1,000,000 Karma: My Reward Is a Quiet Life-Chapter 45: Hollow Sanctuary

"Alright, now with that handled...Let’s get you out of there," he said, looking over at the odd bubble.

Though as he said that, the translucent sphere "popped", leaving the mysterious girl falling through the air.

"—!"

[Tintri]

He moved quickly, crossing the distance in an instant to catch the slumbering girl in his arms. Getting a closer look at her face, she appeared to be around his age, if not slightly younger; she wore a black dress and leggings, her entire attire "dark’, in contrast to her snow-white complexion.

To his surprise, her eyes opened, revealing amethyst irises that tiredly looked at him before completely parting in surprise.

"Ah–?!" She gasped, immediately crawling back.

"Woah, I’m not one of those things," Noah clarified with his hands up. "I broke you out of that bubble."

It took a moment for the strange woman to even realize where she was, it seemed, by the confused glances around she took. After a minute, the pale woman picked herself up, brushing the dust off the skirt of her dress before composing herself.

"You saved me," she said. "I see that now. I’m Rain, an adventurer."

Despite having just been freed from a slumber, dark bags hung under the stranger’s eyes as if she’d never seen a wink of sleep.

"Oh, you’re an adventurer, too?" Noah said. "I’m Noah, by the way."

The girl whose fringes curtained her eyes somewhat nodded, revealing the necklace hidden under her dress, revealing a silver insignia carved with the talons, "I’m a Wyvern-rank. I specialize in supernatural missions, you see."

’Considering how I found you, I don’t really see it,’ he thought, though neglecting to say something outwardly rude.

He realized it was likely rude not to introduce his rank in return, pulling out the beige badge, "I’m a Behemoth-rank, by the way."

"Oh! A Behemoth? That’s relieving," Rain said with a sigh of relief.

"So, what happened?" He asked.

The silence around them stretched on, carrying their voices through the vast, unnatural space of the haunted chamber.

Rain put her hand to her chin, recollecting, "I came here to investigate the spiritual activity in this area. The general idea was that there was one, powerful and malicious spirit inhabiting the remnants of this town."

"That kidnapper phantasm, huh?" He guessed.

"No, actually," Rain corrected the assumption, looking right at him. "That’s the problem here. This place...It’s infested with phantasmals. It’s become a "Hollow Sanctuary."

"Hollow Sanctuary?" He asked.

Only then he noticed the room he was in somehow changed; the gray walls became beige bricks, with spiraling staircases connecting to the expanding walls. Somehow, it didn’t seem to bother the woman who specialized in the field of the supernatural.

"It’s a phenomenon that occurs where a massive abundance of spiritual energy gathers. In essence, this town has become a convergence of the living world and the other side."

The topic seemed to be entirely engrossing for the girl, as she continued on-and-on despite just being freed.

Rain spoke with a curious smile, "—You’ve noticed it, haven’t you? Everything around us is constantly shifting, bypassing logic entirely."

"Yeah, I’ve noticed," Noah said, looking up at the now nonexistent ceiling that expanded into endless corridors.

"The fact this town has been turned into an Abyssal Sanctuary means it’s likely there is a vastly powerful spirit somewhere here," Rain theorized. "--One beyond what was thought to reside here."

"Well, I didn’t come here alone."

"Oh? There’s others?" Rain asked in surprise.

"Yeah, and some of them aren’t great at handling the supernatural. So, I’d like to get back to them," Noah said. "I’m guessing that’s going to be a challenge in a place like this, though."

The expert on the supernatural nodded her head, "You’re right about that. However, you’re in luck: I happen to have the ability to navigate such areas."

There was clear pride in the claim made by the self-proclaimed expert, who had her hand on her chest and her head tilted back as if expecting him to be absolutely floored by her greatness.

"Nice," Noah said casually. "Lead the way."

Rain was silent for a moment before blinking, then gasping, "Hey, hey! It’s a super useful ability, isn’t it? Isn’t it?!"

He raised an eyebrow at the baggy-eyed woman’s reaction, realizing what she wanted as he sighed, "Well, what can you do, exactly?"

Once more, a proud smile curved on the pale girl’s lips as she held out her hand. A pendant swayed, attached to a black string around her index finger.

"My ability is Divination," Rain explained. "Give me the names of your friends, and keep their faces in your mind."

"Alright," Noah nodded, looking into her enchanting eyes. "Otto...Astrid...Redrum."

With each name that left his lips, he earnestly pictured his companions in his mind. It was like the names had a physical effect on the paranormal expert, as she shut her eyes and trembled, taking in each.

The pendant swayed, moving unnaturally and spinning itself before–it stopped. Rain opened her eyes a moment later with an accomplished look.

"Astrid and Redrum, those two you mentioned are together," she relayed her findings, pointing eastward through the active maze of hallways that constantly shifted. "I sense their presence that way."

"And Otto?"

"He, well...He’s alive, I can tell that much," Rain answered hesitantly. "I can vaguely feel what he’s feeling–there’s no pain, just...fear."

"That sounds about right. It was my idea to come here, so I owe it to him to get him out of this," Noah said, extending his hand to the woman. "Thank you, really. You’ve helped a lot."

Rain stared at the sign of gratitude before accepting it, hesitant despite her earlier pride, "I–well, the truth is, you helped me. I just returned the favor, is all."

"Well, thank you still," Noah smiled with a certain genuineness that left no question to his kind intentions.

The pale woman quickly pulled her hand away with flushed cheeks, turning ahead in an attempt to hide her bashfulness. She pointed north towards a passage of swirling shelves that seemed to fixate itself when looked at, "If we’re going to find your friend, then we’ll need to go that way. Stick close though, alright? It only takes a moment to be separated inside of a Hollow Sanctuary."