Academic gathering with a lich

After the glow had dissipated, Loveday was transformed. His skin had become an even silver-gray, free of the shadows that once clung to his limbs. His frail muscles, clinging tight to his bones, had not been refilled, but the chest within his shrunken body heaved like an engine roaring to life once more, supporting all that he was.

Loveday’s eyes were a pure azure, like sapphires set in the depths of his chiseled features.

"There was no need for such gestures, Bishop Raymond. I have already sworn my loyalty to you," Loveday said, looking at the armor on his body that now shone with a metallic luster, a reservoir for Spiritual Energy that had now been filled by the Holy Light. He caressed the bony enclosure on his chest, where a small cluster of shadow was beginning to form. "I already belong to the void, Bishop Raymond."

Raymond casually wiped away the shadow in his hand. "I am pleased. Just give me sincere thanks for the reward. Since the shadows have swallowed your glory, I shall bestow upon you a new glory. From now on, fight for my glory, Star Spirit Loveday."

Loveday looked at the luminous figure extending a hand towards him, intending to accept his commission.

However, Raymond withdrew his hand.

"Right, let’s use Andrey’s form of commission, after all, this piece of paper still carries legal force." Raymond expertly drew a white sheet from his wings of light, covered in dense text that Loveday had never seen before.

"Sign it, the application to join Andrey’s society."

"..." A small sense of letdown blossomed in Loveday’s heart, but he shook his head, erasing the stray thoughts. No form of commission could express my resolve to follow Raymond.

Loveday sank back into the shadows, his voice gradually fading.

"Bishop Raymond, there is something I must do myself, for my kin. Please allow me to retire temporarily, as I need some time to learn and understand your language and writing. When the time comes, I will personally seek you out, go to Andrey, and perfectly execute this glorious ritual."

Raymond took off the ring of Andrey from his finger and tossed it towards the shadow in front of him, watching as Loveday in the shadows grasped it. "Wear this, if you encounter insurmountable trouble, I will heed your call."

"For you, Bishop Raymond," Loveday’s voice vanished with the wind.

Raymond stared at his palm. He had brought a creature of shadow back to light. The Holy Light was not only about purification.

"Mr. Raymond," Lyle’s voice appeared beside Raymond, having witnessed what had just happened. "How does it feel, Mr. Raymond?"

"I feel like I nearly made a huge mistake... almost instinctively wanted to set Loveday ablaze... luckily I stopped myself in time." Raymond pocketed the untouched membership application and turned to go back to the center of the temple, "There’s still an origin that needs dealing with, that evil flesh should be disposed of."

A look of unease appeared on Lyle’s face as he rubbed his palms together and offered an apologetic smile. "About that flesh, please think thrice... because Nia just sneaked over there."

Tendrils hard as keratin latched onto the ceiling of the temple like a vast net, with Nia seated amidst them, cradling the flesh in her arms. Within the blood-flesh barrier of her sealed nest, Raymond and Lyle could not see inside, hearing only the dense, noisy sound of gnawing.

Nia was feeding. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Raymond frowned at the chaos before him, but as it concerned the Purifier’s gift, he refrained from acting rashly. Moreover, Lyle’s gift, that being the individual known as Nia, gave Raymond a strong sense of déjà vu.

The first time Lyle came to the Church of Holy Light, Raymond had seen the gift lurking within him. With the help of Raymond’s own special abilities, he had sensed the potential of this gifted individual.

Plunderer.

This was the revelation given to Raymond by the Holy Light regarding Nia.

"Loveday, that thing is very dangerous."

Loveday scratched his head sheepishly, "I had intended to stop her. But, Mr. Raymond, I have a vague feeling in my heart that the flesh blob, it is beneficial for Nia. Nia will not be harmed, this is my intuition."

Raymond did not say much more, intuitive feeling is a very reliable thing for a Mystic.

However, Bishop Kamphusser was captured by that flesh blob and began to gorge, giving rise to so many Shadow Beast puppets. What would Nia create?

Reality is the best form of evidence for an argument. The nest hanging in the air swelled out a protrusion, like blood, the murky mass dripped onto the ground and began to roll, to wriggle. Finally, it took shape into a shadowy figure with a bloody hue, a special Shadow Beast. The Shadow Beast’s form was a flesh blob with numerous tentacles, like a sunflower, the tentacles propped up the central blob, and the blob’s membrane stretched open to reveal the bloody-red pupil at the center.

The bizarre and grotesque creature did not cause Loveday to panic; he even showed a nostalgic smile. The appearance of the Shadow Beast was the same as Nia’s old eyeball form, a memory that had become familiar to him.

Shadow Nia swayed her tentacles, slowly moving toward Loveday, quickly reaching in front of him. The huge blob of flesh still hung in mid-air, that was Nia. The big eyeball Shadow Beast in front of him, that was also Nia. With a trance-like memory, ignoring Raymond’s persuasion, Loveday reached out his arms toward Shadow Nia. Just as he had done countless times before, Shadow Nia turned into liquid and crawled up Loveday’s arm to rest on his shoulder, in the spot familiar from his memories.

The shadow emitted a childish voice.

"Nia is hungry." Realizing this might only be a projection born from Nia’s chewing of the flesh blob, Loveday still passed the cheese from his pouch to Shadow Nia. The sound of chewing arose beside Loveday, and soon enough, Nia had eaten her normal portion.

"Full, now sleepy."

Loveday opened up his collar, intending to let Shadow Nia crawl into it. She did not do so; instead, she hugged Loveday’s head with her tentacles, as though embracing him. In that embrace, Shadow Nia dissipated.

"Loveday, the power of that flesh blob has weakened, a very small part of it has weakened."

Why would it weaken, when all he did was feed a projection of Nia?

"I’m afraid that’s the ability of that flesh blob, Loveday. The blob tempts others to gnaw on it, extracts their desires to create these shadows of craving, and only when the desires are fulfilled can the captured person be freed, or like what I just did, be freed by an external force. The flesh cannot be consumed because the eaters’ desires are not fulfilled. And you, you’ve satisfied Nia’s appetite, hence, a part of the blob was gnawed away."

"It seems, not a very frightening power?" A crisis that could be resolved just by feeding shouldn’t be too dangerous, right?

"That’s because Nia’s desires are pure. Have you ever thought, if those greedy people were to gnaw on it, their shadows could never be satisfied, and they would be forever imprisoned, and continually giving birth to those greedy shadows. Not to speak of others, if I were to gnaw on that flesh blob, my shadow army could probably destroy the world."

"So, does this mean we’ve found a way to deal with the flesh blob by chance, a crisis that is not so big?"

"Even pure desires are hard to satisfy in sufficient numbers, Loveday."

The first Shadow Nia was just a scout. The flesh blob in the air burst amidst their conversation, black filth sprayed onto the ground, and they writhed and twisted into a large army of Shadow Nias.

Like a field of sunflowers opening their blood-red eyes, they collectively stared at Loveday.

"Nia is hungry!!!!!"