— Anomalous Village —
Our car began to move along the village path. My eyes were fixed on the direction where the last of the dark energy had vanished. The surroundings barely registered.
"Rhan..." Selene's voice trembled. "I feel like there's a car following us."
Her hand shook. Her eyes kept flicking to the rearview mirror.
"Don't look back," I said quietly. "Keep driving. Once we reach the end of this road, it'll be fine."
She tried not to look, but then a horn blared behind us—sharp, urgent, as if urging us forward or trying to overtake.
The tension in the car was palpable. I kept my voice even.
"Don't be afraid. The residual energy in the village has been drained. There are no spirits here now. What's following us is just a remnant—an echo that had not yet fully taken shape." I paused, letting the words settle. "Don't look back. Don't stop. If you don't acknowledge it, it can't take shape."
As soon as I finished speaking, the sound of the engine and the horn behind us vanished.
The road ended.
No abandoned houses here—the nearest one stood at least ten meters away. Our headlights illuminated a narrow, overgrown trail leading off into the darkness. The dark energy had disappeared down that path.
"That trail," Clara said, pointing, "leads to the old Ashcroft."
I nodded.
"Park here."
"There's a car!" Selene pointed suddenly to an empty patch of ground to our left.
A red SUV stood there, stark against the night.
Clara fumbled in her bag, pulled out a flashlight, and shone it through the window.
"That's Nyx's car."
"Who's Nyx?"
"The streamer. She showed this car in her livestream a week ago. I recognize it."
I got out and walked straight to the red SUV.
The doors were locked. Inside was empty—no one, no body.
"Well?" Selene and Clara had followed me.
"No one," I said. "She must have gone in."
"Gone in..." Selene murmured. "But I feel like this was the car following us."
"Did you look back?"
"No. Just a feeling."
I turned to Clara. "How far is Ashcroft from here, down that trail?"
"About fifteen minutes' walk... I've never gone in. It's forbidden."
"Rhan, are you going in?" Selene's voice was thin with worry.
"I am." My tone left no room for doubt. "The spirit we're looking for is likely in there. You two wait here."
I turned to leave, but Selene caught my arm.
"Rhan, I'm coming with you. Staying here... I'm scared."
"Me too," Clara added quickly.
Right now, I was their only anchor. If I left, they might not hold together. But beyond that trail was the true danger zone—I couldn't take them there.
"No."
I glanced down the trail. The baleful energy there was almost tangible, rising like a column into the sky. I looked back toward the village—comparatively calm, the residual energy already dissipated.
Both of them were too closely aligned with the lingering energy. Going in would be too risky.
"You're not coming. I'll scout ahead. Wait in the car."
"But... what if that woman in white comes back?" Selene's voice cracked.
I took the Heavenly Cross from my cloth bag and placed it in her hands. It was the most reliable ward I could offer.
"Hold this. Stay in the car. Don't come out. You'll be safe."
I met her eyes, my voice firm.
"Selene, remember why we came. We're here now. You have to face this. I know it's hard, but you have to hold on."
She drew a sharp breath, then nodded firmly.
"Okay... I will. Be careful, Rhan."
I turned to go.
"Rhan." She stopped me again.
I looked back.
"Come back safe," she whispered.
"I will."
---
— Heart of the Ghost Domain —
I moved quickly down the trail, plunging into the darkness thick with baleful energy. I tucked the pre-drawn concealment charm close to my skin—a feeble hope to avoid the eyes of whatever dwelled here.
To say I wasn't nervous would be a lie. This was my first time confronting something of this scale. But as I'd told Selene—we'd come too far to turn back now.
Elena had wandered for four centuries. The souls here had been slaves for hundreds of years, lower than mere lingering spirit. If I hadn't encountered them, I might have walked away. But now that I had, how could I turn my back?
Fifteen minutes later, I passed through a patch of wild grass and came to a stretch of unnaturally flat ground.
The earth glowed with faint, scattered points of light, like dying fireflies, flickering on and off.
I approached slowly. Nothing grew here—the baleful energy was too intense for any living thing.
I didn't know what kind of curse-energy this was, or if I could handle it. Observe first.
Then I saw it—a splash of color at the far end of the clearing, completely out of place in the dead surroundings.
I walked toward it.
The closer I got, the more it looked like a person.
It was.
A woman in a pink jacket and casual pants, lying on the ground. Next to her were a phone and a collapsed tripod.
This had to be the streamer Clara mentioned.
She was dead.
I offered a moment of silent regret—for a life cut short, for a pointless end.
Three in the morning. The darkest hour before dawn.
The towering baleful energy suddenly dissolved. The faint glow on the ground snuffed out all at once, as if swept away by an unseen hand.
Then, from the center of the clearing, a blinding white light erupted.
I raised my arm to shield my eyes.
When the light faded and I lowered my arm, the scene before me had completely changed.
A vast, translucent palace hung suspended in a void.
Inside, a one-eyed old man sat on a central throne, face slack with pleasure. Women massaged his shoulders and legs, while others danced before him—the lavish treatment of an emperor.
The old man's mouth twisted into a grin. His raspy voice carried a grotesque delight.
"Another one has come... which means one of you must be eaten."
The music and dancing ceased instantly.
All the women dropped to their knees, pleading in terror.
"Master, please don't eat me! I can still sing for you..."
"Master, I can still serve you at night..."
"Master, my massages are the best, you said so yourself..."
They groveled like slaves.
Eaten?
Soul-devouring.
I'd read about it once: the spirit world is like the deep sea. Greater ghosts consume lesser ones to grow stronger. I never thought I'd see it in truth.
"A new arrival means an old one must be replaced. It's the rule," the old man said, his tone almost casual, as if he too regretted it. "Pleading with me is useless. You'd do better to pray no one else ever comes here."
A chill crawled down my spine.
In the next instant, he consumed one of the female spirits.
The act was swift, almost impossible to follow.
Then—he suddenly turned his head. He looked directly in my direction.
One glance.
My entire body jolted as if electrocuted. My limbs went numb.
What kind of power was that?
In a flash, the palace vanished. The numbness faded. Once again, I stood in the empty, dead clearing.
I didn't know if I'd been detected, but I couldn't stay a moment longer.
I got to my feet and ran back the way I'd come.
The old man's words echoed in my mind:
New arrival, old replacement.
Why must there be a replacement? Why consume an old one when a new one arrives?
He could have kept all of them to serve him. Why do this?
I couldn't understand it, and I had no time to think it through.
Fifteen minutes later, I reached the car.
I pulled the door open. Clara was curled on the back seat, fast asleep.
Where was Selene?
A sharp, cold dread seized my heart.