Having completed his mental preparations, Kruger began his chant once more. He raised his hands, opening his palms as though making an offering, and immediately after, the wound in his chest began to steam before closing completely.
"Unia deso psyche koga oni-ante,"
["Unite this soul with those before,"]
"Val miren reignet unia do rod."
["Let peace reign the reunion of kin."]
'There are two additional sentences.' The extended incantation emanated like a somber request, and that appeal was woven with a deeper layer of compassion that bled from the man's core. It rapidly rose, blending with his cold spiritual energy, and above Cecil, a pentagram of scarlet runes formed on the ceiling.
As they stared at the two-layered ritual circle, the hint of gloominess that clung to the quiet walls completely dispersed, swept away in a single breath. With that, the runes flashed thrice, and the center started to warp.
After a few seconds of silence, the space bent inwardly, distorting as a portal manifested.
"I suppose this goodbye," Cecil murmured. Placing a hand on her hip, she leaned forward with poise and pointed at the trio of siblings. " You two better keep your promise, or I'll return as a scary ghost to haunt you."
"Do that, and I'll just send you right back to the afterlife," said Damon, flashing an innocent smile.
"You're really no fun." Cecil poutedchildishly. "With your occupations, this may not hold any weight, but I pray your fates are much kinder than mine."
Leaving those parting words, she did not delay any further. Her spiritual body gently lifted off the ground, drawn toward the hole like air gently pulled through a tube.
Suddenly, a sharp sting shot up Damon's spine as she neared the opening.
'..Not..ugh again!'He began to panic as his gaze was inexplicably drawn to the world beyond the portal, finding it hard to look away. At the same time, Cecil's illuminated countenance vanished from his sight, his eyelids growing heavy with each passing second.
All the tendons in his legs twitched furiously, struggling to support his quickly weakening body as his thoughts slowed considerably. It was then that Damon heard them!
Sounds rushing towards him in a sequence of almost incoherent voices as though he was an already damaged shield being bombarded by steel-tipped arrows.
["Some****** here. I feel **"]
["Another**** hasn't been *****!!"]
["****?! We can't**** it!"]
["Oi, you ***! Where's the bloody****?!"]
["Has ****** discovered **** home? Is our **** finally over?"]
The chaotic ensemble crashed against Damon's mind with cold energy like wild waves against a cliff, each one a fresh spike of agony behind his eyes.
Clutching his head, Damon began to channel his remaining spiritual energy, bracing against the psychic intrusion. Naturally, he held no interest in becoming the human equivalent of a hostel after only partially accommodating Master Tomoe,
'Give them an inch, and they'll move in as she did.'
Damon sought to use his life affinity to precisely counter the cold that threatened to draw him to a likely demise. Yet to his surprise, deep within his core, a drop of deadly, freezing appeared in his spiritual well.
"Damon? You okay?" Beside him, Henry shivered, sensing the unusual shift in the air. He cautiously took a step back and nervously whispered, "You're looking kind of pale...Don't tell me you actually got cursed?"
'Why..would she curse me..!?' The thought slowly weaved through his mind before a weak smile tugged at his lips. "I think..I just received the Death Affinity."
His words came out slowly and laced with uncertainty, but that did not seem to soften the blow they dealt to Henry.
Immediately, he froze, and the silence lasted for a minute before he lunged forth, grabbing Damon by the collar.
Slow to react, his arms fell helplessly to the side as Henry shook him violently and stared into his squinting eyes. "You've been doing random bullshit since we got here, but this takes the cake! Why do you just get a new affinity for free!?"
"How would I know!?" Damon snapped and remarked condescendingly. "Work harder!"
Bang!
Irritated by the voices and his brother's movement, Damon delivered a sharp headbutt that sent Henry stumbling back.
Despite the pain drilling through his mind, he was not stunned as the crimson liquid began to flow from both their foreheads. Rather, the sight of Henry's blood seemed to sober him up as the voices in his head vanished instantly.
"How long are you gonna sink in envy and cowardice with that weak Will of yours?!"Damon added, panting a few times before wiping away the blood near his eyes.
"Shall we let this argument end there?" Kruger's deep voice cut through the tension like a blade. The priest closed the portal as soon as Cecil passed through and turned towards the bickering duo, the earthy, rich green orb grasped firmly in his left hand.
For a moment, he watched Damon with an unreadable expression. "Ahem. Those souls you heard are those that toil in the shepherd's domain until the karmic chains that bind them have all been undone. They who yearn to return to this mortal plane have learned to push their voices across the boundary through sheer Will, but their ability to maintain resonance has been greatly diminished."
"..But how did they reach me?" Damon questioned.
