Chapter 1

[You’ve been invited to The Soul Hunt.]

A letter had come for her this morning. Amaryllis couldn’t say she was glad about it, but she felt a sense of relief nonetheless. The paper was black and velvety, and the words were written in liquid gold. The most luxurious thing she had ever touched, and it was only a letter.

“Amaryllis Blackfrost,” a voice called out. Hearing that call, a nail in her heart loosened.

Amaryllis tucked the paper in her shirt’s pocket and left her seat, picking up the black packet that sat in her lap. Walking out of the waiting area, she turned to the corridor—filled with emptiness. Obsidian tiles surrounded her as she stepped inside another passage, the tunnel, the hospital called it. The contrast between the outside and this place always filled her with a deep unease. She followed the dark path until she reached a windowed counter at the end of the tunnel. It was barely visible. The blackness was intentional. It kept the restless inhabitant calm. Any color—black was not considered a color—would trigger a frenzy.

The inhabitants of this place were called monsters. Seranborn, to be precise. By the general masses. Not Amaryllis. She could never call her only family with something so mortifying. Her steps stopped at the counter. She tapped the glass window. Twice. Each vibration echoed way longer than a soft tap should’ve.

On the other side, a black duvet draped over the window to hide her only family. Each second seemed like an hour. The nail in her heart grew hotter. And after what she could have called a day, the duvet moved slightly. An eye peeked at her, but saw nothing in the dark.

"Cyn..." Amaryllis whispered. Letting out a breath she didn’t realise she had been holding.

"Amaryllis," a voice said in a flat tone. "How are you doing?"

Her sister was afflicted by an infection called blackfrost. This place was only to keep her from outside, a prison glorified as a hospital. Amaryllis sat on the chair in front of the window counter. "I'm doing fine, Sis. How about you?" She tried to sound casual, but failed miserably.

“Same old, same old. I was allowed to watch television for a grand total of 2 minutes last week. It was mostly colorless, but I still lost my mind. The room is destroyed, utterly destroyed as if made of a thin sheet of glass. They will put it all on your shoulder, again. I’m sorry,” Cynthia’s voice was emotionless, but Amaryllis could imagine what she must’ve felt. Her own fist clenched.

This place was costly. Even this visit had taken three days of salary plus overtime. The house she had already mortgaged. Her hand unconsciously touched the pocket on her chest. The letter promised her a way to deal with the expense. This expense and every future one, if she succeeded.

"I see..." Amaryllis said. Words stuck in her throat. She had planned everything she would ask. Few jokes she had watched and thought she’d tell her. The purpose of the visit was to cheer up her sister from the dull darkness she inhabited. But sitting here, her mind went blank. She could only worry about what would happen next, how she would pay for the next installment. And she felt terrible for worrying about such a trivial matter when her sister was behind a curtain, unable to see her. Suffering way more than she did.

"They do it on purpose. There is no chance a color would have slipped through the security checks and made it inside. But it did." Cynthia said after a long and awkward silence.

"No..." Amaryllis could already tell where this conversation was heading, and her mind could not find a way to change the topic. She was well aware that they did it deliberately. How could they not? Every few months, a new incident would occur, and she would be left with another loan to take and no way to pay it back. It was as if they wanted her to sign the execution paper. And that thought scared her. She had even gone down the spiral that there was a secret government organization experimenting on people after the family gave up. It sounded far-fetched, but she was paranoid, and she couldn’t risk her sister’s safety.

"You know it, Amaryllis. They are exploiting you for everything you have, and once you are broke, they will ban you from seeing me and sell me to some organization for experimentation."

"I won't let that happen. Don't worry. They won't do anything like that," as long as I keep paying them to let you live. Amaryllis assured her as much as herself.

"How? I know you already sold the house. What else do you have to sell?" Cynthia slammed her fist on the curtain, which hit the glass panel with a dull thud. Luckily, it did not break. "Sorry. We still have time. Listen to me and sign the execution paper. It's better for both of us."

Amaryllis lowered her head. This curse was too much to bear for most families. Even those who could afford it. The burden was always too heavy. Eventually, everyone signed the execution paper to relieve themselves, and the infected from the burden of living. But Amaryllis was too selfish. She chose to let her sister suffer in this godforsaken prison disguised as a hospital. She knew she was terrible, but she did not want to be alone.

"I have a way, sis. If everything goes smoothly, you'll be transferred to a better facility. We might even be able to see each other again." Amaryllis expressed her hopes, hoping Cynthia would believe her. "And even get you cured. Just trust me."

“How?”

She only heard suspicion, doubt, and distrust. Her fist clenched harder.

"I... I received an invitation to the soul hunt." Her voice trailed off at the end. Desperate people like her joined the soul hunt to die. But not all of them did. She was hopeful. Some survived. And those who completed their trials became a soul hunter. They had a chance to heal their family. A chance to improve their life.

"Amaryllis... Have you lost your mind? Rip that cursed thing." Cynthia's voice trembled as she tried to restrain herself from yelling.

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"I haven't. This is the only way to cover your expenses." Giving it up would be no different than signing her sister's death warrant or something far worse. "I can do this. Please, Cyn, trust me."

"I do, Amaryllis," Cynthia said, her voice hardened. "I know you will do your best, for my sake. And that's why I want you to get rid of it. Soul hunt is for the most selfish people in the world. It's a hunt, not a job. Someone like you—selfless and kind—can never make it. They will hound you, tear your psyche, and leave you on the bridge to jump off. I can't stand the thought of you facing that fate, Amaryllis. Just this once, please, don't do this."

