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BLACK SOULS
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~~[Dungeon]~~
"Where am I...?", Cold stone pressed against Grimm's back as she woke up again. The smell of rot filled the air. Unconsciously, Grimm brought her hand closer to her head, pushed the helmet open, and rubbed her forehead.
"...", Memories came flooding in her head as she found herself gathering her mind. Her mouth opened softly, but Grimm found no strength to say any more words.
Her body felt cold. It was like a nightmare.
"Alice.", Grimm spoke softly. She murmured the name of the one and only person that she had met from the first time she woke up. Silently, she stayed seated for several seconds with closed eyes. 'It was a dream, right?'
Her eyes slowly opened as she looked around.
She was in a cell, alone with a skeleton by her side. The metal bars in front of her stood strong, while the walls around her, which encapsulated her, had several cracks and severe moss all over them.
The brown leather armor covered her body, with the same metal helmet and chainmail under her armor. The only addition to her clothing was the violet cape that hung on her back.
'I must move now.', Grimm thought as she slowly stood up. Her eyes landed on the single ring that hung on her forefinger. It was a silver ring with a red gem attached to it. 'The [Life Ring].'
"...", Then her eyes searched for any weapon she might have. Her hands finally reached a small dagger, which she slowly pulled out and swung in the air. After making a few slashes in the air with her knife to at least adapt to using the knife, her body felt unnaturally more flexible as each second passed by.
*Thump* *Thump* *Thump*
Grimm's ears perked up as she suddenly heard someone approaching her place. With some hesitation, Grimm gripped her blade as she opened her mouth and shouted with everything she had, "Is someone there? Please help me!"
"SQUEAK! ONIK!! Grakk!"
As soon as her voice died down, Grimm jumped back in fright as a body suddenly flung itself in front of the ground in front of her. The humanoid person had a fat body with a pig's head for her face.
The slow steps approached her place.
Despite her fear, Grimm quickly lowered her helmet, covered her face, and slowly walked a bit closer to the metal bars and peeked out. Then she saw something extremely holy and beautiful. There it was, a woman with golden blonde hair and sky-blue eyes approaching her.
A white armor with golden lines covered her whole body. Her hand was gripping a simple sword with blood on it. Her blue eyes seem to have been holding onto some firm will.
"You...", As the knight's eyes are on her, her slightly widened in astonishment. For a moment, the woman hesitated with a frown forming on her face, as if thinking of what to say, maybe not expecting anyone 'alive'. "You're a strange undead... There is still light of life in your eyes."
"If you hear the voice of god, please move your feet. And bring that light to this world.", The woman gently said. Without expecting any reply from her, she grabbed the back neck of the fallen pig abomination, threw it to the base of the metal bars, gave Grimm a glance, and walked away.
"..."
As if understanding the task, Grimm quickly reached the corpse, her eyes and hands instantly scanning the monster's body, and found a few pairs of bronze keys hidden in the clothes of the monster.
The bronze key instantly passed through the keyhole in the jail door, letting Grimm open the door.
Maybe due to oiling issues, the door made a creaking noise, and as soon as she walked out, she found the woman waiting by the side of the cell, leaning against the wall made of bricks with a smile. Her face was much softer than it was before when she saw her.
With a small wave of her hand, the woman opened her mouth, "Surprising... Is this divine guidance, too? My apologies for scaring you, hmmm... Well, my name is Jeanne D'Arc. You can just call me Jeanne. I hail from Orleans. Can you please tell me your name? And where are you from?"
Jeanne looked back at Grimm, expecting her name.
"My name is Grimm. I... I don't know where I am from. Neither do I have any memories of what is going on.", Grimm nodded softly and responded back with some hesitation.
It felt like fate was a thing as this was the second person she had met, and the person felt weirdly comforting to her.
Jeanne had a calming aura around her that made her feel at ease.
"I see. Grimm...", Jeanne murmured her name. Maybe because she was undead, Grimm's voice was hoarse, making her mistakenly believe that Grimm was a woman. With a nod, Jeanne continued, "Grimm, the world is in flames. I shall continue my mission after I take you to a safe spot."
"Now, please follow me.", Without looking back for a reply, Jeanne straightened her body and started walking.
Grimm instantly started following her. She didn't know where she was taking her but hearing her say that she would take her to a safe place, Grimm decided to follow her.
Jeanne felt slightly trustworthy.
As soon as she followed Jeanne, she saw Jeanne suddenly stop and make a shushing motion, earning her a nod from her. In front of them, there was a small gap on the side.
Jeanne slowly peeked into the side and motioned Grimm to do so. As they both peaked around, they saw the same brute, almost like the pig abomination that Jeanne had killed previously, sleeping on a tree slab.
Its body was covered with a white shirt, brown pants, and dark shoes like the previous one. The brute was snoring so loudly that its nose vibrated with each of its breaths.
'How was it still asleep even after so much commotion?', Grimm's eyebrows frowned, but she remained silent. Her eyes slowly looked at Jeanne, who slowly rubbed her chin.
Her eyes slowly looked back at Grimm. She then motioned Grimm's dagger and made a slitting motion around her neck and pointed at the monster. She looked sternly at Grimm as she did so.
'She wants me to kill it!?', Grimm felt taken aback. Her grip on her dagger tightened. 'Why? She could kill it without any resistance.'
Several thoughts rushed into Grimm's mind, but she decided to nod her head back at Jeanne. Her hands held the knife as she pig-like abomination snorted in its sleep, a grotesque bubbling sound emanating from its snout.
This would be her first conscious kill. If she was in a deadly situation, she would have done it without any hesitation, but this... This felt more intentional. Her hand trembled slightly.
Maybe, because of being unfortunate, the brute's snort showed signs of stopping. Grimm panicked as she realized it. Her jaw hardened as she rushed forward.
