Hearing this, the ghosts were stunned speechless as the small ghost cried out, "What?! Isn't that too scary?! Lotus, are you really a magician? You're so powerful to create something so scary."
"I guess you could call me a type of magician." Lotus responded, "I'm what my hometown calls a cultivator. To become stronger, we absorb mana into our bodies and allow it to change our development making us stronger physically and magically. Creating medicine, forging artifacts, and even creating barriers are something we can only do if we are born with the skills to learn it. Some of my talents is creating medicine and artifacts. Cultivator used to be people that tackles on the matters of souls and what goes on between life and death, so I'm familiar with the make up of ghosts and the artifacts that could influence them. What you have is something I created from that knowledge, there is no other replicas in this world that just erase partial memories. Others are more deadly and I don't want to make those in this school or bring great harm onto the ghosts that don't mean harm here. The reason why I'm applying the tool onto you is because we have intruders in this school and they don't care in taking the lives of others be it ghosts or living people.
"Eek! Seriously?!" The ghosts cried out in horror.
Lotus nodded, "Though the natural procedure is to arrest them, the last time I sent one to the prisons in Land of Thorn, they nearly massacred all the people in the facility. That's why I must deal with them on my own. However, they are too powerful and, like me, they don't overblot. Though they can straight up die from using too much magic, it would take a large amount of mana before they can lose their life."
"How does this connect with us?" The small ghost questioned in confusion.
"The Dark Mirror naturally knows of this and the headmaster won't be able to use the ghosts to listen in on this conversation, which is why I know I can trust you to help me. If you start acting strangely in all of the dorms, the evil cultivator will naturally capture you and take a look into your memories. Doing this will harm your souls, which is why-"
"Which is why you need to erase our memories so we won't react to suspiciously and get attacked by them just by knowing about your secret." The lean ghost concluded.
Lotus nodded, "If it was before, I wouldn't dare to involve our elders, but Grim is in danger. Once the headmaster is called, he has no choice but to imprison Grim."
"Imprison him?!"
They stared at her in disbelief once she said this. As she nodded, the ghosts shook their head in disbelief as the fat one responded, "But, Grim only needs help. Why would he imprison him?"
"Could it have to do with the culture festival?" the smaller ghosts muttered hesitantly.
Lotus nodded, "The cultural festival lasts for a week. With Grim having lost control, he will harm those around him. If the school wants to keep the place safe, the headmaster can only call for the capture of him."
"But, you're going to catch him before then, right?" The fat ghosts hurried questioned with a hopeful look.
Lotus shook her head and responded, "Naturally, I can, but, once I do, something else will happen to him. That's why, if he wants a lighter sentence, he must face it now. The problem is I can't say what else he will face in the future. So the only thing I can do is..."
.....
Lotus rushed through the forest as two of the three ghosts ran after her desperately in search of Grim. They paused before the crossroads of Main Street and she saw the white butterfly flutter past her and cried out, "Follow it!"
"R-Right!"
They dashed after the butterfly as it fluttered into the distance. It wasn't long before she found Grim glaring at her the moment he heard her footsteps. Grim rushed at her as she finished creating the array. However, Lotus easily used spatial powers and kept him up in mid-air. She heaved a heavy sigh as Grim struggled against her snarling like a monster he was supposed to have been. It was painful for her to see this of the small cat she had been caring for. She pursed her lips before muttering bitterly, "Sorry, Grim... I didn't want to involve you in all this as well. But, let us begin... From tonight onwards... You will be my soul contract beast."
Having pierced her finger, she raised a hand and began chanting the ancient language she was familiar with for a long time. The ghosts behind her stared at them with a pitiful look across their faces knowing they were powerless to save him as the previous conversation looped in their minds.
"What?!"
"Y-You will force a life and death contract with him?!" The fat ghost cried out in disbelief.
"Isn't that going too far?" The lean ghost tried to reason with her hurriedly.
Lotus shook her head and continued as she touches the weight scale on her table placing black and white pebbles on them carefully, "No. Yuu and Grim gained so much in the past five months. In a world they know nothing of, they were taken in by good people and made a lot of good friends. Naturally, they will be given setbacks to balance all the goods things in life. Even if I save Grim now, a different unfortunate event will come at them in a different form."
"I see..." The lean ghost using the scale as a reference to what she was talking about to better understand what she was saying, "So, even if he was saved from going wild today, he may encounter something else bad to balance the good things in life. Like giving hard-earned money to buy good food, but refusing to share them with starving people which leads to others hating on you seeing you as a greedy person. But why such a dangerous contract."
Lotus hesitated before continuing, "Because only this contract can keep him safe. When I was seeing a magic documentary of the great seven's greatest mistakes in their lives. I've learned that their greatest mistakes mirrored the dorm leaders. Rosehearts could've stayed with the chaotic strange rules of their dorm and reign complete control over the dorm, even overblotting and losing himself. It was Yuu's presence who changed his fate. Starting tonight, Grim will come across many bad things in life. Yuu who was able to save every other dorm leaders in the past... most likely won't be able to save Grim this time..."
She sighed and continued, "That's why I plan to tie Grim's fate with mine to help him avoid losing his life and place to the dangers that will harm in from now on. Where he is, what he encounters and if he lives. I will know it all. It's just... that there is no other way to tie Grim's fate with mine. This contract in the eyes of cultivator is akin to a chain on the beasts and monsters in the worlds. If I die, so will he, but, if he dies, I will only suffer damage to my soul and still live. This unfair contract is the soul beast taming art. If I want to break the contract, I must endure the series of lightning strikes to break the contract. That's why they say that it is impossible to break this contract. If I don't take the strikes with your body, the contract will not break. The punishment is so severe that no human survived under this ordeal. I might not even be able to become a ghost."
"What, but you'll die completely and disappear!" The small ghost cried out in horror once he heard this.
"With my current strength, I will definitely die. But, I will grow stronger in another couple of decades." Lotus explained, "I will study the method to break the contract and perform it by then. When I die, I don't want to drag him down with me. But, right now, he might not even come back for school next year if I don't form the contract and tie him with me now. The time must also be now or that intruder will distract me from getting involved in the near future. However, I can't let Yuu know about this. Once he knows, he will definitely be against it and that will hurt Grim in the long run."
"Will you be all right though?" The fat ghost hesitated nervously.
Lotus shook her head with a sigh, "I already have two beast contracts with other familiars and left protective spells on the other students. One more contract is risking it and I will suffer internal injuries. Though I have medicines and potions for it, I still need to be carried back. That's why I need your help, even though it's rude of me to assume that you will naturally give me your help."
The conversation shown them all a side they've never seen from her. Arrogant, reckless, but also caring. They can see now that she truly does care for everyone in the school and the school was also an important place for her, enough for her to even risk her life to save even one small demonic cat! Was there truly another student much like her? There was one and that is Yuu. Aside from these two, no one else was willing to risk so much for one small cat. Perhaps the two Heartslabyul students, but do they have the same determination and courage as them?
The lean ghost beside the fat one muttered after watching her cough up blood, "You know... I don't usually say this, but... I can't stop thinking... What did we do that would make our school to deserve such kind and devoted student like Yuu and Lotus..."
Watching Grim struggle painfully against Lotus as they fought on for control, the fat ghost could only place a hand on the shoulder of his lamenting friend and responded, "Perhaps... both Yuu and Lotus are destined to change the fates of others, like Grim... Maybe, they will change the fate of this school as well."