Chapter 309: Shadows, Sass, and Suspicions of Seals
The corridor beyond the rippling mirror stretched forward with a gentle curve, illuminated softly by delicate golden lanterns suspended from slender crystal threads. Their glow bathed the hallway in shimmering pools of warm amber, flickering shadows playing gently along the walls. Malik moved cautiously, senses alert but his expression relaxed, almost amused.
"Puzzle number two," he murmured aloud, strolling forward casually, footsteps echoing lightly against polished stone floors. "Let's hope it's something fun, and preferably without spikes or poison darts. Or snakes. Actually, let's just skip reptiles altogether."
The tunnel soon expanded into another chamber—larger this time, shaped like a perfect sphere, walls etched with thousands of softly glowing runes, their golden script swirling and shifting hypnotically. Floating gently in the room's center, hovering just above Malik's eye level, was a single spherical crystal, shimmering gently in hues of deep sapphire and radiant white, suspended by unseen forces.
Malik cautiously approached, eyeing the runes circling the room. They flowed and shifted as though alive, weaving around each other in elegant dances. He lifted a hand to touch one, but paused, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
"Floating magic orb, animated runes, a suspicious lack of instructions. Oh, this isn't ominous at all," he deadpanned.
He circled the crystal orb slowly, carefully studying its surface. Deep within, tiny flecks of sapphire and silver floated freely, forming patterns before dissolving again, continuously rearranging themselves.
After a moment of quiet study, Malik noticed the runes on the walls subtly changing their arrangement to mirror the patterns inside the crystal. His gaze sharpened.
"Oh, I get it. Matching game—cute. Let's see if I can solve this without you throwing magical darts or something equally inconvenient."
He raised one hand experimentally toward a glowing rune. The instant his finger brushed it, the rune flared, vibrating softly—before flowing gently toward the crystal sphere. Malik's brows rose slightly in pleasant surprise.
"Alright. Matching pairs without explosions. Good start."
He selected another rune, carefully pairing them. Each correct match sent a soft hum resonating through the chamber. Malik settled into an easy rhythm, floating gently as he moved, selecting runes quickly and precisely.
"I've done trickier puzzles on cereal boxes," he murmured with a confident smile, floating effortlessly as his magic lifted him higher.
The chamber grew brighter with each successful pair, the crystal orb radiating gentle warmth. Halfway through, Malik felt relaxed, confident. This was going far smoother than he anticipated.
Then, the room abruptly darkened.
Malik froze, suspended mid-air, senses immediately sharpening. The gentle warmth turned bitterly cold. Shadows crawled from the corners of the chamber like ink spilling into clear water, writhing and twisting, forming monstrous shapes. Elongated limbs, jagged claws, and mouths bristling with shadowy teeth took form, lunging hungrily toward him.
Malik instantly reacted, flying swiftly upward. The shadows surged forward, snapping viciously at his heels, their howling roars echoing through the room.
"Alright, rude!" Malik shouted, banking gracefully above their reach. "Attacking mid-puzzle is straight-up bad manners!"
One shadow creature, larger and more aggressive than the rest, leaped upward, jaws snapping dangerously close. Malik twisted elegantly, barely avoiding it, before casting an incredulous look downward.
"Your breath is awful, by the way," he remarked sharply, floating gracefully out of reach. "Ever heard of a mint? Maybe shadow-floss occasionally?"
He hovered above, watching the creatures swarm hungrily below him, snarling in frustration. Malik crossed his arms, a smirk slowly forming as an idea struck him.
"Alright, shadows," he said cheerfully, lifting his chin with mock superiority. "If we're playing a game, then let's introduce you properly to how things work around here."
He snapped his fingers dramatically.
"Poor People BEGONE! Level Thirteen!"
An immense wave of shimmering gold and pink magic erupted outward from him, a powerful blast of wealth-based superiority fueled by Malik's abundant drip, overwhelming riz, and frankly staggering magical bank account. The shadow beasts shrieked as the blast slammed into them, hurling them violently across the room, splattering harmlessly against walls before dissolving into harmless wisps of smoke.
