《Ghosts in Regis》 1 An Odd Clien The day is passing by so slow at Ipruk''s Potions and Goods. No one has come in all morning and Sophia could almost die of boredom. Just as she''s about to slump over on the desk and fall into slumber, the front door bell rings. It seems like a customer has finally shown up! She quickly composes herself and greets the man who arrived. She puts on her best smile and asks, "What can I do for you sir?" The man looks around and fidgets. He finally asks, "Can I use the bathroom?" She barely suppresses a disgusted look but replies with, "Sorry sir, but you must buy something first." "Oh fuck really? Okay, um what you got?" This is a potions shop what do you think we got?! Sophia sighs a little bit at his vulgarity but thankfully he didn''t notice. Sophia decides to be petty, "Well sir, you can purchase one of our best sellers which so happens to be a nice, cold, refreshing beverage!" The man looks like he just might cry. "F-fine, here. Now, where''s the bathroom?" After tossing Sophia a bag of coins he man walks very briskly towards the direction she pointed at. Sophia let out another sigh. She kept wondering where Ms. Ipruk was. She''s been gone all morning which isn''t odd but usually she tells her where she''s going. Sophia can''t help but worry about what sort of trouble her mentor can get into without her around. Seriously? Who''s mentoring who now? Almost as if she overheard her thoughts did the woman herself burst through the front door. Ms. Ipruk looks worn out, her hair in disarray and glasses crooked like she''s been running from something. She quickly leans against the door, blocking it, and says "I NEED FROG LEGS QUICKLY!" "W-what!?" That catches her completely off guard. "Hurry!" Something from outside is banging the door behind her. Trying desperately to get inside! Sophia frantically flies around the shop until she finally finds a jar of frog legs on the highest self in the back room. She grabs it and then quickly tosses it to Ms. Ipruk who catches it effortlessly. She opens the door slightly and throws the jar outside while screaming, "EAT THIS FOUL BEAST!" Luckily it seems to work for, whatever it is, stopped trying to break through the door. Sophia hesitantly asks, "What in the world was that?" Ms. Ipruk responds with, "Well it seems than rather confronting me face to face my enemies have resorted to sending their foul pets after me. Cowards." Before Sophia could question further, a loud noise came from the left followed by a "Oops!" Sophia can''t help but think, Seriously, what a useless man, can''t even properly go to the bathroom. Ms. Ipruk hears as well and asks who it is. Sophia suppresses the urge to shrug but does say, "Oh, just a nuisance of a customer." He walks in and immediately apologizes to Sophia for breaking one of the decorative plates but he stops talking when he sees Ms. Ipruk. "Wait, Cecilia?! This is your shop?" Ms. Ipruk looks confused, "Well, it does have my name on it." "Don''t you remember me?" He sounds a bit hurt, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. Cecilia thinks for a moment and responds with, "Oh! You''re little Bradley. It took me a second but I wouldn''t forget that fluffy head of hair and adorable face anywhere!" He looks embarrassed. "Yeah that''s me! Wait, please don''t call me little I''m almost thirty..." "Goddess, no wonder it took me awhile to remember! Last time I saw you, you were just a tiny kiddo. Humans age so fast! Aha! But you''re still little in terms of height so I''ll stick with Little Bradley." "..." "But anyways! What brings you here I thought your family moved from Regis ages ago. How are your parents?" There''s a flash of hurt in his eyes as he answers, "Uh well, they''re fine. I mean they died but they were good people so they''re probably in heaven or something..." Both of us are shocked! "What!? Oh gods, I am so sorry for your loss but when did this happen?" Ms. Ipruk questions. "It''s okay. I mean it''s been a few weeks. So, I''m still kinda bummed¡­ They got in an accident and I was the- I was lucky enough to not have been there." He''s trying to play it off as nothing but even she can''t tell there''s bitterness and pain hidden deep inside. "So then after their deaths you moved back to Regis?" "Yup. Ms. Cecilia you know how rich they are- were, I mean. Well, I''ve inherited the mansion on Flower Hill. But like, I hate it." Ms. Ipruk raises her eyebrows, "Why is that?" Sophia interrupts and enlightens her teacher, "Ms. Ipruk, it''s the ''mansion'' that''s rumored to be ''haunted.''" "HAUNTED? Oh! That mansion. Silly me I thought you meant the other one on Flour Hill." "Yeah. So basically living in this shitty haunted mansion where I''m too afraid to pee in." Well, that explains some things like his messy and overall bad appearance. Is this man truly so pathetic or is he hiding something? Sophia doesn''t trust this man. "Wait! You still offer personal jobs right? Please, help me Ms. Cecilia! I think I''m going to fall apart at this rate..." ''Little Bradley'' starts weeping. Oh goddess, this man is so embarrassing to look at, Sophia almost says out loud. "Okay, I can help. Just please stop crying little one." Ms. Ipruk tries to reassure by accepting to help and giving him a hard pat on the back. Even, Ms. Ipruk was uncomfortable around crying people. "Sophie dear, close up shop. We have a new job! Let me go gather my things and we''ll meet you at the mansion. Does that sound good, little man?" He finally stops weeping and wipes his tears and snot on his sleeve. Ew. "Y-yeah! Um I''ll tell the servants to let you in." Ms. Ipruk nods and heads off to her study. Leaving Sophia alone to deal with him. "I''ll be heading out! See you guys soon!" Or not. He''s just about to walk out the main entrance when Sophia remembers, the creature! It''s probably still outside. Sophia could do the right thing and give him a warning but she just keeps smiling and waving goodbye. From outside, she hears a man screaming and some growling. Oops. Maybe she should of said something after all. Oh well, he had running shoes on. He should be fine! 2 What Have We Gotten Ourselves Into? After she finished closing up, Sophia went to her room to get ready. She decided to stock up on healing potions and scrolls. She dressed casual. Or more casual than usual. //Hmph, we better get paid generously. I hope Ms. Ipruk writes up a proper contract this time, I refuse to trust this man blindly.// She goes downstairs to see if Ms. Ipruk was also done getting ready. //Come to think of it, I think this is our first time working together on a ghost case. Oh well! Surely the great and powerful Cecilia Ipruk knows what to do!// "Okay let''s go, Sophie! I''m all set." Oh no. Her teacher is wearing very tacky, tacky overalls and a creepy gas mask? Looking at the chaotic appearance of Ms. Ipruk, Sophia was extremely confused. She''s never ghost hunted before but is it necessary to wear this kind of getup? //No I refuse to wear something like that. Ghosts be damned. If I die, I''d rather die looking tasteful.// Sophia has to know. "Um, Ms. Ipruk why are you... wearing that?" "It''s so the ghosts won''t possess me of course!" "Right." "Anyways let''s get going! Flower Hill isn''t far from here. Oh but you can fly ahead if you wish. I won''t mind." "No, I don''t mind walking with you teacher!" Okay so be Sophia minds a little bit. //Please Ms. Ipruk! Take off that ridiculous mask! Next time just let me pick out ghost hunting outfits!// But Sophia would feel guilty letting her teacher walk alone. It''s just too rude! Besides she has some questions to ask about this client. And so, they head out. Ms. Ipruk walks in long strides and is just generally a lot taller than Sophia so, she ends up flying a bit anyways. "Um, teacher. How exactly do you know our client?" "Oh goodness this was about 25 years ago before you became my pupil actually. The Johnsons were well, a very rich family so when they hired me I was thrilled! Money baby!!! But, they were strange." Stranger than you? "They wanted me to create an incantation that would allow them to speak with the dead. The problem was that they refused to tell me who they wanted to speak with. I told them it won''t work if I don''t get a name, even a nickname would work. But they refused to tell me, so I couldn''t do the job. They felt bad about ''wasting my time'' so they still paid me! I felt guilty but alas they insisted!" She paused sounding a bit hesitant but continued with, "Before I left they also wanted me to meet their toddler. I was like hell! Sure why not! Kids are adorable. And he was! But, I was concerned with how his parents threw him at me, like they wanted me to take him home and raise him. It was very awkward." Sophia was confused, "Do you think there was something wrong with that baby?" Ms. Ipruk shook her head, "Absolutely nothing! It was a perfectly healthy baby. No illnesses or curses. I don''t understand to this day why they needed me in the first place. Soon after my visit, they vanished. Er- moved away. I never saw them again." Sophia didn''t ask anymore questions because she understood. Her teacher wants some closure to this bizarre case from the past. It wasn''t long before her teacher spoke up again though, "Dear, when making contact with the spirits, make sure to be clear and kind. Do not show any ill feelings or things will go awry. Ask simple questions and be aware of your surroundings." "Teacher¡­ this advice is from Ghost Finders! We watched that 2 weeks ago!" "Aha but they were right! Never look down on good advice no matter its origins." Sophia tries not to sigh, "Isn''t there some sort of incantation or spell I can do to talk to spirits?" "Well of course. Communication with spirits is the foundation of Spiritual Magic (also known as Soul Magic) and it''s extremely difficult to work with. Sophie dear, you know that you''re not ready to learn other forms of magic. You''re focusing on Light and Elemental Magic." She tries to protest, "Surely it can''t be that difficult and my studies with Light Magic are over now! I have read that Spiritual Magic is tricky and requires some dedication but-" Ms. Ipruk interrupts her with a serious tone in her voice, "And a part of your Soul. Sophie, I admire your ambition but you can''t do everything at once. We have already spoken of how you don''t need to learn all forms of magic to be great! Even I haven''t practiced Spiritual Magic. I only know of the basics and ideology! It''s far too dangerous, even more so than Dark Magic." Sophia does not pout but she sure feels like it. Spiritual Magic can''t be that bad. Sure she hasn''t been able to read too much about it but oh well. "Anyways, I was serious about my earlier advice but, I do have a charm that will help you sense supernatural energies!" //Why didn''t you just give me this sooner!// "Ah. Thank you..." "Try to use it after speaking with them. This is a very powerful charm and if the spirit is vengeful it can backfire." //Fantastic.// She takes the charm and puts it away safely. They walk in comfortable silence for a few more minutes. Only the noises of the busy city and some creatures chirping. Soon they arrive at Flower Hill. The climb up the hill isn''t long and even though Sophia was flying, they both make it to the top around the same time. Sophia has seen the mansion before but from a far distance. This is her first time seeing it up close! And she''s not impressed. She thinks, damn bitch you live like this? Does this even count as a mansion?! No wonder why people thought it must be haunted, it''s in complete ruins! Also, it looks more like a ruined castle. Guess, rich people can do whatever and live however they want. "Teacher, are you sure this is the right place?" "It must be! This is the only mansion on Flower Hill. It certainly has changed these past years." That''s one way to put it. The whole structure looks like it''s about to fall apart! How can someone live here? It''s simply inhabitable. They walk past the gates that have been left open. "Do we knock? I fear that if we do it might collapse on us." she said dryly. "Ha! Funny as always, Sophie dear! But don''t worry this structure won''t fall on us just yet." She proceeded to knock on the main door. What ended up happening was exactly that. The doors did collapse! Debris and dust are everywhere! Sophia coughs and struggles to breathe again. Ms. Ipruk is fine since she''s wearing the mask. Who knew it would come in handy after all! "..." "We don''t have to pay for that right, Ms. Ipruk?" "Nah! I''m sure that was meant to happen." She laughs it off. They enter the mansion, walking over the ruins of the doors. Er- floating in Sophia''s case. There seems to be no one in the hallway leading to the main foyer. Actually, there''s not much of anything. It''s pretty barren only a few withered decorations and old, abandoned furniture remain. At least the lights seem to be working. Sophia notes that it looks much better on the inside than the outside but that''s not saying much. "Oh my, I wonder why it''s so empty?" "I have no idea, perhaps the moving truck got lost?" Ms. Ipruk jokes. "And just how long has he been "living" here? A few weeks right? Also, didn''t he say there were supposed to be servants?" Sophia questions. She can''t bring herself to trust this man. "Hmm..." "Ms. Ipruk, What should we do?" "Let''s look around." "Um, won''t that be-" rude, but they already broke the door, so who cares. "Oh maybe we''ll be able to find him!" "Hm yes." Ms. Ipruk seems distracted. Sophia wonders if she''s more interested in the mansion itself rather than finding their client. No wait, she probably is, after all it''s been over twenty years since she was last here. "Okay so should we go upstairs? Perhaps, someone is there? Oh, but what if the stairs aren''t stable... not that it''s a problem for me. Or be the dining room. Oh! What about one of the bathrooms-" "Let''s go to the library." 3 The Library "Huh? The library? Surely a man like that wouldn''t- Hey! Wait up!" "Sorry dear, but I have to see if its still here..." she doesn''t explain much more. Sophia quietly follows behind. She is getting nervous because the farther they move from the foyer, the dimmer the lights are getting. "Um the lights seem to be..." Ms. Ipruk mutters something under her breath and a little orb of light is conjured up! "There now we''ll be able to see. I hope you weren''t scared, dear. If you need to hold my hand-" "Nonsense! I can handle myself. And I was certainly not scared!" They have arrived but there was one problem. The doors had a lock. "I suppose we won''t be able to enter the library a shame!" Ms. Ipruk had a different idea though and proceeded to rip the lock off the door. With her bare hands! She smiles at Sophia and says, "We can take off the cost of the broken lock on our bill." She opens the door carefully this time but they still creek eerily. The library, to no surprise, is pitch black. Ms. Ipruk casts another spell making the light orb bigger! "Stay close." Sophia couldn''t agree more. "Wow.." The library looks like its been been ransacked! Furniture is broken and books are splattered everywhere. Seriously what happened to this mansion? "Oh no." Ms. Ipruk mutters. She walks inside and seems to be looking for something. Sophia hesitantly follows behind. It''s only a few seconds before she almost walks into her because she suddenly stops walking! "What is it?!" she asks slightly annoyed. "Hold this." She hands Sophia her mask. "..." "Unfortunately dear, I can''t see clearly with the mask." Sophia almost face-palms. She takes the mask and carelessly shoves it in her purse.* "Teacher, what exactly are we looking for?" Ms. Ipruk responds with, "An odd painting." Why is she so vague! Odd could literally mean anything! Especially, in a place like this. Sounding a little frustrated she asks her, "What do you mean by odd?" Ms. Ipruk was trying to move one of the bookcases but she stops and and turns to Sophia, "This painting, when I first saw it I was shocked. I was beautiful but incomplete. The woman was missing her eyes." "Well that could be unsettling but some people don''t have eyes so..." She shook her head, "No. I mean that it was obvious the artist painted eyes for her but they were missing. It was as if someone or something cut them out from the painting and then hung it back up. As if nothing was wrong." "Oh! Then that''s strange indeed. Do you think that this painting could be..." "Haunted? Cursed? Something else entirely? That''s what we''re here to find out!" With energy renewed she continued to try and move the bookcase. It was already close to falling apart so she was trying very hard to keep it in one piece. After managing to move it to the side she continued to elaborate, "Since it''s been such a long time I''ll admit I can''t remember too well but I do recall asking Mrs. Johnson what happened to the painting and she avoided the question. She said something like it was meant to be like that. Which I doubted but, I couldn''t dwell on it back then. Until now¡­" They''ve been carefully maneuvering over the chaos of the library for a few minutes. As they''re making their way towards the back, Sophia steps on something making a deafening cracking noise. She almost can''t look. Please don''t be something gross please don''t be something icky!!! Oh it''s just a locket. Wait. Before she can take a closer look, Ms. Ipruk calls for her. She grabs it and hurries over. "Dear, I think I have found it but can you grab the other end so we can turn it around." She complies and helps her turn the painting around. What in the world? //What is this?