In the blue "Field of Shadows", after her own "shadow" was completely integrated into the painting, Valeera's self-portrait reappeared.
Unlike before, the characters in the painting came to life.
Seeing her darkened eyes in the painting, Valeera thought for a moment that she had returned to the quiet void that only appeared during her first meditation after her promotion——
When she was promoted to Sequence 7, the shadow in the void had manifested the same image.
However, Valeera quickly distinguished the difference between the two.
She felt that she was integrally connected with the figure in the painting, no different from the previously activated "shadow" of herself, still an extension of his body and will.
At this point, the figure whose shadow appears in the void is completely different from himself in the current painting.
Valeera raised her right palm and moved in sync with herself in the painting, pressing it on the same position on the canvas and bringing the two palms together.
The next moment, she exerted force on her hands and brought the self in the painting back to reality little by little.
During this process, her originally abundant spirituality was rapidly depleted, and her thoughts seemed to have come to a standstill, losing her perception of time.
A few minutes later, Valeela woke up. The first thing she felt was mental exhaustion and swelling and pain in her forehead.
She looked down at her own shadow and found that it had indeed come alive, had a concrete image, and was no longer a piece of the Black Lake——
This shows that the ritual of "Shadow Art" has been completed.
From this moment on, she can accumulate extra power in her own shadow, and wait until she needs it to burst out in one breath... Well, to a certain extent, this is also a bit like a "winner".
However, what the "winner" accumulates and explodes is not strength, but luck.
Seeing that the ceremony had been completed, Valeela, who had spent most of her spiritual energy, breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and took a few steps to the eucalyptus table, and extinguished the "shadow lamp" that was still burning.
The secret room space thus returned to normal.
Valeera placed the faded and whitened self-portrait, together with the easel, on the wall outside the secret room——
This self-portrait remains a key cornerstone in sustaining the ritual's effectiveness and needs to be properly protected.
After completing this matter, Valeera did not rush to destroy the "spiritual wall" and leave. Instead, she steeled herself and tried the Shadow Stream spell that was awakened after promotion.
She raised her left palm slightly and summoned a "phantom" in front of her. Then she clenched her fist and immediately completed the "castling".
This displacement ability that she mastered at Sequence 6 has been slightly strengthened after being promoted to Sequence 5. The release speed is several times faster than before, and it has reached the point where it is almost instantaneous.
Only through this ability, Valeera can determine——
Obviously, after completing the ritual magic of "Shadow Possession", the shadow flow spells she awakened and mastered should have been strengthened to a certain extent.
This may mean that her control over "shadows" has been improved.
I don’t know if my ability to control shadows is stronger or weaker compared to the Sequence 5 “Shepherd”... Valeela glanced at another self-portrait at the entrance to the secret room, shook her head, and dispelled the worries in her heart. A hint of curiosity.
It's no surprise that she has such doubts.
From Valeela's point of view, many of the shadow flow spells she has mastered during her awakening, which can be released quickly, are close to the style of the "Hermit Monk", and it is difficult not to compare them.
Well, in terms of aggression, I'm probably stronger.
Valeera reviewed the whole situation and felt that her spells were more focused on melee combat, while the "Hermit"... from her perspective, was more focused on spellcasting and assistance.
After cleaning up, Valeera opened the secret door of the secret room and returned to the bedroom.
Because her condition had declined too much, she could only regretfully give up another expensive experiment——
"Translocation" through self-portraits.
The self-portrait of a female face she placed at the entrance to the secret room not only shares the senses, but also summons "real shadows".
"In addition, it can also replace the positioning function of "Phantom" and realize the ability of "castling".
This kind of "translocation" consumes more energy and is farther away. After completing the self-portrait, Valeera has not had time to try it.
But it doesn't matter, it will be the same if I try again tomorrow night... With this thought in mind, she got into the already cold bed and fell asleep quickly.
…
During the day on Sunday, Valeela wandered around with nothing to do.
Although she also spent a lot of time in the studio, she only painted some insignificant works to kill time, and by the way, she reasonably expressed her apparently normal hobby.
As for the really important portrait of "Desperate Nightingale" Panatia... it is still in a draft state——
The "Shadow Writing Technique" needs to be coordinated with the layout of the secret room, and during the day, Valeera cannot stay in the secret room for a long time.
As the time approached five o'clock in the evening, the sky outside turned completely dark.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Valeela left the warm fireplace, entered the secret room, and stood in front of the self-portrait at the entrance.
She stretched out her left palm, pressed it to the bottom of the painting in a vertical cutting gesture, and moved her palm to the top as if wiping dust.
Along with her movements and abilities, Valeera's image in the painting starts from her feet and is gradually covered by black shadows until she reaches the top of her head.
Valeera grasped it with her palms and spent nearly half of her spiritual energy to pull the human-shaped black shadow on the painting out of the picture, leaving only a simple background with a single tone.
The shadow retreated back to the ground.
In the end, what appeared in front of Valeela was the "real image" that was exactly the same as her.
This is Valeela's second time summoning "Real Shadow". Although the novel feeling is not as strong as the first time, it is still strong enough.
After all, before summoning the "real image", she could only connect her own perception to the self-portrait in a state of concentration. There was no double body and double sensory stimulation.
"Perhaps, "Secret Puppet Master" has a similar feeling? Valeela said to herself.
The next moment, "Solid Shadow" Valeera vibrated the air and spoke, then smiled and said, "Maybe."
After re-closing the secret door of the secret room, "Real Shadow" Valeera took her place and sat in front of the fireplace, while Valeera herself disappeared and left quietly.
She had to rush to the dock area to attend the voting meeting of the "Workers' Alliance Party".
Such a long distance, before, Valeera would never have dared to leave like this——
Because there was absolutely no way she could make it back before dinner, and if it took a long time, Liya, who was guarding the door, would probably take the initiative to enter the bedroom to ask.
The risk of exposure would then be high.
It's different now.
Although the summoned "real shadow" has no combat effectiveness and cannot even withstand a slight temptation with attack intent...but it is still quite perfect as a substitute in a home environment.
Of course, the price is that Valeela needs to divide her energy and pay attention to the situation on both sides at the same time.
The most recent vote took place today at dinner time, around 7:30.
The location is, of course, the Workers' Union Tavern.
A few days ago, after learning about the relevant situation from Dunn, Valeera contacted Burton and Makarov as "Bounty Hunter Rexxar" and expressed her support for them - mainly Maka Rove - re-fight for the leadership of the "Workers Union Party".
Valeera hopes she can intervene effectively and make this vote the last.
