In this eerie, uncanny place, having a chilly little hand suddenly rest on your shoulder was definitely not a pleasant feeling.
And anyone with even a halfway functioning brain would know that turning around at a time like this was sure to make something terrible happen.
So in this situation, the best thing to do was ignore it or strike back directly—not turn around to look on instinct!
But...
Annie was clearly more curious than most people. And since she was highly skilled and bold, she also wanted to find out what the other party would do next. So she didn't rush to fight back, much less attack—for example, by not even looking back and simply burning the other party to death with flames or some other means.
"..."
(︶)
And so!
In the spirit of exploration, she thought it over, then finally turned her head "obediently" toward the little hand resting on her shoulder.
"Who's there?"
-
(゜-゜)?
But it was pitch-black behind her. She couldn't see a thing!
Even the chilly little hand that had just been resting on her shoulder had vanished without a trace.
"???"
(^)
"What's going on?"
Naturally, this left Annie a little bewildered.
She'd turned around, but nothing had happened?
There was no terrifying, hideous female ghost behind her, no gleaming fangs and claws, knives, or wire-like strands of hair swiping at her. There was no soul-snatching female ghost or indescribable entity, nor any other strange and horrible thing?
This left her feeling just a little disappointed.
After all, she'd been really looking forward to it. And the other party had only casually patted her on the shoulder?
However...
Just then, while Annie was feeling a little dissatisfied, some strange rule—or perhaps mechanism—of the other party's kicked in.
Whoosh—!
"?!"
(ω‖)
In an