The Next Life (?? ?? ???)

The Artefact

"Really? What makes you think that?"

"Because this is the crest of the Yang royal family."

My legs almost gave way at the revelation. That would explain the crest showing up where the Prince was. But it didn't explain the tent bar.

"You seem quite shocked," Jisoo commented, with a playful snarkiness almost unbecoming of her. This was unlike the aggressive, volatile personality I'd come to know from before the incident with the Prince.

"It's just, it's cropped up quite a few times. I hadn't realised how close I've been to information about the King."

"A few times, you say?"

I winced. Although her disposition was not what it once was, that didn't mean I didn't dread what her reaction would be to withholding such crucial information from her.

"Um, yeah... so the crest was carved into the counter back at the tent bar. You remember that one, right?" I cringed, awaiting her response.

Several emotions flashed on her face in rapid succession. Her eyes widened and her eyebrows furrowed, followed by a look of confusion in her eyes, and then she bit the inside of her bottom lip.

"I do. Where else have you seen the crest?"

"It was on the door to the room where we found the Prince," I admitted, still feeling like I was walking on eggshells.

"I see."

That was it?

"I'm sorry, I know I'm supposed to be looking out for clues pointing to him. I should've told you."

"It is no matter," she dismissed, her eyes staring off into a point on the wooden floor. "I should hope that you will exercise caution moving forward. A being as evil as him, with hundreds of years in this world, he is without a doubt a threat to your very mortal life and soul, should you cross paths."

"I mean, the whole point of our arrangement was for me to find him, right?"

"Your role was to find clues, not the entity himself. You will not survive an encounter with him, do you understand?" The graveness in her voice was beginning to unsettle me, to the point where I almost missed when she was verbally assaulting me every few seconds. Almost.

I cleared my throat, the warning leaving me a little more shaken than I'd liked to admit. "So, uh, nice to be able to reach the mansion again."

Jisoo sighed audibly with her eyes closed before replying with a small smirk. "Jennie was displeased, to say the least, at my sudden change of heart." Using her hand to guide her powers, she moved the artefact over to rest atop one of the bookshelves.

"Change of heart? You?" I teased.

"Which, er," she cleared her throat, "reminds me. Are you, by any chance, related to the being known as Venom?"

"Excuse me?" The way she said the name was so unnatural that I wasn't sure if I'd misheard it.

"Do you have an alien parasite attached to you, in your head?" Her question sounded so much like a joke, but the tone in her voice sounded so genuine. "It would explain your... unique aura, as well as why the girl with the slit-mouth hadn't been able to complete her assault on you."

"Wait, wait, Jisoo, where did you hear about Venom?"

"I..." Her eyes averted mine. "After what transpired between you and that ghost the other day, I... scoured the Interim Net."

"Internet."

"That is what I said, was it not?" Again, it was odd that a ghost could blush; they didn't even have blood to rush to their head. I suppose it would be hard to see a regular ghost turn red, with the sickly blue hue they usually had.