Chapter 39 – The Laughter That Kills
They laughed.
On the rooftop of an abandoned school building, four teenagers stood in a circle around someone. The victim's body curled up, hugging his knees, his clothes dirtied by dust and trapped rainwater. His gaze was empty. His soul had already drowned in the mud of mockery long before his body had the chance to jump.
"Come on, just jump! Nobody cares anyway!"
Laughter again. As if the sky itself bore witness to the cruelty. Their voices echoed all the way into the astral city's walls. And that sound… was enough to awaken something that should never have awakened.
Enver heard the call. Card XI lit up first, followed by the faint chime of Card XIII. This was not merely about a soul lost. This was about shattered justice.
That night, he appeared before one of the teenagers, in the school's back garden. His shadow cut through the fog. No words. No rage. Yet his gaze alone was enough to stop any heart from beating.
The teenager trembled, running before stumbling to the ground.
"I didn't kill him… we were just joking…"
Enver approached. Slowly. But something came first. From behind the trees, the creature appeared. Half-human, half-wolf. Fangs long, eyes bulging without eyelids. Its body wrapped in wet fur and astral blood.
An intermediate astral being. Not a low-class parasite. This was born from accumulated hatred, indifference, and cruelty celebrated as entertainment.
The creature lunged at the boy, licking his face with a razor tongue that tore spiritual wounds. The teenager's soul began peeling away from his body, screaming in layers invisible to ordinary humans.
Enver drew a card.
Card I – Speculum Infernalis.
The mirror opened, reflecting the boy's true face—filled with hatred, filled with mockery. Instantly, he screamed.
The astral creature was disturbed by the light. It leapt at Enver.
The first strike came like a storm—claws and a long tail slashing both ground and air. Enver countered with Card VII – Catena dell'Anima, chains of light binding the creature. But with a roar, it shattered them.
The battle turned into a dance of death. The creature absorbed the surrounding darkness, while Enver floated, dodging fangs that could devour light itself.
Card III – Sibilo del Pentimento.
It unleashed echoes of regret from the boy's past. The victim's voice resonated—"Why did you laugh?"—and the astral being writhed, but not enough to weaken it.
Enver stared at the trembling card in his hand. He knew this creature was not born from a single sin. But from countless cruel laughs, taunts, and the absence of empathy.
So he drew Card XV – Il Cuore Rovesciato.
The symbol of an inverted heart, radiating dark blue light. It pierced the creature's chest.
A long scream followed. The boy's soul, half-torn, collapsed to the ground, crying and clinging to the soil. He dared not look at Enver.
The astral being fell. But it did not vanish. There were remnants… echoes from other victims.
Enver stood tall. His eyes gazed far beyond.
"It is not finished. Not all has been counted… nor purified."
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