By: Audrey Wang

After some restless sleep, Elise awoke to a beam of golden sunshine tickling her face. She then remembered Kelly’s greeting words in her dream – causing eerie echoes to ring in her ears. Then she remembered the chest – the chest! She hadn’t opened it after the housekeeper told her to sleep.

Elise hurriedly slipped on a pale rose sweater and her slippers before rushing out the door, slamming it in the process. Skidding in front of the door to her office, Elise tried to open it but couldn’t. After panicking for a couple of seconds, she remembered that she would always lock the door the night before. Reaching for the key in the pocket of her nightgown, she heard a familiar yet unfamiliar voice behind her.

“Looking for this?”

Elise turned around.

Kelly appeared, half of her body covered in a murky, black shadow, while the other half was only gripped by tendrils of the inky smoke. From her left hand dangled a key. But that wasn’t what shocked Elise. Kelly’s left hand had completely decayed, leaving nothing but exposed white bones. Taking note of Elise’s reaction, Kelly withdrew her hand.

“Oh dear. But since you already saw that, I suppose there’s no need to hide anymore.” The side of Kelly’s face that was showing grinned devilishly. Raising her right hand, which was still covered in flesh, Kelly swung her hand down. The smoke melted off of her body and dissipated to the sides. Without the smoke, a floating, bony figure remained, a mixture of a human and a devil. Half of Kelly’s body was still a 10-year-old herself, while the other half was an alabaster skeleton, with an eye-catching crimson horn that sprouted out of the skull. Around the bones of the shoulder, wrist, knees and neck were thin red threads, giving a puppet look.

“Oh my. You look quite frightened, dear sister. So let me lay some truth on you… sister.”

“You found that box according to mother’s notes, yes?” Kelly continued

Kelly put a hand under her chin.

“Y-yes.” Elise stammered.

“Unfortunate. You didn’t know that wasn’t the only thing she hid?”

“N-no.”

“Sigh. How tragic. She left many secrets around the house, if you would have decoded her notes earlier. But now…” Kelly looked at Elise.

“If I hadn’t died because of that stupid illness, I would have taken this house already. But I can still finish my plan… My dear sister, you don’t know what Mother put in the boxes, do you?”

“N-no, Kelly.”

“I will tell you. But first, do you know why I am helping you?”

Elise frowned. “No. Why?”

“Because I aim to release what the boxes contain. I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll help you find the boxes, but then, I will take them into the underworld with me.”

“Why?”

“You still can’t tell? This is also helping humanity. Do you really have no clue about what’s sealed inside the boxes?”

“No.”

“Then, my dear sister, let me speak. The boxes hold the Seven Deadly Sins. The King of Demons orders me to bring them to him.”

Elise thought for a moment. “Will you allow the evils to come to the world above? If you say yes, I will not help you.”

“Oh no,” Kelly gave a sly, impish smile. “I give you, my word. So will you agree?”

Taking a deep breath, Elise gave her final answer.

“I agree.”

~ End ~

Epilogue

“My lord, this is the last of the sealed chests.” A childish voice said.

“Hmm… very good.” A deep yet spacious voice echoed from the depths of an oozing black pond.

The doll-like girl proceeded to kneel down next to the putrid pond, which was now bubbling like a witch’s stew. A burst of laughter escaped the pond, along with a group of alabaster phantoms, who circled the stew twice before flying off in different directions. A dripping throne arose from liquid, the inky substance slowly sliding off it like molasses. The spindly tips at the top of the throne were skeleton hands, carefully impaled on every metal spike. Chunks of red flesh drooped from the weight of sticky slime, letting the dark liquid slide off onto the seat.

A clawed hand reached out from under the pond, grabbing onto the throne, which was now levitating. A grunt escaped from the liquid, causing a bubble to explode on the surface of the substance, allowing the figure to stand up. At first, only the tips of blood red horns could be seen protruding out of the water, but with a sudden whoosh, the figure stood up, causing a shockwave of liquid to spray outwards.

“You didn’t forget our deal, Little One. Once the sins are free in the underworld, I’ll be able to take control of their powers and have the power to rid me of this seal! And in return, I shall give you a brand-new body to live in. But first, did you bring all seven boxes?”

“Yes, my lord, they are all here.”

The child-like figure placed down a bag. The sound of wood clanking made the demon king nod in approval. The horned figure pointed a clawed finger at the child, speaking an unfamiliar string of words to her. Different symbols twisted around the child, like out-of-control climbing roses. They wrapped her up in a cocoon, and then – she was gone.

“You will now be known as Echo Harbinger. Enjoy your new life, child. We will meet again.”