Chapter 69: Apparently, Being an Anomaly Attracts Other Anomalies.

Hope watched the strange boy’s receding figure.

It had barely been a few minutes since they arrived in the hall where the Fresher’s Welcome Banquet was being held and the boy, Zenith, had already left them.

She was already surrounded by many nobles across all three years of academy, trying to speak with her but her gaze remained fixed on the white haired boy.

It had only been a few days since she had arrived at the academy but among the countless students, that boy had somehow managed to draw her attention again and again.

He was... strange.

His soul wasn’t like that of an ordinary human and it felt fundamentally different... In some ways, it felt somewhat similar to hers because just like her, he also carried an aura of death.

Although she now had the body of a human, she had once been a spirit, a ghost who had forgotten her own name and wandered the mortal world for centuries.

She didn’t know how she had died nor did she know who killed her but all she knew was that, ever since she could remember, she wandered this world in search of some forgotten revenge.

But then one day, she was captured by a strange human and brought in front of an Emperor, a man powerful enough to make entire kingdoms bow before him.

Back then, she didn’t have enough awareness to understand what was happening but she could still remember the crazed eyes of the Emperor as he was blinded by his love for his dead daughter and attempted to defy the very laws of nature.

He performed a forbidden ritual,

Resurrection.

The spell itself had failed or maybe it succeeded, she didn’t know but her spirit they had captured as a catalyst was drawn into the lifeless body of the seven-year-old princess.

Surprisingly, she hadn’t simply overwritten the girl’s personality. Instead, the girl’s memories and the remnants of her soul merged together and from that union, an entirely new person was born.

Her.

She didn’t know whether she was Hope or she was the nameless ghost who had wandered the world in search of vengeance before taking over the body of a dead girl but somehow, she felt like neither of them and both of them at the same time.

But the Emperor never cared.

He simply accepted her as his daughter without hesitation.

Her soul belonged to a ghost, her body belonged to a dead girl and she herself was a living anomaly, one that would be destroyed without hesitation if the truth ever came to light.

And somehow that boy who always wore a smile felt like one of her own kind.

Was he also a ghost who had taken over someone else’s body? Or was he a different kind of anomaly altogether?

She wasn’t sure but she knew one thing.

He was strange and somehow, he had defied death, just like her.

At the thought that someone else in this world might be similar to her, a faint smile quietly found its way onto her lips.

More importantly, he was one of the very few people who hadn’t reacted to her beauty.

She didn’t have many memories of her life before becoming Hope except the blurry memories of wandering as a Ghost but ever since awakening in this body, she had grown accustomed to hearing endless praise.

Boys fawned over her appearance and even the palace maids admired her elegance but somehow, that boy had remained completely indifferent. He had even tried running away from her instead of talking, combined with his special soul, it made him quite an interesting person in her eyes.

***

Meanwhile, as Zenith made his way toward one of the quieter corners of the banquet hall, he felt Hope’s amused gaze on him as a quiet sigh escaped his lips.

So... she is definitely amused by me for some reason.

He couldn’t understand why.

In his previous life, Hope hadn’t even spoken to him during this period but this time, from the way she behaved on the walk to the banquet, combined with everything he knew about her, it wasn’t difficult to tell that she found him interesting.

But why?

Could it be because of my regression?

As a being who was part ghost, she was undoubtedly far more sensitive to death than ordinary humans and maybe she had sensed something because of that.

But in the end, he simply shrugged the thought away.

There was no point thinking about it now.

The hall was still relatively empty as most of the students hadn’t arrived yet and only a handful of seniors stood near the entrance, welcoming those who did.

Zenith took a seat at one of the empty tables by himself and only then did he summon Hope’s status window using his [[Eye of Usurper]].

════〔 STATUS 〕═════

▸ NAME: ⟦ Hope Aeth Crownforge ⟧

▸ ROLE: ⟦ The Anomaly ⟧

▸ TALENT: ⟦ 1. Soul Sight 2. Ghost Body 3. Phantom Arsenal 4. ??? ⟧

▸ CORE: ⟦ Tier III Awakened ⟧

▸ NOTE: ⟦ Once a kind-hearted girl who was betrayed and burned as a witch by those she trusted, she wandered the world as a vengeful spirit for centuries before becoming the catalyst for a forbidden resurrection ritual. Her soul merged completely with the lifeless body of a young princess, accomplishing something that should have been nearly impossible, creating an entirely new soul. She is a living paradox and one of the very few to exist. Try not to compare yourselves.⟧

══════════════════

▸ TALENT: ⟦1. Soul Sight — Sees souls, curses and spiritual anomalies. 2. Ghost Body — Turns intangible for a short duration. 3. Phantom Arsenal — Creates weapons forged from soul essence. 4. ??? — A talent which hadn’t bloomed yet. ⟧

══════════════════

Hope had never told Zenith much about her abilities in their previous life but then again, he had never really bothered asking.

Unfortunately, none of them seemed even remotely useful to him, except maybe the Ghost Body but even that seemed more like a hassle.

Even her Role was fairly self-explanatory but the note did catch his attention.

Killed as a witch by those she trusted?

Hope had always wanted to learn more about the life she had lived before her death but unfortunately, no matter how much the two of them searched, they had never found a single clue but now, learning that she had been killed by the very people she trusted left him deep in thought.

But before he could think about it any further, a hand tapped him on the shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts along with an eerily familiar voice.

"What are you thinking so hard about, you bastard?"