Malik lowered himself gracefully to the floor, landing lightly on his feet. He adjusted his robes, smoothing out imaginary wrinkles, and smiled sweetly at the empty air.
"That's right," he drawled playfully. "I don't play with broke shadow demons. Come back when you can afford my presence."
The room brightened again, the crystal orb humming softly. Malik turned back to the puzzle, completing it swiftly, each rune pairing now done with exaggerated elegance—mostly to spite the vanished shadows. With the final match, the orb flared brightly before gently dissolving, revealing a new tunnel ahead.
Malik took a deep breath, still amused but more thoughtful as he began moving toward the newly revealed path. Something about those shadows troubled him, lingering uncomfortably in his thoughts.
He walked quietly, hands clasped lightly behind his back, mind replaying the temple's murals and the story they'd told. The ancient pictures had depicted the Fox Goddess, Inariko, defeating the monstrous shadow beast not by killing it or vanquishing it completely—but by sealing it away beneath layers of eternal ice.
A heavy frown settled over Malik's features, his expression shifting from playful amusement to quiet seriousness.
"Seals are risky business," he murmured softly to himself, echoing down the winding passage. "Locking a monster away doesn't usually end well. Instead of weakening, it's probably simmering, boiling in resentment. Stewing in anger until it's more powerful, angrier, and way nastier."
Malik paused briefly, imagining centuries of rage and power festering in darkness.
He shook his head, uneasy. "What do you do if the seal breaks? Because it always does, eventually."
Malik continued walking, his footsteps steady but now thoughtful, eyes focused deeply inward. The puzzle had been playful—but the shadow creatures were alarmingly real. It felt like a warning, a foretaste of something buried deep within the temple's core.
Something hungry. Something ancient.
Something waiting for revenge.
Malik sighed quietly, steeling himself. Whatever lay ahead, he knew it would test far more than cleverness or power. It would challenge everything he believed about seals, shadows, and the delicate balance between gods and their ancient mistakes.
Yet, despite the rising tension, Malik's heart beat strong and sure. He moved forward resolutely, ready to face whatever shadows lurked deeper in Inariko's temple, because if there was one thing he knew about himself—
He wasn't about to be stopped by some angry, imprisoned shadow beast.
Especially not one too broke to afford a mint.
=================
The corridor twisted again, narrowing for a moment before widening into another stretch bathed in the same faint lantern-glow. Malik's boots tapped lightly on the stone floor, the rhythm steady, but his mind was anything but.
He walked in thoughtful silence, tugging absently at one of the gold rings on his fingers. The shadows had been a nuisance—dangerous, perhaps even prophetic—but right now, his mind was mostly occupied by something else.
More specifically, someone else.
"I mean," he muttered to himself, "if we're being fair, the mural version of Inariko was... hauntingly gorgeous. And I know she animated it to wink at me. That's a move. That's an invitation."
He frowned, then immediately softened again. "No, Malik. Focus. You're here to help. She's probably trapped in some ancient spiritual feedback loop of magic and illusions. This is serious."
Another pause.
"But also… maybe I should ask if this counts as a first date. I mean, she lured me into an enchanted temple, designed several handcrafted puzzles, made the art glow and wink. That's basically courting, right? Very thematic. Very goddess-core."
He shook his head vigorously. "Nope. No. Smart thoughts first."
He forced his mind to refocus, his eyes narrowing slightly as he reviewed the situation aloud. "The runes from earlier were layered with protective sigils… the puzzle was designed to test insight rather than brute power. Everything so far suggests Inariko is isolating, yes—but not hostile. The shadows weren't her doing, or if they were, they weren't meant to harm me. So…"
Before the brilliant conclusion could fully form, the shadows returned.
They didn't roar this time. No dramatic howling. Just manifested—one by one. Stepping out of the corridor walls like ink staining parchment. Ten of them. Then twenty.
