the shaman way

The balance continued its descent underground. The shattered ground below shone with an intense, pure light. Holding the balance was a woman with five halos floating behind her back. Her afro was pure white, and her eyes gleamed like gold.

The balance continued its descent underground. The shattered ground below shone with an intense, pure light. Holding the balance was a woman with five halos floating behind her back. Her afro was pure white, and her golden eyes radiated an otherworldly brilliance.

Suddenly, her nose began to bleed intensely, followed by her eyes and mouth. But the wounds healed instantly, thanks to her abilities. She let out a weary sigh.

"It can't go on much longer," she murmured.

In that moment, the balance disappeared in a spark of light. Another halo flew into her hand, and she gripped it tightly.

"Fourth halo of the seven archangels... Crystal Orb of Uriel: Orb of Wisdom Bearer!"

The halo transformed into a crystalline orb of pure white, radiating divine light. Its brilliance filled the space, almost overwhelming in its purity. Then, another halo flew into her other hand. She grasped it as it began to glow with an intense light. Her voice was calm but resolute as she spoke:

"Seventh halo of the seven archangels... Staff of Barachiel: Staff of Blessing."

A tall, elegant staff made of glowing silver and gold materialized in her hand. At its top was a crystalline orb radiating divine light, casting an aura of hope and sanctity around her.

She brought her face closer to the crystalline orb, her golden eyes narrowing as she pointed the staff forward. Though her aim seemed to be at nothing more than vegetation, trees, and flowers, the crystalline orb began to shine intensively. A beam of radiant light fired in the direction she aimed, crashing into a tree with tremendous force. In the aftermath of the explosion, something emerged into existence—or rather, something that had always been there but was beyond her perception until now.

A young man stood before her, his presence unveiled. His extremely long blond hair cascaded down his back, and he wore a simple white haori, shirtless beneath it, paired with baggy black pants that hung loosely around his legs and sandals on his feet.

He lay on his back, a large hole in his abdomen, yet a laid-back expression graced his face. He let out a soft giggle and said, "Heh! It seems that orb of yours revealed my position, since it's called the 'Orb of Wisdom Bearer.' And that staff of yours fires light beams... Unfortunately, I'm still too weak to move at light speed. I find it crazy that the stronger shamans of your homeland can move faster than even light itself. It seems like I lost... I got curious, but I have my limits."

The man sat up, brushing dirt from his body with his hand as the gaping hole in his abdomen began to close, the flesh knitting itself back together. He chuckled softly, his tone almost playful. "If I continue, this curiosity might just kill me."

Mama Ipoh pointed the staff directly at the spirit's face, her voice trembling with anger as the spirit raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Who said I would let you out of here after everything you've done!" she snapped.

Immemorvis Obscuritas smiled gently, his demeanor unsettlingly calm. "Come on... come on... with that orb of yours, my ability is useless. And you interest me far too much for me to kill you or that girl. Not that I was going to do something as barbarous anyway... I only said that to get the most out of you. And you can't afford to stay in that form much longer, can you?"

All at once, her halos, orb, and staff dissolved into sparks of light. Mama Ipoh collapsed to the ground, a torrent of blood spilling from her mouth. She clutched at her face, her golden eyes glaring at Immemorvis with unwavering intensity.

Damn, I knew I couldn't stay in that form for long... but still... I wasted my chance. I should have finished him off when I had it!

Hurried footsteps echoed in the distance. Both Mama Ipoh and Immemorvis turned their attention toward the sound as a child's voice called out:

"Don't hurt her!"

Mama Ipoh turned quickly, still lying on the ground. Her voice wavered with worry. "Viora!"

The young girl ran toward them, tears streaming down her face. She positioned herself in front of Mama Ipoh, spreading her arms as though to shield her. Despite the fear evident in her trembling body, Viora stood firm.

"Stay back!" she cried, her voice shaking but resolute. "Don't hurt her!"

Immemorvis Obscuritas let out a giggle as he approached Viora closely. Mama Ipoh, still on the ground, screamed: "Don't hurt her!"

He lowered himself to Viora's small height and said in a curious tone: "If a shaman as high as herself ended up in that state, what makes you think you can do anything against me?"

Tears spilled from Viora's eyes more and more. Her body trembled as she said in a shaky, low voice: "Don't hurt her… don't hurt her… please… don't kill her… leave her alone!"

