IV: LUCÍA, THE PHANTOM QUEEN

Apparently, the walls of my room are painted in a pure white tone. Natural light streams through the wide windows, which are framed with white curtains that subtly let in daylight. The floor is covered with a fluffy pastel pink carpet, providing a sense of warmth and comfort.

The bed occupies the center of the room, dressed with cotton sheets and comforters in pastel colors such as lavender or peach. Decorative cushions in coordinating shades are piled on the headboard, adding a certain elegant touch. A light canopy stretches over the bed, creating a cozy corner.

The furnishings are white and delicate, with feminine details. An elegant dressing table with an oval mirror reflects the light softly, while an intricately carved dresser sits on top. A small study area has a white table and chair, perfect for moments of concentration and creativity.

In the corners, pots with fresh flowers add a touch of nature and freshness. On the walls, paintings of mystical landscapes complete the decor, creating a serene and cozy atmosphere. Overall, the room exudes an atmosphere of calm and elegance, designed to be the perfect retreat for a young woman in a castle.

When I contemplate the beauty of this room, I wonder if we are really in the castle of the Lich King, I did not think it was possible to find a place like this, I imagined it would be a dark and gloomy place...

After a slight moment of contemplation, Lilia throws herself on the bed without a second thought, ending up with her upper body lying on the bed and her legs going up and down with a slight 'puff' every time she hits the bed.

-How tiring! I'm so tired, aren't you, Mizuki? -As she says that, she pulls me to sit next to her.

- Yes, it was an exhausting day, especially the part before entering the Lich King's hall, although I never expected to be chased by a Dullahan so early in the story.... What level was it?

 -I think it was level 6,200?

-Level 6,700 and it still didn't reach us?! -How is that possible?!

 -Oh, don't worry about that, Sia was holding back, if she wanted to, she would have killed you before she could even say anything.

-Why was he holding back?

- It was my mother who ordered it, Lucia, the ghost lady - He sighs with resignation.

-Since I was little, my mother and my brothers have been bothering me, but there's nothing I can do.... -Uncomfortable silence.

- Have you tried to say anything to your father? -Lilia grabs a pillow to cover her mouth, letting out a muffled cry of frustration.

- I've already told you but you can't do anything! When... When my father is around, my mother behaves like a saint, but she's not like that! But well, I've already given up, besides, the rest of the people treat me very well, that's why Sia restrained herself, even if my mother later scolded her..... That's why my father still gave you his blessing, with his blessing the Undead will think twice before doing anything to you, killing the heir of a blessing is a very grave sin.

- It's like this...

 - Yes! So don't worry! Besides, no one will hurt you if I'm next to you," he says as he puffs out his chest.

- Thank you, Lilia. - After this, I lay down on the bed, I think I surprised Lilia because she blushed slightly, so I took the opportunity to hug her.

- Mi-Mi-Mi-Mizuki?! - I was really upset about what I did, but, I don't care, she's my first friend in this new world so it's okay right? I slowly feel sleep taking over me and I fall asleep.

Meanwhile Lilia stayed all the time next to Mizuki, embarrassed, but to a certain extent, she didn't want it to end, in both of their heads was "My first friend".

After a few hours of sleep, Mizuki finally starts to wake up, however, a soft sensation was in her hand 'chuff' 'chuff', something was squeezing

- Soft? -I feel something soft on my hand, what is it? I slowly raise my head, observing what I felt, but I stop when I see a tomato-red Lilia.

-I-I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to Lilia- Geez! Really, Mizuki, did you have to do that?! I thought it only happened in manga!

Some time passed and Lilia was still the same.

- This... Lilia? Are you okay? Earth to Lilia! - Could it be that Lilia.exe stopped working?

-D-Don't worry...

After a while, that was all Lilia said, although she was still red. Suddenly, someone started knocking on the door.

-Excuse me, is this Miss Mizuki's room?

It was the language of the Undead, who could it be?

- Y-Yes?

- Her Majesty requests an audience in the potions room. - Did you wait for him to rest? By the way, what time will it be? I forgot here the time is not very precise...

-I understand, I'm on my way!

- I will communicate this to His Majesty.

