Spirit Wife

"Excuse me…." Devora raised her hands and started.

"In the fight before we would've had enough points for a level-up. We need to discuss what attributes we should upgrade so that it benefits the team in the best way possible."

"Excuse me….?" Devora tried again.

"By the way, why could you summon skeletons during that fight with the mutant risen? Is that some kind of ability?" Ken asked.

"It's not an ability, it's a skill. Like I told you before when you passed out…"

"I… I need to say something." Devora raised her voice a little to get our attention.

Stopping midsentence, I turned and looked at her.

"Sorry… sorry for interrupting…" Devora muttered as our eyes met. She was kinda cute if you ask me. Her shyness made her send off some vulnerable vibes that makes people want to protect her.

"Can I… can I join your group…?" Devora asked meekly. "I… I can train myself to fight… and beside… you may need a girl at the back to take care of... you know, housing stuff…?"

I raised an eyebrow.

Thinking that she was losing my interest, Devora tried again.

"I can cook well, I've learned cooking since I was young. I have a photographic memory, I don't know if you've realized… but our communication devices all broke down. I can be like a human notepad… I can help you to pack your clothes, your essentials… everything! I… I can do anything, so just… bring me along…" her voice became softer and softer until she broke down as she came to an end.

"Why are you crying?" I asked, puzzled.

"No... it's nothing… I just remembered what happened this morning and I... I'm sorry, I was too scared…" Devora began crying.

I looked at Ken, wanting to motion at him to comfort her but Ken glared at me and shook his head. Pointing at me then at her, I sighed.

"It's okay to be afraid. Cry out your heart, empty the timidness inside. And when all is done, fill it again with courage that pushes you forward." I patted her shoulders and said.

Nodding her head, Devora continued crying as I stood up. "What's the time now?" I asked out of habit.

"5 pm. What are we gonna do now?" Ken answered just after I finished asking.

"We need to find a way to leave this place. There isn't much food here and there's still a bunch of people downstairs. What's the condition with the barrier trapping us in? Has anybody figured something out yet?"

"When people got near it, a notice popped out saying 'Slay He Who First Rises to get free from your little safe haven.' "Demetria suddenly appeared beside me and said. "I tried it myself just now when I left. There's even a timer. We still have three days until the timer ends."

"Slaying something? Not a problem, we just need…." Suddenly, memories of my near-death fight with the evolved risen swarmed my head. The pain, the fear, and the memories all flashed through my eyes.

"-ang? Tang? Tang Jun Wen! Are you okay?" Ken shook me as I regained my senses.

Snapping out of my daze, I mumbled.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine. Where were we just now?"

"You said something about killing the 'He Who First Rises'. You were just about to say what we needed when you freaked out." Demetria huffed.

"I didn't freak out Demetria." I snapped. "I just.. gimme some time alone, will you? I need to regain my senses."

Walking away from the group, I walked slowly up the stairs onto the stage where I first met No.11 earlier this morning. Ruffling my hair, I heaved a great sigh and tried to regain my focus but to no avail. The memories of being nearly defeated kept swarming non-stop. Growling, I punched the wall out of frustration, leaving nothing but only hurting my fist.

"Pixie…." I growled. Thoughts of blaming the pixies for the situation we were in swarmed my mind. I started to lose my temper until a voice suddenly sounded.

"Hello, I'm your very personal pixie. How can I help you?"

Raising my head, a woman about 20 who looks very much like a model I liked appeared in front of me. The only difference was that she had wings.

"Pixie…" I growled and lashed forward, losing my senses totally so much that I didn't even realize that my surroundings changed once she appeared. Grabbing her neck and choking her, I growled in a voice so deep I nearly didn't even recognize my own voice.

"Your kind did this to me… My life, my friends… ALL RUINED." I yelled in her face as I started choking her. Coughing, she started patting my hands, trying to calm me down. But what surprised me was she didn't even try to resist.

"I don't care about the world… I don't care about how long it takes for the world to end… I just want my old life back... I just want.." my voice broke as I released her. "My friends… my parents… I've changed…. I know it…. Something changed in me… I'm not me anymore, I CAN feel it. I… I'm not ME anymore…."

