Chapter 2 — The First Prison
The moment the last strike of the clock faded, Rudrgarh Mansion became completely silent.
Not ordinary silence.
It was the kind of silence that made the sound of breathing feel too loud.
Sizububu stood near the center of the dark room, watching the doorway.
Moko was beside him.
Tofu held the old iron key tightly in his hand.
Rizu was looking at the frightened little ghost girl.
And Chamot—
Chamot was sitting on Moko's shoulder.
Her tail was wrapped around his neck.
Moko slowly looked sideways.
“Chamot.”
The cat ignored him.
“Chamot, get down.”
Nothing.
Moko reached up and tried to lift her.
Chamot immediately placed both paws against his face.
“Hey!”
Tofu covered his mouth to hide his laughter.
Sizububu sighed.
“Leave her.”
Moko pulled Chamot's paws away.
“She's using my head as a watchtower.”
Chamot looked proud of herself.
Then she suddenly stared toward the corner of the room.
Her ears moved.
Everyone noticed.
Rizu whispered—
“She sees something.”
Chamot jumped down.
She walked slowly toward the corner.
Her tail was raised.
She stopped in front of an empty patch of wall.
Then she sniffed it.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Moko frowned.
“Not again.”
Tofu walked over.
“What is she doing?”
Sizububu touched the wall.
It felt unusually cold.
Rizu closed her eyes.
A moment later she opened them.
“There is a spirit behind it.”
Moko stared at the wall.
“Behind a wall?”
Rizu nodded.
“Not exactly.”
She placed her hand against the stone.
“This wall isn't real.”
Tofu looked surprised.
“What do you mean?”
Rizu stepped back.
“It is hiding something.”
Sizububu examined the wall carefully.
There was an old painting hanging beside it.
The painting showed the mansion many years ago, when it was still new.
Five people stood in front of the house.
Moko looked at the painting.
“Again with five people.”
Tofu moved closer.
“Look at the windows.”
There were five figures visible behind the upper windows.
One in each window.
The same five shadowy figures they had seen earlier.
Rizu whispered—
“They aren't people.”
Chamot suddenly jumped onto the painting.
“Chamot!”
The cat landed on the frame.
The painting tilted.
CRACK.
A small piece of the frame broke.
Moko stared at her.
“Why?”
Chamot looked innocent.
Then the painting fell from the wall.
BANG!
Behind it was a narrow stone doorway.
Everyone became silent.
Moko slowly looked at Chamot.
“You…”
Chamot sat down and began cleaning her paw.
Tofu smiled.
“Her terrible habit just found us a secret door.”
Moko sighed.
“Fine. For once, I'll forgive her.”
They entered the passage.
It was narrow and cold.
The walls were covered with strange marks.
Some looked like scratches.
Others looked like handprints.
Rizu touched one of them.
“This place has been used many times.”
Sizububu looked at her.
“By ghosts?”
Rizu shook her head.
“No.”
She looked deeper into the darkness.
“By someone who was alive.”
Everyone became silent.
Moko lowered his voice.
“So whoever trapped the spirits wasn't a ghost.”
Rizu nodded.
“That is what I think.”
They continued.
The passage turned left.
Then right.
Then descended several stone steps.
Chamot ran ahead.
Moko immediately called her back.
“Don't go too far!”
Chamot stopped.
She turned around.
Then she sat down.
Moko walked toward her.
“Good.”
Chamot waited until he was close.
Then she ran past him again.
Moko closed his eyes.
“Why do I even try?”
Tofu laughed softly.
Suddenly, Chamot stopped.
She stared at the floor.
Something was moving.
A small black object crawled across the stone.
Moko leaned closer.
“What is that?”
Chamot attacked it.
“Chamot!”
The object disappeared under a broken stone.
Chamot immediately stuck her paw into the gap.
Sizububu pulled her back.
“Don't put your paw in unknown holes.”
