chapter_018 : Revelation and the Test

After walking out of the room, Jane used the master key in her hand to lock the door. Then, she said to Zachary, "We've never been here. Remember that. Otherwise, we'll be under serious suspicion of murder. Tell your friend the same. Sorry about what happened just now. There wasn't much time. We'll find a suitable place to talk to you about something important."

Once they reached downstairs, Ryan stayed in the car because he was very concerned about Gary's current situation.

"Is he dead?"

After confirming this from Zachary, he felt as if he'd been struck by lightning and could hardly believe it. So, was he also killed by that ghost - woman?

"First, I'll explain what's been going on," said Jane.

They chose the old fisherman's house as the place to talk. In the simple farmhouse, there was an old - fashioned square table. The four of them sat down, looking at each other in silence. If it weren't for the empty table, they'd look just like they were about to play a game of cards.

"Sorry for holding a knife to your neck," Jane now wore a kind expression again, and Orion also apologized to the two of them. Gradually, Zachary and Ryan began to believe that these two weren't bad people.

"I need an explanation," Zachary said, resting his chin on his hand as he stared at Orion across the table. "Are you someone with precognitive abilities?"

"You're smart," Orion thought. "I've never told anyone about entering that house or Gary encountering a ghost. Only a few of us knew about it. Yet you were able to predict his exact time of death, right down to the minute. This can't be something an ordinary person can do. Although we've collected some data on people with strong intuition who can have premonitions, I've never actually met one until now."

"Yes, I do have precognitive abilities. Since you've figured that out, it'll be easier to talk... Mr. Neil, he's like me, someone with similar abilities. You know he has purple pupils, right? That's a sign of this ability. My ability is still in its early stages, so the color of my pupils is the same as a normal person's."

Zachary studied Orion's expression, trying to find any clues, and quickly analyzed the truth of his words. After hearing what Orion said, he asked, "Then, do you know if Mr. Neil's death was because of... because of the ghost in that painting? If so, since he also had precognitive abilities, there's no reason for him to paint those pictures..."

"It's because his ability wasn't fully developed," Jane interjected. "Although purple - eyed precognitives can largely foresee everything related to the supernatural, the drawback is that the ability that relies solely on innate constitution is often incomplete. Only when one has an innate constitution and also experiences a strong external stimulus can they truly become omniscient. Even we have limited precognitive abilities; otherwise, we could've found you earlier."

This was the first time Orion had heard this idea. So, did this mean that Jane's father developed his all - knowing premonition ability because he had an innate constitution and then suffered the great shock of losing his wife? Even those with the same innate constitution could have different levels of ability. Orion's pupils weren't purple, so there was probably a huge gap between him and these people. If he could have a purple - eyed precognitive as a companion...

"So, once we reach the predicted date of death, our lives will be in danger?" Ryan asked urgently. "But surely you have a way. Can you predict where or when the ghost will appear? Then we can avoid it..." "Our precognition isn't that precise. But for those with an innate constitution," Jane continued, "the sense of danger from ghosts is stronger than that of ordinary people. They can sense the presence of ghosts within a certain range. However, it depends on the situation. We know almost nothing about ghosts. Currently, there's no way to fight or kill them, at least not with human power. So, if you want to survive..."

At this moment, Zachary and Ryan held their breath, waiting for her answer.

"The only way is to rely on paranormal abilities to avoid the ghost's attacks!"

Jane had almost no experience in protecting people from ghost attacks, and the data she'd collected was extremely limited. She couldn't make any definite judgments. Frankly, if she were to estimate their chances of survival objectively, it wouldn't be higher than 1%. Orion's paranormal ability was only just activated, and his pupils weren't even purple. In this state, competing against a ghost would yield no chance of success.

However, she had another idea. Currently, Orion had very little practical experience. So, increasing his exposure to ghosts might help him get used to these situations more quickly. Moreover, what Jane feared and worried about the most wasn't the ghosts that could take on a physical form. What was truly terrifying was the curse that had no physical form, something that couldn't be touched or seen. In such a situation, even the most powerful paranormal abilities would be useless. Once a person was cursed in this way, they were absolutely doomed, with no chance of survival.

The greatest horror was the complete unknown, an enemy with no form...

"Next, I'll explain..." Orion was about to give them some instructions when he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Wait... Is it just the three of you, you and Gary? Are there any others?"

Zachary's heart skipped a beat, and he nodded.

"There's also a girl. She saw that painting, too. Does that mean we're all doomed just because we saw the painting? What's the deal with this? We've done nothing wrong to that ghost - woman. Why is she trying to kill us?"

Looking at them now, Jane saw herself three years ago. She couldn't understand why her kind and gentle mother was killed in such a cruel way, and she couldn't understand why she had to be cursed. She once hated the fate that was given to her and wondered countless times why all this had to happen.

But over the past three years, she'd gradually gotten used to it. No matter who a person was or what they'd done, they could be given such a fate. No one could answer her why. The only way to survive was to struggle. "Since that's the case, let's wait until everyone's here. First," she said, "let's meet at your place, Ryan. After the three of you are together, I'll tell you how to survive in the days to come. Remember, don't do anything reckless on your own. Only by following our instructions do you have a chance. When my sister senses your death date, I'll tell you right away, and we'll take preventive measures. Once again... never give up! No matter what, you have to have the will to live!"

