Everything was in disarray, the world around them teetering on the brink of collapse. Kathleen could hear nothing but Jay’s agonized screams and Ruby’s strained grunts, their voices cutting through the chaos as the entire structure quaked violently.
She had fully expected the house to crumble around them, burying them in its ruin. Yet, by some improbable stroke of fortune—or perhaps divine intervention—it held its ground.
The turmoil, however, had taken its toll. Kathleen had succumbed to the overwhelming force, falling unconscious amidst the destruction. It was only the insistent urgency in Tomoya’s voice that roused her back to a tenuous consciousness.
“Kathleen! Kathleen! Wake up, damn it!” Tomoya’s voice cut through the haze, his tone sharp with desperation. The urgency in his words jolted Kathleen back into consciousness, a sharp gasp escaping her lips.
“O-Oh, God, what happened?” she stammered, her voice trembling as she pushed herself upright with a shaky hand.
Her head throbbed, her vision spinning as she tried to focus. She instinctively turned toward the spot where she had last seen Tomoya standing within the pentacle. He was still there, frozen in place, his expression etched with horror.
Kathleen’s gaze darted around, landing first on Jay and Ruby, both of whom were still unconscious. Then her eyes fell upon Takumi, who now sat in the center of the pentacle. She blinked in confusion, her surprise growing as she noticed he had removed his coat and laid it across the ground.
It wasn’t until her eyes traveled further—to the two legs visible to Takumi’s right—that the gravity of the scene fully hit her. There was another figure, a person, lying just beyond Takumi.
The horror on Tomoya’s face now made perfect sense.
Takumi appeared to be inspecting the figure before him, his expression unreadable until his gaze locked with Tomoya’s. Kathleen’s curiosity burned within her, compelling her to crawl closer despite the disorientation that still blurred her senses. Her trembling hands pressed against the floor for support as she slowly made her way toward them.
As she moved, her eyes wandered across the room. The first rays of morning light pierced through the jagged perforations in the walls, illuminating the remnants of Samantha’s house left in ruin by the events of the night before.
“What happened?” she whispered hoarsely, her voice barely audible as she turned her gaze toward Tomoya and Takumi. “Where’s the portal? Where are the d-demons?”
Her words faltered, laced with hesitation. She wasn’t sure if she even had the right to ask, knowing full well that Tomoya and Takumi knew her intentions—to bind herself to a demon.
But neither of them responded. Their silence was deafening, their focus entirely consumed by the figure lying before them.
“Answer me!” Kathleen’s voice cracked into a scream, jolting Jay awake. Groggy and disoriented, he instinctively turned toward Ruby, who remained unconscious nearby.
Still, neither Tomoya nor Takumi spoke. They exchanged silent glances, as if communicating thoughts they could not put into words. The weight of their unspoken fears pressed down on Kathleen, who, unable to bear the uncertainty any longer, summoned her strength and pulled herself to her feet.
Determined, she stumbled toward them, her heart pounding in her chest as she leaned forward to see the figure for herself.
The moment her eyes fell upon the person lying there, time seemed to stop. A lump formed in her throat, and an icy chill rippled through her entire body, rooting her to the spot. Her breathing hitched, her hands trembling violently as disbelief flooded her senses.
It couldn’t be. And yet, there she was—the person she had desperately sought to find, the one she had risked everything to bring back.
“S-Shane?” Kathleen’s voice was barely a whisper, the name escaping her lips like a fragile plea. Her knees buckled beneath her, and she collapsed onto the floor.
“S-Sh-ane! Is that r-really you?” she stammered, her voice cracking under the weight of her emotions. Her entire body quaked as she crawled toward her best friend, trembling hands reaching out to gently move the strands of hair obscuring Shane’s face.
She needed to see her, to confirm with her own eyes that this wasn’t some cruel illusion.
“I-It is you!” Kathleen gasped, her voice trembling as tears spilled uncontrollably down her face. Her hands moved instinctively, checking over Shane's frail form.
The first thing she noticed was her state—practically unclothed, with only Takumi’s coat draped over her for modesty.
Kathleen’s panic deepened as she pressed her fingers to Shane’s neck, searching for a pulse. Relief flickered briefly when she found one, but it was faint, fragile, like a candle in the wind. Her heart raced as she turned to Takumi, desperation in her voice.
“W-What are you just sitting there for?! Why haven’t you called an ambulance?”
Takumi opened his mouth to speak but faltered, unable to form a coherent response. His mind was in disarray, struggling to process the impossible sight before him. Samantha was here, yet her presence defied every rule they understood.