Chamot stared at him.
Then she put her other paw into the hole.
Moko laughed.
“She definitely understood you.”
Sizububu shook his head.
But before anyone could say anything else—
A whisper traveled through the passage.
“Please…”
The five froze.
It came from ahead.
“Please…”
The voice sounded like a little girl.
The same girl they had seen upstairs.
Rizu looked forward.
“She is calling us.”
They moved ahead.
At the end of the passage was a large wooden door.
Unlike the other doors in the mansion, this one was covered with metal chains.
There were strange symbols carved into it.
Tofu held up the key.
“This might be the first prison.”
The girl appeared beside them.
She was transparent, but her form was becoming clearer.
She pointed toward the door.
Sizububu asked—
“Are you trapped behind this door?”
She shook her head.
“Not me.”
“Then who?”
The girl looked frightened.
“Her.”
Moko frowned.
“Who is her?”
The girl pointed toward the chains.
Then she disappeared.
The chains suddenly moved.
Clink.
Moko stepped back.
Another sound.
Clink.
The door shook.
Chamot's fur rose.
She hissed.
“Fssss!”
Sizububu placed himself between Chamot and the door.
“Stay behind us.”
Chamot looked offended.
She stepped around him.
“Chamot.”
She stopped.
Then she sat down.
Moko whispered—
“She only listens when she wants to.”
The door shook again.
This time the chains stretched.
A dark mist leaked through the cracks.
Rizu's eyes widened.
“There is a powerful spirit inside.”
“How powerful?” Moko asked.
Rizu hesitated.
“Powerful enough to destroy the entire mansion.”
Moko's face changed.
“Then why is it locked inside?”
Rizu looked at the chains.
“Because someone was afraid of it.”
Tofu looked at the key.
“Let's find out why.”
He placed the key inside the lock.
It didn't move.
He tried again.
Nothing.
Moko stepped forward.
“Maybe it needs more force.”
He grabbed the key.
“Wait,” Sizububu warned.
Too late.
Moko pulled.
The key suddenly turned.
Click.
Every candle in the passage lit at once.
The chains disappeared.
The door opened.
A freezing wind exploded through the passage.
Chamot's eyes became huge.
She jumped backward.
For once, she did not run toward the danger.
She ran behind Moko.
Moko looked down.
“Well, well.”
Chamot hid behind his legs.
Moko smiled.
“You're scared now?”
Chamot slowly peeked around him.
Then she slapped his ankle.
“Ow!”
She ran forward.
Moko groaned.
“Of course.”
They entered the room.
It was enormous.
The ceiling was almost impossible to see.
Ancient chains hung from above.
In the center was a stone platform.
Something was sitting on it.
A woman.
She looked young, but her body was transparent.
Her long hair covered her face.
Thick chains were wrapped around her arms and legs.
She slowly lifted her head.
Rizu whispered—
“She is the first prisoner.”
The woman opened her eyes.
They were completely white.
Moko immediately raised his hands.
“We don't want to hurt you.”
The ghost woman stared at them.
Then she looked at Chamot.
Her expression changed.
Fear.
Chamot stared back.
The woman whispered—
“Why is she here?”
Moko looked at the cat.
“You know Chamot?”
The woman's eyes widened.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“Not her.”
She pointed at the floor beneath Chamot.
Everyone looked down.
A strange symbol had appeared beneath the cat's paws.
Chamot looked down too.
Then she lifted one paw.
The symbol disappeared.
She placed the paw down again.
It returned.
Moko stared.
“What is that?”
The woman whispered—
“A mark.”
“Whose?”
The woman didn't answer.
Sizububu stepped closer.
“We came here because the spirits asked for help.”
The woman laughed softly.
It wasn't a happy laugh.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
The woman's chains tightened.
Clank!
She screamed.
Rizu stepped forward.
“Stop!”
The chains glowed black.
The woman's body began fading.