// How Ms. Ipruk described the painting before, she was completely wrong! The entire body was missing! Except for the eyes. What does this mean? "Guess I was completely wrong! Haha oops." Sophia has always respected how Ms. Ipruk never tries to hide her mistakes. Although, this is too strange. "Perhaps, it''s a different painting after all and be these two are connected?" She tries to reason. "No. This is the painting from my past. There''s no mistaking it. I can''t explain it but by looking at it, I have the same feeling as before." "What feeling?" "Sorrow." Really? All Sophia feels while looking at it is the creepied the fuck out. Oh well, Everyone''s different. "Oh, it looks like we found more than just the painting." Ms. Ipruk looks over past Sophia''s shoulder. Huh? Sophia, completely unprepared, turns around and lets out a shrill shriek. A man covered in blood and bandages is standing behind them. He was smiling. It was Bradley. When did he get here? No one spoke for the longest moment until finally her teacher asked, "My heavens and feathers what happened to you?" "Huh? Oh you mean the bandages?"And blood! "Well just my shitty luck as soon as I left your shop a horrible beast attacked me!" Oops. "..." Ms. Ipruk looked at Sophia, who looked away. Sophia feels a twinge of guilt. //Maybe I should of warned him after all.// "Don''t worry though. I got some scratches but I killed it! And I even managed to cook it for dinner. Oh yeah sorry about not greeting you sooner I was busy with that." What. What?! "Er- I apologize for that little one. I forgot to mention I was being chased by a Venom Regian Wolf. But I don''t think their meat is safe to eat..." He grins, "Don''t worry about that. I took care of the poison." Ms. Ipruk looks wary. Suddenly Sophia remembers, "You said there would be servants but frankly this place looks like it should be condemned." "I''m so sorry. No one lives here besides me." The nerve of this man! He doesn''t sound ashamed at all! "Why did you lie?" Sophia scolds. He can''t meet her eyes and looks down pathetically. But that only made the blood on his head drip on the floor faster. It was gross and unnerving. "I guess I just didn''t want to look more pathetic than I already did. I mean like what''s a mansion without servants. Haha." Has he really only inherited this crumbling mansion? Sophia is doubtful. "I''m gonna head back to the kitchen and finish preparing dinner for later. Feel free to look around and send these ghosts to hell!" "Wait! What about your injuries, they look pretty serious." "Huh? No I''m fine really. OH You mean the blood?" What else? "It''s not mine." Even Ms. Ipruk raises an eyebrow. "Cutting up wolves is a lot messier than I thought it be... If that''s all-" Sophia stops him again. "You still have to sign our contract! Otherwise we won''t be able to do our job." She conjures up the contract from thin air. "Okay give me a pen. Hmm, here signed!" He didn''t even read it. "Ms. Ipruk what are you thinking?" "I have many things to ask little Bradley but it seems that I''ll have to wait till dinner. A meal of wolf meat that might kill us." "Ms. Ipruk I don''t eat meat. It''s only your life that''s on the line here." "Haha. You''re right. Well here''s what we can do. I want to keep looking in the library but there''s other rooms and upstairs to consider as well. I want to finish this case as soon as possible but Sophia what do you think is best to do?" "Let''s split up and search the mansion. We''ll get a lot more done that way and we can meet up around 5 in the dining room." "Are you sure? Sophie, I believe in your skills but-" "I''ll be fine Ms. Ipruk. I''m strong! I can take care of myself." "Hm okay. But you must promise to contact me if something happens! I can''t let anything happen to you here. I promised your mother I''d keep you safe." "Hmph. I''m not a child you know." She feels slightly embarrassed now. "I know. But you''re very important to me too, dear. I will keep you safe." "I- I will keep you safe as well because-" you are part of my family. She couldn''t say those words but Cecilia already knows. They part for now. 4 Something Lurks In The Darkness Its A ... It kind of hits her as soon as she''s back in the foyer that she has no idea what to do. //Perhaps I should head upstairs? They look unstable but it''s fine since I can just fly up there. Or should I go speak to Bradley again? I still have doubts. I can also head to the basement...// She shakes her head and decides it''s best to go upstairs. But first she makes her own little light orb since the lights probably won''t work. //I''m cool. I''m calm and in control. I can do this!// She summons her wings and flies up to the second floor. Once she lands she notices how its in even worse shape. Arguably worse than downstairs. The most noticeable thing is how a pillar fell blocking part of one hallway. Hopefully it doesn''t lead to anywhere important. Another hallway seems to be less ''cluttered''. Just as she''s about to walk down there, she suddenly hears something from the other side. It''s coming from the darkest part of the floor and she has no idea where it leads to. But she can make out a low growling sound. It sounds familiar... could it be? If it''s what she thinks it is, then she can''t just ignore it! She walks slowly and carefully to the other side. The growling is still very low but she can hear it clearly now. It''s coming from one of the bedrooms towards the end of the hallway. Wait. These rooms don''t look too extravagant or big. Could this be this the servants quarters? When she reaches the bedroom, Sophia is sure that behind the door, it''s there. She carefully opens it. Trying to make little noise as possible. Ah, she was right. As always. Before her, she could almost barely make it out since it blends within the darkness but there''s no mistaking it. It''s an ugly and fowl, Shadow Beast! Shadow Beasts are considered monsters, evil and a gateway to Death''s Doors. They''re soulless creatures from hell itself! These beasts will rip any living being apart into shreds just for a taste of their soul. But to Sophia, they''re just pests. Sophia has been dealing with them for over 20 years now! So she''s gotten used to it. Actually, Shadow Beasts used to be rarely seen but they started plaguing most populous parts of the continent soon after the Draconic Wars began. Many believe that it''s their fault. That the Dragons spawned them to use for their war but it''s just a rumor. There''s also a rumor that the world is coming to an end and these beasts roaming our world is a sign. Another rumor says that the Underworld is vanishing and they have nowhere else to go but here. Blah blah blah, it''s rubbish! The Gods haven''t said a word and no one''s proved anything substantial. So as far as she''s concerned, Shadow Beasts are nothing more than a nuisance. It seems to be resting? Sophia moves as close as she can without disturbing it. After outweighing her options, she thinks it''s best to trap it and deal with it later. It''s just too troublesome to fight a beast right now. Sophia creates a light barrier to contain it but then she realizes something. The beast hasn''t noticed her yet. There was a nagging voice in her head that something wasn''t quite right. ///"Sophie dear, there must be a reason it''s here. Don''t you find it strange and interesting?"/// All she''s done is walk inside quietly but it should have noticed her instantly since she didn''t use any spell to mask her presence. Normally, she wouldn''t make this kind of mistake but the environment she''s in is draining and out of her element. She also won''t admit it but she''s extremely nervous. Regardless, the Shadow Beast should have noticed her and either attacked immediately or fled. Shadow Beasts are chaotic and violent they don''t ''rest'' like other corporeal beings because their bodies are mostly made from dark energies and souls they''ve consumed, which later will be tainted. When they need to ''rest'' or escape they can dissolve at will and fade into the shadows. Which is why dealing with them is so annoying! Anyways, the point being that this Shadow Beast looks like it''s sleeping? Resting like a normal creature? How is it possible that it hasn''t sensed her? Is there something wrong with it? This is honestly the first time she''s witnessed anything like it. Since it''s trapped in the barrier, she decides to take a closer look at it. Gods. Other than being overwhelming hideous she can''t see anything wrong per say. Wait. There is something. It''s not sleeping. It''s calm, too calm. It shouldn''t be this calm it''s a being of chaos for hell''s sake! It should be trying to break out, snarl at her, or anything really! It should at least be ''glaring'' at her but its eyes are gone? Shadow Beasts don''t have normal eyes exactly. They have empty eye sockets except for their red light pupils. In reality they are reflections of the souls they have consumed and tainted beyond recognition. Shadow beasts are just that, shadows. The souls they consume satisfy their longing for warmth and belonging. But it doesn''t last for long. They are greedy by nature and won''t stop eating souls until they''ve reached a corporeal form. What''s wrong with this particular Shadow Beast is that it doesn''t have red eyes. Sophia also can''t sense many energies from it. It reminds her of a husk. How long has it been here starving? She turns from it and starts pacing, her thoughts running wild. //Has it been here before Bradley moved in? If so, then who brought it here? What if Bradley brought it here? If he did, why didn''t he say anything? Is this some sort of trap? Or is there really another party at play? If so, where are they and what do they want? One thing I can deduce is that Bradley is not innocent in this. He is hiding too much information. Does he truly want us to cleanse his house? What if-// Then she heard it. A low whistling. A few minutes pass and the whistling gets louder. Sophia is frozen in place because it''s coming from the beast itself! She slowly and carefully approaches it again. The beast is definitely making that noise and it''s weakly clawing the edge of the barrier trying to escape. Or more like its trying to get her attention? It''s concerning. This is perhaps one of the most foolish things she''s ever done. Entering the barrier is risky because even though she can leave it anytime she wishes, she will still be in close proximity with something dangerous. But letting it loose is not an option. Sophia would rather put herself in danger than put everyone else at risk. Besides, Sophia has dealt with these pests before, if it tries anything she''s ready to take it on. She takes a few more minutes to ease her nerves and pulls out a light staff. "Okay ugly little pest. I''m going inside now... please don''t kill me." Foolish. She feels foolish. Once it senses Sophia inside the barrier does it finally stop whistling and scratching. It slowly walks over to her and Sophia tenses, thinking it''s going to attack. Instead of attacking though, it begins whistling again. Although, this time it sounds more structured and familiar. Sophia has definitely heard this tune before. She''s racking her brain trying to figure out what it is and then it hits her! The beast is whistling¡­ the song "Dear Mom and Dad" from famous pop sensation, Joy Coy! Joy Coy, formerly part of the Fruities, made a shocking solo debut with this track title! Everyone thought it was going to be a heart warming song dedicated to her parents but it was the opposite. The lyrics being "Dear Mom and Dad you are deadbeats, Dear Mom and Dad you''re tears mean nothing to me" turned many heads! The song became a big hit for its shocking lyrics and catchiness. Even Sophia who doesn''t like pop, enjoyed it quite a bit. Hm. Okay, so that solves one thing. But what the absolute fuck. //Why does a Shadow Beast know a pop song? Am I hallucinating? Is it something in the air?// She''s so confused, Sophia might actually cry. //I almost wish it just wanted to kill me, it would make a lot more sense!// After, the beast finishes it''s ''performance'' it goes silent. It doesn''t do anything besides ''stare'' at her as if its anticipating something. She doesn''t know what it could possibly want from her. She highly doubts it wants a little pat on the head and words of praise. She doesn''t do anything, holding her ground and trying to understand. Sophia isn''t sure what to take away from this bizarre experience other than be this pest has some parental issues. Get in line! As she''s trying to think of a more logical reason for this phenomena, the beast startles her when it starts growling again more aggressive than ever before! Sophia thinks it''s time to get out the barrier before it decides to rip her throat out. Just as she thought that it lunges for her and she barely manages to dodge. It''s faster than she assumed it would be! She quickly uses her staff and strikes the pest right in its snarling face. It falls flat on its back and stops moving. One blast from the light staff won''t kill a beast but it will paralyze it temporarily. She quickly makes her escape. Sophia feels like she''s just wasted her time. Almost half an hour and all she''s done is interrogate a Shadow Beast? If she can even call it that. All she learned is that its weak and likes pop music. How is that helpful at all? Oh well, no use dwelling over it. It''s time to move on! 5 The Ghost Maid Time to go towards the well-lit hallway! Yay~ less chances of dying where there''s light, obviously. Although, she has a feeling something will show up. She dusts herself off and fixes her hair. Just because potential ghosts might look like a mess, doesn''t mean that she has to! As she''s walking down the well-lit hallway she finally finds what seems to be the sitting room. It''s actually still in pretty decent shape. Meaning, that it''s still in one piece. Still dusty though. Alas, it''s mostly empty. Only a few things remain. Some books carelessly tossed on the ground, a few chairs mostly intact, oh and little lamp on the ground that''s illuminating the room. Wow, this is kinda sad to look at. It''s just so empty and also the air is extremely heavy. Something is definitely here. Sophia wants to try and actually reach out to the ghosts. After all that''s why she''s here. She thinks back to the advice Ms. Ipruk gave her earlier on how to contact ghosts. She''s assuming that Ms. Ipruk meant to try and speak to them first and then if that fails, use the charm. She sits on one of the chairs and creaks under her but thankfully doesn''t break. She sits in complete silence trying to ease her neves and thinks about a way to appraoch this. How does one even start a conversation with spirits? This is actually a lot more awkward in reality than on TV shows and books. Guess an introduction shouldn''t hurt? She''s great at those! "Hello there, ghosts. Let me introduce myself. My name is Sophia Fauve, an apprentice under Master Ipruk and future fashion designer! I am the one to go to when it comes to magic and looks. I am going to be even more legendary someday so remember the name!" Silence. Maybe she got a tad carried away. Bragging about how great you are doesn''t really make for an inviting conversation. She coughs a little and continues, "Well anyways. You all have a lovely little mansion here. I really love the decor¨¦! Also, I mean no harm and apologize for barging in unexpectedly. But I would really love to know more about who ever you are?" She waits a few more minutes in silence before trying again. "Hmm, my day has been very eventful how was your day?" More deafening silence. This is ridiculous! There''s still no response of some kind! If this was a show surely the audience would be laughing at her. "Please give me something to work with. If you can''t speak then perhaps some sort of sign?" Just as those words left her mouth, something did end up happening, she hears someone humming. The humming doesn''t seem to be any particular tune, it''s just mindless humming to pass the time. Sophia gets up from her creaky chair and tries to follow the sound. It seems to be coming from outside the sitting room and ends up leading her to a bigger bedroom. A master bedroom. Could it be the Johnsons? The door is slightly open already so she has no trouble getting inside. The room still looks to be in decent shape. It''s a lot cleaner than the other rooms upstairs. Also, there''s still some furniture, including a bed. The bed is not that big¡­ Not as big as it should be for a master bedroom. The pillows and blankets look freshly made. She steps inside and asks, "Is anyone in here?" The humming gets louder! "Okay, clearly you''re trying to talk to me but is there a better way? I have questions I need to ask. Please, I''m just here to help you." She hears something fall with a thud. She looks over and it''s a book? It looks so worn out which shouldn''t be shocking but it looks more like some kind of journal. She picks it up and opens it. The writing looks messy beyond comprehension but the main problem is that it''s all smudged! Most of the journal has been stained with ink, maybe it got wet at one point. Some of the pages are torn as well. The only thing she can make out is the writing on the first page. [If found please return to Darmae Farona.] ?Sophia has no idea who this is.? //Could it be the ghost''s name?