These words were a great encouragement to Zachary and Ryan, who were in such a desperate situation. Although they didn't know if they could survive, since there was a glimmer of hope, they were willing to fight to the death.

After Zachary and Ryan left, Jane and Orion also left the farmhouse and walked to the nearby beach. The wind was strong, and the waves were high. In the distance, the horizon was shrouded in darkness.

"I want to test your current level of paranormal ability and then come up with a countermeasure. I'm not naturally gifted with paranormal ability, so it's hard for me to improve. But you're different. Since your pupils haven't changed color yet, I don't expect too much, but at least, you should be able to defend against visible ghosts."

Orion asked, puzzled, "Then... how do we test it? Are you going to summon a ghost?"

"It's simple. In fact, this beach should be 'crowded' right now." Hearing this, a chill ran down Orion's back. He slowly turned around and asked, "You... you're not joking, are you?"

"Why would I joke about this? Although my paranormal ability isn't very strong, it's enough to take paranormal photos. I took a lot of photos on this beach last night. The old fisherman was right. There are many invisible ghosts on the sea. There might even be one behind you right now..."

As Jane said this, she deliberately made her voice sound eerie. Whether it was true or not, Orion began to feel scared.

"Let me make it clear that I'm not joking. There really are ghosts on this beach, probably the souls of those who died in shipwrecks. Release your paranormal ability right now and drive them away. If, after an hour, I take a photo of you and there are no ghosts around you, it means your paranormal ability is strong enough to defend against them."

Orion understood. This was another life - or - death test.

Life was only once. How could he risk it like this? Although he was prepared, he was still afraid of death. Even though his precognition told him he wouldn't die at this moment, there was no guarantee. The possibility of him dying here couldn't be completely ruled out.

An hour? Staying on a beach full of invisible ghosts? Just standing still would be enough to drive someone crazy. And he had to release his paranormal ability to drive the ghosts away? "I'm also in danger, don't forget," said Jane, who had casually sat down on the beach. Looking at Orion, who was sweating, she said, "In the past seven years, you must have tasted all the despair. Don't think it's easy to survive, and don't expect to break the curse without difficulties. There's no such power in this world. If you don't have the right mindset, I suggest you end it all now. But if you want to have a future with your sister, then you have to face all the risks. Even if it means risking your life, you have to unhesitatingly accept all the tests!"

Orion was shaken by Jane's words. Was his determination not strong enough? Surviving... it was such a heavy word. For someone like him, who was cursed, the only way to fight against fate was to risk everything...

So, he started to release his paranormal ability. As he did, he became more and more aware that there were many unknown things around him. He could hear faint whispers in his ears. Although the sound of the waves made it hard to hear clearly, he knew they were very close.

A large group of ghosts was gathered on this beach! He was sure of it!

He had to survive... he had to! For the sake of having a tomorrow and protecting Violet, he kept repeating this belief in his mind, fighting against the growing fear inside him. Gradually, it got darker around them. The sea looked like the gaping mouth of a demon, facing Orion. The whispering sounds grew louder. Orion was releasing more and more of his paranormal ability, and it made him feel as if his body was being emptied. But he still gritted his teeth and held his ground.

An hour passed, neither too long nor too short. When Jane announced the time was up, Orion wanted to run away from the beach immediately, but his legs were so weak that he stumbled and fell on the sand. Then, Jane took a photo of him with a digital camera. She could see the image right away and looked at it carefully. There were no ghosts around Orion!

"Amazing..." Jane was surprised by the result. In fact, asking Orion to drive away all the ghosts around him was a high - demand task. She originally thought that if some of the ghosts disappeared, he would have passed the test. After all, his paranormal ability had just been activated.

This gave her confidence that she could save the three people who were still alive in the days to come. However, compared to the terrifying ghost in Neil's painting, these sea - ghosts were nothing. So, Orion wouldn't be able to get rid of that kind of ghost so easily.

"You've done well, Orion," Jane said as she helped him up and showed him the photo.

"You've succeeded! Next, we have to save those three people!"

But who would be next? In the city, Violet, who had just finished work at the newspaper office, was walking alone on the street, feeling lonely. She wondered how her brother and Jane were doing and how many people they could save this time.

As she was walking across the crosswalk, she suddenly saw an extremely handsome young man coming towards her. He looked to be in his twenties, with a tall and well - built figure, like a model. Under his broad forehead were a pair of... purple pupils?

When they passed each other, the handsome young man with purple pupils said something to Violet.

"You... haven't awakened yet..."

Violet was shocked and turned to look at his back, shouting, "What do you mean?"

"I look forward to seeing you grow to that level when we meet next time."

As he said this, he turned his head and looked at her. His purple pupils emitted a strange, unsettling aura, and his expression was extremely cold. Violet wanted to run after him to ask more, but the traffic lights had turned red, and she had to stop.

When the light turned green again, Violet ran to look for him, but there was no sign of the man anywhere.

Who was that man? What did he know?