-Wake up, ass.-

  Wake up ass? Da fuq? I sit up, finding out that I’m still in abbreviated me form, sleeping on my back, belly up, -- self-preservation? What’s that taste like? -- with no one around. Hold up. What?

  I get up, start grooming, and check my local “who dere?” list, and I’m alone. No girls. No Little Corpse. Well, alone in the void. The inner void...? I’m not going to open up a list there. I’ve sent a lot notifications of spirits being booted, and I’ve seen the crowds of visible spirits outside of the buildings, and the buildings are always packed. Rather not try to open it and find out that there’s a loading limit. My brain crashes enough without me over stimulating it.

  -Any~ time now...- Little Corpse snarks.

  -Helps if I know where you are, fucker!- I snap, shaking out my silk and any loose scales. -Where are you?- I ask, and it occurs to me that they might be outside my void, so I transfer out of my void, back to the Graveyards, and, nope. Still alone. -Don’t you dare say “here”.-

  I transfer over to him, hoping I’m at face height so I can slap the shit out of him if he does.

  That’s what I try to do. What actually happens is that I appear in mid air, he ducks and spins and stands up under me, and now I’m sitting on his head as he turns and stands back in formation facing Widow’s Sigh and a line of masked elders in front of a massive stone gate in a whitewashed wall.

  I think that the gate is bigger than I am, and the wall stretches out into the distance on either side of us.

  Kinda hope that Resentment just coalesces where it will and they’ve got spawns inside their big ass property claim. Tch! Do they really need this much space if no one can live here?

  “Oh, ho! You used your high Essence manipulation and void abilities to let your Ghosts scout for you. Very impressive. Most would not be able to attempt such a thing,” Widow’s Sigh says and I can feel the smug like an oily mist. What’s he so proud about?

  Wait. He thinks I did what? High manipulation abilities? So energy sees me and goes “ooh shiny”?

  “Apologies, but we ran into a nest of Bone Snares. They’re still digesting...”

  Is that what happens to people? ‘Cause these assholes keep going dumb bug and then picking me up and taking a big sniff. Am I a drug to them? Are they getting high off of me?

  “Is that so...?”

  -Hmm?- I look up to see Widow’s Sigh scrutinizing me from a few feet away. -Eh?-

  He’s still in line with the others, so how? I look down and see that Little Corpse is kneeling. Guess he moved closer.

  -What’s going on?- I nudge Little Corpse and he tenses but doesn’t say a word.

  -Stop that,- one of the girls glares at me from the corner of her eyes.

  -We’re going to go with Widow’s Sigh to discuss the rewards you missed by progressing so quickly,- Little Corpse says. -After you joined the Sect he was to encourage you with useful supplies. You didn’t need them, but your rewards were still due. Hopefully with bonuses for rapid advancement.-

  I don’t know what I ate, if I ate before my nap, so I’m kinda hoping we can discuss everything over food.

  -Tch! Still hungry,- one of the girls turns her head away to put me out of her sight as we follow Widow’s Sigh with the elders bringing up the rear.

  I think we’re still in the wall, but it’s a massive hallway lined up with all kinds of dead things. Creepy.

  Ghost Soldiers that look like they’ve been flash frozen. Horses with rough edges on their bones. What is this?

  -They’re not actual ghosts. These are made of stone and wood. The wood has to be specially preserved but it still absorbs the Resentment.-

  “Sculptures created by a few of our more artistically talented fighters. We do encourage all forms of growth and innovation, but we predominantly wish to further the techniques that wield Resentment for combat purposes,” Widow’s Sigh says as I finally spot and read one of the plaques set on the floor in front of a Bone Snare sculpture. Says that the sculpture is of a Bone Snare, has a name and date stamped into the corner.

  I look back down the hallway to see that there are a few duplicates, but every few yards is a new creature and I’m guessing its a way to show the types of spirits one can find in this hell. Tch! We finally leave the hall in the wall, a door closing behind us, and we’re out in the open again. Tch! Should have paid more attention!