// ?She tries skimming the journal for clues but most of the writing is illegible! ?Ugh, why do they have to write in messy cursive! Also, why writing on paper? Just write your thoughts on the internet where people will ignore you. Duh?? ?Sophia does manage to find a passage that seems sort of clear with just a few smudges.? [?Work is hard and draining?. I will never tell Madame? my feelings because I don''t want to stress her out but at least I can vent using this. Perhaps, my old therapist ?? gave good advice. I''m craving chocolate.] ?Hm, so they worked here? A servant most likely. She keeps skimming:? ?[The baby is cute but very loud. I wish he would stop crying. I wish she would stop crying. I wish I could stop??] [Mr. Hobbleton ?broke my phone. Why is he so clumsy! Madame said she would get me a new one. I want to die from embarrassment.] [?It''s cold. Too cold. It''s summer act like it. I miss the sun.?] [?I wish I could of made my family happy. But I''m just a maid. I wish i could make Madame happy but I''m just her maid. But at the very least. I made Bradley?! smile today. It was the chocolate.?] [?He hates me. But it''s fine. I don''t like him but he pays me so it''s fine.??] [?I''ve been here over 5 years. I miss my mom. I miss the bread. Maybe, I''ll ask for a vacation soon. Maybe, I can ask Madame? to come with me... No that''s dumb.?] [I think I can count the few things that make me feel emotions, on my hand alone. Ah.] [?Work is hard. But things will get better. I miss my bakery. I love chocolate bread?! So tasty.?] [?Madame... she said that. Why. Why me??] [?No no I??can''t do this. Anymore Why why??It''s not real. It can''t be??] [?Come back!??] [?Sorry I''m sorry.?] ?This maid actually writes a lot more than what Sophia could make out but alas a lot of it has been lost or is too illegible. She keeps flipping more pages and a few more lines stand out to Sophia.? [?Humming calms me. Sir finds it annoying but who cares what he thinks! I love it. She loves it too. I think I love?????] [?Legendary Master Ipruk arrived in Regis! I don''t care much for magic but it''s still exciting. I wonder if Madame or Sir will meet a big shot like her.?] [?I owe her everything.?] ? ? ?Okay, so she definitely is the humming maid! She knew about Ms. Ipruk, did they meet when she visited? And ''I owe her everything'' sounds so ominous, this loyalty goes beyond these words. Darmae Farona was ''Madame''s'', Mrs. Johnson, personal maid. At least it seems so. All the legible entries line up with the timeline. ?"So you are Ms. Farona?"? ?She hears a low hum in response.? ?"Okay, this journal of yours is lovely and I wish I could read it all but, there are some things I want to ask you directly. Is there a better way to-?"? The pages of the journal in her hands start flipping by itself! Until it lands on one passage:? [?I dream of nothingness on most days but today I remembered my dream of being held tenderly by the person I love the most. If only my dreams would come true. All of my dreams filed with nothingness.??] ?Dreams. Does she want her to fall asleep?? Oh! Entering someone''s dreams, she''s heard of that. Entering a Dreamscape, she''s read that some supernatural beings are able to do that but it seems kind of dangerous. Although, Sophia can''t sense any I''ll intentions. What''s life without some little risks? Haha. Oh no, she''s starting to sound like Ms. Ipruk. //I''ll do it! But before I do¡­// Sophia pulls out her light staff and the charm her teacher gave her! //I won''t go in completely defenseless.// 6 The Dreamscape She lays on the bed and tries to relax so sleep can overtake her. It takes a while. Hey! You try falling asleep in a creepy, crumbling mansion. When she opens her eyes again she feels hazy. This is definitely a dream. It''s always weird when you''re aware you''re dreaming¡­ She tries to sit up and the first thing she notices is how much more different the room looks! It''s a lot more lively for one thing. There''s working lights and lots of fancy and elegant furniture. She recognizes some of it from Eve Gardenia''s furniture catalog. Unfortunately, those stopped being in style over 10 years ago, a shame! Sophia once bought a nice dresser from this catalog¡­ Anyways! What stands out the most is the figure standing by the window. She gets up from the bed and approaches them. "Are you Darmae Farona?" Sophia asks. The figure turns around and they seem to be young maid. She seems to be an elf or half-elf. This person''s eyes are a very dark brown but they look slightly glassy. The bangs are messy and the hair is in a low ponytail. The uniform looks plain but neat. She is frowning slightly. "Yes? I think so. No one''s called me that in ages, but that sure does sound like my name." "Why did you answer my call?" she asks. The ghost maid responds calmly with her own questions, "Why did you make that call? Why did you pay attention to me? Why do you want to help me?" She sounds genuinely curious and confused. Sophia doesn''t heistate, "I just want to help you because it''s the right thing to do. I''m not someone who runs away from injustices!" "..." The ghost smiles. It''s not creepy as it should be. The smile is warm. "You, remind me so much of her. Your heart is pure. I can feel that. I''m part elf you know? We''re good at reading hearts. But I was never good at reading my own heart." Sophia doesn''t really know what to say to that. "Ahem- yes well. I am a pure-hearted, good person. Please, let me help you by telling me what you know." The ghost hums. Sophia takes that as an approval and continues with, "What do you remember from your time here? Were the Johnsons good people? Did they treat you well?" "Madame Johnson treated me well. She helped me greatly. I owe her so much... Sir, was distant and didn''t care for me. I was just another maid to pay. I... must do a good job. I don''t want to leave... I still need the money..." "Huh? Money? For what exactly?" Sophia was really curious now. "Money to live. My bakery needs money. Madame paid me well, she didn''t want me to give up on my dream. I dream a lot of nothingness but I wanted to keep my bakery I wanted to keep making bread. I love bread, it''s so heartwarming. It''s home. I wanted...home... Madame was home..." Sophia is starting to lose her so she asks something else. It''s kind of insensitive and rash of her but extremely important! "How did you die?" "I''m dead? Of course, that makes sense. Why am I dead? I can''t remember? Madame... where is she? She would know. She has to know! Where are they?!" She''s starting to panic! Sophia is panicking too! How is she supposed to tell her that the Johnsons'' are dead?! That her beloved Madame died under circumstances she isn''t even clear on! The only survivor of the Johnson family is the baby, who isn''t a baby anymore. Bradley is the person who claims this, a man she barely trusts! How could Sophia possibly tell her all of this. How could she break a broken soul even more? Her hesitation is a bad mistake because the ghost maid grabs her shoulders and begins shaking her, trying to get an answer. "Tell me what happened! Help me!" Sophia tries to struggle but she has a surprisingly strong grip! So she decides to tell the truth. "They... passed away. I am so very sorry. I truly am." The ghost lets go of Sophia after hearing that. She falls to her knees and starts sobbing and shaking uncontrollably! "No!! No!!! Impossible! They can''t be dead¡­ she can''t be gone! No no no. I won''t.. believe this¡­ She''s¡­ still here¡­ I can''t¡­ reach you¡­ Not gone¡­ without you¡­ I can''t¡­ here¡­ you are¡­ I feel it¡­" Sophia needs to calm her down before something bad happens! To herself specifically. She softly tells her, "They''re all not gone. The baby, Bradley, he''s still here. He''s okay." Only after hearing that did she begin to calm down again, "The baby survived? I''m glad¡­ Bradley¡­ you''re here¡­ " She finally stops crying but she''s still shaking a bit. Poor thing. Sophia helps her stand up again. Probably a bad idea to ask about how she died when she can''t doesn''t remember. So she asks instead, "What is the last thing you remember?" A long pause, "I think I can¡­ show you instead." What does that mean? Suddenly everything in the room shifts. Sophia feels like she might pass out. The scene changes! Okay so the room looks mostly the same but the maid looks a lot more lively. She''s humming while dusting the room. She''s also ignoring Sophia''s presence. How rude. Then, it happens. Someone bursts inside the room in tears! The maid stops what she''s doing and rushes to their side. "Madame! What''s wrong?!" Oh, so this is a memory? A past memory of Madame Johnson! Madame Johnson''s appearance is pure elegance. Sophia would consider her very beautiful except for those tears that really diminish her radiance. "I can''t do this anymore. Mae, I truly can not continue to live like this." Ms. Farona looks unsure where to put her hands so she gently puts them on her shoulder. "What can I do to help? Please, stop crying. I don''t like seeing you cry." She wipes some of her tears and looks her in the eye as she says, "Leave. And never come back." Ms. Farona pales, "What! What are you saying Madame? Am I being fired? Please, don''t-" "I''m leaving. I can''t do this anymore. I can''t bare this loss, this emptiness. I''m leaving." "I''m so very confused." Sophia is as well. Please be clearer! What do you mean? "Leave with me." After hearing that, she becomes even paler! She truly looks like a ghost now. She points at herself in shock, "What!? Me?" "Let''s leave this horrible mansion. Come with me. I want to leave with, my family. You-" She didn''t get to finish. Everything goes black. That''s it? That''s all she can remember? Maybe the shock was what killed her! She''s not awake yet, still in the dreamscape. The ghost maid is now staring out the window. Sophia doesn''t need to ask anything because she speaks first this time, "My memories are damaged. I only know my identity because of that journal and what few fragments remain of my memories. I can''t move on. I won''t move on. Not until¡­ I know the truth. I won''t leave. I can''t leave yet." Not without her, goes unsaid. Sophia speaks from her heart, "I promise you Ms. Farona that I will find out the truth. I will set things right and I will give you the peace you deserve. Thank you for showing me your feelings. They won''t be ignored. Not anymore." She turns around and gives her a small smile. "Take my journal. It might help you later on. I''ll be counting on you, Sophia Fauve." This time Sophia finally wakes up! She feels sluggish and worn. She rummages through her bag and finds her phone. It''s been over an hour already. Has she really been asleep for that long? Oh and no signal. Fantastic. //Let''s see. So that memory, when did it take place? Mrs. Johnson was devastated and wanted to leave. She couldn''t deal with this ''emptiness'' and ''loss.'' Was this ''loss'' the deceased person they wanted Ms. Ipruk to contact? This was before they all moved away from the mansion. Obviously. But was it before or after Ms. Ipruk visited? I''m not sure if the maid did actually end up meeting her. It''s possible. But with the journal being¡­ like that and her memories damaged, I can''t be sure.// She could always ask Ms. Ipruk but who knows if she would remember someone like that? She''s interesting so perhaps. The only conclusion she is certain of is that Darmae Farona never left. She was never able to leave the mansion with the Johnsons. Why? Did they actually¡­ No! Even if it''s a possibility, it''s not certain yet. Sophia leaves the room troubled with her thoughts. 7 Where Exactly Is Ms. Ipruk? //It''s best if I head back downstairs and try to find Ms. Ipruk! I need to tell her my suspicions and hope that she can impart some wisdom¡­// Sophia carefully made her way downstairs and is in the foyer again. Nothing seems different but she can''t help the foreboding feeling she has. She makes her way back to the library as quickly as possible. Ms. Ipruk isn''t there. Sophia isn''t shocked but she''s still wary. She pulls out her phone again and tries to contact her. Luckily, it seems to have signal again! But¡­ she''s not answering! Oh no. Ms. Ipruk always answers her phone! Something must of happened to her! Don''t panic. She''s somewhere where there''s no signal. That must be it! But¡­ ? Oh Gods. She could have gone anywhere! Although, Sophia didn''t see her upstairs? Did she go to the dining room? Probably not, it''s still not 5 o''clock. Maybe a secret room she doesn''t know about?! Well, standing here isn''t getting her anywhere. Wait! The charm. She said it could sense supernatural beings or something like that. If she uses it then she''ll find Ms. Ipruk. After all, Ms. Ipruk will most likely be where all the action is. She pulls out the charm from her bag and says a simple incantation. Nothing happens for a few seconds but then it begins to glow slightly. She walks forward and the glow gets brighter! She keeps walking straight ahead, deeper into the library once again. The glow begins to dim so she changes directions. She''s so focused that she doesn''t notice a trap door a few steps ahead! Fortunately, she catches herself before falling down. How embarrassing would that be! Wait a second. Trap door?! Could this be where Ms. Ipruk is? The charm starts to vibrate slightly in her hands as she looks down the door. She can''t really see much of anything. Guess there''s no getting around it. With a huff, Sophia jumps down the trap door. She lands gracefully, well mostly. There''s even more dust down here. Coughing fit aside, the charm is glowing and vibrating more now! She carefully moves forward. It''s dark down here. Which sounds ridiculous but, there''s simply no other way to describe this. The path is rough and dark but not too long. She finally reaches another door. It''s open. Inside there''s a bigger mess than the library! Scrolls, papers, rubble, and gods know what, are everywhere! She looks at one of the scrolls and this language is one she can''t understand! She has no idea what it is. It doesn''t seem to be ancient or anything of the sort. It''s more like nonsense. Or a code. Why would someone leave these lying around? Maybe they thought it wouldn''t mean anything to who ever came across them. Well it certainly means nothing to Sophia. This room is filled with all sorts of trinkets. Ahem, meaning that Sophia doesn''t have a clue what they are because they''re broken or covered in sheets. To keep dust off? Or something else? Just as she''s about to pull one of the sheets off¡­ "I wouldn''t do that if I was you." That voice could only belong to the only and only, Ms. Ipruk of course! Sophia feels relieved that she finally found her mentor. Ms. Ipruk walks out almost eerily from the shadows. It would be very creepy had she not tripped over something. "Haha... Oops!" Having worked with her for 20 years she should be used to this sort of thing. But Sophia''s relief turns into dread immediately. Ms. Ipruk looks extremely pale and she''s shaking! That''s not right. Could she be ill? Or is she scared? She''s never seen her like this before. "Are you okay, Ms. Ipruk?" She tries to steady her but she waves her off. "Hm, who oh me? Y-yeah! I feel spectacular! Don''t worry about it. Er- um what brings you here?" "Ms. Ipruk, clearly you''re not okay. You look like you''re about to pass out!" "N-nonsense! I''m fine, really. Miss, don''t worry about me!" "Are you sure?" she asks skeptically. "Y-yes! I am sure." "If you say so. I came looking for you because I found some troubling things and I wanted to ask you what you remember from your visit." "O-oh? Well it''s been such a long time, who knows if I''ll be able to remember properly. Sorry¡­ Also, um I- haven''t found much! Just useless old trinkets. Haha." Sophia stares at her in confusion. Ms. Ipruk looks worried and shifts awkwardly. Sophia sighs, "That''s fine. Although, can you do me one small favor, Ms. Ipruk?" She looks relieved and responds with, "Yes! Anything." Little did she know that Sophia still had the charm, behind her back. "Catch this!" "Huh?!" She''s not quick enough to catch it in time and it boinks off her head. It''s a little funny but then it explodes into dark smoke! The dark mist wraps itself around Ms. Ipruk and she falls to the ground. Looks like she can''t move. "What! H-hey what is this!!! Let me go!" "Oh, so that''s what it does! Interesting." "What?! This is not funny, young lady!" Sophia tries to stare Ms. Ipruk down but she won''t meet her eyes. She looks far too pale. She''s shaking like she''s¡­ Possessed. This isn''t funny at all. Although, Sophia still laughs. But then her tone turns serious as she asks ''Ms. Ipruk'', "Why are you treating me like a fool? Don''t ''Miss'' me? Who the hell are you?!" ''Ms. Ipruk'' tries to struggle out but the mist just becomes tighter around her. "W-what do you mean¡­ obviously, I''m Cecilia Ipruk." "Oh, please. You couldn''t fool a dead person. You call that acting? It''s insulting." "W-what gave it away?!" "You''re appearance definitely made me suspicious. You also called me ''Miss'' and called the trinkets ''useless.'' She would never say that because she''s not formal with me and she finds value in everything. Also, the charm was vibrating wildly behind me. Seems like you didn''t notice that since you''re more worried about the body you''re possessing." "Oh, come on, that''s just unfair!" "Well, even if I didn''t have this charm I would easily be able to notice you''re an imposter by confirming it with one simple question." "What question?" She smirks, "What''s my name?" The ''person'' stops shaking and goes silent. "Oh." "Mhm. Guess you don''t know much but I''ll enlighten you. My name is Sophia Fauve and I''m an apprentice under Ms. Ipruk. Learn my name. Learn it well because I''m the person who''s going to destroy your soul if you don''t tell me who you are and release my teacher." They flinch. 