Chapter 1 — The Call of the Abandoned Mansion
The sun had almost disappeared behind the distant hills when the five friends reached the edge of the forest.
The road ahead was narrow, broken, and covered with fallen leaves. Tall trees stood on both sides, their branches twisting together so tightly that very little sunlight reached the ground.
The forest was strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
Sizububu walked at the front, carefully watching the road. Moko followed beside Tofu, while Rizu stayed a few steps behind them.
And then there was Chamot.
Chamot was a small, mischievous cat who seemed completely uninterested in the strange atmosphere around them.
She jumped onto a fallen tree trunk.
Then she jumped down.
She chased a dry leaf.
Then she suddenly stopped to stare at a bird.
“Chamot!” Moko called.
The cat looked back.
She had a small twig in her mouth.
Moko sighed.
“Drop it.”
Chamot stared at him.
“Drop it, Chamot.”
The cat slowly lowered the twig.
Moko smiled.
“Good girl.”
Chamot immediately grabbed another twig and ran away.
“CHAMOT!”
Tofu burst out laughing.
Sizububu shook his head.
“She will never change.”
Rizu smiled.
“She is probably the least frightened creature among us.”
Moko pointed toward the dark forest ahead.
“We are going to an abandoned mansion that everyone in the nearby villages is afraid of, and this cat is playing with sticks.”
Chamot stopped.
She turned around and looked at Moko.
For a moment, she seemed offended.
Then she lifted her tail and walked away.
Moko stared at her.
“She understood me.”
Tofu laughed again.
The five of them had come to this forest for one reason.
The abandoned mansion at the top of the hill.
Rudrgarh Mansion.
It had stood there for more than a hundred years.
Nobody knew exactly who had built it.
Nobody knew why it had been abandoned.
And nobody in the nearby villages wanted to talk about what happened inside.
People said that strange lights appeared in its windows after midnight.
Some claimed they had heard footsteps in empty rooms.
Others had heard a woman crying from inside the locked mansion.
But there was one thing that made the place especially interesting to the five friends.
They could see ghosts.
All five of them had the strange ability to see spirits that ordinary people could not see.
A normal person could enter an abandoned house and see nothing but dust and darkness.
But Sizububu, Moko, Tofu, Rizu, and Chamot could see the souls hidden inside that darkness.
Sometimes the spirits were harmless.
Sometimes they were frightened.
And sometimes they were dangerous.
The five had already encountered ghosts before.
But they had never seen a place with so many strange stories surrounding it.
That was why they had come.
As they continued walking, Chamot suddenly ran ahead.
“Again?” Moko muttered.
The cat disappeared between two bushes.
A few seconds later, she came running back.
But this time she was not carrying a twig.
She had something red in her mouth.
Moko crouched down.
“What did you find?”
Chamot dropped it.
It was an old red ribbon.
Sizububu picked it up.
The ribbon was faded and covered in dust. It looked as if it had been buried for years.
Rizu immediately became serious.
“Put it down.”
Sizububu looked at her.
“Why?”
“There is a spirit's energy attached to it.”
Moko's expression changed.
He looked at Chamot.
The cat was staring at the ribbon.
Her ears were raised.
Her playful expression had disappeared.
Then she turned toward the hill.
Everyone followed her gaze.
Through the trees, something enormous appeared.
The mansion.
Rudrgarh Mansion stood alone on top of the hill.
Its walls were black with age.
Most of the windows were broken.
The roof had partially collapsed in several places.
A large stone balcony hung above the main entrance, and a huge iron gate stood between the forest and the mansion grounds.
Chamot suddenly hissed.
“Fssssss!”
Moko stepped closer to her.
“What did you see?”
The cat stared at one of the upper windows.
Sizububu looked up.
At first, he saw nothing.
Then—
A face appeared.
An old woman.
Her skin was pale.
Her hair was completely white.
Her eyes were dark.
Moko stepped backward.
“Did you see that?”
Tofu nodded.
“Yes.”
