The Cycle of Fate

Chapter 169: The Origin of the "Armored Shadow"

In the previous chapter, Lumian shifts his thoughts away from Roche Louise Samson, the "Soul Summoning Ritual," and the "Fool's Festival," returning to the topic as Franca had requested:

"In the disaster at Cordu Village, I was also contaminated by the Fate Evil God. Fortunately, I had the protection of 'The Fool,' so I was able to maintain my sanity and not turn into a monster.

"This contamination is both a curse and a blessing. I am currently following the guidance of 'The Magician' to extract the contamination bit by bit, turning it into my own power and balancing it with the corresponding extraordinary characteristics."

Franca suddenly understood: 
"So, the 'special contract' you mentioned is actually the power of a 'Contracted One'? No wonder I couldn't learn it no matter what."

From Lumian's vague understanding of the powers of Sequence 6 in the Fate pathway, Franca inferred that he was now both a Sequence 7 "Pyromaniac" and a "Contracted One."

Lumian nodded slightly: 
"That's why Guillaume Bénet didn't dare to casually alter or replace my destiny. The contamination inside me has a fairly high status."

"For 'The Fool' to provide protection, there must be some divinity involved," Franca mused. "Do you think I could also get some sort of blessing?"

"Do you want to try everything?" Lumian clicked his tongue. "Are you planning to find the 'Great Mother,' to experience the cycle of pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding every day, or worship the 'Mother Tree of Desire' and drag stray dogs into your bed?"

"Hiss..." Franca drew in a breath and said, "I was just joking. Worshipping an Evil God is far too dangerous. Getting the protection of 'The Fool' immediately upon contact with the power of an Evil God, like you did, is not something anyone can expect."

"This isn't merely about contact," Lumian added to dispel Franca's unrealistic ideas, revealing more: "The power of Fate is sealed within my body. That means I am praying to 'The Fool' and to the contamination within me for blessings, not to that entity that embodies Fate. Only by doing so can I ensure basic safety. Otherwise, I might suddenly become someone else or die out of the blue."

Franca instinctively exhaled: 
"Let's get back to the 'Humm-Hah Technique.'"

Lumian restructured his thoughts: 
"To avoid being indirectly influenced by the entity known as Fate, I abandoned the strange creatures that came with the blessing's knowledge and asked 'The Magician' for a batch of information on spirit world creatures. The rest of the story, you already know.

"'The Humm-Hah Technique' comes from one of the spirit world creatures I summoned. I originally wanted to summon the 'Shrieking Shadow,' but whether it was due to my prayer to 'The Fool' or because my incantation wasn't precise enough, a completely different spirit appeared."

Lumian detailed the summoning incantation, his design process, and the appearance and abilities of the armored shadow, even making a rough illustration despite his near-failing drawing skills.

"Scale armor... 'Humm-Hah Technique'... 'Procession of Wraiths'... 'Soul-Devouring Howl'..." Franca mumbled, staring at the drawing on the coffee table, her gaze unfocused.

Lumian tentatively asked: 
"Is there a problem?"

Would Aurore have had a similar reaction?

Franca snapped back to attention, her expression turning both serious and excited: 
"That 'Armored Shadow' might come from our world!"

"Your world?" Lumian hadn't expected such an answer.

Still, it seemed reasonable. The armor's design and the names of the abilities were very distinctive, quite different from anything in the current world.