8 The Ghost Butler "O-oh, please no! Don''t do that. I''ll talk okay?" "Go on." "I used to work here as a butler, I was referred to as Mr. Hobbleton. Y-yeah, ugly name, I know. Anyways, I didn''t want to possess this body! It just happened somehow. I woke up like this slumped over that desk. There''s a note on it. I-I can''t understand it." After hearing that, she quickly walks over to the desk and does find a note there. It was different from all the other papers. This was most certainly written by Ms. Ipruk. It''s in ancient fae writing! Most people don''t understand this language since its well, ancient. But, Sophia does! It''s one of the 14 languages she painstakingly learned. Ms. Ipruk roughly wrote out a simple message that says: [Ask them about the Johnsons. Use the charm so they won''t lie. I''m sorry but don''t worry once you''re done? I''ll be back. I''ll explain later and please be careful. I trust you''ll? find the truth.] If Sophia was alone she would have screamed in frustration! Ms. Ipruk why would you do something so dangerous! How did you even- She shakes her head and takes a deep breath and tries to focus on the task at hand. Sophia goes back to Mr. Hobbleton who''s lying pathetically on the ground. She asks him, "Tell me what you know about Mr. Johnson." "Um. Mr. Johnson, well he was my boss." Sophia tries not to roll her eyes, "And? Did he treat you well? What was he like?" "He was a very closed off and stern person. But he treated me fairly I suppose¡­ " he doesn''t sound sure of that. "And you were his butler?" He hesitates but responds with, "Yes. Er- no? Sort of. I was technically his butler but I-I had another job much more important. I guess being a butler was a cover-up." Sophia''s eyes widen in shock, "What exactly did you do? Be clear and don''t leave anything out!" "Before I answer that let me ask you something. Do you know where the Johnsons'' wealth came from?" "Um. I''m afraid I don''t know much about them. T-that''s why I''m asking you!" "Ha, you must be pretty desperate to ask someone like me but since I have no choice," he sighs deeply and then reveals, "Mr. Johnson did inherit some wealth from his family but how he became the richest was through his inventions. I watched over him and his creations. Sort of." "What the-" "He sold his inventions to the black market, mafia and even rumored to have sold them to immortals. I took care of his dirty work. The dangerous type of work no one would ever want to do. I was in charge of getting the inventory out of here without suspicion. I was pretty damn good at my job. Well, maybe not. Since I died." "What are these, ''inventions''?" "Look around you, Miss Fauve. The remains are still here. I''d be careful though. I may not have been the best person when I lived but I''d rather not see another young lady die." Sophia didn''t pay attention to that last part because she was already focusing her thoughts on what sort of ''inventions'' are under the covers. She walks towards the nearest one. Is what she''s about to do reckless and foolish? Absolutely. But she wants to know what it is. She wants to find out the truth. Her hand is shaking slightly as she carefully pulls the cover off. What she finds is a cart. Filled with empty vials? The label on it is also written in a code so she has no idea what''s meant to be in them. "Goddess, what are these?" "Keep looking around. You might find the answer before I even say anything." "Don''t order me around just tell me if it''s safe to open this?" "Maybe or maybe not." Sophia resists the urge to throw the vial at Mr. Hobbleton only because he''s still possessing her teacher. She puts down the vial and goes to uncover something else. Another cart is underneath but this time there are less vials and the ones that remain are broken. She turns back to Mr. Hobbleton who gives her a nervous smile. Sophia shakes her head. She continues to uncover everything in the room. Most of it is empty vials and some heavy machinery Sophia won''t even try to name. But then she finds it. In the far corner, what''s hiding is disturbing. It''s¡­ Shadow Beast remains. Of course, Shadow Beasts don''t have corporeal forms but after they die or are killed, they do leave two things behind. First and the most common, is their ashes. If you kill them with magic or a magical weapon then their ashes will burn immediately. That way they won''t ever regenerate again. Second, their red eyes. To come across them is extremely rare. Almost impossible. Sophia''s only seen them once, and it was because of a client. Said client wanted Ms. Ipruk to make a powerful potion out of them. She refused. ///"While powerful, using their red eyes for any kind of magic is dangerous. The amount of power gained is not worth the horrible curses it will bring to your body and spirit. It''d be better to dispose of it safely..."/// The client got angry and left after hearing the truth. Sophia has no idea what happened to them. In all honesty, she doesn''t care since they were so rude! ///"Sophie dear, there will always be great, overwhelming power found but remember that the best power is found within yourself."/// She''s always kept this advice close to her heart. Regardless, what Sophia finds is a jar with Shadow Beast ashes and red eyes. But, these eyes look dull and cracked? Have they been used? Was this what Mr. Johnson experimenting with? What did he exactly invent? It can''t be good. "So, his inventions had to do with using Shadow Beast¡­ essence?" "Yup. See I told you that with a little digging around you''d arrive at the right conclusion!" "B-but this is horrible! What kind immoral and absurd thing did he bring into this world!?" "Miss Fauve, no matter how immoral and absurd it may be, it was extremely powerful. It sold. It made him the big bucks." "Did Mrs. Johnson know about what he was doing?" "Hm¡­ Probably not. Those two, their relationship was not the best. He always kept her at a distance." "Really?" Sophia wasn''t really surprised about that. "Yeah, I even heard that their marriage was arranged so be that''s why they were so distant. Tho, if you ask me, I think he does love her. At least, in a sort a precious accessory sorta way. Kinda messed up. But who knows. Like I said he was a really closed off man. Physically and emotionally. Hell, I probably spent more time with him than she did and I was just the delivery boy." Hearing that last part Sophia felt a little mischievous. "You were closer to him than his own wife? How scandalous!" "W-wait. Don''t misunderstand-" "Misunderstand? I think I can see the clear picture now. Your soul never moved on yearning for a forbidden love." Sophia says as dramatically as possible. "No no no! Are you messing with me? I have standards!" "You''ve made it pretty clear by now that you don''t have much standards." "That''s when it comes to work! Not the same thing! If anyone in this place is having some sort of affair it''d be that maid and Madame Johnson!" "Oh, really? What can you tell me about the maid?" "Well. I don''t really remember much about her. Her name was Flores? I broke her phone once, that was an accident! Anyway, she was always by Madame Johnson''s side. Practically inseparable. Sir Johnson, didn''t say much but it didn''t take a genius to know that he was displeased. Haha, some other servants thought that because he never did anything about it, he might have been into-" "I''m going to have to stop you right there." "Yeah well there you have it. I bet he''s remarried by this point." "Actually, they''re both¡­ dead." "What??! W-wait that shouldn''t be possible... He''s-" But he didn''t get to finish before he let out a horrible scream! He was still in Ms. Ipruks'' body so the screaming was very much hers. Sophia couldn''t just stand there listening to her mentor in pain. She crouches down and tries to calm him by patting his shoulder awkwardly. "It''s okay! Please calm down. Look, I''m sorry for being mean earlier. We really do want to help you." He stops screaming but still looks distressed and doubtful. "Y-yeah, okay and why would you want to help someone like me. No one''s ever h-helped me out of the good of their hearts." "I can''t make you trust me so quickly but let''s be honest, we are the only ones who can help you. Why do you think Ms. Ipruk let you possess her? She wanted to find out the truth. She wants to help you move on. So do I. Believe me or not, I''m a fantastic person. I believe in doing good. That''s my reason. As long as you''ll let me, as long as you put some faith in me¡­ I, Sophia Fauve, promise to set you free!" He stays silent for a moment before he starts laughing. "Hey! Don''t mock me! I was being serious!" "Helping me for such an honorable reason? It''s funny! Really? You''re serious?" "Of course I am!" For the first time does he meet her eyes. He gives her a firm nod. "Okay, sure. Why not? It''s not like I have anything to lose at this point. I am putting my soul in your hands, Miss Fauve." "Good. I think I just have one more question to ask you. But it''s the most painful one. Are you ready?" "As ready as I can be. Which isn''t much but shoot." "What do you remember of your death. Please tell me everything. And I''m sorry in advance." He goes rigid. "I-I can''t remember too well. I was making a delivery or returning from one. I was being chased? I got in an accident." He continues shakily, "Y-yeah¡­ I guess I d-died in an accident. All I can remember was being run into. My truck flipping over. Flashes of fi-fire and a shit ton of pain. I must of d-died¡­ slowly." "I am so sorry. But, if you died like that I still wonder why you linger here of all places. Don''t, get me wrong your death was horrible. But I can''t help but feel that there''s more to it. You feel that too right?" "I do. There''s something important. I just can''t remember no matter how hard I try." Sophia thinks for a moment before she gets a brilliant idea. She rummages through her bag and pulls out her phone! "Uh, you''re gonna call someone?" "No, I''m going to look you up! Maybe I''ll find some articles or something about your death." He gives a low whistle, "Wow that''s actually not a bad idea. I never had one of those smartphones. I just used communication rocks." "Right. Okay, let''s see what I can find." It takes a few minutes before she finds something somewhat reliable. "Aha! I actually did find an article about the accident¡­ " Sophia skims the article and her eyes widen. That''s very weird. "Well. What''s it say?" "It does describe the accident like you did. Didn''t mention anything about foul play. Might have been covered up. But! The most concerning part was that your body was found inside the mansion." He looks shocked! "W-what? Why would I- How did I even get here? I know my death wasn''t instantaneous but why would I c-crawl back here?" "There''s two possibilities. Either you moved yourself or someone moved you. I can''t say which one for sure because both have pros and cons." she continues, "I can''t find anything on the state of your body other than it being badly burned. Nothing about your legs or arms being severely damaged. So you, yourself, coming here could be possible. Although, it would make more sense for someone to have moved you or helped you. No idea who. The article also says that your arms looked as if they were holding onto something. A package? It was never found." Silence. "I-I can''t remember. I can''t¡­ think why I would¡­ I mean I''m not a good person but I would always¡­" "Your death was a huge scandal. Not surprising but this place was already earning a bad reputation. Only about a month before you died, a maid went missing. Do you know something about that?" "W-wait." "Earlier you said ''I don''t want to watch another young lady die'', did you mean her? Did you watch Darmae Farona die? Did you do something to her." "I-I No. Never. I would never hurt-" He screams again. It looks like he wants to move his arms and hold himself. To make himself smaller. But the mist is still restraining him. "B-believe me. I would never kill-" He didn''t get to finish. The mist began to dissolve. The light left his eyes and it was over. Sophia did not need to check to know that he was gone. Ms. Ipruk was the one who remained on the ground. Sophia quickly went to her side to make sure she was okay. Her eyes were still closed but she was breathing and Sophia let out her own breath of relief. "I''m sorry. I wasn''t able to help. Mr. Hobbleton, you''re still here right? Somewhere else? Lingering? There''s no way you''d leave now. I promise this isn''t over. I''ll find the truth and set both of you free. I''ll trust you like you trust me." Nothing happens, all that she hears is the steady breathing of Ms. Ipruk. "Wake up already, Ms. Ipruk. I still have to yell at you." "Hrmm. 10 more minutes." //Seriously?!// 9 No More Time For Doubts Ms. Ipruk slowly begins to open her eyes. Once she notices Sophia''s presence she hugs her tightly. "Sophie! You''re okay! I am so very sorry. This teacher did not want things to turn out this way." "I''m fine. I''m glad to see you''re back now. You had me super worried!" Sophia lightly scolds but clings tighter. "I really am sorry. I owe you many explanations but let''s get up from the ground and finish up here." "You''re right." Sophia let''s go and dusts herself off from the ground. "We should take this¡­ Evidence right?" "We can take one of the vials but let''s not touch those eyes. Even if they''re not ''dangerous'' anymore, I''d rather be safe. Besides, it doesn''t matter, we already know they''re here and that they were used." Sophia nods in agreement and takes one of the empty vials and picks up some of the notes on the ground. They leave the room since there''s not much else they need from here. Outside the creepy pathway, they start making their way back up to the library through the trap door. For Sophia its easy, since she can fly up but, she needs to help Ms. Ipruk up as well. It''s not too high up but high enough that it''s annoying. "Oof. Thank you dear. I''m still a little drained from earlier." "..." "Yes?" "Explanation. Now." "Here? Now? Oh, alright then, aha! Well. I was searching the library for old records that might shed light on anything. But, I couldn''t find anything useful to this case. Then, I tripped over the trap door. It was slightly opened. I was curious so I went down. The real challenge was getting inside the ''secret room''. It was blocked by a powerful magical barrier. I spent almost half an hour just trying to break it!" Half an hour to break a barrier spell is not unheard of but for Ms. Ipruk, it should not take that long. She is a legend after all. So it can only mean that it was a pretty strong spell. "Once I did, I started looking around and imagine my shock! I try to think the best of people but I should of been more doubtful. I should of been more suspicious and done something. Who knows how many innocent people got hurt because of these horrifying creations." "Ms. Ipruk, it''s not your fault. It''s not your job to fix everything wrong in the world. Let''s just do our best now." She gave her a huge smile. Almost like a proud parent, "You''re right as always, Sophie. I don''t know what I''d do without you!" "Yes. Yes. I know your life would be significantly awful without me but you still owe me more explanations!" "You do deserve the truth." She gives a deep sigh, preparing herself, "I noticed something off about the secret room. I knew someone was in there. It had to be a lost spirit! I tried talking to them but I couldn''t get a response. So, I¡­" "You let them possess you? Why? How?" "Do you remember what I said about Spiritual Magic? Well, I wasn''t completely honest. There''s a way to use it without having to sacrifice part of your soul and life energy. It''s not very is stable. When I sensed the spirit, I tried to use it. It was supposed to be a simple spell where I let the spirit enter my dreamscape but because it was unstable it backfired on me! Instead, the spirit began to take control over my body. A forced possession. Before I lost complete control, I wrote that note and I tried to write it in a way that he wouldn''t understand. Ancient Fae is something not many people know, but you know it. I messed up but as long as you''re here, I knew you would get the job done." Sophia stays silent for a long tense moment. But once she speaks again she doesn''t hold back. "I''m so angry! Ms. Ipruk how could you be so reckless?! You didn''t just leave me to clean up your mess but, carelessly risked your safety! What if something bad happened to you! What if I never saw you again! What would I even do-" Ms. Ipruk gently puts her hand on her shoulder. "I''m sorry for not considering your feelings and lying. I was trying to- no, that doesn''t matter. Sophia¡­ Do you still trust me? Even though, I''m not always right." "That''s an absurd question. I trust you because you''re not always right. You''re not always right, but you''re very real." "Thank you, Sophia. Sometimes I feel that I don''t deserve your loyalty." "Of course you do! And I''ll even forgive you. Just this once," she playfully winks but then says more seriously, "Just don''t lie to me about important things. Please¡­ be more careful." Sophia wipes her eyes, when did she start crying? How pathetic. These tears are real as well. "I promise. Although, in my defense, the spell I casted was temporary so even then-" "Enough. I still have to tell you about what I discovered." Sophia briefly tells her about the Shadow Beast, the ghost maid, Darmae Farona, and her conversation with Mr. Hobbleton. Ms. Ipruk looks stumped as well. "Hm. When I visited here, I don''t remember running into a maid with that name. I also didn''t hear about any disappearances but maybe it was because it happened recently. I do remember a butler named that but I didn''t interact with him much. I mostly only spoke to the Johnsons." "If the disappearance was recent did Mrs. Johnson look distressed?" "She did look¡­ out of it. Like her mind was elsewhere. I only spoke with her when I was in the library looking at that painting and she honestly didn''t say much. Hmm¡­" The painting! With no eyes but now it only has eyes. What does that mean? "Those eyes in the painting, could they be connected with the Shadow Beast eyes?" Ms. Ipruk shrugs, "It seems possible." An obnoxious ringing began to play. "Oh oops, that''s my phone." She took it out from one of her pockets and answered the call. "Yes. Mhm. Okay we''ll be right there!" "That was Bradley?" //When did he get your number???