Chapter 10: The House of Lingering Wails

Shin began his investigation in the bathroom. At first glance, it appeared clean, yet his heightened senses immediately picked up the unmistakable scent of blood. Though no visible stains remained, the stench lingered. 

Mixed within it, he detected another disturbing odor, a lingering trace of male and female pheromones, interwoven with the scent of dried fluids. The combination made his stomach churn.

Turning on the tap, he watched as rust-colored water poured from the faucet. Clearly, this room had not been used in quite some time. He waited until the water ran clear before splashing his face, the coldness grounding him for a moment. 

His unease only deepened. The mansion was drowning in death, yet on the surface, it was eerily still. Something was terribly wrong.

He considered calling for someone to clean the room but quickly dismissed the idea. It could be a trap. Instead, he took matters into his own hands, using the soap provided to scrub away the filth and mask the scent. 

The act itself felt insignificant against the weight of what he had uncovered, but it was necessary. Once satisfied, he locked the doors to his quarters, ensuring his temporary safe space remained undisturbed. He closed the curtains, dimming the room, then sat cross-legged on the bed, steadying his breath.

Tapping into his abilities, he reached out, searching for lost souls bound to this place. Almost immediately, he sensed them. Three spirits, one in the bathroom and two in the main room. He whispered softly, calling them forth. In response, three glowing orbs of blue fire flickered into existence, illuminating the dimly lit space.

He exhaled slowly before addressing them. "How did you die?"

The first spirit responded, her voice trembling yet laced with agony. "One of the men of the household strangled me... suffocated me while using my body for his pleasure." Her voice cracked, and then she sobbed. "No! They took turns! I was nothing but a toy to them! They choked me to death as they laughed and played with my body! I was still a maiden before they took everything from me. I had no suitors, no husband, only my flower shop, where I tended to lilies and roses. My hands once smelled of fresh petals, but they replaced that scent with filth and blood."

Her cries echoed through the room, raw and full of torment. After a moment, she continued, her voice quieter now, almost broken. "I only came to my senses when I was on the brink of death. I tried to struggle, but my body was weak... I was aware of everything they did to me, yet I could do nothing."

Shin remained still, careful not to anger the spirits. He turned to the second orb of fire. "And you? How did you die?"

A man's voice emerged from the flickering flame, seething with rage. "They strangled me as well. I was forced to watch as they violated my wife... my beautiful wife. I was powerless... unable to stop them. And then they killed me. I will never forgive them!"

The third spirit, her voice trembling, spoke next. "It's true! They choked me to death while my husband watched, unable to do anything! I love my husband... but those monsters deserve to die!"

Shin closed his eyes, absorbing their pain. The injustice of it burned inside him. These souls had suffered unbearable cruelty, and their agony had bound them to this place. He needed more evidence to justify what he was planning, but this only reinforced his suspicions.

He offered them a gentle smile and placed a hand near the flames. "I will bring you the vengeance you seek. You no longer need to linger here in suffering. Your doubts, fears, and pain are no longer yours to bear. You are free. Rest now."

The flames flared brightly for a brief moment before flickering out. The spirits, no longer shackled by their anguish, began to fade. With hands clasped together, their forms dissolved into the ether, claimed by the light. The room fell silent once more.

Shin sighed, closing and locking the veranda doors before finally allowing himself to rest. Exhaustion settled over him, yet his mind remained restless. His real investigation had only just begun.

After a few hours of sleep, he woke feeling strangely refreshed. No one had attempted to enter his room, and the Lichtensteins had yet to summon him for his bodyguard duties. That worked in his favor, he had more time to investigate.

Moving with calculated precision, Shin slipped out of his room. He moved like a ghost, his footsteps silent as he navigated the halls. He had spent years honing the art of disappearing, and even in broad daylight, he could blend into the shadows, unseen.

The servants paid no attention to him, too absorbed in their own tasks, and he ensured the Lichtensteins themselves never caught sight of his movements.

He studied the estate's layout, memorizing exits and passageways. Within days, he had committed the entire structure to memory. What unsettled him most, however, was the undeniable stench of death that lingered everywhere. 

It clung to the very walls, woven into the air itself. Even the people, the servants, the guards, carried traces of it on them. It was as if this place thrived on something sinister, something beyond ordinary human cruelty.

Despite playing his role as a dutiful bodyguard, Shin knew he was merely buying time. Each evening, he reported to Thomas, giving him exactly what he wanted, obedience, efficiency, and results.

Thomas, though unimpressed by anything less than absolute excellence, acknowledged Shin's competence. It was enough to make the Lichtenstein family believe he was loyal to them.

But there was something Shin couldn't yet explain. A feeling. A presence. Something familiar.

No matter how much he searched, it always evaded him. Whenever he got close, it would slip away, disappearing before he could pinpoint its source. Even his sharpened senses were unable to track it once it vanished. It was a puzzle that gnawed at him, frustrating him more than he cared to admit.

For seven days, he peeled back the carefully constructed illusion of the Lichtenstein family's perfection. Now, it was time to go deeper. The house of death held more secrets, and Shin intended to uncover every last one.

His nightly investigations grew bolder. On the seventh night, he found a hidden passage behind a grand bookshelf in the library. The scent of death was strongest there, the air thick with decay. 

He followed the path downward, his fingers grazing the stone walls as he descended into the unknown. What he found at the bottom made his breath hitch. 

Cells, rows upon rows of iron-barred cages, each containing skeletal remains or, worse, fresh corpses still leaking blood onto the stone floor. Some prisoners still breathed, their eyes hollow, their bodies emaciated.

One of them, a woman barely clinging to life, lifted her head. Her lips parted as if to speak, but no words came. Instead, she sobbed, her frail body trembling. Shin knelt beside her, his expression unreadable. He reached out, placing a gentle hand on her head. "You are safe now. Rest," he whispered.

He watched as the woman's life slowly ebbed away, her breath growing fainter with each passing moment. Her spirit gently separated from her body, lingering for a brief second before whispering a soft 'thank you.' Then, she faded into the ether, embraced by the light.

This place was beyond saving. It needed to burn, but not yet. The time wasn't right. He had to go deeper, uncovering every hidden atrocity before exposing the true evil of the Lichtensteins.