Bruce was frightened.
He shuddered all over and nearly fell off his chair, then hurried behind it and gripped it tightly. If that ugly doll dared come any closer, he would throw the chair at him without hesitation.
"Don't panic, don't panic. I mean you no harm." The Vengeful Spirit Doll hastily waved his hands and stood ramrod straight against the wall.
"First, let me introduce myself. I'm a vengeful spirit from Absanik, inhabiting this doll's body. When I was alive, I was an Extraordinary..."
Before Bruce could react, the vengeful spirit from Absanik began recounting his past.
He said his name was Fawcett and that he was a Secret Prayer. He had died in an unexpected Great Flood and become a wandering vengeful spirit. Three years ago, Jessica had summoned him and made him into a Vengeful Spirit Doll.
He was also the one who had worked with Jessica to plot Bruce's murder, though they had failed.
The curse in the bathroom had been his doing, and it was the only time he had attacked Bruce.
Bruce had no idea whether any of this was true.
Still, the claim that he had been an Extraordinary in life gave Bruce a pleasant surprise. Books alone would not tell him much. The secrets of the Extraordinary would never be openly displayed to the world, and he needed someone like that to teach him things ordinary people could hardly know.
Besides, this Vengeful Spirit Doll, Fawcett, seemed very friendly. He even said he had only attacked Bruce because he was under Jessica's orders and had no choice. He had never wanted to kill anyone and still retained his kind human nature.
In Fawcett's account, Jessica was a deranged girl, a bloodthirsty little girl who held life in utter contempt and loved thrills and slaughter. She had enslaved him and been mad enough to curse her own parents to death, while he was merely her murder weapon.
There was no way to verify this information either.
"What else do you know about Jessica? The information I got from the church said an evil creature abducted her. What exactly was that creature?" Bruce asked about Jessica.
"That's all I know. After the bathroom curse failed, Jessica wanted to borrow a stronger power to deal with you. I was set aside and wasn't involved. I don't know who the new evil spirit was, but I do know there was a fight that night. That spirit fought a fierce battle with a Night Watcher and eventually escaped." Fawcett answered Bruce's question.
"You said you used to be an Extraordinary, a Secret Prayer. What is a Secret Prayer?" Bruce continued. It was his first time hearing the term, and he did not recall seeing it in any book.
Bruce was not particularly interested in Jessica or the earlier incident. He cared more about the Extraordinary-and why this Vengeful Spirit Doll had approached him.
"That's right. I was an Extraordinary, one of the identities unknown to the world: a Secret Prayer. Being a Secret Prayer is no ordinary identity. Not just anyone can become one. It requires a unique innate gift." Fawcett smiled with a hint of pride, but also dodged Bruce's question.
He did not want to tell Bruce what a Secret Prayer actually did, or how one differed from a Night Watcher or a warrior. That was his secret.
"Why approach me now?" Bruce calmed down, but did not lower his guard.
"I've been watching you for several days. You're very interested in the Extraordinary, and I know you want to become an Extraordinary yourself. Reading those books won't teach you anything deeper. The real knowledge of the Extraordinary is kept in their heads. It doesn't circulate outside." Fawcett spoke.
"What about Isco Higher Academy, then?" Bruce countered.
"That is an option, but I don't see much point in it. If all you want is to become an Extraordinary, there's no need to go there." Fawcett did not deny that deeper knowledge of the Extraordinary could indeed be learned there.
But it was also a place only the wealthy attended. He knew just a little about Isco Higher Academy, so he could not make rash judgments about its specifics, nor did he spout nonsense.
"Why do you say that?" Bruce continued.
"The Extraordinary are certainly mysterious. The mystery lies in their abilities and the various strange incidents they're involved in. But if all you want is to become one, that's actually very simple. As someone who's been through it, I can tell you plainly: it's very simple."
"Simple?" Bruce blinked.
"Exactly. Simple. I'll tell you what I know and help you become an Extraordinary. But knowledge isn't free. I need you to do me a favor. A very small favor." Fawcett plastered a smile across his face and got straight to discussing a deal with Bruce.
To Bruce, Fawcett looked distinctly up to no good. He was ugly, yet insisted on acting cute.
But Bruce did not refuse outright. He could tell that this Vengeful Spirit Doll wanted something. It had come to make a deal, offering the knowledge of the Extraordinary that Bruce needed in exchange. Bruce was indeed tempted.
Still, he had to consider exactly what this favor involved.