// "Yup. He says dinner''s ready." Ms. Ipruk pales a little remembering the wolf meat. "Are you ready to go, dear?" Sophia scoffs, "Of course I am. We have a job to finish after all." They head towards the dining room not really sure what to expect. The only thing Sophia knows is that Bradley will have to answer her questions. Lots of things go through Sophia''s mind. She wants to trust Bradley and believe he''s just a pathetic, idiotic man, who''s afraid. But there''s too many things that make him suspicious. He is hiding something. There''s no doubt about it. But what? He probably already knew about the ghosts but that''s why he needed help. Did he know about the Shadow Beast? He could have but maybe he didn''t. Shadow Beasts are known to be good at hiding. Sophia is only certain that Bradley knows about the secret room. The barrier her teacher described is powerful and very new. How did he make it? Why did he make it? Why did he hide what his father created? Is he ashamed or is he planning something? Could all of this been a trap? It certainly feels like one. Why did he let us look around knowing the risks? Is he stupid or cunning? Or is Sophia just overthinking? Before she goes inside the dining room she looks over everything she has. She skims through the journal again to see if she can find anything new. She finds some interesting new facts but nothing seemingly important. She does one last thing. "Ms. Ipruk did you find anything on how the Johnsons'' died exactly?" "I searched scrolls, papers and even my phone. Alas, I couldn''t find much. Why the media is trying to make their deaths silent, I can only theorize." "He said he wasn''t there during the accident right?" "Yes. I believe he did. Why? Do you think that was a lie?" "Who knows." He knows. Why would he lie about that though? There''s just something about him that''s off¡­ She can''t shake that feeling. "Ah! There you two are, come in! I have everything set." No more time for doubts. 10 Dinner Time He leads them inside and urges them to sit down. The dining room itself is probably the most clean and put together room in the whole mansion. He really did go all out. Strange. The dining table is a modest size, nothing too extravagant. There''s three plates of food. Sophia and Ms. Ipruk sit next to each other and simultaneously look at their ''food''. It''s meat. It''s cooked wolf meat. //Are you fucking kidding me? What he said was true and not some bizzare joke?// Oh and some tea, how thoughtful. Sophia will pretend to drink the tea. Ms. Ipruk herself is playing with the food and pretending she''s going to eat it. "So um dear, you really didn''t have to make this for us. We''re happy to do our job without payment in food. Aha¡­" "I insist I mean like, I never get a chance to cook for people so like¡­ I''m happy." He does look happy and it''s way too unsettling. And Sophia wonders why anyone wouldn''t want to eat his deathly cooking. The silence that follows is awkward until he finally asks, "Uh, Sophia? You''re not gonna eat?" "No." "Oh." "Sophia''s a garden fae she doesn''t need to eat food like this. She''s not trying to hurt your feelings." //Yes I am! That''s exactly what I''m trying to do!// "Ah, I should of been more considerate! I''m sorry Sophia, can I offer you something else?" "Hmph. If it''s food you mean then no thank you, I''m fine. Actually, I think we should discuss what we''ve found. I also have some questions for you." "Okay. That''s fine." Relief flashes through Ms. Ipruk''s eyes at the fact she doesn''t have to pretend to eat this garbage anymore. "While you generously let us wander around your ''home'', we did find some spirits who-" "Really!? You found them! Are they gone now, did you ''exercise'' them?" There''s so much hope in his eyes. "No." And the hopes gone. "Oh, I see. You guys must of been close though, right?" "Well, yes. But we still have some questions we would appreciate you answering. It''ll make our job easier." "Little one, please tell us all you know." "I''ll try. Um, what do you need to like know though?" Sophia asks, "This might be hard but can you tell us everything you know about the accident that your parents were involved in? We couldn''t find much about it." "Is it really that important?" "Yes, please dear. We need to understand what happened." Ms. Ipruk urges gently. Bradley shifts uncomfortably but finally says, "I was only told that my parents were driving. I don''t know where to¡­ Something ran into them and they died." "That''s it? Do you know what ran into them?" Bradley shrugs, "A car probably." Ms. Ipruk looks doubtful. "Interesting. When I was looking up the incident I didn''t find anything that implied it was a car accident caused by someone. Why? Because the only casualties were your parents. If someone drove into them wouldn''t their death or injuries be reported as well? Of course that could of been because of corrupt journalism and I wasn''t there personally..." He asks, "Then, what do you think happened?" "I don''t know. Everything I found only stated that ''Millionaire formally from Regis'' found himself and his wife in a terrible fate. They got into a car accident and are now dead. The son remains as the only inheritor to their wealth. Of course, some articles said something was wrong with the car or that something was wrong with the road. Or that it was the bad weather. I even found someone say that Mr. Johnson was a heavy drinker so he must of been driving drunk." He shifts uncomfortably in his seat, "H-hold on-" "Do you see the problem here dear. None of these are facts. None of them are consistent. Which one is the truth? One of them could be or the truth could be hidden? Why though?" "I-I don''t know. I really don''t." "Hm. You know of all the articles and reports I read, I couldn''t find one of the most common reasons for an accident like that." "Which is..?" "Monsters of course!" she bangs her fist against the table. //Ms. Ipruk perhaps you sound a little too excited.// "Ahem- I mean, we know that monsters are plaguing our continent. Can I ask were exactly you lived?" "*Mantuvig..." "Ha, now I know the reports were corrupt. Mantuvig is crawling with those beasts! They have to hire specified hunters to keep them under control. Now, tell me why didn''t they speculate death by a Shadow Beast?" "Um¡­" Sophia speaks instead, "Someone paid the reporters to hide the true circumstances of their death! Someone who could afford to do something like that¡­" she glares at him. "What. WHAT!? ME? You''re not actually suspecting that I would do something like that! Come on!!!" "Calm down boy. Sophie hasn''t accused you, yet. But you have to admit you''re a bit suspicious." "Bu-BUT! There''s no reason for me to want to cover up their deaths!" "You''re right. There is no reason for you to want to do that unless you were involved somehow." Sophia says. "Oh come on! You''re accusing me based on deductions that aren''t even right! Why would I ever want to hurt my parents huh?!" He starts ugly sobbing. Sophia wrinkles her nose in disgust. "Bradley. I''m not accusing you of doing that. I''m just saying that your parents'' deaths were most likely caused by a Shadow Beast. Given the statistics. And that it was most likely covered up. I''m not saying that it was you but, your parents had enemies didn''t they?" He sniffs, "Yeah I-I guess so." "You guess? Oh please. You must know by now what your father used to create. In fact we know that you tried to hide that room were he made his experiments." "I''m not sure I know what you''re talking about." Sophia mentally sighs. "The magical barrier around the secret room under the trap door? Please don''t tell me you didn''t think we wouldn''t find it?" "Oh that. It was there before I moved back in. I''ve never gone inside." "That''s a lie. Little one, that spell was new. Only a few days old at the most and very powerful. You said you''ve been here for a while. So you know who made it." ''It had to be you'' goes unsaid. He gets up from his chair and starts pacing back and forth as if he''s internally debating something. "Ok. Ok. Ok. I admit it. I made the barrier. I just- I just didn''t want you to know the truth about what my father did¡­ I knew that once you found out, you would be horrified and judge him harshly b-but He only did that because he wanted the best for us. He really did¡­" Awkward silence. It''s Ms. Ipruk who speaks once again, "So you were close with your father. You must have loved him greatly to protect his reputation." "I did care for him. He was my dad after all. We were close enough but, I regret not being able to be there for him more." He sounds a little bitter. At himself? "Also, I know where you''re going with this but I wasn''t involved with the accident." Oh come on. It''s clear that you were so why are you hesitant to admit it? Also, there''s something wrong with his confession. It doesn''t seem quite right. But Sophia can''t put her finger on it. "I didn''t mean to imply that¡­ Were you close with your mother too?" Bradley freezes. He looks unsure of what to say at first. "I loved her. But we weren''t super close." he sighs deeply, "She was ill most of the time¡­ we didn''t spent a lot of it together." "Did your parents love each other?" "What kind of question is that? Of course they did!" He sounds really angry, maybe Sophia went too far. He''s glaring at her intensely and now Sophia isn''t scared of him but she''s getting a little uncomfortable. Ms. Ipruk notices as well and tries to soothe things over, "Little one, that''s a very valid question to ask. Some marriages don''t work out. I say this from experience." "Hm. Not everyone shares your experiences, Cecilia. My parents were happy together." Sophia knows that''s a lie. It has to be a lie. She wants to ask an important question. She really does! What she asks instead though is, "Say Bradley? What''s your favorite song?" Ms. Ipruk turns to her with a confused look on her face. "Huh? What''s this, your attempt at small talk? I''m still angry at you!" Okay. It''s time to put up an act! Mr. Hobbleton, take notes. "Y-yes. I''m so sorry about that¡­ It seems that I misjudged you. You are just a lost person trying to pick up the pieces. I wasn''t trying to be rude at all! I-I just," cue the fake tears, "I-I do want to help you. And what better way than by being friends? So won''t you answer my simple question." Now he''s the one who looks uncomfortable. His eye twitches slightly. "Uhh¡­" "Oh, please! You wouldn''t let a lady who just apologized to you, cry? Would you now?" More tears. Ms. Ipruk stays silent, she already knows better than to interfere. "Fine? I guess I like listening to uh¡­" he frowns but continues with, "Joy Coy? Yeah." "Really now! Me too. What''s your favorite song though?" "Uh, The song about¡­ Mom and Dad?" "Perfect." "Was there an actual reason for that question or are you just messing with me?" Ms. Ipruk answers for her, "There''s always a reason for everything, dear." "Hm. Well I answered everything right? You two can leave now and go finish your job." "Just one last question. I promise!" "What now?!" "Say Bradley? You know there''s a Shadow Beast upstairs, right?" Clearly he wasn''t expecting to hear that. He freezes up completely and then explodes, "WHAT!? WHAT!!! HOW. H-how did you¡­ Why would¡­ It wasn''t supposed to¡­ " "Excuse me?" "Little one¡­" His voice is shaking, "Wh-what did you do to it?!" "Nothing. I just trapped it in a barrier¡­ Why do you care? Wouldn''t you want me to get rid of it for you hm?" "No. No. No. Damn it¡­" "Bradley, just what exactly is that Shadow Beast?" "It''s um. It''s¡­ An experiment from my father¡­ Please leave it alone¡­" "Experiment? What in the heavens?" "Oh my! That sounds dangerous perhaps I should get rid of it after all¡­" A bluff. He practically jumps out of his chair and lets out a loud and broken scream, "NO!" Sophia gets up from her seat as does Ms. Ipruk. They slowly walk backwards and try to get close to the doors. He starts sobbing again, uglier than before. He completely deflates. "No¡­ please don''t leave. Please don''t¡­ hurt him." "Him?" Him? She can''t leave now. "..." "Who''s the Shadow Beast? Who is it?" "..." "Wait. Don''t answer I already know." Sophia takes a deep breath and says, "It''s you. You''re the Shadow Beast." 11 The Truth Will Come Out But Will It Set You Free? He wipes some of his tears and laughs, "Haha. Are you like okay? What does that even mean. Like seriously? Hello? I''m right here, Sophia." "Oh, please. Don''t mock me. You''re horrible you know? A horrible actor." "Hm? Acting? I''m being real here. Very real." "You''re emotions they''re real. I can believe that. But the real Bradley has to be the Shadow Beast. And if he''s the beast, then you must be someone else." "Oh, and who could I possibly be? You''re being ridiculous. I really thought that an apprentice of Cecilia Ipruk would be better than this." "Better than this? I''m the best! In fact I''m the best person you''ll ever meet." He rolls his eyes. "You want to know something, ''Bradley''? Do you want to know, why I know your parents love was strained? Does the name, Darmae Farona, mean something to you." His eye twitches again but he says coldly, "Pfft. That maid? From my childhood? What''s she got to do with anything?" She has everything to do with this! But, he''s still not cracking. Not yet. She was hoping he would have a stronger reaction. Sophia tries a different approach. "Hm. She''s here you know? She told me some interesting things. If you were Bradley. You would remember her much more fondly. After all, you loved her a lot. Your cold reaction just now, is very suspicious." //Might or might not be a lie.// "You would believe the dead over me?" Ms. Ipruk thoughtfully responds with, "The dead don''t have much to hide after all they''ve already lost their lives." "Oh, so you believe the nonsense your pupil''s spouting too, Cecilia? "Of course. I''m her teacher after all." her smile is icy, "Besides little one, there''s so much against you here. Sophia''s right." "..." "There''s something that has been bothering me. After hearing your confession, about the barrier, I got to thinking, Gee what a talented young lad. ''Bradley'' you said you''re almost 30 years old?" "So?" "And you''ve been practicing magic for how long?" "¡­a few years." "Let me tell you something, no amount of talent, could make a spell as strong like that. It would of had to be made by someone with a lot more experience." "Okay, so I didn''t make it then." "No. You did make it. Why? Two reasons. One, you wanted to hide what Mr. Johnson created. If you paid someone else to do it then there would always be that risk of it getting out. Second, the magical energy of the barrier, it''s yours. It''s your energy. Tell me how that''s possible? "I¡­" "You did it. Somehow, you gained years of experience in a short amount of time to make your magic powerful. How is that even possible? Unless, you''re not really ''Bradley'' after all." ''Bradley'' gives a soft smile. A smile of defeat? "Yes. You''ve caught me, Ms. Ipruk. You''ve always been brilliant. I''m not really Bradley. I''m sorry for lying." "I wish I could say it''s nice to see you again, Mr. Johnson." Sophia isn''t shocked about his true identity but to hear Ms. Ipruk call him that, it''s very surreal. She almost can''t believe it. But it''s the truth, this man, who''s supposed to be dead, is very much alive. //How?