She looked at them desperately.
“Leave this place.”
Moko frowned.
“We can't.”
“Leave!”
Her voice echoed through the room.
“You don't know what will happen if the prison breaks.”
Tofu looked at the chains.
“What is inside the prison?”
The woman stared at him.
“Not inside.”
She pointed toward the floor.
“Below.”
Everyone became silent.
Moko looked down.
“You mean there is something beneath the mansion?”
The woman nodded.
“The thing that trapped us is still sleeping below this house.”
Sizububu's expression hardened.
“Then who trapped you?”
The woman looked toward the ceiling.
“Someone who wanted to control death.”
Rizu's face went pale.
“Control death?”
The woman nodded.
“He believed spirits could be bound and used.”
Tofu looked at the chains.
“These chains…”
“Are not keeping me here.”
She looked at the walls.
“They are keeping something else from waking.”
Moko stared.
“So if we free you…”
The woman nodded.
“The thing beneath us will wake.”
Silence.
Chamot suddenly walked toward the woman.
“Chamot!” Moko called.
The cat ignored him.
She climbed onto the stone platform.
The woman stared at her.
Chamot sniffed one of the chains.
Then she began licking her paw.
Moko stared.
“We are talking about an ancient evil and she's grooming herself.”
Tofu laughed.
But then Chamot stopped.
She stared at the chain.
Her ears moved.
Then she slapped it.
CLANG!
A tiny crack appeared.
Everyone froze.
The woman stared at Chamot.
“Stop her!”
Moko grabbed Chamot.
The cat immediately scratched his arm.
“Ow!”
She jumped free.
The chain cracked again.
CRACK!
Rizu shouted—
“Chamot!”
The cat jumped onto the floor.
The woman looked terrified.
“Don't break the chains!”
But it was already too late.
One chain snapped.
BOOM!
The entire room shook.
A deep sound came from beneath the floor.
Not a voice.
Not a growl.
Something much worse.
A heartbeat.
THUMP.
Everyone froze.
THUMP.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
THUMP.
The woman closed her eyes.
“No…”
Moko whispered—
“What is that?”
The woman opened her eyes.
“The first prison is not for me.”
Another heartbeat.
THUMP.
“The prison is beneath me.”
Another.
THUMP.
“And you have just weakened it.”
Sizububu looked at Chamot.
The cat was staring at the floor.
Her fur was standing on end.
But she didn't run.
Instead, she slowly placed one paw against the stone.
The floor beneath her began glowing.
A blue symbol appeared.
Then another.
Then another.
Five symbols appeared in a circle.
One for each of them.
The woman stared at the symbols.
Her expression became one of disbelief.
“The five marks…”
Rizu asked—
“What do they mean?”
The woman whispered—
“They mean the prison has chosen you.”
Moko's eyes widened.
“Chosen us for what?”
The woman looked at Chamot.
“No.”
Her voice trembled.
“It chose her first.”
Chamot tilted her head.
Moko frowned.
“Why Chamot?”
The woman looked at the cat with fear.
“Because she can open what you cannot.”
Suddenly, the stone beneath Chamot cracked.
CRACK!
The cat jumped back.
A black hand came through the floor.
Chamot hissed.
“FSSSSSS!”
Moko shouted—
“Everyone move!”
The hand grabbed the edge of the stone.
A second hand appeared.
The floor began breaking apart.
Sizububu pulled Rizu backward.
Tofu grabbed the old key.
Moko scooped up Chamot.
The cat immediately struggled.
“Stop!”
She scratched his shirt.
“Not now!”
Chamot escaped anyway.
She landed on the floor and ran directly toward the broken stone.
“Chamot!”
She jumped.
But instead of falling into the hole, she landed on the black hand.
The hand stopped moving.
Chamot stared at it.
Then she sniffed it.
Moko couldn't believe what he was seeing.
“She is sniffing the evil hand.”
