I Possessed The Worst Character In The Hellish Game Chapter 56

[ … words ]

[ Species: Wraith ]

Mikael already knew about Liren’s species.

Wraiths fell under the broad category of Red Spirits, but they were only one type among them.

The Spirit World contained several of the Red Spirits species, such as Specters, Phantoms, Revenants, Banshees, Shades, and more….. each with their own characteristics and behaviors.

Some were relatively benign, while others were predatory by nature.

But all of them existed somewhere on a spectrum between lucidity and madness.

If a Wraith’s or any other Red Spirit Species mind broke completely, if the madness that lurked in the depths of their consciousness finally overtook them, their species would transform….

They would cease to be Wraith and would become the complete Evil Spirit.

A creature of pure malevolence, stripped of whatever humanity or reason it had once possessed, they were also the reason why people feared the entire Red Spirits category.

But even before that final transformation, Red Spirits were unstable.

They existed in a perpetual state of half-madness, their minds fractured by the trauma that had created them.

They shifted constantly between moments of clarity and episodes of irrationality, sometimes within the span of a single conversation.

One moment, they might seem almost normal, capable of coherent thought and reasoned speech.

The next moment, they could descend into raving, violent chaos without any warning.

That was also part of the reason Mikael had been so careful with Liren and not to do anything that might anger her.

He never knew what might trigger a Red Spirit, and he wasn’t about to find out the hard way.

But surprisingly, Liren hadn’t shown any of the signs he’d expected.

There were no sudden mood swings, nor any irrational thoughts.

She was calm in a way that felt almost strange, given everything he knew about Red Spirits.

It made him wonder if it was due to her unfulfilled wish.

Maybe that was the key.

She had wanted someone who would trust her, someone who wouldn’t leave her alone.

And now Mikael had been doing that part.

Perhaps that act of having her deepest desire met was enough to keep the madness at bay.

If that was true, then it meant that if he could fulfill a Red Spirit’s last wish, he might be able to keep their half-maddened state under control.

It wasn’t exactly a guarantee, but it was certainly a possibility.

A thread he could pull on if he ever needed to.

Well… it didn’t matter to him right now.

He had already made up his mind not to form contracts with any other Red Spirits in the future.

It was too risky, as it might also be the reason for his change in personality and thoughts.

The safest option here was to only form contracts with Blue Spirits in the future.

Blue Spirits were also known as Neutral Spirits. They were creatures born in the Spirit World itself, and they didn’t suffer from constant madness episodes.

Nyx, the small cat who followed Archbishop Sophia Ellert, was also a Blue Spirit.

Mikael’s gaze moved lower to her affinity.

[ Affinity: Witherbloom (Hybrid) ]

“Witherbloom?” Mikael muttered softly.

“It’s a hybrid nature element with some properties of Death mixed in it.”

Liren said when she noticed his confusion.

He nodded slowly.

Eclipsed Realms had introduced a lot of hybrid elements that hadn’t been seen in any of the games before.

Hybrid elements were extremely rare, and only a handful of important characters in the story had them.

There was a Pirate Admiral Leopold who had a hybrid element of Ice and Fire affinity called Frostfire.

The Crimson Queen, Arabella of the Sanguine race, possessed a hybrid Fire and Blood affinity called Bloodflame.

And some others.

But having a hybrid element didn’t mean you could use both elements separately.

Just because someone had Frostfire didn’t mean they could throw pure ice with one hand and pure flame with the other.

Hybrid elements were fused and inseparable. They operated as one, and whatever strengths that fusion gave you also came with restrictions.

For Liren’s Witherbloom element, which was a Nature element with properties of the death element, according to Liren, would not function like a normal Nature element.

He wouldn’t be able to use Witherbloom affinity to heal like normal Nature element users.

The death aspect would corrupt the purity of the nature element, twisting every spell into something darker.

But it was not like he was complaining. Having any hybrid element at all was more than most people could dream of.

’As they say, beggars can’t be choosers.’

And the Death element properties, while limiting the use of nature elements, could also open doors that normal nature magic couldn’t touch.

