A. The Descent into Madness
Standing at the center of the altar, Janet felt the searing burn on her chest intensify as the amber's "eye" unleashed a blinding light. The blue glow of the sigils pulsed rhythmically around the stone platform, creating a symphony of serene chaos. It felt as though countless unseen threads bound her tightly to the altar.
Suddenly, the light exploded in her mind, unleashing a torrent of fragmented visions: her grandmother glaring at her in anger, Mike smirking coldly in the shadows, and countless unfamiliar faces contorted in pain and resentment, pressing toward her.
Janet's body trembled as her gaze unfocused, her emotions surging like a tidal wave—cold detachment one moment, hysterical panic the next.
"What are you laughing at?" she snapped suddenly, glaring at Mike, her voice sharp and icy.
Mike frowned in confusion, his voice calm but wary. "I didn't say anything. I wasn't laughing."
The next moment, Janet's expression shifted, tears silently streaming down her face. "They've all left me… Why did they abandon me?" she murmured, her voice barely audible, as though trapped in an abyss of solitude.
Mike took a cautious step forward, but she whipped around, her eyes flashing with ferocity. "Stay back! You don't understand! You'll never understand!"
B. Mike's Confusion
Mike stood to the side, helpless and bewildered. The burning on his chest persisted, but unlike Janet's violent reaction, he felt only a vague sense of oppression. He saw no visions, heard no voices, only a suffocating atmosphere as if countless invisible eyes were watching him.
"Janet!" he called out, raising his voice to reach her, but she remained unresponsive, lost in her turmoil.
Her emotions fluctuated wildly—laughing maniacally one moment, sobbing the next, then muttering under her breath, "It's them… They're watching me… You're lying to me too, aren't you?"
Mike took another step toward her, but each movement felt heavier, as though the altar's energy was warning him away.
"Is this an illusion? Or is she losing her mind?" he muttered to himself, frustration mounting. He tried to rationalize what was happening, but logic felt powerless here.
C. The Inner Struggle
Janet suddenly froze, clutching her head as if wrestling with some unseen force. Her ears were filled with a cacophony of voices:
"You left the stove on! Go back now!"
"Your house has been robbed!"
"The jade bracelet was knocked over by the cat!"
The voices crashed over her like waves, urgent and oppressive, tearing her thoughts apart until she couldn't distinguish reality from illusion.
"Enough!" she screamed, her voice echoing through the altar. She forced herself to sit cross-legged on the ground, closing her eyes and murmuring a mantra to center herself.
But the intrusive voices only intensified, as though the spirits were determined to disrupt her.
"They don't want me to find peace," Janet realized. These voices weren't her own thoughts—they were external intrusions. The spirits were trying to prevent her from meditating.
Taking a deep breath, she focused entirely on her inner self, pushing through the clamor in search of her own calm.
D. Truth Within the Bubbles
As Janet's introspection deepened, the noise faded, and the fragmented visions dispersed like clouds in the wind. Her soul seemed to ascend, breaking free from the confines of the altar into a higher plane.
From this elevated perspective, she saw the countless spirits swarming the altar. Some darted about like worker bees, navigating the energy streams of the sigil. Others, predatory and ravenous, projected illusions and deceptions into human minds.
The illusions were like bubbles spilling from a giant machine, vibrant and dazzling, yet empty and ephemeral.
"They're just toying with our minds," Janet murmured, a glimmer of clarity in her eyes.
She reached out with her spiritual will, commanding the spirits: "Stop."
Instantly, some spirits ceased their activities. The illusions crumbled like severed strings, leaving the altar quieter, lighter. Janet felt her soul grow less burdened.
Diving deeper, she saw more parasitic spirits clinging to the sigil's energy, feeding on human emotions and consciousness while sowing chaos in return.
"They're not guardians—they're parasites," she said, her voice trembling with shock and anger.
E. Shutting Down the Altar
Janet's soul ascended further, revealing the altar's entire structure. It was a nexus for spiritual entities, drawn by the sigil's energy. Their activities perpetuated a toxic cycle: hallucinations, mental disturbances, and the spread of negative emotions.
"This is a poisoned system," Janet said coldly, the sigil on her chest glowing faintly in agreement with her realization.
Using her spiritual power, she soothed the lesser spirits, dispersing them with a mantra designed to cleanse and pacify.
"Enough. This ends now." Janet pressed her hand to the sigil etched on the stone platform.
As her intent flowed into the altar, the glowing sigils dimmed, the amber's light faded, and the space fell into a profound stillness.
Mike, standing at a distance, couldn't see the spirits Janet had encountered, but he felt the oppressive energy dissipate. The burning in his chest subsided.
"What did you do?" he asked, his voice tinged with curiosity and suspicion.
Janet stood, her gaze calm yet resolute. "I shut down the altar—at least temporarily."
She paused before continuing. "The so-called 'guardians' are just spirits breeding here. They create chaos and manipulate human minds. This isn't a secret worth protecting."
Mike frowned. He didn't fully understand her words, but his instincts told him the situation was far more complex and dangerous than he'd imagined.
Cliffhanger
The sigils on the altar went dark, and the "eye" in the amber closed. Everything seemed peaceful once more. Yet, the sigil on Janet's chest flickered faintly, as though hinting at another storm brewing.
"This is only the beginning," Janet whispered, her voice heavy with a meaning she couldn't yet articulate.