The Great Spirit of the Underworld.

※Contains depictions of blood. Please be cautious if you're sensitive to such content.

I was caught in a sensation like floating gently through waves.

I’d just thought I’d fallen asleep in my father’s arms, but my vision stretched out into an endless expanse of blue sea.

I couldn’t shake off that dreamy, weightless feeling. My head felt sluggish, the kind that comes right after waking up, but I tried to sit up, blinking my eyes.

(...Above the sky?)

Beneath my feet stood the academy’s buildings. I’d mistaken the clear sky for the sea when I first woke.

I looked down at myself, puzzled—my body was somehow half-transparent, see-through.

(...A dream?)

I stared at my own hand, tilting my head. My head still felt light and fuzzy.

Dream? I muttered, glancing down at the castle beneath me. Just vague thoughts—yeah, it’s big, really big—when suddenly I noticed tiny red specks spewing out from all over the place, sprinkling into the air like sparks.

(...What the hell is this?)

I tried to move closer, and just like floating in midair, I could shift without any trouble. No panic. Just… drifted over.

Dots were popping out from every corner of the castle.

When I reached out, they slipped through my fingers like smoke—gone.

I followed one, tracing it back. The source? That same space where the castle’s edge met the air.

(Wait… this…)

A cold knot twisted in my gut. I looked down again from above. The center of the castle was spewing the most of them.

This… this is the same presence I felt before. But it’s so weak. So small.

These specks… are mana. Tiny grains of spirit essence—the raw material of spirits themselves.

The speck before my eyes transformed into something terrifying—just like that.

I panic, floundering. Honestly, I have no idea why I’m a translucent ghost floating in midair.

I don’t even understand what’s happening, but I almost called out for Mother… then stopped.

(Things I couldn’t see before… now I can. Maybe following this will lead me to where the spirit is hiding?)

I swallow hard. Slap my cheek—*pachinko*. No pain. But still—*right!* I’m ready. I dash toward the heart of the castle.

It’s probably lunchtime—voices of people growing louder. I’ve never approached humans when Father wasn’t around, so I freeze, duck into a shadow, and sneak past, careful not to be seen.

I thought I’d been spotted—our eyes met, or so I felt—but then I remembered I’m half-transparent. Apparently, humans can’t see me. I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

I landed in the center of the castle. There stood a building like a chapel. Seems this is the exact heart of the place. The door was wide open, so I peeked around cautiously and slipped inside.

It looked just like the churches I’d seen on Earth in life. High ceilings, a red carpet running down the center aisle, and pews arranged evenly toward the altar at the far end.

And then my eyes landed on the statue of the goddess behind the altar. Not a likeness, but clearly modeled after Mother, Origin—radiating kindness and warmth.

Her right hand was raised toward the ceiling, as if offering something. From that hand, those red particles were streaming out.

(That statue…?)

I frowned, wondering if there was some connection to the Great Spirit, when suddenly I noticed something odd about the church’s structure.

A section of the nave in front of the altar… it was bugging me.

(Could it be…?)

I floated over toward it, light as a feather. When I reached out to touch a pew, my hand passed right through it.

When I tried to stand directly on the ground, I bounced upward instead, as if repelled.

What was this? I was still puzzling it out when I reached toward a spot that felt suspicious—and realized my hand went right through.

(Hidden staircase…?)

Looks like there’s a staircase hidden beneath the nave’s carpet.

I swallowed hard again. If I backed down now, I might never find out what’s here.

A warning bell’s been ringing in my head since earlier. I’m vaguely aware that I don’t have much time left to stand around like this.

(Gotta go…! I’m going!!)

I force myself forward and dive in, my body slipping through the passage like water, twisting into darkness in an instant.

(……!!)

I nearly scream, but swallow it down, eyes fixed on the steps beneath me, floating effortlessly onward.

I thought it was pitch black—but the room’s filled with thick, glowing red specks, dim enough to see by, but still unsettling.

Feels like I’m wandering through a haunted house all by myself. I swear I’ll never go through this again, and yet I push myself forward, faster, faster.

After what feels like forever, I reach the bottom of the stairs—there’s a single space ahead. A little square, really, where the ground is covered in eerie, unsettling symbols, and red specks trickle from every crack in the brickwork.

I push through the red specks, moving deeper.

And then I find it.

The spirit, pinned to the wall like a rag doll, chained in a crane position, pierced with tubes all over, barely alive, bleeding.