  I finally look around, noting that we’re just in a cut stone compound that must have been imported. Large manors made with bricks, stout metal doors facing the inner courtyard, roofs with what I guess are clay tiles. Going to go on a limb and say wood doesn’t last long. Not just wood seeing how there’s no pond or garden.

  Do they burn the Resentment filled wood statues or just purify them? Wonder what’s harder on organic material? Resentment or zombie hordes?

  -Tch! Pay attention! Do you want gravedust or Resentment stones?-

  I blink, looking up from my grooming and stare blankly at one of the girls. A quick look around and we’re in a room that feels devoid of life. Not purified. Not filled with Resentment. Just... empty. Not a fan. Oh, right. What’d they ask?

  -Eh?- I’m sitting on a cushion beside Little Corpse on his own cushion, with the girls posted up behind me.

  -He’s giving options for rewards! You can either get dust for rituals or more Resentment,- the other girl says.

  -I have plenty of Resentment and a few stones aren’t going to make a difference,- I point out. I might not be paying attention, but I don’t have to for something so simple. -What is spirit con corpse spicy ghost ultra grave dust for?-

  -Rituals such as binding spirits to corpses,- Little Corpse chimes in, turning to frown at me. -I’m not sure how they protect themselves from Resentment, but those masks aren’t common.-

  -Something else I don’t need...- I sigh. Sucky ass rewards... -Can we sell the ritual dust to other Disciples? Or does it have other uses?-

  -Hmph! With you? You might be able to eat it and transfer between other hells. Maybe you can find a heavenly realm,- Little Corpse snarks and I shudder remembering the abbreviated pomp and pageantry of the Saint Essence Realm and the absurd knockoff.

  -Fucking boats,- I thrash before furiously comfort grooming.

  -“Boats”?- the girls and Little Corpse exchange looks.

  -I’ll eat the dust,- I grumble. Maybe it’ll be spicy? -How is it made?-

  -Burning ghost money, prayer papers, talismans, etc. Blessed ashes. Dust from funeral pyres is iffy. Sometimes the corpses are stolen and burned. This leads to cursed ashes. Very different,- Little Corpse says, crossing his arms. I watch as he rubs his arms as if he’s trying to fight off a chill.

  -Simple farmer, my ass!- I snap. -How the hells do you know all that? What does that even mean? So using ash is a gamble?- Pretty sure there’s gonna be a taste difference between burnt bodies and burnt wood. Or does he mean paper talismans.

  Before I can ask I’m bombarded with smothered sobs that cramp my chest, my mouth twisting while I choke on burning Resentment. So many memories of finding anything and everything I can to sell to help scrape together enough money to buy the money to burn to ensure that my loved ones aren’t suffering in the afterlife. And all the while I’m furious that someone conned someone out of money with a lie that the dead can use it in a different form.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  From what I’m seeing the dead didn’t get a single fucking tin coin. But maybe I’m in the wrong Realm. If the prayers are going somewhere, this ain’t it.

  -Go with the ash!- I sit up and try to see what it looks like.

  I swear I got some kinda dust somewhere. Whatever happened to it? Bank says... Dear, gods. Um... Search! Filter! “Grave” and search! Oh. I have had gravely injured corpses, and gravely injured not yet corpses.

  Come again?

  -Eager Hearts,- Little Corpse reminds me.

  Ah. Tch! I could probably go investigate it, but busy meeting... He wasn’t glaring at me before, but now all three of them are glaring at the back of my head as I focus very hard on grooming.

  -Blank wood plaque for making talismans or Resentment Stones?-

  -Talismans. Wait!- I look up, realising that I never asked and they never said. -How much is the Resentment reward? You never said!-

  -Only 100 for the first two, then up to 500 for the next two, and 1000 for the last,- Little Corpse says as he reviews a literal paper pamphlet. Probably supposed to be a scroll, but it’s a fucking pamphlet.

  -Tch! Probably just go for the material offered from the rewards,- I grumble and go back to grooming. -Not even the later Resentment reward is of much value.-

  How am I not bald? It’s like the more I groom the better my silk becomes. One-hundred grooming sessions, let’s go!

