POV – Michael Afton – Labyrinth City, Orario.

I was about to head back to Persephone's apartment, but one look at the clothes I was wearing made me frown. The suit that I used in Pizza Simulator was full of blood and with several cuts, which was reasonably expected due to the number of monsters that showed up to kill me.

I was still a bit surprised at how well I was able to defeat the monsters in the dungeon for the first time. I had to admit that the Falna was an amazing thing, it was able to not only increase my hearing, smell, and sight perceptions. If not that my instincts had increased enormously.

I was blessed with Falna was much stronger than me before, which didn't have any god blessings. The only detriment I found in the blessing was that my instinct compels me to unconsciously run away instead of attacking when given the opportunity.

Which was kind of logical, I was never a hand-to-hand combatant, I was a tactician who was very good at dodging "death" and leading the ghosts or monsters made of AGONY into traps, sure I had a lot of close calls, but I never until the end. point that my undead body was damaged.

Now that I had a chance to think about it, being "alive" again felt great, even though I still wasn't used to being "alive." My mind and my body were uncoordinated with reality, for example, my body did not breathe unconsciously as a normal human body would. My mind knew that I was dead, so I didn't see the need to breathe, so I had to do it manually until my mind got used to it (I concluded that I didn't need to breathe to survive with this new body, besides even if I needed to breathe Cursed Body I would deny my death)

Another example of a disagreement between my mind and body is the body itself. My mind was used to functioning like a living corpse, so now having a 100% functioning body throws everything my brain has become used to into confusion. For example, I am too sensitive to unexpected contact, to a contract for which I have not prepared myself mentally, when one of the monsters touched me without my consent, my mind took it as an attack and consequently, my body reacted instantly, killing the monster brutally.

I would have to be careful with people, who knows if someone touched me without my consent. I don't want to react violently just because someone touched a part of my body.

The only thing that my body and my mind are agreeing on, would be that my body did not need to eat to survive, I have been a great number of hours without eating, but my body still did not demand any food, nor was my mind doing something about it with the lack of food, so I came to the conclusion that I did not need to take food or substances into my body to stay alive, but I was grateful to have the option.

I scratched my hair as I nervously grabbed my ponytail, Gods, I needed to find where they sold gum so I could chew. The gums were the best to take away my nervousness and since I didn't have them in my mouth now I was getting anxious.

If I didn't find a cycle in this damn world, I was going to start burning places to get rid of my anxiety. Especially the criminal bases, that would teach those bastards to be better people. Besides, fire was the solution to everything. In addition to being a beautiful light, it freed the damn ghosts. Alleviating most of my problems.

I just smiled wryly under the mask at my arsonist tendencies. But could you blame me for loving fire? It solved most of my problems with those damn ghosts (Although I will admit that I didn't just get to use fire on ghosts)

I shook my head to put those thoughts away before concentrating on something else that required more importance and that had been bothering me since I arrived the day before in this strange world full of gods and superhuman humans. The voice in my head has been extremely quiet.

The voice of AGONY, that dark little voice that whispers destructive thoughts to you. That is the reason why many ghosts are lost. The only reason I hadn't lost the reason, due to the large amount of AGONY my body had was because I also had a large amount of Remnant due to the Scooper, that and my strong willpower and self-hatred. (or at least that's what I thought).

People often mistake the Remnant for being the same as AGONY, but differently, but that was wrong. As far as I knew there were only three types of Remnant, the first was the Remnant itself, AGONIA, and RAGE, and the last two were very similar, but the same type was very different.

Remnant was the easiest to explain of all or at least for me. The Remnant is the purest form of the soul that remains when someone is killed violently and cruelly. It can be said that it is like an echo or an impression (a leftover part of the soul) of the person who was killed that comes to stain the world unable to pass to the afterlife. The more violent or cruel the death, the more a person stains the world in the form of a Remnant.

Normally the Remnant simply fades away as time goes on, due to this reason the world was not plagued by ghosts and supernatural events even though murders are incredibly common in any world.

