Loss

"But this still couldn't break him," the Necronomicon said, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"After a few dozen times, he just hugged himself and trembled.

"So I guessed it might be because he knew his mother was already dead. But then it suddenly struck me-wasn't there still you?

"You were still alive. You'd left this place. He didn't know about you. I could even add a few little twists, so I repeated you..."

"Enough. That's enough. I know. Enough." My voice was frighteningly cold, frighteningly numb. Blood dripped from my hands onto the floor, but I felt no warmth at all.

"All right, then let's talk about you. You shell wrapped in flesh and blood, you have no idea how... all right-since I came into this world, I've only seen a few souls like yours. The most recent was... the last one was taken by... that one was better than you..." At this point, he made a strange noise, seemingly regretful. He hadn't spoken those names, as though wary of something.

"Your soul isn't like those weak-willed fools. We can turn them into walking corpses with a flick of our hands. Those mediums are nothing more than temporary stepping stones for us, discarded once we're done. But you're different. No evil spirit, however powerful, can possess you. No energy, however powerful, can assimilate you.

"I sent my strongest demon to weaken your soul. You thought you were the only one affected? No. The demon was the one being weakened instead. He could only expend all his strength constantly reinforcing his body in reality.

"Those weren't whispers in your ears. They were curses, the most potent curses there were. Anyone else who heard them would become deranged in a minute, break down in three, have their body completely collapse in ten, and have not even a soul left after fifteen.

"And yet you endured for all that time. That caught my attention, so I had someone slip something into what you were given. I remember that woman. Black hair, black eyes, very much like you.

"It's good stuff. So many people dream of getting their hands on it. It can slow your aging as much as possible, and it also resonates with my demon inside your body, strengthening its influence.

"You thought about dying? And tried it a few times, didn't you? Those were the only times your soul wavered. I took the opportunity to extract a little, but it was nowhere near enough. I had to preserve that demon, so I fell asleep. I thought I'd lost you.

"I never expected you to form a connection with Jason. That was an unexpected delight. But without an incantation, I still couldn't awaken. Then, seven years ago, an emissary of an evil god who governed dreams awakened me with the fluctuations of his power.

"So I took the opportunity to swallow half your lower leg. It tasted good... You've seen another book, haven't you? That's why I'm different from her. He needs an incantation, while I can exist independently as an individual.

"Now, once I devour your entire soul, I can become the ultimate demon, a convergence of every curse, bound by nothing..."

"Enough." His voice, which had risen and fallen, sometimes deep and sometimes shrill, suddenly steadied. "Enough. You know. That's enough." Something seemed to emerge from the book, giving off a chilling, sinister aura.

"You should get rid of that piece of junk on you," it said.

I opened its cover and entered a password. With a click, the thing fell to the floor. Not a word out of his mouth was true, but I'd lied to him too. This thing was just a heart rate monitor.

That sinister aura enveloped me. I couldn't describe how I felt. I could sense something gradually leaving my shell. I should have despaired, should have struggled, should have done something. Everything I was would soon vanish from this world. There would be no reincarnation, no rebirth, but what was I supposed to do?

Yet I felt utterly numb. My only lingering obsession was to look at Jason one more time.

His build hadn't changed much. His skin had turned a bluish gray, more gray than blue. His clothes were filthy and tattered beyond recognition, but I still remembered them. They were the dark blue loungewear I'd bought him.

He still wore that hockey mask. It was covered in scratches, but fortunately it wasn't too badly damaged. The blade in his hand was still the same one from back then, rusted all over, its edge curled.

I just... I just felt so sorry. I always dragged other people into my own mess.

I'm sorry, Jason. But I could no longer speak.

Ash was sent far away, then dumped onto the ground, covered in dirt, looking as though he'd fled a disaster. He walked along in a huff, cursing through gritted teeth. "That idiot, that lunatic, a complete fucking psycho..."

In the cellar, the outcome was all but settled. No one could stop the Necronomicon anymore.

Suddenly, Ash leaped down from above the cellar, baring his teeth.

"You want me to stand by and watch? In your goddamn dreams."

He never gave up on his friends.

Ash started with a few bullets. When he realized they were useless, he threw salt and sprinkled holy water, but even those had little effect. Instead, the impatient Necronomicon swatted him away, sending him crashing into a distant wall with an almighty thud.

