GHOST HUNT (the Prequel)

[copyrights]

Who: YOU
Where: THE GAME TOWER
When: NOW!!!

[You arrive to the game tower where today, the atmosphere seems to be quite s~p~o~o~k~y. Fog seems to cover the entire floor area and any visible area of the tower is covered by things like (fake) spiderwebs and also (fake) spiders hanging around in (fake) trees.

It would probably feel a little more spookier if it wasn't for the fact that music is blaring throughout the tower. Someone is a host today, but it's impossible to tell whom considering they're covered in a white sheet with holes cut out for eyes.

Until they talk anyway.]

I GOT A ★~★~PROMOTION~★~★

To host the greatest haunted house party that you can imagine!! But w-w-w-wait, haunted houses are s-scary! I don't wanna make you guys get too scared so we'll start small . . .

Small . . . tiny . . . miniscule . . .

It's still gonna be dangerous though!! Ghosts are PRETTY uncontrollable, ya know~? I've seen SAWoleen XVI, I know how it goes!!

Comments

Re: End Game

[leaveofabsence]

[ Whether or not he acknowledges it doesn't stop him from continuing to talk ]

I'll try to keep an eye on her until you can yourself. I suppose that is all I can offer in this situation.

Unless you can communicate anything you need...

Re: End Game

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Oh. That's...]

[That's all he needs, honestly]

[The cold patch shifts, a little, to cover Zhongli's hand - grows more intense, briefly, before it eases]

Re: End Game

[leaveofabsence]

[ Just a small smile. ]

I will take that as a sign of your approval.

Re: End Game

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Another squeeze; the cold grows briefly more intense, again]

Re: End Game

[leaveofabsence]

Stay close then, will you?

If we managed a victory, then hopefully you will not be separated from your body for long.

Re: End Game

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Another shift; then the cold patch settles in beside him]

Re: End Game

[leaveofabsence]

Thank you, Hurricane.

If you see the others, will you tell them to follow?

Re: End Game

[crossmyheartandhope]

[No shift, and no squeeze]

[Most of a hesitation? Uncertainty, perhaps]

Re: End Game

[leaveofabsence]

Do not fret if you are unable. My understanding of how spirits work here is quite lacking as I have come to realize.

Re: End Game

[crossmyheartandhope]

[The pen nearby wobbles - lifts into the air - falls again]

[The flashlight follows]

[The UV flashlight]

[They get nudged on the gorund, until they form the vague shape of a question mark]

Re: End Game

[leaveofabsence]

A vengeful spirit is rare if it is truly the soul of someone passed on.

Yet it seems all of those here were very violent.

Re: End Game

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Another shift of temperature, as of displaced air]

Re: End Game

[leaveofabsence]

I do not know if that is agreement or disagreement.

Ah.

Should I only be asking yes or no questions? Would that make it easier?

Re: End Game

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Another shift]

Re: End Game

[leaveofabsence]

We could also just sit in silence if that is preferable.

Re: End Game

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Nothing, in response to that. No change in temperature at all]

Re: End Game

[leaveofabsence]

[Hmmmm...]

Besides being a spirit, are you in any other discomfort?

Re: End Game

[crossmyheartandhope]

[No change in response to that, either]

Re: End Game

[leaveofabsence]

Good. Then do you want to listen as I tell a story until I can find a healer to take care of the worst damage to you?

Re: End Game

[crossmyheartandhope]

[A shift at that, the cold becoming briefly more intense]

Re: End Game

[leaveofabsence]

In ancient times, Liyue was a land of misery, where the shadow of evil loomed large.
As slain gods festered, their vengeful wrath cursed the world, manifesting in infernal forms. When demons stirred, miasmas, monsters, and mutations infested the land.

Re: End Game

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Another shift. This time, the cold spot kind of tucks in against him, not at a single point, but all up along his side]

Re: End Game

[leaveofabsence]

Then, Rex Lapis summoned the yakshas to vanquish the demons. They swore an oath: "Restore order through slaughter, purge evil through battle, to this, we dedicate our lives." Eons of bloodshed later, karmic debt weighed upon them, phantom wrath seeping into their broken souls. They went mad with fear, turned on each other, or succumbed to the darkness.

Re: End Game

[crossmyheartandhope]

[There is no temperature shift, at that; the cold spot stays where it is, as though something or someone is settled in against him]

Re: End Game

[leaveofabsence]

In the millennia since, one conqueror of demons remains the sole surviving yaksha in the mortal realm. And only on moonlit nights, in the glow from Guyun and in the sound of the dihua flute, is his memory preserved.