I woke up feeling quite exhausted from yesterday. My body felt sore, probably because the day was filled with unusual tension.

I stumbled over to the curtains in my room to let the sunlight in and warm up the room.

But the light coming in wasn’t the warm kind; it was the harsh, blazing sunlight of midday. It seemed I had overslept since I had stayed up all night, and sure enough, when I looked at the clock, it was already one in the afternoon.

“No wonder this light is almost blinding,” I muttered, squinting against the glare.

I remembered the book I found yesterday. It seemed like a good idea to continue reading it, this time in detail. The book felt odd and somewhat boring, and if it was like that, why was it hidden so meticulously? That curiosity pushed me to stay out of bed.

I grabbed the book again and continued to the next pages. This time, I was in the middle of the book. I flipped through the pages quickly.

I noticed that many pages were missing and torn. It seemed someone had deliberately damaged half of the book. My curiosity was only growing. Confused, I continued flipping through the pages, trying to make sense of what was in the book.

The book was in a pitiful state. Information was lost due to the damage. Some pages were still intact but very unclear. Strange symbols appeared on several pages without real continuity. The torn pages only added to my frustration with the book.

There were some pieces of information on the damaged pages, with many repeating phrases about forced reincarnation and taboo matters. “It feels pretty certain that this was deliberately damaged by someone,” I thought.

The oddness of the book made my curiosity burn even more. Even though it was unclear and confusing, I was determined to figure out its meaning.

Maybe I would get a vacation reward just like when I solved a crossword puzzle.

I was so absorbed in studying the book that time flew by. I didn’t move from my spot, engrossed in the strange book, until the sound of the doorbell jolted me out of my reverie.

I stood up, walked to the front door, and when I opened it, I found Eva standing there with her usual cheerful smile.

“Hey, Zoe! Am I right on time?” she said, her tone bright.

“Absolutely, come on in,” I replied, stepping aside to let her enter.

We walked to the living room and sat on the sofa. Eva noticed the book in my hand and raised an eyebrow. “What’s this? Another old book?”

“Yeah, but this isn’t just any old book. It’s full of mysteries and missing pages. I feel like there’s something important inside,” I said, showing it to Eva.

Eva looked at the book intently. “Hmm, this is strange. Why would someone damage it like this? There must be something they didn’t want anyone to know.”

We sat in silence for a moment, pondering. Suddenly, Eva remembered something. “Oh, Zoe! We still have that dinner plan tonight, right? Or maybe watching a movie like we planned?”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I gave a sheepish smile. “Yeah, we do have plans, but…,” I hesitated. “Eva, how about we cancel it? I know it’s sudden, but I really feel like we need to study this book further. Do you mind?”

Eva looked a bit disappointed but nodded. “Alright, Zoe. I get it. If this is important, we can keep working on the book.”

I felt relieved. “Thanks, Eva. I promise we’ll make it up to you later.”

“You owe me a salad,” Eva said, pointing at me with a grin.

“Yeah, of course. You can buy all the salads in the world if you want,” I replied with a small smile.

Eva looked at the book again, her brow furrowing in confusion. “This book is hard to understand, with too many crucial parts missing. But there’s one section that might be a clue for us.”

“What part do you mean?” I asked, curious.

“Here, Zoe. Check this out. It says that someone who performs a forced reincarnation ritual becomes a deviant who is lost,” Eva said, biting her nail in confusion.

“Deviant? I’m even more confused now,” I admitted.

“Maybe that’s the term for the person performing the ritual. It seems like this book hides a big mystery. What do you think, Zoe?” Eva replied without looking at me.

“So there’s a ritual for forced reincarnation. Eva, don’t you think this is getting more interesting? Maybe I could reincarnate as a dragon that breathes fire,” I joked, pretending like fire was coming out of my mouth.

“Use your brain, you idiot,” Eva said, tapping my head. “Do you even get it? A deviant will be a lost soul. That means this ritual is dangerous. Besides, there aren’t any dragons in the world,” she scolded, hands on her hips, though her expression was more relaxed now.

“Hehe, I’m just daydreaming, you know. Is there any other important information?”

“Hmm, the pages after this are damaged. Some pages are just scraps with uncertain information, Zoe. It seems like there’s something we need to prepare for the ritual. This part has many symbols, but some are torn. There’s also a drawing like a sigil. The rest is too damaged,” Eva explained.

“Aaaaarrrggggh. This book’s information is really useless. So what can we do?” I responded, slouching in frustration.

“I’ll look for books in the city library that might be relevant,” Eva said, her eyes shining with hope and determination.

“Okay then, I’ll also search in my library and online.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll head out now. I’ll come back when I find something.” Eva quickly left my house, not forgetting to give me her usual precise jab in the stomach.

I saw her off until she was out of the house. After that, we went our separate ways with different missions. My heart raced as I imagined Eva and I as detectives solving a case.

I went back to my room, turned on my computer to search for information quickly, and planned to check my library afterward.

I stared at my computer screen, fingers trembling as I typed “forced reincarnation ritual” into the search box. Time passed unnoticed, the night grew late, and my eyes started to tire. But each time I clicked on a search result, it was useless—just weird theories and aimless forum discussions.

I also tried searching in the library, but most of the books there I had already read, and there didn’t seem to be any with the information I needed.

Frustrated, I decided to call Eva, hoping she’d found something in the city library. When the call connected, Eva’s voice came through, sounding exhausted.

“Hey, Zoe. I found something,” she said before I could speak. “At the city library, there were some books about reincarnation, but none talked specifically about forced reincarnation rituals. But there’s one book that discusses reincarnation myths from various cultures, and it has some notes on ancient rituals for a second life.”

I let out a long breath, feeling a bit relieved. “That might be a clue. Is there anything connecting it to our old book?”

Eva paused before answering, “Maybe. One of the rituals discussed has strange symbols and sigils, and some of those symbols seem similar to those in our old book.”

I nodded even though she couldn’t see. “We need to make a plan, Eva. We should dig deeper into these ancient rituals and find out more. And bring all the important books to me.”

Eva sighed. “Yeah, we need to plan this out better. Maybe there are other clues we can find.”

With this discovery, we would start making plans. Plans to dig deeper and find information that could help us understand the dark secrets hidden in the old book.

But, were we ready to face the consequences?