Lina slams down her hands on the table once more saying desperately.

  “Where is he?”

  The adventurer hesitates before finally saying.

  “Fine, he’s staying in an abandoned storage shed on the outskirts of town, no one wanted to be near him.”

  Lina gets the location and heads towards the shack at the end of town, it’s late and as she approaches she sees a run down wooden shack.

  She goes to the door and opens it. The door creaks open and the light of the moon barely illuminates the inside. Lina isn’t the type to be scared of the dark though hearing all about the Sole Returner makes her nervous and this certainly isn’t helping.

  “Sole Returner? You here?”

  Lina steps as the wind slams the door shut behind her. She jumps a little but keeps moving. She uses her blessing to grant energy onto her hand as it starts glowing, illuminating softly in front of her. She sees a door to another room and goes towards it slowly due to the dark.

  As she reaches for the doorknob, she feels a cold hand placed on her left shoulder from behind. She jumps in surprise and draws her dagger but freezes as she sees a man cloaked in black, face invisible from shadow.

  “Are you the Sole Returner?”

  Lina asks hesitantly. The man responds in a dramatic manner,

  “Why have you come to visit death’s tomb? Are you here to forfeit your soul unto me?”

  Lina is a little taken aback by the odd response but stands her ground.

  “I am here to ask to join your party.”

  The cloaked man is quiet for a moment before sighing and walking past her to open a window. More light from the moon is let in revealing a boy barely 2 years older than her with odd white hair, creepy black Iris eyes with white lines, and skinny frame like a skeleton. The man speaks,

  “Man usually that scares them off, either you’re bravely stupid or fear something more than death.”

  Lina is confused by the sudden change in tone but continues nonetheless,

  “Wait so that was an act? You don’t actually eat people’s souls like the rumors say?”

  The man chuckles then says dramatically,

  “I wonder whether I have stared into such an abyss or not, you say you are here for a party member, but it requires giving up your soul to do.”

  Lina is having second thoughts teaming up with someone like this but she doesn’t have the luxury to be picky with an entire church hunting her down.

  “I’m not giving you my soul but I do need a party, do we have a deal or not?”

  The man smirks then simply says,

  “Why not? It isn’t my life on the line after all, but remember you were the one to forfeit your soul first.”

  Lina and the man shake on it and agree to meet outside this shack tomorrow morning at first light. Lina returns to her room in the inn and prepares to leave, she thought she could escape the paladins if she went this far east but they are on her tail once more.

  This might be her last chance in civilization before having to live in the wilds. She pulls out the scriptures of life she keeps in her bag, despite their followers aiming to sacrifice her, she can’t bring herself to throw these away, she reads a passage aloud,

  “Value life above all else huh? What about my life then?”

  She breathes deeply knowing getting angry won’t help anyone.

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  The next morning she meets the Sole Returner outside his shack, for being an adventurer who supposedly killed every adventurer he has ever traveled with including 4 A ranks, he doesn’t have a lot of gear. Lina speaks,

  “So where are we going?”

  The man responds,

  “You can choose as it will be your final resting place, though first I will provide your last meal at the inn.”

  Lina wants to speak up regarding his odd mannerisms, but she doesn’t have the luxury to be picky with half of the continent after her.

  They sit down in the nearby inn to eat, many nearby adventurers give her pitiful glances like she is already dead, even the tavern keeper offers to give her discounts on anything she would like.

  Meanwhile the Sole Returner gets glares and raises prices but he doesn’t seem fazed in the slightest. Lina asks desperate to change the subject,

  “So what should I call you? Cause I’m not sticking with Sole Returner.”

  The man pauses for a moment then replies,

  “Ashen, and you miss death wish?”

  Lina is annoyed but responds nonetheless,

  “Lina, Lina Aurelia.”

  They finish eating then Lina picks a Creepy Crypts Dungeon in the eastern wilds hoping the paladins won’t be able to find her there. She is incredibly suspicious of Ashen, he keeps speaking of death and lets her pick the dungeon.

