Dearest Anonymous, Let Me Be

Chapter 34: ARC 2 - The Woman in the Painting

"Zimzalabim..."

For the Hollows, Spiritual Energy is their food, and having none of that for a long period of time, can cause their disappearance from the world.

Umi's lips quivered as she was reminded of that fact. If she were to be transformed as a ghost, she has to find ample Spiritual Energy to be able to survive.

How did the original Vera do it?

Catching a glimpse of the young man in front of her, Umi's eyes lit up as she was suddenly brought back to the present, her eyes focusing once more.

Oh.

This Lucian must be a wicked one, indeed. Look at that abundant Spiritual Energy oozing from his skin! Umi immediately drooled. What a fine one this young man is!

But before Umi can get too excited, Lucian's chant was already nearing its end.

"Revive her at once, and bring her back to me."

Right then and there, Umi immediately felt something tremendously powerful that was pulling her from all sides, almost ripping her in shreds, tormenting both her mind and soul. It was as though the original Vera didn't want to part with the painting, thus explains the conflicting pull of forces, and Umi was in the middle of it all.

Indescribable pain rushed through her entire being as though she was being consumed with a raging electric current fully intending to burn every part of her. The torment she felt was beyond words. The thunder-like pain electrocuted her every being, yet she was unable to do anything against it, the agonizing pain was too unbearable for her to resist, and she can only make out a shrill cry as her face contorted.

This alarming situation was absolutely befuddling and confusing her. Why is she feeling this extreme pain right now? This was not how it was supposed to be!

"Come to me, my beloved." Lucian's voice invaded her ears as she felt something inside of her being sucked away forcefully. She had no choice but to twist and thrash in a futile attempt to eradicate the pain.

The man grinned, a blissful expression explicitly showing in his face, yet the only reply from the woman was a deafening howl. It was an otherworldly sound; Mochi even had the goosebumps.

The clock ticked as time goes by, and before Umi knew it, the external force eventually prevailed and won over the one that was pulling her back. Before long, there was disharmony between her mind and limbs as she felt her hands moved on their own. Unhurriedly, her hands grabbed the sides of the canvas as they pulled the rest of Umi's translucent body out of the two-dimensional painting.

At the point when every last bit of her parts got out successfully, Umi felt her mind swirled as she dropped to the floor with an uproarious crash.

The ritual was a success, but the pain lingered.

Slowly, she used her newfound long fingernails, as sharp as a bird's talons, to crawl towards the symbols drawn in the center of the dark room. Somehow, Umi felt strangely drawn towards it.

As she clawed her way towards it, her translucent body also gradually formed a material one. The once glowing Spirit Form of hers turned into a Corporeal one at every agonizing step.

As soon as she smeared the blood used to draw the symbol, the pain immediately stopped, and she soon lost all her strength as she dropped to the floor.

Breathing heavily as she clawed unto her scalp, she tried to make out what just happened with her disoriented mind and unfocused eyes. Her mouth quivered uncontrollably, desperately gasping for air, but instead of oxygen, foreign energy flowed into her system. By the time she was completely conscious, she had recognized it too late that she had already absorbed too much Spiritual Energy, and surprise, it all came from the other person in the room.