Luca looked at the papers and put them in the cabinet and locked them. Leaving only one summoning paper, and smiled. He walked towards the special box and opened it, hoping it was what he needed. But life gives nothing away for free, and that is a talisman. Luca stood there frozen.
What the hell.. I thought it contained some kind of god's string...
Helpless, but he still wants to try. Why is he itching to try? There's a high chance that if he does it, he'll die, but the instructions don't say that if he doesn't have the right ingredients, he'll definitely die, right? It's probably okay.
Luca nodded as he decided to take a risk. If he went to rob again, where would he rob? There was also a high chance of getting caught, not to mention that if he went to buy it, there were two cases, one was super expensive, and the other was nowhere to buy it, except for illegal trading places like the black market. If asked, he was more afraid of spending money unreasonably. If he could sell his rotten life, he would gladly sell it to capitalists.
Luca started to bite his right index finger and drew a large circle with a diameter of about 5 cm. After finishing, Luca continued to draw a square inside the circle, and in that square was a triangle, and this time, those two shapes used the blood of the god. Luca took the box containing two ice flowers and two fire flowers and put them as the paper said, and when he took them, his hand felt a slight burn and cold, so he put them in quickly. And the rest was done exactly as the paper said, no more, no less, except he skipped the part with the thread of god's path.
< Great Weaver of All, >
< Grant me the wisdom to see, >
< The threads of Fate's design. >
< From your subbornate, I pray, >
Luca started chanting with the mask on his face, not smiling or crying, although his mouth was very difficult to control, as it was forced to smile, the corners of his mouth kept twitching.
< A vision clear, for life's display. >
Just finished reading, suddenly the pleasure flew around Luca's body, unable to move as if something was tied down. Luca tried to struggle to get out but couldn't, then he started having difficulty breathing as if something was choking his neck, and his body felt like it was being pressed down to the floor by gravity. Luca's limbs also started to writhe, wanting to turn 360 degrees. Luca gritted his teeth to endure it until he almost bled. He foolishly looked around and saw only a lot of fog, then felt like someone was looking at him as if it were a joke/game.
Looking around, he felt like he was playing dumb, and there was no way out for himself. His body was slowly being compressed to the point of being like a piece of paper; now, he was no different from the soldiers in the church. Luca just lay there and tried to breathe, only to smile a contemptuous smile.
Luca just lay there, his body trembling slightly at the last moment. The crooked smile still lingered on his lips, as if challenging the gods, even though more like the mask forced him to. His eyelids fluttered slightly, then gradually closed, but immediately, a terrible pressure came down one last time. The sound of bones cracking rang out, and flesh was crushed into red pieces. Blood sprayed, spreading across the floor, drawing dark streaks that stuck to the floor and walls, and the mask changed from a smiling face to a sad one.
Liver, intestines, every muscle, and every piece of internal organ were forced out, scattered like a terrible bloody feast. The body was crushed, deformed beyond recognition. His two pupils, wide open as if he hated not being able to pay back, froze in one last look. Those eyes could never close again, like a curse, as if Luca's soul was still trapped, ready to return even as a vengeful ghost.
The surrounding space was filled with the stench of fresh blood, internal organs, broken bones, and crushed flesh.
...…
The sunlight shone through the window, its rays shone on the young boy, yes, Luca was somehow alive, now sitting on the bed. But it seemed like he didn't remember anything, just sat there and looked around, then looked at the pool of blood on the carpet.
Memories flooded back... explosion, masked man, angel, church, Vien, money, horror, thief, and incomprehensible words/sounds lingering in his head. The images kept repeating, now Luca only knew that... his name was Luca, and he liked money and hated horror, but also loved it, the rest was like someone had eaten it all. He didn't know if, because his memories were eaten, he would still be afraid of horror or like money, or if it would be different, but looking at the pool of blood, he also came up with a hypothesis that he was dead, maybe he had another body? So after that body died, the soul entered this body, but it was removed because he could be sure that this was the old body.
The wounds and pain on his body were like small scars, and Luca felt comfortable in this body, so it must be his body. Luca walked to the table and stepped over the circle drawn in blood and other objects.
Luca looked at the paper with his name and notes in some language that he understood; he probably called it English. In general, although his memories were a bit lost, the necessary memories were still there, especially about the gods or the strange ritual he did... but to be honest, the memories of the pain he went through were even more horrible.
