Filed To Story: A Little Princess's Journey from Darkness to Light Novel
The vanity spirit sat upright immediately. However, she was still reluctant to let go of Cheryl. She was still sprawling behind Cheryl’s back.
It was not easy to find someone like Cheryl who was blinded by vanity at such a young age. The vanity spirit still needed two more days before she could occupy Cheryl’s body fully.
When the time comes, Cheryl’s body would belong to the vanity spirit completely. With that, no one could ever harm her again.
“Master, she’s so big. Can she fill up the jar of souls?”
“I don’t think so…” Pablo shook his head.
“What? She can’t even do that?”
Pablo leaned against the wall and stared at the vanity spirit. “Are you a teacher at this school?” he asked.
The vanity spirit’s face darkened. She clung to Cheryl’s back more tightly.
Pablo took out a book and asked, “Lily, do you know how one turns into a malignant spirit? It’s not easy, you know? Let me tell you now. So listen to me carefully.”
“First, they must die in a tragic death. Being knocked by a car or jumping off a building is not considered a tragic death. They have to die in a way even worse than that.”
Clearing his throat, Pablo continued, “These spirits keep wandering at the place where they died and keep repeating the last moment before their death. As time goes by, resentments accumulate in their heart and turn them into malignant spirits.”
After saying that, Pablo closed the book and asked, “I’m curious. How did you die?”
Hearing that, Lily tilted her head and glanced at the vanity spirit. She was curious about how she died too.
However, the vanity spirit turned her head away. She did not want to answer Pablo’s question.
The vanity spirit could not tell what kind of spirit Pablo was but instinctively, she felt Pablo had a terrifying aura.
The vanity spirit was the malignant spirit. In fact, she was the most ferocious spirit in the world, but why was she still afraid of Pablo?
Finally, the bell rang. The cla*s was dismissed.
Cheryl glared at Lily and gritted her teeth. The dark circles under her eyes were getting worse.
“You did it on purpose, didn’t you?” Cheryl bawled. She was mad.
“Huh?” Lily was confused. “What do you mean?”
“You purposely recited the poem after me, right? Do you want to prove that you’re better than me?”
Hearing that, everyone looked at Cheryl in surprise.
Cheryl was startled. It was only then that she realized she said what was on her mind.
She quickly packed her school bag and sneered, “Didn’t you say you want to meet me after cla*s?”
After saying that, Cheryl left in a hurry.
Hearing that, Lily quickly put Tortoise and Polly into her bag.
“Where are you going?” Josh asked.
“Come on, Josh. Let’s go! Let’s go to catch the malignant spirit now!”
With that, Lily grabbed Josh’s hand and began to run.
“Wait!”
Josh did not want to follow Lily. He was afraid of ghosts. There was no way he would follow Lily to catch the malignant spirit.
Lilly forcefully dragged Josh to a sprint.
The blazing sun still hung overhead. The trees in the school grove weren’t particularly short but provided just enough shade.The moment he set foot in the grove, he noticed Cheryl there with her head hanging low. She looked downcast.
She sluggishly looked up to stare at him when he approached.
He could feel every hair on his body stand on end.
Lilly turned around. “Are you scared, Drake? You can head back if you are!”
Josh was ready to leave but stayed out of stubbornness. “…Real funny. You think I’m scared?”
Calm… I have to calm down.
Nothing in the world scares me.
A resounding scream tore through the air just as he was thinking. “Ah!”
Josh jumped. “Eek!”
That startled Lilly who chased after the boy who began to run wildly. “That’s Polly, Josh!”
Polly was sitting in the school bag singing. “….Take the red string of fate… You and I… Ah…”
The bird couldn’t reach a higher octave leading to a hideous scream.
Josh was rendered speechless.
He wanted to weep so badly.
That was when Cheryl began to take light, mincing steps toward them.
“You’re here, Josh.” She giggled.
The subject of affections had been shocked stupid. “…”
His tears stopped and a chill ran down his spine.
Cheryl had a pale complexion with eyes bruised and sunken in.
Her features were stiff, leading to her efforts in smiling leaving everyone unnerved.
Josh felt numb. “Uh…”
Lilly got in Cheryl’s way and started with a frown, “Stop scaring him!”
She wore a serious expression on her chubby, child-like face.
“Master… Master?” Lilly looked around.
Where is he?
Pablo drifted close. “I’m here.”
The man in white robes had deep-set eyes, a tall nose bridge, and rouge red lips. His appearance made him look demonic.
“What is it this time?” Pablo indifferently patted the girl’s head.
Lilly threw him suspicious looks.
What’s wrong with my master?
He got bored while I was forced into a timeout and left the school to go take a walk.
He came back while I was in cla*s then left again.
He was nowhere to be found…until now!
That was the least of their problems. Lilly asked, “What’s wrong with Cheryl?”
She was puzzled.
According to Pablo’s teachings, the vanity spirit shouldn’t have been able to overtake Cheryl’s body yet but Lilly no longer felt Cheryl’s “presence”.
Pablo narrowed his eyes. “This is a phenomenon known as the ‘spirit substitute’.”
“Possession and spirit substitute sound similar but they’re completely different. Possession implies the ghost attaching itself to a host and influencing them. Spirit substitute is when a ghost is trying to manipulate the host physically without fully occupying the host’s body.”
Lilly nodded vigorously. “Oh! So that’s a spirit substitute.”
Josh had turned ashen. “W-What do you mean ‘spirit substitute’?”
The unapproachable boy who thrived on logic was reacting just like a normal kid would.
Lilly began to explain what she learned from Pablo to him. “Spirit substitute, huh? Look over there, Josh…”
She pointed at Cheryl standing on her tiptoes. “A spirit substitute is a ghost trying to manipulate its host. There’s a ghost behind her right now. Its feet are padding Cheryl’s own. That’s how she’s moving right now…”
“Huh?!”
He was afraid but found himself unable to look away.
Cheryl was indeed on her toes but the back of her foot was straight. That wasn’t how an ordinary person stood at all.
He was more than ready to make a run for it.
Lilly talked him down. “Never run when facing a ghost! A human can’t outrun a ghost. Running will also reveal one’s sole of their feet to the ghost, allowing for easier possession.”
Josh was speechless.
How was he supposed to leave now?
He could hear a tiny part of his subconscious begging for help!
Lilly was speaking with great earnest. “The soles of our feet cannot leave the ground. We cannot move away, jump, or walk backward.”
She tilted her head and pondered a way out of this. There was only one way to deal with it.
“Of course, our best way out of this is to defeat the ghost!”
Josh chose to cling to Lilly’s arm instead.
She was taken aback. She gave him a rea*suring pat. “You’ll be okay, Josh. I’m good at what I do!”
“A ghostie like that is not enough to scare me away!”
Lilly dispelled his fears by patting herself in the chest. Her hair ties tied to the top of her head fluttered in the breeze.
The vanity spirit couldn’t help but snicker at the child’s words.
Her alone?
The only thing I’m afraid of is Pablo!
She took control of Cheryl’s body and asked, “And what are you planning to do?”
Pablo leaned against the tree and said leisurely, “Nothing. This is my student’s practice run.”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.