From what I have understood from William's research, it is that adults are not part of the world, that is, that adults do not splash the world with the Remnant as a child would, what I have come to understand is that the older a person, more in harmony their body is with their "soul", making him seem like a solid, which would be much more difficult to break and make the adult Remnant stain the world with their Remnant.

Unlike children, these are forming the development with their body and "soul", they do not have the same harmony that an adult would have, so their Remnant is much more similar to a liquid than a solid, making the Remnant of the children splash the world with Remnant as much more easily and if the death of the child was cruelly, then they will splash the world much more.

Fortunately, the Remnant is barely visible to the average human, and without the right circumstances nothing supernatural or evil will come of it and it will eventually fade into nothing, allowing the ghost to carry on, the only unfortunate thing about all of this is that the people who die in a violent way they have to wait much longer for the Remnant to vanish, causing them to remain in a dark limbo that had absolutely nothing.

Although there are specific cases in which the Remnant attaches itself to things around it, forming a possession. Although it is rare, incredibly rare. The only instances I could find of these possessions in my ghost-hunting time were four in total and only two of them were without cheating. The death of Evan, my brother, and Charlie, my best friend. There was also William's and my death, but we'd both cheated a bit. William when he voluntarily injected Remnant into his own body before he died and me when the Scooper forcibly injected me with Remnant into my own body before my death.

The probability of a possession occurring is the same as death occurring that was caused by piranha fish. A very low percentage and only with the right circumstances the probability could increase. They generally only stick to special metals, from what I understand, William and Henry made the animatronics with unique and expensive metals. This metal functioned as a perfect natural conduit for the Remnant, even if it was by complete accident.

Not to mention that possession only worked on immediate death, from what I came to find out Charlie died in Puppet's arms, and Evan...

I made an anguished face when remembering that detail. (the only reason I confirmed that Evan was in Golden Freddy was because of Charlie)

Evan died inside the head of Golden Freddy or Fredbear as he was called before, that's why they had those animatronics, unlike the missing children who died in the back room of the restaurant, but because they were killed brutally and cruelly they splashed enough Remnant into the world for the "soul" of them to linger for quite a while in the world of the living.

Then Puppet arrived with his supernatural power and forcefully fused the Remnant of the Missing Children into the animatronics' endoskeleton. Because it was not a natural possession and the children had a great deal of AGONY from the way they died, their minds were lost. Making them just want to hurt all the people around them, especially his killer.

The only reason Cassidy was a sentient being unlike the other four missing children was because of Evan. If Evan's Remnant hadn't been in Golden Freddy, Cassidy would have been lost in AGONY long ago.

Speaking of AGONY. This was Remnant in a dark form, an energy that separates from people's souls as it were. Where there is nothing left of the identity of the murdered individual, only the memories of the pain remain, and the negative emotions associated with the death of the individual. A corrupted and violent energy in the form of tar that wanted nothing more than to cause harm to those unfortunate enough to come across this corrupted energy. To damage and generate more AGONY with which it could feed.

William had been completely corrupted by this corrupted substance, making him much more dangerous, but despite being corrupted he was able to maintain his sanity at the cost of his humanity. I think William did it because of his stubbornness, I hate to admit it, but William had an unbreakable will, just like me.

Although if you could control the corrupted energy you could generate supernatural power. As far as I knew there were only three individuals with supernatural powers besides myself. Evan and Cassidy (I wasn't sure if they shared powers or worked very well together and each had a different power) along with Charlie. I wasn't sure if William had acquired a supernatural power, but since the bastard didn't die when he was meant to die, I couldn't help but think that he has one (I just hoped I was wrong).

The more AGONY the individual has, who can control this corrupt energy, the stronger his supernatural power will be. I generated excessive waves of AGONY, as far as I knew, I was the person with the most amount of AGONY in the whole world, and due to this, I obtained too strong a supernatural power.

This is because I not only had the pleasure of remembering my incredibly painful death but also felt great mental anguish from the betrayal of the person who had tricked and murdered me, it should also be added that the same killers used me as a meat suit while I was conscious due to my Remnant splashing on my body from the violent manner of my death. Not to mention, the Remnant injected by the Scooper into my body came to power up and supercharge my own Remnant.