  -It’s still a small fortune to others. Don’t forget how little it takes to generate a flame that can burn the spirit to ash,- Little Corpse admonishes me.

  Initially I’m trying to figure out if he means my silk is a fortune or the Resentment reward, but I can’t quite get over the part where Ghost Flames burned a spirit to ash!

  -When?!- I shriek, getting small tilts of masked faces before they all pointedly look away.

  Oh, am I embarrassing anyone? Much more important than something capable of burning souls to ash!

  -Your “Pyre” spell did it. And it cost 100 Resentment,- Little Corpse says quietly.

  -Oh~! Did not know. Thought I just burned the body so I wouldn’t have to listen to him without him intercepting me in my inner void,- I admit. He was being a dick because of flesh privilege, so I took the flesh away. -Why are you two sitting behind me? To hit me if I act up?- I turn to glare at the girls, then yelp as they cheer and shuffle the seat cushions around. One of them snatches me up and hops up to land sitting on her heels on my seat while the other sits on the cushion she moved up beside us.

  -They didn’t want to let even Little Corpse sit with you, but Little Corpse pointed out that you can’t be bothered with hunan affairs unless it affects you,- my bearer says, making herself comfortable before settling me on her lap.

  -Why couldn’t you just move your cushion up? Why’d you have to grab me?- I drone, wings twitching in irritation.

  -You’re soft and white. If you were dirty your silk wouldn’t be so bright. You don’t want to be picked up? Pick a different color,- she bends down to “whisper” the last part directly at me before kissing the top of my head.

  Tch! Bish. I go back to grooming, annoyed, again, while the girls laugh and turn their attention from me. I listen in, -- kinda. I still don’t know why we’re here. I’m not taking his patron as my patron or why I need a patron, -- getting increasingly annoyed at the subtle barbs and praise the group of supposedly my peers toss at Little Corpse. One or two at the girls and their willingness to draw blades was enough to stop that line of harrassment, but Little Corpse is our Public Relations manager for a reason.

  This is meant to be my graduation? I stop grooming and stare blankly. I was supposed to talk to Widow’s Sigh for regular updates after I joined the Sect. He was supposed to help me prepare for each segment of the trials, which are shaped towards each Disciples capabilities, and he’d gotten so much flack for even steering a bug towards the Sect. And I’m incapable of swarming? Well, that was one worry down, but with my low intelligence, and limited skill set, what could I do?

  Pass their four year training in less than a month. Fack all ya’ll! I’d gone from outsider to on their level with no guidance. I shat all over a ritual that people used as a crutch, made nice with a group of monks, which is actually encouraged, -- Resentment hurts everyone, and we use it, but the elders weren’t focused on world domination? Swear I thought Widow’s Sigh was. Or was it he just wanted to be more than a mid-level nobody? Same difference, --and outperformed everyone by eating and sleeping! Suck it!

  Can’t eat my problems? Still haven’t found one that can’t be solved by eating it or waiting for it to go away. Hmph!

  Why is my silk white?

  I ignore the groans of the girls and Little Corpse, listening as Little Corpse explains to the elders I’m trying to think of more things I’ve stashed away to eat. He’s not wrong, but I was actually trying to be tactical. Not having to walk everywhere is nice, especially when it’s hours of traversal time, on undead horseback no less, to get anywhere, but I do need to stop people from picking me up.

  Light colors are supposed to be warnings, but apparently they’re just ways for people to check dust level. So... Earth tones? I’d blend in easier, but how would that affect my scale dump? My essence rave of death reflected off of the white quite nicely, pulling more essence out of it, which is what I thought the coloring was for, but what if it really is just a flashy “come pet me” sign? Or is this like humans being obsessed with foods that hurt them over foods with actual nutritional value?

  [-5 HP]

  “Bone Snare bones aren’t hollow, and powdered Bone Snare is supposed to be excellent for skeletal development, corpse or cultivator,” one elder warbles. The way their voice modulates like they’re singing into a fan is deeply upsetting.