I'm not as selfless and kind as you think, Cyn.

"Thanks..." Amaryllis whispered. She took another breath to calm her emotions. "But I won't leave you, Cyn. Never. If something does happen to me, I have left a just in case sign on the execution paper, which will come into effect if I die. I'm sorry."

"Damn it!" Cynthia hit the window harder. "Damn it, Amaryllis. Why won't you listen to me for once? Fine, if that's what you want to do. Then go ahead. How can I, a burden on my little sister, have any right to advise you, right?"

Amaryllis opened her mouth, wanting to tell her nothing mattered more than her, but couldn’t find any words. She understood the frustration Cynthia must be going through. It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have told her. But what if something happens? I cannot leave her in the dark over a choice that could change our lives. Maybe for the better. And equally for worse. This might be the last time we could be talking.

It was a gamble. But the only thing in her life.

"Leave," her sister uttered after Amaryllis failed to articulate anything.

“Sis…” Tears welled up in her eyes. Amaryllis fought hard to keep them at bay.

“I said leave. I want to rest.”

Amaryllis heard her footsteps. "Wait! Cyn, just one more moment," She swiftly grabbed the packet.

"What is it?"

"This is for you," Amaryllis positioned the box on her side of the elongated table.

A jet-black hand emerged from under the duvet and groped around. Wherever it made contact, a layer of black ice materialized. That was the reason it was named blackfrost. Whatever they touched turned to ice, just like their own body. Fragile and deadly.

Amaryllis nudged the small packet forward cautiously, to avoid contact. If she did, her hand would shatter like a brittle sheet of ice. Cynthia touched the box. It did not freeze like the rest. The box was fabricated with special material to withstand the blackfrost.

Cynthia remained silent as she opened the box. This hospital sold a special cake for the blackfrost-afflicted patients and a glove that Cynthia needed to wear so that she did not ruin the cake. Amaryllis herself did not know how they tasted.

"Why?" The voice from behind the curtain trembled with pain. Amaryllis flinched. She had anticipated this reaction. "Why would you squander money on this frivolous treat? I don't need food."

Amaryllis inhaled deeply, her tongue throbbing from the pressure she exerted on the roof of her mouth. Blackfrost patients didn't need food; they subsisted on the mana in the air, fortunately. Amaryllis couldn't fathom how she’d account for that expense. "I wanted to gift you something."

"Have you lost your mind!" Cynthia shrieked. Amaryllis felt a tinge of relief that there was a glass window, even though she would rather be hit by her sister as long as they could see each other. "I have told you countless times, I don't want anything from this place. They are draining you dry. Why would you do something so foolish?"

"How could I not? Today is your birthday, Sis. I wanted to give you something, and this is the only thing that I could afford."

There were other items in the store, but they were exorbitant. This one was affordable but too small for someone who never had anything to eat. Next time, she promised herself to bring something better.

"Happy birthday, Cynthia," She smiled. She uttered it in one breath. She had been rehearsing it in her mind since morning. And last night. But she was too fearful she would ruin it. Make it awkward. It was still awkward. They were not good at expressing emotions. She was very inept. Even now, her throat burned like fire, she wanted to cry. But she couldn't. Not here.

"Amaryllis..." Cynthia whispered. Her voice quavered. Then she wept. Amaryllis felt grateful that she did. Cynthia had no one to confide in what she felt. Amaryllis herself was not the best person for that role. This was the best she could provide for solace, and could only hope it was sufficient. "T-thank you. I couldn't have imagined a better sister than you. And I'm sorry for being a worthless burden." She chuckled bitterly.

"As long as you are here and I can talk to you, it is sufficient. I cannot ask for more."

"Amaryllis Blackfrost." A dull voice proclaimed.

It was a signal to inform her that the time was up. She could prolong it by swiping her credit card on the device situated right next to the window.

"Farewell. I wish I could stay with you a bit longer, sis." She rose from her seat, wiping off the tears from her face. "I will return. And if I do not..." Amaryllis hesitated. She did not want to give her sister false hope. Death was the most probable outcome.

"Don’t! I know you will. I will be waiting for you, Amaryllis. You have to come back."

"I will." Amaryllis clenched her jaw. "I promise."

"Farewell. I would have shared this cake with you, but I do not want my infection to get you."

They called her name again. "Blackfrost."

Blackfrost was not her real surname. But if any family decided to keep an infected person alive, one person in the family had to adopt blackfrost as a surname. The magical infection did not spread to everyone in the family that way.

Amaryllis whispered a farewell once more and hurried out. This was enough. She would return. Hopefully, Cynthia will be here at that time. More than once, she had thought somehow Cynthia would vanish. Every visit, she came with a nail in her heart. What if something happened during the month?

Frankly, she was even less sure if she would survive. The Soul Hunt had the highest mortality rate in the world.

"Are you Amaryllis?" Someone asked, tapping her shoulder from behind as she walked out of the obsidian world.

"Yeah." She turned and met her eyes with something. It was not human but human-like. A shadow of the soul, people called them—Messenger of the soul hunt.

"Will you accept the invitation?" The thing asked.

"I will." Amaryllis gulped.

It snapped its finger, and darkness engulfed her world. "The Soul Hunt evaluation program commences now. You will be transported to the program facility. Once you enter it, you either become a Soul Hunter or die. This is the last opportunity to forfeit. Are you confident of your decision?"

"I am," Amaryllis responded. She could not have been more sure. Her sister was waiting for her. After a long time, she felt like a human again. She wanted to cherish this feeling.

"Very well."