Rizu closed her eyes.
Her special ability became stronger.
For a moment, the mansion seemed to disappear in front of her.
She could see through its walls.
Her face slowly changed.
“There are many of them.”
Moko swallowed.
“How many?”
“I don't know.”
She opened her eyes.
“But there are ghosts on almost every floor.”
Everyone became silent.
Chamot continued staring at the upper window.
Then she suddenly lowered her body.
Her fur stood up.
She was ready to run.
Sizububu understood immediately.
“Something is coming.”
The five looked toward the mansion.
The old iron gate slowly moved.
Creeeeak…
Nobody touched it.
It opened by itself.
Moko stared at it.
“I officially hate this place.”
Tofu stepped forward.
“Then you can wait here.”
Moko immediately followed him.
“Absolutely not.”
Sizububu smiled slightly.
“Stay together.”
They entered the mansion grounds.
Chamot ran ahead.
“Chamot!”
Moko rushed after her.
The cat stopped beside the main door and looked back.
Then she placed one paw against it.
The door opened.
Creeeeeeak…
Darkness waited inside.
The five friends stepped into the mansion.
The door slammed shut behind them.
BANG!
Moko immediately turned around.
He pulled at the handle.
Nothing happened.
“Great.”
Tofu looked around.
The entrance hall was enormous.
Dust covered the floor.
Old paintings hung on the walls.
Several had been damaged, and the faces of the people in them had been scratched out.
A giant chandelier hung from the ceiling.
It was covered with cobwebs.
Rizu suddenly stopped.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at her.
She was staring at the floor.
There were footprints in the dust.
Moko crouched down.
“Human?”
Rizu shook her head.
“No.”
The footprints continued toward the stairs.
Then—
They stopped.
There was no sign of where they went next.
Tofu whispered, “A ghost?”
Rizu shook her head again.
“Ghosts don't usually leave footprints.”
A soft sound came from upstairs.
Step.
Everyone looked up.
Another sound.
Step.
Then another.
Step. Step. Step.
Someone was walking across the upper floor.
Chamot immediately ran toward the staircase.
Moko grabbed her.
“No.”
Chamot looked at him.
Moko pointed toward the stairs.
“No going alone.”
Chamot stared at him for two seconds.
Then she bit his finger.
“Ouch!”
The cat escaped and ran upstairs.
“Chamot!”
Tofu laughed.
“You should know better than to grab her.”
Moko rubbed his finger.
“One day, I'm going to leave that cat somewhere.”
Chamot looked down from the stairs.
Moko glared at her.
She slowly turned her head away.
Sizububu sighed.
“Let's go.”
The five climbed the stairs.
The higher they went, the colder the air became.
When they reached the second floor, Rizu suddenly froze.
Her eyes widened.
“What is it?” Tofu asked.
Rizu looked down the long hallway.
“I can see them.”
The others followed her gaze.
At first, the hallway appeared empty.
Then their special vision began to reveal what ordinary eyes could not.
Ghosts.
Dozens of them.
An old man stood near one wall.
A little girl stood beside him.
A woman sat on the floor.
Several shadowy figures stood near the windows.
All of them were watching the five friends.
But none of them attacked.
Instead, they looked afraid.
One old spirit slowly raised his hand.
He pointed toward the wall.
Sizububu walked closer.
An old painting hung there.
It showed five people standing in front of the mansion.
Moko frowned.
“Who are they?”
Tofu examined the painting.
“I don't know.”
Chamot suddenly jumped onto a table beneath the painting.
She sniffed the frame.
Then she began scratching the wooden surface.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
“Chamot, stop destroying everything,” Moko said.
Chamot ignored him.
She scratched harder.
Sizububu noticed something.
“Wait.”
He moved the painting.
Behind it was a hidden wooden panel.
Tofu pressed against it.
Click.
The panel moved.
A narrow passage appeared behind the wall.
Cold air flowed out.
Moko stared into the darkness.
“No.”
Sizububu looked at him.
