Staring at the wraith, her mouth conjured words without her thinking.

Er… Peace?

That seemed to piss off the creature even more. Before she could react she felt something within the creature stir. Unlike the previous times, she now knew that this was the stirring of mana. The wraith was about to cast a spell. Alarmed, she quickly dodged to the side.

Unfortunately, she was unable to avoid the spell.

She did not see it but she felt it hit her. Suddenly, she suddenly felt her movements slow down. Her mind was not affected so her thinking was still up to par, but signals she sent to her spectral body were delayed. Even when executed, the actions were done in a slow and lacklustre manner.

Shit! She gasped, eyes wide.

Unfortunately this was just the beginning of her despair.

Again she felt the mana stir within the wraith. This spell must not have been aimed at her because she did not feel anything hit her. She did not see any strange occurrence in the surroundings either. However, the next moment she knew exactly what the spell had done as the wraith rushed towards her with at a speed it had not previously displayed.

With the creature being twice as fast and her being twice as slow, there was no way she could avoid the blow.

It caught her right on the shoulder. She cried in response.

There was no pain, but she felt her that her shoulder had become numb. Looking at it, she saw of wide gash that ran to her chest, leaving her shoulder separated from the rest of her body. Seeing this, her panic reached record levels she had never achieved, even when she was alive.

What do I do? Her panic-stricken mind raced.

Now that the she was unable to avoid the wraith’s claws it was only a matter of time before it vanquished her. How could she get herself out of this situation? Was it possible to turn it around and clinch a victory? At the moment she did not see such a possibility.

As she looked on, watching the wraith charge with speed she could not match, its vicious claws poised to strike her, she realised a certain truth.

She was about to die.

I’m sorry! She shouted, raising the only hand she was currently capable of raising. Please spare me! I’ll do anything!

When out of options, the only thing left to do was beg. It did not sit well with her, but survival took precedence. She would do whatever it took to preserve her existence. After her survival was guaranteed she could worry about everything else.

The wraith’s claws were only mere millimetres from her face when they stopped. On its face, the anger still remained, but there was something else. It retracted its claw, causing her to release a sigh of relief. She looked at its face, watching intrigue rise to cover its anger.

The wraith growled at her. She understood it nonetheless. What can you do for me?

Er… anything, she replied. She could not think of something specific. Anything you want. You just name it and I’ll do it for you!

I see… the wraith seemed to contemplate. The tension she felt was about to disappear when she saw the intrigue vanish, leaving the only the previous anger on its face. Then I want you to die!

The wraith charged towards her, its claws poised to strike. She had no response for this action. Her mind was blank. There was nothing else she could think of to get herself out of the current situation. Her new life had just begun and it was already ending.

Fuck that arsehole, she cursed.

After she returned to the Abyss she would tell him everything she thought of him and she would not spare her thoughts. All she had to do was wait for the wraith’s claws to end her and send her back.

However, a sudden change took place.

Out of nowhere a circle of light suddenly appeared underneath her feet and enshrouded her. The wraith’s claws arrived a second later. Having accepted her imminent demise, she closed her eyes and waited. However, she did not feel the claws hit her. Surprised, she opened her eyes and saw a wraith that looked just as confused as her. It howled furiously and re-enacted its attack, only for its claws to bounce off the wall of light created by the circle under her feet.

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What is this circle? She wondered in amazement.

It was magic, that much she could tell after experiencing the wraith’s spells. Perhaps it was another spell. However, she could not tell what this one did. Due to her aversion to the unknown, she was tempted to leave the circle. However, seeing the raging wraith as it fruitlessly tried to get back at her she chose to stay put. It was safer to remain inside.

But the wraith was not willing to give up. She felt a shift in its mana stir as it flung spells at the circle. Darkness smashed against the circle wall, acid splashed onto it, ice spikes appeared out of thin air and crashed against the magic wall; all of it proved useless. The circle remained sturdy.

Seeing this, a wave of relief came over her.

The wraith could not break through the circle. She watched the enraged spectre howl and fling more spells, all to no effect, and suddenly felt the need to steady her shaken heart at its expense.