"As Affinities often resemble spices on a dish, some are inherently a part of us from birth, while others need to be added when necessary. Hence, only a Specter bearing a substantial Death affinity can perceive them. After transferring a significant portion of Life affinity to Ms. Watson, you inadvertently permitted Death to take root. The Lord rewards those who willingly shorten their own journey to allow another to continue, regardless of faith." Kruger explained with a flat tone.
Henry blinked a few times in wonderment, then shifted uncomfortably. "So… if I want Death affinity too, I just need to sacrifice my own life span?"
Kruger regarded him with a neutral expression. "You may attempt the same, with an object or person."
At face value, one would assume the priest was being wholeheartedly serious, but it was rather apparent to Damon that the man was merely making the worst joke he had ever heard.
Henry, however, appeared to consider it seriously as he fell completely silent.
As if he hadn't noticed, the priest held out his hand with the crystal and said, "She wanted you to have this back. After all, she will not be needing it any longer."
"That belongs to me!"Henry's shoulder shook, and his hand shot out, his dark eyes ignited with overwhelming desire.
However, before his fingers could reach Damon heaved a sigh of relief and took the crystal from the man's hand, sliding it into his hidden inventory as his mind settled.
"Hold up! I worked for that! Where's the crystal you promised!?"
"Huh? There's no way you think I'd do that now," Damon rolled his eyes in exasperation when he realized that Henry was stubbornly focused on the subject. "And besides, this is the second time you've grabbed me unprovoked. Try it again, and I'm breaking a hand."
"You!…I.." Henry fell silent again as he lowered his gaze, his chest tightening in discomfort. "I'm sorry, alright! Whenever I get agitated, I tend to be… well, a little aggressive, but I'm your brother, you won't hold that agai--."
Before he could finish his words, they heard the sound of approaching footsteps squeaking against the floorboards and saw Vincent re-entering the hallway.
As he regrouped with the rest, he causally juggled another hardened sphere with his remaining hand, a core filled with a mixture of deathly crimson and misty darkness swirling inside.
"We should really get to finding that body; the sun's already setting."Vincent paused, squinting as he scanned his sibling's faces, then said," Don't tell me you two were fighting again.."
"He started it!" Damon and Henry shouted in unison.
"It doesn't matter who started it." Vincent deeply sighed.
*****
Following that, the group walked out of the Watsons' residence and made their way across the evening street, catching sight of a few tired civilians returning to their homes.
Their attire depicted several occupations: three women dressed as nurses, two men in soot-covered boiler suits, presumably rail workers or employees of a local factory, and a couple of gentlemen in suits paired with a top hat and canes; nevertheless, none of this interested Damon at the moment.
Instead, his eyes followed Vincent's back, this time without fail.
Forcing their way inside, they quickly discovered the house was nearly identical in layout to the Watsons'. In hindsight, this wasn't surprising, considering all the exterior designs they had seen on Winchester Street had been identical so far.
"Follow me," Kruger said quietly.
They then quickly walked from the foyer, around a corner, and into a hallway that mirrored the Watsons' in almost every detail, save for one missing door on the left wall and the absence of stairs to the attic.
'Looks like he opted for a hidden ladder instead of stairs..' Damon could see a pullable handle at the centre of the ceiling, outlining a square, but it wasn't his first time seeing such a design. Out of all the ways to reach the roof of the Orphanage, searching for the hidden ladders was a hobby favoured by both him and Vincent.
"We're not gonna get dragged somewhere else again, right?" Henry asked, looking around nervously.
Bang! Right on cue, a raven burst through a door beside him. Immediately, Henry threw a panicked punch, hitting nothing but air as the bird glided past.
Vincent instinctively stepped aside. Years of observing Morrigan's fascination with feathered creatures had instilled in him a reflexive gentleness toward them. It was natural, then, to let it pass.
But Damon didn't hesitate.
Shing!
Clik!
Damon's katana sang as it left its sheath and returned in a single, fluid motion. A single wing fluttered to the floor, severed cleanly. The raven crashed to the ground, thrashing, clinging to life as it failed to take flight.
"What is wrong with you?" Damon questioned, irritation still sharpening his tone."How could you let it pass? What if it were a messenger?"
"It's an ordinary raven," Vincent replied tersely. "Its spiritual signature is negligible."
"I concur," Kruger said after inspecting the damaged doorway. "For it to have the strength needed to break through this door latch, it likely required some enhancement. But it is merely a mundane pet, nothing more." He then gestured down the hall. "Come. Let us not tarry."
Following after him, they soon found the body in a dimly lit room as it lay still on a blood-soaked carpet. The man was seemingly middle-aged, his features frozen in an expression of surprise, as if his life had been taken before he'd had time to process.
Kruger knelt beside the corpse, his expression unreadable as he conducted a brief examination. Then he fell silent, his silver eyes distant as thoughts churned within.
Sensing this, Damon scrunched his face slightly. "What's wrong?"
"I recognize him," Kruger responded, still gazing at the man's face.
One he hadn't seen in years.