Shadow Author

Following behind her, the two of us entered the cave where Miss Smith would learn of a painful fact.

As we ventured deeper into the cave, the darkness enveloped us like a thick blanket, making it impossible to see even my own hand in front of me.

Ordinarily I would have never entered such a creepy place, but I knew that there wasn't any danger, so it was just a matter of having the right mindset.

We continued to move on and the dampness in the air chilled me to the bone. It didn't help that the sounds of droplets hitting the ground echoed ominously throughout the cavern.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I began to make out the jagged formations of stalactites and stalagmites that surrounded the two of us.

They seemed to be joined together, forming twisted columns that looked almost organic, like they were alive and growing.

The rocks shimmered in the dim light, revealing a rainbow of colors from all the minerals.

The rocks were razor-sharp jutting out from the walls and floor.

Then suddenly the ground became slicker, and I had to be careful not to slip on the wet rocks.

The air was thick with the musty scent of earth and decay, and the ground beneath my feet was slick with moisture.

At some point, we started descending, but I didn't want to risk an injury, so I summoned a lantern that I had stored away in the spatial ring.

With visible light, our silhouettes cast eerie shadows on the cave walls.

As we drew closer to the end, I cast a dim glow that barely illuminated the surrounding area.

From what I could make out, we had to go down a layer of carved-out stairs.

It was obviously man-made, as the stairs were too perfect to be made by nature.

"Looks like you will find your answers down there."

Miss Smith turned back to look at me before nodding and taking the first step down.

I quickly followed behind her, as I too wanted to see what lay in the depths.

With each step we took approaching the back of the cave, my heart raced with a mix of fear and curiosity.

When we finally descended to the bottom a wide room was revealed.

The lantern couldn't light up the whole place but I instantly knew that we made it.

Swinging the light around the place resembled exactly as I had described in the .

But that almost meant I knew what was hiding here.

This time I took the lead as I silently began walking in front of Miss Smith.

She trailed behind me and it didn't take too long until a dark shadow was outlined.

And then, in the farthest corner, I saw it — a human skeleton.

The bones were bleached white by time and the elements. Its empty eye sockets seemed to stare straight through me.

I gulped loudly, alerting Miss Smith.

'The Nihil Witch.'

When the light passed over the corpse, Miss Smith froze up right next to me.

I could tell hundreds of thoughts a second was passing through her mind.

Leaving her be I moved forward and crouched down next to the decomposed body.

"The one who challenged the world, lost everything, and died with nothing, your sister."

I took a closer look at the bones, realizing that there was nothing special about them.

In the end, a human is a human and in death, we are all the same.

"Your sister was something back in the day, being an S-ranker at twenty-five. I even heard rumors that she could be the first SSS ranker, but it's a shame she couldn't break free from her fate."

Reaching out my hand, I tore off a talisman that was still wrapped around her neck.

Besides worn-out and torn clothing that seemed as if it would turn to dust with the slightest of touches, the amulet was the only thing to survive.

It was remarkable that the thing seemed to go against time as it was without a scratch while the rest of the body seemed as if it had been dead for a hundred years.

Pulling the jewelry closer to my body, I looked it over studying the design before standing back up and turning to Miss Smith.

She remained still as if unable to move from where she stood, only staring emotionless at the pile of bones.

Moving forward, I blocked the way of Miss Smith and placed myself in front of her line of sight to the body.

Grabbing her hand which was at her side, I raised it up and opened her palm before planting the amulet on it.

"A keepsake of sorts, I'm sure your sister would have wanted you to have it."

Finished with everything on my end I left the lantern behind before pulling out a second and climbing the staircase.

Leaving Miss Smith behind to her own vices, I gave her an opportunity to mourn her beloved sister.

Once I had reached the last step and began ascending the cave to leave, a cruel smile covered my face as the exact same talisman that I had just handed Miss Smith appeared in my hands.

When compared to the one that was now with Miss Smith, no one would be able to notice any differences. That was, unless they were to sense the amount of mana stored within the one in my possession.

Back before this whole expedition began I had already made countless preparations and although it was rough, my end goal ended up being a success.

With some of the materials I gathered from the school store coupled with my knowledge, it was surprisingly easy to duplicate the jewelry.

After all, it wasn't all that detailed, but I knew I had to get it exact, otherwise, Miss Smith would have known something was off.

Thankfully she was too stunned to go for the amulet first and I was able to switch them out without her noticing.

I knew a flash of mana would appear when summoning an item from a spatial ring, which was why when I first took out the lantern I also grabbed the copy.

Thus, when I brought the original close to my chest, I quickly swapped the two and shoved the real one into my shirt.

Miss Smith's poor mental state was the only reason I was able to pull off something so devious, and although I felt bad that she wouldn't be getting what her sister left for her I knew the item would be much better in my hands.

After all, I am the one who created it and brought it into the world. Miss Smith's sister was only the recipient of it, but now the amulet is in its owner's hands.

Exiting the cave, I sent the magic item and lantern back into my ring before taking a seat next to the entrance to wait for Miss Smith.