Chương 73: Spirit Investigator (7)
Edited by: Kuro and Lille
And here's the last ko-fi of this week! Thank you so much a certain somebody and this prince for giving me ko-fi for my birthday (was given around Oct 21, 2021)! :D I love yall so much and I appreciate you supporting me and my work. I hope you two enjoyed the two extra chapters.
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Ever since Shamir woke up from his coma, he had dreams of Grey and himself. They lived so many lives together. He felt it was normal that he was regaining these memories as he had also done the same in the previous world.
This world was a little different though. He remembered something strange.
He didn't know what his body looked like, but he was surrounded by a lot of people. They were like robots though. Even though he knew they were not, he didn't understand why they were calling themselves "System" with a number at the end.
He couldn't hear his own name though, it was blocked out, but he knew he had an important role as he was commanding everyone.
It made Shamir wonder who he really was, and who his lover, Grey, was. It was strange but he had no one to talk to. He didn't know if he should ask Grey because he was afraid that Grey would think he was crazy.
Did Grey also remember his past lives with him?
As he was sitting on his bed and thinking to himself, Grey walked in. It was a coincidence though as Grey wanted to see Shamir.
"Shamir, I'm back, did you miss me?" Grey said with a cheeky smile. Emery was behind him pretending that he was a wallflower as he didn't want to be the third wheel.
Shamir nodded. He wanted to get up but his body was still weak. "I missed you a lot."
"I probably missed you even more!"
Grey sat on the chair next to Shamir's bed and held out his hand. Holding hands was the most Shamir could do at the moment, so Shamir placed his hand in Grey's and felt content. He kneaded the man's hand and couldn't help but give it a soft pinch.
Shamir brought his soft pinches to this world as well. Grey couldn't help but feel a bit warm in the spots that Shamir touched.
"Grey, can I ask you something?"
"Of course. What is it?"
"Do you... believe in reincarnation?"
Grey immediately knew that Shamir was having dreams of their past lives together.
"I do believe in reincarnation. It seems you have started to remember some of our time together, right?"
Shamir was a bit shocked that Grey immediately knew what he was talking about but now he didn't feel like he was going crazy.
"Thank goodness it's not just me who is remembering it."
"Do you remember everything or is it bits and pieces like in our past life?"
"I feel I remember more than what I did in our last life but not everything."
"I see, that's good though. Take your time Shamir. In every world, you will remember more and more until you remember everything so don't rush yourself alright?"
"Hmm, I will remember that. Thank you, Grey." Shamir couldn't help but loosen the grip he had on Grey's hand. It seemed he was more anxious in asking than he thought. There was one thing he wanted to talk about but he didn't know how to say it.
"I also remember something but I don't know if I should talk about it. I feel as if I shouldn't talk about it with people here." He looked over at Emery who was floating by the window.
"Do you wanna whisper it to me?"
Shamir thought about it and nodded. He motioned Grey to come closer and patted him to sit on the bed as well. Grey complied and brought his ear close to Shamir's head.
What came out of Shamir's mouth shocked him. He was actually getting memories of his time as God System, but from the sound of it, his memories were too incomplete and there was not enough information. Grey knew he couldn't explain it too much.
"I can't tell you too much about that right now, but just know that you had a glimpse of your identity before you went into these worlds with me. You are a powerful man." Grey couldn't help but chuckle.
"You know who I was?"
"I do, but I can't tell you right now because it may damage your soul."
Damaging one's soul was not good. Especially God System's. He and System 225 had worked so hard to speed up the healing process, if Grey fucked up and damaged God System's soul now, it would ruin all of their plans!
"I see, we wouldn't want that," Shamir mumbled a little scared. The thought of having his soul damaged made him feel some type of way. It was like trauma. Once a trauma was triggered, the body and mind would go through a series of pain. It was like that, but a bit milder. He knew that he shouldn't pry more into it.
"Don't worry, Shamir. We have plenty of time for you to remember who you are. We have so many worlds to go into together. Even if you don't remember all of it right now, just know that I remember, and I will always find you and love you no matter what."
Those words were like music to his ears. It gave Shamir an immense amount of comfort.
