Ryan now finally realized.
The Lantern aspect was, in a sense, incredibly dangerous, because “seeing” itself was contact.
If he were just an ordinary person, he probably wouldn't have sensed anything at all, only feeling that the courtyard had grown a bit colder.
But precisely because he saw it, a connection had truly been established between them.
Thinking of this, a chill ran down Ryan's spine.
He had to be much more careful in the future; he absolutely could not look around carelessly.
He finally retreated to the vicinity of the door, where Irene had already cracked it open from inside.
She was staring outside, her face pale.
“Ryan...”
“Go inside,” Ryan said, his voice raspy. “Lock the door.”
Irene didn't move. She clearly wanted to say something more.
But in the next second, the mass of shadow suddenly “slid” forward slightly.
The air temperature plunged once more, and Ryan's scalp tingled with dread.
The glow in his eyes suddenly flared for an instant.
“Get back!” he practically growled.
The entity froze again, and the whispers in the air suddenly became chaotic, like radio static.
At the same time, unstable fluctuations began to ripple across its edges, looking like smoke being dispersed by the wind.
Ryan immediately realized—its time was almost up.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, the mass began to slowly disintegrate.
First the arms, then the edges of its body.
Finally, even that blurry, blank “face” faded away bit by bit.
The whispers in the air drifted further and further away, as if sinking into very deep water.
The temperature in the courtyard also finally began to recover, and the brazier flared back to life.
A few minutes later, there was absolutely nothing left in the darkness, leaving only the ordinary night.
Ryan stood in place, silent for several seconds.
Then, his vision suddenly went black as a violent headache surged.
He grabbed the doorframe, nearly collapsing.
Irene quickly reached out to support him.
“Are you okay?!”
Ryan panted for a few breaths.
The burning sensation in his eyes finally receded slowly, but his head still felt as if it had been struck by a hammer.
He closed his eyes and rested for a long time before speaking in a low voice.
“In the future... don't touch this kind of thing again.”
Inside, Lucy and Martha were completely terrified.
Especially Lucy; her face was as white as paper.
Although they couldn't see the source of the coldness and pressure just now, it didn't mean they couldn't feel it.
The atmosphere in the room was incredibly oppressive.
Lucy sat on a chair, her face pale.
The girl who had been so excited just moments ago was now completely silent.
Needless to say, Martha was already on the verge of tears.
Irene, meanwhile, kept staring at Ryan.
There was a clear look of doubt in her eyes.
She wasn't stupid.
Even though she hadn't actually seen that thing just now, she could feel it—Ryan knew what it was, and it wasn't just “knowing.” It was as if he had even come into contact with it before.
Ryan took a few breaths, and the throbbing pain in his head finally eased slightly.
He glanced at the others, then spoke in a low voice: “Listen. Nothing happened tonight.”
Lucy blinked, startled. “But just now—”
“Nothing happened,” Ryan interrupted her directly, his tone much heavier than usual.
Silence returned to the room.
Ryan continued:
“You guys just played for too long and scared yourselves. The fire went out and the glass moved—it could have been the wind, or maybe the table was uneven. Don't play with this kind of stuff again. Especially on a night like tonight.”
Martha nodded immediately.
Now, let alone a seance, she probably didn't even want to touch the brazier anymore.
But Lucy still couldn't help whispering, “But just now, you clearly—”
Ryan gave her a look. “Don't discuss it. And don't go talking about it outside. Remember, nothing happened tonight.”
He was now gradually understanding a dangerous logic of the cultist world.
Once many things were repeatedly mentioned and constantly recalled, in a sense, it was equivalent to continuous “gazing.” This was especially true since ordinary people's minds were already unstable.
If they actually treated tonight's event as a haunting and talked about it everywhere, it might instead continue to attract the Invisible Arts.
Irene remained silent for a few seconds before finally nodding.
“I understand.”
Ryan looked at Lucy and Martha again. “You two as well.”
The two girls nodded immediately.
Especially Lucy.
She had completely lost her previous boldness.
She didn't even dare to look out the window.
Seeing this, Ryan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He massaged his throbbing temples and said, “Get some rest early.”
With that, he turned and left.
The staircase was very quiet, with only the old wooden floorboards creaking softly.
Ryan slowly returned to the attic.
Only after closing the door did he truly relax a bit.
He sat on the edge of the bed as an overwhelming wave of exhaustion washed over him. Tonight's exertion had been too great.
Especially at the end when he used The Glory to suppress that thing; his head was still throbbing in waves now.
His eyes were also incredibly sore. Ryan sat in silence with his head lowered for a long time before finally pulling the bottle of laudanum from the drawer.
Only a little deep brown liquid remained in the glass bottle. He hesitated for a few seconds, but ultimately still poured a small sip.
The bitter taste of the medicine quickly spread across his tongue, slowly turning into a sluggish warmth.
Ryan closed his eyes and leaned against the bedside, resting for a long time.
Only after that familiar numbing sensation gradually spread did he take off his coat and slowly lie down.
The faint voices of drunkards on the street could still be heard outside the window.
Halloween was not yet over, and London remained boisterous.
But Ryan no longer had the energy to think about anything else.
Soon, his consciousness began to slowly sink. The familiar feeling of weightlessness appeared once more, like falling into very deep water.
And then—
The dream began.
At first, it was still that same Glory's Wood.
The pale woods stood in quiet stillness, with faint golden glimmers floating in the air. Everything was just as before, and Ryan instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.
But in the next second, he suddenly noticed something was wrong.
It was too quiet. Previously, when he entered this place, the air always carried a certain warmth, like sunlight filtering through the trees.
But today, a cold, damp sensation permeated the depths of the woods.
Ryan slowly came to a halt. Then, he heard a voice.
“...Seen it...”
Ryan's body instantly froze. This voice was exactly the same as the one in the courtyard.
In the next second, deep within the woods, a grayish-black figure slowly emerged from behind a tree.
No face.
No features.
Only a blurry, blank space.
It stood there quietly, as if it had followed him all the way from reality into his dream.
A chill instantly ran down Ryan's spine.
“Fuck...” He finally realized.
Although he had managed to wear that thing down until it dispersed just now, a connection had already been established between them.
And dreams—they were originally the places where it was easiest to come into contact with the Invisible Arts.
The thing began to slowly move forward, its movements still like a sliding shadow. Even the glow in the air seemed to dim slightly.
His scalp tingling, Ryan turned and ran.
The woods were filled with pale tree trunks, and the ground beneath his feet was covered in damp, cold fallen leaves.
Yet, that thing followed behind him, neither fast nor slow.
The whispers drew closer and closer.
“...Let us in...”
“...The Glory...”
“...You've seen it...”
Ryan's heart was beating so fast it felt ready to burst.
He finally regretted it now.
He shouldn't have forced himself to use the glow of The Glory to suppress it tonight.
The Lantern's “gaze” was too deep.
Once you truly saw, many things would trace that gaze right back to you.
And right at that moment, deep in the woods ahead, a beam of exceptionally bright golden light suddenly appeared.
Rate on N.U.
