Alan watched with worry how the domain responded to Enid’s frustration. For the first time, he realized the sheer extent of her influence on everything in his space, which dampened his warm feelings for the spirit. She was a creature far beyond his comprehension abilities and treating her just like another human was not how he should’ve approached this relationship. The feelings of friendship and understanding now felt hollow—a mistake that could’ve cost him dearly.

Spirits are not human. I should make a note to remember that. The least of all, nothing that lived so long could be considered human. Alan didn’t know if he could even apply the term to himself, although he felt his mind just the same as before, even if he had grown some confidence and stopped retreating into a shell of sarcasm and silliness to protect himself. However, his views on murder had changed quite a bit. It was true that everything became normalized the longer one spent doing it. It was all a complicated mess.

It remained a fact that the human experience was a short firework compared to the lifespans of most existences in the wide universe, and he briefly wondered how he would change if he lived as long as some of the monsters he had met. Old Greyheart seemed perfectly normal, but the old man was a mystery and the sheer amount of mana he had shown clearly put him way above what Alan could touch at the moment.

“This is the Spirit World! It’s taboo to bring death here! And then you go ahead and trade it to a harvester.” Enid raged, her voice rising with the rustling of leaves. “Presumptuous! Arrogant! Foolish!”

Alan took a deep breath and allowed the shadows to drag him out of the pool of water. Tiny wisps of dark mana pushed away at the water rivulets falling on his pale skin and one of his last pairs of clothes appeared straight onto his body in a flurry of darkness.

“Will you calm down?” Alan asked. “Tell me what I did wrong, so I can fix it.”

Enid’s face twisted and she lunged toward him. Alan didn’t flinch as she stopped mere centimeters from his face. All of her beautiful features were gone, and instead, he found himself face to face with a monster belonging to legends. Green venomous eyes and a face belonging to myths. It lasted only a mere moment before she was back to normal, but the image of those eyes seared itself in Alan’s mind.

She retreated and the domain took on a calmer look, with most of the plants returning to normal. Alan felt some relief. He wasn’t how large her influence was, but he didn’t like how unsafe he felt. Changing things and truly taking over was the first thing on his agenda now. He could feel a connection not quite that different from the one he shared with the Tower he had bought, but this here was weaker and fainter. As if he was yet to be fully accepted by the world.

“Harvesters are a danger to all. They do not recognize the authority of the Thrones or most Grand Spirits that keep us safe,” Enid slowly said. Her eyes were dull green, almost human now. “In their desire to find what they seek they are willing to threaten all existence and the fragile balance we have achieved. It is rare to see one, especially so close to the domains. I thought you were just unlucky, but a harvester wouldn’t harm anyone without cause. It must’ve sensed the dying human and came from afar. They roam the edges of the Spirit World, waiting for a lost soul to wander in, since that is the only way to reach one now. It is rare for one to venture where spirits have their domains.”

Alan nodded half-heartedly. He had bits and pieces of the conversation with the spirit floating about his mind. They were not truly gone as he previously thought, but all was jumbled and lost to reason. As if… as if the events had not followed proper flow and had happened all at once? All in but a single moment. Even worse, the important bits were popping out as if someone or something had willed them to do so. As if the harvester could choose what was important and what wasn’t.

The sheer weight of the realization made Alan afraid. Seeing a grand dragon hold a world in its palm had seared in his mind forever, but for some reason, it didn’t terrify him as much as what the spirit had done.

“Do you remember what the deal entailed?”

“I only know it happened. I received payment in the form of items. Rust’s body is gone, so perhaps it was the sole focus of the deal. I don’t believe I’ve given anything else.”

Enid frowned. “To make you question yourself so and to affect your memories… it means it was an old one. I’m no expert but I believe it’s just a consequence of its nature. You, as a mortal, are not supposed to even know what it is, much less see it. There are dangerous spirits Alan. Me and Odu are… human in comparison, but do not for a second believe we are not capable of much more. To exist as long as we have, and free as we are, is a privilege won through acts and deeds you cannot comprehend. And yet, I’d rather flee the Spirit World than meet a harvester.”

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But you still came shortly after it had left, to see if there’s an opportunity for you, perhaps? I wonder, are you looking after me, or yourself first? The latter was not something bad. Alan would’ve done the same in her stead, maybe gone further. Enid had already done a lot, but it remained to be seen what the motives behind it all were.

At least she’s not trying to hide what just transpired. It did make him feel better that she was not dismissive of her anger, but he now hesitated to show his spoils. The parchment and the jar were strange items with value far beyond what he could imagine, but the trust was shaken. Perhaps it was for the best.