He was happy that he talked to Grey about this…
As for Emery, though he didn't know what they were talking about, they seemed happy, so he let them be. He continued to be the wallflower of the room.
*****
After meeting Shamir, his nightmares came around as usual, but he didn't pay any mind to it as he had more important things to do. Plus, Emery was there to give him comfort when he woke up, so his nightmares were bearable.
For some reason, the world data given to Grey by System 225 was incomplete. He could not figure out why he couldn't see the data on what the seal was called, how it was done, or anything like that. It was like all the data for this mission was erased.
'Are you sure there's nothing? Nothing at all?'
[I checked many times for as long as we have been in this world and that information is not here. I suspect two different things. The first is that worlds are using this safety measure to protect against the Hosts and Systems. It's a protection measure used commonly in higher-ranked worlds when they are trying to amp up the difficulty for Hosts. If the Host fails, they will gain more energy than we could ever imagine. The world plot is given to us Systems by the world itself so they have the power to manipulate the data.
[The second could be the work of the Villain System. As I have said, this is a common measure for higher-ranked worlds but since this is only a D-ranked world, they don't have the energy to do this, so I suspect it might be the latter rather than the former. I will look into it some more to make sure. If I find any traces of the Villain System, I will be sure to eliminate it.]
'I see, then it seems I must do whatever I can to find it or pull something from a different world. I could also make Emery remember how he found it. It's written in his soul's data so it should be possible to bring out those repressed memories, but it may also hurt him, so we must choose our cards carefully.'
He didn't want to hurt Emery like that so he would try to find a way to seal Demon Jon himself, if not, his last resort would be to forcefully bring up those memories even if it meant that Emery had to remember the pain of how he died.
Well, he would do his best to find something in this world and also look into other sealing techniques, but he needed something that wouldn't eliminate the soul of the "demon." These "demons" were real souls, unlike in some worlds where "demons" were beings that never lived or died and tormented the world of the living. These demons wandered the world of the living in torment to repent, not to be eliminated. If they could seal a demon so that it was stuck in a vessel where it would be forced to repent, that would be more ideal for the balance of the world.
'Since it's not anything from this country, we need to expand our horizons. My language translator, let's go through the internet. Also, can you compile a list of sealing techniques from worlds that I have been to? I want to have a backup plan at least.' His language translator was System 225. He had already looked through all sorts of records in this country and didn't find anything, so it was best to look elsewhere.
Also, even though Grey had an improved memory, he couldn't remember every single detail of each world…
System 225 always felt happy when he was needed. For a long time, he felt that he could not do anything for his Host who did most of the work by himself, but now, the Host really needed him and he felt useful for the first time in a while.
[I understand, Host! You can leave that to me. I will compile all the data for you and have it arranged.]
The Host noticed System 225 sounded excited with his request. For the first few worlds, he did almost everything on his own, but as he had gone through each world, he felt he could really trust System 225. Now, hearing his happy voice, he felt that he should ask System 225 for more things from time to time.
'Thank you System 225, you are truly a good companion of mine.' He was glad that the System 225 in front of him was the same one he had met all those years ago.
Grey stopped looking for information on the seal and let System 225 do the job. He then switched his focus to the Alston house.
"Got too tired trying to look for a clue about the sealing technique?" Emery was watching Grey search through the internet the whole time.
"I will have that done on the side, but for now, let's help this family first…" It was time to go through all the data they had gathered over the past couple of days.
Grey pulled up all the city records on the house and the people who had lived there since the creation of the house. This was all public information, people just needed to know where to look.
The Alston house was originally built almost 200 years ago and was maintained throughout the years. The first 50 or so years were fine. There were no significant deaths nor were there any spirits from that period attached to the house. 100 years after the house was built was where there was a significant death for the first time.
About 100 years after the house had been built, a newlywed couple moved into the house and had been living there for a couple of years. When the woman, Daisy Anderson, became pregnant and gave birth, things began to change. At the time, there was no diagnosis of postpartum depression and psychosis, so she didn't understand why she was crying all the time and had thoughts of harming herself and her baby. Her husband was at work most of the time, so he didn't realize that she was feeling that way. Prompt treatment would have helped her manage it, but she felt like she was going crazy to the point she had tried to kill her baby numerous times.
