Success! Opening notifications worked! Dev allowed herself a moment of celebration, then she cringed. Oof, Albert was never going to figure this out. But that didn’t matter- Albert wasn’t here so Dev couldn’t help him. Yet.

There were two notifications. Time to get cracking. Devorah mentally selected the first one, which was dated to the twentieth of Elul, 7094.

Kind of them, to allow her brain to use the calendar from her home planet.

It took Devorah a minute, but she was able to adjust the date to the common calendar. The common year was likely just 3334.

Devorah tried to stay on task, but allowed herself a moment of sweet relief. The year was 3334. Devorah died in early 3333. She was only missing one year. Just one year. What could happen in a year? Nothing too crazy. Surely her family was still alive back on Samaria, and if Anna made it out then it meant she was still out there too, but where could she go? Would Devorah’s family help her, take her in, guide her? Anna was smart and quick, but even she would struggle to adjust to a world over a thousand years past what she knew.

Damn. Dev needed to calm down. Her chest felt impossibly tight and her eyes couldn’t focus on the message in front of her. She squeezed her eyes closed. Counted to ten. Forced herself to breathe, take breath in nonexistent lungs.

What was even the point of all this? Why even bother to calm down when she was stuck here? Stuck in this shitty office in a fake haunted house? A ghostly puppet in a performance, strings pulled by…

The breath Devorah was holding escaped her as it felt like she was smacked in the head. Ugh, that headache again.

At least the sudden sharpness of it shocked Devorah back into herself.

Steeling her nerves, Devorah read the first message.

Hello Devorah Hazan,

Welcome to your notifications! Congrats on figuring out how to open them. This box will be where you will receive messages and updates regarding your status and situation. There is also a chance that new features will be implemented, and information on them will also be found here. Please check back regularly. We wouldn’t want you to miss anything important!

Thank you for reading!

-Riley

Brand Partnership Manager

Champion's League

Regarding her status and situation, huh? Devorah wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. And by the looks of the italics in her name, this message was probably sent to all the ghosts en masse. Hopefully they wouldn’t be treated as a unified group.

“Reply.”

A window popped up, empty and ready to be written in. Devorah grinned. Time to start a rapport with this Riley person.

Thank you so much for the information, Riley. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to help me settle in. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.

It wouldn’t be good to come on too strong. Devorah hoped she achieved friendly, but not too friendly. This was a possible out to the real world outside of this hell. She didn’t want to take too many risks with it, even if Riley turned out to be a dead end.

Devorah opened up the next notification. This one was dated to the fifth of Cheshvan, 7095. Dev missed her own new year, but it was still 3334 in the common calendar.

About a month had passed between notifications.

Returning Players,

Welcome back to the Champion's League. Though you will not be participating in the game as a player and possible champion, we are pleased to have your cooperation.

This game is set in a haunted house, and you have been selected to be a ghost. Your role will be to provide some good scares and, on occasion, further the plot of the setting. If you are chosen to have a character role, we will reach out to you separately.

Originally, you all were going to appear after the third murder and investigation period. However, after the second murder and first successful investigation, several players located and utilized a ouija board. They were attempting to contact the victim of the second murder. We couldn’t just let this chance pass us by! A haunting as a result of a failed ouija board session makes for perfect entertainment!

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Scaring the players who activated the ouija board will be paramount. Their information will be attached to this notification.

To facilitate your role as ghost, each day you will receive two “power charges.” Each charge will allow you to do one thing from the list below:

* Fully manifest a physical appearance, though you will not be able to touch anything. This will last for thirty seconds.

* Move an object or interact with your environment. This will last for thirty seconds.

* Move beyond your set boundary. This will last for thirty seconds, and upon the completion of those thirty seconds, you will be returned to your boundary.

As the game progresses, if the ghosts are well received, you may receive more “power charges” per day, or get upgraded in other ways. Be sure to work hard!

Here are some more rules to keep in mind before you get started:

* If you are given a role, stay in character!

* Do not let the living players know that you too were once a player.