The problem here was that he lost all memories of the old world, his name, and his past in the previous world. Luca only remembered that he was in a certain world and then entered the current world he was in.
Luca looked at the pile of books on the table and smiled. His memories seemed to be useful. Although he didn't know who he was or what his past was like, it seemed that he hadn't forgotten what he had read and learned about this place. He took off the sad mask from his face and looked in silence. It seemed to have changed a bit compared to his memory. Well, it's not that he felt uncomfortable as if something was wrong. But now he didn't have the energy to care, so he put it in with the other scrolls/papers.
Luca began to clean the room, each step heavy as if his feet were covered in lead. His face was tense, both from laziness and disgust. Who would want to clean a scene like this when the walls, the floor, even the tables and chairs were all covered in crimson stains? He dragged the rag, the cleaning liquid quickly turning a dirty red, blotchy as if trying to erase a gruesome painting. Every time Luca bent down, he saw patches of dried blood stuck tightly, hardened like cracked paint, requiring a lot of scrubbing to peel off.
Oh my god, why is it so tiring?! If I die, I'll die somewhere other than at home!
After cleaning the room for a while.
Luca wiped the sweat from his forehead with his right hand, each drop seeping into Luca's hand as he stood there looking at the fairly clean room after cleaning. He was relieved that the books he borrowed weren't stained with blood; otherwise, he would have spent money on things he didn't need. Luca took off his old clothes and walked into the bathroom. After a while of bathing and finishing washing the bloody clothes and drying them. Little did he know that his pupils had already developed ⅕ of a star shape.
Luca went back to his room just to get his wallet. He counted for a while and sighed because he had just bought a loaf of bread from Mrs. Mary, and the money he had now was only 2 Bronze Coins and 9 Copper Coins. After looking at it, he lost all motivation.
Luckily, it was thanks to his body first? Maybe that's why the pain from before had disappeared. The feeling was gone, but the aftereffects were gone. The books he borrowed still had 6 days left before they were due, so he left them on the table while he himself, in his new outfit... no, not really new. The outfit he wore was terribly similar, one for going out and the other for wearing at home.
Luca didn't know what to do now… should he look for a job, or ask Vien to keep him as a sugar baby? But who's to say that guy would even agree to that? With a sigh, Luca stared out the window for a long time before finally giving up and stepping outside to find work.
Leaving the house after locking the door, Luca slowly walked down the stairs, looking at the other room doors. The laughter and talking were true. This apartment building was not soundproof. Luckily, his room was at the bottom of the row, so no one paid much attention.
"Hey, you know, there's a man who opened a museum recently."
"Are you serious? Maybe we should go see for ourselves."
"Honey, we don't even know how much the ticket costs yet."
The conversation between the old couple in room 105 had caught his attention. Luca thought and smiled before opening the door. Maybe there weren't many employees yet, so finding a job there seemed reasonable, and working in a museum didn't require much work. Luca nodded and quickly walked down the stairs and out. Luca walked around to find the museum where the old couple had been talking.
Just mentioned, right in the middle of the square was a modern architectural structure with transparent glass panels reflecting the sunlight, interspersed with steel and light-colored stone lines, creating a feeling of both majesty and elegance. In front of the gate was a long staircase leading up to the lobby, with neatly trimmed green potted plants on both sides. This was indeed the museum he was looking for.
There was also a recruitment board nearby, but he saw a few people being chased out like they had failed interviews.
Not knowing why, seeing this gave him a headache at that moment; it felt like this headache was waiting for the moment he saw the interviewers slide out. Small memories began to gather into a memory fragment.
flash!
The boy's hand was gripping cracked pavement.
Sneakers soaked in rain… and something warm trickling from his nose.
Luca saw a boy with a white school uniform, a stand-up collar, and short sleeves. The school logo was sewn on the left chest, but he couldn't get close enough to see it, along with slightly loose but neat dark blue pants. Sneakers with white socks.
Luca saw that boy, or maybe himself, being chased out of a barbecue restaurant, being shoved away in a bad way, while the man seemed angry and yelled. Luca guesses that it is his pastself or else why is it in his mind? Luca could see that his old self had many injuries on his body, but he didn't understand why he didn't fight back and sat on the ground being cursed like that. Was there a reason behind it? From that perspective, he was able to change the scene to himself in the old world, going home with injuries from various causes, carrying a folder and an envelope that looked like money.
