As the last wisps of necrotic energy dissipated into the night sky, a familiar golden panel flickered in Adam's vision—quiet, almost casual amid the aftermath.
[ Crown of the Hollow Glutton – Souls Absorbed: +32 ]
Adam blinked, startled. 'Thirty-two? From the undead?'
He glanced at the scattered bone dust and the fading green motes still drifting in the air. The Crown pulsed once, warm and satisfied, like a predator licking its chops.
'Even undead souls count…' he thought, a faint, crooked smile tugging at his lips. 'Not bad. That's a decent harvest.'
The villagers' cheers snapped him back to the moment. They surged forward—cautious at first, then with open gratitude—clapping him on the back, shouting thanks, calling him "hero" and "savior." Farmers who minutes ago had trembled now looked at him with awe and respect.
"Adam—you drove it away! We're alive because of you!"
Ignis basked in the praise, hands on hips, grinning wide as children gathered around her in wonder.