* If you learn who the reigning champion is, do not indicate that you are aware of who they are.

* Do not tell living players who the reigning champion is.

* You will be made aware of advertisements from our sponsors and product placements. While you are encouraged to interact with your environment, do not touch these items unless instructed beforehand.

Thank you again! You’ll be hearing from us again soon.

-Your Host

That was a lot to take in.

Devorah took a moment to process before she would go on to study the unfortunate souls who were unlucky enough to trigger a side plot. And oof, was there a lot to process.

So twice a day, for now at least, Devorah would get thirty seconds to make an actual mark on the world around her. Unfortunately, there was no way to tell time. At least there was a window in the office she was stuck in. Outside, likely artificial sun was cresting over neatly trimmed green grass.

Devorah was kind of hoping it would have been night, so she’d have more wiggle room to test out the charges. Saving them for now would be the best idea. Being one of the first ghosts in the manor to use them would get her attention, which could mean more information.

Speaking of information, Devorah picked up on one tidbit from the message that buoyed her spirits. Do not tell living players who the reigning champion is. Two parts of that caught Devorah’s interest. Do not tell was the first; while there are ways of communicating that don’t include speaking, it does imply that either speaking is free, and not included in charges, or that speaking will be added in a later update.

The second? Do not tell living players. Devorah was alone now, but she probably wouldn’t be alone forever. This made something deep within Devorah unclench and release, as if a knot was being unwound. This wasn’t an ideal existence, far from it, but there were things she could look forward to in her future.

Of course, there were also the rules she’d have to follow. Dev sighed. Never fancying herself as a rule breaker or troublemaker, Devorah was fine with her assignment as a boring academic. There was just one problem with that, though.

Devorah was really, really, reaaaaaallly nosy.

It made her a great researcher. When you’re nosy about living people, you’re intrusive or a snoop. But busybodying around dead people? That’s the making of a great historian.

Either way, Devorah knew what was good for her. She was going to stay out of trouble! Or more accurately, she was going to make just enough trouble to get some attention.

She opened up the attached list of players to haunt. That would be a good start.

It revealed a series of pictures, with no other information. A bit annoying, but Dev could work with that.

The first was a pale young man with glasses and sandy hair. His costuming indicated that he was likely from the twentieth or twenty first century on Earth. Based on the photos, he seemed to have an excitable countenance, if a bit anxious looking around the eyes. Dev snorted, she could relate to that. Still, in the photo of the inciting incident, his hands looked steady around the ouija board’s planchette.

Next was a woman who looked to be a little older. Devorah couldn’t place her clothes, but her long blouse and skirt indicated that she was from an earlier time period than the first man. She had brown skin and dark hair neatly braided and folded over to create two horn-like shapes. The jewelry she wore glinted in the photos. She didn’t seem to be particularly worried in the photo where she partook in the ouija board, more curious.

After that was another young man who seemed to be from the twentieth or twenty-first century, though Devorah was leaning more towards the twentieth with how colorful his clothes were. This young man had a muscular build, his light brown skin gleaming with health. In every picture except for one, he wore a bright smile. That was the picture of him near the ouija board- he looked like he was about to piss himself in terror.

The next series made Devorah laugh out loud. It was another young man, dressed exactly like a pilgrim from an American Thanksgiving event. That wasn’t even the funny part. In the picture of the ouija incident, he seemed to be crouching behind a couch, hat and eyes barely peeking over the furniture. He was a snoop! Another relatable character.

But it was the last series of pictures that Devorah found the strangest. The young girl captured within was likely from around Devorah’s own time. Either not entirely human, or a victim of intense genetic engineering. The poor thing had cat ears. And a tail. And oof, yup, definitely engineering- the game put her in a little maid outfit.

A catgirl in a maid costume. Dev looked down at her own outfit. And she had complained about a beige sweater and skirt!

But then Devorah heard something she hadn’t expected. And maybe wasn’t even ready for.

There was a voice, saying “let’s look in here!”

And the double doors opened.