Another reason my AGONY didn't completely consume me and corrupt me, was because I burned large amounts of AGONY just to keep my supernatural ability afloat. Gravity Control

However, the most dangerous thing about AGONY was the ability to spread itself and attach itself to targets much more easily than the Remnant, thus creating a large number of cursed items, it was like a cursed parasite that caused pain and suffering just for itself, to generate more AGONY and feed on the east and be able to grow much more.

Fortunately, AGONY also faded with time if it didn't find anything to feed on, if it doesn't feed it burns itself with its anger, if it tries to do more than it's meant to achieve, it's it can destroy itself.

The only time I felt my AGONY almost completely consume me was when Jeremy Fitzgerald died because of me when he pushed me from being bitten in the skull by Mangle, in exchange for taking the bite himself.

I was devastated that day, briefly remembering running into the distant forest when I felt the rage at the injustice begin to consume me completely. I didn't remember much after that, I just remember waking up with everything around me destroyed without any trace of vegetation or life.

That day I was horrified by what I was capable of doing, I came to understand that if I was not able to control my supernatural "power" I could hurt the people around me, and that's why I decided to find out everything I could about supernatural events in the world. Having other supernatural experiences besides the killer robots.

I laughed wryly at that fact, even though I wanted to experience other supernatural things, it was always the Remnant that had been completely corrupted and consumed by AGONY.

And then there was RAGE. It was a part of AGONY extracted in its most corrupt and malignant form. This was so much worse than AGONY itself. In this there was absolutely nothing of the individual, neither the identity of the individual nor the memories associated with his death. This energy could be HATE without filtering anything. A destructive energy that consumed everything in its path. Fortunately, this energy has limits in the way it works, otherwise, it would be too dangerous for the world.

This energy was almost non-existent and only users who could control AGONY, could shape RAGE. Like the case of Golden Freddy with the Toys, or that animatronic that looked too much like Circus Baby, Eleanor, and Experiment 1006 itself. This energy could well be a sentient being, the closest thing I could compare it to was an irregular monster from the dungeon.

Although it is an energy made solely for destruction, it did have a consciousness of its own to some degree, generally dependent on how long the corrupted energy known as RAGE had existed. Because, unlike AGONY, it didn't fade and you'd have to remove it or spend it.

The Toys being chained by an AI, their movements were limited, like Eleanor's limited movements, since it was the same as an AI, but with much more freedom than the Toys. Experiment 1006 not having an AI, would have much more freedom than anything I could see in the supernatural world. That's why that bastard was very difficult to eliminate since it didn't have a pattern we could base ourselves on, that's why several people had worked together to be able to eliminate him from the world.

The only good thing about this evil and corrupt energy is that it was practically non-existent and it was rare to see it interact with the world.

My thoughts were interrupted when I reached a store to buy clothes that Sophie had recommended. It was quite a complex store, nothing too big, nothing too small. So once I was sure it was the right store I went into the building.

I spent a long time looking for clothes that matched my mask and didn't make me stand out more than I already stood out with my clothes and my height.

In the end, I bought a fairly standard and simple outfit, a long-sleeved gray shirt and brown pants. I also bought a pair of black, half-finger combat gloves.

I looked in the mirror at myself, to see how I looked and I looked pretty decent for the clothes I was used to in my old world. I felt a bit naked due to the lack of a hood that covered most of my body and face when I was undead, but now I wouldn't have to worry about hiding my body and face again, although I would feel weird without my mask on my face.

Once I was changed and had put away the bloody clothes and some torn from the pizza simulator, I left the dressing room to head to the cashier. Once I pay what I spend, I immediately left the clothing store so I can head to buy groceries so I can prepare the goddess Persephone.

A tired sigh came out of my mouth, I was mentally exhausted. I looked up at the sky wondering when was the last time I smiled or did something funny. Although I had a bit of fun creating Helpy, it was more of a duty than a pleasure to my enjoyment.

