The first thing Wu Xiaoming tried was closing his eyes and attempting exit - he’d rather lose a bit of currency right now than being dragged into the battle while needing just a bit more experience and time to gain a new skill.
His consciousness seemed to have left this realm for a very brief moment before he was pushed back by an invisible force. This place, this hotel did not want to let him leave.
“Shit.” Wu Xiaoming cursed, then took a look at the stairs leading downward - nothing and no one had caught up yet. He was not going to look down the space of the handrails - it could just be a trap like last time. The footsteps and the scratches on the handrails came closer - something was indeed coming up to him. He took a moment to put on all the equipment he had: Crushing Paws Bracers, Blessed Beads, and Tainted Fur Vest.
“Crushing Paws Bracers: blessed by enlightened monks, worn by a fierce warrior. Resonates with the will to fight. ‘My veins are not dry yet’, said their previous owner.”
“Blessed Beads: made of high quality sandalwood, blessed by an enlightened Buddhist monk. Grants passive skills: Clear Mind, Protection.”
“Tainted Fur Vest: the real fur piece for a man who was obsessed with being a bear to stabilize the entire suit. Its stench attracted unwanted attention, and he went mad from it. Provides chest protection.”
He began heading upstairs as he patted his pockets - he was in the same kind of clothing he wore before coming into the realm. And he found something inside his pockets - ashes of burned talismans. They either burned up while he was being dragged into the hotel, or he still could not make proper talismans that he could bring here.
He took out his weapons, Sturdy Soapberry Staff of Heft in his right hand and Resolve and Tempered Steel Baton in his left hand. As he went up, he took one quick look at the item descriptions of both weapons.
“Sturdy Soapberry Staff of Heft and Resolve: short staff made from carefully chosen and pressure treated soapberry wood. Carefully polished, sanded and stained, thus the full potential of the material and the power of the ritual that enchanted it was fully realized. Infused with the undying, unyielding will of a mortal man. Grants Fortitude. Grants Fury. Grows with evil vanquished.”
“Tempered Steel Baton: made of high quality steel, it served longer than most expected. Anger, rage and aggression makes it much more effective.”
The footsteps came closer, it might just be two or three flights of stairs behind. The scratches on the handrails became sharper and more frequent, as if a predator with claws was getting more excited as it closed in on its prey.
Wu Xiaoming checked the number on the wall as he passed another turn - 6. He went up two floors, so it tracked.
On the seventh floor, he tried pushing the door to the hallway again - it was still blocked by some invisible force. When he fixed his eyes on the frame of the doors and the gap between the door and the frame, he could see faint traces of black smoke seeping through.
Hisses and heavy breathing approached. The footsteps and sharp scratching on the handrails sped up and was less than one flight of stairs away. He turned his head to look at the direction from which the noises came.
A human-shaped shadow was cast on the wall, with slender arms, long and crooked fingers with what looked like blades attached to the tips. Whatever it was, it looked like a hard fight.
Probably a good reason to strike first.
“Fuck you!” Wu Xiaoming’s baton on his left hand swung forth at the human-shaped creature before it could even come into the turn.
The sickly pale creature with strips of burn scars scattered on its otherwise smooth skin swung its right arm right at Wu Xiaoming’s head. The claw and the baton collided in the air. The reaction force coming from the baton rocked Wu Xiaoming’s wrist and forearm like he was striking a sturdy tree branch. The dark red energy exploded right at the next moment, throwing the creature down the stairs with a heavily charred arm and pushing Wu Xiaoming back two steps.
Wu Xiaoming jumped down the stairs directly, without even taking a moment to stabilize his stance. The Sturdy Soapberry Staff of Heft and Resolve whooshed through the air and bashed the creature’s left forearm. In but an instant, the forearm was shattered, glowing pieces burst everywhere, some even piercing the creature’s scars and pale smooth skin.
The cracks on the creature’s face opened wide - a face with a pale, smooth “base”, and broken pieces of a mask-like, heavily scarred woman’s face stuck onto it, along with a giant round lipless mouth with several rows of sharp teeth inside. A sharp fleshy tongue almost shot from its throat, but Wu Xiaoming’s right foot made contact with its left cheek first, and forcibly redirected its arrow of a tongue at the empty space to Wu Xiaoming’s left.