  She considers trying to find another party or going it alone due to his extremely suspicious behavior, but she thinks back to how strong the monsters of these wilds are. If she goes it alone she’s surely dead, and there are no other parties available. She needs to do this, she thinks to herself, “Just stay on the top floors and keep an eye on Mr killer over here.”

  As they approach the entrance to the Creepy Crypts Dungeon, a mid rank dungeon of skeletons and 10 floors, Lina tries preparing by asking what kind of Priest he is, trying to clear her suspicions of him being a priest of death, but he responds saying,

  “Just because you ask what death awaits you, doesn’t mean your fate will be revealed. Though I have a question for you, who shall I deliver your final words to?”

  Lina pauses and clenches her hands,

  “No one, My family is dead.”

  Ashen smiles,

  “Good that will make these things easier, though I ask again, even a friend or caretaker would do.”

  Lina’s mind flashes with the person who raised her, Bishop Evan. She was close with him, but she can’t go back.

  We see Lina as a little girl holding a flower necklace wandering the pristine church of life.

  “Father? Where are you?”

  She sees his office door unlocked and runs over with excitement, she enters but doesn’t see him, then she sees some letters on his desk. She is a curious child so goes to read them aloud.

  “Do not worry Gabriel, Her blessing is almost strong enough as our Attuned, Once she turns 16 in a few months, the Sacrifice can begin…”

  Lina thinks this must be a joke, she starts walking backwards, tears spilling from her eyes. She backs up into the shelf as more letters fall from it, letters between Evan and his superiors all about regular updates regarding her blessing. She hears an echo and snaps out of her trauma as Ashen calls her name.

  “Lina? Did death claim you already?”

  Lina reflexively ducks away and hurries into the dungeon saying,

  “Let’s just get this over with.”

  Ashen left alone outside says to himself, without his normal theatrical mannerisms.

  “She truly isn’t leaving, I guess she doesn’t fear death.”

  Ashen looks behind them towards where they came from then says,

  ”What does she fear more than death?”

  Then he follows her down into the crypts of the mid rank dungeon.

  Lina is a Priest of Life meaning she can grant energy unto others, she uses it to buff them or heal them but it can’t be used offensively.

  Meanwhile Ashen just uses 2 daggers even on the bony skeletons, as they fight she tries to think about what blessing he may have? Justice? No there’s no fire, Wisdom? No they would never put themselves in danger, Earth, Sea, Sky, what could his blessing be?

  She pauses thinking maybe he has the forbidden blessing of death? It’s possible but he doesn’t look demonic. Priests of Death normally have demonic horns, shadows writhing around their bodies from consumed souls, and more.

  They eventually make their way to the 3rd floor still not having issues with the minor skeletons, Lina says,

  “We should stop at the 4th floor, we wouldn’t be able to handle the lower ones.”

  Ashen then replies,

  “I agree, let me know when you are ready to advance down the stairs.”

  Lina takes a breath then heads down the stairs with him next to her. But as they go down the stairs, they activate a pitfall trap.

  Then they get unfortunate again as the bottom of it breaks way, they catch themselves on the wall but have little choice but to continue climbing down as the way back up is blocked.

  They make it a ways down until the rocks get harder closer to the bottom and fall. After Lina lands, she sees they are in a small stone room with a single hallway leading out.

  She starts walking to the exit but is pulled aside by Ashen as flames coat the hallway, burning her leg badly as she is pulled away. She starts breathing with pained breaths as she heals leg and says,

  “What was that?!”

  Ashen sighs and says dramatically,

  “It seems there is a Skeletal Dragon guarding our path, it seems this is how you will die.”

  Lina drains her energy as she mostly heals her leg. Skeletal dragons even juveniles are extremely strong, but why does he speak like only she will die here? Then she freezes, there is only one way he would be able to survive this, She draws her dagger but doesn’t get too close to him,

  “You’re a Death Priest aren’t you? You’re going to kill me, harvest my soul, and use it to get out of here.”

  Ashen doesn’t smile as he gazes towards her,

  “Yes I am a Priest of Death, and Yes I will be the reason you die tonight.”