Soul Hunting

Darkness surged in like a torrential tide, ruthlessly devouring every faint source of light within Oak Academy in an instant. I stood right in the middle of the second - floor corridor, calmly observing the abnormal changes in the surroundings. Distorted and strange shadows were projected onto the walls. The shapes of these shadows didn't conform to the outline of a modern office at all. Instead, they took on the spires and arches characteristic of Gothic architecture, exuding a mysterious and ancient aura.

The air was filled with a peculiar blend of scents. There was the metallic smell from the modern air - conditioning system, the odor of the newly - installed carpet, and a more long - standing smell - the phenol disinfectant commonly used in psychiatric hospitals last century. This pungent medicinal smell drilled straight into my throat, making me feel a tightness. However, after experiencing eighteen deaths, such subtle sensory changes could no longer stir even a trace of fear in my heart. I just analyzed them calmly as information.

"Seems the situation is more complicated than I expected," I murmured to myself, my voice as calm as if I wasn't the one in danger. "Not only is the space overlapping, but time also seems to be getting disordered."

My colleagues around me gathered in the corridor, whispering nervously. In their eyes, this was just an ordinary power outage, at most, it had lasted an unusually long time. But I could see more: around these people, countless semi - transparent figures were looming and wandering around. Their forms were vague and changeable. Some resembled Victorian - era medical staff, while others didn't look human at all. They were more like some strange beings that seemed to be between insects and reptiles, adding an extra layer of eeriness to the dark environment.

"Everyone, stay calm," Harrison's voice came from the end of the corridor. He was holding his phone for illumination, and the weak light was extremely precious in this pitch - black darkness, like a glimmer of hope in the dark. "It's just an ordinary power outage. The backup generator will start soon."

"Damn it, making such a racket. If you weren't useful later, I would have taken you out already," Harrison thought maliciously in his heart.

I looked at Harrison, keenly noticing the anxiety in his eyes that was at odds with his outward calm. What was even more interesting was that there were no signs of any Specter attaching to Harrison. In this strange and eerie environment, his "purity" seemed extremely suspicious, like an undercurrent hidden beneath the calm surface of a lake, making people can't help but feel suspicious.

"Is everyone here? Has anyone seen Emily?" Sarah Bennett suddenly asked, her voice tinged with an uncontrollable tremor. "She was in the pantry just now..."

The office fell into an instant and oppressive silence. Only the occasional faint hum of electronic devices in the distance broke the momentary stillness. I looked around, my gaze passing directly through my colleagues who were oblivious to the supernatural phenomena, and landed on the gradually forming black vortex at the end of the corridor. There, the space was twisting in a way that defied common sense, as if someone was wantonly kneading the intangible fabric of reality with great force, making it feel as if we were in a distorted alternate dimension.

"There's a Specter," I suddenly said, my voice calm yet cold, as if nothing in this darkness could shake my will.

The entire office area was plunged into a deathly silence. Everyone's eyes were like searchlights, all focused on me. At that moment, I could feel the doubt, surprise, and even a hint of subtle rejection in their gazes.

"What nonsense are you spouting!" Parker was the first to break the silence, his voice full of disdain, as if what I had just said was the most absurd joke in the world. "Foster, are you scared out of your wits? There's no such thing as a Specter in this world, only—"

"Emily White is dead," I interrupted him mercilessly, my tone still as calm as water. "Or more precisely, she's been taken away. If we stay here, soon there will be a second, a third person disappearing."

The office immediately erupted into a hubbub of voices. Some people loudly laughed at me, thinking I was alarmist; others looked uneasily into the dark corridor, their eyes filled with fear and confusion. Sarah tightly clutched her phone, her fingers trembling slightly, obviously wanting to call Emily. Her actions were filled with a sense of panic, as if holding the phone could hold onto the last glimmer of hope.

"It's no use," I said, watching her futile efforts indifferently. "In this area, any electronic communication will be interfered with. This isn't an ordinary power outage. It's the Specter Domain overlapping with the real world."

"This is sheer nonsense!" Parker took a step forward, his hands clenched into fists, his emotions so agitated that it seemed he was about to rush up and punch me. "Harrison, you should throw this lunatic out. He's clearly out of his mind!"

Harrison frowned and looked at me, a complex expression flashing across his face. That expression was more like a subtle curiosity than anger or fear, as if in his eyes, I had become a mysterious research subject full of puzzles.

"Foster, what makes you say Emily is dead?" Harrison asked calmly, reaching out to stop Parker who was about to continue shouting. His voice was steady, but I could detect a hidden hint of urgency, as if he had some special expectation for my answer.