Immemorvis remained silent for a moment, then he stared at Viora with his laid-back eyes and said: "How odd… you just saw your motherly figure, who possessed godly power, fall. And yet, you come to confront me? Knowing very well I could easily kill you… most people would have forgotten about her and just run away to preserve their own life."

Viora, still standing in front of Mama Ipoh, said: "I could never leave Mama Ipoh to die!"

Her voice trembled, but it carried resolve. Immemorvis, still keeping himself at the girl's height, let his eyes grow a bit empty, even slightly melancholic, and said: "Oh, but trust me, you can. You just don't realize it yet. You are naive. But when people face hard times—when people are being shot dead left and right, when life holds no more value where you are—you will understand the lengths people will go to preserve their own life. You could have the most precious person in your heart at risk of losing their life, yet in the face of imminent death, you would forget about everything and everyone you care about to save yourself. Funny, isn't it?"

He stood up, making Viora shiver, then stared at the sky. "When death is everywhere, the dead fall into oblivion. Their bodies are not seen as individuals, not even as numbers, but as something lower than trash. When death is everywhere, the loved ones who have died fade into oblivion—from the survivors' minds, from the murderers' memories, and even from the world itself."

He let out a small laugh, bringing his hand closer to his face, and said while still looking at the sky: "That is why I follow oblivion. I follow pure darkness."

Then he took out his own two eyeballs, blood spilling everywhere on his face, which made Viora stumble in fear and disgust. "I despise the world that has forgotten me. And I despise that I still remember the world. Existence itself is suffering. I do not desire death, but to become one with true oblivion… true darkness. For if existence brings suffering, then with oblivion comes the absence of suffering."

He looked down to face Viora, his empty eye sockets filled with blood, and let out a gentle yet sinister smile. "I like you. So, I will leave you guys alone."

Then he put his hand in his pocket and walked into the deep forest. A voice of rage echoed through the trees.

"What do you think you're doing, Immemorvis Obscuritas?!"

The voice came from Hephaestus, whose black kimono, filled with blood patterns, was beginning to regenerate... somehow.

Immemorvis kept walking toward his destination, eventually stopping next to Hephaestus. He looked at him with his two empty eye sockets.

"What am I doing? I'm leaving, that's what I'm doing. I've seen everything I needed to see here. But let me ask you the same question... what do you think you're doing?"

Hephaestus glared at him murderously.

"I'm killing them both. That's what I'll do... Is there something wrong?"

Immemorvis paused for a moment before replying with a carefree smile.

"If that's the case, give it up. It doesn't matter. She's already a—"

But before he could finish, he glanced behind him and saw Viora watching the scene in fear.

"Well, it doesn't matter, you know? Besides, you wasted all your energy regenerating. You can't change your soul shape to a weapon, nor can you copy abilities. You're lucky I managed to retrieve your soul core."

Hephaestus shoved him aside and took a single step forward.

"It doesn't matter what state that wretch is in... or what state I'm in. Did you forget what your role is? To help me when my situation gets bad and wait for me to regenerate... Don't forget, I'm the strongest of the ten... Obscuritas!"

Immemorvis raised his hand in front of Hephaestus to stop him.

"Your ability to copy others' abilities once hit is indeed formidable, but it's one of the biggest flaws among the ten of us. All it takes to beat you is a single blow. Which I can't deliver, but still... Hephaestus, I think you've forgotten why I chose to help you. I helped you out of my own curiosity. Don't forget that. And in no world will you ever have the ability to kill me... even if you're physically stronger than me."

Hephaestus didn't respond. He gripped his arm and glared at Immemorvis coldly.

"You bastard..."

Immemorvis let out an inhuman smile. With his two empty eye sockets, the sight was terrifying.

"Plus... in the state you're in right now,"

his arm transformed into a blade of pure white.

"I can kill you on the spot, Hephaestus. So turn back... You've already won. Even if victory will come later."

Filled with rage, Hephaestus glanced at Mama Ipoh before letting out a sharp "tss" and turning away. He walked a few steps, then placed his hand on the ground, dissolving into a spark of light.

Immemorvis sighed and disappeared from reality as though he was never there. Only Viora and Mama Ipoh remained... They had survived.

chapter forty end