// "I''m assuming you''re going to explain why you''re possessing your son''s body and said son is in a Shadow Beast. Unless¡­" "Yes. Yes. Yes. I will. I will make it clear that no, I didn''t want this to happen. Not at all. I really did not think that out of everything, I would find myself in this very shitty situation." Well, that''s certainly one way to put it. "You might want to sit down for this," They don''t sit down. He does though, but on the ground instead. "It really started with the fucking accident. If I can even call it that. You see, it was my son''s birthday, I asked him what he wanted and he shrugged and said ''I dunno, a dinner with the both of you would be nice for once'', so I planned for that. I drove on the safest road and yet¡­" "A Shadow Beast attacked you? I presume." Ms. Ipruk finishes for him. "Yes. Yes. It came from the front but it was so sudden, I couldn''t react fast enough¡­ As we flipped over, all I could think to do was put a barrier around us, trying to lessen the impact¡­ My legs were broken and everything was painful but I managed to crawl out from the car and I pulled my wife out with me, just barely but, I was too late. My wife¡­ she didn''t make it." "What about Bradley?" "He also managed to get out of the car but he was in a worse condition than me. Something punctured his side. I did my best and probably sloppiest healing ever but I was losing him. I could feel his soul slipping from my grasp. I-I..." "Go on." "I thought, I can''t lose him. I can''t lose my son. He''s the only person I have left¡­ I-I simply grasped at his soul and forced it back into his body¡­" Forced it back in?! "Is that even allowed? Is that even safe!? How in the world¡­" Ms. Ipruk nods though, as if she understands perfectly, "That''s Spiritual Magic. You used it?" "Yes. I''ve been using it for a long time now... But. But. I was too weak myself. The spell it backfired horribly¡­" "So, that''s how you found yourself in a different body?" "Yes. I blacked out for a while probably only a few minutes but when came to and I saw my own body lying dead in the cold ground. I-I panicked! I was confused. I didn''t know what happened to Bradley. I thought I died myself and he disappeared. I tried moving but then I realized that my body¡­ it wasn''t mine." "How did the Shadow Beast come into all of this?" "Well, after I came to the conclusion that I fucked up immensely, I heard a low growling behind me. I-I braced myself for death, at least I''d join my family, at least I tried saving my son but, it didn''t attack me. Instead it picked me up and carried me back to safety¡­" he sighs deeply, "It didn''t take me too long to realize, that it was Bradley." Ms. Ipruk and Sophia give each other a look. Sophia asks this time, "So what exactly bought you back here?" He looks at her as if she grew two heads, "Ha! Where else would I go?" "I do not know but, if I was you, going back to my ruined mansion would not be a priority." "So your assuming I came back here on a whim? Hmph. You saw my room right? That''s why I came back. I''ve been trying so hard to fix Bradley but I haven''t had much luck." Sophia furrows her eyebrows, "You realize that if you do that¡­ where will you go?" "It doesn''t matter. As long as my family''s back. I don''t care what happens to me. I''ll do anything." //Anything?// Ms. Ipruk crosses her arms and tilts her head, thinking for a moment. Then she says, "Mr. Johnson, I think my biggest problem with all of this, morals aside, is that you didn''t tell us the truth." "Hm. Would you have believed me so easily, Cecilia. Actually, you probably would have. I guess I just wanted to see if you were trustworthy and legitimate." Sophia frowns, "What do you mean exactly?" "You see. I''m stuck. I need help. And only Ms. Cecilia over here can do it. You''re smart and clever. From our discussions and your deductions, that much is clear. I can trust that you''re capable of fixing Bradley''s soul." "I''m still confused. I mean without a doubt, she is a great wizard! Even then how would she-" "Um Sophie¡­" "She''s the founder of Spiritual Magic. If anyone can help me, it''s without a doubt, Cecilia Ipruk!" "Excuse me? EXCUSE ME? MS. IPRUK? IS THAT TRUE!" Ms. Ipruk deflates under her glare, "Sort of." "Sort of?" "Listen, Spiritual Magic was already there I just gave it a proper name and wrote out¡­ the essential theoretical groundwork for using it¡­ Anonymously." "WHY DIDN''T YOU TELL ME! Do you enjoy making me look like a fool?!" "Of course not dear! I didn''t want to tell you, I didn''t want to tell anyone. Like I said, the magic, the potential was already there. All I did was write down my theories and hypothesis. The scriptures I wrote I made them anonymous and hard to find. If someone truly wanted to learn how to use that kind of magic based on my ideas, then they would have to work for it, be extremely devoted. It''s just too risky to work with if not given the full devotion it needs. I wrote them almost two centuries ago! I was young and naive. I didn''t realize that creating theories for a magical system that is already flawed would bring about problems. I met some fellow wizards who began to practice it, and some were successful even with their strained souls but others suffered greatly. This is one of my biggest shames." "..." "I''m so sorry dear. I hate hiding my past but I just didn''t want you to be in danger." //Ah. It''s always that. You''re worse than mother sometimes, treating me like I''m fragile. Ms. Ipruk, you should know that I won''t break!// Before Sophia could say anything, Mr. Johnson interrupts, "I was right! Then, you''ll help me? You have to help me! I just want my son back." "I made a promise to help Bradley and even though I was deceived that promise has not changed." "Thank you¡­ truly Cecilia, I am in your debt." "Let''s go find him. Right, Sophia?" Sophia says, "I want to help him but there''s something wrong here." 12 What Happened to Darmae Farona? "What do you mean?" he asks annoyed. "Well, everything''s wrong here! Although, Mr. Johnson I highly doubt you wanted us to help you with Bradley." "Excuse me?!" He looks at Ms. Ipruk, "You''re just going to let her say this shit!" "Sophie, can speak her mind and you won''t interrupt her until she''s done." Ms. Ipruk says sternly, almost like she''s scolding a child. "Thank you, teacher. You''re also going to stop underestimating me. I don''t appreciate being ignored and looked down upon. As I was saying, When I revealed that I made contact with the Shadow Beast, you seemed really taken back." "Of course, I would! I was afraid you would have killed-" "Stop interrupting me. Mr. Johnson, how much control do you have over him. Does he have any free will?" "You think I''m some sort of monster?" //Yes I do! You''re wearing your son''s body for heaven''s sake!// "No, I don''t have him under control or anything like that." "Hm but then how did he end up here?" "I told him to come here and he listened to me. Clearly he trusts me since I''m his father after all." he sneers. "Did you tell him to not speak to strangers too?" she mocks. "Yeah. I didn''t want to risk the chance of you finding and hurting him." "If you told us from the beginning then there would be no risk of that! And yet he appeared to me, what does that mean?" "Hmph. Who knows." "I think he trusts you, dear." //You make him sound too obedient but I doubt he was. You must have him under some control because otherwise you wouldn''t have been so shocked to find out he spoke with me. He must have broken it temporarily. He trusts me¡­ He must have wanted to tell me something without you knowing about it but what? The song, "Dear Mom and Dad", of course!// "He told me something. Knowing this, I know that he doesn''t trust you. Not completely. Or at the very least your relationship isn''t as good as you said it is." "He can''t say anything! He''s¡­" "True he didn''t say it, he whistled it." "...?" "Remember when I asked you what your favorite song was?" "You asked that?" "Yes and there was a reason. You were trying to impersonate your son. And even though it was pretty bad you did say that he liked Joy Coy, meaning that you care enough to know what he listened to-" "And? Get to the point already!" "But you''re just a parent who only knows the surface of their child''s true feelings. The song you said, ''Dear Mom and Dad'', he whistled it to me. With this, I know you''re relationship isn''t good." "Oh please, now you''re calling me a bad father." "If you actually paid attention to your son''s interests and the lyrics. You would know that he has some issues with you. There''s no doubt that song was a clue. Regardless, if you''re able to perform Spiritual Magic so easily, wouldn''t you be able to switch back by now. I mean you''re all healed up. I feel like you want us here for something else." "You don''t understand anything." "But I will." Ms. Ipruk who remained silent this whole time, had a question of her own, "Even though I would want nothing more than to help your son, Sophie makes an excellent point. You should be able to ''set things right'' by now. What do you actually want from us, Mr. Johnson?" "What I want? What am I''m paying you for? Did you forget already?" "The ghosts¡­" "Yes! Get rid of them. That''s what I want. Haha." Sophia knows she has to move forward. The most important part of this case, she''ll solve it. She has to. She made a promise to them "The ghosts. Are they really so scary?" "Hahaha! Yes! They keep getting in my mind they won''t leave me alone. How can I possibly help my son when they torment me so." "How do they torment you?" "... Memories. And feelings of pain. I want them to go away." Sophia nods, "I see. Then tell me, Mr. Johnson, tell me everything you know about Darmae Farona." "Ha? You''re bringing up that maid again? Is she the one who''s haunting me? Of course she would be. She fucking hated me." "Why?" "Jealousy, probably. I had everything she wanted. So pathetic, truly. And then one day she simply disappeared from this world. A sad existence. What a sad woman." Even though his face remained neutral as he said it, she couldn''t help but notice the fire in his eyes. Fire of absolute hatred. "She clearly didn''t just ''disappear''. She died. And her haunting this place must mean that you know something about her death. She must of died here." He doesn''t laugh or dismiss her theory. He does something much more unsettling, he slowly gets up from the ground and starts walking towards them. Sophia has to fight the urge to step back, fight the urge to run, this pathetic man is beneath her, she''s not scared of him. She won''t be scared. As he gets closer, Ms. Ipruk stands in front of Sophia, trying to protect her. "You''re getting too close for comfort, Mr. Johnson." "Sorry. I just wanted to make sure you could hear me clearly." He pauses for a moment. Sophia stands again by Ms. Ipruk''s side, she appreciates her concern but she needs to face this man. Seeing her come out from her mentor''s shadow, he continues, looking directly at Sophia, "I don''t know how that maid died. I really didn''t care enough about her to know. You''re trying to make into something I''m not, Sophia. I didn''t kill her. I''m not her murderer." "I never said that you were her killer-" "Ah. But you were implying it. You don''t trust me which is fine. I don''t care anymore. I don''t care what you think of me. The truth is that I didn''t kill her." He sounds so confident in that. It makes Sophia want to hit him. Instead, she decides to hit him where it hurts. "You''re lying about one thing. You said that you didn''t care about her. Which isn''t wrong per say but you cared enough to hate her. I know that she didn''t like you. Her existence made your life even more of a ''burden''. You didn''t like how she was close with your beloved wife. Darmae Farona may not have had your wealth but she had your family. And you hated that. You hate that. I can see it." He doesn''t say anything. "Is this true? Did you hate her so much that you would kill her?" Ms. Ipruk asks. He starts laughing hysterically, "I already said I didn''t. It doesn''t matter how I felt about her. She''s gone and it''s not my fault. If anything¡­ it''s her own fault, it''s all her fault." "Wait what do you-" "Besides you think I''ll believe that? She may have been ''in love'' with her but my wife stood by me. For all these years, she''s never left me. And if it wasn''t for that accident¡­ She would still be here." Sophia is stuck! She has no idea why Mrs. Johnson stood by his side. By all accounts she should have left him, with or without Ms. Farona. Was she so broken by her ''disappearance'' that she didn''t care anymore? Would she have given up so easily? No. The woman she saw in the flashback, there were tears and pain in her eyes but there was also determination. Sophia feels it. She wouldn''t have given up. Mrs. Johnson wanted to leave. She wanted to leave behind this life. She probably knew about the dangerous things he was doing behind her back add to that, his neglect, no one with any kind of self-value would want to live like that. So why didn''t she leave him? Wait a second. He said that she was ill? But is that true? Is that all there is to it? She was too ill to leave him? She feels like there''s more to that. "Hmph. You said that she was ill, so maybe she didn''t have much of a choice." His eye starts twitching again. "That''s just speculation. You have no idea what her true feelings were." Damn you! Damn you to hell! Sophia won''t give up though and she quickly starts looking through her bag. He turns to Ms. Ipruk, "Please look past my mistakes and let me explain again perhaps you can still-" "Aha! I found it." She holds up, Darmae Farona''s journal! "A moldy, old journal? What''s that going to prove." "Everything! This is your ''dearest'' maid''s journal where she wrote about her feelings and-" "That''s it? Haha. Pathetic really. That doesn''t belong to my wife. So it means nothing to me. Darmae Farona could have been delusional. And written her delusions there. That won''t prove my wife''s true feelings." Sophia really wants to scream. There''s no breaking this man! Even Ms. Ipruk looks worried. They''re at a standstill but they can''t just leave things like this. Everyone''s counting on them! They can''t just listen to Mr. Johnson. He keeps playing himself as a victim, a person who made a simple mistake. If Sophia doesn''t call out his¡­ fakeness then they''ll look like the bad guys! He is hiding something, she knows it. "Sophie, is that really all you found? Isn''t there something else?" She thinks for a moment but then it hits her. Of course, the locket! She digs it out from her purse and triumphantly holds it up. Mr. Johnson''s eyes widen in surprise, "Wh-where did you get that!?" "I just stumbled upon it. I have a feeling it''s super important so why don''t I open it up?" He tries to take it from Sophia but she''s faster and flies above him, mockingly. "Finders keepers! Now let''s see what''s inside!" "No! You won''t be able to open it. I''ve tried before and I couldn''t. I never thought I''d see it again. Why now? Why. Why. Why." "Sophie dear, open it quickly!" She does. What''s inside is an enchanted moment! It shows Darmae Farona with a toddler, doing her best to feed him but failing. They both keep giggling. The scene is very heartwarming. At the very end, Mrs. Johnson shows up and takes the toddler from her hands. She doesn''t know what they say but they smile tenderly at each other. On the other side of the locket it says, ''I keep going for them. My son and my beloved Mae'' This is without a doubt Mrs. Johnson''s! She floats back down and shows it to Ms. Ipruk. Mr. Johnson is still standing frozen in shock over the fact that Sophia found and was able to open the locket. Ms. Ipruk looks confused. "Huh? That''s what Darmae Farona looks like? I''ve seen her before? No, I''ve seen those eyes before? I''ve seen them in-" "Haha! I don''t even need to ask what''s inside her locket. I know. It''s that fucking maid right? It''s always been her. She ruined everything! If it wasn''t for her I wouldn''t be cursed. Haha. Even then. I didn''t kill her. But now, I wish I did." 13 The Horrible Beas Sophia is getting angry! Why won''t he admit that he''s the one who killed her! If only she had a witness or something. Someone that knew exactly what happened to her since he won''t say anything. She thinks back to Mr. Hobbleton''s words "I don''t want to watch another young lady die." He also must have witnessed it! She hates to admit it but she''s going to need him. But he left? Is he even still here? Will he come back? This is a predicament. She turns to her teacher, "Ms. Ipruk, I don''t know if you''ll be able to bring back our little friend but if you could¡­" She winks. "Miss Fauve. Nice to see you again. Even though is only been like an hour or so." "Ack! When did you-?" "You didn''t think I''d just leave? Nah, I just hung back in your mentor''s consciousness. She didn''t mind. I had a little breakdown but I''m good now. I think¡­ I remember. I think I''m ready now." Mr. Johnson has finished his breakdown as well, "Hey, what are you two mumbling about?!" Fury flashed in his eyes, "You!" "Me?" Seems like Mr. Hobbleton knows exactly who this is. What do you say to your former boss that probably got you killed? Apparently, words weren''t needed. He rushes to him and lifts him up by grabbing his throat! "You ugly bastard. I''ll kill you for doing this to me!" When he finally remembered and accepted the truth all that he felt was pure rage, built up over the years. He''s trying to move his arms from his throat but it''s no use, Mr. Hobbleton has a death grip. He''s starting to turn purple! Sophia has to stop him. "Wait! Mr. Hobbleton don''t kill him. The body isn''t his!!!" After hearing that his eyes clear up and he lets him go. Mr. Johnson falls to the ground coughing trying to breathe again. "You''re such a bastard. Stealing your own son''s body to stay alive? I hope you rot." "¡­Same