The clock struck midnight.
The trio—Carl, Kaela, and Princess Elira—stood in the long corridor of the palace, shadows clutching at the edges of the torchlight. The air was cold enough to bite, each draft carrying the faint stench of iron and wet stone.
The torches sputtered again, their light shrinking as if strangled by unseen hands. The Princess clutched her skirts, but her eyes—sharp despite their tremor—snapped to Kaela.
"Kaela. The servants' quarters are unguarded. If these things reach them, my people will be slaughtered before they can flee."
Kaela's head whipped toward her mistress, jaw tight. "Then I should stay with you!"
Carl snorted, the sound sharp in the suffocating silence. "Yeah, because dragging along someone who can't even see the creepers is a great tactical move." He gestured at the shadows stretching across the walls. "Right now, it's blind man's bluff with murder rules. You'd be swinging at air while they chew your face off."
Kaela stiffened, torn between duty and fear. Her hand twitched toward her sword, but her eyes betrayed something else—hesitation. A part of her didn't like the thought of Carl and the Princess being alone together.
Princess Elira's voice cut through, crisp as steel: "No. You'll protect them. That is an order."
The command pinned Kaela in place. She wanted to argue, but her mistress's trembling hands made the weight of the words undeniable. She was a knight, after all, sworn by oath to serve. Defying that voice, that authority, was unthinkable.
Carl sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Go on, Kaela. Protect the civilians. I'll play ghostbuster with Her Majesty here."
Her jaw tightened. She bowed low, fists clenching until her knuckles whitened. "Carl… please. Protect the Princess."
Carl forced a crooked grin, though his eyes betrayed unease. "Relax. Worst case, I haunt you."
A beast no one can see. Guess this is it. I'm cooked for sure this time.
For the first time that night, Kaela's lips twitched—half a smile, half a plea—before she turned and sprinted toward the servants' hall.
Her footsteps echoed, then faded into the distance. Silence rushed in behind her, heavy and oppressive. Silence, and the electric crackle of Carl and the Princess now standing alone in the dark.
The torches along the palace walls died in unison, their flames hissing into smoke as though smothered by invisible hands. The air thickened—suffocating, metallic—and then the first shriek split the night.
Something tore through the outer ramparts like parchment. Its limbs bent at impossible angles, claws screeching sparks against stone. The battlements shuddered. Guards screamed, their cries breaking into ragged echoes that carried through the halls.
Carl cursed under his breath. "Yup. Definitely not indigestion."
The Princess flinched as glass shattered from above. Another specter lunged into the courtyard, a blur of distortion in the air. She stumbled, and Carl's hand shot out before he thought, steadying her by the waist.
The touch lingered too long. So did their eyes. Heat. Fragile. Wrong place, wrong time. Always flushed, always on the verge of losing control. He pulled away fast.
Then the System chimed:
> [Synergy Condition Detected]
[New Sub-Objective: Maintain direct contact with Princess Elira to unlock "Shared Perception."]
[Reward: +20 affection points for every teasing physical contact.]
Carl's jaw slackened. "…You've gotta be kidding me."
The Princess blinked, her voice trembling but still commanding. "What is it?"
"Nothing. Just—uh—apparently we're doing the world's worst three-legged race."
Before she could respond, something invisible lunged at her. Carl yanked her close, their hands colliding—fingers locking more from panic than intent.
> [+40 affection points]
And suddenly—he saw them. Clearer than ever. Their twisted forms weren't just shadows anymore; their hollow sockets burned like lanterns, their warped bodies outlined in stark detail. Their movements left streaks of oily black smoke as though reality itself recoiled from them. Her presence sharpened his vision like a lens, pulling the nightmares into focus.
> [Rank D beast identified]
[Name: Wraithspawn]
[Major Quest: Find and destroy the nest]
The Princess gasped, her breath sharp. "You… you can see them?"
"Yeah, I think so," Carl muttered, tightening his grip. "They're called Wraithspawn."
> [+20 affection points]
Their backs pressed together as the courtyard drowned in chaos. The Wraithspawn circled, keening in voices that scraped like broken flutes. Their distorted mouths stretched too wide, gaping maws filled with jagged, translucent teeth that clattered like glass.
Carl's heartbeat thundered, but for the first time, he didn't feel like he was staring at his own nightmare. For the first time, he wasn't trembling. If anything, something inside him was excited.
The Princess, pressed against him, whispered shakily, "There are so many…" Her fingers gripped his arm tighter, nails digging into his sleeve.
Carl forced a grin, though his jaw was tight. "Hey, don't sweat it. Just a few ugly party crashers. Happens all the time."
He pivoted, swinging the Princess with him so their line of sight covered both directions. Every movement felt charged, like standing too close to lightning.
One of the Wraithspawn lunged, screeching like tearing metal. Carl swung instinctively with his blade. The weapon cut through empty air—but with Elira's touch anchoring his sight, the steel connected. The beast shrieked, its form splitting into oily smoke before snapping back together, half-reformed.
"Good news," Carl panted, "they bleed smoke. Bad news, they don't stay down."
The Princess's voice was steady, but her breathing wasn't. "They're testing us. Circling like wolves."
"Yeah, well, wolves I can handle. These guys? Discount horror movie rejects."
Another came from the left. Carl shoved Elira closer, their shoulders pressing tight as he swung again. Sparks burst where steel bit, and the creature staggered, hissing like boiling water.
> [+20 affection points]
Elira's cheeks flushed as their bodies pressed together. She whispered something barely audible, a prayer or maybe a plea, but her voice drowned in the shrieks surrounding them.
The Wraithspawn tightened their circle, the shadows themselves drawing closer, folding over each other like waves. Dozens of hollow sockets lit the courtyard with pale, corpse-light fire.
Carl's grin faltered for only a second. Excitement burned in his veins, sharp and unnatural. His pulse quickened, not from fear, but from something worse—anticipation.
And that hunger rising in Carl somehow felt more dangerous than the monsters themselves.