Barbara

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Former Master and Connection to Eros

Barbara was the weapon of Eros’s ancestor, whom she calls her Master. That Master gave her the name Barbara. Despite her youthful manifestation, she remembers him as a once-peerless figure and is frustrated by Eros’s irreverent behavior 18.

Her private thoughts suggest a deeper connection between Eros and her former Master: she intends her lessons to help Eros recover his former power and memories, but tells him instead that he must become stronger to restore his family’s fortunes. Later, while discussing his possible ascent to divinity, she interrupts herself before completing the word “re…” 19 50.

Mentorship and Recovery

Barbara begins teaching Eros occult knowledge in his soul world each night, supplementing his daytime lessons with the family elders. She also trains him through sparring, eventually switching from purely defensive practice to repeated attacks so that he can adjust to real combat 19 20.

Her recovery initially slows Eros’s cultivation because she absorbs most of his incoming Spirit. Rather than divert the family’s remaining spirit marrow from essential uses, Eros supplies her himself. Once she can remain awake for extended periods, his own Spirit accumulation accelerates 21.

After Eros reaches Sequence 8, Barbara urges him to leave the estate and gain practical experience. Her argument that comfort cannot produce a saint becomes his answer to the elders who want to keep him safely at home 22.

Estrangement and Reconciliation

When the Book of the Night and Moon of Eternal Sleep send projections to accompany Eros, Barbara resents their arrival and competes for his attention. She wears white stockings despite previously refusing his requests, then offers him her lap if he ignores the other artifacts 27 28.

Eros subsequently kisses her. Overwhelmed and embarrassed, Barbara kicks him away and vanishes, refusing to appear for many nights. She briefly breaks her silence to warn him of a spiritual disturbance upon his arrival in the Imperial Capital. On the twenty-seventh night of his vigil, she returns, accepts his apology, and resumes sparring with him 29 30 32.

Protecting Eros’s Family

Barbara identifies Estelle’s missing soul fragment and explains how Eros can repair it with the Hymn of Life. During the Church’s examination of his bloodline, she guides his answers to avoid revealing his elven ancestor’s name. She later recognizes Wendy’s Spirit-Favored Body, allowing Eros to understand and conceal the danger surrounding his sister 32 33 40 44.

During the pursuit of Irina, Barbara helps Eros locate her and proposes an alternative to using a divine spell under dangerous conditions. By redirecting Irina’s sacrifice and merging her into Eros’s shadow, Barbara saves her life, but exhausts herself and falls asleep 48 49 50.

Appearance

• Humanoid form: A charming, black-haired young girl with a petite, slender figure and a delicate face 18 48.
• Distinguishing features: Long, slender legs, small pale hands, and rosy lips 28 29 48.
• Clothing: Wears a conjured skirt whose material feels physically solid. She later adds white stockings 18 28.
• Expressions: Frequently blushes when embarrassed by Eros, even while speaking fiercely or threatening to strike him 28 29 32.

Personality

Barbara is proud, sharp-tongued, and easily irritated by Eros’s teasing. She calls him “Junior” and often masks embarrassment with stern words or physical retaliation. Her jealousy toward the other divine artifacts is particularly overt: she dismisses them as freeloaders after they join Eros and actively prevents their projections from approaching him 18 27 28 32.

As a mentor, she prioritizes practical strength over comfort. She pushes Eros toward realistic combat training and experience outside his sheltered home. In dangerous situations, she is pragmatic: she supports killing Irina’s pursuers, warns against a rescue method that would leave Eros helpless, and devises another solution rather than abandoning Irina 20 22 49 50.

Barbara also withholds sensitive information. She conceals her stated hope of restoring Eros’s former memories, initially avoids explaining why she never manifests outside his soul world, and leaves unspoken the implications of his ability to accept a sacrifice 19 39 50.

Abilities & Skills

Authority over Shadows

At her peak, Barbara was a ruler of shadows who wielded authority over them 46.

• Enables Eros to jump between shadows, bypassing the academy’s detection arrays 46.
• Supplies power during his urgent journey to reach Irina 49.
• Says further recovery would let her transport him through the world’s Shadow Realm, rather than merely through nearby shadows 46.
• Remains substantially weakened: by the Church’s bloodline examination, she has not recovered enough power to shield Eros from a Sacred Artifact’s lie detection 40.

Sacrificial Ritual Alteration

Barbara can temporarily distort a sacrifice directed toward shadow, replacing its recipient with Eros 50.

• Redirects Irina’s ongoing sacrifice so that Eros can accept it 50.
• Merges Irina’s phantom existence into his shadow because he lacks a divine kingdom in which to preserve her 50.
• Explains that Irina cannot stray far from him afterward; separation would require his future ascent to the Divine Throne 50.
• The operation consumes enough power to force Barbara into sleep 50.

Manifestation and Bodily Control

Barbara can manifest outside Eros’s soul world and temporarily control his body 39 48 50.

• Appears beside Eros while holding the Book of the Night’s projection 48.
• Takes control of him to perform Irina’s transformation, turning his left eye pitch-black and generating black lines that form ritual arrays 50.
• Conjures clothing with physical substance, explaining that Spirit can condense into matter 18.

Spiritual Perception

Barbara detects supernatural activity and identifies spiritual conditions that Eros does not initially understand 30 32 44 46.

• Pinpoints a spiritual fluctuation in an alley and detects four people three kilometers away 30 46.
• Determines that one-fifth of Estelle’s soul has apparently been forcibly erased 32.
• Recognizes Wendy’s Spirit-Favored Body and explains its attraction to eldritch entities and evil gods 44.
• Provides reconnaissance during travel; after she falls asleep, Eros loses that support and encounters additional Church search squads 50.

Occult Knowledge and Tactical Guidance

Barbara’s expertise encompasses divine arts, bloodlines, artifacts, and eldritch dangers 18 27 33 40.

• Identifies the tentacle within Eros as the world’s oldest life and greatest horror, warning that he cannot defeat it yet 18.
• Explains how contracted artifacts can send portions of their power and consciousness through Eros’s bloodline inheritance 27.
• Identifies the Hymn of Life as a treatment for soul damage and explains the risks of its backlash 33.
• Advises Eros to describe his elven ancestor as a “Nameless Divine,” avoiding both a detectable lie and the consequences of speaking the ancestor’s name 40.
• Uses the Book of the Night’s soul imprints to help locate clan members; the tracking ability belongs to the book rather than Barbara herself 48.

Relationships

• Eros — Contracted master, student, and recipient of her affection. Their relationship combines demanding mentorship, teasing, jealousy, and romantic tension 19 21 28 29 32.
• Former Master / Eros’s ancestor — Her original wielder and the person who named her. She remembers his former greatness 18.
• Book of the Night — Allied divine artifact and rival for Eros’s attention. Barbara calls it a “stupid book,” but relies on its clan-tracking function when needed 27 28 48.
• Moon of Eternal Sleep — Another allied divine artifact whose projection she treats as an unwelcome competitor 27 28.
• Irina Renka Night — Eros’s fifth sister, whom Barbara preserves by transforming her into his shadow at considerable personal cost 48 50.

Notable Quotes

“It was time you saw the world. Throughout history, no saint has ever emerged from a life of comfort.” 22

“When you face an enemy in the future, they won't just defend without attacking. This is to help you adjust to real combat more quickly.” 20