After that, the noise stopped and Lilia returned to normal, well, to some extent.

- Lilia, can you guide me to the potions room?

- S-Sure, Mizuki.

She still looks slightly flushed, but at least she moves more naturally and not like a robot all stiff, how cute.

As they reached the potions room the ebony door opened with an eerie sound, revealing a hallway that seemed to stretch into infinite darkness. Emerald torches flickered, casting deathly glows at the entrance.

The room was in darkness, black candles, suspended in the air by an ancient magic, emitted a greenish glow that danced eerily. Shadows played in the corners, creating a gloomy and tenebrous atmosphere.

Solid stone tables, carved with ominous symbols, housed jars and bottles of various shapes and sizes. Here rested ingredients such as bones of mystical creatures, essences of the undead, and strange liquids. The jars contained liquids ranging from emerald hues to deeper blacks. As one approached, flashes of necrotic energy could be seen sparkling within. One could feel the vibration of contained magic.

Iron cauldrons bubbled with steaming substances. Ancient stills distilled essences of black magic, infusing the room with a pungent and unnerving aroma. The walls were decorated with arcane symbols and masterfully engraved runes.

The air was saturated with magical energy, creating a palpable sense of spiritual presence. An almost sepulchral silence pervaded the room, interrupted only by the occasional whisper of magic in action.

-Why are there almost no people in the room? -I asked, looking at Lilia who was just as dumbfounded as I was, but for different reasons.

-It can't be, since when do they use this room! Look Mizuki, the cauldrons are on! -You could see a glint in her eyes and a big smile of astonishment, is this really the potions room? You would think it would be more extensive or that there would be people watching it 24/7, but....

- Is it normal for it to be this empty? - I keep my eyes on Lilia.

- No, it's not normal... -Hearing that made me let out a sigh of relief.

-It's usually emptier, if you look closely, you'll see that there are ghostly traces which means there were people there before, plus, it looks cleaner than usual. Isn't it amazing! They did it all for you!

- I-is that so...? A-All this, His Majesty was supposed to summon me, wasn't he? Where could he be?

 - Now that you mention it... It's true...

Without warning, a voice sounds from the other side of the door, a voice that echoes in the gloom with a singular melody, an enveloping whisper that seems to reverberate in the shadows. Each word it utters carries echoes of a past life, a soft but imposing echo that reverberates in the consciousness of those who hear it. A powerful and hypnotic voice. At the appearance of this mysterious voice, Lilia begins to chant an incantation, I can only hear the end of the incantation [Sound filter] Once finished, the reverberating sound of that voice ceased and with it her enchantment.

 - Are you already here? - asked that voice, I can't see anyone, but there is a voice.

- Princess Lilia, greet her highness; ghost queen, Lucia. - Lilia proceeds to bow to the air, so I introduce myself and proceed to bow.

- At least you know the least bit of manners, huh? - He whispered very low but I could still understand him, I doubt he even tried not to let me hear him.

 - Mizuki, intruder in my realm of shadows, listen to my words with caution. I have decided that your presence here deserves special attention, though my distaste for your being seeps like an icy wind between us. You will create the potion of "Spectral Beauty" . Expect no worldly reward; your payment will be the experience, but, know that my tolerance for you has limits. My servants will provide you with the necessary ingredients, now then, I am leaving, you have 10 days to brew the potion.

After saying that, the queen disappeared and Lilia sighed in relief.

-Is it always like this, Lilia?

- No, today was extremely soft. - He said looking angrily at the trail left by the queen, a trail so dense that even I could see it. Before he spoke again, he shut up and hinted to me to do the same.

- Here are the materials for the potion. -It was a ghost who was moving the ingredients, he had the form of an old man, but a ghostly glow -Without saying anything else, he disappeared, among the ingredients were; Moonshadow powder, Increases the glow of the skin (Even ghostly skin); Tears of the spirit of the mermaid, grants a subtle melancholy to the appearance; Essence of the mist of oblivion, its main effect is to 'go unnoticed' but in certain cases, it can do the opposite; Spectral rose petals, bestows an intoxicating scent to the essence itself; Ethereal spring water, enhances skin clarity, youthfulness and mysticism, difficult to achieve; Astral reflection crystals, enhances skin luminescence.

