Everything happened right before his eyes, yet Jules could not do anything but watch. When he realized something was off, his sister had already been spirited away.

Now, all that remained was the will-o’-wisp. 

His brain could not process the information, or perhaps the reality was too painful to accept. So he stood still, frozen in place.

It was Melody’s shaky voice that finally snapped him out of his daze. His gaze refocused, and the scene before him unfolded: the will-o’-wisps were floating around the demon and the two teenage girls, casting a soft blue light on their faces. Meanwhile, Iris was sobbing, Melody seemed lost, and Bastien wore a look of utter disbelief. In other circumstances, that stupid expression of his could have been funny, but not now—it only served to remind Jules that his sister was gone.

His heart told him it could not be real, but his eyes told him it was. At the same time, a little voice whispered to him to bring Annabelle back, no matter the cost.

Just like that time.

The fleeting thought crossed his mind, and an image of his little sister, not even ten of age, tied to an altar, her white gown bloody and unsightly, flashed before his eyes. With a clenched jaw, Jules buried the memory away as fast as it had surfaced, thinking that if he could bring her back from that hell, then he could do the same today as well.

Yes, his sister would return to his side, even if he had to tear apart all realms—and himself in the process.

Jules snapped, and his breathing grew heavier, his mind spiraling into chaos. Flickers of silver started to shimmer in the depths of his eyes, just like a thousand stars. The air around him trembled, and the space was distorted. Soon, tears of blood welled in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks, dripping from his chin. 

Of course, such a sight did not escape Bastien.

‘Fucking hell, that idiot lost it,’ the demon inwardly winced, bringing the girls into his embrace to protect them. ‘Does he have a death wish?!’

Though Jules had a stupidly huge amount of spiritual energy, he wasn’t invincible. When the hunter fed his life force to him, Bastien had inadvertently taken a peek at his reserve and whatever else there was to see. By sharing his vitality with him of his own volition, Jules had bared himself, body and soul, allowing the demon to peer at most of his inner self.

For a hunter, that was one foolish thing to do.

At the time, Bastien acted on instinct, his inner demon telling him to devour all of the man. Although he knew it was improper, he couldn’t resist the urge to glance at the source of Jules’s spiritual energy, which lay in the center of his soul. It emitted a bright light hard to miss, and mesmerized his already muddle-headed self. He remembered thinking he shouldn’t invade the hunter’s privacy any more than this, yet he did, remaining deaf to the voice of reason. 

Back then, he expected to see something akin to a vast lake. However, his expectations weren’t quite right; peering at Jules’s spiritual energy felt like staring into a boundless sea. Honestly, it had left Bastien speechless, and maybe even a little envious. Such a large reserve of spiritual energy was rare, even for higher demons.

Only, Jules had a mortal body, like any human, and it could not support an endless supply of spiritual energy, lest he wanted his veins and organs to burst. Therefore, someone had graved an array onto his soul to seal a part of his spiritual energy. It was the best way to protect him from harming his body while wielding his spiritual sword. 

And now, it seemed like that guy was planning to rip the seal apart, regardless of whether or not his body could take it.

“He’s a fool,” Bastien said through gritted teeth, almost angered into laughing. 

Forcefully tearing the seal was the same as courting death. Not only did Jules not have the skills to undo it, but the seal was also intertwined with his spiritual energy and life force. And from what Bastien had seen, it was deeply rooted into his soul. In other words, destroying the seal would also shatter parts of his soul into nothingness.

If it wasn’t asking for death, what was it?

“B-Bastien, what’s going on?” Iris stuttered through sobs, not knowing what to do. She still hadn’t fully registered her friend was gone, and now, Jules was behaving oddly, tears of blood streaming down his cheeks. He looked just like a ghost.

“Don’t worry, everything is going to be fine,” Bastien whispered, kissing his offspring’s forehead. At the same time, he peered at the will-o’-wisps, which had gathered in the corner. They were so frightened their flames had shrunk to the size of an apricot and could not stop shivering. Good. “The will-o’-wisps should not act up right now, but be on guard.”

“What are you…?”

“I’m gonna stop that guy before he does something stupid.”

Iris bit her lips, seemingly worried at the idea of Bastien leaving her side.

With a softer tone, the demon added, “How could I face his sister if I let him die now?”

The teenager’s eyes widened, then she lowered her head and let go. Instinctively, she pulled Melody in her arms, whispering in a barely audible voice:

“Be careful, please.”

“Of course.” 

That being said, Bastien dashed to the hunter, ignoring the discomfort he felt as he stepped inside the distorted space surrounding the man. His skin seemed to be prickled with thousands of needles. Not a pleasant feeling, if you asked him. Still, he stretched a hand and grabbed Jules’s shoulder, groaning:

“What the fuck are you doing?! Even gods aren’t foolish enough to tear apart realms blindly! Do you want to kill us all along with you?!”

