The manor's halls were thick with the scent of lilies and the weight of secrets. Shadows pooled in the corners, refusing to retreat even as the day wore on. The team's exhaustion was palpable, but the sense of urgency was stronger. Each member moved with the brittle determination of those who knew time was running out.
***
As the first investigative shift concluded, Levy passed on her findings about the "living accomplice" to Yume and Cana. The revelation hung heavy in the air, a chilling new layer to the mystery.
"This changes things," Cana muttered, her usual carefree demeanor replaced by grim determination.
Levy retreated to the safe room for her rest period. Croakus, the massive armored toad, settled near her, his skin subtly absorbing any ambient magical distortions. Sky, the white Divine Dog, lay alertly at the foot of her cot, its keen senses scanning the room's unseen corners. Together, they provided a formidable and watchful defense.
Yume and Cana, now having had their brief rest, prepared for their investigative shift. Yume's stoicism was unwavering, a solid pillar in the face of the growing threat. Cana, fueled by strong coffee and a grim determination, was more focused than ever, Viperion and Sea remaining close by her side, their forms ready for action.
"We're missing something critical," Yume stated, his gaze intense. "Someone here knows more, or the curse is actively concealing it. We don't have much time before nightfall." His focus sharpened, shifting to identifying the weakness in the curse's design.
***
Yume & Cana's Joint Investigation:
Location: The manor's Old Chapel and Blackridge Hollow village.
As they walked toward the chapel, Cana shivered, pulling her cloak tighter. Viperion slithered closer, a reassuring presence.
"This place feels… heavy, Yume. Like secrets are buried deep."
Yume nodded, his eyes scanning the mist-shrouded path. "Trust your instincts, Cana. That's why you're here." Sea, the black wolf the size of a horse, moved ahead, sniffing the air, its tracking senses alert, occasionally letting out a low, subtle growl at invisible currents in the air.
At the chapel entrance, Cana whispered, "I feel an old, twisted magic here too, not just the Bride's. Something… more enduring. Like a deep wound."
Yume placed a hand on her shoulder, a rare, comforting gesture. "Good. We'll find it."
Inside, the air was heavy, cold, and thick with a palpable sense of forgotten sorrow. Cana's intuition immediately flared, guiding them to a section of the chapel's crumbling altar. Yume's senses were hyper-alert, detecting layers of magical traces—both ancient Blackwood rituals and the more recent, chilling influence of the Bride and the conspirator.
They meticulously searched the chapel. Working together, with Cana's guidance on the energetic anomalies leading them to a specific section, and Yume's direct analysis of the subtle magical residue, they discovered a deeply hidden false wall behind a loose stone. Inside, they found not only more direct evidence of ancient Blackwood rituals but also a sealed, brittle journal, its pages filled with chilling details that directly linked the "Bride's" fate to a specific Blackwood fiancé. This journal shockingly revealed that the "Bride in Veil" was not Lady Isolde, but another woman entirely. Lady Isolde, the journal confirmed, was the woman the fiancé betrayed his intended Bride for, marrying her instead and bringing her into the Blackwood family. The true Bride, consumed by rage and sorrow, then cast the devastating curse upon the entire Blackwood lineage.
Cana's hands shook as she turned the fragile pages. "This… this changes everything. Isolde wasn't the victim. She was the reason."
Yume's jaw tightened. "And the curse isn't just vengeance. It's a cycle. Someone's keeping it alive."
Armed with this new information, Yume sent Swiftwing, his sleek, metallic blue-black falcon shikigami, to conduct an aerial scout of the entire Blackridge Hollow village. From his vantage point, Swiftwing observed specific patterns of avoidance or unusual activity around certain buildings, particularly older merchant homes or the poorer districts, reporting back directly to Yume. This strategic reconnaissance, combining supernatural observation with Yume's sharp detective analysis, helped narrow down potential areas where the accomplice or their lineage might reside.
Cana watched the falcon disappear into the sky, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. "Do you ever feel like we're being watched even in daylight?"
Yume didn't answer immediately. He was listening—to the wind, to the faintest tremor in the ground, to the echo of footsteps that might not belong to anyone living. "We are. The Bride's patience is running out."
