Bastille Imagines

Guardian Ghost Pt. IV

Step 3. Break the curse.

After your descent from the hazardous attic, you wait for Dan to lead you to your next objective. However, he seems just as lost as you do. How do you find a more-than-a-century-old ghost?

Only just being introduced to this curse, you still haven't fully understood it. You're scared to even begin to think what happens after all of this, and what's worse, what happens to Dan. Sometimes you find yourself asking why this burden had to bind itself to you. Why you? Why did it have to be you who's near possible future could end up being trapped for eternity as an entity floating around on old, decrepit orphanage, unseen and unheard.

"What happened to William?" You ponder, following Dan back into The Cursed Room like a lost sheep. He settles the diary on the floor and both you and Dan crowd around it.

"Soon after I became a ghost, I replaced him. He went on to live his life as normal. That's the only thing about this curse: once you have someone to replace you, you're given immortality. If you like, it balances life out, someone loses their life to give you one."

"So if I replaced you, you would be able to live again? Forever?" You question, directing your gaze into his eyes. He regretfully nods his head and purses his lips. Feeling like a total burden to him, you are the only one stopping him from living. That's when the overwhelming sense of guilt sinks in and you find it difficult to comprehend what Dan must be feeling knowing that he's giving up his last chance at life. He's sacrificing something that significant for you, so you can be saved from this condemning curse.

He looks up and replaces that saddened expression as he flashes you a smile that radiates a heartwarming aura, reaching over and ruffling your hair. You giggle, putting up a fight to escape Dan's incessant and playful gesture.

"Hey, don't worry about me, okay? It's you we need to worry about."

You nod meekly accepting the fact that you can no longer contribute or offer anything towards Dan's freedom knowing that he won't accept it.

Dan concentrates on William's diary and quickly skims through it. It's no use to you, you can barely read it with the handwriting being that illegible. He takes a moment to scan over an entry before skipping a few more pages and scanning another. His eyes widen with each sentence that his eyes move further and further down the page.

"What? What is it?" You ask. He clears his throat and takes a breath, and begins reading.

"I'm almost there, I'm so close. Soon I can become human again. But Daniel. Poor Daniel. He has no idea. I'd hate to see him experience everything I went through, to see the symptoms come into effect and eat away at his soul. I tried to warn him, but he's just too young to understand. I wake up everyday waiting to hear that Daniel hasn't made it, but until then I'm still a ghost. His ghost. And he's my replacement."

His voice weakens and breaks away under the emotion. However he forces himself to continue, despite the nostalgia rendering him an emotional wreck.

"Daniel died this morning. He didn't wake up. God bless his soul and may he rest in peace...well, I wish. Because I know too well he won't. I can only wish success in finding a replacement. But I'm free. I can live again. I don't even know where to begin; places to be people to see and things to do. I'm completely indecisive. Before, I lived eternity as part of the dead, now I live among the living. Forever. I've never felt...so...alive."