Chapter 7: Overlapping Realities

I stood in front of the glass doors of Oak Academy, watching as the scene in front of me kept distorting and overlapping. The glass curtain walls of the modern building intertwined with the mottled red bricks in my eyes. The bright LED lights and the rust - stained gas lamps flickered alternately, and the tile patterns from the Victorian era emerged on the smooth marble floor. The outline of St. John's Psychiatric Hospital was gradually seeping into every corner of this modern building, just like two photos being forcefully superimposed.

I pushed open the glass door and entered the lobby. In the modern reception area, a group of lower - level Specters were wandering around. Their forms were distorted and blurred, like watercolor paintings that had been wet by rain, floating in the air with the air current. A Specter dressed as a nurse was leaning against the wall. Black liquid was constantly flowing out of her empty eye sockets, but the ordinary employees just walked past her as if nothing was wrong. This scene reminded me of the feeling of walking in the library during my college days. Only now, those "invisible existences" had finally revealed their true faces.

"Alex!" A familiar voice came. Jack Thompson walked quickly over, with an anxious expression on his face. "Harrison is furious! How could you resign just before the end of the year? Our commissions will be deducted by 30%!"

I looked at my only friend and noticed that there was always a faint golden light surrounding him, making the wandering Specters unconsciously avoid him. So that's it. No wonder he can always get out of all kinds of dangers unscathed. He has a natural anti - evil constitution.

"Lucky Jack," I said softly, the corners of my mouth unconsciously curving up. "Or should I call you 'Lucky'?"

"What?" Jack looked confused. "You seem so strange today."

I didn't answer and walked straight towards the elevator. At the end of the corridor, a Specter in a Victorian - era hospital gown was walking upside - down on the ceiling. Its head was twisted at an impossible angle, greedily eyeing the people coming and going. But now I already understood that as long as you don't "see" them, these existences can't really harm anyone.

The moment the elevator door opened, the overlap of the two spaces became even more obvious. In the modern elevator car, I saw the rusty medical carts faintly visible, and the floor buttons on the wall intermittently turned into old - fashioned switches covered with copper rust. I calmly pressed the button for the second floor, watched the numbers flash, and at the same time, I could hear the clicking sound of gears turning coming from the space of a hundred years ago. This sound reminded me of the memories of two worlds: the old teaching building elevator in college and this modern building of Oak Academy. But now, both of these memories seemed so distant.

In the office area on the second floor, Kevin Parker was waiting at the elevator entrance. This greasy middle - aged supervisor was standing with his hands on his hips, wearing a fake angry look on his face. "Foster! You're fired! Leave this place immediately, or I'll call security!"

I looked straight into his eyes. In my field of vision, the modern office space behind Parker was constantly flickering, sometimes turning into a mildewed ward corridor. A high - level Specter was standing at the corner of the corridor. It was perfectly disguised as a white - collar worker wearing a tie, if you ignored its occasional mouth that distorted back to its ears.

"Get out of the way." My voice was soft but carried an undeniable authority. After experiencing eighteen deaths, these human threats seemed so ridiculous in my eyes.

Parker was stunned for a moment. Obviously, he didn't expect this once - submissive subordinate to have such a strong attitude. I could see the muscles on his face twitching, like some lower - level Specter trying to maintain a human form. He quickly came to his senses and raised his voice. "What's your attitude? I'm warning you..."

I walked straight past him as if passing through a cloud of air. Parker subconsciously took a step back, and there was a crack in the angry look on his face. The colleagues in the office area all stuck their heads out, looking at this scene with strange eyes. But what they saw was just the surface. Through my eyes, the entire office area was constantly switching between two dimensions: on one side was the normal work scene, and on the other side was the laboratory of some crazy scientist. The desks and chairs turned into operating tables, and the computer monitors turned into strange instrument panels.

What was even more disturbing was that I noticed that certain specific locations attracted more Specters to gather. They seemed to be attracted by some force, wandering back and forth there. This reminded me of the abnormal data in Oak Academy's sales records: missing students, late - night screams, and the vague "accidents" in the security reports.

Moving forward, in the stairwell leading to the third floor, the phenomenon of space overlap reached its peak. The modern fire - proof door and the Victorian - era iron fence intertwined in my vision. Every step seemed to be stepping in two worlds at the same time. The emergency lights on the wall flickered on and off. In the darkness, I heard the faint murmurs of patients echoing in the stairwell.

Pushing open the door to the third floor, I immediately noticed the difference. The air here was thicker, as if there was an invisible force blocking my progress. At the end of the corridor was William Harrison's office, but in another dimension, it was the dissection room of the psychiatric hospital's director. The doors of the two spaces overlapped perfectly. Half of the doorknob was modern silver, and the other half was antique brass.

Just then, a suppressed groan came from inside the door. Without hesitation, I pushed the door open and saw a scene that silenced the entire office: William Harrison was pressing Sarah Bennett against the desk. Both of their clothes were a bit messy. But what was more eye - catching was the parchment scroll glowing with a faint light on the desk - the Spirit Scroll, a powerful and eerie artifact.

"You!" Harrison turned around suddenly. His thin face was distorted with anger, and an unnatural light flashed in his eyes. At that moment, I noticed that there seemed to be some kind of power surging under his skin, making his whole body exude a sickly aura. He stared at me firmly, his voice hoarse and full of threats. "You're courting death!"

Sarah hurriedly straightened her clothes, and her makeup was a bit smeared.

Just then, Parker came running up, out of breath. Seeing the scene in the office, his expression instantly became strange. Then, he suddenly tore open his shirt. "Help! Foster is attacking people!"

I stood at the door, a sneer curling up at the corners of my mouth. In my field of vision, the entire office was experiencing the most intense space overlap: modern office furniture intertwined with ancient medical equipment, and the city view outside the floor - to - ceiling windows sometimes turned into a desolate courtyard. And the most eye - catching thing was that Specters were sticking their heads out of the walls one by one, greedily watching this farce.

At this moment, I finally understood the truth of it all: Oak Academy was not just a school. It was a node connecting two worlds. And those existences lurking in the dark were waiting for the right moment to completely overlap these two spaces.

"Very interesting," I said softly, my eyes falling on the Spirit Scroll. "It seems I've come to the right place."