Volume 3—Chapter 62: The White Fire
Question: What would you do if you saw two women fighting right in front of you?
Separate them?
Mediate between them?
Grab some popcorn and enjoy the show.
Me?
"This isn't my problem," I said flatly.
The two women, whom I'd only just met, were already in a heated battle, fists flying without even a proper introduction. There didn’t seem to be a clear reason behind the fight.
“Aria, please help me subdue her!” one of them called out to me mid-fight. Her name was... Aneira, I think?
I tilted my head. “Why should I help exactly?”
Aneira was struggling against the other woman, tall, long blonde hair streaked with grey. Now that I looked closer... Aneira’s hair had similar grey strands too. Huh. Was that some kind of trend?
“You’re seriously asking that now? She’s a Spectre host!” Aneira yelled, ducking a punch.
“Tch… and you’re not?” the blonde woman snapped back.
“I am not!” Aneira barked, glaring.
The blonde scoffed. “With that grey patch on your head? At least try to dye it if you’re gonna lie.”
So… grey streaks equal Spectre hosts? That's oddly specific.
Yep. Definitely some kind of internal squabble.
I took a few steps back. “Yeah… I’m just gonna walk away from this madness.”
“Hey, Aria! Where are you going?!” Aneira shouted, dodging a high kick.
“Not. My. Problem,” I repeated, already walking off.
The blonde didn’t seem to mind my departure—actually, she looked a little relieved. That worked for me. I had more important things to deal with, like finding Irana and Viola. And preferably not getting caught up in whatever weird hair-colored cult drama this was.
But before I could walk further…
“You gotta be kidding me.”
Like roaches crawling out of the woodwork, a swarm of skeletons emerged from the shadows of the hallway, their bones clattering and echoing in the dim, eerie space. There were at least ten of them, maybe more, creeping forward with empty eye sockets fixed directly on me.
“That’s what you get for trying to bail out!!” Aneira shouted from behind.
My eye twitched. Of course. Of course, the moment I decide not to get involved, the universe punishes me with bone-wielding jump scares… Well, is not that scary, but whatever. I sighed deeply, the kind of sigh that carried all the frustration of someone who just wanted to mind their own business!!
“Seriously… I was just trying to avoid unnecessary drama,” I muttered to myself.
The skeletons advanced slowly, their movements jerky but oddly synchronised, like puppets pulled by invisible strings.
I rolled my shoulders, cracked my knuckles with a satisfying crack, and let out another long sigh.
“Alright, fine… Let’s make this quick.”
Without waiting another second, I rushed forward. My fist connected with the first skeleton’s ribcage, shattering it into fragments that clattered across the floor like glass. The next one swung a rusty sword, which I dodged with a quick sidestep before planting a palm strike straight into its skull, sending it flying down the hallway.
Another tried to flank me, but I grabbed its spine and used it like a bat to knock two more down. Bones flew. Joints snapped. The air was filled with a rain of shattered.
“The more these skeletons show up, the more I think this is just a normal Tuesday,” I muttered while brushing dust off my sleeve with irritation.
I glanced toward the blonde woman still locked in a brawl with Aneira. Her long hair shimmered under the cracked fluorescent lights.
“Hey,” I called out, pointing at her. “This is your doing, isn’t it? Could you, I dunno, stop summoning skeletons and just let me walk away?”
Instead of answering me, Aneira shouted back, clearly offended. “If you knew it was her doing, why didn’t you help me from the start?!”
“Because I thought she had beef with you, not me,” I replied flatly, like it was the most reasonable excuse in the world. “I figured you two had some personal vendetta to settle. Didn’t think I’d get roped into.”
I turned back to the blonde woman, trying again. “So? Are you gonna let me go or what?”
Rather than respond like a sane person, the ground cracked slightly behind me, and another skeleton climbed out with a low groan.
“Piece of shit…” I muttered before smashing it with a single kick, sending its ribcage flying across the hallway like a soccer ball.
I stepped forward, pointing my finger at her. “I have no beef with you. So why are you slowing me down?”
The blonde woman stopped dodging Aneira’s attacks and slowly turned to face me. Then she laughed—a low, unsettling giggle that gradually built into something manic.
“Letting you go?” she said with a crooked grin, her voice thick with something twisted. “Hahaha… no, no, no…”
She licked her lips, her expression shifting into something predatory. “You’re far too delicious a prey just to walk away.”
“…The hell?” I said, blinking. “Did you just call me prey?”
“Hello? I’m still here, you know!” Aneira snapped, throwing a punch that the woman caught mid-air without even looking at her.
The blonde glanced sideways, her grip tightening on Aneira’s wrist. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. You’ll get your turn.”
“Shut up…” Aneira growled, her voice low and brimming with restrained fury.
In the next instant, a brilliant white flame burst to life in her hand, flickering like a candle fed by rage.
The blonde woman flinched and immediately released her grip on Aneira’s wrist, stumbling a half step back.
“Ouch… I knew it. You are a Spectre host too,” the blonde hissed, rubbing her hand as if burned—not physically, but like something far deeper had burned her.
“I told you already,” Aneira snarled through clenched teeth. “I am. Not!”
And then—whoosh—a white fire erupted from her fist, lighting up the hallway like a flare in the dark. The flame didn’t behave like any normal fire. It danced upward, unnatural, glowing with a haunting intensity that didn’t seem to burn the walls or floor… only the space around it.
I took an instinctive step back, eyes narrowing.
White fire…? My mind snapped into focus. That exact phenomenon had been reported in every single disappearance case. It wasn’t just a coincidence.
My first priority should be finding Irana and Viola—but this… this could be a critical clue. A lead on where those missing people vanished to… maybe even a lead on where Syena might have gone.
I can’t ignore this. Not when I’m this close.
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