads as he barely dashed to the side and dodged the worm.

'Fuck.'

However, he saw that his spear was floating, connected to his mind.

'That's how it is, eh? Cool."

The spear moved while floating, its tip pointing at the worm before it zoomed forward.

*Swoosh!*

The spear pierced it and severely injured it.

[This Phantom Gear is simple and straightforward. Control it with your mind and attack while this effect lasts.]

[You don't know how to use your Spiritual and Curse powers yet, so pure physical attacks on Haunts have less impact. Just use the spear and kill it.]

Alas, It was too late since Aeron dashed forward before Lapis spoke the other half and grabbed the spear before kicking the worm as it shot into the air.

'Fuck, my leg! Damn it!' Aeron's leg where he kicked was burning with pain instead!

But he didn't waste time as he commanded the spear to fly in the air. It pierced the worm again and finished it off.

[Your spiritual power is strong enough, so the spear allowed you to finish it off in two solid attacks.]

The worm turned into black motes before Aeron heard the notification's monotone voice again.

[You have purified a D-grade Haunt. +50 Phantom Points.]

'What are these points?' Aeron asked as he sat down and took some breaths.

[I'll be using those 50 points, or rather, the relative cosmic energy, to improve my interaction with you if you don't mind.]

'Fine, do it,' Aeron casually replied while he looked out for some other presences, but mainly at the center of the forest. 'What is at that place? I've never felt that amount of fear and horror before.'

Suddenly, Aeron saw a face in his mind. It was a beautiful young fox lady's face with silvery-blue silky hair and two fluffy white ears with blue tips.

[Hello, Aeron.]

'Lapis?'

Lapis smiled and nodded.

[I am your partner in this new journey, and I'll also tell you everything gradually.]

[The introduction was late, but you have an amazing boon, Aeron.]

Aeron raised his eyebrows. 'Boon?'

[It is in your blood, soul, and deepest instincts to become the lord of Horrors and Terrors. That's why you acquired this destiny and boon shaped by your experience and granted by the Primal Genesis Cosmos.]

[Now it is up to you on how you want to live and forge your destiny. Your previous life was unpleasant because of your peculiarities, but those peculiarities are your weapons in this world.]

'Enough praise, milady,' Aeron smiled. 'You told me many things, about myself, and of this world. But you didn't tell me anything about yourself.'

'Who are you, Lapis? And why are you in my head?'

Lapis turned silent for a second before she weakly smiled, 'Aeron, the answer is long and complicated. Can you please make do with only my name for now?'

'Once you get more powerful and view the world in an even deeper layer, I will tell you everything. But now, you won't understand anything. Just know that I will never harm you because your death meant my death. I've bound myself to you and gambled my life on you.'

Aeron jokingly rolled his eyes. 'You're already sounding like a pain in the neck. Fine, I'll focus on the present situation.'

Lapis wryly smiled hearing him. 'Alright, let's continue with your situation.'

Suddenly, Aeron saw a fancy black-gold patterned panel beside the face of Lapis in his mind.

[Phantom Spark - Aeron]

_Phantom Points: 10

—> Spiritual Power: 1471

—> Curse Power: 15,930

_Phantom Ability: —

_Phantom Gear: Blood Ripped Spear.

'Interesting. Why do I have so much Curse power and what is that?' Aeron raised his eyebrows. He could understand Spiritual Power's number in a sense.

[I'll tell you more, but we must escape from this Dark Claw Forest's periphery and return to the Fourth Sanctuary City. Your home where your new little sister is waiting is thirty kilometers away.]

'll tell you about this Phantom Spark, and teach you how the Curse and Spiritual power works on the way. Let's start moving first.'