  -Stop that!-

  I can’t help it. I try to lower my arms from their “find out” position. I can’t. I try to tuck my wings back in so I stop radiating mind warping colors. I can’t. The fact that the colors coming off of me are as upsetting as the voice is just proof that there is justice.

  “Hm... This is giving me a headache,” one of the masked men says while rubbing the forehead of the mask. Luckily for everyone this asshole’s voice isn’t panic inducing.

  “Your voice has the same effect on our master,” Little Corpse says apologetically to the song bird.

  -I don’t even have a larynx and I learned how to speak better than that!- I snap. Fack, that was creepy!

  -Rude!- the girls and Little Corpse all turn to hiss at me, waving for me to calm down. The girls shove their cushions together, trying to wrestle me to their laps.

  -Oh, it’s rude when I freak out but it’s okay for them to insult my defenses? I didn’t do anything! Why did they attack?!- Ganging up on me!? How is this fair?!

  [-3 HP]

  “It’s alright,” Vibratron warbles, reaching up and pulling off their mask to reveal a corpse missing most of its face, its jaw, and some inner bits before putting the mask back on. “I wasn’t quite fast enough against a Corpse Soldier’s unarmed strike, and the Resentment eats away at me unless I purify myself constantly. I talk through Qi manipulation.”

  -That’s alright then...- I slowly relax. Fack that was off-putting. -Quite clever actually.-

  “It seems our newest companion is weak to certain sounds,” one of the old fudgers says, idly stroking the chin of their mask. See how weak you are to my screams, then talk!

  -That’s it?- one of the girls leans forward, hesitates, then sits up.

  -Hmm?- Why wouldn’t I scream at them? Especially if they send Qi pulses my way.

  -All of that noise and thrashing, and you’re just going to let it go?- the other girl asks, and I don’t know what their problem is.

  -We might have to protect it from Qi fluctuations...- Little Corpse says stiffly.

  -Ones I can’t slap into my bank? Those affect everyone, not just me,- I grumble, grooming myself. I was close to reaching a new realm so I hope no one else weaponizes auto-tune against me.

  -Couldn’t just ignore the noise?- one of the girls snaps, angrily petting me. How are you going to turn your nose up at me, put me out of your sight, and come to me for comfort?

  Tch! I was getting close to the next level, but going to sleep where they can’t bother me might be a problem. They need to be there to make sure I eat properly. Or can I automate that with the materials I have on reserve?

  [Name: Kisandera, “Sandy”, Eclipsed Rainbow]

  [Affiliation(s): Thousand Valleys, Seven Moons, Companion of the Sacred Phoenix Sovereign, Inner Void Productions, Wimble Sunrise, Scarlet Silk Society, Hunter’s Association, Vengeful Ghost Flame Sect]

  [Race: Celestial Void Moth Queen[Shattered] (Saint)] ??

  [Current Form: Hunan]

  [Current Realm: Shimmering(Tier 5)]

  [Current Karma: 106856802/107275977]

  [Master: Shimmering Steel]

  [Familiar: Fuck Face (Ghostly Servant)]

  [Contracts: (110) Sweet Pea Blossom and Chrysanthemum Petal]

  [Max Will: 9579451]

  [HP: 9579451]

  [Current Condensed Qi: 1835711/26714200]

  [Current Qi: 612220/957945100]

  [Ghost Pot: +170/-0]

  [Resentment: +3035550/-70909]

  [Resentment Wallet: 200C.St.,113R.Sl.,228R.Sh.,0D.M.R.N.]

  [Mortal Wallet: 12E,692K,180P,697R,179Da,258De,2605k]

  [Spirit Wallet: 0Dr,0Ph,0Th,1325Di,126Co,10679St]

  -I’m getting close to my next Realm, so you might want to figure something out quickly...- I murmur, continuing to groom. -Find out how to do the house thing so we can hide in one. I’m not going to pop at any moment, but my reshaping naps take a while...-

  -What unfortunate timing...- the other girl sighs, petting me as well.

  -Tch! Complain about my whining then keep whining instead of figuring out a place to hide me,- I grumble. -I’m giving plenty of warning! You should be taking this time to work, hmm?-