[New Assignment Acquired][Mission Rank: D][Category: Spirit-Cleansing Operation]
[Location: Ashfield Hamlet, Eastern Vale][Threat: Class II Wraith Nest – Confirmed]
[Primary Objective: Purge the Nest Core][Bonus Objective: Preserve Soul Integrity of Villagers ×12][Time Limit: 24 hours][Reward: Reaper Points ×350, Soul Core Fragment ×1]
"D-rank," Ren muttered. "Sounds like a fetch quest."
Aria didn't laugh. "Spirit Nest missions are never clean. This isn't a game, Ren. Your system gives you tools, not plot armor."
They stood at the edge of the Eastern Vale—fog-choked hills, leafless trees that creaked in windless air, and a village at the base of a crater. Ren adjusted his Reaper cloak and checked his stats again—his level hadn't changed, but his instinct for danger had sharpened.
[Soulbrand Legion Lv. 2 – Passive: Your soul leaves behind phantom echoes in combat. Each echo has 5% attack power.][New Slot Available: Spirit Chain – Empty][Reaper Points: 000117]
"Your job is to break the nest's heart," Aria continued. "Find the Wraithmother. Don't kill her until the villagers are clear. If she dies too early, she'll detonate their bound souls."
"…Wait, she's using people as anchors?"
Aria nodded grimly. "Twelve of them. All still alive."
Hour 2: Ashfield Village
It looked abandoned—too quiet. That was the first mistake.
Ren walked into the main square, sickle in hand, Soul Vision active.
[Spirit Density: High][Karmic Threads: Interlinked – 12 nodes feeding central anchor][Wraithmother Signature: Buried 14m beneath southern chapel]
The moment he stepped near the chapel, the fog shifted.
Twelve villagers emerged—not hostile, not hostile yet—but their auras were wrong. Muted. Tethered.
They weren't people anymore. Not completely.
Each bore a brand on their neck: a spiraling symbol of grief, constantly leaking soul mist.
"Please…" a woman croaked. "We can't stop her… she sees through us…"
Ren flinched. "I'm going to help. I swear."
But the system whispered coldly:
[Binding Detected – Class II Nest Symbiosis. Villagers are living phylacteries. Purging one core destabilizes the rest.]
[Warning: Premature force will trigger soul implosion.]
Hour 4: Below the Chapel
Ren found the Wraithmother suspended in ritual—the corpse of a girl in ceremonial robes, floating upside-down, black tendrils snaking from her mouth into the ceiling.
She didn't move. But she watched.
[Wraithmother – Class II][State: Dormant][Soul Anchor Points: 12][Core Weakness: Complicated. Hidden.]
[Tactic Recommendation: Sever link threads simultaneously.][Probability of Solo Success: 31%]
[Request Reinforcement?][Y/N]
Ren hesitated.
He'd trained with Aria. He'd fought the Bone Crawler. He'd survived the Soul Trial.
But he'd never faced something tied to lives like this. A fight he couldn't just win by cutting deeper.
"Dammit…" he muttered. "I can do this."
He chose No.
Failure Begins at Hour 5
He struck too soon.
He triggered Soulbrand Echoes—his afterimages darted through the chapel above, aiming to disable the villagers simultaneously.
He succeeded in disrupting ten.
But the eleventh resisted—the oldest, a blind man who collapsed in convulsions. His soul thread snapped back and snagged on the others.
The Wraithmother screamed.
Reality cracked.
The Nest Imploded.
Villagers began to combust from the inside, spirit fire tearing through their chests, mouths opening in eternal shrieks. Ren tried to grab them—his hands passed through.
One by one, their anchors shattered. So did their minds.
He ran back to the surface—too late.
All twelve… gone.
The system chimed:
[Primary Objective: Completed.][Bonus Objective: Failed.][12 Civilian Casualties – Soul Shatter Severity: Absolute.]
[Penalty Applied: Karma Imbalance ×12. Spirit Drain Level I Activated.]
[New Trait Gained: "Butcher of Ashfield" (Infamous)][+3,110 Reputation among Spirit Beasts (Predatory Type)][-900 Reputation among Deathbound Factions (Human)]
[Reaper Points: +50 (Adjusted)]
He collapsed at the crater's edge, sickle dull, blood on his robes—not his own.
Aria found him an hour later. She didn't speak at first.
Then: "You should've called for help."
"I thought I could handle it."
"You're not wrong. But this world punishes mistakes differently. They don't just hurt you. They devour the innocent too."
Ren stared at the sky, where the fog was finally lifting.
"I killed them."
Aria crouched beside him. "No. You failed to save them. There's a difference. One you'll carry either way."
Back in Ghosthollow, the Council didn't speak when he returned. They simply updated his seal.
It burned again.
But this time, it didn't feel like recognition.
It felt like judgment.