Tae Kuo did not answer, he ran to Kevin’s side to observe the candle inside the lantern. The candle flickered and popped a few times. Then all of a sudden, green and purple flames shot upward, almost scorching his and Kevin’s eyebrows.
“You go help him, I’ll take care of this.” Tae Kuo let out an exhale of relief and took the lantern from Kevin’s trembling arms. It was heavy and hot, the “weight” of the malevolent spirits, or at least their temporary projections onto the poor young officer.
An injury from an artifact can sometimes render a person more susceptible to spiritual possessions and influence. Usually it was due to incorrect use of talismans, touching the sacred and blessed trees inside temples or being burned by larger incense burners. Bagua mirror was a very “sharp” artifact that could in theory injure a person if not used carefully, but it was also widely distributed and cheaply manufactured, which meant there were not many authentic ones out there that could really work.
“Thunder, fire and the righteous Qi of the world. Purge the unclean and poisonous ill will that lingers.” Tae Kuo uttered a prayer as he ran his fingers along the upper rims of the lantern, then he turned to Keryn, who was staring at him with a surprised look on “her” face.
“Furnace Lantern. ” “Keryn’s” voice was a bit more serious than before: “Looks like I underestimated you - who made it? Where did you get it?”
“It’s in the family.” Tae Kuo narrowed his eyes at Keryn: “Now I ask once again - who are you? And what do you want?”
“Tell me the truth on who made that lantern, then I’ll tell you.” “Keryn” responded, leering at Tae Kuo and his lantern: “Or else - ”
“Or else you’re gonna stay inside her forever. Yeah.” Tae Kuo took a deep breath, as he reached his hand into the lantern to pick up some melted wax from the short but girthy candle. “But - I think I already know who you are - or who you once were.”
“How?!” “Keryn’s” eyes opened wide: “How could you know anything about this place here?!”
“Because I am not a half ass exorcist.” Tae Kuo stood up straight, his right index finger holding the little droplet of candle wax. He walked over to Keryn and dropped it on Keryn’s forehead: “It’s very obvious, you are everyone who’s been here, and you’re also no one.”
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This answer left everyone, including Marcus and Gloria, silent. Marcus and Gloria exchanged looks as they both strengthened their grip quietly. Kevin gasped, but then immediately started pulling Mick away.
“You are not ONE person, or ONE spirit.” Tae Kuo continued: “You are a piece of memory, a nugget or stone formed by all those who could not make it out. You are not ‘you’. You don’t even know what you are.”
“You’re lying! You’re fucking lying!” “Keryn” screamed: “I am here! I was here! I was alive and I was a person!”
“Yeah, no. Ghosts, even those who died in horrible labyrinths like this, don’t tend to forget about who they are.” Tae Kuo shook his head and poured some rice wine on his still bleeding right index finger. He hissed once again, then proceeded to write on his left palm just like he did before exorcizing Mick: “You want out. You don’t know who you are. But you know enough about the outside world to know about Furnace Lanterns and to ask me who built this lantern. This points to only one thing - you, are not a single person. You are a piece of amalgamated memories.”
“Keryn” lowered her head slightly, as if she was really pondering Tae Kuo’s words. But Tae Kuo did not give her too much time or any kind of window of opportunity, he poured some rice wine into his mouth, blew it onto Keryn’s body and slammed his left palm on Keryn’s forehead.
Keryn’s head and neck began shaking, with an almost inhuman frequency. A deafening high pitched scream exploded from her throat. Tae Kuo grimaced and stepped back for a moment, but it did not stop him from drawing a symbol in the air with his right index and middle fingers. With the silent chant of an arcane spell, Tae Kuo tapped Keryn’s forehead with his two fingers, swung his hand around and pointed at the lantern on the ground.
Gray mist and dust was knocked out of the backs of Keryn’s shoulder and neck. Before long everything began taking shape. As Marcus fixed his eyes on it, it was a human-shaped blob of twisted faces, eyes, nostrils and mouths. All of these shadows of human features were held together by dark threads and the crooked teeth in those gray mouths biting into different spots.
“Continue holding her! Don’t let go!” Tae Kuo dropped some rice wine onto his right hand, then splashed the wine on Keryn’s body before mumbling another spell. As he swung his hand and pointed at the lantern once again, the shadows were sucked into the lantern just like those before. The candle cracked and popped, dark green flames flared and shot into the air, almost burning off the paper exterior.
Keryn struggled for a brief moment before settling down. Her breathing soothed, but she was still not conscious.
“Calm her down. Keep holding her.. ” Tae Kuo took a few deep breaths before sitting down, looking at the lantern: “And - we should get outta here soon. This lantern is very old and I’m afraid it won’t last another try. We must get outta here.”
“How - do you know?” Kevin asked as he checked Keryn and Mick’s pulses and breathing: “I - I don’t think we should go down the stairs again. Something’s not right - every time we go down, something around us gets grimmer and darker.”
“Yes, everytime we go down, there’s more voices, and they grow louder as well.” Mick’s face was pale, there was barely any color on his lips.
“I think I know what to do - luckily I brought just about the right stuff for this - I was kinda thinking that they wouldn’t be useful.” Tae Kuo sighed and reached into his backpack. After a few seconds he took out a small red cloth pouch, from which he pulled three dirty, dull nails - wooden nails.