My shoulders slumped as I couldn't remember a happy moment in my life that was recent. Happiness has been no place in my life, always following, continuing to move from one place to another without stopping to take a break.

I was just a lonely man carrying a heavy weight on my shoulders. With the sins that I have eaten, and the sins of my relatives, always trying to fix what they broke down.

Always risking my life without considering the consequences it could have on my body, and how it would affect me mentally. Not even the talk I had with Old Man Consequences could help me find peace in my soul.

I thought I had found peace when we are all burning in the trap known as Pizzeria Simulator, but apparently, I was wrong. Now without my consent, I found myself in a fantasy world with no goal in mind other than stopping a terrorist organization so people don't get hurt.

My eyes behind my mask began to glow to adjust to the darkness. It was a power that might not be useful to many people, but when you are someone who goes out at night in dark areas, despite not being an offensive ability it was very useful. It wasn't full night vision, it was more like you turned up the brightness on the phone so you could see better.

As I was about to buy, I watched in disbelief as a boy no older than 12 stole a man's entire bag where the Valis is kept before running off as if his life depended on it (which it probably does).

Maybe if I had been an undead I would have just ignored the situation, before returning to what I was doing, but one look at the man who seemed furious and he was most likely killing the brat who had stolen from him.

So I immediately took all my weight off my body with Gravity Control before putting all my strength into my legs and jumping towards a nearby roof.

I landed softly before quickly scanning in the direction the brat ran off when he robbed the angry lord. My eyes narrowed when they found him in the distance running as fast as he could from the area where he robbed his victims.

Without other thoughts, I started running to chase the boy while jumping from roof to roof with the help of my Gravity Control skill to eliminate my weight and gravity.

The Falna on my back began to glow slightly, without me noticing.

It didn't take long before the boy I had stolen entered my spirit rank. Not caring much that other people were watching me, I activated my ability on the boy, removing all gravity from him.

The thief boy quickly exclaimed in surprise as his feet left the ground and he began to float, above the ground. Several people around were shocked and when I landed near the boy, some people started to move away from the conflict while whispering to each other.

"You know kid, stealing is bad. Why did you do it?" Ask instead of accusing, I knew that not all people steal for the pleasure of doing it, but out of necessity. I didn't know how common robberies were in these places, but I could understand these people to a certain extent.

When my father abandoned me and left me alone in the house, I was only able to survive so far before I had to steal from places to stay afloat, luckily I got the idea to sell the valuables that were in the house abandoned by the Aftons. So my thief time was not too great long.

"Eh?! What's going on?" The boy fluttered in the air trying to find his balance on his body, but failing miserably.

"You don't have to worry about that," I said deactivating my ability and causing the boy to fall abruptly on the ground causing him to groan in pain. "I just saw you rob a man. So I want to know your motives for that act before making a decision. I wouldn't recommend lying to me either, believe me, I'll know" I warned him as I stopped at his side, my eyes shining with a clear warning.

"Why do you have to be a busybody?!" he screamed as tears of frustration escaped from his eyes. "Why is the world so unfair?! When I need help, nobody helps me, but when I do something to survive then people do something about it and to make it worse they brand me as the bad guy!" the boy put his forearm across his eyes as he bit his lip in frustration.

My eyes looked at the boy sympathetically, but I didn't say anything. Pity wouldn't help anyone, feeling pity from other people is more frustrating than anything else. So I sighed tiredly because of what I was about to do.

"Get up kiddo, we're going to return what you stole and you're going to apologize to the person you just robbed," I told him as I began to walk back to the area where the boy had committed the robbery.

"What? But..." The boy was about to say something before I interrupted him.

I turned my head over my shoulder, my eyes looking directly into the boy's eyes, piercing his soul. "It wasn't a suggestion kid. I don't recommend trying to escape either" I gave him a warning before sighing tiredly. "If you do what I tell you, I'll help you with your money problems. How about that?"

"Oh really?" The boy's eyes lit up as he wiped the tears from his eyes as he got up to follow me.

