Shadowed Crown

I lifted my gaze to meet hers, and she jumped.

"What's... What's the matter?" she stammered.

Without a word, I moved to my brother's side, bit my finger, and let a single drop of blood touch his forehead.

With my back to Mom, I whispered, "Don't worry about it. You haven't said my name in years. Hearing it just once makes it worth saving him for a day."

"A day? He's your brother. How can you stand by and watch him suffer in pain?"

Mom's tears kept flowing.

However, I could not forget how in my previous life, she shoved me out the door and left my heart to pound with fear.

"If you want me to save him, we should do this officially. Get a lawyer to make it official. I'll trade the old house for your forest."

……

She paused, taken aback. "A lawyer? You think we're after your money?"

I cocked my head, "Or are you planning to give it to me for free?"

Her face twisted with irritation. "Just heal him now. The lawyer can come by tomorrow."

I sat down, each word deliberate as my gaze fixed on her. "No, it has to be today. Right now."

She snapped, "You're stepping out of line."

She raised her hand in anger.

On the bed, my brother stirred, nodding vigorously.

"Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm."

Was that a yes?

The lawyer showed up fast. His credentials did not faze me, but the infant spirit at my side was all worked up, fists balled up tight.

"Let me guess, you were a law student in the living world?"

Silence. Then, as I signed, he murmured, "Juris Doctor."

"Wow, a real brainiac. Sorry for not noticing."

In my previous life, I only had one infant spirit and he was too young to spoke.

But Jim wasn’t a standard “infant spirit.” He wasn’t a silent baby. He was clear-headed and could talk. Honestly, it felt kinda fascinating.

The deed said everything above the old house's foundation was mine to handle.

Mom sneered, "What good are some old wooden tables and chairs?"

She had no clue. Those ancient timbers were the only reason I grew up safe and sound.

Under the silver glow of the moon, I went there with the infant spirit, both of us swinging our axes, taking apart furniture like it was made of matchsticks.

He did not say a word and just went along with it. Even in silence, he had that cool vibe that made me want to mess with him a bit.

"Hey, what's your name?"

"Jim."

A single bead of sweat rolled down his forehead as he looked at me, catching the moonlight and sparkling so brightly it left me speechless.

I tossed him a wooden bow. "Catch. You'll need this to stay alive."

Jim looked confused, his brow furrowed in thought.

He hurried to keep pace with me. "Aren't you curious who killed me? Or why did I end up buried in a stranger's grave?" There was a hint of anger in his voice.

We stood alone in the empty ground, the cold wind making the bushes dance like the hands of giants.

As I shut my eyes, I could almost see the dark chilling world of my previous life, where the cold winds could fragment a life and leave nothing but an empty shell.

"Life and death? They're not what's important. It's what we leave behind in this world that counts."

I bit my finger and let the blood drip onto the sandy soil.

"Rise..."

Just like that, fabric unfurled like waves, lifting coffins out of the ground as if like a magic trick.

One by one, infant spirits broke free from their wooden prisons.

I pointed at them, then back at Jim. "See them? Some never got to talk, some never even saw the world. They're just like you, trapped between life and death. In seven days, this place will be as spooky as it gets. Are you in? Will you fight with me, even if it's to the death?"