"What do you need me to do?" Bruce asked. If it was something he could not accept, he would refuse.
"It's very simple. I need something inside Wayne Manor," Fawcett said.
"What is it?"
Bruce knew about practically everything in Wayne Manor. Anything that caught the Vengeful Spirit Doll's interest had to be unusual. If it was merely an object, the doll could have asked Jessica to fetch it earlier. If Jessica had refused or been unable to give it to him, that meant it might not be easy to obtain.
"I'm not sure yet. From what I can sense, it's still taking shape. When the time is right, it will appear."
Fawcett explained that he had merely sensed something inside Wayne Manor. It exerted an immensely powerful pull on him. He did not know exactly what it was, but he was certain it would appear soon.
So the thing had not emerged yet. Bruce grew curious about what it could be.
"It isn't taking shape. Its seal is coming undone. It's a book." Just then, an ethereal female voice rang out in the study, interrupting Bruce and Fawcett's conversation.
A moment later, a ghostlike woman passed through the wall and hovered in midair, looking calmly at Bruce and Fawcett.
Notably, she looked exactly like Danvers. If not for her hazy, insubstantial body, Bruce would have thought Danvers had come over.
"You! It's you! What are you doing here?"
The face of Fawcett, the Vengeful Spirit Doll, instantly twisted into an expression of extreme displeasure.
The changes in Danvers had already alerted him that another ghost like him was in Wayne Manor, possibly planning something in secret. He had simply never expected this ghost to show up just as he was about to strike a deal with Bruce.
What had she come here for?
"We're both ghosts. Why be so hostile toward me? You know nothing, yet you covet that thing. Do you really think you can lift the Dark Bible?" The ghost glanced at Fawcett with disdain. Her words suggested she was very familiar with the object.
"Then what are you doing here? Aren't you here for it too? Aren't you the one controlling that Danvers woman?"
Fawcett spoke angrily, feeling as though someone was about to steal his candy.
"I merely influenced her. I never intended to control her."
"He was the one I wanted to work with from the beginning. He's also the only one who can pick up the Dark Bible. We're both after the Dark Bible, so I don't need you telling me what to do. You've only been here a few years. I know Wayne Manor far better than you."
The ghost retorted, her gaze drifting toward Bruce from time to time, a trace of infatuation flashing in her eyes.
The two supernatural creatures began arguing in the study.
"The Dark Bible?"
Bruce quietly processed the information in the two supernatural creatures' conversation. Wayne Manor seemed to harbor some secret that could not be revealed.
The name Dark Bible alone sounded as though it was linked to some powerful, mysterious force.
Both supernatural creatures wanted the Dark Bible. Did they intend to obtain power from it?
Right, the Grand Trend seemed to warn me that Wayne Manor had a secret too. Could it be this Dark Bible?
Bruce was sorting through the information he had just acquired when he suddenly noticed that the two ghosts had fallen silent. Looking up, he found that the female ghost had drifted to his side and was sniffing him all over.
"What are you trying to do?"
Bruce's body stiffened. He felt cold all over, with gusts of chilly air creeping down his neck.
"Don't be nervous, Mr. Bruce Wayne. Please forgive my intrusion. I mean you no harm. I simply don't want you to be deceived by this vengeful spirit."
"What do you mean, deceived by me?" Fawcett immediately took offense, but did not interrupt the ghost's explanation.
"I'll be honest as well. I'm a ghost, and I'm skilled at beguiling people. But my beguilement doesn't work on you. Your body contains tremendous power; it just hasn't manifested yet. I really like your scent and want to get a little closer to you..."
The ghost stared at him like an adoring fan, her eyes full of stars. Her gaze gave Bruce goosebumps.
That was unbearably sappy. Was a ghost flirting with him?
Bruce suppressed his discomfort, but also took note of what the ghost had said. His body contained tremendous power?
She might have been flattering him. She had said herself that she was skilled at beguiling people, so this could be a ploy. But it could also be true. Considering some of his predecessor's experiences and his current abilities, it was indeed quite possible that his body contained some powerful force.
"Then can you tell me why? Including where you came from, why it has to be me, why you chose me, and what you know about that Dark Bible?"
Bruce asked several questions in succession, all things he wanted to know.
If Fawcett had told the truth, then he had no choice but to bargain with Bruce. But this ghost was different. She seemed to have inside knowledge, and kept stressing that only Bruce could pick up the Dark Bible.
Why did she emphasize that so much?