Back in the Hazard Hotel, within room twelve, Rin sat motionless. From a far her charred figure might have been mistaken for a statue, of course that was only if she was not within such a hideous state. The room was bathed by darkness with the only source of light being the flashing lights of the holographic projector.

Rin’s frozen scarlet stare was intently focused on the night show currently airing when suddenly her right eye twitched. With some difficulty, she frowned. Then suddenly her throat began to convulse as if she was about to puke. This action came at the cost of her infernal blood igniting to life, bringing her terrible pain. She ignored the agony however, instead breaking her unmoving state entirely as she raised her right arm and reached into her open mouth with her slender charred fingers.

Taking hold of what was stuck within her throat she yanked it out. Her eyes then narrowed upon the object, in her palm was a small rotten piece of flesh.

That being the finger of a corpse…

*****

Within the second floor of the Meat Harvest shop, the room which Ciel was in had just finished its violent shaking. Along with the restored peace, the room experienced a qualitative change. It was no longer made of shiny new alloy but rather of a layer of old rotting wood.

That had not been all the changes. All around him the meat which were held up by what were now rusty steel hooks revealed themselves for what they actually were; dismembered parts of human corpses.

The sudden change had made Ciel take a defensive stance, however what was the greatest threat hung even higher than the desecrated body parts…

Something thick and moist fell onto his shoulder.

Drip

Drip

Drip

Slowly one drop after another of deep crimson blood began to trickle down like a calm drizzle.

Could it be…

Being suddenly showered by this, Ciel slowly shifted his gaze towards its source.

Towering above him was a large artwork of blood. One which formed a familiar symbol, that of a multitude of twisting lines which combined to forge what appeared like an incomplete spiraled eye.

An eye which embodied both immense eeriness, and dreadful presence. Upon witnessing the familiar unsettling symbol of the incomplete eye, Ciel had only a single thought:

Not good.

Ciel wished to look away, and yet his body hesitated to follow his command. He felt as if he was in a trance upon staring directly into the blood center.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

The eerie incomplete eye was where the blood was thickest, its spreading twisting lines growing thinner the more they stretched out. Furthermore, Ciel was situated directly in the center of the rotten room just below the incomplete eye.

He felt a terrible pressure slam into him with almost tangible fury as his ears began hearing distant whispers. These whispers were insidious and sounded like a thousand voices were layered above each other repeatedly.

Not only that, Ciel also felt a dreadful presence staring back at him. That ominous, domineering gaze was distant and muffled, as if restricted by an unknown force. However, even with its influence restrained, Ciel was not spared of it entirely.

Before he knew it, his flesh shriveled, then slowly began rotting.

Not good.

Despite the terrible situation, Ciel remained calm within his mind. He did not feel fear for his life, however he understood that he needed to act with great urgency should he wish to accomplish his goal.

And the goal is everything.

It was the responsibility which his old self desired to carry. For that reason he could not allow his end to come now.

Ciel tensed his body, then with considerable effort he yanked his head away from staring upon the dreadful incomplete eye. His struggle was as though a force had been tying him in place, however the moment his vision turned away he felt that pressure lessen. Not just the pressure, the whispers grew more quiet whilst the rotting of his flesh slowed considerably.

Drip

Drip

Drip

Blood still continued to drizzle down, yet Ciel paid no attention to this as he shifted towards the direction of the door.

He took a first step, however, before he could take a second. The cold air inside began to stir once more, along with the entire rotten room. The incomprehensible whispers in his ears suddenly spiked, and above him the bloody incomplete eye began to spiral.

In that moment, Ciel understood the will of this unknown harrowing aberration.

It wants me dead.

Ciel tried to move forward regardless but the exit door was slammed shut by the stirring chilly air inside. The tangible pressure which he had felt concentrated before had now spread into the entire room. It grew weaker, unable to prevent his movements completely, instead making his movements sluggish.

Stomp

Stomp

Managing to take two more steps with great difficulty, Ciel could feel the piercing stare which hit his back like a raging tide. The whispers within that direction were also the clearest, almost understandable even, and far more louder.

By now having been exposed to them for so long, his mind was aching terribly. His ears were bleeding as well. Despite it all, Ciel managed to take another step, then another after that. He was now near the shut exit door which had turned into ugly rusted steel.

Ciel was certain he could make it, especially with the rotting of his flesh shifting to primarily affect his back. However before he could reach, the whispers disappeared entirely.

The influence on the room itself also lessened but the drizzle of blood suddenly surged, transforming into a storm. It all came falling down within five seconds, then without hitting the floor, they all converged and barreled into the hanging body parts wrapped on hooks as well as Simon’s corpse.

Ciel felt the room tremble violently once more.

When he stared behind him, he no longer found the eerie symbol of blood upon the roof. Instead what welcomed him was the sight of writhing dismembered body parts which were all reaching out towards him, only restricted by the rusted hooks which bound them.

That was not the focal point either, instead it was the single broad figure which stood a few meters away on the other end of the room.

It was Simon, his corpse had risen.

Beyond that, the dim flickering lights which bathed the room now revealed yet another strange occurrence. With every flicker, when the light shined for a moment, Ciel could catch a glimpse of countless illusory women.

They stood motionless, staring aimlessly into different directions. The only illusory figure among them which Ciel focused on however was the sole man. The reason for that was due to the fact that Ciel recognized that man.

It was Simon.

He was both standing as a lifeless undead, while at the same time to his side, he stood as a vengeful phantom…