I just nodded in response.

With that, we both started walking in the direction of where the boy had robbed the man.

"By the way, you can call me. Mike, what's your name, kiddo?" I asked him wanting to make a conversation.

The boy looked at me before sighing. "You can call me Jake I guess"

"Nice to meet you, Jake"

The boy gave me a curious look. "Why are you wearing a bear mask, old man?"

"Old?" I couldn't help but frown at that.

Jake shrugged. "You give me the feeling of someone old. You seem tired, I guess" The boy looked at the sky with a complicated look.

I raised an eyebrow curiously as I wondered. How tired did he have to be of life, that even a child can easily notice?

Was I really that sick of living? I wasn't sure, but it doesn't matter right now. It has no relevance to the situation I find myself in.

"The mask makes me feel comfortable with myself" I shrugged without bothering to tell the boy the reason. "It was also a gift from a friend, so I've grown quite fond of it"

The boy didn't say anything, but I could feel a look of jealousy on his part, which I ignored.

I shook my head in exasperation, I just hoped I could get this matter over with quickly before I got to Persephone's apartment, I just hope she was not worrying too much.

.

.

.

We didn't waste any time with Jake as we approached the men he had stolen from. My eyes narrowed behind the white bear mask. I wouldn't say I liked the way they started looking at the boy at all.

"So, you caught the damn thief. I have to thank you," the man whose shoulder Jake had robbed smirked at me before looking disgusted at the boy. "Not that it would have mattered much since I recorded your face, it just made things easier."

"You don't have to worry," I said, placing a hand on Jake's shoulder. "The kid won't try to steal from anyone else. Here." I threw the bag of Valis coins at the man. "Don't let them take your money like that again. Let's go, kid."

With Jake still, at my side, we were about to walk away. Until one of the men stood in our way, blocking our path.

I frowned but didn't pay much attention to him, instead continuing to move forward without trouble, stopping just in front of the man who was blocking us. "Move," I warned.

The leader of the men stopped right in front of me with an arrogant smile. "Money is missing from our bag. Step aside and leave the damn thief. This problem is not your concern."

"That's a lie! All the money I stole is in the bag, I didn't take anything!" Jake pointed angrily, furrowing his brow as he looked at me hesitantly.

I looked into Jake's eyes, searching them deeply for any trace of a lie before sighing with exasperation and heaviness. "As the kiddo said, all the money is in the bag. I chased him the moment he stole it from you, he didn't have time to hide anything. Now move," my patience was running thin, and I wasn't willing to put up with the crap of a liar who wanted to hurt someone just for the sake of it and teach them a lesson.

Seeing that they didn't budge an inch, I continued, "The money has been returned to you without any shortage. The problem has been resolved. So I won't repeat myself. Step aside, old man."

The man just laughed mockingly before taking a step forward in an intimidating manner. "And I said I'm missing Valis. So either you compensate for it or get out of the way of the kid. Move before we hit you along with the thief you're protecting."

I simply laughed with scorn and disgust toward these guys. I approached until I was face to face with him, standing tall and leaning down slightly to bring my face in front of him, to appear more intimidating. The black lenses of my mask began to glow with a sickly purple color.

"I'll recommend you go fuck yourself, old man and leave the kid alone. I assure you this won't happen to anyone again, and I'll personally make sure the kid regrets his actions. Understand?"

The man tensed up, but his expression changed from disbelief to anger. It seemed a fight was about to start. I could feel Jake tensing up at my side.

All the men were about to draw their weapons and start a scene in the middle of the streets of Orario. I could even see people from the corner of my eye moving away from the impending brawl.

Fortunately, for the men and unfortunately for me, someone intervened before things escalated into something much more violent.

"Cease any confrontation in the name of justice." All voices turned to the female voice that had interrupted the guaranteed adventurer fight.

I immediately recognized the girl who had intervened. It was Alise Lovell, one of the members of the Astraea Familia. Alongside Alise was that Pallum girl, Lyra, looking at me with a shrewd and curious smile.