***
Shift Change: Yume Rests, Levy & Cana's Final Push
Yume and Cana returned to the safe room, reporting their findings to a now-rested Levy. The weight of the revelations pressed down on them all.
"This changes everything we thought we knew about the curse," Levy murmured, tracing the ancient script in the journal. With the critical information secured, Yume finally allowed himself to rest. Rika, his loyal spectral shikigami, ever-present, became his immediate guardian, her ethereal form ensuring his safety as he finally succumbed to exhaustion.
Cana poured Levy a cup of coffee, her hands trembling. "You're up. Let's finish this."
Levy nodded, her mind sharpened by rest. "We need physical proof. Something undeniable."
***
Levy & Cana's Investigation:
Location: The manor's outbuildings, specifically the cellar Yume had previously identified as a potential ritual site.
Levy's eyes were blazing with intellectual energy. "This journal… it confirms so much! The Bride isn't Isolde! And Swiftwing's observations point to a specific district. But there's still a missing piece—the physical evidence to make it undeniable!" Croakus shifted slightly, his powerful frame a silent reassurance, his skin rippling as if sensing the building tension.
Cana gripped her cards. "We need something solid, Levy. Something that pins this directly to Isolde's lineage."
Levy looked at Cana, a determined glint in her eye. "Ready for this? It won't be easy."
Cana gave a grim smile. "Always. Let's finish this."
Guided by Swiftwing's scout report and the Chapel's revelations, Levy and Cana proceeded to the damp cellar beneath one of the manor's dilapidated outbuildings. The air was thick with rot and the sharp tang of old magic. Levy's keen eye, now fully engaged, spotted an almost imperceptible distortion in the stone wall—a faint magical residue or structural anomaly. Cana used a subtle burst of magic to help break through, revealing a hidden compartment. Inside, amidst dust and decay, lay the bloodstained bridal veil—clearly belonging to the betrayed Bride, imbued with profound sorrow and dark magic—and a tarnished silver locket with faded, specific initials etched into its surface. These initials, now with all the new information, shockingly confirmed the connection to Lady Isolde's lineage, tying them directly to the original act of betrayal.
Cana's hand trembled as she lifted the veil. "It's… heavier than it should be. Like it's soaked with every grudge she ever held."
Levy's voice was hushed. "This is what we needed. This will break the last barrier of lies."
***
As the last rays of the sun began to paint the manor in ominous hues, Levy and Cana returned, the locket and veil grim trophies of their success. Yume, now rested and revitalized, emerged from the safe room, seeing the new evidence in their hands. The revelations about Lady Isolde and her lineage had solidified their purpose. The collective dread about a living traitor, an accomplice hidden in plain sight, was almost palpable.
"Swiftwing's observations, combined with the journal's revelations about Isolde's lineage, point directly to the chapel again," Yume stated, his voice devoid of fatigue now. "The priest is there. He knows more than he let on, and this," he gestured to the locket and veil, "will break him."
The three friends, Yume, Cana, and Levy, moved through the increasingly oppressive atmosphere of the manor, their shikigami silently accompanying them. Croakus lumbered steadily beside Levy, Sky trotting at her heels. Viperion slithered in Cana's shadow, while Sea, the immense black wolf, walked beside her, its steps heavy and deliberate. The scent of lilies was now sickeningly strong, the air thick and heavy.
They found the priest in the Old Chapel, kneeling before the desecrated altar, muttering prayers that sounded more like pleas for mercy than devotion. He looked up, his eyes widening in terror as the three mages and their formidable shikigami filled the chapel's entrance, blocking the fading light. He recognized the immense wolf and serpent from earlier, their presence far more menacing in the chapel's gloom.
A cold fury began to simmer in Cana, fueled by exhaustion and the truth of Elara's suffering. "You know about Isolde," she bit out, her voice dangerously low, stepping forward. From the shadows coiling around her, Viperion's immense, 9.2-meter form emerged, uncoiling with a malevolent hiss, its sword-tail subtly twitching. At her side, Sea, the black wolf as large as a horse, snarled low, its fur bristling, its luminous eyes fixed with chilling malice on the trembling priest. "You know about the betrayal. And you've been protecting her lineage, letting this curse fester!"