Moko pointed toward the passage.
“Every horror story says not to go inside secret passages.”
Tofu smiled.
“Then this must be the right place.”
Moko groaned.
They entered.
Chamot went first.
The passage led to a small room.
There was an old wooden table in the center.
On it lay a diary.
Sizububu picked it up.
The cover was almost destroyed.
The first page contained a message.
“If you can see them, you have already been chosen.”
Moko frowned.
“Chosen for what?”
Sizububu continued reading.
“The spirits inside this mansion are not evil.”
Rizu moved closer.
“Keep reading.”
“They are prisoners.”
The room suddenly became colder.
Tofu looked toward the door.
“Prisoners?”
Sizububu turned the page.
“Twenty-one souls are trapped inside Rudrgarh Mansion.”
Moko stared at the words.
“Twenty-one…”
The next line was even more disturbing.
“They cannot leave because someone bound their souls to this place.”
Rizu whispered, “Someone trapped them here.”
Sizububu continued.
“They have waited for years for five people who can see them.”
Silence.
Moko slowly looked at the others.
Five people.
The five of them.
Then the diary turned a page by itself.
Everyone stepped backward.
A new sentence appeared.
“You have come.”
Chamot suddenly hissed.
She was staring at the ceiling.
The others looked up.
Nothing.
Then a black shadow moved across the ceiling.
It was shaped like a human being.
But it had no face.
Moko immediately stepped beside Sizububu.
“That's not one of the trapped ghosts.”
Rizu shook her head.
“No.”
The shadow slowly descended the wall.
A voice whispered through the room.
“Leave…”
The candles on the table suddenly lit themselves.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
The spirits appeared around them.
All twenty-one.
Some were crying.
Some were pointing toward the door.
Some were desperately trying to communicate.
Then the little girl appeared in front of Chamot.
She was holding the same red ribbon that Chamot had found outside.
Chamot stared at her.
The girl's expression was sad.
She slowly held out the ribbon.
Chamot stepped forward.
She sniffed it.
Then she touched it with one paw.
The little girl smiled.
For a second, everything became silent.
Then the girl disappeared.
Chamot looked around.
She sniffed the floor.
Then she began scratching at one particular spot.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Sizububu understood.
“There is something underneath.”
They moved the old wooden boards.
A small iron box was hidden beneath them.
Inside was a key and another piece of paper.
Sizububu unfolded it.
Only one sentence was written there.
“The first prison is above you.”
Moko looked toward the ceiling.
Then they heard it.
BANG!
The entire mansion shook.
Chamot's ears shot upward.
Another sound came from above.
BANG!
Then a third.
BANG!
Rizu whispered—
“There is something upstairs.”
Tofu looked at the key.
“Then that's probably what this opens.”
Suddenly the black shadow appeared in the doorway.
Its red eyes stared directly at the five.
Then it looked at Chamot.
The shadow froze.
For the first time, it seemed frightened.
“You…”
Chamot's tail became huge.
“Fssssss!”
The shadow stepped backward.
“You were never supposed to come here.”
Moko stared.
“Why is it afraid of Chamot?”
The shadow disappeared.
But its voice remained.
“When the five awaken…”
A cold wind swept through the room.
“…the mansion will awaken with them.”
The lights went out.
Complete darkness covered the room.
Then—
A child's voice whispered from somewhere upstairs.
“Chamot…”
The cat froze.
Her ears moved toward the sound.
Moko looked at her.
“Did that ghost just call your name?”
Chamot slowly looked toward the stairs.
Again—
“Chamot…”
This time the voice was clearer.
Chamot suddenly ran.
“Wait!”
Moko, Sizububu, Tofu, and Rizu followed.
Chamot raced up the staircase.
One floor.
Two floors.
Three.
At the top was a long hallway.
At the end stood a black wooden door.
Dark mist leaked from underneath it.
Chamot stopped.
She stared at the door.
Then she slowly raised one paw.
She touched the wood.
The door answered.
