Rewind: A Grimdark LitRPG Series (Pyresouls Apocalypse, Book 1) by James Callum (reading tree .txt) 📕

at curse level 2. He didn’t see anything odd yet, but it was just a matter of time now. Using an [Anima] would reset his curse level back to 0 once he was back at a Pyre.

The next few halls were much the same until he reached the dining room where the creatures came out in a specific order. By that point, Jacob was well used to the quick-swap from [Bladed Whip] to [Mace] and back again to deal with multiple threats at once.

With no more enemies around, Jacob focused on the emerald wisp. Kneeling, he touched his fingertips to the glowing swirl of emerald light and felt the rush of his Souls returning.

Jacob wasted no time clearing out the next room of the two Penitents there, but it was almost an afterthought at that point. Killing the creatures posed nearly zero risk, not with them stunned. And a single heavy blow would kill them.

Dark spirit Emily Cooper has invaded!

Jacob’s heart stuttered in his chest.

The message flashed three more times in quick succession, making sure there was no way he would miss the notification.

There was no way she knew it was his shard when she attempted to invade a fellow player. But now that she was in Jacob’s shard, she would know.

And that presented a problem Jacob had hoped to sidestep entirely.

It was because of Emily that he quit Pyresouls early. Her betrayal had stung him profoundly. He had thought they were happy together.

She didn’t care about him. And if she did, she cared for him less than billions of dollars. Back then, she had killed him and claimed the creature they were fighting for her own.

In one fell swoop, she set him back thousands of Souls, took the kill they should have shared, and leaped ahead in power.

He never did find out how far she got in the competition. And the Collapse afterward made it all moot anyhow.

She had never searched for him, and Jacob had been too busy surviving day-to-day to look for her.

And here she was, probably thinking to herself that she could manipulate him as easily as she had before.

There was no way she wasn’t aware who she was invading now. Like the prompt had displayed for him, she would have seen whose shard she was invading. Which meant he could tell by her aura what her intentions were.

It was one of the few ways he could use his knowledge to turn the tables on her. Emily wouldn’t know what a player’s body possessed differently colored auras when occupying another player’s shard.

Even though she invaded - usually a sign of aggression - it didn’t automatically mean her body would be limned in red-and-black. If she chose to help him instead, her aura would be either white or gold.

Steeling himself, Jacob swapped his [Bladed Whip] for the [Mace] and desperately wished he had a sword right then. Even the shoddy [Shortsword] Brother Aker had would be better.

Though his skill was likely higher than Emily’s, he could dance circles around her with a blade.

He wandered the nearly empty halls for some time before he spied her peeking into an empty alcove. She moved stealthily, with a tiny dagger clutched tightly in one hand.

Not the same dagger she had ended his life with ten years ago, that would be too poetic. It was a filthy, rusted thing that looked like it was better served to opening letters than people.

But most unmistakable of all was the red-and-black aura.

She meant to do harm and by the way she was sneaking about, she clearly meant to get the drop on him and finish him quickly. Maybe she thought the invaded player wasn’t aware of the invasion.

In that case, she could likely get in, gank him, then get out with her spoils.

He tried to remind himself that he wasn’t a 19-year-old kid anymore. Once upon a time, she had him wrapped around her finger. He would have done anything for her.

Not anymore.

There was no way to tell whether she was stronger or weaker than him. But considering his recent windfall of Souls so early on, he was willing to bet they were at least even.

Emily slipped inside what he knew to be an empty room with extreme caution. It was hard to make out her equipment from where he was and through her aura, but it looked like the ratty old leathers a player would start with.

As she disappeared into the room, Jacob went over the various ways he could deal with her. Chief among them was a desire to string her along like she did to him, then kill her.

But that was pedantic and petty. Her betrayal was ten years ago and despite the recent reminder, he had let go of it. Hadn’t thought about it in years. He would be a small man indeed if he kept that with him all this time.

No, he would let her take her chance. And then, win or lose, he would press on.

This invasion was a reminder that he had lingered too long already.

Stepping out into the hallway fully, Jacob walked halfway down the hall and stopped roughly ten feet from the room. He lifted his mace and clanged it loudly against the stones.

He heard her shuffle and freeze inside the room and then she slinked out of the room, still crouching in an attempt to remain hidden.

Emily looked left, away from him, then right. Their eyes locked and she quickly popped up to her feet and smiled. “Jakey! I was so relieved to finally find you hun-bun. It took nearly all of my Souls just to scrounge enough to get one of those weird lil’ helper stone things.

“But I’m here now! I told you I would find you and together we’ll win the competition just like we did in Mrs. Trager’s science competition!”

Her aura didn’t waver in the slightest. It was still red-and-black. Her intent was clear, even if he wanted to believe otherwise.

Despite himself, he was disappointed. In her for betraying