Levy stood firm beside Cana, holding up the locket and veil, her analytical gaze unwavering, ready to verify any truth. Yume, his presence like stone, watched the priest with an unnervingly patient intensity.
"Speak the truth, old man," Cana snarled, stepping closer, "or these two will peel it from your bones." Her "oracle" sense was now piercing, allowing no lies to pass. Under the sheer intimidation of the shikigami and Cana's raw fury, the priest broke down, trembling. He confessed everything, his voice choked with fear and shame, revealing the Blackwood family's deepest secret: not just a cover-up, but the continued existence of Lady Isolde's bloodline in the town, and their ongoing, subtle involvement in maintaining the curse—perhaps to protect their own interests, secure power, or out of a twisted sense of duty to a forgotten pact, initiated by their ancestor's betrayal.
"They believed it kept the true Bride's wrath at bay, focusing it elsewhere!" he choked out, tears streaming down his face. "On the innocent, instead of the guilty!"
As the truths were painstakingly pieced together, the supernatural threat dramatically escalated. The true Bride's presence, previously subtle, became violently active, enraged by their trespass into her secrets and the unearthing of her long-buried betrayal. The manor seemed to come alive with malevolent energy, groaning and creaking as if a living entity.
***
Throughout the Blackwood Manor (and subtly rippling into Blackridge Hollow), old mirrors cracked spontaneously, glass shattering with sharp, violent reports that echoed like gunshots. Heavy wooden doors violently slammed shut, seemingly on their own, scattering the team's meticulously gathered notes across the floor with an eerie precision. A cold, aggressive wind whipped through the manor's halls, even inside Elara's heavily warded room, extinguishing lanterns and casting terrifying, fleeting shadows that writhe on the walls. The scent of lilies intensified to an overwhelming, cloying degree, almost suffocating, burning their nostrils. The air itself grew thick, making it hard to breathe, as if the very atmosphere was pressing down on them. Even outside the chapel, Croakus shifted uneasily, his skin prickling, while Sky let out an anxious whine, its fur standing on end.
Elara, despite her parents' comforting presence and Enma and Regalus's vigilant aura (Regalus's crystalline antlers pulsing with a frantic light, Enma's purple flare magic crackling defensively), experienced a terrifying, undeniable vision. She caught a glimpse of the Bride's full, veiled reflection directly behind her in a polished table surface, her eyes burning with furious, otherworldly rage. This reflection lingered longer than before, vivid and horrifying, before dissolving into a ripple of frigid air. This visceral vision reinforced that the Bride was fully aware of their progress and their imminent threat to her ritual.
***
Despite the terrifying external assaults and the shocking confession, the combined weight of Levy's fully deciphered coded name (now understood to be Lady Isolde's name), Cana's desperate confrontation with the priest, and the locket/journal discoveries provided the final, horrifying pieces of the puzzle. The group collectively realized the full truth: the curse was not merely supernatural; it was enabled and sustained by a living accomplice from the Blackwood family's past (the fiancé who betrayed the original Bride), and Lady Isolde's descendant is either currently among them or still living in Blackridge Hollow, actively connected to the curse.
As dusk descended over Blackridge Hollow, painting the manor in blood-red hues from the setting sun, they made a terrifying, immediate connection. Lady Isolde's descendant is not just connected to the past; they are about to become the true Bride's next target—or, more horrifyingly, they are already marked, perhaps subtly affected by the curse without their knowledge, destined to complete the ritual on the night of the new moon.
The Bride's towering shadow, now more distinct and malevolent than ever, stretched across the Blackwood Manor walls, growing impossibly long and menacing as the last rays of the sun vanished below the horizon, plunging Blackridge Hollow into absolute night. The heavy, rhythmic clicking sound of the grandfather clock resonated ominously from downstairs, then stopped dead with a final, chilling CRACK precisely as midnight struck.
Cana, her face pale, whispered, her voice trembling, "She's already here. And she knows who she wants."
End of chapter