"Silly," she said, grinning. "It's me. Elva. Did you forget already?"

What the fuck?

How the hell is this Elva?

Alden's eyes widened as he looked at the floating figure.

A beautiful girl with platinum blonde hair and golden pupils, wearing a celestial white outfit adorned with shifting golden runes.

She looked about the same age as Alden.

"What? Didn't recognize me?" she teased.

"You literally changed species. How was I supposed to know?" Alden replied flatly.

"Come on, be honest, would your wife be jealous?" Her voice was silky smooth.

He didn't answer the question and just smiled softly.

"So what's up with the makeover?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"Yeah, this temple kinda wrecked my looks… turned me into a lizard after a few centuries of being trapped." Elva floated dramatically, her arms crossed.

Then her expression shifted just slightly. "Still… I'm thankful for it."

"Huh? Why would you be thankful to be a lizard?" Alden frowned.

__

Elva looked at Alden quietly.

His question was innocent… too innocent. And yet… she didn't know how to answer it.

Her original form was a curse in this temple. It made people trust her, love her… until their wills broke.

Then, they called her monster.

So she'd wished to become a monster because that made it easier.

Easier to fight.

Easier to kill.

Easier to be hated.

Because being hated hurt less than being loved and abandoned.

When they pitied her—when they trusted her—

They begged.

They cried.

They called her by name.

And in the end...

… they always died anyway.

Calling her a monster.

So she asked the temple: 'Take my face. Give me fangs. Give me claws. Make me inhuman.'

And it did.

But she didn't know how to say all that.

So she just shook her head with a smile.

"Well… I am a bit crazy."

__

Alden looked at Elva's smile. It wasn't bright. It looked tired. Like someone carrying too much to say anything at all.

But he didn't ask. It wasn't his place to.

Elva broke the silence first. "So… you going to the next chamber or just vibe here with a pretty ghost?"

Alden grinned. "I was trying to figure out which part of you counts as 'pretty' now."

She raised a brow. "Excuse you, I was a national beauty of my country."

"So, how did you end up here?" Alden asked.

He was really curious. From the way she talked, the way she moved—She wasn't just some construct of this temple.

She had been human once.

Elva floated down slightly, her expression softening.

"It's a long story…" she said, voice quieter now. "But the short version?"

A pause. "I was sacrificed by my own family to this temple."

Alden's expression darkened.

Sacrificed. By her own family.

He couldn't imagine it.

…Or maybe he could.

The 'family' he had grown with was never kind to him either.

A noble house full of cold shoulders and cruel smiles. Half-brothers who treated him like dirt. A father who never looked him in the eyes.

He was sure… if Draven's could have gotten some great advantage… they would have sacrificed him without any hesitation.

He'd never expected anything from them. Never cared enough to feel betrayed.

But Elva was different. Her smile told how much she loved her family.

He could only imagine how much pain she had buried behind it.

Alden looked at her quietly.

He didn't say sorry. He didn't say "that's horrible" or "you didn't deserve that."

Because somehow… he felt she'd heard those words too many times to believe them anymore.

So he simply said—

"… I'm Lord BoomBoom."

Elva blinked… she looked at him. He looked at her.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times.

"Pffftttt… Hahhahaahahahah. What's that supposed to mean?"

She just laughed… really laughed, like she hadn't in a long time.

Alden didn't say anything.

Honestly, he'd just blurted the first thing that came to mind.

It's not like he had a degree in consoling emotionally scarred temple ghosts.

But… somehow, it seemed to work.

__

After laughing for nearly five minutes, Elva finally stopped, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

"So, what now? When are you heading to the next chamber?"

"After resting a bit and replenishing my mana," Alden replied.

"Don't worry…The next chamber will be a lot easier for you." She reassured him with a smile.

Easy? Is the next guardian weak?

"Can't tell you that… but you'll know."

She stretched lazily, floating back.

"Anyway, my time's up. I'll be going into slumber—my body's probably getting reconstructed as we speak. Good luck, Lord BoomBoom pfftt—."

Her soul started glowing brightly.

