Crawling Chaos
Alright! I knew you’d see reason! Just leave everything to me and start the ritual, Acchan. Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle…
You begin chanting the barrier ritual. Almost instantly, the head of the Nurse twists around in a way that should have broken her neck, seemingly drawn by the sound of your voice. The moment she attempts to take a step towards you, Uehara gestures with her fingers and hurls another talisman at the ghost, distracting it again.
Holding back the fear as best as you can, you continue chanting quickly, and begin to feel a light tug at the center of your chest. Your entire being unravels. Countless voices shout in your mind, all at once, each screaming their own secrets, hopes and desires. You can no longer hear the incantation passing your lips. Thankfully, before your sense of self shatters entirely, the incessant babbling begins to slow down and subside. Silenced. For an instant, you hear nothing but a ringing deafness. A spell of dizziness strikes you, and you reach out for the wall to steady yourself. Your hand finds only something soft, and slimy. You look up.
A puddle of jelly has formed on the wall; dark and translucent, its surface a seething sea of boiling bubbles, it slides down to the floor and begins to take shape. The bubbles bloat into innumerable eyeballs, the eyeballs begin to sprout arms from their center, and from each arm countless black tendrils blossom, waving like anemones at the floor of the ocean. Having spread across the floor thickly, the puddle inches forward, a crawling mass of chaos all eyes and limbs and teeth, and it rises, twisting and writhing as it begins to sculpt something vaguely humanoid out of formless shadow.
Then, it collapses back into mush, losing its form.
Uh. Ah. There appears to be some technical difficulties, Acchan. Your life force is quite… messy. It’ll take me some time to adjust to it, so please don’t look at me while I’m like this! It’s embarrassing!
Can you even do anything at all when you’re like that?
Then do it, you think hurriedly. There is no time to waste.
The black puddle waves a fingered tentacle in salute, and rushes forward, pouring towards the ghost from behind. Trying to keep your concentration under the light-headedness, you attempt to finish the ritual’s incantation while Ei and the others are keeping the Nurse busy. Unfortunately, you quickly realize that Ei is now trying to deal with the spirit alone: Uehara, Amanozaki and Sakimura are so stunned by that horrible physical appearance that they are backing away, uncertain whether or not they should interfere in a battle between two monsters. Preoccupied with the finishing the chant, you are unable to instruct them in anything.
The twisted face of the Nurse seems to expand even further, the malice surrounding her body gaining volume until it fills the entire hallway from ceiling to floor. The brackish water has now risen to your ankles, and you are no longer able to feel your feet. A dozen white limbs spring out from the miasma, at an angle and distance far from the Nurse’s body, and grapple Ei’s bubbling ooze.
A-Acchan, are you done yet?
She actually sounds nervous for once. You nod.
I’m done. Get out of the way!
Ei immediately breaks off, leaving squirming bits of her in the ghost’s grasp. You concentrate, focusing on the visage of the Nurse between your fingertips, and form a cage around her: an impenetrable ward that no spirit may pass.
“Shinoseki!” Uehara calls out in surprise. “This won’t be enough to hold her!”
“
I… help… the pain…”The spirit lets out an awful moan, and the darkness stirs in response. Her hands, curled into bony white claws, crash against the invisible prison surrounding her. There is a brief gleam as the reality of the barrier is shaken by her attack. You feel it as a painful pounding in your head. “
Let me go… director… I won’t tell anyone…” She groans, and again she strikes, and you wince. When you do not yield, the Nurse screams a ghastly scream that chills your heart – the entirety of her hatred is now focused upon you, like a scalpel poised to plunge deep into your chest. Your feet are rooted to the spot, and you realize, with a sinking feeling, that to move right now would be to free the ghost. It is already requiring all of your strength just to restrain her.
You are not going anywhere while the barrier is still active.
“Sh-Shinoseki-san, let’s go?” asks Amanozaki tremulously, glancing at the angry ghost and then back at you.
“I’m… I’m going to hold her for a bit longer. Go on ahead.”
“But-“
“
Please,” you plead.
