Chapter 48
Chapter 48 The Phasmophage
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“You too. Stop always putting everyone else first and think about yourself for once p>
Lyra was dragged toward the mess hall, listening to Jessa’s nonstop stream of advice all the way
there.
They finished their meal quickly, and Lyra was eager to get back and finish her chores.
Jessa rolled up her sleeves. “What’s the rush? I’ll help you p>
Lyra tried to stop her, but Jessa never backed down once she set her mind to something. She stepped around Lyra and grabbed cleaning supplies.
“Don’t argue. I want to help p>
Lyra stood there, unsure what to do.
Warm, sincere kindness from Jessa made her eyes sting.
For as long as she could remember, mockery and hostility had been normal for her. Having someone look out for her felt strange, almost unnatural.
Lyra focused on scrubbing the floors when shrill alarm sirens suddenly blared outside.
The noise was loud enough to grab everyone’s attention.
Moments later, the rapid thunder of dozens of footsteps echoed through the halls.
She knew something terrible had happened and lifted her head at once.
A casual glance forward revealed an eerie warping of space, like light bending violently on a sweltering summer day.
What stunned her most was the shape slowly emerging through the distortion-something human-shaped, yet undeniably a monster.
Lyra’s heart skipped a beat. She froze rigid on the spot.
Its frame was gaunt and elongated, its skin resembling a mummy wrapped in pale yellow wax.
It stood upright on two legs with no arms. Bony ridges jutted sharply beneath its shriveled torso. Its bald head held no proper facial features, only three dark hollow openings.
The sight instantly reminded Lyra of the screaming figure in the famous painting The Scream.
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Chapter 48 The Phasmophage
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It shuffled toward her with slow, unnatural strides. Goosebumps crawled all over Lyra’s skin.
She glanced sideways, meaning to warn Jessa, only to find Jessa had already spotted the
creature.
Jessa’s state was deeply unsettling. Overcome by intense panic, she seemed unable to react. Her eyes were blank, staring motionlessly at the gaping-mouthed monster.
Lyra kept a wary eye on the advancing monster while stepping backward fast.
She slammed her cleaning tool hard against the floor, hoping to snap Jessa out of her stupor.
No matter how loud the noise she made, Jessa remained rooted like a puppet stripped of its soul.
Confusion and dread swelled inside Lyra.
The monster was still far away and moved sluggishly. How had it trapped Jessa in this catatonic state?
A thought flickered through her mind. This must be the dreaded psychic monster everyone whispered about.
The books she had read explained that psychic monsters fed on human emotion, slowly turning their victims into empty puppets without feeling or awareness.
Lyra suspected the reason she remained unaffected was simple-she was not native to this world. Only Jessa fell under its influence.
With that thought, Lyra spun around and broke into a run.
Glancing back, she saw the monster continue its lumbering advance on thin, crooked legs, always maintaining a wide gap between them.
Fear of the unknown abomination coiled tight in Lyra’s chest.
She reached Jessa’s side. The woman stood as an empty shell, eyes unfocused, expression numb.
Lyra panicked and grabbed her arm, ready to flee.
She failed to notice that, the instant she touched Jessa, those vacant eyes slowly began to
refocus.
Lyra looked over her shoulder and gasped in shock.
The monster that had crept along at a lazy pace had somehow cut her off, blocking the only
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exit.
She could not fathom how it had moved so quickly. Its twisted, misshapen form looked revolting and terrifying.
Lyra dared not let it draw any closer.
Luckily the room was spacious, leaving room to circle around it.
Lyra tugged Jessa toward an alternate route.
The monster shuffled forward step by step, trailing after them.
Her pulse raced as she realized it would not give up the chase.
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She slowed her pace and let the monster creep closer. Once it couldn’t block their exit, she seized Jessa’s arm and bolted for the opposite side.
At that exact moment-
BOOM!
The laundry room doors crashed inward. Armed guards had finally tracked down the source of the magnetic disturbance.
Amid the crowd, Hadrien’s tall frame towered over everyone, impossible to miss.
Lyra’s face lit up. She sprinted toward them as if seeing salvation.
When the guards and Hadrien caught sight of the Phasmophage behind her, every pair of eyes widened in disbelief. They stared at Lyra, completely untouched by the creature’s power, actively dragging another person to safety.
A Phasmophage was one known variant of psychic monster.
Its name came partly from its perpetually terrified, gaping silhouette, and partly from its victims-all frozen in a state of utter terror, unable to react.
These entities appeared without warning, materializing anywhere at random.
Anyone who let them draw near suffered irreversible brain damage; the longer the exposure, the worse the harm.
Without swift rescue, victims would end up trapped in a vegetative state, forever locked in that horrified expression with no trace of consciousness left.
Most psychic monsters emerged after dark. That was why staff were ordered to leave the facility
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immediately after their shifts and avoid lingering.
Still, the rule was not absolute-as proven right now.
Guards maintained constant patrols. The helmets they wore shielded their minds against psychic monster influence.
Scanning equipment ran nonstop throughout Black Spire, monitoring every corner.
The alarms triggered the instant magnetic field anomalies were detected.
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Feral Sentinels Obey Only Her
Lucia Morh
Lucia Morh is a passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.