The Empty Mirror
Chapter 50: Incident
██████ Esoterica
This present document bears witness to the unprecedented extravagance of unknown nature.
Principal Researcher: Geom. ██████
Assigned Name: Ghostfire
Designated Code: G837-2
Background: In the city [REDACTED], recognized as the incandescent jewel of carnal delights, stands as an epicentre of unheard-of wealth on the continent [REDACTED]. Here, in this paradise of damnation, the devourers of the forbidden find their sanctuary. Despite the ostentatious dominance of the orthodox churches, particularly the Church of the Plague, this city bows to a dethroned deity, [REDACTED], the lord of lechery and voluptuousness. Though worshiped in whispers in the shadows, it's an open secret. Ecclesiastical institutions, in a subtle game of chess, choose not to intervene directly, preferring to move their pawns on the board of deceit to appease popular beliefs, thus maintaining their own dominion. Nevertheless, faith in the fallen god persists, fueled by repulsive and despicable tributes, as is customary in any cult. [REDACTED] thus becomes a fiscal refuge where the powerful and wealthy of the continent come to celebrate their darkest and most decadent fetishes.
A city wrapped in the dark cloak of seduction and temptation, where every corner murmurs its secrets and every corner whispers promises of pleasure, a city where luxury and lust intertwine in an eternal dance. As you walk its streets, you are surrounded by decadent and exquisite architecture. The baroque buildings rise majestically, their ornate balconies and reliefs exalt beauty and passion. Gas lights flicker in the darkness, casting golden flashes on the marble facades and dark wooden doors.
Intoxicating aromas blend in the air, merging the scent of flowers with the smoke of cigars and the spicy aroma of exotic spices. Sensual music resonates from clandestine ballrooms, attracting both the carefree and the lost to the city's pulsating heart. Brothels are oases of pleasure and temples of ecstasy, where the darkest desires and wildest fantasies find their fulfillment. Each establishment is a refuge of indulgence, with opulent rooms adorned with velvet, silk, and lace. Courtesans, dressed in provocative attire and captivating gazes, offer company and solace to those seeking to escape the monotony of everyday life.
But behind the facade of opulence and extravagance, lurk its own sinister secrets. In the shadows, rivalries among brothel owners smoulder like embers, and territorial disputes are often settled with violence. Yet, for those craving pleasure and excitement, it remains an earthly paradise where deepest desires can be fulfilled.
Politicians and aristocrats, alongside the powerful from other religious denominations, indulge recklessly in blasphemous delight in this city of excesses. Rumours proclaim that in this corner of the world, there are more brothels than citizens, a population diluted among potentates and courtesans, where the red-light district encompasses the entirety of the urban area. Here stand the most sumptuous and prominent temples of lust in the known world, where orgies and atrocities of every caliber are celebrated. The boldest and most excessive debaucheries, including sodomization and other perversions, find their place in these crimson brothels, where the eventual resurrection of [REDACTED] is awaited after his defeat. However, in recent weeks, a cataclysm has shaken this paradise of lasciviousness, starting with the mysterious case of the individual consumed by the ghostly fire of voluptuousness.
Case 1: Pierce Boddy, a magnate of the era, born into a wealthy family with vast holdings in the northern part of the continent. The sole heir, he inherited his father's industrial empire, focused on coal exploitation and other mining activities. With an imposing presence and exquisite manners, Pierce is renowned for his business acumen and his ability to make daring decisions. Despite his youth, he has proven to be a visionary leader, successfully expanding the family empire and consolidating his position as one of the foremost coal magnates in the region.
His wealth has afforded him an opulent lifestyle, with an elegant mansion in the countryside and a residence in the city, where he is a prominent figure in high society. He frequents charity events and business gatherings, captivating his peers with his eloquence and profound knowledge of the business world. Although his material success is undeniable, Pierce is also known for his philanthropy, making generous donations to educational causes and the welfare of miners. However, his power and influence are tarnished by rumors of unfair labor practices and ruthless exploitation of natural resources.
Behind the mask of respectability lies a libertine and degenerate who revels in the city's dens of depravity. This incident dates back to a few weeks ago when Pierce hired several courtesans and led them to a nearby hotel, where he hosted a despicable orgy among young women and men, with himself at the epicenter of delight. A bacchanal focused on a single individual indulging in voluptuousness, engaging in successive or simultaneous sexual encounters with those who are the object of his attention. Pierce was last seen holed up in the hotel with those women and young men, but he never emerged from its lubricious depths, nor did any of those who accompanied him in his depravities. His bodyguards and friends, initially concerned about his disappearance, forcibly broke into the apartment, only to be met with a scene of death and distress.
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The room, saturated with the lingering aroma of desire and unrestrained passion, transforms into the stage of an infernal spectacle. In the heart of darkness, colourless flames danced in a voracious frenzy, devouring every trace of the orgy that once filled the space with its echoes of pleasure. The scorching heat turned intertwined bodies into distorted shadows, melding them into an amalgam of charred flesh and bone. The furniture, silent witnesses to unbridled lust, twisted and disintegrated under the incandescent fury, while the walls, soaked with sweat and fervor, yielded to the relentless pressure of the devouring fire.
In the blink of an eye, the room plunged into a sepulchral silence, its atmosphere laden with a sorrow that hung like a shroud over the charred remains. Amid the twisted debris, only the carbonised vestiges of what was once a feast of the senses could be dimly discerned. The air was thick with the acrid scent of destruction, while echoes of the past faded into the void, leaving behind a silence that cried out the tragedy of ephemeral pleasure devoured by the flames of fate.