All are high rank materials and there are several that are difficult to obtain, at least they left the recipe, let's see the recipe says;

In a mithril cauldron pour 300ml of ethereal spring water and heat to 50°C; add the 15 tears of the mermaid spirit and stir until it has been integrated; add the 25 petals of the spectral rose and 20ml of essence of oblivion, add 5 crystals of astral reflection and 10g of moon dust shadow, when finished, recite the incantation "In the light of the moon, in the shadow of eternity, the Phantom Beauty is born."

- Hey... Lilia... After looking at the recipe carefully, you can see several flaws, first, why the temperature is kept uniform and at 50°C, at 50°C either certain materials do not integrate well or on the contrary, others lose much of their effect.

- uhm... I don't know... I don't know... I don't usually use this room? - Seems like it really doesn't taste, well... I guess I'll try to follow the recipe first and see what happens....

- W-Well, I'm going to start, I would suggest that you not be here, but do you want to join me?

 - Yes, I've never done potions before!

- You won't do anything, just watch - I feel that there is something wrong with the formula, but for the moment I won't do anything, I will just wait.

I carefully poured the 300 ml of ethereal spring water into the mithril cauldron, watching the moonlight dance on its surface. With determination, I heated the water to 50°C, being meticulous in maintaining the precise temperature.

I added the 15 tears of the mermaid spirit reverently, allowing her melancholy to merge with the ethereal liquid. As I stirred, I could feel the magic rising, creating an ethereal symphony in the cauldron.

The petals of the spectral rose and the essence of oblivion continued in harmony. With each addition, the fragrance and texture of the mixture took shape. With great care, I dropped the astral reflection crystals and moon dust into the mixture, watching the potion come to life.

As I finished, I recited the incantation with respect and determination, "In the light of the moon, in the shadow of eternity, the Phantom Beauty is born."

However, when analyzing the results, only two potions could be considered "successful". The promised simplicity of the recipe did not guarantee the desired success...

Changing my approach, I determine that I will modify the formula according to my perception. The new composition unfolds as follows: in my alchemy, I use a refined silver cauldron with a capacity of 500 ml. I pour precisely 100 ml of ethereal spring water, raising the temperature to 110°C, slightly above the boiling point of water.

Meticulously, I deposit the astral reflection crystals, one by one, waiting for the previous one to dissolve. When the five crystals are completed, the spring water has practically given up its liquid form, leaving behind a shimmering paste. This amalgam becomes sticky, radiating an enigmatic glow.

I lower the temperature to 40°C and gradually incorporate the tears of the mermaid's spirit. The initial pure white glow transmutes into a melancholy blue. I carefully stir the mixture until the color becomes uniform. Then, I reduce the fire to 30°C and add the essence of the mist of oblivion. The tonality changes to a light blue, and I persist in the stirring until a perfect uniformity is achieved.

At this point, I add an additional 200 ml of ethereal spring water to the sky blue. I adjust the temperature to 25°C and add the spectral rose petals. I observe how the upper part of the liquid turns a transparent white, contrasting with the lower part, which takes on a whitish blue. Once everything is in place, I shake deftly until the blue color becomes almost imperceptible at room temperature. As a final touch, I cautiously incorporate the moon shadow powder and to finish, I recite the spell described in the book. And the end result is...

- Success! The first potion is a success and is of rank Rare+.

-Congratulations Mizuki!

-No, not yet, it could have been a coincidence, I will keep trying.

And so time passed, the result now is that 5 out of 10 potions is a success, well, it's better than before, but I feel it can still be optimized....

It has been 5 days and I have already made 20 potions, but, the formula is still bad.... still, only 6 out of 10 attempts are working... I don't like it, I feel it can be better, AI, can you help me?

AI: Analyzing...

AI takes a while to analyze substances but is useful.

IA: Result obtained, ways to optimize the formula: [long text]

I understand, I understand the theory behind it and there are the necessary ingredients and materials, I guess I can do it, right? Well, let's get to work!