Waiting for her to retaliate, I was surprised when she squatted down and started patting my shoulders, comforting me. Raising my head, I didn't even notice I was flowing tears until she wipes them off my cheeks for me.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I am a uxur animus, a wife-spirit. I am born the moment you were born. I've been with you longer than anybody else. It was only because the magic in the air was too thin that I could not appear before you before." She said as she cradled my head in her arms. Her warmth calmed me down just like how I felt when I was in the arms of my mother.

"There, there vir meus, it's alright, just like how you comforted Devora, cry out your pain. Let bygones be bygones." She said as she soothed me. Just as I came to my senses, I jumped off her arms and asked.

"Wait a second. Come again? You're a WHAT!? A WIFE SPIRIT?" I exclaimed.

Stifling a laugh, she stood up and said.

"Yes, a wife spirit. Uxur animus. Only today I managed to break free of my restraint, and come into the real world. Thank the gods for that." Looking at me, she quickly added. "But curse them too for messing this whole world up."

She was kinda cute that way.

Wait… what was I thinking… I was too relaxed by the warm feeling I felt when she hugged me that I even let down my guard so much to think that a PIXIE is cute.

I opened my mouth to speak but she stopped me.

"I did mention that I know you better than anybody else in the world right? I know what you're thinking right now. But don't worry. Let me show you something." She said as she began to open her arms wide. Suddenly, a visible chain appeared between us, connecting the chest of both of us.

"We're connected vir meus. Only death can keep us apart. I have no intention of harming you. You can trust me that I am the only one in the world who wishes you to thrive and will do anything to help you accomplish your targets."

Strangely, I trusted her right from the beginning.

"Since you're a… wife spirit, has it ever occurred to you just in case this whole apocalypse shit never happened, I would've grown up and married someone, start a new family. What will happen to you then?"

She pouted.

"To be frank… I wouldn't be much happy about it. And I could do nothing except look at your happy family life. But as long as you're happy, I would be worth it even meaning I can only be an observer."

"I'm the only one that has a… spirit wife?..."

She chuckled, like what I asked just now happened to amuse her.

"Silly, no of course. EVERYONE has a spirit wife. The gods decided to free us as part of your helpers in their game. We are taught a bunch of knowledge about what you need to know or what you want to know so we can be your advisers during your journey ahead."

Glancing at her, I nodded my head and stood up.

"What's your name by the way?" I asked, as this question suddenly came across my mind.

"I don't have a name. You can call me whatever you like." She said while smiling at me.

To be frank, I suddenly had an idea to name her after a celebrity I liked a lot. Just to remind me of the good old days.

Her smile faded a little as if she could understand what I was thinking about.

"Please don't tell me that you can know what I'm thinking."

Nodding her head, she sighed. "Unfortunately for you, I also happen to be able to understand your thoughts. As in ALL of them."

"So I guess that idea's a NO then. Fine." I pouted. Suddenly, a thought hit me and I asked. "Tell me the kinds of risen I'm going to face. It would be good to know what I'm facing upfront."

Raising her eyebrows, she said.

"I can't help you with this, but I can tell you the statistics of what you've faced before so the next time you are facing it, you would fight it more efficiently than before."

"So what you really meant was that you could not give me any information about monsters I've never met eh? Got it." I sighed and said.

Looking at my watch, it read: 5:10 pm.

"Tell me about the big risen I killed just now. It seemed different than the others."

Nodding her head, she opened a screen out of nowhere and started searching. "I'm uploading it to your screen, check if you received it."

Enemy Encyclopedia

Normal Walker

Evo-1 Walker

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"Evo-1 Walker," I said as I saw the screen. "Show me everything about it."

Evo-1 Walker

It is said that with enough slaughter, the souls of the dammed will be the source of power for one's evolution. Easily distracted by smells of blood even after evolving.

Weaknesses: Aim for the eye, very low tolerance to magical abilities

Strengths: High immunity to physical damages. Extraordinary strength.

"Magical abilities…." I muttered.

"Someone's here." My spirit wife said as she started fading away. "I will miss you. Hopefully, the next time we meet, you would have a suitable name prepared for me. Farewell, vir meus." She said and blew me an air kiss.