As Kurotsuki carries Lisa on his back, they can see a rather lavish styled feudal era castle surrounded by walls.
"Is this where this woman named Enju lives in?" Lisa asked.
"Yes, she is a sorceress who can use powerful magic" Kurotsuki answered, but underneath his cloth mask, he was smirking.
When they arrive, there were two guards stationed at the gate of the mansion. Both guards have solid what eyes that aren't reflective, in which it made Lisa think on what could possibly happen to them.
"Open the gate, I brought the girl for mistress Enju!" Kurotsuki ordered.
The guards silently nodded before opening the gate, thus letting them entry.
"What are they?" Lisa asked.
"You may think they're normal men, but they're actually clay puppets who does whatever Enju has ordered them to do" Kurotsuki explained.
It sent chills down her spine, but the ninja escorted her into the castle. Inside, it was elegant but it was actually run down. There's cracks in the walls, holes in the wooden floors as if someone used a hammer, not too mention cobwebs. The lighting makes the inside look creepy due to how the flames on the candles are blue, but it doesn't stop Kurotsuki from escorting Lisa upstairs to the second floor. Upstairs, there's a large room with two stairs and few doors. The walls looked beautiful with painted images of flowers, trees, and birds that decorate it. In the middle of the room, is a young woman peering into a crystal ball. She wore an elegant dark red kimono with flowers embroidered, few rings on her fingers, and a lavish hair ornamentation (which makes her look like a woman of nobility).
Kurotsuki approached to her and kneeled before her, as if the young woman was this Enju he spoke of.
"Mistress Enju, I brought to you the girl" he said.
"Good, you have done well" said the young woman, her voice sounded soft.
Lisa bowed before Enju, thinking that she is a noble woman.
"I already know who you are, girl" said Enju.
"You do?" Asked Lisa.
"Yes, you come the "real world", am I correct? I have seen you through my crystal ball, ever since you first come to this realm" answered Enju.
"Have you seen my mom? She wasn't at home, when I woke up" asked Lisa.
The young woman's face turned grim while nodding.
"Your mother has been taken hostage by the king himself, for he is the ruler of the land of the starry night. I do not know where he come from nor do I know what was he like before, but I sensed a heart filled with tragedy that might have twisted him into the tyrant I have known" explained Enju.
Meanwhile
Frederick was traveling through the forest, until he saw footprints in the dirt road. He then realized that Lisa may have been taken, straight to the castle where Enju lives in.
"No! She has been taken by the witch's minion, so I am too late. Hold on, Lisa! I'm coming!" He yelled as he charged forth.
Back at the feudal era castle
Kurotsuki escorted Lisa to a room where she can stay at, in which the room itself has been lavishly decorated despite the floor having a hole.
"This is where you're staying at for the time being" he said.
Lisa felt dejected that her mother has been taken captive by the king, but she started to smell something peculiar. She sniffed the air, and it leads directly to Kurotsuki. He smelled like cremated ashes and clay, in which its associated with death.
"Ugh, something reeks like ash and clay" she said.
"Well, excuse me for being a spirit bound to a body made of clay and ash!" He said in a rude tone, before realizing what he had said.
"You're a what?" She asked.
The ninja sighed, as he had no choice but to explain.
"Look, the reason why I smelled like that is because I was revived by Enju through a ritual. That's right, I died long before you showed up. Seven years ago, I belong to a group of ninjas who can use the elements as part of ninjutsu, my element is darkness as indicated to my name. Until one day, one by one my comrades have met different deaths from the rival group of ninjas. I was killed by my rival through a duel, even though I grievously wounded him that he won't have long to live. Then the villagers had to cremate our corpses and kept our ashes in separate urns of different sizes and colors, but Enju had taken our urns. Enju poured my ashes into a clay vessel and sprinkled juices inside, and inscibing a spell onto the clay vessel before placing the clay vessel on the kiln as part of the ritual. Inside of the clay vessel, my body started to form until I started to scream in a fit of madness. It felt like hours until the clay vessel hardens to the point that it became brittle, so I emerged from it by breaking out of it. I was completely naked upon resurrection, but Enju was kind enough to hand me a copy of my clothes that I wore before my death" he explained, but his fists clenched as if he's trying to rein in his anger.
Lisa felt sorry for him, but at the same time, she was curious as to how the ritual even work. Kurotsuki left the room to talk to Enju, while she stayed behind in the room. Near the window is a human sized clay vessel, it is vaguely human shaped with a head, arms, but the torso and the legs weren't developed.
Authors note: what do you think of Kurotsuki explaining on how he was resurrected, and his comrades? Give an applaud for Sphjinx14 for inspiring me to do this chapter.
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Trapped in the film
FantasyLisa, aged eighteen, has found a box at the back of the closet. When she opens it, it contains an old VHS tape of an old animated film from the 60s called "The Land of the starry night". According to the tape, it was made by a company whose name was...