There was no time for her to hesitate anymore.
-Swish!
In one swift motion, she lunged forward, driving her dagger straight into its throat, stabbing deeply into the monster's throat.
-Sprut!
Hot, viscous blood spurted across her hands, and some splashed onto her helmet, painting her face with it.
Her other hand instantly went to press the brute's head onto the table, giving it no chance to struggle. There was a chance for it to counterattack her, which Grimm wished to avoid at all costs.
The creature's eyes shot open, bulging with shock and pain. It thrashed violently but couldn't make a sound beyond a wet gurgle as its lifeblood poured out.
"OINK! 2*&!*@& OINK!!"
The monster's movements grew weaker with each passing second, its limbs twitching before falling still. When it was finally over, Grimm stumbled back, breathing heavily, her hands slick with red blood.
Her stomach churned.
"Ugh.", A nauseous feeling overwhelmed Grimm. Her hands instantly pushed open her helmet as she felt vomit build up in her stomach. "Cough. Cough.", Only coughs came out of her mouth, maybe because of her undead constitution.
Long strands of dark grey hair slowly slipped from her helmet as she slipped onto her legs to control her coughs. Her eyes wandered on them as she found them painted in red blood.
Jeanne instantly approached her, patted her back, and whispered softly, "Well done. I am sorry to put you through such a stressful situation..."
Grimm gritted her teeth and resorted back in annoyance, "Why? You could have killed it yourself!", Although she asked it back, in her mind, she felt hypocritical.
Expecting someone to kill someone else just for her? Why should she expect someone to kill anyone with life in it just to keep a stranger like her alive? She would eventually have to get blood on her hands anyway.
"You are a girl...?", As soon as Jeanne saw her face, a disbelief flashed across her face, which she instantly shook off. "I am extremely sorry. The world is in great peril… I just wished to prepare you for the future."
"The whole world is full of such monsters. To make sure that you are ready to face them, I have decided to train you slightly till you reach the 'Holy Forest', the home of fairies, so that no harm shall fall upon you later on."
Jeanne responded. Her voice was filled with hesitation, but she extended her right hand to Grimm, trying to help her stand up. "Under my protection, you won't be hurt. Please don't worry."
"...", Grimm took her hand as she stood up. Her eyes surveyed her. Her mind couldn't comprehend her thoughts, "Why...? Why are you trying to help me? To a stranger like me?"
"Haha. Because that's the right thing to do! I believe every life has value. Mine, yours, everyone's! Each of us matters. By saving you, I am helping preserve something greater than my own life.", Jeanne smiled back. Her smile felt like a warm sun on a cold day. "I am saving an idea."
She patted Grimm on her back as she continued, "If I can help someone in danger, I won't just stand by and watch, and I hope you, too, shall not hesitate to save someone."
Her soft voice hung in the air, leaving Grimm in silence.
Grimm's hands slowly lowered the helmet. A small smile had formed on her face unknowingly. A soft yet sad murmur escaped her throat, "A savior... A Hero? Can I even call myself as such? I am but a coward..."
As soon as Grimm murmured it, her eyes caught black smoke forming on the chest of the brute. Golden sparks flowed along with the smoke. Grimm felt like a moth drawn to a fire as she saw it!
"What's that...?"
Without thinking, Grimm reached out and touched it.
The moment her fingertips made contact, the smoke suddenly dissolved into a stream of darkness that flowed directly into her palm. Grimm gasped back at her hand, making Jeanne look at her weirdly.
Grimm looked back at her and explained the situation to her.
"Ten...", Grimm whispered back in a daze, somehow knowing the exact number. It was as if a new stream of information suddenly flowed into her brain. That black steam had now formed a small imaginary orb around the middle of her chest.
"Ten souls."
Grimm looked down at her hands in a daze.
"Jeanne", Grimm called her out and told her about her situation. "Do you know anything about it?"
Jeanne unconsciously rubbed her chin as she responded back in surprise. "I've never seen anything like that before... Souls can only be absorbed when found in physical manifestation. They don't typically appear as orbs from the fallen, at least not in any way that can be harnessed."
She seemed both confused and intrigued. "You absorbed them? And you feel like you can release them at will?"
Grimm nodded, "I think so...? I feel the dark smoke flow like blood in my body.", Her words made Jeanne fall into silence for a moment, deep in thought. "Come," she finally said. "Let's search this place before moving on. I shall explain to you before we move on."
She led Grimm further down the south of the jail corridor, stopping occasionally to rummage through debris and abandoned crates. As they slowly approached the end of the hallway, in one particularly dusty container, Jeanne found something that made her pause.
"Here," Jeanne said, carefully extracting a small spherical object with a like pattern on it. It was light grey in color, almost pearlescent, with a dim glow emanating from within.
"This is what we call a [Fading Soul]. If not taken or used for too long, they eventually dissipate, returning to the ether, so to speak." She placed the orb in Grimm's palm.
"Keep it," Jeanne said. "It might prove useful to you."
After explaining so, Jeanne slowly straightened up, brushing dust from her clothes. "I believe we've rested enough," she declared, her tone shifting back to seriousness. "It's time to go." Without waiting for a response, Jeanne turned and walked toward a staircase at the far end of the corridor.
Grimm quickly pocketed the fading soul and took one final look around the cell block. Finding nothing else of value among the refuse, she hurried after Jeanne, trying to follow her up the stairs.
As her body reached the surface, a blinding light covered her eyes. Grimm felt as if her eyes were on fire, making her groan.
But as the light faded out, her eyes met with something spectacular.
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[2305]
Don't forget to give me a comment, reply, or power stone! They give me motivation!
Thank you!
-SR_2027.
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