My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Chapter 1168: Chapter 1169: Circle Of Life And Death

She disliked this fog-covered path.

She hated the ghosts that wandered at the edge of her vision.

Their silent presence made her skin crawl, sending shivers down her spine.

Even so, they kept their distance.

The burning torches protected them.

Ghosts did not like fire.

What made her even more uncomfortable was the path itself.

It wasn’t made of stone.

It was made of countless dead.

The ground beneath their feet was a carpet of ancient skeletons, reduced to brittle bones by the passing of ages.

She didn’t like the fog either.

More than anything...

She wished the sun would rise.

Ranar clenched her torch a little tighter and continued walking through the eerie silence.

Then...

She heard a voice.

Someone was calling her.

She ignored it.

But the figure within the fog ignored the flames.

It slowly reached out toward her.

Ranar’s eyes widened.

She jerked her hand away and thrust her torch toward its face.

The flames washed over the figure.

Yet...

It didn’t retreat.

Nor did it distort like the other ghosts.

Ranar slowly raised her gaze.

A woman stood before her.

She was tall with a wild, untamed appearance.

Long dark hair flowed down her back.

Two magnificent antlers, like those of a stag, rose proudly from her head.

In her hand...

She held something Ranar had seen many times before.

A sword made of bone.

The woman’s eyes never left Ranar’s.

There was no hatred in them.

Only... longing.

Then, beneath the torchlight...

She disappeared.

"Hey."

"Why are you stopping?"

Ric turned around and found Ranar standing motionless.

She looked at him for a brief moment before lowering her eyes to the torch in her hand.

"...Mother."

Her voice was barely a whisper.

The path was so quiet that Gunter heard her.

"So..."

"You saw a loved one."

He sighed.

"Don’t trust them."

"Those aren’t the people you knew."

"They’re either ghosts..."

"...or remnants of the dead’s lingering desires."

His eyes drifted into the fog.

For a brief moment, his expression softened.

"I’ve seen plenty of people walk into the mist because they thought they heard someone they loved calling them."

"They never came back."

Ranar nodded silently.

She quickened her pace, walking closer to Ric.

Ric, meanwhile, kept glancing suspiciously into the fog with one hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

After walking in silence for a while, Ranar finally spoke.

"What happens to people..."

"...when they die?"

For some reason...

She desperately wanted to know.

Gia stopped walking.

She turned toward the little girl and offered a gentle smile.

"They go to heaven."

Perhaps it was a mother’s instinct.

She could tell Ranar was hurting.

No matter how powerful she was...

She was still only a ten-year-old girl.

"Hmph."

Gunter waved his hand dismissively.

"People die."

"That’s all."

"There’s nothing after that."

Ranar lowered her head.

So...

There was no afterlife.

No peace.

People simply ceased to exist.

Was that what happened to her mother?

Or had she become one of these wandering ghosts...

Forever searching for something she could never find?

At that moment...

She wished her father were here.

He always seemed to know the answers to impossible questions.

"That’s not true."

Ric’s voice suddenly broke the silence.

"My master and the blind old geezer are both incredibly knowledgeable."

"They know a lot about the gods... and the universe."

Ric glanced at Ranar as if emphasizing his point.

"When you die, your soul enters a god’s Circle of Life and Death."

"What happens afterward depends on which god’s circle you enter."

Gunter snorted.

"Really?"

"Don’t tell me you actually believe the Goddess takes us all to her divine domain after we die."

"What a load of rubbish."

"She doesn’t even care about us while we’re alive."

"Why would she care after we’re dead?"

"And what about those of us without faith?"

"What, do we just wander around as ghosts forever?"

Ric shook his head.

"Not really."

"You don’t have to believe in a god."

"Those without faith aren’t abandoned either."

"In that case, you most likely fall into the circle of a True Demon known as the Demon of Salvation."

"Those who enter her circle simply reincarnate."

Gunter let out a laugh.

"That sounds like a fairy tale."

"Aren’t demons supposed to be evil?"

"And what in the world is a True Demon?"

"I guess they’re like gods."

"Powerful."

"Absolute."

"Salvation is the rival of the Goddess of Doom."

"She governs the opposite of what Doom governs."

Ric answered so casually that he failed to realize just how shocking those words were.

The smirk on Gunter’s face slowly disappeared.

"Watch your mouth."

"Don’t speak so lightly about the Goddess."

"Unless you want the Temple hunting you."

"I know."

"But the Temple can’t touch me."

