Chapter 35 – What Grows from Ingratitude
Theme: Hollow rebellion, wounds from rejected love, and creatures born from scorn toward blessings.
Ezren, 15 years old. A boy from a humble family.
Astral Entity: Ghure — a shadow-like leech with no fixed form, nesting in leftover food and words of hate vomited into the air.
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The Hospital Room
Night crawled slowly across the hospital window.
In one of the rooms, a boy kicked away his meal tray. His mother's homemade soup shattered on the floor, the smell of thin broth and cheap meat filling the air.
"I don't need this food! You're nothing but pathetic peasants!"
His mother sat silently in the corner, clutching her worn-out jacket, holding back tears too often ignored.
Behind the hospital wall, the creature Ghure squirmed with delight, feeding on every wasted bite, every hateful glance Ezren threw.
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The Hidden Astral
Ghure did not manifest in the human dimension as usual.
Instead, it seeped into Ezren's cells, merging with his blood and nerves, whispering that his parents' love was nothing but a burden.
It did not need great strength—only a small ego left to grow without guidance.
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Enver's Arrival
When his mother left the room, her face red and swollen from tears, Enver's shadow appeared in the reflection of the spilled soup water.
There was no anger—only a silence deeper than the sea, immeasurable and hollow.
The 36th card spun above his palm, bearing the symbol of an empty bowl and a broken spoon.
Ezren stared at him.
"Who are you? Here to preach too?"
Enver said nothing.
He only stepped closer, and in a blink pressed his hand against Ezren's chest.
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The Astral Awakens
Ezren's body convulsed violently. His eyes rolled white.
From beneath his ribs, a thick black haze seeped out—shaping a massive face that shifted constantly: sometimes his father's, sometimes his mother's, sometimes even his own…
But all spoke the same words:
"They deserve to be abandoned."
Ghure screeched, trying to crawl back into Ezren's body, but Enver sealed him with a circle of protection—a silent mantra written in light.
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The Battle
Ghure slithered across the hospital walls, rattling medical instruments. The heartbeat monitors spiked uncontrollably.
It spread as a cloud, weaving an illusion: the hospital room became Ezren's childhood dining table, where he was forced to eat the vegetables he hated.
"They caged you! They never understood you!" Ghure roared.
Enver sliced through the illusion with the 36th card, unveiling a warm glow shaped like a spoon.
"Every meal is a prayer, carved from exhaustion. You rejected it, and nurtured a demon inside yourself."
Ghure transformed into a massive monster made of rotten leftovers and vomit, lashing at Enver with black tongues, trying to smother him.
Enver did not dodge.
He allowed the attacks to touch him—until the creature was trapped in his body's radiant blue light.
"I do not hate you, Ghure," Enver whispered.
"You were only born from a child who was never spoken to enough. But this is not your time."
With one breath, Enver absorbed Ghure fully into a card shaped like a cracked plate, where the entity froze into the image of a crying child.
Ezren collapsed, convulsed, then fell into calm silence.
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Closing
By morning, Ezren awoke with an IV in his hand.
His mother slept on the sofa, her head resting on the edge of his bed, still holding the food he had refused.
Enver sat quietly in the corner chair, invisible to everyone else. Only Ezren could sense his presence.
On the bedside table lay a note from the hospital:
"All medical costs covered by an anonymous sponsor."
"Patient shows significant improvement. Continued medical and psychological support required."
Before Enver vanished, he looked at Ezren, now wordless and subdued.
"Your body can be healed by humans. But only you can heal and save the way you choose to see the world."
The 36th card shimmered softly before slipping back beneath his dark cloak.
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