"I literally just did this," Malik groaned, drawing himself up and rolling his shoulders as he summoned a swirl of gold-and-pink energy to his hands. "You know the rules. I know the rules. Let's just skip the pointless chase and go straight to the poverty eviction."
The shadows surged forward.
Malik swept his hand dramatically across his body.
"Poor People BEGONE! Level Thirteen!"
An explosion of glimmering energy erupted from him once more—polished gold light blinding in its radiance, woven through with spirals of pink that sparkled like enchanted champagne foam. It hit the shadows like a velvet sledgehammer. They flew back with shrieks that sounded half-hurt and half-deeply offended.
A few had the gall to regroup.
Malik sighed. "You're trying me."
He lifted his hands again.
"Poor People BEGONE—AGAIN. Don't come back unless you're wearing enchanted velvet or sporting generational wealth!"
Boom.
More sparkly annihilation.
He moved forward slowly, casting bursts of magic behind him like someone fogging an apartment for pests. By the time he reached the end of the hallway, the shadows had been blown away for the third—and final—time.
Yet at the entrance to the next chamber… they didn't follow.
Instead, the remaining shadowy figures hovered silently outside the threshold, twitching but not stepping over the invisible line. Their formless heads tilted in eerie, near-recognition—as though they knew better than to enter what came next.
Malik stepped through the archway alone.
And the atmosphere changed instantly.
He inhaled softly—then stopped.
The air felt different here. Thicker, but warmer. Like stepping into the center of a comforting dream layered in velvet and snowfall. His skin prickled with magic—dense and old, but gentle. She was stronger here. Her presence wrapped around his senses like perfume and fox fur.
The room itself was enormous and circular, its domed ceiling aglow with starlight that couldn't possibly be real. The walls shimmered faintly with magical runes pulsing in slow, rhythmic patterns. And across from the entrance, two massive murals dominated the space.
The left depicted Inariko in her true form—regal, powerful, protectively curled around a cluster of sleeping owls and human children. She watched them with half-lidded affection, her tails woven like a blanket.
The right mural showed her standing tall in her half-human form, hands outstretched and glowing, calming a raging blizzard that tore through the sky while shadow beasts encroached from every direction. Inariko faced them without fear—graceful, calm, utterly unmoved.
Both images pulsed with power—warm and wild, divine and untamed. They radiated not just beauty but responsibility. Depth.
Malik stepped further in. The last of the shadows remained outside, watching silently from the hallway. None dared enter.
He took a long breath and finally sat down on the floor—cross-legged right in the center of the glowing rune circle at the room's heart. He closed his eyes, resting his hands on his knees.
"All right," he whispered to the room, to her. "Let's think this through."
He exhaled. Thought.
She was clearly still listening. She had laced her power through every corner of this place—watching, testing, teasing.
"I came here to help," he said aloud, opening his eyes again. "To wake you up. Because your people need you. And maybe—" He paused, lips quirking upward slightly, "—maybe because I wanted to meet the divine fox who made illusions that told bedtime stories and warmed cities under ice with magic gemstones made of her teeth. Which is metal, by the way. I respect the aesthetic."
He paused.
"I'm not giving up. That's not my style. I'm many things: sarcastic, dramatic, blessed with too many romantic interests and not enough sleep. But a quitter? No."
He lifted his chin, casting his eyes toward the murals again.
"I'll figure out what you need. Whether it's more riddles, or a nap, or someone to bring you tea and flirt until the frost melts. I'm here."
The silence answered him—warm, considering.
Then a faint glimmer of foxfire flickered across the floor before vanishing into the next hallway.
Malik stood.
And followed.
Chapter 309: "Inventory Check, Shadow Beasts, and a Foxy Dilemma"
Malik strode down the glowing corridor, trailing the playful flicker of foxfire. It danced ahead, bright and teasing, leading him deeper into the heart of the temple. His steps were deliberate, measured, but his mind raced faster than a shooting star.
The shadows lingered in his thoughts. Dangerous? Absolutely. Angry? Definitely. But something else nagged at him—the thought that this fox goddess had sealed away something instead of destroying it outright.
