"This is the main gate for the top floor, Young Master." Trembling with memories of being treated like a toy, the cloaked figure bent low before him. His legs shook as he descended the stairs, brushing past Ryuk, who stood rooted in ce, staring at the grand gate. The gate was crafted from green gemstone, shimmering with a faint glow.


    Krieeek


    Without hesitation, Ryuk extended his hand as the gate began to swirl open, unveiling a spacious area that, despite its size, contained only a handful of books arranged on the shelves along the walls. In the center, two or three books were ced, seemingly cherished like treasured family relics.


    [Host, there is a ghost in this ce (???﹏???;?)]


    ''A soul?'' Ryuk inquired after hearing system''s words, not taking it as a lie, as he himself couldn''t feel the ominous energy filling the ce.


    His ability, which passively protected him from outside interference, also allowed him to sense if something of a different kind of energy touched his skin, making him easily recognize its type.


    [No Host, it''s a ghost. Shouldn''t we run?]


    ''Where is it?'' Ryuk lifted his feet as he moved forward, circling and going through the bookshelves near the walls while brushing his hands against all the books in the section, inquiring about the location of the ghost the System mentioned.


    ( ??? ?rē... ??t ?ēl￠??ē... )


    Out of nowhere, like a chilly breeze bearing the trace of a secret, the temperature within the room began to drop as the windows sealed themselves, blocking all external light. Then, the candles mounted on the walls ignited on their own, casting a dim light that formed the shadow of a few books.


    There was a chill in the air as Ryuk turned towards the direction of a corner, sensing the source of the voice projected from that ce due to the concentration of energy there.


    At that moment, a shadow materialized like a wisp of dark smoke, spiraling into a humanoid form, cloaked in a tattered, flowing robe that seemed to blend with the shadows, moving as though stirred by a wind that wasn''t there.


    The fabric of its hood was deep ck, concealing its face in utter darkness, save for two faint, glowing pinpricks of cold amethyst light where its eyes should be—burning like distant stars in a void.


    Its skeletal hands, bone-white and unnaturally long, clutched a jagged, ancient scythe. The de shimmered with an otherworldly gleam, as though it had carved through more than just flesh—through souls themselves. The bony fingers tightened around the handle, each knuckle creaking with age as if the weight of time pressed down on every joint.


    Beneath its cloak, the ghost''s form seemed iplete—more a shadow than a solid being. It floated inches above the ground, never fully touching it, as though bound to some unseen ne between life and death.


    [That''s an ancient ghost, Host.]


    The cold mist that clung to that figure sent waves of dread through the room, like a palpable presence that chilled the air with each slow, deliberate movement.


    ( ??? ?f r?kē? ??? ?li?i?.... lē??ē thi? pl?￠ē ?t ??￠ē. )


    The voice once again referred as it started to hover around the ce slowly, moving with its scythe shining in the dim light.


    ''How does it know those details?'' Ryuk inquired, seeing an unknown figure that seemed to know about him without him saying anything, not believing that it could read his mind given his ability was still working.


    So either it was that the thing in front of him could see into his mind or was able to obtain information about him from some source.


    [Host, its information is mostly from the time after your death in your past world and before your birth in this world.]


    [Analyzing...]


    DING


    ━─━───────??───────━─━


    Entity: Ancient Ghost


    Type: Soul-bound Specter


    Energy Level: High (Undead Aura)


    Attributes:


    - Form: Semi-physical (Shadow-like, iplete)


    - Weapon: Ancient Scythe (Soul-bound, capable of affecting the living and the dead)


    - Presence: Cold, oppressing (Lowers temperature, blocks external light)


    - Eyes: Amethyst glow (Detects life essence)


    Abilities:


    - Soul Gaze: can derive information from the life pool of reincarnation.


    - Aura of Dread: Induces fear and cold in the surroundings, decreases vitality by 1 every 2 minutes.


    Threat Level: Very High


    ━─━───────??───────━─━


    ''Hm.'' He observed the status of the foreign unknown being in front of him, feeling no fear, for if this were his old world, he would have shown some reaction. The unknown often terrifies humans. There was no fear, but more of a curiosity to know exactly how much information this ghost had about him.


    ( lē??ē thi? pl?￠ē ??? rēt?r?.... ???r f?tē i? ?l?￠k... it i? i?ē?it??lē th?t ??? ?ill ?iē. )


    "Why is my fate ck?" Ryuk inquired, though he somewhat already had the answer but wanted to hear from this unknown being about the reason for his fate being ck.


    ( ...lē??ē thi? pl?￠ē ?t ??￠ē... it''? rē?ēr?ē? f?r thē ?ē?ti?ē? ￠hil? ?f f?tē... ??t ???ē??ē likē ???. )


    [...]


    Not getting an answer, the entity instead told him to leave this ce at once. Ryuk at least understood that there wasn''t much information he could get from this ghost, which only knew about his birth, such as the names of his parents or his fate as an unborn soul, nothing else.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "What about my death?" Ryuk for a moment thought that since this thing had given him information about his birth, then why not about his death?


    ( ?p?? rē?￠hi?? thē ??ē ?f 26, thē ??ē ??rkē? ?? ? ?l?￠k f?tē ?ill ē?￠???tēr ?i?i?ē rētri??ti??....)


    In a haunting voice, the ghost advanced, its half-translucent form gliding toward Ryuk, who stood at the center of the room. His eyes flickered like the dim mes that barely illuminated the space. As the ghost extended its skeletal hand, it pressed a bony finger against the center of Ryuk''s forehead above his ck masquerade mask.


    "And what about your death?" Ryuk once again inquired as his eyes remained impassive,posed yet unhindered by the ominous energy surrounding him while the ghost pressed a finger on his forehead.


    ( i ?? ￠???ht i? thē li?i??l ?p?￠ē ?ēt?ēē? lifē ??? ?ē?th. i ?? ?? thē ?ēr?ē ?f ri?i?? ?p t? ?ē￠??ē ? li￠h. i p???ē?? i???rt?lit?, ????lē t? ?ē ?l?i?, ?? ē?ēr?? ￠????t ?ē ￠rē?tē? ?r ?ē?tr??ē?; it ?ērēl? ?hift? thr???h ti?ē. )


    The ghost whispered as its voice filled the chilling sensation across the room. Before pressing its bony finger more tightly against Ryuk''s forehead, it increased its ominous energy, filling the whole room with darkness like a void.


    ( i ?? ? ??? )


    "And?" Ryuk tilted his head as he looked into the dark void-like face toward the eye which shone amethyst as if reflecting all his past before the mes burned intensely, covering the surroundings as if the whole world suddenly isted into a single ce, where Ryuk stood at the center in a ck river with ghost maintaining its position while mes of amethyst burned around as it dered.


    ( ?ēf?rē ?ē?th....?ēēt ?ith thē ???l? ??? h??ē h?rt ??? rēpē?t f?r ???r ￠ri?ē? i? hēll...)


    As those words were dered, several hands suddenly began to emerge from the ground, rising out of the ck liquid that covered the entire floor, as if providing a way for the dead souls to express their pain and resentment toward Ryuk, who had killed them.


    A cacophony of voices filled the space, each one dripping with anguish and fury. The souls wing their way out of the ck river writhed in torment, their skeletal hands reaching desperately toward Ryuk, who observed everything with a calm gaze.