— Ghost Road at Night —
We'd been driving along the winding mountain road for some time when Selene gasped and jerked the wheel.
"What is it?" I asked as the tires screeched to a halt.
Her face was pale as she stared out the window. "There was someone... an old woman standing in the middle of the road. She waved at me."
"A person?" I leaned to look. "What did she look like?"
"I didn't see her face. She was holding a child's hand, carrying a basket in the other. Right in the middle of the road... didn't you see her?"
"It's alright." I took her hand, pressing it gently as I focused on our surroundings.
The road ran through a narrow pass between two steep slopes. Dark tendrils of something that wasn't quite mist drifted between the ridges. A pale, hazy glow clung to the edges of the asphalt.
"I understand."
I took a pre-prepared yellow talisman from inside my coat and pressed it to the steering wheel.
"Clara, give me some joss paper (ghost money)."
Clara made a soft sound of acknowledgement and quickly handed me a stack of the thin yellow paper.
Taking the papers, I closed my eyes, focused my intent, and blew gently across them. They ignited instantly.
I tossed the burning papers out the window.
Both Selene and Clara stared, stunned.
"Rhan, how did you do that?" Selene's eyes were wide. "Is it a magic trick?"
"I've seen people use high-proof alcohol to breathe fire," Clara added quietly. "But you just... breathed."
"It's different from a trick," I said. "This relies on intent and disciplined inner training."
"Like the 'internal energy' they talk about in Eastern martial arts?"
"Something like that."
"So... you really have that?" Selene sounded genuinely incredulous.
I smiled slightly and looked toward where the papers had burned.
In the ashes crouched two figures—an old woman with a basket, and the child whose hand she held. They were happily gathering the charred remnants, counting them. Then they looked toward us and waved.
"We can go now," I told Selene.
The engine started again. Silence filled the car.
After a few minutes, Selene made a small, confused sound.
"The road... it feels different. Clara, are we getting close to your village? Did they pave it?"
Clara shook her head. "No. Last time I came back for a funeral, it was still all potholes. But... you're right. It's smooth now. Almost like a highway."
"Rhan, did we take a wrong turn?" Selene looked at me.
"No wrong turn," I said evenly. "We're just not on a road for the living anymore. This is a ghost road."
"A ghost road?" they said in unison.
I asked Clara, "Those two mountains we passed—are they burial grounds?"
She glanced out the window. "Yes... several villages bury their dead there. The road cuts right between them."
"That explains it. The dark energy drifting between the slopes is residual death-essence, the lingering imprint of the dead. The white haze along the road is a boundary. This isn't a path for people. It's a passage for spirits. A ghost road."
I gave Selene's hand a light squeeze.
"The old woman you saw collects 'tolls.' The yellow paper I burned was the fee. We can pass safely now."
They both looked utterly lost.
"Tolls?" Clara's eyes lit up. "The spirit world has toll booths?"
"In a manner of speaking. This road belongs to the living by day, and to the dead by night. If you drive through without paying, you invite trouble. Getting lost in circles is the mildest form."
The two girls were hanging on every word.
"What... if we just turned around and went back?" Selene asked.
"If you don't trespass on their path, they usually won't trouble you. At worst, a petty one might make you ill for a few days."
"So if this happens again, we just burn paper money?" Selene pressed.
"Not always. Spirits block roads for many reasons. Some aren't looking for payment." I paused. "The safest thing is to avoid roads like this at night."
"Rhan!" Clara leaned forward from the back seat, suddenly animated. "Can you teach me how to tell a living road from a ghost road? I could drive on ghost roads at night and save on highway tolls!"
I was momentarily speechless.
What kind of logic was that? People avoided these places at all costs. She wanted to use them to save money.
"Think about it," she went on, "highway fees are so expensive. A few dollars of paper money, and I get a free pass. It's economical!"
I sighed. "...Fine."
I was defeated. No further comment.
