After wandering around the mansion, lost in his thoughts, Northern finally discovered a hidden staircase on the top floor.
Following those stairs led him to an attic.
As soon as he entered, he knew, ‘This is it! This will be my living space from now on!’
Dust and cobwebs coated the once neatly organized bookshelves, the volumes within slowly deteriorating from neglect.
The panes of the arched window were cracked, casting eerie shadows across the dimly lit room.
A large plush bed lay at the base of the window, where perhaps a young heiress once gazed onto the outside world from its lonely embrace.
Now, it lay forgotten and shredded, stuffing spilling out, succumbing to the ravages of time and disaster.
Peeling paint clung to the wooden paneled walls and exposed ceiling beams.
The faded, frayed blue patterned rug showed signs of rodents gnawing at the edges.
The writing desk stood as a somber remnant, the lamp’s bulb long burnt out, while the chair lay overturned – as if the room’s last occupant departed in a rushed manner centuries ago.
Northern glanced around, “I’ll need to do some thorough cleaning first.”
But that was no issue for him… not at all.
Northern smiled delightedly and called out:
“Dark Terror”
Flames erupted in front of him, vomiting forth the menacing devil.
He looked at Dark Terror with a beguiling smile, like he was about to do something utterly foolish.
Two clones appeared beside him, and he turned to them.
“Since you two are directly from me and share my memories, you should know what a broom is. I want you to lead this guy,” he pointed at Dark Terror, “and find some clothes and brooms. We all have thorough cleaning to do. And that bastard downstairs, make him clean the whole place. I can’t live in a dirty house.”
Even though he’d be staying in the attic most of the time, the idea of the rest of the mansion being utterly filthy didn’t sit well with him.
‘With Dark Terror, two clones, and the Corpse Eater, they should be able to clean everything, and I’ll take care of my room,’ Northern thought, nodding at the clones.
They turned and headed outside, with Dark Terror following behind.
Watching them descend the stairs, Northern pondered what he had just done.
‘I didn’t just make monsters do chores for me, did I?’
Something about that undeniable truth felt satisfying, and the fact that it felt satisfying felt… scary.
Northern pushed the thought aside and focused on cleaning his room.
He stretched his hands and body.
‘It’s been a while since I did this.’
Even before his reincarnation, Northern had enjoyed cleaning.
After reincarnating and growing past the age of five, Eisha was quite surprised to see him cleaning the house without being asked.
It was one of the activities that made him feel relaxed, a habit that may or may not have originated from his nerdy nature.
After six months of suffering and nearly dying during his breakthrough, there was no better relaxation than a thorough cleaning and arranging of the room that would be his new home.
Of course, it wasn’t an easy task…
—
Northern collapsed onto the plush bed, opposite the table and chair.
After intense cleaning, his face and body were dripping with sweat, even his pants were soaked.
Having sweated so much, he now gave off an unpleasant, pungent smell.
Sniffing himself, Northern recoiled in disgust, suddenly realizing, ‘Crap! I haven’t bathed in six months!’
He quickly got up and opened the window. Its wooden frame creaked as he pushed it open.
Then, with the agility of a monkey, he slipped out of the window and landed on the mansion’s slate roof.
“The view up here is impressive.”
His skin prickled, and Northern immediately hugged himself. “Damn, it’s so cold!”
He couldn’t remember the last time he had experienced a cold wind like this biting his skin.
Even though it made him shiver a little, it still filled him with gladness and gratitude to be out of the endless night of the rift.
Northern surveyed the surroundings, able to vividly note every detail from this distance with the unparalleled effect of his eyes.
Finally, towards the southern end of the estate, hidden in a cluster of tall trees, he spotted a small lake.
‘Just what I need.’
Northern smiled and jumped off the roof, rolling through the air and landing strongly on the ground.
Then he dashed towards the lake while his clones, Dark Terror, and the deviant Corpse Eater cleaned the mansion.
As he had anticipated, the bath in the cool lake was nice and refreshing.
He thoroughly washed every part of his body and deeply rested in the cold embrace of the water, thinking about what he would do next.
Now that it had turned out he was still trapped, and a group of students who should be finding their way back home were being misled by a Vagrant rank… a sage for that matter! It was once again annoying.
‘I guess I’ll just have to do things on my own… and quickly too.’
If his suspicion was right, with the strange things he had heard Koll say, the fact that he was imprisoned, four cardinal rifts appearing at once, and another one tearing at the center and shattering immediately, then undoubtedly, trouble was brewing.
Most likely, this greatly affected the beginning of the rifts themselves.
Northern guessed that it was going to be a terrifying war, one that might be unlike anything any of them had ever faced.
He wasn’t sure if he was ready to be that reckless.
He was powerful enough to overcome whatever hurdles came his way, but he wasn’t pompous and arrogant, thinking he was now invincible because of the power of chaos and void he now wielded, coupled with being able to copy talents.
Northern leaned his head back on the bank’s edge.
‘I guess I’ll first check around for talents to co…py…’
He hadn’t even completed his internal statement when he dozed off.
After six long months, he finally had a blissful, beautiful night and woke up to a bright and serene morning.