Daisy was in a new town and didn't know anyone, so she had no one she could rely on, and her husband could not understand her. In the end, when her baby wouldn't stop crying, she put a pillow over the child's face and waited for the crying to stop. She unintentionally killed her baby due to stress and postpartum psychosis. After that, she cried for her child and hung herself in the attic while holding the baby's body in her hands.
The husband did not know of this until he had gotten home from work and looked for his wife and child. He found them in the attic, dead.
After this death, no one could bear to stay in that house and it was left untouched for 20 years.
The first family that moved in after that incident lost a child and moved out of the house, and this process repeated even after the establishment of the Spiritual Light Agency. To this day, the house was the mystery of the agency in their country.
"We can assume that 'Mother' is Daisy Anderson," Grey said as he then compiled all the data into a nice folder for Nora to look at later. Also to give to the Agency later…
Emery agreed with him as he thought it was obvious. "I agree as all the problems started after her death."
Nora couldn't help but say, "I feel a bit sorry for her though…"
If Daisy had treatment and people to talk with, she probably wouldn't have ended up killing her child like that. She was isolated and almost entirely alone as her husband wasn't anyone useful to talk with. She must have thought that she was going crazy for feeling the way she felt.
After getting to know "Mother" and her past, Grey began to research every kid that had died there. "Mother" didn't discriminate based on sex, so there were all sorts of children that she had killed. They all died in different ways though.
Some kids died in the bathtub, by suffocation, thrown down the stairs and breaking their neck, and even dying by hanging… As for why she killed them, they didn't know, but it was something they needed to ask.
Grey and Emery also searched through the records that the agency had about the case and found some useful components to it.
One agent from 10 years ago found out that 'Mother' didn't like to show herself in front of adults and used the children who were tied down to her to navigate around strangers and adults of the family. She especially hated other mothers who were able to take care of their children and tried to drive them out of the house. All she wanted was for the kids to stay with her because her child was not in the world of the living or the dead anymore. The baby had already gone into the light while she was left behind.
Another agent found out that "Mother" bore no resentments toward her husband or the father figures of the house and left them alone. She only hated the husband if they were cheating on the wife, which had happened a few times. She also hated parents who were abusive toward the child, which in turn, made her violent toward the parent figures of the house.
"Though she seems malicious to a certain extent, there is also a feeling of wanting to have a family and yearning for it to the point that she would kill all of these kids. She also doesn't kill kids below the age of 5 anymore." Grey wondered why that was though. Her baby was only a year old when he died. Maybe it was because of the chances of going into the light. Babies' brains were still developing, so it made sense that they would go into the light almost immediately after death, so she probably found the age range that these children would stay with her and be her kids forever…
Nora stopped writing down her notes and sighed. "We know a possible reason for 'Mother' being attached to the land of the living but the difficult part comes from actually helping her and those children…"
"Well, let's prepare to go then," Emery said as he floated around Grey and Nora.
"Sounds good to me." Grey nodded and began to pack up some stuff.
It was going to be a long day at the Alston House.
*****
The Alston family was not in the house as they were at a nearby hotel. They had already grabbed most of their things and would be staying there for a couple of months as they try to find a new place to live. They also wanted Jace to recover in peace.
Just as Mr. Alston said, Grey found the key to the front door and backdoor in the mailbox.
There were no kids at the swinging bench, so he assumed that they were all inside.
Nora didn't even have to go inside to feel that there were all sorts of spirits in the house. There was one, in particular, that was stronger than the rest. "I can feel something powerful without even stepping inside… How daunting."
Grey opened the door and saw that there were no children inside the living room. Everyone seemed to be upstairs in the attic.
Originally, they wanted to go talk with the kids before talking to "Mother" but now it seems it wasn't avoidable. Coming to the house just to leave was also a waste of time.
"Should we go up there right now?" Emery said as he floated next to Grey, holding his hand. He didn't want to go off alone lest something happened to his spirit and Grey and Nora couldn't save him.
"We came here to investigate in person but it seems we must tackle the final boss the moment we step inside…" Grey mumbled to himself as he looked in the direction of the attic.