"Classic ancient-deity decision-making," he muttered. "Why kill a dangerous shadow beast when you can simply put a magical band-aid over it and wait a few centuries for it to inevitably break free?"
Still, Malik knew sarcasm wouldn't get him out of this one. He paused briefly, allowing his eyes to close gently. Taking a slow, steady breath, he opened his internal inventory—a carefully curated mental library filled with all his skills, magics, blessings, and gifts.
"I need something," he murmured, "something perfect to fix this. Let's do a full review, shall we?"
His inner vision bloomed open—a lavish mental space resembling an infinitely stretching hall, shelves packed meticulously with shining, gold-etched books representing each of his extraordinary abilities.
He mentally walked through his vast archive, listing them off in categories:
"Offense?"
Poor People BEGONE: Effective against shadow beasts, apparently. Rich energy repelled poverty-level shadow monsters spectacularly. But he doubted money-related magic would permanently solve this issue.
Harry Houdini: Illusion Manipulation, Lock Manipulation—useful for escape, but likely limited against an ancient shadow being or goddess-level illusions.
"Defense?"
Ethereal Shield: Solid for protection, might keep shadows at bay temporarily but wouldn't solve the root cause.
Incubus Body (Temperature Control): Comfortable, but not exactly weapon-grade.
"Intelligence Gathering?"
Mystical Identification: He could perceive hidden magic or patterns, but probably not powerful enough to undo an ancient divine seal alone.
Super Map: Historical Viewing and Map-Based Clairvoyance might provide context—but the history was already on the temple walls.
"Healing or Restoration?"
Plot Cure, Revive: He could heal or resurrect—but this goddess wasn't dead, just sealed or asleep. Healing wouldn't quite fit the bill here.
Soul Link: Powerful, but required willing connection—not ideal for something likely angry, trapped, or slightly malevolent.
"Manipulation or Control?"
Silver Tongue, Whisper, Charismatic Paragon: Possibly useful for reasoning with the goddess, but tricky with the shadows.
Nightmare Induction, Sensory Manipulation: Could manipulate or distract shadows, but probably temporary fixes.
"Dream and Reality Blending?"
Dream Walking, Dreamworld Influence: He could move objects and affect reality through dreams—perhaps useful if the goddess was trapped in a dreamlike illusion. Could he free her this way?
Malik paused. "Wait—Dream Walking. That's got potential. If she's trapped or isolated mentally, I could reach her directly. But first, dealing with shadows physically."
"Crowd Control?"
Poor People BEGONE: Amusing, but temporary.
Golem Creation: Durable guards—could be effective at keeping shadows away while working on bigger issues.
"Direct Divine Interaction?"
Ancestral Resonance: Possibly helpful if goddess had descendants—but risky.
Heart's Echo: Love Detection, Communication Link—perhaps useful to reach goddess emotionally. Emotional ties might calm her, wake her gently without resistance.
"Blessings?"
Candle in the Dark: Could reveal hidden paths or important truths about the seal, the shadows, or the goddess herself.
He pondered thoughtfully. "Yes, this could be critical—understanding what she really wants. The real issue."
"Miscellaneous?"
Comfort Connoisseur Aura, Cooking Up a Storm: Making her comfortable and providing food—hospitality never hurts when courting a divine presence.
Infinite Closet of Love: Could potentially offer a meaningful, symbolic gift or peace offering.
Malik paused again, grinning slightly. "Why am I considering romancing a sealed fox goddess as a legitimate strategic plan?"
He shrugged. "Because I'm Malik. Fair enough."
"Ultimate Combos?"
Dream Walking combined with Heart's Echo: Reach her emotionally through dreams, establish empathy, gently awaken her.
Candle in the Dark combined with Mystical Identification: Find hidden, deeper clues or insight on shadows and goddess's true intentions.
"Promising," Malik mused aloud. "But let's address the shadow-beast situation first."
He reopened his eyes, refocusing on the foxfire ahead. It had stopped, flickering brightly before another great set of carved doors, covered in depictions of the fox goddess standing guard over a sleeping shadow beast beneath her paws.
