Mysteries Of Haunted Island

"Whoo-hoo! We finally arrived! Let's go, everyone—I already booked a hotel nearby for us!"

"Sigh Again, can you please explain your plan to us before dragging us here?"

"Come on, Haru-kun, where's the fun in that?"

Our protagonist and his friends had just arrived at their trip destination. While the boys were still looking around, curious about the so-called haunted island, the group's leader, Sayaka Tomo, had already made her way to the hotel room she had reserved. To their surprise, it was a luxurious inn with private onsen in each room. What more could they ask for? Even though she was from the branch family, the Sayaka family had never lacked money.

"W-Wow! I never expected we'd have a hot spring all to ourselves! I-Is it really okay for me to enjoy this kind of luxury?" Hibino Sakura, also known as Bocchi-senpai, stammered.

"Ahahaha, no worries, Bocchi-senpai! Feel free to use it as much as you like!"

"Sigh No matter how well I know your family, I'm still impressed by their wealth and how easily you can splurge on a whim."

"Haru-kun, sighing too much can make you age faster, you know~ Besides, what's the point of money if you don't use it?"

"Alright, let's gather again tonight. You three boys are free to roam around, just don't wander too far. Hehe, I heard that if you roam aimlessly, the ghosts might catch you!~"

"Eek!" Bocchi-senpai squeaked.

"Okay, that's enough joking around—I don't want our dear, beautiful Bocchi-senpai to faint. But I'm serious, you know!"

"We understand, Senpai," the boys replied.

Later that night.

he group gathered in the inn's common area as instructed, the soft glow of lanterns casting eerie shadows on the wooden walls. The night was quiet—unnaturally so—like the calm before a storm.

Tomo, with her usual playful grin, leaned in and whispered, "Ready for a little adventure, everyone? The haunted shrine isn't too far from here."

Haru sighed deeply, clearly unimpressed. "Tomo, must you always drag us into these things?"

Tomo merely winked. "Where's the fun in staying safe?"

As they trekked through the forest, the dense trees around them seemed to swallow the light of their flashlights. Bocchi-senpai clung to Fangzhi's arm, her eyes wide with fear, while Danial stayed alert, his senses on high.

"Are we almost there?" Bocchi's voice was shaky, every snap of a twig underfoot making her jump.

"Almost," Tomo replied, her voice unusually serious now. "Just beyond this path, there's a shrine. They say it's cursed, that the spirits of the island's past victims haunt it."

Haru frowned. "Victims?"

Tomo nodded, her expression shows that she enjoy the thrill. "There was a massacre here, centuries ago. The island was once a refuge for exiled criminals—murderers, thieves, and the like. But the local villagers... they didn't want them here. They came one night, torches and weapons in hand, and slaughtered them all. The blood soaked into the ground, and they say the spirits of the damned never left."

As they reached the shrine, the air grew thick with an oppressive energy. The shrine itself was ancient, the wood rotting, and the stone steps cracked and weathered. A faint smell of decay hung in the air.

"I-I don't like this," Bocchi whimpered, her grip on Fangzhi tightening.

"se-senpai please calm down!"

"I think you're the one who need to calm first Fangzhi"

Danial glanced at the only quiet person in the group—Tomoya Aki. He noticed Aki's strange behavior, his eyes fixed on the ground as if avoiding someone's stare, yet there was no one nearby. As a mage, Danial knew the importance of a detection spell to sense any presence, but his martial arts training had sharpened his natural senses thus there is no need to employ the spell. Despite this, he still couldn't detect anything unusual around them.

Aki's odd behavior puzzled Danial. Just as he considered probing further, a loud voice cut through the silence.

"HEY!! What are you kids doing here? Don't you know this place is dangerous at night?"

The voice belonged to a police officer, his uniform marking him as the local authority on duty.

"Ah—um, we're terribly sorry, Officer," Tomo stammered. "But we have a permit to visit this place. Here it is."

The officer's expression shifted from irritation to confusion as he examined the permit. "What? Who gave you this? I need to have a word with whoever thought it was okay to let kids into such a dangerous place!"

But as he read the signature of the village chief on the permit, his demeanor changed. The group felt the tension in the air as the officer grew quiet, the silence heavy and unsettling. The police just stare blankly at the paper for a few more second.

Without warning, the officer crumpled the permit in anger and handed it back to Tomo. The group was confused—why would he do that? But Danial noticed something the others missed: a flicker of pity and shame in the officer's eyes as he handed back the permit. The dim lighting hid these subtle changes from the others, even from a mage like Fangzhi. Danial began to suspect something wasn't right and doubt began to seep in his heart. Danial look at his companion yet no one notice this small gesture however to his surprise, he saw that Tomoya Aki actually do noticed the officer's strange behavior.

Aki stared at the crumpled permit with a terrified expression, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to speak.

The officer stare at each one of them, his expression was blank as if someone had strip away all of the emotion he had previously.

"Kids, for now, you should go back," the officer muttered before turning away, his fists clenched tightly. Danial's trained eyes didn't miss this small but telling gesture.

"What's up with that policeman?" Haru asked. "Tomo, are you sure the permit you got is legit?"

"Eh... it should be legit," Tomo replied, uncertainty creeping into her voice. "My family arranged it, but I don't know why he acted like that."

"A-ano, how about we call it a day and just head back?" Bocchi-senpai suggested, still trembling behind Fangzhi.

"I-I agree," Fangzhi added.

it seems like the more they linger on, the heavier the atmosphere become.

"...Yeah, let's head back, senpai," Aki murmured, then hesitated. "Um... never mind."

Tomo sighed. "What a blunder. I didn't expect to run into anyone, and now the plan's gone down the drain. If I see that policeman again, I'll complain! Anyway, let's go back. We still have a week here."

