Dawn broke over Blackridge Hollow, not with the promise of a new day, but with the lingering dread of the one before. A sickly grey light filtered through the thick, clinging mist, doing little to dispel the gloom that wrapped around Blackwood Manor. The air hung heavy, cloying with the sweet, sickening scent of lilies. The manor itself, a silhouette of cold, ancient stone, seemed to watch them with vacant eyes.
The team was profoundly exhausted. Their faces were gaunt, eyes shadowed from a sleepless night, and a raw edge of weariness gnawed at their nerves. Cana kept unconsciously rubbing her temples, a restless energy vibrating beneath her fatigue. Levy's shoulders sagged, her usually quick movements now a beat slower, as if her limbs were made of lead. Even Yume, who seemed carved from stone, had a stiffness to his posture that betrayed the toll of the last two nights.
Just as they braced themselves for another grim day, the heavy manor doors creaked open. Lord Alaric and Lady Seraphina Blackwood stepped into the hall, their faces drawn with exhaustion and worry. But when their eyes found Elara, a spark of desperate hope flickered to life.
"Elara!" Lady Seraphina hurried to her daughter, kneeling and gently brushing a lock of hair from Elara's face. "You're safe, darling. We're here now. We won't let anything happen to you."
Lord Alaric knelt beside them, his voice trembling with emotion. "We've missed you so much. Rest easy, my dear—we'll keep watch. No harm will come to you while we're at your side."
Lady Seraphina glanced up at the others, her gratitude clear. "Thank you for bringing her back to us. Please… take care of her. She's everything to us."
With Elara now watched over by her parents, the mages felt a weight lift from their shoulders—finally free to turn their full attention to the grim work that awaited them.
Yume, despite his own fatigue, stood with the unyielding composure of Jotaro. His gaze, sharp and assessing, took in every detail of their weary state. His mind, like Batman's, was already processing their options, the relentless ticking clock of the new moon, and their dwindling stamina.
"We have one day left until the new moon," he stated, his voice low and firm, echoing in the quiet hall. "Everything we need to break the curse is here—if we can find it. But we can't afford to be compromised by fatigue. That makes us vulnerable."
He laid out his plan, gesturing to a relatively secure, central room in the manor, near Elara's quarters but separate. "We'll work in shifts. Two will investigate and watch, while one rests. We'll rotate every few hours. One will rest here, under the guard of the active pair. This minimizes exposure and ensures constant vigilance."
Then, his gaze, sharp and unwavering, fell on Elara. "Elara, you are our priority. You need the strongest protection we can provide." With a subtle gesture, the majestic, lion-ape hybrid Enma materialized, blazing with a faint purple aura. Beside him, the radiant Regalus, the giant stag with crystalline antlers, shimmered into existence. "Enma and Regalus will stay with you. Enma's combat prowess is unparalleled, and Regalus will offer healing and ward against any negative energy. They are autonomous and will act to protect you without hesitation."
He turned to Cana, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Cana, that's it—no more alcohol for the rest of this mission. It clouds your judgment and puts you at risk. From now on, you'll have coffee when you're on duty."
Cana's hand hovered near her flask, her jaw tightening in protest. For a heartbeat, defiance flickered in her tired eyes. But Yume's unwavering authority—so absolute it brooked no challenge—made her shoulders sag in reluctant acceptance. She let out a quiet huff, nodding once, the gesture small but sincere. "Fine," she muttered, her voice low. "Coffee it is."
***
Tactical Deployment: First Rotation (Cana Rests)
Yume assigned the first shift: Cana would take the first rest period in the designated safe room. Yume and Levy would begin the initial investigation. As Cana slumped onto the makeshift cot, her body already giving into exhaustion, Viperion, the armored serpent with a sword-blade tail, slithered silently into a guarding position near her, his eyes keenly scanning the room. Alongside him, Sea, one of the Twin Divine Dogs, curled protectively at her feet, its black fur blending into the deeper shadows, a silent, watchful guardian as Cana's heavy eyelids finally succumbed to sleep.
Levy paused at the door, glancing back at Cana. "She'll be safe," Yume assured her, his tone brooking no argument. "We need your mind sharp, Levy."
***
Yume & Levy's Joint Investigation: The Library
The manor's library was a labyrinth of dust-laden shelves, the air thick with the scent of old paper and something faintly metallic. Sunlight, thin and watery, barely reached the deepest corners, leaving the room perpetually shadowed.
Levy rubbed her temples, her eyes heavy. "Yume, where should we even start? This library alone could take days." She gestured vaguely at the towering shelves, a hint of desperation in her voice.
Yume's gaze swept the room, already dissecting the layout. "Focus on anything that deviates from common Blackwood history, Levy. Obscure records, things that seem out of place. My senses," he added, his eyes narrowing slightly as he detected faint, lingering magical distortions, "will guide me to what feels wrong." He moved with a quiet efficiency, his hands running over book spines, his presence a calm anchor.
Levy, buoyed by his focus, found a renewed surge of energy. "Right! Family trees, old marriage contracts, property deeds… anything that whispers of secrets," she murmured, quickly pulling out dusty tomes, already engrossed.
They began their systematic search. Levy, despite her fatigue, plunged into ancient Blackwood family records, faded letters, and brittle journals, her sharp mind making connections. Yume, with his heightened senses, not only assisted her in locating hidden documents but also subtly scanned the room for magical traces or hidden compartments, providing a layer of "Batman" detective work even in this initial stage.
He ran a hand over a section of wall that felt subtly colder than the rest, then moved on, making a mental note. Levy, meanwhile, pointed to a faded diagram. "This… this doesn't make sense for a family tree. Someone's lineage is twisted here, or deliberately obscured." It was a plausible but ultimately incorrect theory, serving to show their struggle.