A scream tore from my throat. But it wasn’t a voice.

I’d seen this before. The magic the royal family used to pin spirits to open the door.

I rushed toward the spirit. Tried to pull out the tubes. Tried to untie the chains. My hands slipped through—hopelessness clawing at me.

(No! No, no, no!!!)

The collapsed great spirit was male. Expensive clothes, now stained crimson from the blood pouring out.

His long hair—white-gold, just like Mother’s.

I have to help him. I have to help him. Panic rising. Tears spilled, but my hands kept slipping through, useless.

(How do I get my body back!?)

I was panicking, tears just spilling out. Then, the spirit’s head twitched slightly.

Slowly, it lifted its head. The face was pale. I gasped, caught off guard—those eyes, slowly opening, were the same crimson as my mother’s.

A man, beautiful, with a face just a little like hers.

"...M-me-gami... ke-ha... i...?"

A whisper, weak and lifeless. I was crying, wondering how I could possibly help.

"...Me-gami...?"

The spirit seemed to notice me, blinking in confusion, staring right at me.

"...C-cute... me-gami...?"

The tall male spirit looked at me with a childish expression. Then he asked, puzzled, why I was crying.

(You’re getting help! I swear I’ll save you! Just wait for me!!!)

I panicked, desperate to get back into my body. But I didn’t know how. No teleportation. No response—calling out for Mother, for Father, no one answered.

(What do I do...!?!)

I was panicking, reaching out at the man again and again, my hands passing right through him like smoke.

"...tiny, little eye... strength... fading... fading..."

(…fading away?)

"No, no... come back, don't go... please..."

The man, his face pale, gave a soft, wobbly smile—and suddenly, a surge of power shot out from him.

I was flung back, and I knew—this was it. I was going back into my body. The spirit had forced its power on me.

(Stay put! I’ll save you, I swear! Just wait!!)

I screamed with everything I had, tears streaming down my face, unstoppable.

＊＊＊

"…! Elen!!"

I felt myself being shaken. My eyes snapped open—Father was staring at me, face tight with worry.

"Are you okay, Elen? You were having a nightmare."

Seeing his face, I realized I was back in my body. The terror from just moments ago crashed over me all at once. I couldn’t help it—I burst into tears, and Father gently pulled me close, rubbing my back with soft, steady hands.

"Having a scary dream, huh? Papa's here now—you're safe."

"...!"

I couldn’t form words past the sobs. All I could do was shake my head, no, no, no.

Even as I cried, that spirit remained trapped inside. I tried to bolt upright, but my body wobbled dangerously.

"Stop it! You're still burning up!"

Father scolded me. I let out a little whimper, and he immediately apologized, pulling me back into his arms.

"Calmdown, Elen. What is it?"

"A dream... the castle... c-close to...?"

I choked out fragments, gasping between sobs. Father waited patiently. He rubbed my back, murmuring, “It’s okay, it’s okay,” like a lullaby.

"Under the central castle... there was a great spirit..."

Father’s eyes snapped wide open.

"You saw it... a man pinned down, blood... blood being drained from him..."

That red speck had been circling the castle. Now, I think I understand what those scattered spaces across the land were.

"I was so weak... yet you tried to save me..."

I start crying again. Hiccup after hiccup, repeating over and over, "I have to help, I have to help," until my father finally says, "Calm down, calm down."

"Elen, you're still flushed and feverish. It's already night. We promised we'd take you to Sauvel, remember?"

Right. But— I can't stop fidgeting, my mind stuck on the Great Spirit.

"Let's check what you saw tomorrow, okay? So just be quiet for now. You don't even know if it was a dream or if you really saw it, do you?"

My father speaks slowly, gently, trying to soothe me.

I can't stop crying. I don't believe what I saw— and yet, somewhere deep down, I'm screaming that it was real.

"Shall we go see Grandma and Grandpa? Hmm? We can check it tomorrow. Okay?"

"...Yes."

I was lifted into my father’s arms, his hand rubbing my head like I was a child. Tears spilled out uncontrollably, like a faucet left running.

Van and Kai, who had just noticed I was awake, blinked in confusion at my crying.

"Are you unwell?"

"Must’ve had a terrible dream. But maybe it was a premonition. We’ll have to verify what Elen said tomorrow."

"Y-yes..."

"Right, then. We’re heading to Sauvel’s first. You two, come along."

"Understood."

I watched them bow in unison. Then Lovell grabbed Elen by the hand and vanished into the manor.