Chương 255: Mending The Bear

"Oh, you're so cute, I could just eat you up in one bite!"

"W-Where am I?"

"Ah, yes. You must be a little confused. It's me, Mara–Remember when I gobbled you up, and I said that you could become one of my beloved little sisters? Well, here you go! You are inside my Mindscape, let me show you the outside" I carried her out of the workshop and into the much prettier part of the Mindscape. I showed her around the various biomes and architectures, but whilst we were doing so, the Mindscape shifted and transformed to reflect the arrival of a new little sister… Not quite a ghostly one, though.

It would seem that although the consumption of melded souls and spirits had the effect of granting Anathema a few ghostly qualities, in the end, it did not truly change her. When manifested, she appeared as the same Living Curse she had been back then. The only difference was that she could float better and also could phase through walls, but that was akin to me gaining new innate abilities. One thing I noted, though.

Was that Anathema, whilst she looked nearly identical to how she had been back when I first met her, she was a little bit different in the sense that her dark red eyes had become far more expressive, and they were now accompanied by what I assumed was meant to be a mouth, but it moved in odd ways when she spoke.

"How long has it been since then? I can't… I can't quite get a sense of how much time has passed""It's been a little while, to be honest. It took a lot of time and work to find a way to bring you back. But you are here now, and that's all that matters! Let's go check that new place that just built itself–All of my little sisters get a place made with them in mind inside the Mindscape.

It should reflect your interests and the like" I carried her over to a cute little shed of some kind that had just manifested near the manor. While it definitely looked small next to the big house and farm, it wasn't actually that small overall. When the large swinging doors were opened, I was greeted by a smell I hadn't experienced many times before… That of paint. This place was filled with blank canvasses, paint, sculpting tools, and all sorts of items relating to the arts. In simple terms, this was an art room.

The Art Room, rather.

"Do you like art, Ana?" She had already gotten out of my arms and was running around like a little wild goblin. I think it was safe to assume that she did like art.

"This is incredible!"

"I didn't realise that you had such an interest. When did you find out that you liked art?"

"It was while I was trapped. Sometimes, I could peer out of my prison and see a bit of what was happening inside that residence. There was this girl, Heltna, I believe? She would sometimes be painting, and it all started from there. I mean, I had no idea such a thing existed! I never realised that with just some colourful liquid, one could create such gorgeous visuals!"

"Mmh… So you never actually got to try it out yourself?"

"Not at all! I'll need to practise a lot, it didn't seem easy…" I patted her head, which caused her red eyes to turn from circles to sideways Vs.

"You can start practising as much as you want. If you need something in particular, you can probably just will it into existence. The Mindscape is often very convenient when it comes to things like this. Don't hesitate to ask your sisters for help, they'll love giving you a hand. I will be back inside the workshop""There is something else I need to do""Is there another sister on the way?"

"Not really, no. It will be something different…" I left Ana to enjoy herself in the Art Room. Alright, now it is Faelan's turn. Faelan was a special case amongst my victims. He had not perished by my own hand, not directly, at least. His death had come due to an issue with the nightmare trials. A while ago, when I was in Tolten, I had hidden myself inside an attic. This attic had been right above a smith's business and home.

Being that I was a gal hungry for negative emotions, I had taken to appearing inside of one of the smith's sons. I scared the absolute living hell out of him, but I eventually left. Unbeknownst to me, my actions had actually triggered the chain of nightmare trials–In fact, he might have been the first person to actually experience them… Unfortunately, due to me being too far away, the final trial never properly triggered, even when the conditions were met, and back then, there had been no pre-final trial.

As such, the nightmares couldn't kill him at all, but they kept happening endlessly. Eventually leading to madness and death via sleep deprivation. It hadn't been my intention, but this resulted in Faelan's soul being damaged, and not only that, there was something special about his soul. I had been too far away to receive his negative emotions as well, so they had accumulated and festered within him. Nowadays, my range for all of these things is much larger.

This meant that Faelan was a special case that I couldn't replicate, at least, not using the same conditions. In short, his soul was valuable, but I needed to fix it before turning him into a spectre. The process was actually much simpler than for Anathema. He just needed to be nourished with egoless souls. It was especially effective since Faelan's soul was quite aggressive. I think it might actually be able to overpower souls who still have their sense of self… Reading on this site?

This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Once properly nourished, it quickly began showing signs of repair. To be fully mended, quite a lot of souls had been devoured, but Faelan's tortured and corrupted soul was eventually returned to a pristine state. I then used the Furnace to stabilise the negative emotions embedded in the depths of the soul before feeding it spirits this time.

Once fully prepared, I inspected it one last time to make sure I hadn't missed any bit of damage, and then I manifested him as a spirit. … Oh my. That's… That's quite gruesome. I was expecting him to look the way he had looked back then, but he was actually a fair bit taller and older-looking in this ghostly form. He almost looked like a young man, and wore a nice brown attire that made it look like it was his first day at a reputable school. More importantly, though.

