Truth

-Cider House-

"Alexis? I remember that name..."

Bartender Campbell tried to recollect while wiping a glass.

"She was a regular here. I heard she was an actress, but she committed suicide two years ago."

"She committed suicide?"

Campbell's response wasn't definitive, but it sent a shiver down Charlize's spine. She suppressed her fear and feigned indifference.

"God, why would she make that choice? How could she give up her life so easily?"

"Yes, why?"

Campbell also seemed to be deep in thought, inspired by Charlize's words. He gently set down the glass he had been polishing and sighed.

"I vaguely recall she was wearing a red coat that day, very eye-catching. Many men would approach her, but she'd ignore them, sitting alone, downing glass after glass of whiskey. Oh, that's right, it's where you got drunk the other night."

"Go on, what happened that night?"

Charlize was almost trembling with fear.

"Was it last night?"

"No, it was the night before last. You've been drunk for two nights in a row. Is something troubling you?"

Seeing that Charlize didn't respond, Campbell picked up the glass and resumed polishing it.

"I can't remember things from so long ago, but the way you acted that night reminded me of her. I'm sorry"

Realizing that his comment was inconsiderate, Campbell quickly apologized to Charlize. But the girl, still in shock, paid little attention.

"That Alexis committed suicide here, sitting where I was sitting before the incident..."

A sense of horror crept over Charlize. This was too much of a coincidence. Or was it a coincidence?

Initially, she had been skeptical of Christian's claims. She suspected the video he showed her was recorded under hypnosis. So when he suggested she visit the Cider house to inquire about a person named Alexis, she agreed without hesitation. She believed that distancing herself from Christian's influence would help her gather her thoughts and expose this possible scam. The current findings, however, had dealt her a heavy and terrifying blow.

"Should I leave this bar as soon as possible? I can't shake the feeling that I'm getting chills just staying here."

Although she understood it was a psychological effect, Charlize couldn't help but feel afraid. This wasn't the horror of a remote movie; it was real, unfolding in her life. Becoming the heroine of such a story in a movie might be thrilling, but in real life, getting entangled in such an eerie situation...

Charlize involuntarily shuddered. At that moment, she realized she had left the bar and was walking on the street without realizing it. Not far ahead, she saw the overpass where she had attempted suicide – and also the location where bartender Campbell had mentioned that Alexis had committed suicide.

"Is this it?"

Before the shock in Charlize's heart could turn into fear, her attention was diverted by a somewhat familiar voice. Christian Booth stood beside her, holding her shoulders and looking at her with playful eyes.

*****************************

Earlier, after discussing with Charlize, the blonde girl had gone to the Cider house to inquire about "Alexis" and Christian had left her apartment. On the surface, his excuse was to prepare some props for ghost hunting and exorcism, but in reality, it was quite the opposite.

After leaving the girl's apartment, he turned a corner and concealed himself, following her from a distance. Although his tracking skills were rather average, Charlize was too preoccupied with her recent experiences to notice her surroundings, so she didn't detect his presence.

"She did go to the bar yesterday instead of calling 911. It seems she genuinely believed what I told her."

Christian had left intentionally, partly to fulfill his objectives and partly to allow the girl some time to sort through her thoughts. To his satisfaction, Charlize had chosen to trust him. Even if she had chosen to call the police instead, he was already long gone, and the police wouldn't have been able to apprehend him. The sly fox always has a few escape routes, as he had learned from his time as a "Master" of deception.

"If everything goes as planned, you'll soon be ready to confront ghosts and exorcise evil spirits. But, can I do it?"

Despite projecting an air of mastery to Charlize, Christian knew it was mainly the result of the old ghost's training. He had never actually practiced any of this with real ghosts before. He felt excitement, nervousness, and a mix of expectation and anxiety. 

"What should I do?"

While it could be inferred from previous interactions that the spirit "Alexis" haunting Charlize wasn't a supernatural monster but just a relatively shallow female ghost, perhaps unaware of her death, the issue was that even though he had access to spells since arriving in this era, he was still a novice, and many spells were beyond his reach due to a lack of mana.

"It seems the old ghost was right; I'll need to resort to deception."

With his mind made up, Christian continued following Charlize until they reached the site of the previous incident.

**********************************

"The place where Alexis died, was it the same place you were last time?"

Faced with the persistent Christian, Charlize felt quite uneasy for a while. She remained stunned for a long moment before finally responding:

"Campbell, the bartender at the Cider House, mentioned it, about two years ago."

"An actress, you say?"

"How did you know?"

"Because ghosts like Alexis, similar to water ghosts, tend to attach themselves to individuals who were in a comparable situation to their own before death."

To reinforce Charlize's trust and to facilitate their future actions, Christian explained patiently.

"You were possessed by her that night because you lost your role and got drunk, providing her with an opportunity. But think of it the other way around. Every night, countless people get drunk on the streets of Los Angeles, both men and women. Why did she choose only you? Because of your similarities!"

"So, you mean that Alexis chose to possess me when I was drunk because I'd lost a role and she identified me as herself?"

Charlize bit her lower lip, almost drawing blood, in her dissatisfaction.

"Does she think that, like her, I'm a failure who can't make it?"

"A ghost of that level can't really 'think' in the way we do," Christian responded. "It's unable to reason or judge, as it lacks a brain."

He tapped his head, which was still bandaged, with his fingers.

"Without this, it can't truly think or reason. These ghosts are essentially nebulous mental entities, only capable of vague emotions. If there are enough negative emotions to attract them, they appear. So, to be precise, Sally, it wasn't 'Alexis' who chose you, it was you who chose 'Alexis'"

Christian's words struck Charlize like a hammer, making her flush with anger. She had wanted to refute, but she couldn't find the words. Observing her pitiful appearance, Christian sighed, but he wouldn't let her off the hook.

"The memories of a ghost-like Alexis are quite fragmented. When temporarily possessing someone, they can't go against the host's will. They can only amplify a particular emotion within the host and create it through the host's thoughts."

"Enough"

Charlize screamed, interrupting Christian's revelations. Her loud voice startled some passersby, who wisely chose to continue on their way. Despite the disturbed glances, Charlize was too preoccupied to care. She glared at Christian, this cruel man who was tearing her scars wide open.

"Yes, as you said, I had initially made the decision myself. I'm weak, untalented, and too scared to remain anonymous for the rest of my life, I'm afraid, afraid I can't outperform my competition. I want to cheat, I want to cozy up to the creeps, but I don't have the guts to strip down in the locker room. I've always thought of suicide, but I didn't dare admit it. So, I blamed 'Alexis,' an unknown ghost I'm not even sure exists. This allowed the likes of you to mock me! I... I..."

"Do you regret it?" Christian asked.

Charlize was already on the brink of hysteria and collapse, and the lesson from a man she had only recently met had been quite harsh. Nevertheless, it stirred something warm in her heart. She blinked back tears, refusing to cry.

"Although it may sound foolish, although you might be a charlatan, I'm still willing to give it a shot."

"Really?"

Christian suddenly broke into laughter, looking rather pleased.

"The most important requirement for exorcising spirits is right there."

He grinned.

"Unfortunately, 'I do' doesn't mean 'now.'"

Charlize's face flushed crimson.