She was lost.

  Where should she go to find the shadow ghost again?

  Rumi wandered through the desolate park, having taken a wrong turn.

  Her hands were full of shopping bags that swayed as she walked, making her look like she'd just finished a shopping spree.

  Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she stopped in the middle of the park. At the edge where the park met the forest, she'd spotted the shadow ghost again.

  The shadow ghost, towering three meters tall, stood motionless at the distant forest entrance.

  Rumi rushed toward the forest entrance in pursuit of the ghost. In response, the spirit glided deeper into the woods with an ethereal movement.

  She was about to follow it into the forest when something made her hesitate at the entrance. The blood-red sky, the mysterious tolling of bells from somewhere unseen, and a crumbling house visible deep within the woods – this entire scene filled Rumi with an inexplicable sense of unease.

  A cold wind whistled through the trees, sending dead leaves pattering down onto her head. Goosebumps rose on her skin.

  "..."

  She shouldn't go any further.

  Rumi quickly came to her senses, remembering that even with her curse immunity, entering the forest would be dangerous. This forest lay outside the village's official boundaries – anyone who ventured in carelessly might lose their way forever.

  Moreover, the blood-red sky meant sunset was approaching. Once night fell, troublesome spirits would swarm around her like mad.

  Yes, it was time to head back.

  Still, it pained her to lose track of the shadow ghost again. After all, it was that very ghost that had led her into this spirit-haunted world in the first place.

  Reluctantly, Rumi turned to retrace her steps. That's when white spirits began emerging one by one from between the Y-shaped markers scattered throughout the park, as if they'd been waiting for this moment.

  But the number of appearing spirits was far greater than she'd expected.

  This was no ordinary park.

  "Heehee!“

  Suddenly, one ghost materialized right in front of her.

  "My, what a deliciously tempting body!“

  The ghost passed straight through Rumi’s body with a whooshing sound.

  "Ugh!“

  The wretched spirit had tried to possess Rumi. But no ghost, no matter what kind, could ever possess her.

  Rumi was the world's only person immune to curses.

  Still, having spirits pass through her body in their attempts at possession wasn't exactly pleasant.

  "How dare you lowly spirits try to possess this sacred body! Get lost, all of you!“

  Rumi finally pulled out a lantern marked with the Y symbol from her bag, lit it, and thrust it toward the spirits.

  "Eeeek!“

  The spirits recoiled from the light.

  Still holding the lantern, Rumi looked around for the way back... but strangely, she couldn't see any exit from the park.

  The only thing visible from this hilltop park was the illusory mirage city showing off its night scenery beyond the horizon.

  Rumi wanted to use the mirage city as a reference point to calculate which direction she'd come from, but its position shifted every time she looked at it, making it useless as a landmark.

  Finally, she started moving in what seemed like the direction she'd come from, trying to retrace her steps from memory.

  But no matter how much she wandered, she couldn't find the park's exit.

  The sky grew increasingly red, and the ominous bell tolling seemed to be getting louder.

  A feeling of claustrophobia began creeping in.

  Rumi took a deep breath, then remembered something and quickly opened her scripture book.

  Flipping through the pages, she found a particular passage:

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  "Even if I'm cursed with blindness in the future, I don't want to die now, so let me see!“

  She closed her eyes and recited the verse. Then, pulling out holy water from her bag, she splashed it directly into her eyes.

  When she opened them again, the scene before her had changed dramatically.

  The sky had grown completely dim, and thick fog blanketed the entire park.

  Though it was the same place, it felt as if time had suddenly jumped forward.

  Then she noticed a light approaching through the fog in the distance.

  Instinctively, Rumi began running toward the light in the mist. As she did, she seemed to be finally leaving the park behind.

  Shortly after, she reached the park's exit.

  A red thread had been strung around the exit – something she hadn't noticed when entering.

  "Huff... huff...“

  Rumi turned around one last time before leaving the park.

  The shadow ghost was nowhere to be seen.

  Instead, dozens of spirits seemed to be following her from a distance.

  "Are they crazy...?“

  As Rumi ran out onto the road to escape the pesky spirits, she finally realized what the approaching light had been.

  It was a motorcycle that had just passed in front of her.

  After standing dazed for a moment, she rushed into the middle of the road to flag down the passing motorcycle.

  "Excuse me! Wait a moment!“

  The bike rider must have heard her because they stopped a short distance ahead.

  Rumi hurried to catch up with the stopped motorcycle.

  The rider was wearing a helmet and clothes that looked like a delivery uniform.

  Rumi raised her lantern to check the rider's face.

  But this wasn't a human face at all.

  It was a white skull wearing a helmet.

  "Oh! Mister, are you a ghost?“

  The skeleton man flinched away from the lantern's light.

  "You can tell I'm a mister just by looking at my skull? Yes... I'm a mister. So would you mind lowering that Y-marked lantern?“

  When the skeleton man spoke, his bones made clicking sounds as they moved.

  "Ah, yes. Just a moment...“

  Rumi kept the lantern raised a bit longer, curiously examining this unfamiliar skeleton ghost, before blowing out the flame with a gentle puff.

