Chapter 63: The Ghost, and the “Ghost”
Bai, Ara, and Iradace continued their journey towards the heart of the Abyss.
After they had left Vampire territory, Vivian had remained, as if waiting for someone.
After a long while, a shadow stirred, and Vivian, with a flick of her wrist, sent a crimson rune towards it.
But the shadow remained unchanged, and she couldn’t sense any aura from the rune.
“Impressive,” she murmured.
She had admitted defeat. She couldn’t find her target, even though it was just an avatar.
A faint, ethereal figure materialized, a shadowy form, watching her silently.
If Iradace had been here, she would have recognized it as her master, the Ghost.
“So, why have you come here? You know this is Vampire territory,” Vivian said, her voice soft.
“Even if I can’t pinpoint your location, it wouldn’t be difficult to destroy this fragile avatar.”
Her voice, though gentle, was laced with a chilling menace.
“An avatar is just an avatar. Destroy it if you wish,” the Ghost said, its voice a flat, emotionless whisper. “But I believe you won’t. If you had wanted to, you would have done so earlier.”
Vivian had sensed the Ghost’s presence the moment Iradace had entered Vampire territory.
She hadn’t destroyed it because she had been wary of Bai.
But with her dislike of the Ghost, she couldn’t just let it wander freely.
So, she had confined Iradace to a small room, to limit the Ghost’s movements.
But to her surprise, after Bai and Iradace had left, the Ghost had remained, its aura now unconcealed.
It was a challenge. And a display of power. Even with its aura exposed, Vivian, without using the power of her territory, couldn’t find it.
So now, destroying the avatar was pointless.
“You’re following the Princess. What’s your purpose?” she asked, her eyes narrowed.
“I’ve seen her. She’s not the one you’re looking for. She’s just a little girl named ‘Bai,’ with a certain… naivety,” the Ghost said after a long silence. “Yes, I know. I’ve seen it… but I’m not Isabelle. Or rather, I’m her other side.”
Yes, although the Ghost’s characteristics, abilities, and memories were identical to Isabelle’s, she was not Isabelle.
At least, not the calm, intelligent Shadow Lord from before the great destruction.
She was one of the twisted personalities born from Isabelle’s fractured mind, with no true form, only these shadow-like avatars.
With so many avatars, the psychic damage from her encounter with God had affected them all, creating a multitude of extreme emotions.
Most of them had been shattered in that moment, but a few had survived, and from them, new personalities had been born.
And the Ghost was the final, collective consciousness of these personalities.
Although she had spoken casually of her avatar being destroyed, in reality, since they were separated from her true form, their destruction was permanent. Even the loss of a single avatar was a significant blow.
Iradace had been following her for a long time, since Isabelle’s true form had been in a state of madness. She couldn’t have established a network in the Frigid Lands on her own.
Only the Ghost, who possessed the memories and consciousness of the original Isabelle, would have considered the future of the Shadow Demons.
Vivian’s pupils constricted. She was silent.
She had sensed a certain… dissonance in the Ghost’s actions, but she hadn’t expected the truth to be so… strange.
“I am different from the real Isabelle, but not entirely. After she went mad, the Shadow Demons were still able to maintain their former status as a dominant power. I was the one supporting them, from the shadows,” the Ghost said calmly. “But now, her true form has recovered. My mission is almost over.”
“So, now… I am at a loss. There’s nothing left for me to do. So, I thought I would do one last thing for her, something she wants to do, but is unwilling, and afraid, to do.”
Vivian’s eyes widened. “You mean… you want to…”
“The path to the Place of Divine Advent, Vivian. You know it. You were the most powerful leader of the Vampires back then. You had the ability, and the responsibility, to communicate with the Promised Land,” the Ghost whispered.
Vivian lowered her eyes, a flicker of something in their depths. “Yes, I know.”
That was why she had been the one to find Queen Shaya, who had fled the Place of Divine Advent. How else could an ordinary Vampire have greeted a being from a higher realm?
“The real Isabelle thinks Miss Bai’s actions are a mistake. Queen Shaya also thinks so. And you, it seems, have the same thought.”
“You all think God—or rather, the Abyssal Lord—is invincible. At least, not by her own ‘daughter,’ who possesses the same power. This is correct, but also, in a way, wrong.”
“You are all a part of this game. All you can see is a path to despair,” the Ghost said softly. “But I have never been a part of this… entanglement. So I can see clearly. And I am willing to believe in Miss Bai.”
“Why?” Vivian couldn’t help but ask.
“Because… she is Bai,” the Ghost’s faint shadow seemed to glow. “She is the savior. A lonely savior.”
“In an eternity of solitude, waiting for a dim, uncertain future.”
