The Fool's Freedom

Your title [Friend of the Spirit World] has become [Dweller of the Spirit World]

Title: Dweller of the Spirit World

To live among the Spirits is an honor few of the living have experienced. Cherish the small corner of their world you’ve been given, and don’t forget where you came from.

You own a Domain in the Spirit World. Your mastery over it will grow along with you until it is absolute. No one can affect or enter your domain without permission.

Spirits can sense the title and will treat you accordingly.

You can converse with spirits, contact them, and trade with them. Why should you be limited to what the System deems fit when you have friends in strange places?

Alan stepped through without hesitation. His own home. He had thought of making something like that, but researching ways to protect it or seeking help from the system would’ve been a time-consuming task. Plus, he was bound to roam the new world and explore it, not settle down. Who knew how much had changed, he had seen only a tiny forest and a few holes in the ground, and even that had been enough to shatter the limits of what he could imagine.

Now he was to have a home he could access from anywhere. The spirits were too good for him. He doubted Odu would’ve offered something so precious on his own. Perhaps it was Enid’s doing?

He walked on a path of mists and carefully approached the still-glitching mansion the land around it was vast and empty. He could feel it as if it was becoming a part of himself.

A loud bang took him out of his thoughts. It almost sounded like… a knock. No, it was not a sound but a feeling. Do I have a guest?

The thought made him chuckle. He felt a familiar pull, but this time it was like something he could reject if he wanted to. That was good. The spirits had been a great help, but their powers and ability to interfere with the System made them terrifying. He hoped he wouldn’t piss them off to make enemies of them. Enid had mentioned evil spirits too…

This time, however, he opened himself up to the contact and another passage appeared briefly next to him, only for Enid to appear in all her naked glory. Her form was a bit different this time around and she looked almost fully human – or at least like something close to human. Her skin was of emerald crystal and glistened as if covered in glitter under the light of the invisible sun, and her hair was like branches that hung loosely over her bosom and down to her waist, hiding too little for comfort.

The first time they had met she had enjoyed shifting her form around and playing. However, she seemed to have settled down lately.

“About time, boy” Enid said and draped a hand around Alan, pressing herself to him without care and allowing her scent to waft over. “I was so excited, but you kept taking your time! Do you know how terrible it feels to work with human time? Ugh. It’s so slow and moody, but I had to since I owe you. It’s difficult for us to adapt. And I don’t like owing things, although maybe it's not so bad when it comes to you.”

“Uh, yeah, time sucks. Can you let go?” Alan asked. Her flesh was warm and a bit rough, but not in an unpleasant way. Still, this was a bit much for him, although it wasn’t unpleasant.

She giggled but let go of him after a few seconds and twirled around in the mist.

“Fine, fine. Sorry for teasing. How do you like Odu’s reparations? I made sure it was a nice piece with lots of room,” Enid’s voice came as a myriad of whispers and she giggled again.

She seemed more… animated this time around. More real. Alan couldn’t describe it, but the colors of her skin and eyes and even his own lack of such popped out more. He tried to feel the mana around and swayed in place as a massive headache threatened to make him vomit. A warm hand caught him easily and dispelled whatever had happened as easy as breathing.

“Don’t do that,” Enid said. “This is not your world, and while it’s a lower layer of the Spirit World, it’s not something easy to comprehend. First things first. Make your home as you want it to be.”

Alan took a deep breath. The air was fresh and carried with itself a strangely intoxicating scent. It was new to him, but part of it certainly belonged to Enid. The rest… he couldn’t place it.

“How do I do that?”

“Just do. This place is a part of you. No one can be here if don’t allow it. Maybe someone more powerful than me can enter uninvited, but those are few and between and you wouldn’t want to catch their attention.” She turned small again and two pixie-like wings appeared on her back. She flew around him, leaving a trail of emerald light in her wake. “Wish for it! Will it!” she said, then settled on his shoulder. “To begin just allow your presence, will, and very soul, to pour out and the place will take a natural shape. See what you’re hiding. The Spirit World is peculiar and it is much more dependent on yourself, rather than what the System has given you.”

Alan listened to her carefully and tried to follow Enid’s words. It was similar to when he had let his will rage and take color from the world, only this time it seemed that the effect was stronger and smoother. Soon the mists churned and he felt his mind drift off. It was as if his consciousness expanded to envelop everything. He felt Enid on his shoulder – a flicker of emerald light so intense that it threatened to consume him if he started at it too long, so he looked away.

Darkness like a wave started pouring out of him, taking over the churning mists and crawling toward the glitching ‘mansion’ that was now no more than a hazy shape. He heard Enid giggle somewhere far away but the feeling was marvelous. This place was a reflection of him! Anything was possible! Alan tried to control the process, but it seemed impossible so he gave up. His initial joy settled and his eyes focused on the process.