Later that night, everyone returned to their rooms, but Danial couldn't shake a deep sense of unease, even without realizing he actually had cold sweat on his forehead and hand a bit. After everything he'd been through, he had learned to trust his instincts. If nothing was wrong, it didn't matter, but he had a strong feeling that trouble was brewing. 

He knew he needed to confront Tomoya Aki. The boy had been the only one to notice the officer's strange behavior, and Aki himself had been acting oddly in the entire time which arouse his suspicious. Danial was determined to get to the bottom of it tomorrow.

Knock, knock.

A sudden knocking echoed from outside Danial's room, halting his thoughts instantly. On the opposite side of the door he was surprise to heard the voice of a person who was probably the most unlikely to be here right now.

"Ex-excuse me, um, Danial-san? It's me, Tomoya Aki. Um, I think we need to talk. Can you please open the door? Ahaha, it's a bit chilly out here," He heard Tomoya's awkward laugh clearly seeped through the door.

Danial who was about to climb down from his bed halted his step, his brow creased as he remain stationary in his position.

"Um—umm, Danial-san, are you still asleep? Could you please open the door? I really have something urgent to discuss!"

Tomoya knocked again, this time with a bit more force. But still, Danial remained motionless, his gaze fixed on the door, his body tense. If anyone had been there, they would have noticed the cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"Sigh. Well, I guess you're really dead asleep. I'm sorry to bother you tonight; I'll come again tomorrow. We really need to discuss something."

The voice faded, and as it did, Danial felt a wave of relief wash over him. His tense muscles began to loosen, but a gnawing sense of unease kept his senses on high alert.

When Danial first heard Tomoya's voice, he was immediately curious. Why would the shyest boy in the group suddenly approach him at this hour? Without thinking much of it, he cast a detection spell to verify who was standing outside his door, hoping to understand Tomoya's sudden urgency.

But the feedback from the spell made him pause. Though his finely-tuned hearing had unmistakably identified Tomoya's voice, the spell revealed something far more unsettling. The presence at the door barely resembled the Tomoya Aki he knew. The energy signature was faint, almost warped, as if something—or someone—was poorly imitating the boy.

A cold shiver ran down his spine. It was as though an unknown shadow was staring back at him, its presence faint but disturbingly off. He could pick up the slightest trace of life force, but it was so weak, so unnatural, that it sent a chill through him. For someone so young, it was almost impossible to possess such an eerie, diminished presence. It felt... wrong, like something that shouldn't exist.

Danial was not easily frightened, but here he was, frozen in his bed, cold sweat trickling down his back. Despite the spell, he could not identify the shadowy figure lingering outside. It was as if the entity was cloaked in mist, deliberately obscuring its true nature. What unnerved him even more was the eerie sensation that this being knew he was awake, yet chose to retreat, almost as if it was toying with him, drawing out the suspense in a twisted game.

The sudden ring of his phone shattered the heavy silence, snapping Danial out of his thoughts. He glanced at the screen and was startled to see Tomo-senpai's name flashing. The timing felt too perfect, too strange, making him even more uneasy. He had been expecting a call from Tomoya Aki, not someone else. What did Tomo-senpai want at this hour? And who—or what—had been at his door moments ago?

Danial hesitated, his thoughts racing. Everything inside him screamed not to answer, but something compelled him to pick up. It was as if the entity that had knocked knew exactly what he'd do, using a trusted voice to draw him in.

Taking a deep breath, Danial answered the call. Tomo-senpai's cheery voice greeted him right away.

"Ah, Danial-kun! You finally picked up. I'm sorry for calling so late. Normally, I'd just come to your room, but I didn't want to bother you too much."

It was definitely Tomo-senpai's voice, but something felt off. The light tone didn't match the situation, making Danial's nerves tighten.

"Eh? Why aren't you saying anything? Are you still half-asleep?"

The more he listened, the more wrong it felt. The cheerful chatter seemed out of place, like it was covering something darker. His eyes darted around the room, every shadow feeling a bit too long, every creak of the old building suddenly louder.

"Hehe, Danial-kun, don't worry. I'll just talk over the phone, alright?"

As Tomo-senpai spoke, Danial noticed a faint noise in the background. It was barely audible, like the soft rustling of fabric. Most people wouldn't have caught it, but Danial's trained senses picked it up right away. A cold chill ran down his spine.

Despite his heightened awareness, the growing sense of dread was overwhelming. Something about this call felt wrong. The cheerful voice on the other end seemed to mask something sinister. The room felt like it was closing in on him, the air growing thick, and the shadows inching closer as the conversation continued.

"You see, I was hoping that tomorrow night, you could come to this certain haunted house! I've already informed the others, but I told them not to mention it to each other, to keep the suspense high and make each one feel like they're the only ones who know. Fufu, am I brilliant?"

At this point, Danial realized something terrifying: the person on the other end was not Tomo-senpai. The voice was eerily similar, carrying the same energy, but it lacked genuine emotion, as if it were reciting lines from a script.

He began to question whether he was actually speaking to anyone at all or if something was wrong with his phone. The latter seemed more likely, but he had no concrete evidence. The phone looked perfectly normal—he'd been using it for two years without any issues. Yet, the unsettling feeling persisted.

"And... with that in mind, make sure to come later, alright? We'll be waiting."

The call ended abruptly, leaving Danial feeling lightheaded. He clung to consciousness, trying to make sense of everything that had happened. The strange behavior of the policeman, the unsettling knock at his door, and now this bizarre phone call—it was all too much.

For a 12-year-old boy, it was overwhelming. The mental exhaustion finally took its toll, and he succumbed to sleep. But before drifting off, Danial made a silent promise to himself: he would get to the bottom of this, no matter what.