as¡­ me..." "HA! Don''t make me laugh you piece of shit!" Then he drags him back up and puts him in a headlock. "Mr. Hobbleton! Please don''t break him! Like I said that''s not his body!!!" "Pfft. This won''t break him but what I''m about to tell you will though." Mr. Johnson remains silent. "You remembered what happened to Ms. Farona? How she died?" "More than that. I wasn''t wrong though. I didn''t see her death. She wasn''t killed¡­" "No¡­ don''t¡­" He sighs, "I don''t remember what I was doing exactly. Probably organizing some of the inventory in the backroom of his ''secret evil lair''. He was doing his shady shit. Then¡­ she came in the room." "Ms. Farona?" "No. It was¡­ Madame Johnson." "Stop! Stop!!!" Mr. Johnson pleads. Sophia doesn''t like where this is going but nonetheless say urges him on. "She came rushing in, tears in her eyes. She was shaking horribly, like she would fall apart. I was confused on how she found the room but maybe she always knew. I don''t think she noticed my presence but anyways, I think he tried to comfort her but she pushed him away. She was screaming at him. She¡­ said that she was leaving. For good this time. She wanted a better and safer life. She wanted a partner that would listen to her. She wanted what this bastard couldn''t give her." "Shut up!" Mr. Hobbleton ignores him but grips him tighter so he shuts up. "He was also hysterical. He was begging her to reconsider. He was telling her he came up with a breakthrough and that he would do better. But she said it was too late. He grabbed onto her wrist. I wanted to intervene but before I could she grabbed one of the vials on the table¡­" he pauses, he looks so distraught but nevertheless continues with, "I think she wanted to throw it at him so he could let her go but¡­ Her grip must of been too strong or the glass was too fragile. It happened almost instantly. It shattered¡­ A black horrifying mist surrounded her¡­ It was almost like she was being consumed¡­ I couldn''t do anything all I could do was watch her die." "It was Mrs. Johnson who died back then!? She''s been dead longer than¡­ we thought. If she died back then how was she still alive until recently. Was she an impostor?" "Yeah. This shit gets worse and worse I swear to gods. After that accident that took Madame Johnson''s life. Almost nothing remained of her¡­ I don''t want to describe it. Tho the weirdest thing was that her face was intact except for her eyes-" Mr. Johnson speaks up his voice is quiet but filled with bitterness as he says, "She didn''t die. I brought her back. I reconstructed her body perfectly." "You gonna tell, Miss Fauve here how ya did it?" "He doesn''t need to. I can connect the dots. You used Darmae Farona. Didn''t you?" "No use in hiding it anymore. That maid. That fucking maid. It didn''t take long for her to realize something was wrong. I was in a bad place and I was trying desperately to figure out how to fix everything. When she asked me where she was I told her the truth. I mean like what did I have to lose anymore? It''s not like anyone would believe her. She was devastated. I think she died on the inside. The next day I found her in my wife''s room, mourning. I told her that there was a way to bring her back¡­" "You¡­ You horrible beast!" "She wanted to. She wanted her back as much as I did. I think that''s the only thing we ever agreed on." Mr. Hobbleton sighs, "I didn''t even know she sacrificed herself until, I saw ''Mrs. Johnson''. Again. She was like, alive but she wasn''t really. He fucked up. He fucked up so bad. And I couldn''t do shit. You wanna know why? Because I was under his debt. I had to watch this bullshit and I couldn''t say shit otherwise my family¡­ " Sophia is trying so hard not to shake from fear or anger? Both possibly. "What do you mean by she was alive but she wasn''t?" Was Ms. Farona''s sacrifice in vain? "Her body was restored but her soul was unstable. No matter what I did, I couldn''t get her soul properly restored." "Is that why you wanted Ms. Ipruk''s help all those years ago?" "Yes. But how could I tell her to contact my very much alive wife''s soul? It was stupid. I was getting even more desperate." "After that he read something about the red eyes. And that was my death. I died giving him those cursed eyes. I dunno what he did with him exactly. I assume he thought they would bring her back." "..." Before he can say more Mr. Hobbleton looks dazed. He throws Mr. Johnson to the ground again and clutches his head. "Ah. I think I''m done here. Miss Fauve, I think I can move on now. Only, because I know you''re here to end this ugly trash. Please tell everyone that I''m sorry for being a coward¡­ " He turns to ''the ugly trash'' who''s lying on the floor, "It took being dead to be free from your bullshit. I don''t owe you shit anymore. I''ll see you in hell, boss." A small light leaves her body and fades away. He''s finally moved on. Somehow Ms. Ipruk doesn''t collapse and she steadies herself. Sophia is right by her side asking her if she''s okay. "I''m fine, dear. I just need a moment." "What are we going to do now Ms. Ipruk?" "We have to restore Bradley. That hasn''t changed at all. Maybe then we''ll be able to put these souls to rest." Mr. Johnson starts crying and laughing, it sounds so horrible, so broken Sophia wants to cover her ears. "Mr. Johnson I try to see the best in people but you''re making it difficult. It really looks like you''ve played me for a fool. You never needed me at all! Why!? Tell me why. Why did you get me and my dear Sophie into your madness." She''s right. Why are we here? Just being here would be risky for him. All of this was revealed because of them. The ghosts won''t hurt him. Not really. The only ghost who''s hurt him was Mr. Hobbleton and that because of them. He could have healed his son properly by now too. None of this makes sense. He laughs even more now. "Oh, Cecilia Ipruk you''re the person I need the most! I didn''t want you to find out the truth. It would of been easier. Much easier for you, Sophie dear." he mocks. ''What!?" They both say in unison. "I did lie about almost everything but I was honest when I said that I wanted my family back. I will do anything." "Anything?!" "I''m sorry Sophia. I really am. Because things turned out this way. You won''t be able to leave." "And how do you plan on stopping us!? Don''t tell me you put something in that horrid food?" "The answer is all around you." //Around me?// He says something under his breath but Sophia can''t be sure what it is. Ms. Ipruk does know though. "SOPHIA DON''T BREATHE IN THE AIR!" 14 The Last Piece Of The Puzzle It happened too quickly. The air started becoming to suffocating and heavy. Ms. Ipruk grabbed her purse and pulled out the mask! She practically threw it on Sophia''s face. "Leave¡­ Go!... Sophie¡­" Again. She collapses again! But this time she almost falls on top of Sophia. She barely manages to grab her. "Ms. Ipruk!" "I can''t seem to move." Sophia gently props her against the nearest wall and tries to look around for Mr. Johnson. But this mask does make things hard to see! Not to mention this mask isn''t suited for someone with three eyes. Of course, the gas all around them isn''t helping! Where is he?! "Listen¡­ Sophie. You have to leave. I''ll be fine¡­ just go." "Quit your nonsense! I''m trying to think!" "Go¡­ please¡­ it''s too dangerous." "Oh please, this is not the first time my life is in danger! We are getting out of here together! I''m not leaving you here alone. I will not lose you." "It''s different this time¡­ I can''t protect¡­ you." "I will be the one protecting you." "You''re always protecting me. You''re so loyal¡­ I love you so much. I hope you know that¡­" "Shut up! Don''t say that like it''s the last time!" "I know. I''m just telling you that I love you. Don''t kids like hearing that from their parents. Haha¡­" If the situation was any better Sophia would have rolled her eyes. Instead she picks her up as best as she can, throwing one arm over her shoulder. Ms. Ipruk is significantly taller than her so this must be comedic from an outsider perspective. "Sophie! What are you... doing?" "Isn''t it obvious? I''m getting us out of here!" "I''ll just be in the way... put me down..." "Never!" "Then¡­ go to the final piece of this puzzle¡­ hurry..." and then she goes silent. She''s still breathing and warm. But for how long? Sophia isn''t thinking anymore. She''s just moving. Leaving the dining room is easier than dragging Ms. Ipruk. The doors aren''t locked so Sophia manages to get them out of there. She has no idea where Mr. Johnson went or what he''s planning. Her priority is getting her teacher to safety. She doesn''t care anymore, she doesn''t care about this cursed mansion, no one hurts her family! Unfortunately, she wouldn''t make it far. Outside the dining room in the foyer stood Mr. Johnson and he wasn''t alone. Next to him was the Shadow Beast, or Bradley. He looks calm and as if he''s waiting for orders. "How did you-" "Doesn''t matter. It''s my home and I know every nook and cranny. Now, Sophia don''t make this hard for yourself. I promise that at the very least Ms. Ipruk will be fine." As if Sophia will believe that! "What do you plan on doing to me?" "I''ll just erase your memories. It''ll be better that way but if you resist I''ll have to send my boy here after you and I won''t promise you''ll make it out alive." Normally, she would scoff and claim that she could take down a Shadow Beast with her eyes closed! She can''t though, she can''t hurt him. He''s innocent and he''s suffering. "So you can control Bradley after all?" "It''s for his own good. It''s also not hard." //What does that mean? He is using magic to control him obviously, but what kind of magic could do that? Maybe it''s something else entirely¡­// "How did the gas not affect you?" //Keep talking. Keep revealing your secrets while I think of a plan!// "Ha. Most people wouldn''t kill a Venom Regian Wolf and use it''s poison but I''m adaptable. If you do it right and rework it, you can make it only have the paralyzing effect without actually killing the target. As for why it didn''t affect me, I have a-" She wasn''t even listening to his monologue. Since he decided to block the exit then she was going to take them to the last piece of the puzzle. Or whatever Ms. Ipruk meant. She summoned her wings and rushed to the library. Not much of a plan but hey! It''s better than just standing there. From the foyer to the library isn''t far but it''s hard to keep a fast pace when carrying a person twice your size. Also, having a beast after you doesn''t help! Good thing Ms. Ipruk broke the lock earlier so it wasn''t hard getting back in. Sophia quickly and ungracefully tosses Ms. Ipruk on the ground. Sorry! She needs her hands. She makes the fastest and most unstable barrier. It only takes a few seconds for the Shadow Beast to catch up and try to break in. Sophia is running out of time so she moves Ms. Ipruk to a safer spot and does a cleansing spell in the air so she can take off the mask. She turns back to her not sure how to treat poison that isn''t ''deadly'' but luckily she came prepared and pulls out a catch-all antidote. She hopes that at least Ms. Ipruk will regain consciousness soon. If that doesn''t wake her than surely the banging from the beast will! //Do not panic! If worst comes to worst I''ll have to fight! I don''t want to but I will. But what did she mean by the last piece of the puzzle? Could it be the painting? Maybe¡­// Sophia''s not even sure if this will work but it''s all she can think to do. She finds the journal in her bag and sets it down in front of the painting. "I will be honest, I have no idea what I''m doing. All I know is that you''re here. You have to be here. You never left right? Just like Ms. Farona, you two never left." The only sound being made was the banging of Bradley trying to get inside. "Mrs. Johnson. I hope that you''re listening. I don''t actually know if your soul is bound to this painting or something else but this is all I could think of," she pauses and rummages through her bag and finds the locket again, "You wanted me to find this right? You wanted me to know the truth. You''ve always wanted help." More banging and booming. "Okay. I need your help this time. I need you to appear and¡­" And what? Even if she does what can a ghost possibly do to help her? With one last hit from the beast, the barrier finally broke. It''s too late. - No, it''s not too late! Sophia can fight him. She''ll try to not hurt him too badly¡­ She just wishes there was any other way. She doesn''t want to hurt someone innocent //But it doesn''t seem right to attack him! He still trusts me right? Maybe I can try to talk to him¡­// Bradley begins to growl as soon as he''s inside. He walks slowly towards them, the room shakes from his overwhelming presence. If there was any hope for saving this library then surely by now there is no salvaging it. Sophia faces him head on and does her best to protect her mentor. He stops a few feet in front of her. "Hello there, Bradley? We''ve met before, my name is Sophia Fauve in case you were wondering. Please don''t do anything rash! I do want to help you. I''m imploring you to fight against the control you''re under! You are not a Shadow Beast! You have a soul and body. You want to go back to normal right? You want to live right? So don''t even think about attacking me!" How this turned into a scolding, even she doesn''t understand. It was like a pet owner yelling at their cat when it did something wrong, only for the cat to not understand at all and continue to do what it pleased. "Oh Sophia, yelling at my boy? Really, you must have lost it. But don''t bother, Bradley only listens to me, his dear father." He appears from behind, and stands in front of¡­ his son. "No. He follows his instincts. He won''t hurt me! He knows I won''t hurt him. Just because you have his body does not mean you know his feelings." "Oh and a stranger like you would be able to understand him? You don''t know anything!" "I don''t need to know him that well to know he doesn''t want to be a Shadow Beast!" He scowls and steps closer towards her, "He''s not going to stay one for much longer, once I bring back his mother." "By using my teacher!" "Yeah." "WHY? Why get Ms. Ipruk involved in this monstrosity?! What has she ever done to you!?" "Nothing. She did nothing. But she''s perfect. Almost as perfect as my wife. She has everything and is the only capable vessel," he sighs but continues with, "I want them back and this is the only way. Fate decided to make me into a bad guy so I''m just playing my part." Sophia is shaking from anger, "You''re horrible! You''re simply and utterly horrible..." "I know. It''s okay though, once she''s back, I''ll restore my son as well and they both will live happily without me. I''ll atone through hell." "AND WHAT ABOUT MY MENTOR HUH?" "She''s lived long enough hasn''t she? I don''t think it''s unfair at all. I''m sure she wouldn''t mind sacrificing herself for someone else." "Shut it! You''re so wrong on so many levels but let me tell you this, fate didn''t decide to make you a bad guy, you''ve always been one! You''ve treated everyone like your possessions, your playthings. You don''t respect anyone. I don''t even think you respect yourself. Your love is means nothing, it''s just a sham! You are complete and utter garbage and dying was the only good thing you ever did." That might have been the last straw for him, "Bradley, kill h-" Sophia was faster though. Before he could finish his command, she began to cast a spell to throw him back. But she stopped half way, not actually wanting to badly hurt the body, and turned her hand into a fist! He wasn''t expecting her punch at all. Much less for it to be so strong! He was thrown back a few feet and something cracked. //Well, if I used the full spell it would of been worse¡­// She looks down and notices that something fell out of her purse probably from the momentum. It was one of the vials she took. Luckily, it didn''t break because who knows what would''ve happened if it did. She carefully picks it up and is confused. This is isn''t an old empty vial but it''s the Red Eyes! How?! How did they get here? She didn''t take them! 15 An End Mr. Johnson slowly picks up his face from the ground. His nose is broken and bloodied, his face is even more bruised than it was before. When he sees what she''s holding he starts trembling in fear. "Wh-where did you find those. It''s not possible. You shouldn''t have them. I had them with me¡­" "I don''t-" Something starts to happen, the vial in her hand starts vibrating and feels warm but she doesn''t dare drop it. The Shadow Beast, Bradley, also starts whimpering and scratching the ground just like before. Behind her she feels the air become colder and denser. Sophia slowly turns around to see the painting levitating from the ground. Perhaps because she''s seen so much already and is so very tired that she doesn''t scream. All she can do is stare in horror and awe as a dark mist comes out from the frame and is shaped like a hand. The eyes that were the only thing on the painting are now blinking. In the movies it''s always a creepy, distorted figure coming out of something but this figure is anything but that. They step out of the frame with elegance and eagerness, still creepy but not as much. The figure looks like shadow with form and they stand there, taking in their surroundings. Their eyes are the only thing that have a