The process has now become quite complicated, but it is still possible, the procedure is now as follows:

In the Soul Extractor, precisely place 50 ml of ethereal spring water together with the rose petals. Activate the "Centrifugation" and "Extraction" mode.

In a Magical Suspension Instrument, designed for souls, arrange the essence of oblivion in the center and strategically distribute 15 mermaid spirit tears around it, forming an intriguing solar-like system. Initiate the rotation of the suspended components with a decreasing speed of 0.1 per ring, allowing the mermaid tears to resonate harmoniously until a siren song is awakened.

In the Soul Oven, insert 100 ml of ethereal spring water and the five astral reflection crystals at the same time. Bake evenly at 270°C for 3 minutes or until a viscous paste is obtained.

Heat an unrefined Pure Silver Cauldron to 30°C and add 100 ml of ethereal spring water.

Pour the "Mermaid Harmonic Essence" (result of step 2) into the cauldron and stir until the water takes on a pink and light blue hue.

Reduce the heat to 10°C and add the Spectral Rose Condensed Extract (result of step 1). Stir until a purple hue is achieved.

Distil the mixture into another container.

Combine the viscous paste and the distillate in a bowl. Stir until the paste takes on a blue or pastel pink hue; otherwise, the result will be considered a failure if the purple color persists.

Heat the viscous mass in an oven at a temperature of 1000°C for 3 seconds.

Dissolve the resulting mixture in 100 ml of ethereal spring water.

After hours of exhausting work, this was the result, a "Potion of Spectral Beauty (SSR)" With my current skills 1 out of 10 attempts I get a SSR potion, 4 out of 10 attempts I get a potion of SR rank and the rest of the time I usually get a potion of R rank, very few times I get a failure. The "Creation" skill has improved to level 4 in a few days, it levels up more by creating rarer items or innovating more than following the same recipe, even if it is a failure it levels up the skill, in fact, if it is a failure it usually goes up from 2 to 5 times the normal, but they must be failures for progress, it is no good if you fail in an item by your own will. The rate it takes me to make potions is 1 every 30 minutes, but if I do it with the "Creation" interface it becomes 1 every hour and a half.

It's been 10 days and I made a lot of spectral beauty potions, I have 3 potions of SSR rank, 25 of SR rank, 70 of R rank, Lilia helped me to make some, but she could only make R rank, never mind, it's time for me to go introduce myself to the Ghost Queen, Lucia.

With Lilia's help, I get to where the door to the ghost queen's room, the door is similar to the one in The Lich King, but its writing is different: "Born of everyone's desire and dead at everyone's hands, whom madness consumed by the desire for attention, beautiful daughter born of hope and dead by her misfortune, may the light depart from your body and soul being only echoes of an endless 'Fantasia', so here lives the Ghost queen."

The entrance to the ghost queen's room is hidden behind curtains of mist that vanish at the slightest touch. A dim light, coming from magic candles floating in the air, illuminates the space. The floor, invisible to the naked eye, seems to be made of shadows that dance in response to my steps, fear invades me again thinking that I might fall, but my will makes me forget those thoughts.

The walls are decorated with constantly changing patterns, showing various scenes from what I assume, is his past, alternate presents and glimpses of the underworld. An antique mirror, its contours blurring like fog, reflects an image not of flesh and blood, but of a spectral beauty, as I look sideways at myself in the mirror I see myself in a ghostly form, suffering somewhere, I do my best to avoid looking into that mirror. 

The royal bed, suspended in the air, is covered with silk sheets that flow like mist. Around it, cushions and pillows embroidered with silver thread form a regal corner. As you approach, a whisper of forgotten melodies emanates from nowhere.

An antique dressing table, adorned with spectral jewels, displays crowns and tiaras that give off beautiful flashes of moonlight. The queen walks among the vestiges of her past life, observing with eyes that contemplate beyond the known dimensions. Eyes that have seen things beyond our reasoning.

The ghost queen's room is a fusion of the real and the surreal, where reality and fantasy converge in a space that reflects her royalty and her connection to realms beyond the tangible. However, a specific corner, next to her bed, on her nightstand, reveals an intriguing aspect. Several bottles of elixirs are scattered about, some with liquids spilling everywhere, creating an unusual clutter amidst the elegance.