Ash hauled himself painfully off the floor. He was sure something inside him had broken, possibly a rib, possibly a shoulder blade. Looking up, he saw a phantom image already appearing above his boss's head.

Fuck, a golden legendary, no less. He was completely out of options. He'd used up his bullets, salt, and holy water. If those were useless, there was no point mentioning the chainsaw and dagger in his hands.

The Necronomicon sent a horde of little demons after him, all shapes and sizes, packing the cramped cellar so tightly there was no room left.

Ash really had nothing left. Those things couldn't kill him because of the deal, but they could certainly torment him.

Suddenly, he noticed Jason kneeling nearby, curled in on himself. He wasn't bold enough to go tugging at Jason, and only shouted, practically jumping up and down.

"Isn't Luo Ya your family? Your family's soul is about to get sucked away!

"Save him!"

It felt as though something had churned Jason's brain to pieces. Countless memories mingled together, almost all of them painful. He watched himself being forced to drown over and over. He watched his mother's head fall before him over and over. He watched Luo Ya... Luo Ya... Luo Ya...

He was so powerless every time. He howled in agony, as though even his soul were trembling.

But suddenly, something stroked his head. He looked up. It was his mother. In this world of darkness, she seemed to radiate a soft, warm light. Short blond hair, lake-blue eyes. She still wore that blue-violet sweater. He could even smell the scent that belonged to his mother alone.

"Mom..."

Pamela drew close to her son affectionately. "Jason, my baby, you must have suffered so much. I'm sorry. This is all Mommy's fault."

Jason buried his head in his mother's arms. He had so much he wanted to say, but couldn't get it out. He could only keep trembling.

"Mommy missed you so much."

Mrs. Pamela bent over, letting Jason rest on his lap, her hand gently patting his back.

So... so gentle, so soft, as though... as though...

"Mommy's already dead. Mommy can't stay with you anymore. But someone else can."

His head was lifted slightly. What entered Jason's sight was someone standing there utterly vacant, the golden light above his head dazzling Jason's eyes.

It was Luo Ya, who had died so many times...

"Those were all illusions. None of it was real. I may be dead, but Luo Ya isn't dead yet. He can still be saved. My darling boy, you can do it." Pamela gazed gently into Jason's eyes.

"Save him."

The two voices overlapped, the one in his mind and the one in reality. Jason finally came to his senses. What raged through his head was finally no longer mere death and slaughter. He remembered Christmas, remembered seashells, remembered... him saying, "I love you."

He stood up. The book still had enough power to summon other demons, and though the deal meant they couldn't kill, it certainly wouldn't be pleasant.

Jason tightened his grip on his blade. It wasn't that he was going to save Ash. He swung and hacked wildly, and when the blade broke, he simply used his body. Ash also struggled to his feet, fighting those assorted monstrosities with whatever he could use.

As for me, I could no longer see any of this. My soul had completely left my body. In the last second of my life, I saw my body hit the floor like a discarded doll, stirring up a thin layer of dust.

But as the Necronomicon laughed, everything seemed to be too late. Luo Ya's body lay to one side, limp, as though it had no bones to support it. His eyes held a despair-inducing dead gray, as though eyes that didn't belong to him had been fitted into his face. He was dead. Truly dead. Even his soul no longer existed in this world.

The icy mist carried the shrieks of demons and monsters through the cramped cellar, making them especially piercing. The last golden glimmer of Luo Ya's soul, representing hope, was being greedily devoured by the writhing black markings on the Necronomicon's cover.

Ash cursed at the top of his lungs, cursing Luo Ya, cursing Jason, cursing the Necronomicon, cursing this godforsaken world, even cursing himself.

And Jason stood frozen in place, his breathing beneath the hockey mask as harsh as broken bellows. He watched helplessly as the last outline of Luo Ya twisted and faded between the pages. The fingers he stretched out to catch something passed through nothing but empty, cold air.

The monsters the Necronomicon had just summoned surged at him like a tide, tearing and biting. He ripped their bodies apart, but he couldn't stop that book reeking of rot, couldn't stop it from draining Luo Ya's soul bit by bit.

He had done it. He had truly done it. The mist around the Necronomicon began to swirl. Those words formed his flesh and blood, those pages formed his bones, and he gradually took on a human shape.