Chapter 37: Ghostly Area

Chapter 37

 Edited by _Banana for the Monkey King_ 

As Morningstar scanned the area, he could see that it was littered with corpses, thousands of them, scattered across the ground. He covered his nose as the stench of decay and death filled the air.

Looking down, he realized that he was standing on a carpet of black, rotting flesh, like a mass of intestines. The sight was revolting, and he felt his stomach turn. 

"What is this place?" Kofi whispered, his voice hushed.

"It's horrible." Morningstar shook his head. "I don't know," he said, his tone grim. 

The smell was enough to make Morningstar's stomach churn, and the flies that swarmed around him were a constant annoyance.

But it was the ghosts that truly made him uneasy. Their hateful expressions seemed to bore into him as if they wanted to tear him apart. It was a deeply unsettling feeling, and he found himself on edge, ready for an attack that might never come. 

Kofi, meanwhile, was trembling with fear. He kept glancing around nervously as if expecting something terrible to happen at any moment."We need to get out of here," he said, his voice shaking. "I'm not in my top form and wouldn't be able to defend myself, heck I can't even think of how my attack can harm gh...ghosts." 

"I agree, you're too injured, so we need to find somewhere to heal up," Morningstar said as he kept looking around. 

"Yeah, and I'm getting hungry too," Kofi said, his voice strained. "Plus, this place is making me feel sick in my stomach. I think I might hurl if we stay any longer."

 Morningstar nodded in agreement. "I think we should get out of here then. I don't like it here either." 

The two of them after contemplating turned to the east, and started walking in that direction.

As they went, they passed mountains of corpses, each one more gruesome than the last. And with each passing moment, ghosts appeared, their faces contorted in rage and hatred, strangely they did not attack. 

Kofi, who was observing all this suddenly opened his mouth to ask, "Hey, these are spirits, right?" he said. "My sword absorbs spirit essences and levels up. Wouldn't it be great if we tried to get it here?" 

Morningstar looked at him, like an alien from outer space. "You can't be serious," he said, his voice incredulous. "Do you really think it's a good idea to go around killing ghosts?" He jest. 

"What? It's not like they're real people," Kofi said, shrugging, "besides, we can use some power up." He said as he looked at the ghosts floating around while releasing ghostly howls. 

"But," Morningstar added as he looked at the spirits floating, "They wouldn't attack right? I mean no being will remain still when someone tries to kill them." 

"I'm telling you, my sword just sort of... absorbed one of the spirits, without me even telling it to," Kofi explained, scratching his head.

"It was like it had a mind of its own and strangely the ghosts didn't do anything." 

Morningstar stared at him, clearly taken aback. "Wait... your sword absorbed a spirit on its own without you willing it?" he asked, unable to wrap his head around the idea.

 "I've never heard of anything like that. Do you think it has a soul of its own?" 

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's the only explanation I can think of," Kofi said, shrugging. 

What else could he say, seeing mana being in existence, zombies, QI and so on was enough to shake them so linking a sword which subconsciously absorbed spirit wasn't that shocking to them. 

Thinking about it, Morningstar also begins to wonder if the necklace could absorb souls. 

After some contemplation, he and Kofi decide to absorb the souls. Others might call them cruel or so but to Morningstar, he felt no conflict absorbing those souls, wouldn't it be better to absorb their essence and let their spirits have a chance of reincarnating rather than leaving them to turn to vengeful spirits and being havoc to both innocent people and the unjust? 

Kofi was the first to make a move he stabbed his sword onto the floor which turned out to be someone's skull. 

After stabbing it, he muttered some words and then brought his finger close to the sword and cut a small part, making blood sip out. With it, he wrote something on the blade while muttering some strange words. Morningstar was curious and continued to watch. 

Suddenly, the blade started releasing a very faint hum but with each second it got louder to the point the whole place was filled with nothing but humming sounds, and runes flashed around the sword.

Even the ghostly howls were suppressed.

 Following those hums it seems like the ghosts finally found where to vent their anger as they each madly float towards the blade and vanish inside.

 Morningstar subconsciously remembers the words his teacher told them about ghosts. He said, that in the realm of science, there is no concrete evidence to support the existence of ghosts.

However, some scientists have proposed theories about the nature of ghosts and how they might be explained. 

One theory is that ghosts are actually electromagnetic fields or energy patterns that are detected by the human brain. This idea is based on the fact that certain environments, such as abandoned buildings or places with a history of tragedy, can produce strong electromagnetic fields.

Some people believe that these fields might interact with the brain in a way that creates the sensation of seeing or feeling a ghost. 

Another theory is that ghosts are actually hallucinations caused by natural phenomena, such as sleep paralysis or brain chemical imbalances. Sleep paralysis is a condition where a person is unable to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up. In some cases, people may experience vivid hallucinations during this state, which they might interpret as a ghostly presence. 

Meanwhile, here he is. In the realm of fantasy, ghosts are often portrayed as the spirits of deceased individuals who have unfinished business or are trapped in the mortal realm. They can possess the living, communicate with the living through dreams or visions, and may even have supernatural powers.

 _Does this mean science is not always right? Or, maybe they are since ghosts are seen as electromagnetic fields or energy patterns. It just means we couldn't absorb the energy back then right?_ He thought as he saw each spirit vanishing into the sword. 

Not daring to delay any further, he took a deep breath and started circulating his QI towards the necklace.

With a faint glow, a suction force appears and starts pulling the spirits towards Morningstar's body. 

He was stunned to see the spirits unwillingly being dragged towards him and when he thought the necklace would absorb it, it did something different.The spirit enters his body.

At that moment he felt all his bones turning cold, his blood too and he even felt like his heartbeat was slowing down and he was losing control of his body at a fast pace. 

Without thinking, he began to circulate his qi, fighting against the cold force that was taking over his body.

He didn't realize that his efforts were inadvertently infusing his body with a legendary yin energy. As the spirits were repelled, he felt the freezing sensation recede, but a new, strange power began to take its place. It was a deep, powerful force, unlike anything he had ever felt before.

He felt a tingle of electricity run through him, and his breath came out in small puffs of dark mist. 

_Just one spirit and I'm already feeling so different? What will happen when I absorb half of them?_

Morningstar thought as greed shone in his eyes.

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