The na 'Lisa' echoed in Aubrey's mind, a haunting refrain that brought mories flooding back. Lisa, her vibrant and intelligent classmate, had vanished along with Chad because of the malfunction of their teleportation.
It happened during the ti when their academy was under attack by several Arcanist Factions.
The possibility that the pulsating mass of flesh before her could be connected to Lisa was both horrifying and compelling.
Taking a deep breath, Aubrey used her Darkness Manipulation to protect her from any curses or Arcane Spells before she reached out, her fingers brushing against the cold, slimy surface of the flesh.
A jolt of energy surged through her, and visions flashed before her eyes—images of a young woman, laughter, love, and then Darkness, a ritual gone awry, and a spirit bound to flesh.
The young woman she saw in the images indeed looked like Lisa if she grew up healthily… She knew that Lisa was a commoner and didn't have a good background or family to support her. She had strong feeling that this flesh was indeed connected to Lisa!
'This…'
Aubrey was stunned at this realization.
"I need to do sothing… I can't destroy this flesh…"
Aubrey's training as a Paranormal Investigator had prepared her for many things, but nothing quite like this.
She knew she had to proceed with caution. The entity before her was an anomaly, one that required careful study and containnt so she could confirm her guess.s
She began the ritual by drawing a Seal of Binding around the altar.
It was a good thing that Sealing Formation Arts was sothing she had learned very thoroughly.
Her thesis before she graduated was even related to Sealing Techniques!
It was all because of her five classmates who had dared to consu their third Darkness Possession Potion, and in the end, they lost control and beca mad!
The Darkness grew in their bodies, and they were no longer the sa person…
Her thesis, however, involved a Sealing Technique that could seal this Darkness, in hopes of helping the Dark Arcanists who had been consud by the Darkness.
"I can do this…" Aubrey muttered as she started on her job.
She actually studied Necromancy as well before she shifted to the Rituals Branch…
"Huuu~"
Aubrey then took a deep breath as she started the ritual…
The seal was a complex array of sigils, each ticulously chalked onto the stone floor.
Aubrey chanted in a steady rhythm in Oardic Language, which began to glow with a soft, blue light on the drawings on the floor.
As the ritual progressed, the air grew thick with Dark Arcane energy.
Aubrey's focus remained still, as he placed crystals of warding at each cardinal point within the seal with his hands. These crystals served as anchors, holding the entity in place and preventing it from lashing out or escaping.
She wasn't sure if the flesh would act violently after all.
With the seal complete, Aubrey approached the flesh.
She could see it more clearly now—a grotesque, undulating mass that seed to reach out to her, desperate for contact.
"Lisa," it whispered again, the sound more pained than before.
Aubrey steeled herself and placed her hands upon the flesh, initiating theTransfer Incantation.
The flesh shuddered under her touch, and for a mont, Aubrey felt a connection—a sense of confusion, loss, and an overwhelming longing.
The incantation took hold, and the flesh began to shrink, condensing into a more manageable size. Aubrey wrapped it in acloth imbued with protective runes, ensuring that the entity remained contained during transport.
With the entity secured, Aubrey carefully lifted it, feeling the weight of its unnatural existence.
She made her way out of the basent, up the stairs, and into the night.
Her carriage was waiting a short distance away, and she placed the wrapped entity in the trunk, covered with a blanket to obscure it from any prying eyes. The coachman didn't ask as he knew his client.
She was a Paranormal Investigator, and it was already enough to be her driver. He didn't dare to get too close to her, or ghosts might follow him soday.
"We can leave now…" Aubrey whispered.
The drive back to her ho was tense; every shadow seed to watch her, and every flicker of movent felt like a potential threat.
She must have been overthinking this, but that was what she felt during the whole trip.
Nonetheless, she arrived without incident, and with great care, she transferred the entity to her own basent—a space she had converted into a makeshift laboratory for just such purposes.
Here, Aubrey set up a newSeal of Containnt, stronger and more intricate than the first. She placed the entity at the center, the protective cloth unwrapped to reveal the flesh once more.
She also prepared recording crystals and formation arts… She surrounded the seal with such crystals to record any activity she might miss while she was gone…
***
Three days later, two won, Teresa and Clare, mbers of the enigmatic order known as the Untainted Sentinels, stepped off the train.
Their white coats billowed around them, marking them as figures of purity and holiness. Nonetheless, they didn't seem to attract attention as if they were just normal figures.
Nonetheless, they made their way to the mansion that Aubrey Hall had investigated several nights ago, their steps purposeful and swift.
They were on a mission to retrieve what they believed to be the remnants of a vampire—a creature of darkness that the Untainted Sentinels had vowed to eradicate.
Upon getting closer to the mansion, however, Teresa's keen senses felt sothing off… There wasn't any Vampiric Force inside, and her Divine Sense could guarantee it!
"Did we get the wrong information?" she muttered, her eyes scanning the whole mansion…
Clare nodded as her Divine Sense also failed to pick up anything… She could only feel that presence of several Dark Arts Practitioners inside. It wasn't any different from the report except the missing remnant of the Vampire.
"Let's ask the mirror again," she suggested, her voice steady despite the setback.
Finding an isolated spot away from prying eyes, Clare produced a small, ornate mirror from her coat. The surface was etched with intricate runes, and as she held it aloft, the glass shimred with a faint, otherworldly light.
"ArchFey nnena, we seek your guidance…"
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