A cold spot drifted past them, making the hairs on Levy's arms prickle. At her side, Sky's ears flattened, the spectral wolf's gaze snapping to a shadow near the door, while Croakus shifted his massive body protectively between Levy and the chill.
The rhythmic scratching of Levy's pen as she took notes, the soft shuffle of Yume's boots as he meticulously checked behind shelves, tested loose floorboards, and felt for shifts in magical energy that hinted at concealed spaces, added to the tension. The library felt more like a crypt than a sanctuary of knowledge.
***
Red Herrings and Rising Tension
As fragments of information began to surface from their initial library search, subtle contradictions emerged. The "betrayal" hinted at in the diary didn't immediately align with vague whispers of a larger cover-up Cana had heard in the village. "It's like looking at two different puzzles," Levy mumbled, rubbing her eyes, her voice edged with frustration. "One piece implies a tragedy, the other a conspiracy." This added a new layer of confusion, fraying their already stretched nerves.
Even in the daylight, the manor and the surrounding town felt wrong. The sunlight seemed to fall dead on the flagstones, offering no warmth. Cold spots drifted through rooms, making their skin prickle. Fleeting shadows darted at the edges of their vision, and the cloying, sickly sweet scent of lilies seemed to intensify, permeating the very air.
Outside, Sea, still curled near a sleeping Cana, let out a low, soft growl, its fur bristling slightly at an empty corner of the room, then settling, but the brief, unexplained tension lingered. Whispers, almost imperceptible, seemed to follow them—the Bride's presence, simmering just beneath the surface, a chilling reminder of her constant observation.
Small moments of doubt began to creep in. Their exhaustion made them question their own perceptions. "Are you sure you checked that last room properly, Yume?" Levy asked, a hint of paranoia in her voice, then immediately softened. "Sorry. Just… my head's fuzzy." Yume merely gave a small nod, acknowledging her fatigue without judgment. "The curse is subtle, Levy. It seeks to confuse. We must be precise." But the insidious whispers that tried to sow discord were taking root. Is someone missing something crucial? Are they being intentionally misled by the curse itself, or by someone else entirely? A brief, uncomfortable glance exchanged between Yume and Levy, a heavy silence as they considered their fragmented findings, spoke volumes of the growing internal pressure. The weight of their task pressed down, heavy as the mist outside.
***
Initial Discovery: The Hidden Diary
Yume's sensitivity to residual magic led him to a grand, carved desk that seemed to hum with an almost imperceptible energy. After a moment, he found a cleverly concealed false bottom in one of its drawers. Inside, they uncovered a hidden diary, its cover plain and unassuming.
Levy carefully opened the brittle pages. "This isn't a family record," she whispered, her eyes widening as she skimmed the archaic script. "This is personal… and very old. It talks about a 'Bride's' story, a wedding, and a profound 'betrayal' within the family." Yume nodded, his gaze intense. "A secret kept for centuries. It's often the personal narratives that hold the deepest truths."
Levy's pen flew across the page as she took notes, her mind racing. "There's a coded passage here. I'll need time to decipher it. But this… this could be the key."
***
Brief Rest and Shikigami Vigil
Cana, in the safe room, stirred restlessly in her sleep. Viperion's eyes glinted in the half-light, his body coiled protectively. Sea's ears twitched, as if hearing something no human could. In Elara's room, Enma and Regalus stood silent and alert, their presence a bulwark against the encroaching dread.
Elara, sensing the tension, reached out to her parents. Lady Seraphina squeezed her hand, whispering, "We're here. We won't let anything happen to you." Elara nodded, but her eyes remained fixed on the shadows that seemed to move just beyond the candlelight.
***
After their investigative shift, as Cana's rest period ended, Levy meticulously pored over the newly discovered hidden diary. Her brow furrowed in concentration, her analytical mind relentless despite her lingering fatigue. Croakus sat beside her, unmoving, while Sky's ears flicked at every faint creak in the manor. Levy's pen scratched across the page as she painstakingly deciphered a cryptic passage, buried within layers of personal notes and coded language. The message was clear: the curse could only be broken by confronting the "living accomplice"—the one who had enabled the Bride's tragic fate and, perhaps, still perpetuated it.
But the crucial identity was missing. A page had been violently torn away, the last line smeared and illegible, as if the diary itself was fighting to keep its secret. The absence radiated malice, a deliberate insult from the curse.
Levy stared at the incomplete revelation, her breath catching. The horror of a vengeful spirit was one thing, but the idea of a living conspirator—someone walking among them, unseen—chilled her to the bone. "A living accomplice…" she whispered, her voice barely audible, her fingers trembling as they traced the ragged edge of the missing page. The name was lost, and with it, their hope of a clear answer.
As the sun began its slow descent, shadows lengthened across the manor's halls. Silence pressed in, thick and suffocating. Then—a sudden, shattering CRACK split the air. Somewhere in the corridor, a mirror exploded, shards scattering like ice across the floor. An icy wind swept through the manor, extinguishing lamps and making every shikigami bristle and snarl.
In Elara's room, Enma leapt to stand before her, muscles taut, while Regalus's antlers flared with crimson light. Elara's breath misted in the sudden cold. Then, from the darkness behind her, a voice—silken, venomous, and unmistakably close—whispered directly into her ear:
"Your love will be mine, just as hers was. The veil falls tomorrow. Soon."
Elara spun, heart pounding, but there was nothing—only her own terrified reflection in the cracked glass, and the echo of that promise lingering in the frozen air.
All across the manor, the sense of being watched grew unbearable. The time for answers was running out. And somewhere, the Bride was waiting—her eyes fixed on the living, her vengeance nearly at hand.
End of chapter.