The Void Day 3
In this transitional space, the presence of light meant the existence of shade and manipulable darkness. Yana immediately started practicing her Level 1 magics, hoping to trigger an upgrade before the System demanded another painful fragment. She used Shadow Create, recognizing that while she was a creature of Shadow, she needed some form of light—even dim void light—to pull darkness into being. She could sense light and create/call Shadow within a thousand-kilometer radius. The primary source was the darkness pooling at the conjunction of two objects—the true 'shadows' of this unique void space. She could only call two shadows.
She used Shadow Step and continued to move everyone along her discerned path. Then she frowned as she sensed movement. They weren’t Void Beasts, but something dangerous. She stopped and allowed everyone to fall into their normal defensive positions.
"You no longer have your barriers?" Tasha’s question cut through Yana’s focus. Barrier? Yes, Alisha's knowledge confirmed it was a Spell Weave construct. How effective would a Level 1 barrier be? Yana grimaced, but made the decision instantly. She began weaving: strands of gold, purple, black, and turquoise flowed from her hands, forming intricate patterns. She sensed gaps, but also an inherent structural strength. She cast the first layer around them and immediately began working on a second.
By the time she got the fifth, sweat was pouring from her and her limbs trembled with exhaustion. Still, she forced out a sixth. As she threw the final layer onto the barrier, she called two shadows to her and manipulated them into supporting her weary body. All of this took less than two minutes, yet it felt like an eternity.
The closer the creatures got, the more sure Yana was that they were demons.
"DD?"
"They are Shadow demons and Soul demons. I think they sense us, but they must have been fighting each other first."
"Good. Hopefully that increases our chances."
Amber crouched down, letting the instinct surge. Coarse golden hair exploded across her body, her ears thickened, and two tufts of black fur sprouted from them as she transformed from a house cat into a tall, muscular Shadowwere Feline.
Alisha began to shift as well, growing until she stood tall above them. Twelve octopus-like tentacles grew from her shoulders, and her neck and head shrunk down into the body. She became a Many-Handed Fiend. As the demons came into view, Alisha did not wait. She walked through the barriers to engage the incoming forces.
The demons, assuming the barrier was fake due to Alisha's passage, charged—only to be stunned as they slammed into the six-layered weave.
Every time a non-group member hit the barrier, Yana felt the shock and immediately threw power into the spell. The manipulated shadows controlled her body, and her scythe continued to fall on demon after demon. She used every pause to Shadow Call and Shadow Manipulate, turning the massacre into a rigorous training session.
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You have used Shadow call one hundred times:
Shadow call has increased.
You have used Shadow Manipulate one hundred times:
Shadow Manipulate has increased.
She was too tired to really understand the system messages. Her body spun, and she cut down a demon that was just about to dig its claws into Tasha. All of her movements were driven by the manipulated shadows she controlled, as her body had moved past exhaustion a long time ago.
Suddenly, the two demon clans began to attack each other as if they decided Yana and her group were a bit too powerful. The change was so sudden that they were almost eradicated by Yana’s familiars and pets. They only stopped when she fell to the ground to rest, her barriers never wavering.
Your barriers held successfully against an enemy:
Barrier spell upgrade
A new spell melded with her Spell Weave knowledge, but she felt a wave of despair—it was still not enough to level up the core magic.
As she sat on the ground, the System lit up in her mind again, and she groaned out loud.
Task warning alarm!
Task warning alarm!
Task warning alarm!
You have twenty minutes until day three of your task ends.
"Okay! Okay! Now I know for sure that this is a rigged System. ‘System, are you truly trying to kill me? There is no way the day is already over.’"
'By my internal logs, you have nineteen minutes left until the end of day three.'
‘Then your internal logs are fucked!’ The declaration echoed through her soul space.
VIOLATION DETECTED!
VIOLATION DETECTED!
VIOLATION DETECTED!
You have been blatantly disrespectful and will be punished.
Punishment: Task Day failure punishment will be doubled.
Yana froze, staring at the brazen warning. Her mind went blank, then her entire body went numb—the prelude to the System's catastrophic assault. The pain hit, doubled, a wave of agony so immense she lost all track of time. She didn’t speak internally or outwardly. I will endure this and figure out a way to get this System out of me. It is not going to run my life forever.
The pain stopped. The words of the cursed System lit up before her eyes.
SOUL SYSTEM
Name: Yana Pallindrone
Age: ????
Location: Pa Void
Soul Depth: Grey Void
Rank: Shadow Novice
ABILITIES
Dimensional step: Adept
Shadow call: Adept +0.5
Shadow Walk: Adept
Shadow control: Adept
Shadow step: Adept
Shadow dispersal: Adept
Discernment: Adept
Seer: Adept
MAGICS
Spell weave: level 1.5
Shadow manipulate: level 1.5
Shadow create: level 1.5
Fate: level 2
Illusion: level 1.5
Dimensional door: level 1.5
Pets: 2
Starguide
Name: Starlight
Abilities: Star Walk, Star Void Magic
Level: Advanced
Dimension Wraith
Name: Jasmine
Abilities: Wraith Walk
Level: Advanced
Familiars: 4
Shadow cat
Name: Amber
Abilities: Shadow Step, Shadow Weave
Level: Adept
Dark Fae
Name: Tasha
Abilities: Shadow Dimension Walk, Void Step
Level: Advanced
Marked Demon
Name: Demon Dust (DD)
Abilities: Shadow Kill, Void Rip
Level: Intermediate
Shadow Doll
Name: Alisha
Abilities: Shape Shifter, Shadow Flame, Shadow Weave
Level: Intermediate
Task Timer: 1 day 24 hours
Your soul Depth has now reached an appropriate level.
Fate is now Level 2
New spells being added to your spell weave knowledge
Shadow call is now Adept + 0.5
She laid on the ground, trying to process the messages. Was that why it was so painful? Her soul depth had jumped two levels, and she finally had a full name.
“Are you okay? Your soul energy just had a tremendous spike.”
“Don’t tell me that System of yours claimed that the day was over again?”
“Did you get punished?”
Yana's brain was still numb. "I need sleep. My soul is at an acceptable level now, and I feel I can sleep two hours and be okay. Please wake me in two hours, Starlight."
Starlight's soft voice echoed in her mind. “I will.”
Yana didn’t hear the response because she was asleep after her last statement.