“R-Right… look, just take this.” Amanozaki hurriedly takes out a small pouch and puts it in your pocket. “There’s some reserve talismans inside.” As she backs away, Sakimura steps up.
“Thanks, Shinoseki-san. We’ll go get help and come back for you. Just hold on!” he encourages you bravely. You can tell that he means every word of it, but you also know that it is not going to happen. He puts one hand on Uehara’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Uehara stares at you and mutters angrily, “Don’t think I’m going to thank you for this.” With those parting words, she turns to leave with the others, and they begin to retreat down the corridor.
Again, the Nurse crashes against the barrier, creating flickering sparks of light that float away before dissipating. Your sight blurs. You feel something warm flow across your lips, trickling down your chin. The faint taste of iron tells you that it is blood – you are having a nose-bleed.
Funny, that. It’s not like I’m thinking of anything perverted.
Acchan, quickly break the---
Ei begins talking to you worriedly, but you cannot hear the rest of her words anymore. You blink, trying to focus, but your fingers are shaking and your sight is wavering. You can feel the flow of blood intensifying, and you begin to wonder if you are bleeding from your eyes and ears too.
Another strike, like the pounding of a giant hammer. The barrier shatters – you can feel it giving way beneath your fingertips. Your consciousness is blown away at the same time, but even half-aware, you cling on. By some last gasp, you keep yourself upright. Still, the Nurse is free, and angry.
The hospital trembles, sending ripples through the water now lapping halfway up your shin.
Then, your arm rises. You yawn, beyond your control, as if you had just awakened from a long sleep. But it is no longer you – you can only watch, as your body dispels Ei’s physical form with a single gesture, returning her into book form as she yelps in surprise. As the Nurse bears down on you, you bite your thumb and draw blood. With a flick of your wrist, you send a string of blood flying towards the ghost, while with your other hand you perform a complicated series of gestures, accompanied by an incantation in a long dead language.
You feel the barrier reform, turning into a visibly translucent wall between you and the Nurse, and the blood that you spilt twists and wraps around the wall like red chains, strengthening it. Though she throws herself against the barrier again, this time it holds without much effort on your part.
You tap the wall gently with your knuckles and say – this other you says, in a cold, methodical and arrogant voice, “Finally. Are you listening?”
Are… are you talking to me?
“Ah, yes, I
clearly have a habit of talking to myself.” There is a glint of dry amusement in those words.
What… what is going on? Who are you? Why-
“The barrier will not hold for long. Unfortunately, the Nurse appears to be a
much stronger presence in this hospital than we are.”
Indeed, you are already hearing a worrying creaking from the wall – the chains seem to be stretching. It is only a matter of time before it falls.
Then…
While walking briskly away from the trapped nurse, you look at the walls and floor, where the water is already receding. “This is… Kaimei. The layout is different, but it is still Kaimei. That means the rooms that we know of are still present somewhere… and if it is still Kaimei, the Nurse is very likely to be the core of the distortion on this level. She will have to be exorcised before I can proceed to the next level.”
Exorcised? You mean…
“She has to be put to rest,” you mutter, turning to glance at the distant wall. You wonder if it is going to break soon. “A head-on confrontation will not solve this. I need more information on the Nurse… who she was, what she did, and how she died.” An angry frown creases your brows. “And of course, Seika’s sister is still a liability. I will have to…”
You stop in the middle of the corridor. Astonished, you look at your hands, flexing your fingers. You have regained control, though you are not sure exactly how.
Acchan, Acchan, what happened? Do you have a split personality disorder? I guess it wouldn’t really be surprising, because you are soooo messy on the inside?
“I don’t know, Ei,” you mumble.
***
A. You try to meet up with the others. They have not gone far – you will catch up with them fairly quickly if you run. You need to tell them that they should find a way to exorcise the nurse. Besides, they are probably waiting for you: you are their leader, after all, even though you haven’t shown much of your leadership skills so far.
B. You do not meet up with the others and begin exploring on your own. You don’t trust yourself at the moment. If you lose control while around them, things could get dangerous, especially considering those words about Uehara. It would be easier for you to explore the area without having to constantly look out for them.