Ric replied without a trace of concern.

As far as Damon was concerned...

The Temple was nothing more than a gathering of clowns.

Ranar, on the other hand, listened with wide eyes.

Her father had never taught her any of this.

It was an entirely new world.

"Really?"

"Then... whose circle is my mother in?"

"She didn’t believe in the Goddess."

"At least... I don’t think she did."

Curiosity shone in her eyes.

Ric couldn’t help looking a little smug.

"Hmm..."

"That depends on how she died."

"People of faith are usually taken into the circle of the god they worship."

"But there are exceptions."

"The Unknown God can take souls from other circles."

"And there are those whose souls become part of the circle of the one who kills them."

"Though that’s mostly limited to those connected to the True Demons."

He spoke as though it were common knowledge.

"What was your mother like?"

"If she really was a monster who became human..."

"Then it’s probably either the Goddess or the Unknown."

"And from what you’ve told me..."

"...she wasn’t much of a believer."

"So she’s probably in the Unknown God’s circle."

Ranar suddenly became nervous.

"Is..."

"...is that a good thing?"

Ric stopped walking.

He looked down at the fog swirling around his feet.

"That depends."

"The Unknown God is a paradox."

"He is perfectly good..."

"...and perfectly evil."

"So your mother’s fate depends mostly on who she was."

Ranar’s face immediately turned pale.

Seeing that, Ric hurriedly waved his hands.

"B-but don’t worry."

"The Unknown God isn’t known for punishing people."

"So your mother most likely received a good outcome."

"What are the outcomes?"

The blue-haired merman boy asked while hiding behind the chubby beastkin boy.

Ric frowned as he tried to remember Damon’s lessons.

Along with what the blind old Daoist by the lake had taught him.

"There are three."

"The first..."

"He grants you eternal peace."

"A paradise created just for you."

"Your suffering ends."

"Your struggles end."

"Your resentment disappears."

"You finally know bliss."

Ric tried to imagine what such a place looked like.

"The second..."

"He gives you another chance."

"You reincarnate and continue your journey."

"It can be a good thing..."

"But there’s always the chance you’ll become one of his pawns in your next life."

"And the third..."

"...is torment."

"Or oblivion."

"But don’t worry."

"That’s incredibly rare."

"You’d have to be a truly special kind of evil before the Unknown God would choose to punish you."

"The old geezer by the lake says..."

"The Unknown God always asks."

"He lets you choose."

"After all..."

"He’s the God of Choice."

"And choice is one of the few things capable of moving his heart."

Ranar’s face immediately brightened.

"Hehe..."

"That Unknown God doesn’t sound so bad."

"I think I like him."

"I wouldn’t say that if I were you, little lady."

Gunter’s expression darkened.

"The Unknown God is the god worshipped by the demon races."

"Those bastards are pure evil."

Ric folded his arms.

His face instantly soured.

"And who told you that?"

"The clowns at the Temple?"

"You can’t judge an entire race like that."

"I just did."

Gunter’s voice became ice cold.

"They slaughtered my village during the Demon Wars."

"I was the only survivor."

"I’ve never forgotten."

"Screw the Empire for making peace with those bastards."

"I’ll never forgive them."

There was enough venom in his voice to curdle blood.

His grip tightened around the wooden torch until it cracked.

Burning splinters fell onto the ground.

Ranar looked at him quietly.

"Then..."

"Do you want to kill all the demons?"

"Yes."

"I would."

"If I could."

"But you can’t."

Ric answered coldly.

"And you never will."

The two stared at one another.

Neither looked away.

Ranar broke the silence.

"My mother was killed by someone called Morticai."

"My father really hates him."

"Whenever he says his name..."

"...he has the scariest expression."

"He still wants to kill Morticai."

"And I know he will."

She placed a hand over her chest.

"I don’t hate Morticai for killing my mother."

"I thought what he did was wrong."

"But..."

"I forgive him."

"Even though..."

"I can’t tell my father."

"I don’t want him to be disappointed in me."

She lowered her eyes.

"My father once said..."

"’Forgiveness is impossible.’"

"I don’t think he truly meant it."

"Because he was also the one who taught me..."

She paused before speaking softly.

"We wish to be good..."

"...but we fail to forgive."

"And so..."

"...we have war."

"...and never peace."

Gunter bit his lip until blood trickled into his mouth.

The metallic taste was bitter.

"You are naive."

"You can’t defeat anyone..."

"...with forgiveness."