I didn't answer directly. Instead, I raised my finger and pointed to the end of the corridor. "You can't see those things, but they do exist. Now, this building is becoming part of the Specter Domain, and ordinary physical laws are starting to fail here. Emily isn't the first victim, and she won't be the last."

"I can't get through to Emily!" Sarah suddenly shrieked. The calls she made repeatedly went unanswered. Her voice was filled with panic and confusion. "This is so strange. She's clearly in this building!"

Jack Thompson walked to the middle of the corridor and swept the flashlight of his phone across every corner. The flickering light swayed in the darkness, as if it would go out at any moment. "We should go check the pantry. Maybe she's just stuck in the elevator or in the restroom or something..."

"Do as you like," I calmly leaned against the wall, continuing to observe the changes in the surrounding space. In my field of vision, the walls of the modern office and the corridors of the old psychiatric hospital flashed alternately, like two completely different strips of film being forcefully overlapped. This visual confusion made people feel dizzy. What was even more disturbing was that tiny cracks began to appear on the walls, and black liquid slowly seeped out from the gaps, forming strange and distorted patterns on the wall, as if they were some mysterious symbols from hell.

A few people formed a search team, holding their phones for illumination, and walked towards the pantry. I didn't follow them. I knew in my heart that it was just a waste of effort. In the Specter Domain, the ordinary concept of space had been completely distorted. The pantry might no longer be in its original position, just like in a chaotic maze where all paths had lost their original meaning.

Fifteen minutes later, the search team returned with even more nervous expressions.

"We didn't find her," Jack shook his head, the confusion on his face becoming more intense. "Strangely, the door of the pantry is locked, but the light inside is on. We knocked on the door for a long time, but there was no response."

"How many exits are there in this building?" I suddenly asked. At this moment, I knew clearly that we had to find a way out as soon as possible, or the consequences would be disastrous.

"The main entrance, two emergency exits, and the passage to the underground garage. There are four in total," Carl replied. His voice was trembling slightly, obviously affected by the eerie atmosphere.

"All these exits are blocked now," I said, my tone tinged with a hint of helplessness and determination. "We're trapped here."

"How do you know?" Harrison stared at me with sharp eyes, as if trying to see through me.

"Because once the Specter Domain is formed, it will cut off all connections with the outside world and create an independent space," I replied briefly and firmly. "Now our only way out is to find the source of this domain and eliminate it."

"Foster," Jack lowered his voice and walked up to me. "Who exactly are you? A Soul Hunter?"

"No," I replied calmly.

Jack became visibly nervous. His body trembled slightly. "Then do you know what's going on now?"

I analyzed calmly, "A Specter that can create a domain is at least a B - level threat. And this domain seems to be related to St. John's Psychiatric Hospital."

Jack's expression immediately turned solemn. Fear and worry flashed in his eyes. "The psychiatric hospital? You mean..."

"He's gone!" someone shouted in panic. "He was right next to me just now. I just turned around to get a bottle of water, and when I came back, he disappeared!"

The panicked mood spread rapidly, like a wildfire raging through the crowd. Parker shouted for everyone to stay calm, but his own voice was already trembling, completely losing his usual calm. Harrison stood aside, his expression becoming more and more complex. There was both fear and an almost fanatical excitement, as if he was in an exciting adventure, and the end of this adventure was full of unknowns.

"Now do you believe me?" My voice rang out in the chaos, unusually calm, like a steady bell in the darkness. "What's happening here is beyond the understanding of ordinary people. We're being hunted by some powerful Specter, and you can't even see it."

The people present finally began to take my words seriously. Fear made them willing to believe any theory that could explain the current situation, no matter how absurd it sounded. In a life - and - death situation, people are often willing to grab onto any straw that might save their lives.

"If... if there really are such things," Sarah asked tremblingly, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "Why can you see them, but we can't?"

This was a perfect entry point for the question. I looked at Jack, and he nodded slightly, almost imperceptibly, as if encouraging me to continue. At that moment, I knew it was time to reveal some secrets.

I said calmly, my gaze sweeping over every frightened face. "In this world, there's a group of people who specifically fight against Specters. They're called Soul Hunters."

The office fell into a deathly silence. Even Parker, who loved to mock me the most, couldn't utter a single word of refutation at this moment. Fear and the unknown had made them willing to accept any explanation, as long as it could give them a glimmer of hope for survival. In this dark Specter Domain, hope had become more precious than anything else.