Meow.
Chamot jumped backward.
Moko stared.
“Was that another cat?”
Rizu closed her eyes.
Her expression changed.
“No.”
“What?”
Rizu opened her eyes.
“That isn't a cat.”
Another meow came from behind the door.
Meow…
Chamot answered.
Meow!
Moko looked at Tofu.
Tofu looked at Sizububu.
Sizububu looked at Rizu.
Rizu whispered—
“Something is pretending to sound like Chamot.”
Chamot's fur immediately rose.
She began growling.
Grrrrrrrr…
The black door suddenly shook.
Five strange symbols appeared on it.
One for Sizububu.
One for Moko.
One for Tofu.
One for Rizu.
And one shaped like a cat's paw.
The five symbols began glowing.
Then a voice came from inside.
“Five have arrived.”
The door slowly opened.
A freezing wind rushed over them.
Inside was complete darkness.
Then the voice spoke again.
“The first soul is waiting.”
Chamot stared into the darkness.
For once, she did not behave mischievously.
She did not run ahead.
She did not chase anything.
She simply stared.
Then a small white paw appeared from inside the room.
Chamot took one careful step forward.
The paw disappeared.
A child's voice whispered—
“Help me…”
Chamot's eyes widened.
She stepped into the room.
“Chamot!” Moko shouted.
The others rushed after her.
The moment all five entered—
SLAM!
The door closed behind them.
The hallway outside disappeared.
The darkness inside the room became strangely quiet.
Then a faint light appeared at the far end.
In that light stood the ghost of a little girl.
She was holding a red ribbon.
But this time, her face was not sad.
She was terrified.
She pointed behind the five friends.
They slowly turned around.
A huge black shape was standing there.
It had no face.
Only two red eyes.
And behind it, hundreds of ghostly hands were reaching out from the walls.
The little girl whispered—
“Don't let it catch you.”
Moko swallowed.
Sizububu stepped forward.
Tofu raised his hand.
Rizu stared at the spirits.
And Chamot—
Chamot suddenly crouched.
Her tail moved slowly from side to side.
Then she jumped.
Not toward the ghost.
Not toward the black creature.
She jumped onto an old wooden shelf.
A glass lantern fell from it.
CRASH!
The lantern broke.
A bright white light exploded across the room.
The black creature screamed.
The trapped spirits suddenly became visible.
And on the wall behind them, five words appeared:
“FREE US BEFORE MIDNIGHT.”
The five friends stared at the message.
Then the clock somewhere inside the mansion began to strike.
One.
Two.
Three.
Chamot's ears flattened.
Four.
Moko whispered, “How many hours do we have?”
Five.
Rizu looked at the dark creature.
“It isn't trying to kill us.”
Tofu turned toward her.
“Then what is it trying to do?”
Rizu's face became pale.
“It is trying to stop us from freeing the ghosts.”
Six.
Sizububu tightened his fists.
“Then we have our answer.”
Seven.
He looked at the trapped spirits.
“We are going to free them.”
Eight.
Moko nodded.
“Even if this place tries to kill us.”
Nine.
Tofu picked up the old key.
“Then we should find the first prison.”
Ten.
Rizu looked toward the frightened little girl.
“And find out who trapped them.”
Eleven.
Chamot suddenly leaped onto Moko's shoulder.
Moko nearly fell over.
“Chamot!”
The cat stared toward the darkness.
Her eyes were glowing.
Then she let out a low growl.
Grrrrrr…
The final strike of the clock echoed through the mansion.
Twelve.
All the doors in Rudrgarh Mansion opened at once.
Every ghost inside screamed.
And from somewhere deep beneath the mansion came a terrible voice—
“You should never have come here.”
The five friends stood together.
The first night had begun.
And they still did not know the most frightening truth.
The ghosts were not the real monsters of Rudrgarh Mansion.
Something else was imprisoned beneath the house.
Something that had been waiting for five people who could see the dead.
And somehow—
Chamot had been the first one to wake it.