"Getting into trouble again, big guy?" Lyra approached us, making the other men nervous as they whispered among themselves.

"Hey, you're Mikey." Alise pointed at me when she realized who I was. "I barely recognized you with your mask and new clothes. I approve, by the way." She gave me a thumbs-up. "But... What's going on between you guys? You know we shouldn't be against each other when Evilus is still out there, right?" Alise approached, putting a hand on her hip while gesturing with her index finger from left to right.

I looked at the men who were surrounding us before looking at Alise. "We were just having a little disagreement, don't worry, nothing serious." Then I smiled with a kind of mockery, even if no one noticed my gesture. "They were about to leave right now."

The man stared at me for a moment before clicking his tongue. He stopped near my ear and was about to say something, but suddenly he stopped and pushed past me, pushing my shoulder. "Let's go, guys, don't waste time and let them handle this."

Once the men were gone, I sighed with some relief. I looked at the boy named Jake with weariness. "So, do you have a place to stay?"

Jake grimaced as he looked down at his feet on the ground. "I live in an orphanage. I don't get along with the other kids, but I try to help out where I can."

"I see." With that, I approached the girls who were looking at us with curiosity but patiently waiting for us to explain. "So, this boy here stole from those men." Lyra sighed heavily. "How troublesome. You shouldn't steal again, those men didn't seem to have good intentions for you," she scolded Jake. "And although I understand you want to contribute to your orphanage, stealing is not the best way."

Alise nodded. "We'll let it pass this time, but make sure you don't repeat it. You never know who you're stealing from, and not everyone is as lenient as we are, so you could end up in a cell for several days." Then she smiled sweetly at the boy. "But don't worry, I'm sure you'll find a way to make money the right and fair way. And if my awesome self tells you, it's because luck will be on your side."

"Next time, I won't save your skin, kiddo," I added seriously. "And try to stay away from dark and sparsely populated areas. Those men might be looking for something against you, but it will probably pass over time, so give it at least a few days."

"Thank you. I promise I won't do it again," Jake promised.

I looked at the boy for any signs of deceit once again but finding none, I sighed. "I'll take your word for it, kiddo." Then I tossed him a bag with 20,000 Valis inside, and Jake caught it in his hands with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Don't spend the money too quickly. Try to spend it wisely. Maybe some people can give you a legal job suitable for your age."

"I got it, old man," Jake smiled gratefully.

"Old man?" Lyra and Alise looked at me with confusion.

"I told you to call me Mike," I complained before looking at the girl. "Ignore him. Jake here is bitter because I stopped his little heist and criminal act."

"That's not true, just look at him, he looks exhausted and hunches his back like an old man," Jake pointed out my apparent flaws.

"Brat," I said as my eye trembled with disbelief before sighing with weariness and exasperation. I wasn't going to start arguing with a kid.

"Well, gotta admit, you do have the posture of an old man," Lyra smiled mischievously.

"Not you too," I groaned. Then I took off my mask and placed it on the side of my face so they could see my youthful face. "As you can see, I'm still young, just exhausted from a long day, and that's very different from being old."

Alise then gave me a playful smile. "Hmm, I don't know, you still give me that feeling of an old soul. The same feeling that grandparents give."

My body tensed. I looked her in the face, trying to decipher what she was saying. I stayed silent for a few moments, trying to keep my expression unreadable as I tried to read her.

"Whatever. I just want to drop the kiddo here at the orphanage so I can rest," I said with a sigh before remembering aloud, "Although I still need to fix my previous clothes. The monsters made a mess of them."

"Was it your first day in the dungeon?" Alise asked, surprised.

"Yes. I registered at the Guild this morning. Then I saw some posters about the people you warned me about, and after that, I was in the dungeon for hours."

I wasn't sure how many hours I had been diving into the dungeon, but I was certain it was more than 14 hours.

I saw the girls following me and Jake, so I had to ask to make sure they weren't busy... with, well, police stuff.

"Aren't you working yet?" I asked them curiously.

