Published at 14th of April 2026 11:58 pm

Chapter 4. What hides in the mist

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I extended my consciousness into the surroundings and immediately could tell my senses were diminished. Penetrating the fog was almost impossible.

Shit.

I was somehow on the creature's home turf.

A tingling, uncomfortable feeling down my spine warned me that something was watching me. I suppressed the urge to turn around, ignoring the presence in the fog I could see on the very edge of my vision. A shadow that did not seem to be made by the mist's constant, random movement, a shape that persisted in the swirling.

For now, it was observing me.

I needed to think fast. Whatever it was, it shouldnt have been able to pull my soul out of my body, and certainly not without me noticing. Entering my dreams was dangerous for me and suicidal for anyone who tried.

Then, there was one option leftan illusion. I was actually standing in my room, and the spell was tricking my mind into believing I was in the creature's trap. That had to be it.

Not bad. I relaxed a bit, now that I knew what was happening.

The illusion was extremely well-made. How it was cast was another problem to solve, but now was not the time. I could see the presence drawing closer to the edge of the fog. Suddenly, a sharp movement announced the attack. Two shadowy spikes went for my knees, aiming to maim me. The projectiles were quick and made contact before I could do anything. I saw bone crack and flesh tear as I looked down at my mangled knees.

But I did not fall.

Impressive spell work, bad execution, I spoke in Black Speech. If you can't convince me that I'm hurt, I won't be hurt, my shadowy friend, I said calmly, but got no response.

Well, it didnt matter. If the subject panicked, the subject could be hurt, but if the caster panicked...

I know you can speak. So, since this is our first meeting, let me give you a free lesson. Its veeery dangerous to keep a target in an illusion after they realize what it is. I gave it a wide smile. Let me show you why.

I extended my consciousness, trying to sense the connection that made the spell work. Once identified, I began pressing my own mental energy into everything around me, corrupting things, overtaking the spell, and slowly creeping towards the mind on the other side. The floor and furniture around me started to rot and twist into weird, otherworldly shapes. I could feel the creature panic. It tried to drop the whole spell, but it was too late. I was anchored.

I let the ink on my hands float to the skin's surface. As if a sea monster were popping its head from the water, shapes and runes started to appear on my skin. Those tattoos were used for curse weaving, and I had a perfect curse in mind.

Oh, dont leave yet. We havent gotten to know each other, I said playfully.

It should be panicked enough to believe I could hurt it. My fingers danced in a couple of runic shapes as I chanted Decay and put my hand into the fog. The mist, once white, began to turn greenish-black, and the thing howled in pain. I was right. But then, with a sharp snap, everything around me cracked, and I was back in my room, sitting on my bed.

Running by cutting off your own tail, huh? Smart, I said towards the empty apartment.

I managed to lightly injure its mind, but it was quick, and I didnt put any permanent curse on it. One might think that getting my opponent hurt before the battle was great, and it was, but not all was good news. The thing literally picked the worst possible target for fear-based magic, but it was capable of more complex spells, suggesting very high intelligence. Moreover, it was capable of magic outside of its lair, which meant that it should be able to do much more inside of it.

Also, how was the spell cast? I doubted it sneaked up on me or had any spell component that would lead the magic to me. The fight might not be as straightforward as I believed.

I went to check the house, but as I walked out of my room, it hit me: a smell of burning hair and clocks frozen at 2:34 a.m.

The next morning was the day to deal with the ghost.

I was planning on going after midday. If the ghost made use of its intelligence, it wouldnt show itself when the sun was still up. And even if it did, playing whack-a-mole with a spirit was not on my to-do list. So I started to get ready to move around two hours before sunset.

Before me lay a black wizard's robe. Unlike the normal decorated ones with wide sleeves, this one was a simple battle robe. It had silver details and a series of runes around the seams, a thicker material on the chest area, and tight sleeves ending before the wrista mark of a curse weaver.

After putting it on, I locked my black leather belt around my waist and started adding weapons to its many holders. I enjoyed this part in particular. It was relaxing in a strange way.

Next to my right hand was a black obsidian dagger with a white bone handle, ready to be pulled out. A series of small bottles was held at the back, and a couple of talismans in holders were on my left, with the chains sticking out of the cases for easy access.

And finally, the most important part of the get-up. A black and gold staff with an arcane focus at the top and five smaller crystals underneath it. Each smaller one represented a spell to be instantly cast without any components at the speed of a thought.

Three spells of the first circle and two of the second. The whole thing was almost my height, made of black wood with golden, vein-like lines running through it. There was a sculpted skull at the top of the staff, looking like it belonged to an elk, but smaller, a size more fitting for the weapon. In the forehead of the skull sat a red crystal with a black center, which was the arcane focus, a basic tool for quickening the casting process.

I double-checked everything and activated the staff as it snaked around my wrist, shrinking and bending until it looked like a bracelet.

Finally, after last night's incident, I ensured all my mental shields were up, and my thoughts flowed smoothly. Ghosts really liked their mental tricks, and I was hoping the creature would try to get into my head. Breaking into someone's psyche was difficult unless you had the natural ability, like a ghost or an empath. But even for them, establishing a two-way connection was necessary. A two-way connection that could be reversed by someone proficient in mind arts.

I arrived at the place of the exorcism. It was a typical suburban American house. Two levels, porch and lawn in front. The building was well-maintained. The only thing suggesting it was empty was the newspapers lying on the porch.

I looked through the window and immediately recognized the place. It was the same as the one in the illusion. No surprise there.

After entering I looked around to get to know my surroundings. I had about thirty minutes of daylight, and I could already feel a presence in the house, but as I thought, the ghost was hiding, waiting for the sun to recede.