The Tempered Steel Baton struck the creature’s neck, blasting a charred hole in it, while also bending the neck almost 90 degrees. A downward swing of the soapberry staff landed on the creature’s right lower jaw and the base of the neck, completely shattering the connection between its head and the body.
Threads shot from the hotel walls and ground into the creature’s body. Within the blink of an eye, its body was pulled apart, and all the pieces swallowed by the hotel. Leaving only - the scarred skin and the broken face of a woman that used to be on the creature’s bare “face”.
“Pl - please…” The remaining skin of the poor woman’s face wiggled on the ground, uttering in a very faint, raspy voice: “Kill - kill me - I don’t want to live - like this … ”
Wu Xiaoming narrowed his eyes on the face for a moment. The edge of the skin and the cracks began smoking - the same kind of power that consumed the body of the creature began encroaching on it as well. “As you wish.” He swung his soapberry staff, shattering the face completely.
Images flashed before Wu Xiaoming’s eyes. A piece of memory.
“Don’t worry - it’s just a dream. It’s your fear manifesting in it. Be brave for me.” It was in a dimly lit, but still fancy looking room. Velvet red red carpet, rose red beddings, a leather sofa, and a phonograph playing slow, soothing music on the table. Nicolas Sproutlinger stood in front of him, handing him a small round “pill” soaked in oil and covered in dough skin. Several people surrounded them, dressed in black suits or black dresses while keeping their eyes on them with anticipation.
“Really… really?” A trembling female voice came from Wu Xiaoming’s mouth and throat. His heart was pounding his chest, his arms were shaking.
“Trust me. Just swallow this - and you will see the truth of this world, the truth will set you free, and it will open your eyes. Remember what I told you again and again? The truth eliminates all fears.” Nicolas Sproutlinger’s smile was encouraging and warm. “Face your fears. Find the truth. And you will have control over them.”
With trembling fingers, he pushed the pill down his throat. Within just a few seconds, his head began aching. Scorching hot and ice cold sensations alternated almost every second on his extremities. His heart pounded harder, almost jumping out of his throat. He began crying, screaming and choking himself, trying to force the pill out.
People swarmed around him, pushing his hands and legs down to prevent him from struggling too much. And before he would scream further, visions flashed before his eyes - the same room, but stripped of all of its interior decoration and color; gray sky outside the window, with traces of dark smoke inter-connecting different parts of the city. Not a moment passed, before someone put his slender fingers on his shoulders.
“Holy - ” Wu Xiaoming snapped back from the memory flashback. Now it had become quite clear what Nicolas Sproutlinger had done in this hotel, and why the Queen’s Suite was the center of the hauntings. At first he had thought maybe he had just been trying to give other people the ability to see spirits. It turned out to be way worse. However daring or rash he had been he had only traveled between the realms, only smuggling the occasional items through. Nicholas Sproutlinger, on the other hand, tried to establish a “live” connection between realms using these treated eyeballs and force it onto the others.
It also kind of explained the reason he was targeted by the spirit haunting this very hotel. Maybe his ability to travel between realms had made him an easy and obvious target; or maybe, because of his ability, they saw a chance to exploit him for a chance to travel between the realms by themselves. A bad deal for him either way.
More footsteps started bouncing between the staircase walls. Wu Xiaoming proceeded to go upward. Whatever trap waiting for him on the eighth floor was, he surely needed to find out. And the more energy he retained, the better.
He ran up one floor - the number was indeed 8. He then pushed the door leading to the hallway - it was locked by the same invisible force again. The same kind of black smoke was seeping out from the gap between the door and the frame - only more intense.
“
Bang!
” The strike from the soapberry wood staff left a spiderweb of smoking cracks on the door. “Fuck you!” He barked and swung the tempered steel baton at the same spot.
The dark red energy burst into the cracks and triggered an explosion from inside the body of the door, tearing a burning hole in it. Broken pieces shot into the hallway behind. Wu Xiaoming looked into it - countless human shaped shadows were lingering in the hallway. And as Wu Xiaoming’s sight turned onto them, they turned theirs onto Wu Xiaoming as well.
He took a step back and swung the soapberry wood staff at the door once again. This time he aimed for the spot slightly above the hole. More cracks came up from this strike. And as he was ready to swing the tempered steel baton, a shadow burst up to the other side of the door and thrust a long, crooked blade through the hole.