Soul Echo

Moyu had once looked down upon this world from a reader's perspective.

Now that he had crossed over and become a part of this world, he did not feel superior to anyone else, nor did he claim to understand this world thoroughly.

When all was said and done, it was because of things like mahjong...

The so-called reader's perspective had, at most, only allowed him to glimpse part of the world's map, let alone the even more vast unknown lands beyond it.

Therefore, on the premise of staying indoors, Moyu believed it was necessary to gain a deeper understanding of this world by reading extensively.

Swamp Man was one of the fantasy novels he had read to lift his spirits, centered on the themes of "souls" and "What exactly am I?"

The story began with a man being struck dead by Thunderbolt while passing through a Swamp.

However, Thunderbolt and the Swamp reacted in a wondrous way, immediately creating a being identical to the deceased in physical form, mass, and even soul.

The story unfolded from this kind of "restart," posing a question—

If preserving the soul granted a new beginning, was I still myself?

Moyu stood before the bookshelf and opened Swamp Man.

He had read it not long ago, so he still remembered it fairly clearly.

His slender fingertips flipped through a page before stopping at a particular spot.

"Shadow."

Moyu stared at the word he found most conspicuous among the lines.

A shadow was the vessel used to replicate a soul...

But what if it was not replication, but fusion?

Moyu fell into thought, then turned to look at his own shadow. A thought stirred in his mind.

The Latent Aura that had only just recovered somewhat slowly flowed out through his Aura Nodes and merged into his shadow.

Mimicry—

As aura flowed into it, Moyu's shadow first split apart, then gradually became three-dimensional, forming a pitch-black humanoid figure the exact same size as Moyu.

"So this is my Nen Ability, though it is still only in its infancy..."

Moyu carefully examined the motionless pitch-black humanoid before him, which resembled a mannequin, and murmured:

"The burden of using the ability has clearly decreased, and it consumes less aura too."

The first time he had used the ability, his shadow had only taken on the form of a bubble. It lasted three seconds, but had nearly drained all the aura from Moyu's body.

This time, however, Moyu had used only a small portion of his aura to mimic a humanoid form, and it had lasted longer than three seconds.

"Because my understanding of the ability is gradually becoming clearer, I can use it more smoothly. Even the difficulty of 'constructing' it has decreased."

Moyu roughly understood the reason.

This Nen Ability tied to shadows was still only a prototype. Once his aura reserves and techniques improved, he could further refine more ability effects.

But that was contingent on his Nen Capacity being able to accommodate the ability effects he developed.

The more complex a Nen Ability was, the more Nen Capacity it occupied.

Ordinarily, a Nen user would fill all their Nen Capacity just by developing one mature Nen Ability.

However, a small number of exceptionally gifted Nen users could develop a second or even third Nen Ability without any burden.

"I'll call it Soul Echo."

Moyu gave his ability a name. At the same time, he planned to use Water Divination to test his Nen affinity once his foundational techniques had stabilized.

Only after determining his affinity could he refine his Nen Ability along the right path.

Soul Echo

Nen affinity not yet tested

Stage One Ability: Uses the shadow as a vessel for aura to perform Mimicry.

The upper limit of Mimicry is currently unknown. Preliminary estimates suggest that the limit can be expanded through Restrictions.

After naming his new ability, Moyu began fiddling with the Shadow Dummy.

"Raise your left hand."

Moyu first issued a simple command to the Shadow Dummy, following the logic of a Manipulator.

His voice fell, but the Shadow Dummy showed no reaction.

"Huh? Am I not a Manipulator? No, that isn't right. Even if my affinity is wrong, such a simple command shouldn't get no response at all."

Moyu raised a hand to his chin.

Then, he lowered the difficulty of the command and merely told the Shadow Dummy to move one finger.

Yet the Shadow Dummy remained completely still.

"Something's off."

Moyu raised an eyebrow and began considering the reason.

"Right."

Moyu looked at the Shadow Dummy, which did not even give off the slightest aura fluctuation, and smiled. "Though you've separated from my body, we are still one at our core, so..."

At this point, Moyu closed his eyes and issued a command to the Shadow Dummy within his consciousness.

The next moment.

The Shadow Dummy obediently raised its left hand.

Moyu then opened his eyes. Seeing the Shadow Dummy holding its raised-hand pose, he revealed a satisfied expression.

Because he was not yet proficient with the ability, and because he lacked sufficient aura, he had to close his eyes to heighten his concentration.

Once his overall abilities and techniques became more skilled in the future, he naturally would not have to struggle so much.

Moyu continuously issued all sorts of commands to the Shadow Dummy in his mind. Like a child who had just received a new toy, he played to his heart's content.

About ten minutes passed.

Moyu, having gotten carried away, suddenly saw darkness before his eyes and collapsed to the floor after exhausting all his strength.

The Shadow Dummy dispersed along with it, returning to its ordinary state.

From awakening Nen to the birth of his ability—

The entire process had taken less than twelve hours.

If anyone else had been present, they likely could only have described Moyu with the words "exceptional case."

Time slowly passed.

The sun rose high in the east, dispersing the morning mist and radiating scorching heat, before gradually setting in the west.

When the last ray of afterglow vanished in the distance, night fell.

Moyu woke up at that moment as well.

"I'm so hungry."

The hunger rising from his stomach tormented the newly awakened Moyu.

"I accidentally got too carried away..."

Moyu rose from the floor and returned Swamp Man to the bookshelf.

"I should go make something to eat in the kitchen first."

Perhaps because he had overexerted his aura reserves, Moyu had never felt this hungry before. He fumbled through the dark room and turned on the light.

Click—

The light that came on filled the entire room.

Moyu stepped out of the room and looked up at the sky.

Dark clouds densely covered the night sky, with not even a trace of moonlight in sight.

The surroundings were silent. The darkness in the distance resembled a gigantic maw that could devour one's soul.

Moyu turned on the corridor lights.

The bright light illuminated the surroundings, bringing a slight sense of security.

Moyu passed through the corridor and headed straight for the kitchen.

Amid the silent, dark mountain forest, a bout of hurried panting suddenly rang out.

A figure stumbled through the forest in a run, panic and terror visible in their eyes.

Suddenly, the figure noticed the lights atop the mountain ahead.

Like a drowning person spotting a piece of driftwood, a glimmer of hope flashed through the figure's eyes.

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