“I’ve got no time to waste,” Jules said in a chillingly even tone, slapping the demon’s hand away. “Don’t get in my way.”

“You little—,” Bastien had to take a breath to calm down and swallow back the words he was about to say. He was aware Jules was rushing because of the time difference between realms. Not many shared the same time frame, and one second in their world could very well amount to a few days or hundreds of years in the world Annabelle had been yanked in. Even so, Jules had to calm down, or else the consequences would be disastrous. In the end, rushing things would do them no good, only harm.

“I know  you’re afraid of being too late, but if this goes on, you’re going to die.”

“So?”

“I can’t believe I’ve got to tell you this! Look, if you bring back your sister but drop dead in the process, she’s gonna die of heartbreak.”

“She won’t.”

“She will!”

“She—”

“Shut up!” screamed Iris, who had been listening to their conversation. She sobbed louder as she scolded, “Anna adores you! If you die because of her, she’ll never forgive herself, even in death. It’s easy to understand, no?!”

The teenager paused to sniffle, looking at Jules with eyes full of tears. She cried, “Don’t go around saying you’ll save her only to drown her in sorrows afterward! Idiot!”

Iris’s outburst left the incubus and the hunter speechless, especially Jules. His eyes seemed to lose a bit of their silvery shine, and he opened his mouth only to close it shut. He glanced at Bastien, his lips trembling. He wanted his sister back, that was all.

Upon seeing the hurt expression on the man’s face, the demon’s eyes became tender. With his thumbs, he wiped away the bloody tears on the man’s cheeks, cupping his face. He bent over and brushed the tip of his nose against his, the movement soothing.  

“Darling, I’ll bring your sister back, so stop wreaking havoc. It hurts to see you like this.”

Not waiting for his words to sink in, Bastien turned around, and his gaze fell on a certain will-o’-wisp. With a smile that did not quite reach his eyes, he beckoned it to come over.

***

Heavy panting could be heard throughout the woods, accompanied by the sound of rushed footsteps and rustled leaves.

A woman in her late twenties was dashing through the tall bushes, holding her right upper arm. Blood dripped from her fingers, but she didn’t seem to care. She was high on adrenaline, and she truly did not feel the pain pulsing through her arm. Her wounds weren’t life-threatening, unlike those cursed things on her trail.

Right now, all she could think about was to find something to climb onto, whatever it was. Her wounds were the least of her worries.

Soon, a tall tree came into view, making her pale gray eyes shine. That would do.

With swift movements, she jumped on a rock beside it before propelling herself toward a branch. She caught it with her uninjured arm, using the momentum to flip her body over. Without wasting a second, she hid between the thick foliage in a well-practiced manner, becoming still.

A few seconds later, strange beast-like shadows crawled under the tree. With each step they took, their sharp claws dug grooves into the ground, their bony spines moving along. One after another, they lifted their heads to sniff the air. However, there was no flesh on their noses, only holes and grayish-white bones.

Smelling the air was a habit ingrained from when they were alive, but now they were walking corpses and could not smell anything. The woman knew it; still, her heart skipped a beat.

What if they found her…?

Time seemed to pass incredibly slowly as she held her breath. She kept her eyes on the beasts and waited for them to walk away, just like she always did whenever she crossed their paths. It was all she could do.

Only once she was sure they had left the area did she dare to breathe again.

Oh Lord, that had been a close one. 

With a barely audible sigh, she moved slightly to the side and took the leather pouch hanging on her hip. She now had time to treat her wounds, superficially at least. But as she rummaged through her pouch, she fell upon a folded picture and froze.

Pursing her lips, she reached for the picture, unfolding it carefully. Though the image had faded a little, it had been relatively well protected, thanks to the plastic layer she had asked the staff to apply when she bought it. She had also treated it carefully, treasuring the picture for her dear life all these years.

In it, five people sat beside each other, riding a roller coaster. Their expressions couldn’t be more different, but it made it all the more memorable.

The first time she had seen it, she had burst out laughing; today, tears welled in her eyes as she stroked her brother’s face.

How long had it been since that day? Years? Decades? She couldn’t tell, and maybe it was better that way.

This picture was one of the two things that kept her going. If it hadn’t been for it, she would have long forgotten who she was. And perhaps she will, one day. But so far, she hadn’t.

“Don’t ever forget who you are, Annabelle.”

She told herself, and as the words left her mouth, she curled up into a ball, clutching the picture to her chest. 

When would her brother come find her? He was already so late, oh so late.