The corpses, silent witnesses to an indescribable catastrophe, lay piled like contorted figures in a ghastly tableau. Their bodies, once vibrant and full of life, were now mere shadows of their former existence, consumed by the internal fire that devoured them from within. Their charred forms intertwined in a grotesque harmony of death, their outlines distorted by the merciless heat that consumed them.
The flames had left their cruel mark on every inch of skin, turning flesh to ashes and bones to fragile carbonised skeletons. Traces of their faces, frozen in expressions of terror and agony, seemed to silently scream the horror of their final fate. Twisted limbs intertwined in a macabre embrace, as if the bodies sought solace even in death. Above them, the pungent smell of smoke and burnt flesh permeated the air, a sinister reminder of the tragedy that unfolded in that place.
In the oppressive silence of the room, the stacked corpses were vestiges of an implacable fate, marking the end of a story consumed in the flames of spontaneous combustion. It couldn't even be determined where Pierce's body ended, but our detectives, after meticulous intervention, discovered evidence indicating that what little remained of him was among that pile of bodies.
The scene unfolded with such vivid and repugnant brutality that Pierce's security guards and his companions couldn't bear it, prompting the immediate intervention of the police, under the aegis of the Church of the Plague. Once there, they plunged into an investigation that concluded with the theory of human spontaneous combustion, a phenomenon as controversial as it is rare, where an individual suddenly ignites in flames without an external cause of ignition.
The scene was one of a heap of human bodies consumed without apparent explanation, reduced to ashes and charred remains, but what left everyone even more perplexed was the presence of a persistent, enigmatic fire. This colourless fire manifested in the darkness of the crime scene, an ethereal dance of spectral flashes moving with supernatural grace. Its flames, barely perceptible, emitted a subtle yet penetrating glow, as if they were the embodiment of pure energy itself. Each flicker seemed to harbour an untold story, a ghostly presence fading into the darkness, leaving behind a sense of wonder and fascination.
This fire, which the Plague agents themselves had never witnessed, resembled a burning spectre, defying all conventional explanation. Although legends and tales of such a phenomenon were uncovered, tangible evidence was scarce. The troops deployed in the investigation recovered some evidence, but without reaching a definitive conclusion about the nature of this fiery enigma.
Case 2: Lynn Emily, a woman of enigmatic beauty whose eyes, reflecting both pain and determination, captivated those who dared to look into them. Torn from the depths of poverty in her youth, Lynn was thrown into the dirty streets of [REDACTED], where survival required more than mere tenacity: it demanded cunning and charm. Among the dark alleys and opulent salons, Lynn wove her web of intrigue, adapting her speech and behaviour to seduce those with deep pockets.
Beneath the seductive mask she wore, she concealed the scars of a cruel past: the loss of her family, the relentless battle against illness, and the ever-looming violence that pursued her like an implacable shadow. Despite the adversities, Lynn found a glimmer of companionship among her professional companions, sharing tales of lost loves and shattered dreams in the shadows of the night.
Though many viewed her as a mere object of desire, Lynn yearned for something more: a space where her strength and resilience could be recognised and valued. However, fate had a tragic and gruesome twist in store for her.
On one occasion, during her degrading stint as a prostitute, a distinguished and handsome man hired her services for a night of depravity. Together, they ventured into the sordid corridors of the brothel, where the man paid a hefty sum for a room. Initially, everything proceeded according to Lynn's dark rituals of life: muffled moans, lascivious whispers, and the sinister choreography of lust. However, time stretched like a torturous abyss, defying the routine of the place. Her unfortunate companions, though noticing the unusual lapse, chose silence, trapped by the assumption that the client had purchased additional hours.
When they finally decided to burst into the room, what they witnessed tore at the most sensitive fibres of their souls. The walls, once silent witnesses to countless frenzies, now stood as monuments to horror, shrouded in a mantle of ashes and soot. The air, laden with the nauseating scent of death, stifled any attempt at resistance. Lynn lay alongside the mysterious client, their bodies consumed by a spontaneous combustion that devoured every last vestige of their humanity. Only charred remnants remained of the man, while Lynn's existence was reduced to a mutilated hand, accusingly pointing towards the heavens, and a scattered foot on the floor, consumed by flames. It was a macabre sight, a spectacle that sealed the brothel's dire fate. The Plague authorities, teetering on the brink, rushed to the scene, eager to unravel the dark mysteries enveloping it.
Once again, the authorities found themselves powerless before the enigma that lay before us, immersed in the perplexity that only the darkest mystery can breed. The perpetrator of such a sinister dance of fire, emerging among the charred remains of the unfortunate, revealed itself as an ethereal presence, a spectre of flames devoid of colour, whose silent dance defied all earthly logic. This fire, lacking the fleshy sounds of crackling and oblivious to any stimuli, burned undisturbed, indifferent to the passage of time and the laws of physics.
Only through esotericism did our investigators manage to extinguish the spectral pyre, as no mundane method could subdue its unquenchable fury. The room where the combustion unfolded its infernal ballet remained sealed, as if the fire itself, in its spectral essence, claimed the entirety of the surrounding space. Outside those shadowy walls, the lament of the victims and the echo of their suffering fell into the void, finding no echo or response. Neither the fetid smell nor the presence of blackened soot reached the senses of those outside, manifesting only upon opening the doors to the abyss.
Meanwhile, our agents, in a vain attempt to unravel the mysteries that defied all reason, continue their arduous work, exploring with desperation possible solutions beyond the brittle theories that slip through our hands like shadows in the night.