"Well, let's go. The faster we get this done, the earlier we can leave." Nora said this but she was kind of nervous.
Grey led the way with Emery behind Grey and Nora behind Emery. They all volunteered for Grey to be in the front, which he didn't mind too much. They crept up the stairs as quietly as possible but the creaking of the old wooden floors gave their presence away as they slowly went up the stairs.
When they got to the top, the two kids from the other day who were sitting on the swinging bench seemed to be waiting for them. If Grey remembered correctly, it was Ronnie and Van. They were wearing the same outfits that Grey and Emery saw them in last time, but they seemed to be injured. Van looked a little blue and swollen while Ronnie had a mark around his neck.
Grey could only assume that this was showing how they died. He didn't know if the others could see it as well.
Grey, Emery, and Nora moved away from the stairs and bent down so they could talk to them. It was also because they didn't want to get pushed down the stairs.
Ronnie was the one who spoke up first. "Hi, Mister, and the other mister that looks like this mister. You are back!" A bit of a mouthful but the kid was quite articulate.
"Hello, my name is Grey, this is Emery, and the one behind us is Nora. What's your name?" It was polite to ask for their names first was what Grey thought.
Van didn't say anything but Ronnie smiled and grabbed Van's hand. "My name is Ronnie and this is Van. She has another name but she doesn't like using it because it's too long."
"I see, well it's nice to meet you, Ronnie and Van. Can I ask what you two are doing here? What happened to the other kids?" Grey led the conversation because Ronnie recognized him. Plus, it gave Nora time to observe these two kids.
"Mother said that we were bad children because we made friends with Jace. Bad children aren't allowed to be with her in the attic…"
The kids stayed with Mother to hear stories from her. They also stayed up there throughout the night and kept her company.
"Oh, I see, why aren't you allowed to play with Jace?"
"Jace hasn't died yet, but we wanted a new friend."
Van finally spoke up, "What happened to Jace?"
"Jace broke his arm so he is with the doctors," Grey replied to her. He didn't hide too much seeing as they both were worried about Jace.
"Poor Jace… We wanted to play with him some more…" She mumbled as she gripped onto her dress.
Nora observed enough and stepped forward. She knelt in front of them and smiled. "Do you think Mother would let us meet her?"
They both shook their heads.
Ronnie replied, "Mother doesn't like talking to adults."
"Mother doesn't like people like you," Van said with no remorse.
"Like us?"
"Yeah, adults who can see us. She said that you are here to get rid of us from this house."
It seems "Mother" warned her children well.
"We don't want to get rid of you all, we want to help." Emery couldn't help but say.
"I don't know too many things about it, but listening to 'Mother' is best." Ronnie innocently said and then turned around. "We can't take you to 'Mother', you have to find her yourself."
After that, Ronnie and Van disappeared down the hall and turned a corner.
Grey, Emery, and Nora didn't follow after them as they all had already seen the blueprints to the house. They walked down the opposite hallway and stopped at the end. There was a door to their left where the attic was.
"You two ready?" Grey asked as he knew that this case may not go as they planned.
"Ready." Nora and Emery said and watched Grey open the door.
A gust of cold air hit them as the door opened and a heavy feeling filled the air. It was as though gravity was pushing them down, trying to squish them flat.
"Let's go meet 'Mother'."
And the three ascended the stairs.
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
MakusCorner
MakusCorner Mini theatre by kuro_kama:
Emery: You know I really don’t trust stairs!
Nora: Trust? Why? The ghost kids might throw us down so?
Emery: No. Because they’re always up to something.
Nora: -_-
Grey: Hahahahaha!!!
Don’t ask whether Grey laughed at the joke; Emery’s poor attempt to joke or at Nora’s expression afterward.
Emery: I just wanted to ease the heavy atmosphere.
Lille: Shamir is remembering more and more of his time as God System! I’m really excited about that! On another note… I knew ‘Mother’s backstory would be really bad, but it was still heartbreaking to hear ;-;
Grandpa Marky: Yeah, it is pretty heartbreaking huh. Always check in on the new mothers in your life. They need all the support because taking care of babies and kids is so difficult physically, mentally, and emotionally!
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