"Not more. The day is about to end, and we were about to head back before we heard all the commotion you brought," Alise replied with a smile.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to be a bother," I commented with an embarrassed sigh. This was the second time I caused a commotion in this new world. So, I couldn't help but wonder if this world was much more problematic than my previous one.

Alise shook her head before giving me a smile that eased my chest. "You don't have to worry about that. It's our job to help those in need and always intervene to ensure situations are fair and just. And to maintain order if necessary." Then she looked into my eyes with her piercing emerald eyes. "You did well in handling the situation, and I thank you again, Mikey."

"You're welcome, I guess," I felt a bit uncomfortable with the praise she was giving me. I wasn't used to it.

"Just try not to get into too much trouble, big guy," Lyra put her hands behind her head. "And I'm curious about which floor you reached in the dungeon, considering you said your previous clothes were torn to shreds."

"Well, saying they were torn to shreds is an exaggeration, but they did get quite damaged," I replied with a raised eyebrow. "I made it to the fourth floor. The monsters weren't a concern. They were pretty weak, but it seems the dungeon didn't like me much as I had to deal with several monster parties attacking me."

"Huh? That's awesome. So, you're quite strong, old man," Jake looked at me with a curious gaze.

Lyra looked at me with surprise. "Floor 4. Well, I would say I'm very surprised, but I'm slightly impressed after you faced a Level 2 on the day we met."

Alise pouted. "And I still don't know the secret to how you were able to defend against them. Although I bet it's some special magic."

"Magic?" I expressed my amusement at her assumption.

"The men we interrogated said you had a strange magic that made them feel heavier," Lyra clarified. "And although I'm curious about what your real powerful magic is, I won't pry since an adventurer's abilities and magics are very personal."

"I see," I said, amused and relieved. "I appreciate that."

"By the way, your mask is cool. Can I try it on?" Alise looked at me with pleading eyes. "I like the bear shape it has, and the white color is very representative of light."

"Not just light," I commented before she could think of the proposal. "I guess I don't mind lending it to you as long as you give it back before you leave," I said as I took off the mask and handed it to her.

"Oh, where did you get one of these made?" Alise said as she admired how well-made and sturdy the mask was before putting it on her face. "Maybe I should consider making a mask." She looked at Lyra. "What do you think, Lyra? I think it suits me perfectly, just like anything I wear."

"I think you should take it off. You don't fit the mysterious look, and you just look ridiculous," Lyra then looked at me. "The mask suits you much better and adds a sense of mystery waiting to be unraveled. Do you know what materials the mask is made of?" she asked me.

"No, I don't know the materials it's made of. I never bothered to ask. And I didn't get it; it was a gift from a good friend before... well before he passed away." I looked up at the night sky with cloudy eyes, remembering the short time I spent with my friend before we were separated.

Lyra made a pout. "It was a good gift, then."

"Yes, it is."

Alise then took off the mask and gave me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, we didn't mean to bring up bittersweet memories, but I'm sure your friend would be happy to know that you're keeping his gift close to you." Then she smiled at me before handing me the mask again.

I smiled, grateful for Alise's words. "I guess." Then an idea came to my mind. "By the way, you've helped me a lot, and I haven't done anything to thank you. How about I prepare a meal for you? I'm good at cooking. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I'm one of the best chefs."

Alise looked at me in surprise, blinking several times. "Ah, it's not necessary for you to do that. We didn't help you expecting a reward. We do it because it's our duty as daughters of justice and because we enjoy helping people."

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Despite the captain being right, I'm now really curious about the truth behind your words. Plus, I haven't had a good meal in a while, so I'll hold onto your words, big guy."

I gave a confident smile. "Once you taste my food, you'll become addicted to it. Trust me. And don't worry, Alise, just as you do things without expecting a reward, it would be impolite not to accept the rewards people offer you."

Lyra gave Alise a mischievous smile. "He's got a point, Alise."

Alise looked at me with a grateful smile. "Are you going to cook regardless of what we say, right?"

"You got it, sweetheart," I said, giving her a playful wink before making a slight grimace for letting my accent slip.

