The Lantern's Pull...

Aetherion… The Azure Continent…

"So, this is where the Soul Fragment's life energy appears…" A young woman, wearing a dark robe, stepped out from a crack in the sky, emerging from a void.

Upon stepping outside, the woman took out a small device and examined it. The green crystal inside glowed brightly, pointing to a specific spot ahead.

[Warning…]

[Warning…]

[Intruder Detected…]

[A character that doesn't belong to this area has broken through…]

[Elimination Penalty will commence in 30 minutes…]

As the woman put away the device, multiple warnings and blue screens flashed before her eyes.

"The higher-ups were right… I don't have much time… I need to find the Soul Fragment quickly and leave this place…"

After reading the system's warning messages, the woman, moving as swiftly as a gust of wind, rushed toward the indicated location.

...

"Kid... Stay calm... There's nothing to be afraid of... I'll help you," Jiho said quickly after merging with the boy's body, who was trembling from the torment they had endured.

He was concerned the boy might panic and escalate the situation. Who wouldn't be terrified if someone else's voice suddenly echoed in their head? Even Jiho himself would likely panic in such a situation.

Fortunately, due to prior experience, he didn't need to worry about communication. He only needed to disguise himself as an exceptionally powerful figure, much like the characters from fantasy novels, and attempt to guide the frightened boy with gentle words.

Unfortunately, the terrified boy couldn't understand his words. In fear, the boy merely whimpered and fainted.

The other bullies, seeing the boy collapse, also fled in fear. Meanwhile, two guards who had turned away earlier now arrived at the scene, noticing the boy's fainted state. They looked at the boy with concern.

Meanwhile, Jiho, who had merged with the boy, observed the surrounding darkness and saw the boy, who seemed to be crying, sitting in the middle of a memory.

When Jiho inspected more closely, he realized the child was younger than he had initially thought—most likely around 8 or 9 years old. The boy's clear, bright eyes and pale skin were a stark contrast to the worn clothes he wore. If the child were given proper attire, they might easily be mistaken for a young lord.

The boy, still in a daze, slowly moved toward Jiho, but as soon as he saw him, he panicked and tried to run away.

Jiho noticed the main issue now: how could the boy not be frightened? His appearance, with its grayish aura, was anything but reassuring. The boy's reaction was completely understandable.

Thinking quickly, Jiho concentrated and imagined his former appearance. He focused on transforming his form, and fortunately, luck was on his side.

Though his friends and acquaintances from his previous life often remarked that his appearance was good, he himself could not see it that way. With brown eyes, jet-black hair, a thin body, and a height of 175 centimeters, along with glasses, he always felt that his appearance resembled that of a librarian. However, compared to his current smoky-grey appearance, it was undoubtedly much better.

Meanwhile, the boy stared in confusion at Jiho, who had changed from a ghostly figure into a human form.

Jiho, now in his familiar human form, crouched a short distance from the boy, trying to smile reassuringly. "Hey, kid. Don't be scared. I'm here to help."

The boy flinched at his voice, his eyes wide with fear and confusion. Jiho quickly realized the issue—they didn't speak the same language. The boy was completely baffled by the unfamiliar words.

"Great," Jiho muttered under his breath, running a hand through his hair. "Of course, it couldn't be that easy."

Everything seemed fine at first, but now he was faced with the worst possible problem: not knowing how to help. What could he do when there was no way to communicate? The novels he had read were nothing like this. In those novels, all the different languages used in various worlds were somehow the same. But reality was far from that.

However, since there were no bullies around to harm the child anymore, Jiho didn't need to stay attached to him. If he stayed too long, the child's fragile spirit could be overwhelmed by Dark Energy, leading to terrible consequences. So, after giving the boy one last reassuring smile and a wave, Jiho detached himself and withdrew.

The guards hadn't noticed his departure. From the looks of it, no one here could see him. In other words, this meant that he could finally do what he intended. For example, if he were to enter the highest tower of the grand palace, what would await him there?

Jiho, filled with anticipation, soared into the air.

As he flew through the mist, he suddenly spotted a fast-moving black speck in the distance. It was rapidly approaching him.

What could move that quickly in the air?

Jiho watched intently, and as the speck drew closer, he could make out the shape of a woman dressed in black.

The woman, with a dark, flowing figure, paused mid-air, staring at an unseen spirit. Her eyes widened, and she turned to look at the compass she was holding.

Hadn't she come to this place to find a soul fragment of an outer god? Why else would she be guided to a spirit by the compass capable of finding the Soul Fragments of powerful Outer Gods? Even though she shifted her position, the compass continued pointing in the same direction.

[Warning…]

[Warning…]

[Intruder elimination penalty will start in 1 minute…]

The sudden appearance of system warnings caused the woman to lose her train of thought. With no more time to waste, she decided to take the spirit the compass was pointing to and deliver it to the higher-ups. She grabbed the spirit and pulled it into the Eclipsion lantern.

Unaware of the system's workings or the blue screen that had appeared, Jiho, mistaking the woman for a fellow wandering spirit, prepared to bid his farewell. Yet, before he could utter even a single word, an intense pulling force emerged from the mysterious lantern in the woman's hand and drew him in entirely.

Everything around him went dark, and he lost consciousness.

"Well… it's done. All I have to do is deliver this spirit to the higher-ups... I expect that the Outer God Soul Fragment will be linked to this spirit in some way…" After absorbing the spirit into the lantern, the woman opened a portal to the air domain and exited before the system penalty could take effect.

Then, everything returned to normal, and no one on Aetherion ever learned of these events.

End - 8