Lorraine was exhausted. She was just about to leave the hospital when her son suddenly threw up, as if he were expelling his entire stomach. Each year, she grew more concerned about him. She decided to stay a bit later to monitor his condition closely and run additional tests, hoping they might finally reveal what was wrong. Sometimes, his body seemed to break down on itself, but that was all they knew. While she couldn't cure his illness, she could at least manage the symptoms.
As Lorraine was about to leave, the senior surgeon approached her with a deeply concerned expression. Meanwhile, Eli, her son, felt an intense sensation in his stomach, like there was still more inside him that needed to be released. He had no idea what was happening but suspected it was related to his unusual abilities. At first, he thought it was just a side effect of using his powers, but he soon realized it was something different—a deeper, more alarming reaction. Moments later, he heard an ambulance siren blaring outside the window.
Despite his nausea, Eli looked outside and was horrified by what he saw. Around the ambulance swarmed ghostly faces, each marked by a dull expression similar to Mrs. Clara's, but different—these faces were filled with shades of regret, pain, and a blood-red fury, spiraling around the ambulance as if they were trying to funnel into it. He watched in shock as the paramedics stopped the vehicle, rushed to open the doors, and began unloading bodies on stretchers. Hospital doctors hurried outside, checking for vital signs with their stethoscopes. Some doctors shook their heads, indicating a lost life, while others rushed certain patients inside.
The last body they removed seemed to be at the center of the ghostly storm. When Eli caught sight of it, he felt his stomach churn again. He heard a doctor shout, "His pulse is strong! Get him inside, quick!" Eli quickly shut the blinds. It was that man—no, that monster. The air in the hospital felt thick and revolting now, as if even here was no longer safe.
Down in the lobby, Mrs. Macall was anxiously typing on the computer, her hands shaking and her heart pounding as though tomorrow might never come. A small, sharp voice pulled her out of her trance.
"Miss Macall," Eli said. "Can I borrow the phone?"
She looked up, noticing Eli's pale, nauseous face. "You feel it too, huh?" she replied, offering a smile that was anything but cheerful.
Eli was now staying at Mrs. Macall's house. One of the doctors had noticed her distressed state and advised her to leave the hospital. Under normal circumstances, they would need every available hand on deck, but this time, there was no saving these lost lives. Mrs. Macall's son, Scott, was watching TV, even though it was a school night. She was too stressed to say anything, and Eli sat beside him in silence. Scott glanced at him from time to time, sensing that something was deeply wrong with his friend, but he left Eli alone. When Eli wasn't in a good mood, Scott had learned that just being present mattered more than words.
Not long after Scott drifted off to sleep, Eli, still gazing into the distance, heard a strange sound. It was faint, yet it felt close. The voice seemed filled with sorrow. He cautiously opened the door without waking anyone and followed the sound. It felt like he would have to walk a while, but after passing a tree, he suddenly found himself standing in front of a burned-down house, wrapped in yellow police tape. Despite the eerie nature of his arrival, he noticed only a dark forest when he looked back.
He considered returning to Mrs. Macall's, but then the mournful voice called out again. Deciding to investigate, he walked toward the house. Some of the walls still smoked, and the hinges on the front door were loose, creaking as they swung back and forth. Inside, the silence was unsettling. He followed the sound of the voice, which led him to what looked like a kitchen. There, he saw a faint, strange light over the countertop. As he moved closer, the soft crying resumed, barely audible.
Peering over the counter, he saw a small, ghostly girl with blue skin and unnaturally white hair, softly weeping. Approaching her cautiously, Eli placed his hand on her shoulder, where he wore a ring. As soon as he touched her, she stopped crying, and the room fell silent.
"Are you okay?" Eli asked gently.
There was no response at first, but the girl slowly began to lift her head. Eli took a step back. When her face was fully visible, he saw blood-red eyes staring directly at him, as if there was no white left in them at all. The rage, hatred, and despair radiating from her gaze felt like a tidal wave, crashing over him. Eli felt his skin burning, as though he were reliving the terror of flames and hearing his family's screams. He let out a scream of his own as the memories surged, but just as suddenly, the visions disappeared. He looked back at the woman, who was now weeping silently once more.
Eli could sense that these spirits had suffered violent deaths, but he wasn't sure why they remained in this place. The ghost before him seemed lost, replaying the moment of its death over and over, unable to communicate. He realized he would need to calm the spirit first if he wanted to understand what had happened.
He stepped outside, searching for something useful. Following a trail of ethereal essence, he wandered to a nearby tree with a peculiar, stick-like mushroom growing on its trunk. As he turned back, he found himself at the house again, as though it had appeared behind him. All he had with him now was the ring on his finger and the mushroom, but he knew he needed something more.
Continuing through the forest, Eli followed the faint traces of energy. He soon discovered two trees close together, one with a lion's mane mushroom and the other with a mint bush growing at its roots. Glancing around, he noticed the house just behind him, but something about the atmosphere felt strange. Ignoring the odd sensation, he picked a branch from the mint bush and gathered the mushrooms.
Returning to the house, he didn't have access to the special tools he usually used, but he could make do. Melted wax was scattered in various places, and he carefully scraped up bits of it, lighting a small fire outside to melt the wax in a pot he found inside the house. Crushing the mint leaves and both types of mushrooms into a fine powder with a stone, he worked diligently, aided by the attack power of his ring. When he was done, he stirred the mixture into the melted wax and poured it into a small, broken glass cup.
With the candle prepared, Eli held it in his hands and did something he hadn't attempted in a while—he instantly upgraded it using his power. He felt the drain on his energy, almost emptying his reserves, but it was just enough. As he grew older, he noticed that the toll for upgrading items wasn't as severe as before. This experience confirmed it.
Item: Soothing Candle
Level: 1
Mentality: 1/1.5
Description: The light of peace and the smoke of clarity.
Eli took the candle inside, setting it before the crying spirit and lighting it. A strange blue flame flickered to life, and when he looked back, the ghostly woman was gone. Yet he could feel her presence lingering; the atmosphere felt even heavier, pressing down on him.
As he walked past a mirror, he noticed a faint, blue glow trailing behind him. Slowly, he turned around and saw a tall woman with black hair and piercing red eyes standing near the candle, her gaze fixed on the flame. Eli caught flashes of fire and anguish in her eyes, but the intensity had softened slightly. This was only the first step, and he wondered how long it would take before she was calm enough to speak.
He let out a sigh.