Alise's cheeks blushed slightly, but above all, she gave me a curious look.

Lyra had a knowing smile. "You speak in a very peculiar way, but I suppose it just adds to the mystery. Are you going to tell us where you're from? Or are you still going to say it's from very far away?"

"Very far away."

Lyra sighed without pressing further. "I guess I should've guessed."

With that, we continued following Jake to the orphanage before bidding each other farewell. Once I separated from the girls, I went to buy groceries and, once I had them, I started walking towards the residence of the Goddess Persephone.

.

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.

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When I arrived at Persephone's house, she looked at me with a concerned expression.

"You're quite late. Is everything okay?" she commented while looking me up and down before sighing in relief.

"Yes, no need to worry, Goddess Persephone. By the way, I brought food to prepare dinner," I said, gesturing to the bag of groceries I had bought on the way back.

Persephone sighed. "You know, you should at least let me handle the groceries so that you can have more spare time. As a goddess, I should also contribute what I can. Besides, it would ease my mind, and I can help you with the heavy burden you carry on your shoulders, even if just a little."

"I suppose. Do you want me to prepare dinner?" I asked.

Persephone looked at me for a while before sighing and smiling at me. "Since you insist, I could use some food after all the worry I've had for you." Then she narrowed her eyes at me. "Are you going to eat with me?"

I shook my head. "I don't need sustenance in my body to survive, so I'll refrain from eating until I feel comfortable doing so. I'll probably start with liquid and easily digestible meals before eating normally." I told her, as there was no point in keeping it hidden after what happened the previous night.

"Alright. I just want you to know that you can talk to me at any time. I won't force you, and it's possible that I may not fully understand, but at least I can listen to you and support you."

"Thank you," I smiled appreciatively, grateful that she gave me space and understood. "I'll keep that in mind," I said before heading to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"By the way, your new attire suits you well. You do look quite handsome," Persephone said.

"Goddess," I couldn't help but say, embarrassed by the sudden praise. Still, I sighed before smiling. "I suppose it's to be expected from someone like me," then I grimaced at the phrasing before shaking my head to not dwell too much on it.

Once I prepared dinner for the goddess, I waited patiently for her to update the status on my back.

Michael Afton
Race: Vengeful ghost.
Familia: Persephone.
Level 1.
Strength: I0 → H143
Endurance: I0 → F364
Dexterity: I0 → I90
Agility: I0 → H186
Magic: I0 → E432

AGONY: S

Skills:
Grim Determination: Exponentially increases the amount of exile gain. The effects of the increase will be based on strong negative feelings or the fulfillment of any goal of the user. The user becomes immune to the mental impacts and curse-based magic.

Cursed Body: Denies the soul leaving the user's container. When the container is damaged and enters a critical situation, the regeneration capacity increases, and its healing abilities will be affected by the amount of AGONY of the user. Damage caused by fire causes triple affliction to the user's container. The soul inside the user's container can be destroyed by excessively high temperatures.

Gravitational Control: The user can control the center of gravity of the body. The amount of AGONY increases the strength of the effect. Causes serious internal injuries from overuse.

Curses:
Remnant: The user can resurrect any living being. At the cost of a part of the user's soul. Resurrected users gain the effects of Cursed Body and the ability to use AGONY momentarily.

"Your soul is mine. My soul is yours. Let the hate flow into your body, Let the sadness out of your body. Rise and cause grief to the people who tormented you"

I looked at my condition with surprise. Even though I had barely been in the dungeon for a day. I had earned a total of 1215 Excelia. Which was quite a lot according to the average of what a normal adventurer earns. From what Sophie had explained to me.

I couldn't help but laugh at the look of disbelief and surprise on Goddess Persephone's face before my smile turned to one of sadness. Maybe living a new life wouldn't be so bad.

I wonder if I can be happy again or stay bitter and cynical forever.

I sighed wearily.

Only time will tell.

Author's notes: I merged the previous chapter with this one to make it a little longer. I hope you like the chapter. I'm not sure when I'll update, due to my university studies, but at least I'll leave this updated.