Chapter 10: Drenched Clue

The group lingered by the grave long after Grim vanished, her last words echoing in their minds like the distant toll of a temple bell. The wind had turned damp and heavy, and a faint smell of rain drifted through the cemetery, even though the sky was clear.

Issac knelt near the gravestone, brushing off the dirt. “Rebirth twisted wrong,” he murmured. “What does that even mean?”

Shin shrugged. “Probably something that’ll haunt my dreams for a week. Thanks, Grim.”

Cupp sat cross-legged on a stone, staring into space. “No, she was being literal. Death doesn’t warn unless the balance’s off. Something’s keeping Elena halfway here.”

Elena, floating just above the snow-dusted ground, tilted her head. Her usually bright eyes looked distant, confused. “Halfway here…? But… I’ve always felt… cold. Like I never really left that night.”

Suddenly, the temperature around her dropped. A faint dripping sound echoed — drip… drip… drip — though there was no rain.

Issac’s eyes widened. “Elena, your hair—it’s… wet again.”

She touched her long hair, the strands clinging to her fingers, glistening as if she’d just stepped out of a storm. “It never dries,” she whispered. “I thought it was normal for ghosts… but maybe—”

Before she could finish, the ground shivered slightly, and a dark mist coiled around her feet. Then, a soft laugh — like Grim’s voice on the wind — whispered through the air.

“If you want answers, seek the water that remembers. The place where she was claimed will tell you why she never left.”

The mist vanished. Only the scent of lilies and river mud remained.

Cupp’s ears twitched. “Water that remembers…? That sounds poetic and terrifying. Typical Grim.”

Shin rubbed the back of his neck. “Wait… didn’t the case file mention something about a lake near Kyoto? The locals said she vanished during a storm.”

Issac’s breath caught. “Then… her body might still be there.”

Elena looked down at her trembling hands. Droplets of water rolled off her skin and vanished into the ground, leaving no trace. “That lake… I remember… fog… and someone calling my name before I fell in…”

Issac stood up, resolve burning in his eyes. “Then that’s where we go next. Shirakawa-go was the start—but the truth drowned somewhere else.”

Cupp groaned dramatically. “You humans and your obsession with closure… fine, I’m bringing waterproof snacks.”

Elena gave a faint smile, though her voice was hollow. “If… if I really did die in the water… does that mean I’ll disappear if you find my body?”

Issac turned to her and said, firmly,

“Then I’ll just find a way to bring you back before that happens.”

The ghost of a blush flickered across her pale face — faint as moonlight through fog.

Shin muttered, “Great. A road trip to a cursed lake with a goddess, a ghost, a god, and a guy in denial. What could possibly go wrong?”

Cupp grinned. “Everything. And that’s why it’ll be fun.”

The car engine roared to life, and the road ahead glistened like wet glass. Somewhere far away, under the surface of a forgotten lake… something stirred.

“Thanks for reading chapter 10”

Hi guys, Morris here,

Guys, does anyone know what the hell integration is? And y term exams are near, so I might not be able to write for 2 weeks, but