Tomoya, equally stunned, remained frozen in place. Both he and Takumi knew that the ritual they had performed had been meant only to prevent demons from crossing into their realm. There had been no intention, no mechanism, to summon anyone—let alone Shane.
Finally he stirred, his hands trembling as he grabbed the grimoire on the floor. He flipped through its pages in frantic desperation, searching for anything that might explain what had gone wrong. Yet the book offered him nothing—no answers, no clarity.
“What the hell did I miss?” Tomoya muttered under his breath, his voice low and laden with confusion as he stared at the inexplicable scene before him.
“Damn it! I’ll do it myself,” Kathleen snapped, fumbling for her phone to call for help. But before she could dial, Takumi grabbed her arm, halting her in her tracks.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Kathleen shouted, her voice cracking with frustration.
Takumi didn’t immediately answer. His gaze remained fixed on Shane, her fragile form lying motionless on the ground. Finally, he spoke, his tone calm but resolute.
“We need to hide her for now,” he said.
Kathleen’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What? Are you out of your mind?”
Takumi turned to her, his expression unyielding. “If news of her reappearance leaks—especially with the chaos from last night—it’ll spark another media frenzy. You’ve seen what happened when the internet latched onto Shane's case when she disappeared. Besides, now her name has been also tied to... another case.”
He paused, his voice softening slightly. “Do you really want the media hounding her when she’s in this condition? She won’t survive that kind of attention, not like this. Let’s give her time to recover. Then we can decide what to do.”
Kathleen and Takumi locked eyes, the silence between them thick with unspoken tension. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally conceded, pulling her arm away in defeat.
“Fine. What’s your plan then?” she asked, her voice a mix of frustration and reluctant understanding.
Takumi didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number, speaking in a low, purposeful tone. When he ended the call, Ruby had regained consciousness, and Takumi motioned for Jay and Tomoya to step outside.
“Give them some time,” he instructed, “Kathleen and Ruby need to get her dressed. It’s her house—she’s got everything she needs here.”
Once they were finished, Tomoya, being the tallest among them, offered to carry Shane down the stairs.
Kathleen, still processing everything, was about to follow everyone outside the house when she spotted something.
“Junel?”
Everyone turned toward the living room as Kathleen’s voice broke the stillness. She had gone down first and discovered Junel lying unconscious on the floor.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Tomoya muttered, but he quickly gestured for Kathleen to check his pulse. She nodded in response, raising her thumb up in confirmation.
"Hell would know?" Jay, who kinda knew about Junel as one of Kathleen's acquaintances, whimpered. He then turned to Ruby who didn't spoke since she gained consciousness.
Jay understood her confusion, as they shared the same sentiment. They both sought answers, yet the sight of Samantha—the one who had always possessed the strongest bond—unconscious before them rendered them speechless.
After a few tense moments, the low hum of a vehicle approaching broke the silence. A black van pulled up outside, its sleek exterior a contrast to the chaos inside the house. Takumi’s vehicle.
The decision was made to bring Ruby, Jay, and Junel with them. The events of the previous night—chaotic, inexplicable—still needed to be pieced together, and Takumi’s manor seemed like the only place where they could begin to make sense of it all.
"This is your house?!" Kathleen exclaimed, nearly shouting as the van passed through the massive gates that seemed to stretch endlessly, clearly marking the entrance to Takumi's private estate.
She quickly turned her attention back to Samantha, who rested gently on her lap. Kathleen checked for any signs of movement, her heart racing with the hope that she hadn't disturbed her. A wave of relief washed over her as she saw that Samantha remained still, her breathing soft and steady. Kathleen couldn't help but smile, still in disbelief that she was holding her in this moment.
"Nii-san has always been absurdly rich," Tomoya groaned from the third row, sitting beside Ruby. In the fourth row lay Junel held by Jay.
Tomoya slouched with a mix of exhaustion and exasperation, clearly unimpressed by the opulence surrounding them.
Takumi, who sat beside the driver, could only be heard letting out a long, weary sigh.
"Please, I need silence for a moment," he pleaded, his voice strained as if the weight of the situation was beginning to wear on him.
Kathleen gave a small shrug, understanding his request. She hadn’t planned on speaking much either; her mind was preoccupied with the person she had been desperately searching for. She simply wanted to look at Samantha’s face, to reassure herself that this wasn’t just a dream.