He would need to ask Liren to show him some Witherbloom-affinity spells to get a better idea of what that affinity could do.

The line below Affinity was Abilities.

[ Abilities: Mirror Manipulation, Multi-Resistance ]

Mikael focused on the first ability, and the grey floating window before him expanded.

— ◈ [ Mirror Manipulation ] ◈ —

Type: Active

Description: Allows the user to create and control reflective surfaces. Mirrors can be used for defense and misdirection. At higher levels of mastery, the user can store and reflect attacks, and traverse short distances through reflective surfaces.

— ◈ [ Mirror Manipulation ] ◈ —

’Damn!’

Mikael’s eyebrows rose in slight surprise.

Mirror Manipulation was much more useful than he’d expected.

The ability to reflect attacks was already powerful on its own, but short-range teleportation through reflective surfaces?

That opened up possibilities he hadn’t even considered.

Imagine setting up a mirror in the middle of a fight, then stepping through it to appear behind an enemy, or using a reflection to redirect an incoming spell back at the caster, or creating multiple mirrors to confuse and disorient opponents while he moved freely between them.

The tactical options were almost endless.

But of course, he would need to increase his proficiency with the ability before he could use it to its full potential.

Right now, he could only create small shards of mirrors at best.

The higher-tier applications, such as storing attacks, teleportation, and creating multiple mirrors, would take a lot of time to master.

He glanced at Liren, who was watching him with a quiet, almost curious expression.

“This is…. really something.” Mikael muttered.

“You like it?”

“Of course, it’s really versatile.”

She nodded, looking somewhat proud.

He shifted his gaze to her status, focusing on her second ability.

— ◈ [ Multi-Resistance ] ◈ —

Type: Passive

Description: Grants the user resistance against Fire, Poison, and Lightning.

— ◈ [ Multi-Resistance ] ◈ —

“….”

He already knew about this ability.

It was the reason Liren had survived the plague that swept through her town years ago.

The same plague–the poison spread by Dorian Voss that took everyone’s lives under the age of 20…. even her little brother.

Except her own.

And instead of being grateful for the miracle, the people had turned on her.

Dorian Voss had made sure of that.

He had whispered poison into their ears, spun rumors about her being an evil spawn, a curse in human form.

And they had believed him.

Even her own parents had believed him and abandoned her.

Left her alone to die for the crime she had not even committed.

And on top of all that, there was her curse.

— ◈ [ The Bleeding Heart ] ◈ —

Description: All emotions are amplified. Joy, sorrow, rage, love….. every feeling is felt more intensely and more vividly. This can be a source of great strength or great suffering, depending on the bearer’s state of mind.

— ◈ [ The Bleeding Heart ] ◈ —

He gritted his teeth.

Every ounce of sadness, every stab of betrayal, every moment of grief had all been amplified due to her emotions.

Magnified until it was unbearable.

He knew what it felt like, having experienced all the emotions she felt during that trial.

Even now, those faint traces of pain he remembered were enough to leave him shaken to his core.

He couldn’t even imagine living with that every single day.

Suddenly, something cool wrapped around his palms.

He looked down.

It was Liren’s hands that were wrapped around his own.

Her bluish-grey eyes met his, and there was a small, joyful smile on her face.

“You don’t need to feel sorry for my pain.” She said quietly. “It’s in the past now.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It is.” Her thumbs traced small circles against the back of his hands. “I’m not that person anymore. That Liren was different, and this Wraith Liren, who is in front of you, is different. And I also have you now.”

Mikael stared at her for a long moment and muttered…

“Idiot…. You shouldn’t have to comfort me about your own pain.”

She tilted her head. “Why not?”

“Because it’s not fair to you.”

“Fairness is…” She paused as she searched for the word. “It’s not important. You’re sad. I don’t want you to be sad. That’s all.”

He didn’t even know how to respond to that.

As she just held his hands a little tighter.

After a while, Liren said…

“Didn’t you say you want me to teach you… Essence control before the entrance exam?”

Mikael blinked.

“Ahh. Yes.”

“Let’s begin then. We only have a few hours before the sunrise.”

******