Tofu whispered—
“Maybe it's not evil.”
The hand slowly turned.
Its fingers opened.
And instead of grabbing Chamot—
It touched her paw.
The blue symbol on Chamot's paw began glowing.
The black hand disappeared.
The hole closed.
The woman gasped.
“What did she do?”
Chamot sat down and began cleaning her paw.
Moko stared at her.
“You just stopped something beneath the mansion and now you're cleaning your paw?”
Chamot looked at him.
Then she yawned.
Rizu suddenly turned toward the woman.
“The chains are changing.”
The black chains around the ghost woman were becoming white.
One by one, they began disappearing.
The woman looked at her hands.
“I…”
Her body became brighter.
“I can move.”
The last chain broke.
Clink.
The woman stood.
For the first time, she was free.
The entire mansion became silent.
Then hundreds of voices echoed through the walls.
“One is free…”
“One is free…”
“One is free…”
The woman looked terrified.
Sizububu asked—
“What does that mean?”
She turned toward him.
“It means the others will wake.”
Moko swallowed.
“How many others?”
The woman looked at the five.
“Twenty.”
Tofu's expression hardened.
“There are twenty more prisoners?”
She shook her head.
“Twenty more souls.”
Then she pointed toward the floor.
“And one thing beneath them all.”
A deep heartbeat sounded again.
THUMP.
The mansion shook.
Chamot suddenly ran toward the exit.
Moko blinked.
“Finally, she has a good idea.”
He ran after her.
But Chamot didn't leave the room.
She stopped at the doorway.
Something was lying on the floor.
A small black feather.
Chamot sniffed it.
Then she slapped it.
The feather burst into black smoke.
A voice whispered through the room.
“First prison broken.”
Sizububu turned around.
The freed ghost looked horrified.
The voice continued—
“Four marks remain.”
Rizu's eyes widened.
“Four marks?”
Tofu looked at the floor.
The blue symbols were still glowing.
There were five.
But one had turned white.
Sizububu's eyes narrowed.
“The first prison.”
The woman nodded.
“The first soul has been freed.”
Moko looked toward Chamot.
“And she did it.”
The cat proudly raised her tail.
Then she walked toward Moko.
Moko crouched down.
“Come here.”
Chamot stepped closer.
Moko smiled.
“Good girl.”
Chamot suddenly jumped onto his shoulder and pulled his hair.
“Ow! Chamot!”
Tofu laughed.
Even Rizu smiled.
But Sizububu remained serious.
He looked at the freed spirit.
“What happens now?”
The woman looked toward the mansion.
Her expression became dark.
“Now the mansion knows you are here.”
A loud sound echoed from somewhere above them.
BANG!
Then another.
BANG!
Then another.
The woman whispered—
“They are coming.”
Moko looked toward the door.
“Who?”
The woman answered—
“The other prisoners.”
Sizububu frowned.
“You said they were trapped.”
“They are.”
“Then how are they coming?”
The woman slowly raised her eyes.
“Not from outside.”
The mansion shook again.
This time, the sound came from the walls.
Something was moving inside them.
The woman whispered—
“They are waking from inside the mansion.”
The five friends stood together.
Chamot jumped down from Moko's shoulder.
Her eyes were fixed on the dark corridor.
A small growl escaped her throat.
Grrrrrr…
Then somewhere far above them, a child's laughter echoed.
But it wasn't the laughter of a happy child.
It was cold.
Empty.
And followed by another sound.
A whisper.
“Five have entered.”
Another voice replied—
“Five will remain.”
Sizububu clenched his fists.
Moko stood beside him.
Tofu raised the old key.
Rizu looked toward the darkness.
And Chamot slowly lowered herself into a hunting position.
Her tail moved from side to side.
The first prison had been broken.
The first ghost had been freed.
But the mansion had just awakened.
And somewhere deep beneath Rudrgarh Mansion—
something had opened its eyes.