The world was changing but not in the way he wanted. The mists turned to shadows as thick as oil and as dark as the abyss. Figures, trees, and stones started appearing around – old, dry, and broken remnants of something alive. The ground was dark and cracked, with bleeding shadows coming out of each opening and each scar.

What he had dubbed as a ‘mansion’ was just a decrepit old building with a broken-down door and missing wall. There was a hole in the roof and one could almost hear its foundations giving way. For a moment he saw himself, clutching a cane, cursing at the world that passed him by.

Alan shook his head. This was not him anymore. This was just a nightmare born out of the past.

The scenery changed again and the shadows became more translucent but retained their darkness. The ground closed up and short gray grass started spreading in all directions. The trees grew taller, but they too lacked any color. The building itself grew larger and more solid. It was hollow. He could feel it. This was not a home.

The world was monochrome but whole.

“I owe you, don’t I? Let me help,” a whisper in his ear said. Enid was back to her original size and pressed on his back, but he couldn’t care about her warmth right now. He nodded weakly.

His acceptance was followed by radiance. All the shades of green one could imagine and more conquered the world in a mere second and reality twisted. Alan felt it as an extension of itself, and the feeling was better than anything. He felt safe and the darkness that had plagued him retreated. It was still there, but Enid’s brilliance was too strong for it.

“The Spirit World is different but the name tells you enough. A world of the spirit. Some were born as spirits, some became spirits. A Domain is a home; it can reflect one’s nature, but it can also reflect a goal, a desire, or something completely different. If you want darkness, there will be darkness. And if you want light and hope… there will be light and hope. It takes practice to manifest those changes, but even a spirit is not given all they desire without effort. I promised to help you with the problem of longevity and assist in your ascendance to the next tier, but my help was not needed there. Allow me now, to do just that and fulfill my debt. I’ll make this place a shelter for you and your own that will give light in the darkest times.”

Her worlds were honey that flowed over his soul. Her embrace – the light and warmth that enveloped the darkness and compartmentalized it. It was there, but it was not overwhelming, and Alan found himself calm again, just like he had been after tiering up.

He smiled and watched as the lush green grass took over the world and bushes rose from nothing, growing fruit. A small pond appeared just before the house. Its waters were crystal clear and reflected a sky with impossible stars that hung low above.

All of this remained surrounded by dark twisting shadows, but Alan didn’t fear them. Those were the borders of his Domain, his will, and his presence.

The mansion changed too, turning into a strange building with two floors and crystalline laws. Vines and other foliage covered most of it, and flowers bloomed all over.

“It might be a bit too pretty for a manly and brooding man like you, but in time you’ll learn to adjust.” Enid giggled, “The fruit of the trees will heal anyone you bring here up to tier two. The waters of the lake will help you concentrate and calm yourself if you soak. The berries will recover wounds to your mana pathways, or simply boost its regeneration – something that can heal you too, considering your new constitution.”

Alan opened his mouth but a finger clamped over it. Enid was before him now, her eyes all-encompassing and playful. “The house is just that, but there will be no nightmares, nor suffering inside its walls. Remember, you cannot bring anything of what's here outside, be it to sell or use. What you bring from this point onward, you can take out again. But nothing born here should be taken out,” she explained slowly, making sure he was looking at her. “Whoever enters your domain can stay as long as they wish, but there will be side effects stemming from who you are. I’d suggest not inviting anyone below tier two, and even they might have a hard time spending a lot of time here as you grow stronger. The Spirit World can mess with the mind and the soul. You’re safe from that due to your title and this being your domain, but others are not. It should be fine for a few weeks, and once your control grows further it might be removed as an issue. Nothing is impossible.”

“Lastly… Spirits will visit. It doesn’t matter if you’re here or not. I suggest welcoming most unless you feel strongly that you shouldn’t. Time flows differently here, but that’s too difficult of a concept for the current you. Even I haven’t fully grasped it. For now, time passage here will be the same as time outside.”

Alan nodded. The initial change his presence had caused to the small piece of Spirit World that was now his had depressed him, but Enid had once again made it all better.

“For all you’ve done, I don’t know if I can ever repay you,” he said. “Thank you.”

Her laughter sounded out again and a cool breeze smelling of fresh grass and sweet fruit twirled around Alan. “Remember, dear boy. Spirits can give you a lot, and if you’re smart this will be a gift that keeps on giving. But you should be wary of deals and always remain calm. Even when dealing with me.”

She laughed again and took his hand, leading him further into his lands. It was difficult to believe he had a home such as this. From a crampy apartment to the apocalypse and sleeping outside, to this… It was surreal.

Before Alan could realize what she was doing, Enid pushed him into the pond and jumped after him.