The next few days were…rough for Belle. He wasn't as affected as he thought he'd be at watching someone die in front of him, but he wasn't not affected either. He didn't have nightmares about it or anything but the death in his mind was a permanent reminder of what he failed to do. Even though there was nothing he could do in that situation, it just reminded him that people might die to ghosts every day, and barely anyone would know what really happened to them. He went over his thoughts and turned back to the system after a bit, he had a total of 500 Ghost Points now and tons of things to spend them on. The gun cost 50 points to upgrade and the axe cost 500, the Ghost Capsule, kusarigama, and cleaver all cost 100 points. The system itself cost 500 points to upgrade so he left it alone, aiming to save some points. He eventually decided upon the gun and the Ghost Capsule, he wanted to save up to buy the system upgrade next time.
[The Abyssal Gun is lighter than the Demonic Gun model before it, allowing easier shots with less recoil. For any sharpshooter it is a must-have on the field, allowing you to exorcize any spirits you come across easily.]
[The spirit inside the Ghost Capsule has regained more memories of its past life, along with the knowledge of how to use its latent abilities.]
The gun is Belle's backup weapon and it seems the upgrade has made it easier to use, he'll summon Cam soon to interrogate him on the new memories to see if they can piece together any clues. He also received a new ability from defeating the shower ghost, the ability explains itself, [Nightvision]. Now he'll be able to see in the dark and won't be caught off guard by anything crawling around. With all of that done, Belle heads toward the next main mission, which is called [Tranquil Mountain Hot Springs]. His hand freezes just over the mission, the name brings back some of his earliest memories. Of walking into a hot spring and spotting a woman, just in the shadows, a cruel grin on her face and her red eyes leering at him. He turned the corner to find her, and she was gone like she never existed in the first place. The Tranquil Mountain Hot Spring was a key tourist attraction of his hometown, a place where tourists could rest and relax after a long day. But it had closed down when he was still a child, the walls and windows boarded up after an accident. He hesitates for a moment, before clicking on the info for the mission.
[A run-down hot spring resort that is in the process of being refurbished, it originally closed down after a woman drowned in the hot springs and they were forced to close for a bit. After opening back up the business was worse due to competition from the city, recently hot springs are a big hit again so a company bought the hot spring and is trying to bring it back to its former glory. Do you accept this mission?]
[Yes] [No]
He stares at the button, does he really want to accept this? There has to be a ghost there, and the people refurbishing it could be in danger, but accepting it means going back. He doesn't know if he's ready to return, the memories of the night he left flashing through his mind.
"Just leave!"
"Fine!"
"I never want to see you again!"
It's been a few years, but the memories are still decently fresh, even after therapy and extended talks with Liz. But the thought of the people in his town who cared about him, or the people he doesn't know that could die, makes him press the [Yes] button. His selfishness isn't going to get in the way of a dangerous situation, that wouldn't be fair. He doesn't want Liz or Leslie to go, he wants to do this trip alone. So when Liz comes home that night he tells her he'll be going out sometime in the next few days for a stream. A day later, an old friend calls him.
"Hey, Belle, it's Tommy, I wanted to ask you something." The person on the other end introduces himself. Tommy is his old friend from high school, they haven't talked much outside of birthdays once high school was over, but Belle has fond memories of him. If he remembers right Tommy was working as an architectural consultant now.
"Sure, what is it?" Belle answers.
"I saw some of your streams online, I was kind of wondering if you could come back home and check out this place I'm consulting on. It has a weird vibe, I feel like someone is watching me and I get chills in random places, stuff is always moving around and the other day a worker got pushed off a ladder. I swear I'll pay you, but nobody is listening to me and I had nobody else to turn to." Tommy explains.
"I can be there by tonight, can I stay at your house and check it out the next day?" He asks.
"Sure, see you soon." There's a sense of relief in Tommy's voice as Belle hangs up the call. With the plans made, Belle starts packing his stuff, Liz is gone with the car so he leaves a note and leaves to take the bus. The bus ride is quiet, Belle spends most of it with some headphones plugged in listening to music and watching the scenery. It drops him off about a mile outside of the town and he has to walk the rest of the way in. Once there, he texts Tommy to ask about his address and upon getting it he heads over and knocks on the door.
"Belle! It's good to see you." Tommy quickly opens the door and greets him with a hug. Tommy is tall, with black hair and a pair of glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose, he's handsome and has a distinguished air to him.
"I'm a bit tired so do you mind if we talk about the details tomorrow morning?" Belle asks hesitantly, Tommy shuts the door behind him.
"Sure, sure, the guest room is this way." Tommy leads him through the house, it's quaint, with wood flooring and light green paint on the walls, decorated with comfy furniture. He wishes Tommy goodnight and unpacks his stuff, falling onto the bed and closing his eyes.
"It's good to be back." He whispers to himself. The town is just as he remembered, the quick glimpse he had of it showed that it was just as barren as when he'd left. With thoughts of tomorrow running through his mind Belle lets himself fall into a light sleep.