sense of normalcy and they look directly at Sophia. She doesn''t say anything, she can''t find anything to say. The figure tilts their head in confusion but she doesn''t try to come close to her. Then the shadowy figure notices the man on the floor who''s a beast and the trembling beast who''s actually a man. They walk, or float?, slowly and gracefully to Bradley. They don''t say anything but instead they pet his head and soothe him! The figure opens their mouth a few times but no words come out. They try again and the voice sounds gravelly but soft, "What¡­ have you¡­ done to me? To¡­ us?" "Aurora? Is that really you?" Aurora? Could this be Mrs. Johnson? Sophia low-key suspected that it was a self portrait painting of her, so she was bound to it after all. Also, strange how she didn''t know their first names not that Sophia really cares to learn Mr. Johnson''s first name. She''s not looking at him but she still says, "How¡­ could you do this?" "I¡­" "I didn''t want to come back. I couldn''t leave here¡­ but I wasn''t going to come back to you." "Then why are you back now?" This time she does turn to face him, her eyes are filled with tears, "Silence¡­ and pain¡­ is all I am. Silence is all I had. Trapped in my own pain. But then I heard it¡­ the voices of the people I cherish the most. And then a red light. A bloodied light. I have a form now only to tell you what needs to be told. I''m leaving you for good this time. Don''t you dare try to bring me back. Let me go." "I can''t¡­ please¡­" "You won''t have me in life or death. I was never yours, I was always a person and even now, I am still a person who owns herself." "No! I won''t let you¡­ slip through my grasp again." He tries to get up and reach for her but then a burst of magical energy hits him and he falls back down! They both look to find Ms. Ipruk leaning against the wall. Sophia forgets about everything and goes towards her, "You''re awake! I''m so happy! Oh my gods¡­" "Yes. I''m okay now dear. Thank you for keeping me safe." "Ha¡­ you say your trying to save my son but you keep hitting me. You realize this is his body right?" "Don''t misunderstand. That spell was targeted it for you, Mr. Johnson." Madame Johnson walks cautiously to his side, "Set things right¡­ give our son his life back¡­ please let go." He stares at her and then sighs deeply, "You won''t leave with me?" "No." A long pause before he speaks up again, "Did you ever, love me?" She hesitates but answers with, "I did." "Do you love me now?" "No." "Do you¡­ hate me?" "I¡­ don''t hate you¡­ I don''t think much of you anymore. In the silence I only thought of those I loved. But I will never forgive you for hurting everyone else¡­ and for hurting yourself." "I know this means nothing but¡­ I''m sorry for everything." "I know you''re sorry but that won''t change anything." "You''re right, as always," he gives her one last bitter smile, closes his eyes and turns his head away from her, "Goodbye Aurora. I hope that we never see each other again." The heaviness in the air lightens up. He''s finally gone. But the Shadow Beast is still there¡­ Ms. Ipruk, with help from Sophia, examines Bradley''s body. "Good news his body is stable but the bad news is that his soul hasn''t returned. Something else must be holding him back." "Let go of them¡­ the eyes¡­ " Sophia still has them in her vial. "How? How do we-?" "Of course it makes sense! He used one of the eyes to bring back his son. If we destroy them now then he might go back but I have no idea how the curse might react." Her eyes are warm and determined, "It''s okay. Things will be okay." "I see. Then, Sophie dear hand them over. I''ll take care of it." "No¡­ I''ll do it. It''s my curse to break¡­" Sophia and Ms. Ipruk give each other a look of understanding. Sophia hands her the vial and she also hands her the locket, somehow Madame Johnson is able to hold them. "You were the only who gave me this right?" "Yes. I''ve been holding on to this for so long. I couldn''t leave here and I couldn''t let this go. But when I sensed your brightness in this broken and cursed mansion, I felt something like hope and I decided to let go¡­" She puts on the locket around her neck and smiles. Then she takes out one of the eyes from the vial and crushes it under her foot. Then she goes to the Shadow Beast and gives him the other eye, he also crushes it but between his sharp teeth. Nothing happens for a moment. But then the dark mist surrounding Madame Johnson starts to lift and she becomes brighter. She looks almost like when she was alive except well, transparent. The Shadow Beast begins to disappear as if it was never there at all. Bradley doesn''t move much but Sophia can sense his life energy returning to him. A sigh of relief leaves her. What''s more unexpected is that the journal also begins to take on a different form of a very familiar maid. "Mae?... Is that really you?" "Madame¡­ you''re here. I''m sorry for-" "No. No more apologies between us. We can finally leave together." She grabs her hand. "Yes¡­ Yes. But what about, the young master." "Bradley. He will live and we''ll watch over him from afar. That''s all we can do now since we aren''t part of the living anymore." "You''re right." She looks hesitant but confesses, "Madame I need you to know that I care for you more deeply than you think." "I know. I do too and I regret that my words weren''t clear enough. I wanted us to leave together as partners." "Really? Me? But what about-" "He''s gone. It''s just us now." Ms. Ipruk coughs, "Sorry to interrupt this heartfelt reunion but you''re not completely alone." Darmae Farona finally seems to notice the mentor and apprentice duo. "You are Sophia Fauve? Thank you. Thank you both. I wish that I could bake you some yummy treats as a gift but all I have are my words." "No need for that I''m just grateful to have fulfilled my promise!" "Sophia Fauve and Master Ipruk, I wish you the best in this life." Ms. Ipruk smiles, "That''s very kind of you." "Don''t worry Ms. Farona, I will live my best life. I hope you two will finally be happy now." "We will." The happy atmosphere doesn''t last long for the entire mansion begins to shake! It''s actually falling apart! So this is how the cursed decided to act, huh. "We need to get out of here!" "Yes! I''ll take Bradley and you fly out of here immediately!" "But you''re still weakened¡­" "I can run! Now go!" //Very well then! I apologize for being polite.// Oh no! The front doors of the library are being blocked by pillars and other clutter. "What now!" "We''ll have to make an exit ourselves!" They run towards the side of the library with the least amount of damage. "We can watch over Bradley. You two focus on making an exit!" says Madame Johnson. Both of them are exhausted but together they have enough energy to blast a huge hole on the wall. Ms. Ipruk uses her magical aurora to prevent it from collapsing in on itself. And luckily for them it leads directly outside. They don''t waste time putting distance from themselves and the crumbling mansion. In the distance all that could be seen was an old building finally giving out and turning into shambles. Two figures set down their precious son from a safe distance. With a promise to love and watch over him, they walk away together, far from this cursed place, holding hands. Ms. Ipruk goes to check over Bradley to make sure he''s still okay. Sophia continues to watch where the mansion used to stand. She notices how the sun''s already down. Miraculously she made it out alive, a little bruised and worn out, but everything intact. Even her phone survived. It starts ringing. She absentmindedly picks it up. "Hello?" "Sophia. Why haven''t you been answering my messages? Are you busy? Well, I''m calling you so you don''t forget I''m visiting tomorrow. Sophia? Answer me? Are those sirens in the background? Where are you? Sophia Fauve you will answer your mother this instant!" She hangs up. Goddess help her. 16 Epilogue: Its The Beginning Of Getting Better At the hospital, Ms. Ipruk was paid some attention, since she was the one who was poisoned after all. Although, they let her leave quickly, not finding anything wrong. They remained at the hospital for most of the night, waiting to hear if Bradley had regained consciousness yet. One of the nurses informs her, "Please go home and get some rest.You can come back tomorrow." They did just that. Once they were home Sophia breaks the news to her mentor, "Ms. Ipruk." "Yes?" "My mother called." She freezes in shock, "She called? That''s who you were talking to earlier?" "Yes. I hung up though. I wanted to tell her that she shouldn''t come tomorrow but it''s too late now. She''s definitely going to come." "I''ll talk to her." "She''s going to scold us." "Most certainly." For the first time in this entire day, they both laugh. They laugh at how they''re more worried about Sophia''s mother than everything else that happened. How ridiculous are we now? "Well, at least we''re okay so she can''t be too angry." "Haha. Well let''s get some rest. Let''s head to the hospital first thing in the morning and wait until he wakes up. We can deal with Charlotte later." They get up early, not that Sophia could sleep much. She still feels so drained from yesterday. That doesn''t mean she has to look as worn out as she feels. She puts one of her best dresses, designed by yours truly, and leaves her hair down. When they arrive, they are fortunate to hear that he''s finally woken up. The doctor tells them that they can see him but to be mindful. "Little Bradley? Is that you? How do you feel?" He stops staring at the ceiling and looks at Ms. Ipruk with a thoughtful gaze. "You... saved me. Thank... you so much." "You don''t have to thank us. It was the right thing to do." Sophia spoke before Ms. Ipruk. He moves his head slightly trying to see who else spoke. His face is covered in bandages, mostly his nose. She winces slightly but he doesn''t catch it, "You''re... Sophia?" "The one and only." "Thank you. I wish... I had something to give you for your help but everything I owned is gone now..." "Don''t worry about that, you can pay us back later." She winks. "Yes. Just focus on recovering." A silence stretches for a while before Ms. Ipruk speaks up again. "I don''t know how much you remember but we don''t blame you at all. I''m sorry that we couldn''t save something for you." "I remember¡­ most of it. I always kinda resented my dad for ignoring me most of my childhood. He was always more worried about other things..." He pauses and tries to catch his breath, "I always¡­ wondered if he never let me see mom because he didn''t think I deserved to. But knowing the truth, is a lot worse. He really was horrible but I just don''t," He takes another deep breath. "know how to feel about him. He was my dad, he loved me but he... used me. He hurt me and everyone around us. I think that''s something that will take a lot of recovering from." He pauses and reaches for something next to the bedside table. "They left me this. I''ll be okay... someday at least." It''s the locket. Madame Johnson and Darmae Farona really will always be watching over him. "Here little one." She hands him some kind of letter. "Inside there''s some information that will help you once you''re out of here." "What¡­" "It''s just some people who might be able to help you. Hide you and get you back on your feet. Incase you need it. Also, we''re here if you ever need anymore help." "Thank you so much¡­ uh ma''am?" "Haha! Just call me Cecilia." She pats his head gently. He looks slightly embarrassed. "We apologize. But we have to be going soon. I''m really happy you''re okay though. I''m also thankful for your trust. Also, I apologize for punching you." He actually smiles at that. "It''s okay. I was punched by the legendary Sophia Fauve. I think I''ll brag about it. Besides, you did what I''ve always wanted to do. Punch my dad in the face, so thanks for that too." "Take care, Bradley." She gives him a quick pat on the shoulder and smiles as well. "Listen before we leave, I want you to know that you will do better. Don''t believe in a curse but believe in yourself. You''ve been given a second chance. Live a good life. And I hope to see you again." He nods. "I will." - "Ms. Ipruk? I still haven''t forgotten about the Spiritual Magic. I''m still kind of annoyed with you." "Haha. I promise to teach you what I know, someday. I know you''ll make it into something successful." "Of course I will." - It doesn''t take long for them to arrive at the train station to pick up Sophia''s mother. She looks tired and stressed, probably not from the journey. One she spots them she says, "You two are going to be the death of me!" "Hello, mother. How was your trip?" "Don''t try to change the subject, Sophia! Your faces are all over the news! You two almost got buried alive under a mansion?!" "Yes, well um, Charlotte, let me explain." She immediately shuts her down, "Master Ipruk. I do not want to hear your explanations." //Ouch. Mother only calls her Master Ipruk when she''s extremely upset. Just like when she calls me by my full name.// "I see¡­ I''m sorry then. Do not blame Sophia. You should be angry with me instead." She sighs, "I''m angry with the both of you. I''m livid. But-" She pulls them in for a hug catching them off gaurd, "I am so relieved you two are okay." "Mother, you worry too much. Of course we''d be okay." "Hmph. It''s not that I don''t believe that but I still can''t help but worry." She pulls away from them and looks less angry. Although, she doesn''t let go of Sophia completely as she starts absentmindedly petting her head. She wants to complain that her hair will get messed up but now''s not the time. "I''m your mother. I''ll always worry." she let''s her go and turns to Ms. Ipruk, "And you Cecilia, I always worry about you too. You''re my friend after all." Ms. Ipruk looks slightly embarrassed, "Aha. Well. Um... I promise that I did have things under control, really! We''re fine so don''t listen to what they-" "Cecilia." "Yes?" "We need to have a long discussion, when we arrive at your home." Not a question but a demand. "Of course, haha." she looks nervous. "Sophia." "What is it?" "I brought you a gift! You can open it later." - It''s been almost a month since that case. Things settled down somewhat. Some strange customers still come by. But that''s inevitable. At least, no more ghosts and horrible men! Bradley was discharged a long time ago, he sent flowers and a thank you card. But they have no idea where he is now. It''s for the best. He needs to be somewhere safe and isolated. For now. Sophia is sitting at the front desk. To put it bluntly, bored out of her mind. It''s almost noon and no one has come by the shop. She also feels kind of lonely, Ms. Ipruk said she was going to be gone for 3 months! This is the first time she''s been gone for so long. She didn''t ask her to come along with. Why? Because after receiving a harsh scolding from her mother, Ms. Ipruk decided to actually follow her advice and gave Sophia a break! A break to see her family again. Of course she misses them but she can''t just leave! ///"Don''t worry the shop can afford to close up for a few months, dear."/// Don''t dear me. This shop will fall apart without me! What if we miss potential important clients! What if something happens- She''s shaken out of her thoughts when she hears screaming coming from outside. Oh great. It''s the pests. It''s the beasts. Normally, this is no problem for someone like Sophia but there''s an unholy amount of Shadow Beasts roaming the streets! And she''s still wary of dealing with them after the incident. Although, she can''t just sit here and do nothing! //I don''t want to let others get hurt. It would be bad for our reputation!// She grabs her staff and rushes out. Like a fool. - She''s put up a good fight but this last little beast won''t give up! Little but persistent indeed. Sophia barely manages to dodge its fangs and put a distance between them. She tries to use her staff but its too broken so she just throws it at its head hoping for a distraction. It does get hit and a little spark goes off! The beast is temporarily blinded. Sophia dashes off. Her magic has been weakened from over exerting herself that she can''t even summon her wings! How embarrassing. She curses in ancient fae. The little beast grabbed her ankle! How did it recover so fast?! In this very moment, Sophia felt more offended than terrified. Her legend can''t just end like this. She hasn''t even started! She won''t give up. She still has one trick up her sleeve. It starts dragging her to the dark alley about to tear her apart. Sophia tries to struggle out of its grip but it''s no use. Damn. She''s going to have to think of something else! Quickly! She screams a little bit. No shame in that. //Okay. Before it tries to rip me apart I''ll-// Fortunately, she didn''t have to do anything, the beast didn''t even get a chance to raise it''s claws against her when something sharp and powerful flew towards the beasts face! It instantly dissolves into nothing. Sophia was shocked. She was shaking slightly. What? Who? Someone grabs her hand, helps her up and pulls her away from the alley. "Are you okay?" She looks up to the stranger. They''re a dragon? What''s a dragon doing here? She quickly composes herself as best as she can, "I am... Thank you for the help. May I know your name?" They look confused as if they weren''t expecting her to ask that. "Hm. You may call me Mani." To be continued...?