Chapter 7: The Weakening SealEven after reading her great-grandfather's esoteric texts, Luna still felt a cold dread seep into her bones at the sight of a real ghost. Her breath tightened despite herself.
"Bella...?"
Jasper's voice broke. He stepped forward as if to pull her into his arms, then stopped short, hands trembling.
"Yesterday... what I said... I'm sorry."
Bella watched his clumsy, earnest apology and smiled softly.
"It's all right. If I suddenly saw you as a ghost, I'd probably run too. That's instinct. I don't blame you."
She was still the same gentle girl she had been in life—only lighter now, as if something heavy had finally slipped from her shoulders.
Jasper could hold himself back no longer. He pulled her into a fierce embrace, his voice tight with raw conviction.
"I don't care if you're human or a ghost. I love you. I'll protect you. If anyone tries to hurt you, I'll fight them with everything I have."
Bella gently pried him loose and tapped his forehead.
"Silly. I'm a ghost now. The only things that could 'hurt' me are other ghosts. What are you going to do—kill a ghost?"
"Then... then I'll learn how!" Jasper blurted. "I'll study with Rhan! Once I know how, let's see who dares touch you!"
His deadly serious foolishness drew another laugh from her.
But as that laughter faded, Bella's gaze shifted.
To Luna.
The instant their eyes met, Luna staggered back as if struck. Her face drained of color.
"Don't... don't blame me... please..."
"Bella, let me deal with her!" Jasper's body tensed, fury coiling like a trapped animal.
Bella reached out and held him back.
"This is between us."
She stepped toward Luna.
Luna's legs gave way. She retreated instinctively, voice shaking.
"Don't come closer... please..."
What happened next stunned everyone.
Bella bowed deeply.
The air seemed to freeze.
"Bella! Have you lost your mind? Bowing to her?!" Jasper nearly shouted.
Bella straightened, her gaze calm and unwavering.
"Thank you... for bringing that painting to me. Because of it, this past month... I was truly free. No more 'perfect daughter.' No more expectations. For the first time, I got to be myself."
Luna flinched at every word.
Bella fell silent for a moment, as if weighing words she no longer needed to explain.
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She paused.
"You thought you were chasing me. But it was me who wanted to be you."
Luna stood frozen, tears swelling in her eyes.
Bella went on, her voice gentle.
"You know what I missed most? The little girl from before kindergarten—the one who followed me everywhere, calling me "
Her smile was tender, edged with quiet sorrow.
"Even when I came to resent you later... that resentment was the only kind that ever felt warm. So thank you. You gave me some of my happiest memories."
"I..."
Luna's voice shattered.
Bella sighed softly.
"I'm sorry. I never knew my birth cost you your luck—your place in the family. If I'd known, I would've given it back. But now... I can't."
She looked up, her apology like light after rain—gentle, yet piercing.
"Luna, I'm not asking you to forgive me. I only hope you won't let hatred guide you anymore. It's... too heavy a burden to carry."
She turned away, her form fragile, as if she might scatter like mist.
"Bella!"
Luna broke down.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it. I was jealous—and I let it get the better of me."
She covered her face, shoulders shaking.
"It was me... all my fault..."
Bella turned back. She walked to Luna and gently wiped away her tears.
"It wasn't your fault," she whispered.
"Truly."
"If not for you, I would have left this world with nothing but regret."
Luna collapsed into her arms.
Bella stiffened—then slowly returned the embrace.
One living. One dead.
Years of guilt and resentment eased between them.
They had hurt each other for a long time.
Maybe this was the first step toward letting go.
---
As the tension finally eased, I guided the conversation back to its purpose.
"All right, Luna," I said carefully. "We came to find Kai—or rather, to find you—to learn more about the painting's origins."
Luna steadied her breathing and wiped her eyes.
"Sir... I don't know much. I found the case in my great-grandfather's study when I snuck in. When I opened it, some yellow talismans and a red cord fell out. My father used to say our ancestors practiced the mystical arts."
So that was it. Their family had once practiced the old arts.
"A century ago," she continued, "my great-grandfather was a renowned exorcist. During a major exorcism, he was gravely injured. Though he succeeded in sealing something... dark, he withdrew afterward. He forbade any descendant from learning the arts. Our family became ordinary people."
I nodded. That kind of sacrifice wasn't something I could dismiss lightly.
"To keep it contained, he forced your family to abandon the practice entirely—allowing generations to live as ordinary guardians of the seal. That is no small sacrifice."
"You mean..." Luna's voice trembled.
"What he sealed was the Portrait of Aya the Healer?"
"Precisely," I said. "Your family suppressed it for a hundred years. But the seal is weakening."
Luna paled.
"What can we do? Sir... can you seal it again? This is my fault. If I hadn't disturbed the case..."
All eyes turned to me.
I drew a slow breath. The truth was, I had no certain method. Her great-grandfather had bound it with a century-spanning familial pact. To reseal it now... the cost would be severe.
"May I see the texts your great-grandfather left behind?" I asked. "There may be a way to reinforce the seal."
After a brief hesitation, Luna nodded.
"Yes."
---
No sooner had she agreed than Jasper's phone rang—sharp and insistent.
He answered.
The color drained from his face.
"What? ...Dead? Liam? In my office? Kneeling in front of the painting?"
A pause.
Then, tight and hollow:
"I'm coming."
"Wait."
I took the phone and checked the time—10:00 p.m.
If it could take someone this late at night, then it was regaining strength much faster than I had expected.
"Lock down the room," I said firmly.
"No one goes near the painting. Evacuate everyone—now."
The call ended.
A chill crept up my spine.
Liam was only the beginning.
"Move," I said, already rising.
"Tonight isn't over."
---
In the car, Jasper shook his head, struggling to understand.
"Liam hated art. He could barely read. Why him?"
"It doesn't choose the way you think," I replied. "Before, it needed time... proximity... repeated exposure. But the seal is weakening. It doesn't need much anymore."
I glanced at him.
"If Bella hadn't intervened, that might have been you."
No one answered.
From the back seat, Kai muttered, unusually subdued,
"So... liking the painting doesn't make me a creep, right?"
Jasper kept his eyes on the road.
"No. Just an idiot."
Kai fell silent.
I sifted through what I knew of sealing rites, dismissing each option in turn. At this stage, there would be no easy solution.
Then Selene spoke, barely above a whisper.
"Rhan... if Liam was taken, does that make three hundred and sixty-four?"I nodded.
"One left."
The number hung in the air.
"A century of restraint didn't starve it," I said quietly. "It fed on every fragment it could reach."I looked at each of them in turn. "If the seal has weakened this much... it won't wait much longer."
The road ahead stretched into darkness.
