The Ring

Despite the reality being hard to accept, at least Jason's words had made Denise pause, and shortly after she screamed, a reaction even more shocking than seeing her own mother's grave.

"What? No, this is impossible! Witches? There's no such thing as witches, you're talking nonsense!" Denise jumped up onto the couch, looking down at Jason and said, "How can that be? Aren't witches just characters in fairy tales and movies?"

"No, they exist now." Jason shook his head.

"Is it my mother?"

"I've met her, the witch who lives in the log cabin in the woods. She holds a staff and has three lives. I've seen her." Jason looked at her seriously and said, "So... don't think I'm messing around. And don't think fairy tales are not real. Sometimes... even myths could be true."

"Oh my God..." Denise moaned.

"So now you understand... why you have such strange abilities? It's part of you, you can't escape it." Jason said, "Because you are the daughter of a witch. This is the only explanation that makes sense."

"That reason is not enough." Denise tried a last-ditch struggle.

"Also, witches have three lives. Your mother died, but she still has two lives. I've tested this on other witches, so... don't doubt it, it's true." Jason said, "Your mother might have resurrected, she may not be the woman in the photos anymore."

These words left Denise speechless.

After a moment of silence, she finally said: "Okay, let's say everything you said is true, she is really alive, even if she has another face, but why doesn't she come to recognize me? Why does she leave me living alone here? Damn, she's not a qualified mother. I don't care if she's a witch or not..."

Denise ranted at Jason, but he did not respond to her, instead focusing on finding something to drink in Denise's refrigerator.

"Okay, thank you. So you mean, I might become a witch too?" After her outburst, Denise sobered up and apologized to Jason, "I'm sorry, I was a little excited just now."

"Of course, if you find out that your mother is a witch and you might become a witch too, no one can accept it." Jason took out two cans of cola from the refrigerator, threw one to Denise, "So, I don't mind what you say. I only care about what you do."

"Go find your mother?" Jason suggested.

"No, never!" Denise muttered a sentence, then dejectedly added, "Maybe... I need to find a reason for why I came to this world. I'm not looking for her because she's my mother."

"So... become a witch yourself?" Jason continued, "If you want, I think you should take a look at the Black Magic Book. Of course... I won't give you the overly evil stuff." As he spoke, he took out a parchment and waved it in front of Denise.

"Is this the Black Magic Book?" Denise asked curiously.

"Of course, I got it from a witch I dealt with earlier, unfortunately... she's dead, all three of her lives are gone." Jason said lightly, "She used men's blood to maintain her youthful beauty, so... I had to kill her. Do you need these parchments now?"

Denise stared at the parchment, then looked at Jason.

"Don't look at me, make your own decision. Once you start studying this black magic, you might fully master the ability inside you. Of course... the spell to extend life with human blood... you won't get. I'll selectively give it to you." Jason nodded seriously, "You can choose now."

Hearing Jason's words, Denise couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Hey, Jason, you're funny. The witches' magic is so powerful, but you killed them, and they lost all three lives. Why don't I just ask you to teach me instead of learning this so-called black magic?"

"You can't learn mine." Jason flatly refused her.

"Well then, I refuse." Denise immediately declined Jason's offer.

Jason nodded, put away the parchment, and then said to her, "Well, I'll stay here for one more night, and then I'll leave tomorrow. I have my own things to do."

"Are you going to find Sofia?" Denise asked.

Jason just smiled and didn't say a word. Denise continued, "I'll go with you, I'm tired of this place anyway. And my car is newer than yours, even though it's second-hand. And... you can help me, right? I'm afraid I'll walk out again at night, unknowingly, and be regarded as a monster by others."

"If you agree to learn black magic, you can control this ability yourself, you don't need me to help you!"

"No, I don't want to become a person like my mother!" Denise gritted her teeth and said, "I hate that kind of person...okay, stop looking at me like that, maybe I don't hate her, I just..." She couldn't go on.

"Go find her, I want to find her too!" Jason held the ring in his hand, the familiar feeling getting stronger. He wanted to find Denise's mother, to ask her personally, where this ring really came from.

"That settles it!" Denise seemed determined, since she was not satisfied with her unclear identity, she had to find her true identity. Is she really the daughter of a witch? Will she become a witch? All these answers needed to come from her mother.

Jason nodded, looked around the room.

"Where shall I sleep?"

Denise pointed to the room on the right side of the living room, "That's my father's room, you can sleep there!"

Jason nodded, then walked up to Denise and said, "Put this by your pillow, and you won't run around at night. No strange things will happen, trust me."

"Thank you!" Denise took the yellow triangular paper bag from Jason and nodded.

Night fell gradually. Denise didn't dare to sleep, she was scared by the bizarreness of herself in the video Jason showed her.

She sat on the bed, somewhat in a daze. She thought about many things, including the vague memories before the age of five, but her mother's image was never clear. Even if there was a photo on the tombstone. But the life scenario after that became clearer and clearer, but to her, it was like a nightmare, she didn't want to think about it.

She didn't know how long it took, but she finally fell asleep in a daze.

And in the room next door, Jason sat by the bed, playing with the rusty ring. The familiar feeling was very strange. It was as if for more than a hundred years, this familiarity had never been cut off.

"What exactly are you?" Jason frowned and muttered to himself.

It seemed like he had thought of something, but he couldn't quite grasp it, it was like he had caught a glimpse of a clue. This rusty ring, Jason gently touched it, the rust disappeared, turning into a shiny stainless steel ring. And there were inscriptions on the ring.

"1867—"

Jason read out the Arabic numerals one by one, then froze. The calmness that he had maintained for many years was suddenly drowned by a surge of emotion, as if a huge wave had engulfed his tranquil mood.

Wasn't that the year he came to this world?

1867, Alberta, Canada, the first stop in his life in this world.