Free Web NovelEven so, that wasn't the most confusing part for her.
What confused her most was: where on earth was this place?
She looked around.
It was an arena.
A vast, magnificent, and desolate arena.
Circular stands rose in tiers, disappearing into the gray mist above.
The stands were empty.
There was only the wind—if the air currents in a soul space could be called wind—wailing among the vacant stone steps.
In the center was an oval field of sand.
The sand was gray, like the ashes of the cremated.
Broken weapons and fragments of armor were scattered across the sand.
It looked as if countless slaughters had once taken place here.
The scale of the arena was absurdly large.
Liselotte estimated roughly that it would take at least ten minutes to walk from one end to the other.
The highest point of the stands was lost in the mist; the top was nowhere to be seen.
And within this massive arena, in every corner of the stands, behind the iron bars at the edge of the sand, and deep within the cell-like archways...
...were hundreds of souls.
She could feel them.
Scattered in every corner of this space.
Each one was powerful.
At least Sequence III or higher.
Some even reached Sequence IV or Sequence V.
This was no ordinary soul container.
An ordinary soul container couldn't hold so many high-sequence souls.
This was something... of a higher order.
It reminded her of the collaboration between the Secret Party and the Research Institute.
That relic which claimed it could contain an entire soul.
"What are you thinking about?"
A voice interrupted her thoughts.
The tall woman was still walking toward her.
Her pace was unhurried.
Every step carried a heavy sense of power.
The stone slabs beneath her feet let out a faint creak under her weight.
"Do you still dare to be distracted at a time like this?"
Liselotte didn't answer.
Her eyes were rapidly scanning the surroundings.
An exit.
She had already found an exit.
At the edge of this space.
There was a crack.
Very narrow, very hidden.
But for her in her soul state, it was enough.
As long as she could reach it.
As long as she could pass through that crack.
She could leave this godforsaken place.
As for the plan afterward, she had thought of it long ago.
A container would be simple for her.
The core of the Path of the Empress is life.
The flow, transformation, and proliferation of life force.
Even in a soul state, she could still disguise herself as a warm, vibrant stream of life energy.
Find a young person.
Ideally someone fifteen or sixteen, at an age of confusion and longing.
Ideally someone lonely, lacking in care, and full of confusion about the world.
The will of such a person is like an unlocked door.
You don't even need to break in.
You just need to knock and say in a gentle voice—
"Child, you look very tired. Would you like to come in and sit for a while?"
And then they would walk in themselves.
The first stage of possession is the 'Gift.'
Let the host feel the influx of power.
The constitution is enhanced, wounds heal faster, and they can even vaguely sense the growth of plants.
What a wonderful 'blessing from the heavens.'
The second stage is 'Guidance.'
At the edge of the host's consciousness, appear as a vague, gentle image.
Don't say too much.
Just occasionally offer some perfectly timed advice.
"You should believe in yourself more."
"You deserve to be loved."
"Those who hurt you do not deserve your kindness."
Every word is sincere.
Every word is meant to make the host more dependent on this voice. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
The third stage is'Symbiosis.'
When the host grows accustomed to this power, accustomed to this voice, and begins to treat it as a part of themselves.
The vines will tighten.
Encroaching bit by bit.
Replacing bit by bit.
That young person will even think they made the choice themselves, when in reality, every step was within her control.
Until that body belongs entirely to her.
Then, she can live again using someone else's body.
This process takes time.
Months, perhaps a year.
But she wasn't in a hurry.
The one thing the dead have plenty of is patience.
If the primary plan isn't viable—for instance, if she escapes only to find herself in the middle of nowhere with no living person for miles—there's a backup plan.
She would possess some small animal.
A cat, a dog, a bird.
An animal's consciousness is much simpler than a human's, with almost no resistance.
The possession process doesn't require gifts or guidance; she can just take over directly.
The only problem is that an animal's body cannot carry the power of a Wayfarer.
But she could use a rat's legs.
Control it, drive it, and make it run all the way back to a Secret Party stronghold along the route in her memory.
Once at the stronghold, the rest would be up to those old fogies.
As long as the price is paid, they have plenty of ways to get her a new body.
The process might not be very dignified—they'd likely have to carve a portion of life force from a living person to help reshape her flesh, which sounds quite inhumane.
But Liselotte never considered herself someone who cared about being humane.
The plan was perfect.
But the only current problem was that she needed to get rid of the monster in front of her first.
Liselotte knew she couldn't win in a fight.
Not to mention the battlefield was heavily against her; this was a gray, silent arena devoid of any breath of life.
The sand was made of ash.
The stands were cold stone.
There was nothing in the air that could be called 'living.'
In a forest, she could make vines grow into towering trees in the blink of an eye.
In a city, she could make the rats in the sewers and the cockroaches in the wall cracks her eyes and ears.
In a manor, she could turn the entire building into a giant made of plants and masonry.
But here, she was like a fish thrown into a desert.
No water, no algae, nothing to breathe.
She could only flap her fins against the dry sand and slowly suffocate.
And then let's look at her opponent.
The Path of the Tower.
The Path of Destruction.
A return that can exert full power anywhere.
Because destruction needs no medium.
Destruction itself is the medium.
Worse still, the opponent wasn't just ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) any ordinary Wayfarer of the Path of the Tower.
She was a member of the Paranov Guard Knights.
The opponent was a Destroyer who had truly fought her way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Since she couldn't win...
...she could only run.
Hmm?
Oh, she suddenly had a very perfect plan.
