The Deadly Charm

Part 69 : Into Eternal Damnation

Shadows of the Forsaken

Nattapat walked briskly into the Sanctum Library, his heart pounding with worry and confusion. The recent days had been riddled with events that left his mind swirling. As he approached the familiar small conference room where he often spoke with Kritin, he paused, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

Inside, Kritin, Akira, Theerathep, and Nattrinee were quietly working at their desks. The only sounds were the gentle rustling of paper and soft keystrokes. That calm was broken the moment Nattapat stepped into the room.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said softly, though urgency laced his tone. All heads turned toward him.

Akira offered a gentle smile. "Please, have a seat, Mr. Pat," she said kindly, pulling out a chair for him across from Kritin.

Kritin immediately noticed something off in Nattapat's demeanor—his eyes heavy with concern.

"What is it?" Kritin asked evenly but attentively.

Nattapat hesitated, gathering his thoughts before drawing in a deep breath.

"Chanya... has disappeared."

The room tensed instantly. Everyone exchanged startled looks. Theerathep was the first to stop what he was doing, leaning back in his chair with a furrowed brow.

"Disappeared? How?"

Nattrinee looked to Nattapat with confusion. She had heard whispers of Chanya's darker dealings, but never imagined Nattapat would show such worry over her.

"She hasn't come to work for several days now," he explained. "At first, I thought she might just be taking sick leave... but I tried contacting her—went to her house—nothing. Her phone's off. Some at the company said she was acting paranoid the last day she showed up. Rambling strange things and locking herself in her room."

"No one's seen her since?" Akira asked, her voice touched with disbelief.

"No one. Everyone who knows her is worried... but it's like she vanished into thin air." Nattapat's tone turned heavier. He looked directly at Kritin. "You once said she might still carry remnants of the dark power. I didn't think it would turn out this bad."

Kritin fell silent for a moment.

"I told you... once you touch darkness, it doesn't let go so easily. If she's disappeared like this, there's a good chance the spirits—or residual energy from Yong San—are still haunting her."

Theerathep looked at Kritin. "So what do we do?"

Kritin slowly shook his head. "Nothing. Everyone must bear the consequences of the path they choose."

The room fell silent again. No one argued. The weight of Kritin's words settled like dust in a forgotten tomb.

Beneath the dim moonlight, the old hut of the dark sorcerer Yong San stood silent in the middle of the forest. Once a place pulsing with malevolent energy, it now reeked of death.

Kritin and Akira stood before the hut. Their eyes fixed on what lay inside. The truth gripped them like invisible hands pulling them into the abyss.

Beside them, Sora and Aria stood still, their gazes on the lifeless body sprawled within—the body of Chanya, a woman who once delved fearlessly into forbidden arts. Her corpse was a grotesque canvas of what the darkness had done.

Her body was brutalized, clothing torn, skin ravaged by wounds too horrific to describe. The violence inflicted upon her was unspeakable, her final moments a descent into true hell.

Akira raised her hand to her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks. She never imagined seeing Chanya—someone she once knew—reduced to this. The horror filled her heart with a deep sorrow.

"This... can't be real," she whispered, turning to Kritin.

He gently pulled her into his arms and sighed. He knew the truth. Chanya had chosen her fate the moment she embraced the dark. His voice was cold, steady.

"This is the price she paid. No one could've saved her—not even us."

Sora's eyes remained blank, emotionless. Aria, standing behind, watched with a faint, satisfied smile. She knew this was always how it would end for Chanya. Those who embraced powers they couldn't control always met a fate worse than death.

"Chanya..." Akira murmured, her voice laced with grief. She had once believed there was a chance Chanya could change. Now, she knew better.

Kritin exhaled slowly, gaze fixed on Chanya's body. "It's over."

After Kritin and Akira departed, silence fell once more over the decrepit hut.

But in the darkness, Sora and Aria remained.

The spirit of Chanya, unable to escape the dark forces she had once commanded, was now tormented—enslaved by the spirits of Ekawat and Yong San. Their assaults on her spirit were as cruel as they were endless, defiling both body and soul in a cycle of relentless agony.

Aria watched it all with a twisted smile, her eyes brimming with sadistic glee. She turned to Sora.

"Well? Will you consume her spirit?"

Sora, guardian of souls, could have offered her release. To be devoured by him was to be freed from suffering. But he looked at the scene with disdain.

"Filthy soul. Disgusting. I can't stomach it," he said coldly.

Aria chuckled darkly. "I thought so. These souls suit me better anyway."

She walked toward Chanya's tormented spirit, her gaze cruel and mocking.

"I'll send you to a hell with no way out."

With a flick of her finger, Aria's power slashed through Chanya's spirit. The scream that followed was piercing—pure torment. Her essence flared as if burning from within, her fear unmistakable.

"What about the other two?" Sora asked, his tone even.

Aria glanced at Ekawat and Yong San, still consumed by lust and greed even in death. Their souls writhed in endless desire, unable to move on.

"They're perfect for each other," she smirked.

"I'll bind them together in my onyx inferno. Let them burn in eternal desire."

As she chanted, black flames erupted around them. The three spirits screamed, dragged down into darkness by Aria's will.

"Goodbye," she whispered, as their existence was swallowed whole—never to return.