As her gaze lingered on Samantha, Kathleen couldn’t help but notice the subtle changes in her features. It had been months, yes, but Kathleen was certain that the woman she once knew hadn’t aged like this in such a short time. The crow’s feet at the corners of Samantha’s eyes spoke of years, not just months. Kathleen’s eyes traced the new wrinkles that lined the sides of her lips, the visible smile lines now etched deeper than she remembered.
Samantha had never been one to smile often, but the change in her was undeniable. It was as if time had fast-forwarded, leaving behind a version of her that Kathleen barely recognized. The harshness of it felt wrong, unsettling.
Kathleen’s brow furrowed when her fingers brushed through Samantha’s hair, her breath catching as she noticed the strands of gray. She hadn’t seen them earlier.
Were they new? Or had she simply overlooked them in the haze of everything that had happened? The thought lingered, but the sudden appearance of the gray hairs made Kathleen question how much time had really passed during Samantha’s disappearance.
Kathleen’s gaze moved from Samantha’s face to her hands, and then down to her neck, where she noticed a few more lines that hadn’t been there before. The changes were subtle but undeniable, and a heavy thought began to settle in her mind. Had the other realm, with its twisted forces, somehow drained years from her? It was the only explanation that made sense.
She sighed deeply, her fingers gently clutching Samantha’s hands. "Don't worry, I'm here now," she murmured softly, trying to mask her concern with a playful tone. "Let’s fix those little lines together, okay?" It was a weak attempt at humor, but it made her feel better, even if only for a moment.
The van finally rolled to a stop in front of an imposing manor, its grandeur starkly contrasting the chaos they had just left behind. Four men stood waiting by the entrance, holding two stretchers.
Without delay, Junel and Samantha were carefully lifted onto them and taken inside, where Takumi’s family doctors were already prepared to tend to their injuries.
Once the room was set up and the medical team had done their part, they quietly filed out, leaving the two patients in peace. Kathleen stepped toward the door, eager to check on Samantha, but just as her hand rested on the doorknob, Takumi’s voice stopped her.
"Mind if we talk for a moment?"
Kathleen paused, her fingers still on the doorknob, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. She glanced back at him, then at the door, before finally nodding. She followed him through the hallway to another room, where the others were already gathered.
Everyone had changed into fresh clothes, a sign that Takumi had provided them with everything they needed—except for Kathleen. She was the only one still wearing what she had arrived in, and she couldn’t help but feel a little out of place.
To her surprise, Takumi had somehow even managed to offer clothing for Ruby, and Kathleen couldn’t help but wonder where the woman’s outfits had come from. It was as if Takumi’s manor was stocked with everything, even things she couldn’t possibly have expected.
"Oh, you can change into something else if you'd like," Takumi offered, though Kathleen immediately shook her head.
"Let's talk first," she replied firmly, her gaze unwavering. Takumi nodded, then looked toward Tomoya, signaling for him to begin.
"I-I believe there’s been some sort of mistake," Tomoya stammered, his voice filled with uncertainty. "A grave mistake."
Kathleen blinked in surprise. "T-There really is," she echoed his confusion. "You didn’t tell me we’d be summoning Shane back. I thought it wasn’t that simple? That it required sacrifices, the greatest of possessions..."
"Exactly," Takumi interjected, his tone much more composed than Tomoya’s. "It was never supposed to happen."
He exhaled deeply, the weight of something unspoken hanging heavily in the air, before he finally looked up at Kathleen. "Shane isn’t supposed to be here—at least, not yet."
Kathleen’s brow furrowed in confusion. "W-What do you mean?" she stuttered, her gaze darting between Takumi, Tomoya, and the others in the room.
Ruby and Jay remained silent, sitting quietly beside Tomoya, their expressions unreadable as they seemed content to listen, but not fully engaged in the conversation.
Takumi sighed again, his voice heavy with a strange mixture of concern and regret. "I spoke with the doctors earlier. They’ve confirmed that Shane is in a vegetative state," he explained slowly, each word deliberate. "Her reappearance—so sudden, so unexpected, so early, yet came too late."
Kathleen’s eyes widened with confusion, but she couldn’t find the words to respond.
"I believe what we're seeing," Takumi continued, his voice taking on a more somber tone, "is not truly Shane—at least, not as she was. What appears is her body, yes, but the essence of her—the soul—is gone."
His words, though cold and analytical, carried a weight that seemed to linger in the air like an undeniable truth. "What stands before us now is but an empty vessel, her physical form without the spirit that once inhabited it."