But before she completely vanished, Alden called out. "What'll happen to you… once I clear all the chambers?"

She paused, turning her head slightly, that same quiet smile returning.

"I don't know. But whatever it is… I think I'll be happier as long as I don't have to kill anyone anymore."

With those words, she vanished completely.

"I hope you'll be happy then, Elva."

He muttered as he closed his eyes.

He didn't make friends easily—he was guarded, cautious and suspicious.

But somehow… even if they'd only met a few hours ago… he thought of Elva as a friend.

He hoped she could find her peace after he clears the temple.

With those words his exhaustion caught up to him as he fell asleep, still leaning on the cold wall of the chamber.

__

Meanwhile within the outside world a completely different storm was brewing.

Kyun–the little white crow frantically searched through the whole academy campus.

She couldn't find her bond. He had told her he would be back within a few hours at most… but it had been a whole day since he vanished.

Even his body was nowhere to be found. She couldn't even feel him through their bond.

Her little wings fluttered with desperation as flew to find the only other human she trusted. The only friend she made… the person who understood her the most.

Amyra.

Just as she neared the desolate garden where she often met her, Kyun's instincts screamed.

Without thinking, she twisted mid-air—her wings barely shifted in time to avoid a spear whistling past.

It grazed her right wing.

Pain shot through her tiny body as her flight faltered and she crashed onto the ground.

Her body trembled, the injured wing twitching uselessly.

She looked at the attacker as she saw a boy with white hair and violet eyes. He looked similar to Amyra.

He shouldn't have been able to see her.

Not with her concealment skill.

She desperately tried to reach out to her mortal bond. But she still couldn't feel his presence.

Where are you mortal?

__

Lucien looked at the white bird that had crashed in front of him as a smirk appeared on his face.

He was just returning to dorm after coming from a dungeon when he saw a white blur fly across the sky.

He wasn't much interested, thinking it was just an ordinary bird but then—the system responded.

It gave him a quest.

__

[New Quest Received]

[Catch the ??? Newborn Spirit]

[Rank: ???]

[Objective: Subdue the newborn spirit of ???. And initiate a bond.]

[Reward → ??? Skill Unlocked, Breakthrough to Expert Rank]

__

So naturally, he had to accept it.

He didn't know what the skill was—but experience had taught him one thing:

When the system marked something with question marks …it was never ordinary.

It was the kind of reward that changed fates. And he wasn't about to let it slip through his fingers.

He had only just broken through to Advanced Adept Rank—his mana still settling, his body adjusting to the new strain.

But this quest… this reward?

The system was offering him a shortcut. A leap. Straight to Expert Rank.

Another reason he couldn't ignore it. Another reason he wouldn't.

He pulled out a glowing scroll the system had provided him recently… something the system labelled as Spirit Contract.

He needed the blood and mana of the spirit and he would successfully form a contract.

He didn't know how it worked. He didn't need to. The system always took care of the rest.

Who would reject a Spirit Bond?

Certainly not him.

As long as he could grow strong enough to face the calamity he'd seen in his dreams… He didn't care about the path.

The last time he'd bonded with a spirit, he awakened a bloodline.

A power he hadn't even known slept within him.

Now, standing on the edge of another bond, he couldn't help but wonder.

What would he unlock this time?

"Sorry, little fella… didn't mean to hurt you that bad. Just bear with it a little longer, it'll all be over soon."

He walked towards the spirit calmly.

"I promise… I'll treat you real well after that."

He meant it genuinely. He didn't feel good about hurting an innocent spirit. But he didn't have any choice.

The system offered him power…

If he had to be a villain to someone in exchange for saving the world… he would do it without any hesitation.

Hurting someone innocent was cruelty…

… But what's cruelty, compared to extinction?

But before he could take another step—

An immense pressure slammed into him. A wave of killing intent. His knees gave out before he could even react.

"What do you think you're doing?"

A cold voice echoed from behind him. It wasn't loud. But it hit him like thunder.

He turned his head, slowly… And his body froze as he saw her.

The last person he expected to see here, glaring at him with cold eyes.

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