Soon, the road forked. Selene slowed. "Which way?"
I pointed left. "This one. Time to leave their road."
The Jeep turned onto the left branch, and the smooth surface instantly gave way to the familiar, jarring unevenness of a mountain track.
"We're really out!" Selene said, relieved.
"Hey," Clara's train of thought jumped tracks again. "That road on the right back there... where does it go?"
"Probably the road to the Underworld." I said offhandedly.
"The Underworld? You mean it actually goes to the afterlife?"
"Most likely. I've never been, but that's what it looked like."
---
— The Anomalous Village —
"Look! There's a village up ahead!" Selene's call cut through our conversation.
In the darkness, a few scattered points of light flickered, faintly outlining the shapes of buildings.
The village entrance lay just ahead.
"This is it," Clara said softly. "My hometown. Restvale."
Selene brought the Jeep to a stop and looked at me. "Rhan? Do we keep going?"
I studied the village. In the faint glow, the wooden houses stood in vague silhouettes, radiating a silent, creeping chill. The residual energy here wasn't dense, but it was palpable.
Mountains encircled us. The night was too deep to make out the lay of the land.
I checked the time: 10 PM. Two hours until the midnight shift between light and dark energies, yet the death-essence was already gathering. That meant something was here.
"Rhan, what do we do? Go in, or wait?" Clara's voice trembled. Even though this was her home, facing such a place in the dead of night was enough to unnerve anyone.
I didn't answer. I pushed the door open and stepped out.
It wasn't that I was being cryptic—I was unsettled myself. This was my first time handling a situation like this.
"Rhan!" Selene couldn't bear to stay in the car alone. She scrambled out after me, pressing close to my side.
Clara got out too, clinging to my other arm.
"It's alright," I said quietly. "I'm just checking the local energy flow. Trying to gauge the balance here."
"What's that?!" Selene suddenly stiffened, pressing her whole body against my back.
The headlights were still on. Following her pointing finger, I saw a figure about a hundred meters away—a woman dressed entirely in white.
Clara shrieked and grabbed my arm. Now I had one girl clinging to each side.
"Get back in the car," I said, no time for explanation.
They scrambled back inside, both refusing the front seat, huddling together in the back.
"Is that a ghost?" Selene's voice shook. "Why isn't she leaving?"
The woman in white remained at the edge of the headlight's glow, watching us in perfect stillness. A silent warning.
"It's a spirit," I said. No point hiding it now.
"What does she want? Why is she just standing there?"
"I don't know. Don't look at her. Don't think about her. Wait for midnight. At twelve, we go in."
I looked back at the spirit.
She moved.
Not walking—drifting. Floating toward us.
"She's coming! She's coming!" the two in the back cried out.
My own pulse quickened. I immediately drew the Lumin & Umbra Sigil from my pocket. If she came any closer, I'd disperse her.
She stopped abruptly about twenty meters away.
The headlights lit her face—paper-white. Long hair obscured her features, but I could feel the hatred in her gaze.
Was she afraid of the Sigil I held?
She didn't advance, but she didn't leave either. She just stood there, locked in a silent standoff with us.
Time stretched in the tension. My palm grew damp around the Sigil.
Finally, the moment of midnight arrived.
The woman in white flickered—and vanished.
"She's gone!" Selene exhaled in relief.
"Hm." I kept my eyes on the village.
Something was wrong.
The residual energy, which should have peaked at midnight, was instead fading.
It should be at its strongest now.
Wait—what was that?
Above the center of the village, a mass of dark energy was silently coalescing.
It hung in the air, slowly rotating, drawing in the surrounding death-essence. After about two minutes, the dark mass suddenly stilled. Then it began to move, spinning away toward the depths of the mountains.
"Let's go. Into the village."
I pulled the car door open, my tone leaving no room for debate.
Selene, though clearly afraid, saw the severity in my expression and immediately slid into the driver's seat, starting the engine.