Her residence was located near the innermost section of Prince Bay, where the security tightened with every checkpoint.
The guards stationed at the gate saluted respectfully upon seeing the university emblem hanging from Lana’s bag.
Clearly, they didn’t question mystic cultivators; one wrong move, and they’d offend soone with terrifying mystic abilities.
The mansion itself wasn’t rely luxurious... it was intimidatingly pristine.
Snow-white walls, polished marble floors that glead under the golden evening light, and a silent fountain that ran crystal-clear water.
The silence here wasn’t peaceful... it was heavy, almost watchful.
Mr. Crow perched on Lana’s shoulder, feathers still uneven from the morning debacle. He flicked a sharp glance one way and then the other.
Lana didn’t rush to enter the mansion; instead, she stood outside, and instead of rushing in or asking questions, she stared at the black aura clouding the entire residence.
It resembled the sa faint negativity she had encountered in her first case.
However, this ti, the black aura was tinged with a deep, heavy red... clear evidence of impending death.
For a mont, Lana hesitated.
’This... doesn’t look like an E-rank haunting mission at all. If anything, this feels like sothing far above my current level.’
She wasn’t soone who relied on protagonist plot armor. She didn’t believe she was invincible. If needed, she would retreat; pride wasn’t sothing worth dying for.
Just as she was about to ask Naina for more details, she fell into a dazed state. As if sothing inside her forced her to continue to stare at the dark aura, and she would see sothing unseen by the world.
Sure enough, the next second, her vision was swallowed in darkness.
Then, she fell into a scene.
Naina lay sleeping on a soft bed, curled beneath a blanket.
Her brows were drawn tight as if she were enduring a nightmare. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, and she jolted upright, gasping for breath, sweat clinging to her skin.
The cold, suffocating silence answered her, but at the sa ti... an instinct told her... soone was present there...
She scanned her room with obvious fear, her hand trembling as she wiped her forehead.
Even without sound, Lana could feel the suffocating silence pressing down on Naina like invisible hands.
However, with her naked gaze... she couldn’t see the ghostly presence lurking beside her.
Naina slowly reached for the glass of cold water beside her bed, thinking she was overthinking, but her gaze drifted toward the mirror.
And Lana felt her own heart lurch. The reflection did not show Naina’s front. It showed her back.
Which should have been impossible.
A mirror cannot reflect what is not facing it.
Naina froze, her entire body pulled tight like stretched wire. She waited...prepared to be attacked.
Even just by seeing it from the other side, Lana could feel the raw tension in her body. And suddenly, she was reminded of the horror movies where the ghosts rush out of the mirror and attack the main protagonist.
She almost wanted to shout at Naina, "Run!"
However, Naina remained frozen, and Lana’s mind echoed with two words on a loop. ’It’s over!’
But nothing happened. Monts passed.
Only then did Nain shakily pick up the glass and drink, her fingers trembling violently.
She placed the glass back and lay down again, closing her eyes, trying to feign calm.
’She thinks she can fool the ghost... by showing no fear.’ Lana realized, her chest tightening.
But from the vision, Lana could see what Naina could not.
A shadowy figure, fog-like and humanoid, sat beside her, imitating her every movent.
It was mimicking her.
The mont Naina lay down, it slept beside her.
Eventually, sleep dragged Naina under.
But the mont Lana noticed the faint dark patch forming on Naina’s neck, she froze.
The vision repeated. Night after night.
Even though the actions were different each ti, Lana could see Naina waking up with dread, scanning her surroundings like a paranoid person, and then falling asleep.
The ghost forced nightmares upon Naina. Jolted her awake. Ensured she knew it was there. Then let her fall asleep again.
Each ti, the dark patches grew on Naina’s neck, arms, and face.
However, to Lana’s horror, as the patches grew over Naina’s body, the ghostly figure started to take the shape of Naina. As if... the more dark patches grew on Nain’s body... the more real the ghostly figure beca.
Until one night, Naina descended the stairs for water, and the figure followed behind her, step for step.
It had legs now. Legs that matched hers.
When she turned, she saw nothing, and she sighed in relief, unaware that the entity stood inches behind her.
The cycle repeated for over 100 days.
By the 120th day, the ghost had fully transford into Naina.
This ti, when Naina woke from her nightmare, she felt nothing and believed it was finally over.
She reached for the glass of water only to see her own exact replica reaching for the sa glass.
Their eyes t. The double tilted its head and gave an eerie smile.
"Ahhh!" The raw panic in Naina’s voice made Lana’s heart thud in fear, and Lana even had the urge to run away.
Naina’s scream never fully ford.
She fell backward, eyes wide in paralyzing terror, as the figure leaned close and entered her body. Then, as if it could sense Lana’s intervention, it gave a huge grin, a chilling smile.
The vision shattered.
Lana stumbled back, her breath uneven. Panic pulsed under her skin, and she felt her heartbeat spike.
Mr. Crow landed on her shoulder imdiately.
"What happened?" he asked, genuinely alard.
Lana shook her head, her voice grave. "This place is extrely dangerous. We can’t rush into the mission without proper investigation. Heck, I even suspect the ghost... seems to have so morphing ability, and as long as it finds a host... it clings to her or him and slowly takes away their life. Slow poison."
She suspected that if she intervened in this case... the ghost might change its target midway and... target her.
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