This area, seemingly overlooked, raises several questions for me. Do these neglected bottles represent unfinished alchemical experiments? Or are they reflections of the queen's turbulent emotions, manifested in the form of spilled elixirs? The nightstand, with its apparent carelessness, becomes a white elephant in the room, an obvious but unaddressed presence.

Although the ethereal servants move silently about the room, they carefully avoid this particular corner, as if recognizing the importance of their disorderly existence. The queen, immersed in her own thoughts and memories, seems not to notice or be disturbed by the apparent chaos that manifests itself beside her. This little mess, with its spilled bottles, stands as a constant reminder of something she seems to prefer not to confront.

- Your Majesty, I present myself, I am Mizuki, I come before you to deliver the potions you have requested. - No response, it's as if you don't notice me. I insist on introducing myself again, but the answer is the same, it is not until one of his servants rings a bell that he comes to, albeit with bloodshot eyes.

-What's going on? Why are you ringing that damn bell! - His face and body changed, deformed in a very grotesque way and his color changed partially to a bright red.

- My lady, young Mizuki has brought your order. -Hearing the words of her servant, the queen returned to normal, she focused her eyes on me, I had not seen him well for a while, but the faint spectral light that surrounds the queen prevents me from seeing him completely, I try to concentrate as much as I can to observe her but I can only see some tiny details: Her long dress that floats around her, as if suspended in the air, with ethereal folds that dance with every movement. Though the fabric seems to fade into the darkness, it leaves behind a trail of ethereal sparkles. The crown that adorns her head glows with a soft radiance, recalling the majesty she once represented in life. Although, her face is shrouded in a veil her eyes can be seen, eyes that sparkle with an unusual light. Though lacking the warmth of life it feels somewhat strange in these. Still, I feel as if what I see is only a mere memory of what she once was....

- The potions. - It was the only thing he said as he stood upright where he was, he said it in a very haughty way, but I have no choice but to endure, do I?

- Here it is, my lady, there are 98 potions of which there are 3 SSR rank potions. - Before I could explain anything else, she teleported the potions directly into her hand and drank them, for a second, I saw the fire in her eyes change, from a pure white fire, to a mixture of silver and bluish hues with a purple stripe around where her pupils should be, as if the stars themselves had materialized in her eyes. The look emanating from them takes on a hypnotic intensity, an expression of desire that awakens at the irresistible temptation of potions. Her eyes, normally enigmatic, now reveal a glint of longing and yearn for the potions. Without waiting any longer, the potions take effect and the Queen, normally transparent, now looks brighter and more defined than before.

The mystical environment of her room is shaken, the shadows move with greater ferocity and the ghosts the same, the atmosphere begins to feel heavy and starts to get out of control, the Queen, after drinking more than 50 potions at a time begins to laugh like an unbridled maniac, the flames in her eyes begin to glow at different intensities without a defined interval, Lilia began to tremble and so did I, the very space inside the room begins to change, it shrinks and enlarges at the same time, the queen's laughter becomes louder and louder. Her glow has begun to fail. Suddenly, peace... No more laughter is heard and the room has returned to how it was before but somehow or other it has lost a certain mysticism.... As I look at the door I see Aku, The Lich King. He approaches us and asks.

- With... Did you consume any potion or elixir?

I can't say anything, I'm still in shock about what happened, so I just nod my head and point to the potions, now scattered all over the place. Aku walks over to these and bending down touches them, then, sighs again.

- Don't... Don't make any more potions for the queen, okay? No, don't do anything for the queen, if she speaks to you, ignore her -I nod again and Aku leaves without another word. Slowly, my senses previously numbed by fear, awaken almost completely, I can only see how Lilia has a tight grip on my arm, so tight that it has turned red....

-We should get out of this place -I tell Lilia and she nods, Lilia is shaking much more than me, her breathing and pulse are no longer normal, her heart rate has increased so much that her temperature is now normal, her eyes are not focused on any special place, she is looking everywhere, she is in a state of hypervigilance... What the hell happened...?