He approached slowly, fingers brushing the carving gently.
"She sealed you," he whispered. "Locked you away. Why not just destroy you? Was it compassion—or weakness?"
His heart twinged faintly. "Or maybe…you weren't meant to be sealed this long. Maybe the plan wasn't permanent."
He frowned, running fingers along the detailed runes. A pulse of magic tickled his fingertips, whispering ancient truths. Malik immediately activated Candle in the Dark and Mystical Identification, eyes flashing gold and pink as insight flooded his mind.
Visions unfolded before him—rapid, vivid scenes:
Inariko fighting, binding the raging shadow beast, sealing it compassionately—tears in her eyes. She had pitied the creature, unwilling to end its existence outright.
Years passing—shadows growing restless, resentment thickening. Seal weakening.
Inariko weakening too, her strength drained maintaining the seal. She became isolated, her consciousness drifting inward into illusions, dreams. The people misunderstood, believing she was asleep voluntarily.
Malik sighed softly. "So it's pity, not cruelty. You've been suffering with guilt and isolation, holding this darkness alone."
He straightened, determination renewed. "Alright, Malik. Problem identified: an angry shadow monster, a tired fox goddess trapped by her own compassion, and a deteriorating seal. Now, solutions."
He clasped his hands decisively. "I'll summon a golem or two as protection first—keep shadows off my back while I dream-walk straight to Inariko. If I connect emotionally with Heart's Echo, I can remind her she isn't alone. Convince her to either end this creature for good or find some new solution. Or," he said thoughtfully, "maybe even rehabilitate it. Can shadows heal?"
He shook his head. "Priorities. Talk with goddess first. Shadows second."
He closed his eyes, magic swelling around him.
"Golem Creation," he commanded firmly.
Two enormous guardians rose immediately from the stone floor—powerful constructs, gleaming silver and gold, radiant and imposing. They flanked Malik silently, eyes glowing protectively.
He smiled up at them. "Good boys."
Malik then carefully laid himself down at the center of the rune-carved floor. "Alright, Foxy Goddess—here I come."
He took a deep breath and whispered: "Dream Walking. Heart's Echo."
Warm magic blossomed around him. His body relaxed, consciousness gently unspooling from his physical form, floating lightly upwards as he entered a serene dreamscape of shimmering colors, pathways weaving through shifting visions.
In the distance, a figure glowed—powerful, trapped, beautiful, frightened.
"Inariko," Malik called gently, voice echoing with love, empathy, humor, sincerity. "You don't know me, but I'm here to help."
A pair of luminous fox eyes opened in the misty dream-space, curious yet wary.
Malik smiled gently, warmth radiating from his presence. "You're not alone anymore. And that shadow you sealed? We'll handle it—together."
The figure slowly took shape, elegant and ethereal—Inariko stepped gracefully toward him, half-smile playful, half-questioning. Her voice was melodic, like laughter dancing on wind:
"You're the one who banished shadows with money-magic?"
Malik grinned charmingly. "Guilty as charged. I'm Malik—baker, occasional divine therapist, very good at puzzles, and currently your personal dream-walking hero."
Inariko tilted her head, amused, intrigued. "And what makes you think you can solve my puzzle, little dreamer?"
Malik extended his hand gently, warmly. "Because," he answered honestly, kindly, "I understand compassion isn't weakness. And isolation doesn't heal wounds. Let me help."
Her fox-like eyes softened slightly. After a long pause, she stepped closer, extending one elegant hand toward his.
"Then show me, Malik," she whispered softly, trust tentatively blossoming. "Help me remember why kindness is worth its cost."
Their fingers touched gently, magic flaring warmly between them, lighting the dreamscape in brilliant shades of gold and pink.
Malik smiled warmly, heart sure.
"Oh, trust me," he whispered gently, "we've got this."
They turned together, walking hand-in-hand deeper into her dreaming consciousness—ready to finally confront the shadows she had long denied.