" Hey! Can you move a bit!? "
Luca woke up from those fragmented memories with sweat all over his forehead, panting as he tried to regulate his breathing. Luca also made way for the man who had just yelled to wake him up.
Luca saw that some of the people who were dropped were crying, some were pretending that nothing had happened, and some were clearly disappointed.
But thanks anyway…
Luca felt grateful to them because, thanks to them, he remembered a little about himself, whether he wanted it or not, but it was a pretty useful memory; he knew what he was like then; it seemed like he was beaten by someone, or maybe he was mentally ill, and he liked to harm himself. Maybe it was still unclear about the past personality, but it was interesting; it stimulated the curiosity in this body.
Luca entered the museum's doors. The lobby was vast, with a high ceiling hung with shining crystal chandeliers, and the clean white marble floor reflected the light. The polished wooden reception desk was placed right in the center, next to it was a giant electronic screen displaying a map of the exhibition areas. This was the problem, the items on display were strange, some were normal, but one area caught his eye, the 'century exhibition area'.
Who named the exhibition area like that!? What an outdated and childish name!
A young girl approached him who appeared to be a staff member.
She was petite with slightly disheveled brown hair, as if she had something urgent to do and had to come pick him up. She had chestnut brown hair braided with pigtails with a money piece and was wearing a long, full black skirt paired with a crisp white button-down shirt. The shirt had puffy, cuffed sleeves that extended past the wrist. Worn over the shirt was a dark, sleeveless vest with a V-neck and subtle vertical stripes. A wide, dark belt cinches the waist, and a pair of shiny black, lace-up boots are visible at the bottom.
"Hello! I'm Amelie Veyron! Sorry, why did you go into the wall like that?!"
Luca bowed to Amelie. This girl really made him feel a bit embarrassed. Was it necessary to emphasize each word like that? But what does she mean by go into the wall?
"Please wait a moment! I will bring you the map!"
Who told you to scream like that!?
That was what he thought after seeing her run away, leaving him alone right there. With no other choice, he went to the place he was most curious about, that's right, the century exhibition area.
Everything was wilder than he thought, although there were few things here; each one was so strange that it was indescribable. Ancient masks were cracked, stained with blood, empty eyes as if they were watching. Wax dolls were placed in glass cages, glass jars inside contained human organs (eyes, heart, brain) soaked in formalin, the coffin on display was empty but had a strange aura, and finally, children's toys, including teddy bears, wooden cars, or music boxes.
Why did they leave it here? It looks like it came from a haunted house for sure!
All without any name or description, he looked until a scream, yes, this voice could only belong to that girl, Amelie.
" STOP! DON'T GO OVER THERE!!! "
Luca stopped, while Amelie pulled Luca out of there and sighed helplessly. She adjusted her breathing before looking at Luca.
Luca looked at her and tilted his head like a scolded puppy.
Luca stood there listening to Amelie list a thousand reasons why he wanted to bump into that wall, but he didn't hear any of them until she stopped. Luca smiled an industrial smile.
"Excuse me, Miss Amelie, I was wondering if I could come in for the interview yet?"
Amelie stopped and blushed a little, realizing she had strayed a bit from the main topic, so she bowed a little to regain her dignity and then smiled brightly to lead the way for him. But something was wrong with her expression while looking at his eyes.
"Sorry, I can't give up that bad habit!"
You have two bad habits that need to be corrected.
Luca thought to himself as he followed Amelie and looked around, and they stopped at a door. Amelie slowly opened the door and led him inside.
"He's here!! Sir!"
Luca looked at the man sitting in the chair facing him. The interview room was paneled in dark wood, the golden chandelier casting a shadow over the long, polished table. The slow ticking of the grandfather clock added to the tension.
But all that was overwhelmed by the aura of the special man with the curtain haircut as black as coal and the golden eyes like those of a hawk looking at his prey. The suit was a long, dark overcoat with a prominent, high collar. A shorter capelet was draped over the shoulders and upper part of the coat. Underneath, a dark vest was visible, worn over a white shirt with a ruffled jabot or cravat at the neck. The lower half of the outfit consisted of light-colored trousers that were tucked into a pair of tall, dark boots.