He was the spirit who looked the most different from their living self, despite me never doing anything to alter his form. First of all, his official cause of death was sleep deprivation, but it was clear that, preceding his demise, his madness had caused him to hurt himself pretty badly. His lips were simply gone, probably chewed off in a manic episode, and his fingers were bloody, bearing bite marks all over them, having caused all of them to turn a blue-purplish colour. His face had also been clawed into…

It was pretty nasty stuff. Faelan also used to look like a very human-like bearfolk, possessing only the ears and tail as far as I was aware, just like his parents. However, his teeth were currently far more bestial, and his damaged fingers were sometimes turning into monstrous, bony claws akin to those of an actual bear. It seems like he is indeed quite a special spectre. Something tells me he has a lot of potential.

"Hello, Faelan. I am Mara. How do you feel, right now?" He lifted his head to look at me and opened his mouth–Only for a grunt to escape his throat.

"Did you bite off your own tongue? I am starting to wonder if the so-called sleep deprivation wasn't the name of someone who murdered you. How in damnation did you survive all of this, only to end up dying because you couldn't sleep?" He tilted his head to the side, as if he didn't quite understand what I was saying. An odd spirit indeed. Why would he even need a tongue to speak? He isn't a corporal being.

"Alright, let's step outside and show me what you can do" He nodded. Good, it seems like the Furnace torture went well. He doesn't hold any grudges against me. We went into the Great Plains of the Mindscape, as it was the place with the most empty space. Perfect to test what an unknown quantity like Faelan was capable of. Since I was the owner of the Mindscape, I was able to control the Great Plains just like Annie was capable of, and manifested a dummy out of solid dirt.

"Very well, Faelan, do you see this dummy? It's a big meanie and deserves death. Attack it with all-" I couldn't finish because he had already pounced on the dummy. In a matter of seconds, the poor thing was utterly destroyed. Faelan mauled it and swung his claws so hard that he left marks in the ground as well. All that before bringing down both fists like a savage, basically reducing the dummy to dust.

"Alright, stop" Surprisingly, he listened to me very well. I, for a moment, thought that he wouldn't hear a thing, considering that he seemed enraged, but it seems like he was a good boy. So first of all, he is pretty freakishly strong and fights like a genuine bear. Second of all, his hands and maw do transform when he turns aggressive. They become far more monstrous and dangerous…

As for the rest, it wasn't quite noticeable due to the test happening inside the Mindscape, but I was able to tell that the moment he attacked, the 'paranormal' disturbances increased quite significantly. Basically, like some sort of haunting was taking place. It doesn't seem like Faelan controls this ability at all. It just sort of happens when he lets his emotions speak for themselves.

Something else he didn't control was the way he was switching between being a physical manifestation and just disappearing completely as though he had gone to the spirit realm or something like that. When he attacked, he just began to flicker in and out. This could be a very nice ability if he learned to control it a bit better. Further tests revealed that he was very good at tracking and also had–By far–The most powerful 'Embodiment Of Fear' that all of my little sisters had. Well, except Ophelie and Anathema.

All in all, Faelan was incredibly powerful, but he had a few weaknesses as well. For one, it didn't seem like he had any real control over his abilities. Most of them activated on their own when he attacked. I would say that he should learn to calm down, but it was precisely because he didn't calm down that he was powerful. The negative emotions that had tainted his soul were the source of his incredible strength. He didn't have anything subtle.

He was a big brute who growled and screamed while tearing his prey apart. Also, he really couldn't talk at all, probably a side effect of having had his soul damaged. Additionally, he couldn't hover or float at all, and he struggled dearly to phase through solid objects. It was a bit like watching someone crawling out of a tight space. He would often just end, shattering whatever he was trying to pass through.

Getting annoyed made him quite powerful for a few moments, but once a problem was solved, he always calmed down immediately. He was somehow simultaneously incapable of controlling his emotions and also in full control of them. I didn't dare to imagine being a poor fool who really pissed him off. There didn't seem to be a limit to how strong he could get… Especially since it wasn't just about how mad he was, but how long he stayed mad.

When I presented him with a much tougher dummy, he wasn't able to destroy it at first, but he also knew that it was just a test with a dummy, so it didn't make him that angry to be unable to break it, but even his modest annoyance was eventually enough, as he continued to try for ten minutes. Truly an odd spirit. I rubbed his round bear ears. I quite like him.

Once we were done doing tests, I took him by the hand and eventually found my way to an underground area that had spawned following his creation into a ghost. Down there was just a white, padded room. The walls were soft, the floor was soft, and even the ceiling was soft. There was only a bed in here, but for some reason. Faelan seemed to quite like it as he immediately went to take a seat on the bed. Huh… Does he find this calming? Well, as long as he likes it… I'll go check if Mari has woken up.

"Faelan. Make yourself comfortable and don't hesitate to socialise with the others, alright? Just don't break anything. This place is home. Also, I'll probably bring you out of the Mindscape so that you can meet Coco, you two fight in similar ways. I am sure you'll hit it off" The bearfolk nodded.

"Great, I'll see you later"