When I arrived in front of Room 333, evil spirits flowed in and out of the door. Their presence was so powerful that my entire body shook. However, apart from the instinctive fear, I wasn’t dismayed.
As Randolph prepared to load his rifle, he once said, “Even if it’s a monster… It’s nothing before a gun.”
Bang!
A strong kick opened the door, and a shocking scene was unfolding.
…Henry, or Edward rather, watched Miss Melbourne, whose consciousness was being controlled, speak a strange language.
“Ph’nglui mglw’nafh…”
I felt my mind was going to be corrupted by just listening. Without realizing it, I was feeling suffocated.
“I will protect your spirit…”
The words of the King in Yellow allowed me to regain my composure and step into the room. I shot at the ceiling.
“Who are you?”
Did it work? Miss Sally Melbourne’s consciousness was freed, and she fainted. Edward cursed and pulled out a knife. It looked like he wanted to offer her as a sacrifice, but I wasn’t going to let him do that.
“Stop.”
I reloaded and pointed the gun at him. Edward’s eyes widened when he looked at me.
“Don’t move unless you want a hole in your body.”
He seemed flustered for a moment, but he soon began to warn me.
“Are you going to threaten me when I have your lover’s life in my hands? Will you put a hole through him too? If you want to kill me, then do it. But this man will also die.”
No matter how bad a father he was, he threatened me with Henry’s body. I was speechless; however, my gun remained pointed at him. Then Edward raised his knife.
Bang!
“Ugh…”
I hit him perfectly in the chest. Edward looked down with astonished eyes and was relieved there was no blood. I never meant to kill Mr. Henry in the first place.
Although the King in Yellow asked for his death, strictly speaking, he wanted the death of Edward Hyde and not Henry Jekyll. In other words, all I had to do was defeat the evil spirit who wanted to take over his son’s body.
In that case, I just used an anesthetic gun used to sedate animals instead of a regular hunting rifle. No matter how evil or powerful a spirit is, if the host faints, the connection between him and the spirit cannot be maintained. The connection between Eddie and Henry faded.
“Hahahaha! You’ve made a big mistake!” Edward smiled as soon as Mr. Henry collapsed.
An evil spirit that lost its host fully materialized into the world. It was an existence that corrupted you with just a single touch. Even thoughts that were horrible to entertain for a second seemed to fill the room.
“…”
Yet I didn’t feel anything?
“Your spirit…”
It was thanks to the King in Yellow, but I was still startled. Perhaps because of that, my momentum slowed down.
Whoosh! A strong wind blew into the room despite the windows being closed. Objects on the table began to float, rattling as if to threaten me. This was a poltergeist’s doing. A scream from someplace was heard—
The mental attacks on my mind continued.
“Your spirit…”
The voice of “him” kept ringing in my head. Meanwhile, I had to avoid the objects that were being thrown at me.
“Stop!”
When I dodged a flying hand mirror, the wall began to crack. Several books circled around me and slammed into my legs and arms. I desperately searched for the Book of Eibon. That was the only way to neutralize the evil spirits.
Where was it? The flying clutter blocked my vision, and a storm of evil swirled around me.
Then, I saw it… Next to Miss Melbourne, who had fainted and fallen to the floor, was a random book. She was in the middle of performing a ritual, so it had to be that.
I ran toward the book.
I felt goosebumps on my skin.
Having a bad feeling about this, I looked up at the ceiling.
Unsteady, reeling, the giant chandelier shook dangerously.
Crash!
…It fell right on top of me. The world shattered and scattered into dazzling fragments. Everything that made up my body slowly stopped working from the pain which struck me.
“I will turn back your time…”
The King in Yellow’s powers were used. As my vision blurred, I felt a familiar sensation.
I, his apostle, would be resurrected and go back in time. It was a regression.
…Huh?
At the same time, beyond the realm of consciousness, a memory resurfaced.
***
…Emily.
Emily.
Emily, can you hear me?
A voice mixed with the blowing wind from somewhere.
This familiar voice, unfamiliar yet nostalgic, was…
“Emily?”
My eyes opened at the sound of the voice. I came to my senses. Where was I… My room? It wasn’t the small, private house in London where I currently lived. It was the quaint house I bought with Randolph when we were newlyweds more than ten years ago. I was in a bedroom decorated with the wildflowers my husband picked every day.
So, this was the memory I had forgotten.
The price of returning to the past. As I said before, I forgot one memory and remembered another. This time I had returned to a memory I had forgotten. It was impossible, but…
Wouldn’t I be able to see Randolph? I wanted to move my body, but I couldn’t. It seemed I could only appreciate the past memory in the body of “the past Emily Carter”.
“Emily, where have you been?”
I turned my head. I could see a familiar, yet unfamiliar person. A very thin man with long limbs. Fair skin, noticeable freckles, delicate, noble features, messy hair. He gave a youthful appearance…
“Randolph!”
Randolph, my Randy. The only man I’ve ever loved and still love. I couldn’t believe I saw his face so clearly. I was so touched I almost burst into tears.
Why did he leave me? Why did he leave me? The resentment, longing, and love for him swirled like a vortex.
Ignoring my emotional state, the me from the past answered coldly.
“Where have I been? What is that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t you remember? You suddenly disappeared without telling me, and now you’re here.” Randolph appeared more worried than intent on criticizing me.
My mouth opened in response. “Have you lost your mind? Where did I go? You were talking nonsense a few days ago. Look at you, telling ridiculous lies—”
“Look at your feet, Emily.”
I looked down. My feet were dirty and covered in mud. Why did I go barefoot?
When I looked up in surprise, Randolph continued to speak with a sad expression. “Do you… truly not recall anything?”
I didn’t remember at all. Not only that, I had no idea Randolph and I argued over this in the first place. When did it happen? I tried to search through my memories, trapped in my past me’s body. Then I noticed a calendar on the wall. Today’s date…
It was three months before Randolph disappeared, right? At that moment, I remembered what Helena told me.
“You two fought a lot three months before Randolph disappeared.”
If that was true, why couldn’t I remember? Besides, I went out without telling him. I couldn’t believe I did such a thing.
“Emmy.” Randolph approached me and knelt down. He smelled like the fresh spring, the scent of wildflowers being carried by the wind.
I saw my reflection in those green eyes reminiscent of summer.
“It’s… all my fault.”
“What do you mean?”
Randy took my hand and kissed the back of it. Feeling his warmth after a long time made my heart race.
“No matter how much I wanted this, I shouldn’t have done it. I… should have made a different choice. If I did… If I did…” He murmured to himself as he touched my knee under my muddied dress.
“What are you even talking about?”
“I’ll take responsibility for everything, Emily.” With those words, Randolph kissed my knee.
I trembled, feeling a trace of warmth from his soft lips. Randolph’s gaze was serious, and I felt a ticklish yet strange sensation as he lowered his head. His lips went from my leg to my foot.
“Randy, stop…” I felt the faint heat from his breath.
Finally, he raised his head after kissing the tips of my toes. “Don’t worry, Emily. Even if it means putting my life on the line…” The green eyes that looked at me were on the brink of tears. “I’ll protect you.”
Randy’s expression was grim.
Like he was a man preparing to be permanently separated from his wife.