Next, I made my way to the porch. Uncorking one of the bottles, I dipped three fingers into the red substance and began drawing a seal on the front doors. Once I closed them again, only one of us would be getting out of that house alive. It was a bit excessive, but I didnt know how the creature functioned or what its limits were..

After around ten minutes, with my work done, I stood outside looking at the setting sun. The sky was turning a deeper shade of red as the shadows lengthened, overtaking the world from the grasp of light. I raised my left hand towards my heart and felt my pulse. It was a steady but loud beating, slightly faster than usual. A smile made its way to my lips. Those were the moments I lived for, the moments when I remembered that I was alive, really alive, and not just mindlessly going through the motions of the same ld routine. I raised my eyes, and finally, the shadows covered the final tile of the houses roof.

It was go time.

As I crossed the threshold, I felt a presence once again, this time tangible, as if someone stood at the edge of my vision, prompting me to look behind me. Yes, the thing was here, waiting, finally fully manifested.

I took a breath and looked at the fog slowly filling the house, rising out of nowhere.

Its time to hunt, I thought as I heard the doors close behind me.

And with the click of the lock, the seal on the house came alive.

A delicate fog filled the building, not exactly blocking the view but making the shadows and contours slightly obscured, seeming not entirely real. It gave the house a dream-like, ethereal feeling. That feeling was magnified by the kind of silence where one could hear their own heartbeat. It was unnatural and unnerving for anyone present, making them want to turn on a radio or music to make it disappear.

I slowly made my way through the fog towards the stairs. The plan was simplefind the anchor and destroy it, preferably killing the enemy if it showed itself on the way. And since strong emotions were needed for any malicious spirit to form, the first place to check was the spot where the man died.

The floors that were fine before now creaked with every step I took. I slowly made my way past the doorway to the living room when it happened. Bang! A loud noise echoed right behind me, coming from the door to the kitchen. Anyone would take a look, but it was not my first rodeo. Instead of checking it, I immediately used one of the spell charges in the staff.

Decay

A black and green, squirming ball flew out of the staff and exploded right in front of me, making some of the wood rot and wither. Just in time for me to see the shadows vibrate and adjust, retreating to their correct placements.

I froze in my spot. I couldn't feel the attack coming or my spell finding the target. My magic dispersed the opponents, but the attacker was nowhere to be seen. The presence was still here, but also not entirely here. It didnt have to get closer to attack.

Wailing Armor, I cast, making a couple of hand gestures, and I could feel energy wrapping itself around me like a wet blanket. It was not the best feeling, but the spell could take a direct attack.

Is the whole house a big anchor? I wondered.

But that was impossible. I would have felt it immediately upon entry. The attack originated from the shadows, but the presence didnt strengthen.

Should I go for an exorcism right away?

But I needed some time for the ritual, and I couldn't go through with it if I couldnt see an attack coming. I had the vial of the blessed liquid, but no target to use it on.

Fuck, I hissed towards the fog and activated another spell by chanting Watchers Circle to give myself some breathing room. I felt the space around me come into focus in my mind despite the fog.

Then I took one of the talismans from my belt. It was a contraption similar to a compass, but the needle was not moving. Pushing some of my magic into the right spot activated it. Now I just needed to catch a sliver of mana belonging to the creature. Touching the compass to an attack would work, but that was a dangerous manoeuvre.

Deactivating the circle, I made my way towards the stairs. Two more attacks came my way from the shadows. I managed to defend against both, not using the staff this time, but I could not catch any mana. They were way too quick and unexpected.

But I noticed a pattern.

The spells always came from the shadows. The creature probably had some connection to the shadow element, making attacks powerful but limited in variety.

I cast Light, and most of the shadows around were dispersed as I went up the stairs, each step accompanied by an eerie squeaking. The portraits on the walls seemed to follow me with their hollow eyes as the fog downstairs thickened, making it look like I was walking over a white, swirling abyss. And any misstep threatened to throw me into it.

I had to give it to the creature. The mental work was excellent. Every ghost has the natural ability to cause fear, but this show was really goodso good, in fact, that I almost missed the slight poke in my mental landscape. The presence in my mind slowly but surely made its way deeper, towards the part of the psyche where surface fears and phobias resided.

If I were a normal person, I would probably just wonder why I was thinking about a scary memory from the past, right then, while the creature got a good look at my fears.

But I was not a normal person.

The presence in my mind was moving forward cautiously until it suddenly stopped. It finally noticed that something was horribly wrong, probably warned by a primal sense of fear that arose in it.

But it was too late.

Using my own mental strength, I grabbed the tentacle-like construct, locking it in place, and made my way to the thing on the other end, no stealth, just a brute force attack. Once there, I started to rummage through the creature's psyche like a bull in a china shop, trying to read its current stream of consciousness.

I could feel the mind on the other end. It was much more complex than any spirit I had encountered before, but I had no time to ponder. The part of it in my head started to retreat in a panic. With access to some of my memories, it bombarded me with visions of my own childhood, hoping one of them would elicit a strong enough response to break my concentration.

The memories flashed before my eyes. I could see my own past intertwined with the ghost's surface thoughts.

A vision of a head in a complicated glass container looking at me with a loving smile flashed inside my mind.

The spirit was preparing a trap.

People chanting in an ancient language as thirteen-year-old me sat before a massive sculpture with dimensions, angles, and colours not of this world.

A distraction, then an attack, it was planning a killing blow.

An old, massive book with strange symbols, the most blasphemous text of mankind, passed on to me.

From everywhere.

A warm womans smile.

Something more, a ruse within a ruse, something was wrong, something

As I tried to make my way deeper, the connection was lost, and the presence retreated as I quickly used a Shield spell to block a hasty attack. I revealed part of its plan, but there was something else, something I did not get to see. I had to be extra careful. All I could do was increase my focus and hope to kill it before any new variable came into play.

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