  "Why are you in such a dangerous place at this hour?“

  "I got lost.“

  The skeleton man examined the lost girl with his empty eye sockets.

  "Hmm... Are you that outsider who arrived recently?“

  "Yes, how did you know?“

  "It's obvious since you walked through that park and came out unscathed. I'm a newspaper delivery man, you see. No news escapes my ears.“

  Rumi noticed that the skull actually had no ears.

  "I know you've been assigned to the Fellman household. And I also know what happened in this park 25 years ago...“

  "What...?“

  Though the skeleton man's skull made it impossible to read his expression, Rumi had the distinct feeling he was smiling.

  "Heading home?“

  "Yes.“

  "Hop on the back. I'll take you to the Fellmans'.“

  "Is that really okay?“

  Rumi felt suspicious, but it was getting dark, and spirits were gathering. It would be dangerous and difficult to find her way home alone.

  She climbed onto the back of the motorcycle, gripping the skeleton's thin back.

  The motorcycle started up and began cruising through the eerie neighborhood streets.

  'Brrrr...?‘

  Only then did she notice something strange – this motorcycle made no engine noise at all.

  After a while, a fine mist-like rain began falling from the sky, as if sprayed down.

  "Ah, it's raining... ugh...“

  "Yes, but be thankful it's not the cursed black rain.“

  "Yeah... that's true.“

  "By the way, mister, what was that thing you mentioned about the park? What happened there?"

  "Hmm... Something truly terrible happened..."

  "What kind of terrible thing?"

  "Well... It's too horrific to tell someone like you just yet."

  "Mister, if you're trying to scare me, it won't work. I'm different, you know."

  "Oh? Then... where do you think I'm taking you right now?"

  The skeleton man's voice suddenly turned menacing.

  "Mister, I recognize this area. You're going the right way."

  "Hmm... is that so?"

  "Anyway, what happened in that park?"

  "I'm sorry, but I really can't tell you... I can only say that something very bad is going to happen to you..."

  "That's impossible... I'm immune to curses!"

  "I'm not talking about curses."

  "Then what are you talking about?"

  "You don't need to know just yet..."

  The motorcycle cut through the foggy streets and eventually arrived at a house.

  It looked like a typical American suburban home, but in reality, it was a haunted house.

  "You really did take me home. I guess you weren't a bad ghost after all, mister."

  Rumi dismounted from the motorcycle and bowed politely to the skeleton deliveryman.

  "Nobody knows if I'm good or bad... Take care. Good luck with your enrollment tomorrow."

  "Thank you, Mr. Skeleton."

  Rumi didn't remember mentioning her enrollment tomorrow, but she turned toward the house anyway.

  The two-story family home looked oddly normal for this ruined world.

  Before passing through the gate, Rumi checked behind her to see if any spirits had followed.

  Fortunately, none had made it this far.

  Following her usual routine, Rumi dusted herself off, made the Y-sign blessing, said a quick prayer, and then knocked on the door.

  Knock knock

  A moment later, Mr. Fellman flung the door open.

  The smell of delicious stew wafted out from inside.

  "Rumi, we were worried. Where have you been?"

  "I got lost on my way back from shopping."

  Behind Mr. Fellman floated Mrs. Fellman's ghost.

  The ghost wife looked incredibly young compared to the middle-aged Mr. Fellman.

  "Come in quickly, Rumi. Dinner's just ready."

  Mrs. Fellman's ghost spoke.

  Ghost voices were usually faint, whispering in your ear even from a distance.

  "Okay!"

  Rumi set her bags down by the bathroom and washed her hands.

  On the dining table, steaming bowls of vegetable stew were already served.

  The sight of good food immediately lifted Rumi's spirits.

  "Thank you for the meal!"

  Rumi began eating with Mr. Fellman.

  Across from them sat Mrs. Fellman's ghost with an empty bowl, watching Rumi eat with a content expression.

  Mrs. Fellman's ghost looked more like a young girl than a wife.

  She had an incredibly cute face, a relaxed expression, and a green scarf covering her neck – suggesting she might have died by decapitation.

  As a beneficial house spirit, she'd been protecting the house and her husband for ten years.

  Rumi thought that if she had to live with a ghost, one with such good looks that never aged wouldn't be too bad for ten years.

  "Did you get all your enrollment supplies?"

  "Yes, just one more thing to prepare. It's called a second-grade holy relic for protection... do you think I'll need it?"

  "To be honest, I don't think you will.“

  Mrs. Fellman answered.

  "Right? Though I might try making one anyway."

  "You're going to try making a Grade 2 sacred relic by yourself?"

  RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE

  Suddenly, all the windows in the house began shaking as if there was an earthquake.

  The Mrs. Fellman’s expression darkened.

  "Rumi, where exactly did you get lost earlier?"

  Mrs. Fellman asked with a worried expression.

  "Well... after finishing shopping at the plaza, I took a wrong turn and got lost in some kind of park."

  "What...? A park near the plaza – you don't mean Sunset Cemetery, do you?"

  "Cemetery...?"