Chapter Nine

Footsteps.

Sniffing.

"Bubblegum?! Ella what are you doing?" A mumble echoed down the hallway.

"Tell me Park what aree youuu?" Ella had a crazy look in her eyes. It seems she was an illusionist just like Parks previous assailant. This brought a bad taste to Park's mouth.

"I don't know. A boy?" Park was confused. Why did the nurse suddenly start drooling over him.

"You think I don't know that? Or maybe I don't. Shall I check?" Ella was dangerously moving lower and lower. She was now at his waistline.

"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?" 

Park was shaken. The bubbly little nurse he saw back then disappeared. Now he was dealing with a small imp.

"Dunno just curious. Sorry you piqued my interest."

"Uhm ink do something please?"

"Who's ink?" Ella asked.

"Eh?"

Of course she could read minds.

"Who's ink Park?" Ella asked once more.

"Dunno what you're talking about." Park fired back.

"You know we checked up on you guys while you were still healing this morning and given that I'm a telepath, I could hear everyone's inner voices as they slept until we checked up on you."

"Do you know what we found nothing. No sound. Nothing. You were empty. We got no reading on you. I tried over and over again. Nothing. Gretsa felt something was off about you and told me to back away. But I just couldn't. I was so enthralled."

"So, I waited and waited and waited, 2 hours gone and then suddenly you showed up right before me. It was like destiny. I could get all the answers that I wanted."

"Open up Park and let me see all the deliciousness inside," Ella concluded. She looked aroused. She eyed Park hungrily like she could have gobbled him up in that moment.

"Please stop Ella. I don't even know what rests inside me, and it scares me." Park begged.

"Let me help you then."

With this Ella suddenly clasped Park's head.

Aaaaannnddd...

Nothing.

She tried it again and again and again and nothing. She looked dumbfounded.

Just then...

Youuuu wannnnttt seeeeee meeeeee?

The hiss sounded through the whole Grass field.

Youuuu seeeeee meeeeee nooowwww

[Eye of the Abyss is revealing itself]

[Eye of the Abyss is locating the crux of the realm]

[Crux has been located]

[Decomposition has begun]

Ella was now sinking in the dark ooze.

Something was weird about her. Neither did she scream nor flail around. Infact she was smiling. Then in a low voice she finally said, "So that's ink. I finally see the emptiness that was in you. An endless Abyss."

"Ella..."

"Don't worry about me Parkie. Actually, I'm better than ever." Ella cut him short.

Then in a smile she said, "I'll be watching you."

And that was the last he heard of her. She was gone.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT??"

Giiiiiiirrrrllllll noootttttt reeeeaaallll.

"What do you me..."

[Congratulations]

[Illusion is crumbling]

[Illusion ink has recorded Lustful Fields]

[Illusion ink has become stronger]

[Dummy has been absorbed by ink]

[A skill has been developed]

[A new skill Shadow has been registered]

[Low Mental Resistance has been obtained]

[Charm has drastically increased]

"Ella was a fake?"

There was a jingle of keys.

"Someone's trying to get in the morgue!"

Park was in a fix. What would be his excuse? And worst of it all the only ticket to free himself out of this situation was now gone.

The dreamscape was gone. He was back in the morgue.

There was turning of locks.

Then the door opened.

"Ella, I swear I warned you that the next time I see you I'm gonna...."

There was a short pause.

"Who are you?" 

Park turned around to look at the figure in question. Another creature stood before him. It had dog-like features and wore a long white coat. It had its glasses dangling around its neck. It had a nametag pinned on its coat. 

"Anu? Thats a unique name." Park thought to himself.

The creature saw Park looking at his nametag.

"I asked you a question, who are you? and what are you doing here?"

That's two.

"My Name's Park and Umm...I... Uh...was walking...Uh...Ella"

Park stammered. He was a mess.

"Ella was here?" Anu asked in a low growl.

"Y...Y... Yes"

"Where did she go?"

Park was tongue tied.

"Where is Ella, Park?" Anu pressed on further.

"She said she wnet ot fitch someginth."

What was going on?

"Are you lying to me Park?"

"No, she really said hatt hes illw eb ightr ckab."

"I think you're lying to me Park and I really hate liars."

What was going on?

Every time he wanted to say something, it would end up as an incoherent babble.

"I'm not going anywhere till you tell me the truth." 

Anu was persistent. But its not like he could say the truth. That she was "gone".

"Stop turning those gears in your head."

"Just tell me the truth and I'll let you go."

Why was Anu so persistent? What did Ella do to garner this much hatred.

"Fine you want the truth?"

"Yes, just tell me the truth and all of this is over. But if I hear one more lie from you...you will join your friends over there." He said pointing over to the corpses.

"Each piece of you with every single one of them."

"So, tell me, where is Ella?"

"She was in this room."

"Where?"

"She was with me."

"In this room?"

"But I don't see her?"

"She was in me."

"I don't understa...oh my."

The menacing look that Anu had melted away. What remained was just a look of pure concern.

"Seriously? In the morgue? And with her of all people? Are you ok kid?"

The story suddenly took a new twist.

"I kept on telling her to stop doing this."

"Whatever she was doing here entranced some of the souls and they refused to ascend."

"Lust. Such a disgusting energy."

"You know you could have joined them? Sometimes she loses control, and someone ends up gone."

"Some victims are in those very same bags you see before you." He was still pointing at the corpses.

"Anyway, thanks for telling me kid."

"Sorry for putting you under stress, didn't know you were a victim."

"Take this. I pulled it from one of the corpses yesterday."

It was the accursed white orb.

"Oh and keep what happened here a secret."

"Ok? goodbye."

Park exited the morgue.

[Ink has swallowed the orb]

The orb in his hand was now gone.

[Worm has been neutralized]

[Seismic sense skill has been absorbed]

[The Earth's Frequency has become stronger]

[An Earth variant can now be chosen]

"Looks like someone's all healed up already"

Park looked ahead.

It was a nurse. 

"Let's get those bandages off you now, shall we?"