Hmph, pathetic, she said venomously. Hearing her, the creature got even angrier and began to attack more vigorously. Watching its fruitless actions from behind a wall of safety she could not resist the urge to taunt it. How weak! You can’t even break through such a flimsy wall? This is the most pathetic display I’ve ever seen!

The wraith gave her a menacing glare, renewing its efforts to get through the wall.

It all proved for naught.

Try your best! She encouraged mockingly. I believe in you. You can do it!

The wraith roared, furiously clawing at the magic wall. It screamed and raged as it tried to get through to her. She waved at it and took up enticing positions for “encouragement.” As expected, the “encouraged” spectre failed to break through.

I guess this is all you amount to huh? She said mockingly. I expected bet-

The sudden shift in the magic circle shut her up. Suddenly she felt an attraction force come from the beneath her feet. The circle was trying to pull her in.

Alarmed, she tried to resist the force, but it was to no avail. In mere seconds she sunk into the magic circle. The wraith’s angry howls she could still hear, becoming fainter and fainter. They were the least of her concerns at the moment.

What’s happening? She wondered.

Even when she had completely sunk into the magic circle the attraction still kept dragging her down. It kept pulling her towards its source. She could faintly feel it, however, she was unable to see it. The distance between her and the origin diminished steeply until they overlapped.

She felt herself fall into something. It was an odd feeling. She could tell she was in something. Her current situation she would liken it to being trapped in a box. A tangible darkness accompanied her in said box, giving a feeling that she could manipulate it. She could feel object she was trapped in. Moving her fingers and toes, she felt similar appendages of the metaphorical box move. It was only then that she realised what she had landed in.

A body! Somehow the magic circle had summoned her into a body, a cold unmoving one. She had been brought here to possess a corpse?

She did not have time to think about what it meant when she felt the tangible darkness stir. It moved like a flood and began to invade her. Then, for the first time since she became a ghost, she felt pain.

She screamed.

It was an incredibly painful experience. The darkness around her seemed to have morphed into a million needles prickling every part of her body. She kept screaming without letting up. This was the worst pain she had ever experienced in her entire existence.

“AAAHHHHH!”

Somewhere in her pain riddled mind she realised it was not only her spectral form that was screaming, but the corpse she inhabited. However, she was in too much pain to put any thought into it. Her screams were shrill, echoing across the area. This was all she could do.

As the darkness continued to invade she felt a change come over her. The pain increased and so did the intensity of her cries. Throughout all this a faint part of her detected the darkness melding her into the corpse, trying to assimilate the two. She was in no condition to do anything about it, much less object.

The assimilation continued for what felt like forever. Throughout all of it all she could do was scream and try to maintain her sanity. As the process continued the pain intensified. At some point her screams turned to genuine cries as she felt tears slide down her face.

Then, the pain vanished.

The assimilation was complete, she could feel it.

It took a while for her to collect herself. She tried her best to banish the raw memories of the torturous experience, propping herself on shaky arms to sit up.

The sight that met her was one of grey. It was a different grey than the one she had previously experienced in the dead desert. She was in a room surrounded by four featureless walls. A figure loomed over her. Tall and old, with withering dark skin that reminded her of the bark of a very old tree. There was no hair on his face or scalp, probably fell off due to old age.

This person appeared to be human. Her {Index} confirmed as much.

Race: Human (Human)

Physique: Grade 5

Mana: C (Burgundy)

He had a tired look about him, as if he would keel over and die at any moment. However, as the seconds passed he remained standing.

Despite finally meeting a human she did not rejoice. Chances were that he was the one that caused her pain. She could even feel some sort of link to him. So, she was not in the mood to talk to him. Instead, she looked around the room, noticing nothing else except a pair of lit candles surrounding her. She looked down where she was and saw that a circle similar to the one that had enshrouded her previously was drawn on the floor.

Then she looked at her new body.

It was not a sight to behold.

She possessed olive brown skin, but that was the last thing she noticed. Stiches ran across her entire body. From her ankles, to her thighs and even between the two huge mounds on her chest, they were all covered in large stitches.

Another thing she noticed was that the labels on her {Index} had changed when she looked at herself.

Race: Phantom (Undead)

Physique: Grade 4

Mana: SS (White)

Title(s): Darkborne