“As for killing a human in here… do not do that again. Harvesters are one of the most dangerous spirits, but they are fair. The issue lies in the fact that they do NOT understand mortal life, and what they give might as well spell great doom upon the realms. Other things are lurking here that won’t stop at anything to obtain a fresh corpse and the soul residing in it.”

“Why would they need it?”

Enid’s eyes grew darker again. “Why?” she repeated, then leaned forward with a sinister smile. Yet another side of her made an appearance, and Alan didn’t like it at all. “One of the reasons is to reach the mortal realms, of course.”

Ah, fuck.

“There are other uses, of course. Souls are a rare commodity these days. I’ve kept away from such… acts. Altering the souls in any way is mostly forbidden in the realm. Of course, some factions are allowed to do so, but if in their act they draw a dangerous spirit or something else… The Thrones won’t stay silent, and their power is not something even we, as spirits, can ignore.”

Alan nodded half-heartedly. It was all about power and who wielded it. But why had the harvester needed Rust’s body, and the soul residing in it? Had he unleashed a being so far removed from the concept of humanity upon the world outside? He doubted that for some reason. This was no great evil, but in some ways, it was comparable to one.

Death, huh?

“Why did the harvester need it?”

Enid shrugged and exhaled, letting a soft breeze pass through and warming the environment just a tad. The flowers bloomed, the trees became lush, and even more fruit grew to the already heavy branches. It was awe-inspiring how she controlled it all so easily. The environment she had created reflected her state, her thoughts, and her will.

Something clicked and Alan felt the darkness surrounding the domain shift and move. For a moment there he thought it became a part of him. Not as a limb was, nor anything else of the physical nature. Rather, a strained part of the mind that had been left forgotten for a while, but has always been there. It was all gone in but a moment, but the base was laid, and Alan suppressed a smile. To be in control, to seek to conquer and thrive, was human nature, and it was the first time in his life he felt truly human. Funny how it had happened only after humanity was left behind him.

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never met one in person, and this was the closest I’ve gotten. Do you know, there are no spirits around your domain now? I was the lone one who dared approach. Its presence can be felt, much like a chill wind or the coming of winter. Few things can kill a spirit, Alan. Even some of the grand powers of the Myriad Realm and beyond might struggle. A harvester is one of them. They are as old as the world and as dangerous as its darkest corners. To have made a deal with one…”

She paused, picking an apple from a tree that hadn’t been there before. Alan felt it sprout from the ground in but an instant and felt a certain sense of irritation. This was his home. The whispers of the shadows intensified, and there was a new note to them. Something ethereal and vicious. Something driven by a tiny flame of shadow, burning away inside him.

A shadow, gifted by a spirit.

“What,” Enid slowly said, “did you receive?”

Alan stared into her eyes as he hesitated, struggling to understand what was happening to him. A flower near him suddenly grew darker, its color bleeding like vapor from its stem and leaves. It was still beautiful but in shades of gray and black.

Enid’s eyes narrowed and a dress of bark and wood covered her body in but an instant, growing from her very skin. It was a skimpy thing that added more charm to her, but also made her look regal in a way.

“Sorry about that. My emotions are getting the better of me,” Alan said. As usual. “What I received, was a shadow. What it does I don’t know yet, but I feel like it will supplement my elemental mastery in some way. I’ve already absorbed it and it slowly burns inside me, giving me a strange sensation of… control.”

Enid scrutinized him for a moment. “It’s good that it's given you something you’re familiar with, although I doubt it is as safe as it feels. Be careful in this venture, and do not bring mortals you desire to end here. You were lucky this time, but even I cannot navigate all the treacherous places and beings of the Spirit World. Do not forget who and what you are. This is a place of eternity and wonder, but it hides terrors as well. You’ve been granted privileges the material realms have not seen in thousands of years. Waste them not by repeating what happened today.”

She stepped and a vine parted the darkness to create a bridge. Alan watched as she went, wondering what had just happened. He had half-lied, but perhaps doing so hadn’t been the smartest thing. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss as if Enid’s trust or friendship had been damaged. The two items still in his shadow inventory burned in his mind, clear as day. Maybe hiding them had been a mistake, but—

A moan interrupted his thoughts and he quickly cast [Dark Step] almost by instinct. The skill activated with surprising smoothness and speed as he appeared next to the waking Mayra. The memory of Enid’s impersonation was still fresh on his mind, and it once again irritated him. Perhaps both had threaded through boundaries better left untouched.

He would deal with that in time. For some reason, some of the last words of the spirit echoed in his mind as he helped Mayra up and gave her a fruit from the garden Enid had so graciously left behind.

‘Three for one, one for three.’

Sorry, Enid. It seems my deal is not over yet.