Chapter 6

"How is there quicksand we have people patrolling the place on a daily basis. There was never any quicksand to begin with!" More workers came running to the scene attempting to help Douma who stood in the bubbly pit of liquified soil.

"Everyone grab one of the planks and pull Lord Douma out of there at once!"

Enveloped with fear and panic, the air started thickening, Douma could feel it. He appreciated their help, the quicksand wasn't going to do anything to the shrine leader. No matter how hard it tried to pull him down, there was no effect Douma was still standing directly on it. 

It was rare to encounter quicksand in these areas. This was the first time in a while he had come across something like this in the Hasu Mountains. Heavy rain must've caught this. The soil had become too saturated overtime.

While everyone was busy getting planks, Douma quickly got out of the muddy mess. He looked around to see if anyone was still at the scene. This was a good chance to get rid of the quicksand he didn't want anyone passing out at the construction site.

Quietly, Douma snapped his fingers releasing specks of dust in the air that landed on the now hardening ground. Laying on the surface, the specks didn't sink down, the quicksand was now a normal forest floor. 

"Gracious Founder we have-

Shocked expressions were forming on their faces. They were about to get him to grab onto the wooden plank pointed in his direction. Douma stepped forward and waved at them like nothing happened. This was starting to get a little awkward for the crew.

"Y-y-you're alright but how?"

"There was quicksand just a second ago."

 How do I explain this to them? More questions will be bombarded at me I just know it. Screw it I'll just tell them in the simplest way possible. Time for another QNA Session. Douma took a deep breath and faced the crowd in front of him. 

"With the power of magic!" He chimed expecting a reaction from the audience. Not like he wouldn't.

A roar of applause erupted from them. Douma was met with cheers from every corner of the crowd. Even if he gave the least amount of explanation, they would still regard him as the miracle that he is.

"Why are we still surprised? This is Douma we're talking about." One of them said while the others agreed.

A few minutes went by and Douma made his leave. He wished them all the best with the development of the new clinic. It was safe to say there was no more quicksand Douma made one last round of checks, just that particular spot which was horrifyingly close to the construction site. Luckily Douma got there just in time.

The blonde passed by some stores and houses, a few were abandoned. The new clinic would surely turn this part of the third mountain into a lively one again. It really needed some renovation the abandoned restaurants had become a swamp with vines and plants growing on the structures. Tables and chairs were rotting away as seen on their surfaces.

"It would be kinda funny if there were people waiting outside the gates," Douma chuckled the thought of many villagers pleading for his assistance was hilarious to him after what happened. He didn't mean to sound condescending but they were the ones who deemed him as the problem when he was simply just trying to help.

---

Sitting on the couch watching television, a boy named Reiji was waiting for his aunt and younger cousin to return home. Currently airing on television right now was a guide on what to do during a home invasion. Reiji was intrigued by this he wasn't expecting something serious to pop up at this time of the day he had been waiting for his favorite shows.

It was stated a few times during the guide that there had been cases of break ins during the week. The intruder is still on the loose with unidentified features. Reiji didn't know how to feel about that, the Hasu Mountains was always peaceful there hasn't been any case of home invasions so far. To him, this was probably a hoax or an issue that only happened in certain areas of Japan. The boy just wanted to watch his favorite shows the guide was taking too long.

"Yeah the good old keep quiet and lock your doors. Even a five-year-old can understand this." Reiji sighed and looked up at the ceiling in boredom.

Suddenly the lights started flickering, Reiji found it odd he didn't turn them on. The only explanation would be the interference with the weather outside, it had been cold recently. Reiji took a closer look at one of the lamps trying to see what was going on with the lights but everything seemed normal nothing unusual so far.

That was until he heard a knock on the window. Reiji jumped and saw a shadowy figure standing outside. He couldn't make out its features since the window was blocked by the curtains but there was someone outside the house.

"W-who's t-there?" This was getting uncomfortable, why would this person be knocking on the window, and not just once but a few times. The knocks were getting repetitive whoever was on the other side desperately wanted an answer but Reiji hasn't heard a single word from this person.

The voices on TV started speaking gibberish with a few clear words being said at random times. Reiji looked back and forth at the TV and window. He tried to convince himself that the television coincidentally had a malfunction somewhere but after watching the guide, it was impossible for him to even believe his own theories everything that was happening in his own home matched the description of those incidents.

Soon the house fell quiet with only the knocking and voices from the TV. Reiji was starting to dread the silence he wasn't sure if he should just run to his room and hide or call for help. The teen felt bad about hiding in his room the person could just use that as an opportunity to break in but on the other hand his life was at stake. Reiji didn't know what to do he was too afraid to even move, these strange whispers coming from the person outside was paralyzing him. It was so unsettling that the hair at the back of his neck shot up these whispers continuously played in his mind too sometimes Reiji would turn around because it sounded so close at times.

 "Normally I-I'd be the first to run but n-now my legs aren't cooperating with me," Reiji quietly said to himself trying to gather the courage to still speak and convince himself that it wasn't much of a problem. "When is Aunt Mai coming back?"

Reiji slowly crouched down on the floor. Hiding was the only thing he could do now his muscles were getting numb as the whispers grew louder. They didn't sound like ordinary whispers, whoever this person was gave off an unnerving impression there was no way Reiji was going to even face this person. 

"Hey Reiji what's going on-

"Shhh!" With a finger pressed against his lips, Reiji gestured to his cousin Atashi to crouch down to which he did with the same fearful expression on his face. 

"There's someone at the window." Atashi whispered.

"Don't even think of going near the window." Reiji demanded his voice quivering.

The house started spinning in Reiji's vision. He could feel his sanity dwindling from hearing the voices and seeing the idle figure at the window. This was the scariest encounter he's ever had which left him with uncertainty about his fate. Reiji was starting to imagine that same person in his house, one next to him and another behind him. The teen didn't have the energy to check his vision was getting blurry he could even hear his own heartbeat loud and clear.

Atashi was experiencing the same thing; voices in the house and shadows peeping from the kitchen and hallway. Any time now, the teen could faint and that wasn't something he wanted to happen not in this situation. It was as though seeing this person or hearing these eerie whispers had an effect on the human mind and emotions. Was this person even human to begin with? Atashi just wanted someone to at least find out what was happening outside or for the stranger to just go away.

"The mistake was we stared at this person for too long."

"That was bound to happen this person was knocking on the window of all places. It raises a lot of questions." Atashi responded he was just curious about what was going on in the living room.

"And now we're too scared to even move." Reiji desperately wanted to get up but he couldn't gravity was pulling him down.

Still staring at the hallway, Atashi gripped the surface of the floor in an attempt to push himself towards that direction. Reiji raised his brow and tapped his shoulder. What does he think he's doing?!

"If you crawl over there he'll see you so stay behind the couch. Hide under the table or something as long as he can't see you." Reiji whispered to him.

Atashi nodded and stayed in his position. The knocking grew louder so did the whispers.

"I figured if he senses any movements the whispers get louder. This thing is trying to evoke fear in us so we will make rash decisions that will allow it to lead us right into its trap. Don't make your fears a reality if we pass out it's over." Reiji grabbed Atashi's sleeve and pulled him closer to their hiding spot. 

After what felt like ages, the shadowy figure walked away and vanished. The whispers stopped and the lights returned to normal. 

"Finally, that thing is gone." Looking around cautiously, Reiji got up and sat on the couch in relief.

"We can't be certain it could still be out there." Atashi stood closer to the TV. It was taking a while to adjust some of the voices were still unclear which was disappointing.

"I hope Aunt Mai and Eiko are alright." Reiji said.