If anyone could see my face, it was one filled with absolute disbelief.
'It's impossible... impossible... it must be a joke,' I thought to myself. This isn't supposed to be happening. Nothing like this was ever mentioned as far as I know...
I stopped my train of thought due to lack of oxygen. Using my Teleportation ability, I moved about 30 meters away from the crazy woman.
Immediately, I summoned the crow, which lunged at the girl, pinning her firmly to the ground with its claws. For added security, the wolf also watched her like prey ready to be torn apart.
"Bas...tar...d!" she said again. "D...ie."
"This shouldn't be possible. Unless..." I summoned the runes, focusing on her last attribute: Indomitable Will.
[Indomitable Will] Ability Description: [Even after suffering for thousands of years and dying at the hands of her opponent, her will to live makes her return.]
"I see, so that's what it's about," I murmured, reading the description. In short, her will was incredibly strong.
She had been suffering for thousands of years as the vessel of the Corrupt Monster. Somehow, her will remained firm, and upon becoming more than a mere Echo, her will awakened.
"You are not the original. She died. You are more like a fragmented remnant," I murmured, pacing back and forth.
"This summoning is problematic," I said with a sigh.
"For heaven's sake, I'm only 15 and I'm already so deep in trouble and weird stuff," I complained quietly but didn't stop.
Temporarily leaving my sea of souls, I made several quick leaps until I reached the church, locked the door, and then returned to my sea of souls.
Now that no monster would attack out of nowhere, I could focus on dealing with this Echo—no, better said, this Summoning.
I walked slowly towards the Echo, crouching down.
"Hey, let's talk a bit," I said, making the Echo look at me with barely contained anger, but knowing she couldn't do anything to me with the crow and wolf present.
"F...ine," she said, as if struggling to speak.
"The Nightmare Spell gave me an Echo of you after I killed you in the ruined mansion. And I turned you into a Summoning. I didn't know your consciousness would persist like this. I'm sorry."
"Spell...smell...follower...Weaver," she said slowly, looking at me with piercing eyes.
"No, I am not a follower of the Demon of Fate," I said calmly. "I am only a Bearer of what he created."
"I see... you... don't... lie."
"I... suffered... for... a long... time."
Astrid made a grimace as small shivers ran through her body, remembering the pain.
"I know. No one deserves what happened to you, except for maybe Solvane—she deserves it..." I said with some anger. Elyas's death still hurt; he was a good guy.
"Who...?" asked Astrid.
"It's not important," I gestured to the wolf and crow, which hesitated for a moment before releasing Astrid, still keeping her watched in case she attacked again.
"If you want, I can grant peace to your soul," I offered.
Astrid's presence grew a little darker upon hearing that.
"No... No!... not die... again... revenge..." she expressed.
"You want revenge? Against whom?"
"Milia... Family," Astrid's voice was filled with barely contained rage.
'So it was her family that left her in that state? What kind of people would use their daughter as a lab rat?' I thought to myself.
"Well, I can give you your revenge," I said, making Astrid look at me with surprised eyes.
"I found a Nightmare Seed. It's something that sends me to a recreation of the distant past," I explained.
"The one I found is in this place, so maybe it will send us to an era where you can achieve your revenge."
Astrid seemed to think about it for a few seconds.
"Agree... accept deal... revenge... accept... subordination."
"Thank you. For now, rest in my soul. I will summon you to help me when needed and for your revenge. And, please, don't attack me; you gave me a death scare."
"So... be it."
I watched as Astrid seemed to fall asleep, returning to a large golden sphere which floated towards the others orbiting my seven soul cores.
"Crow, wolf. Thank you both. Now you can rest," I said, making the two summonings do the same to rest and recover.
Sitting on the watery surface, I let out a sigh.
"This Spell really wants to kill me. I take back everything I said earlier, Spell. You are cruel and vengeful."
The Spell, as always, didn't respond.
Summoning the runes, I looked at Astrid's.
Summoning: [War Maiden Astrid]
Summoning Rank:Ascendant.
Summoning Class:Monster.
Description:[Even after suffering for countless years, Astrid maintained a strong will to live. After being slain by the -Banished from Heaven-, she returned as a Summoning to fight for her revenge and for battle.]
Echo Attributes:[Combat Master], [Beastial Sense], [No Lies], [Indomitable Will]
"Her attributes are the same, only her description changed upon accepting being one of my Summonings. Also, there's the fact that it mentions my True Name in the description," I murmured, not really knowing what it meant.
[Combat Fragment: [0/7000]]
So she needs seven thousand to achieve Transcendence. It will be a difficult path, but it will be worth it.
Now, Astrid was the Summoning with the greatest potential. She wasn't as strong and agile as the crow, or as cunning and cruel as the wolf, but she was the most intelligent and experienced of them all.
I let out a sigh and left my sea of souls.
Returning to the outside, I lay down on the bed, looking at the stone ceiling.
"I wonder if I'm in the same year as the trio of protagonists?" I murmured before yawning.
"Well, it doesn't matter... in about two weeks, I'll challenge the second Nightmare," I said this and fell asleep.