Keepers Of The Occult (NaNoWriMo 2024) Chapter 21: Chapter 18: Friend Like Her (Part Two)

Read chapter 21 of Keepers Of The Occult (NaNoWriMo 2024) by Mercynarie on NovelPedia.

Hazel swam around in the darkness that followed for a few seconds before giving up and staying still to save her energy instead. She could still hear faint commotion around her, but she could not figure out why she was practically blind now. “If you’re wondering why you can’t see anything, don’t worry. You’re not blind! You’ve just been blindfolded for my next game!” Tomoko’s voice echoed from… somewhere. “Second game, Fukuwarai! Your friend’s facial features have been rearranged, so your job is to arrange them back correctly. The one who does it best gets to move on to the next round!” Something sticky materialised in Hazel’s hands, although she could not see what it was. She groped around in the dark as she slowly realised what she was touching. “That’s his nose!” Tomoko’s excited voice yelled in her ear. “Go on, put it up there!” Hazel squinted. She could barely see an outline of a human face before, which was where she assumed the ‘nose’ in her hand was supposed to go. The girl focused on her senses, ignoring the Kitsune’s goading. Like hell that’s his nose. She began plucking the objects in her hand onto the three-dimensional face, trusting entirely in her precognition. No way in hell she was listening to Tomoko’s misleading directions. From what she knew about Japanese culture, Fukuwarai was a New Year’s game for children. Blindfolded, they were supposed to put facial features onto a drawing of a face while their friends attempted to misdirect them. And instead of a real person, they were given a simple two-dimensional cutout to play with. Tomoko must have altered the game just as she did with the previous one. The darkness vanished as Hazel put the last feature onto the face. In front of her stood a perfectly arranged replica of Liam’s head. She exhaled in relief, silently thanking the Heavens for such a convenient gift. Liam, on the other hand, did not do so well. Hazel groaned as she looked to the side. The replica of her own head had all its features in the completely wrong places. Her eyes were where her ears should have been. Her nose was on top of her head. Her mouth was upside down and way too low on the chin. Tomoko roared with laughter at Liam’s poor attempt. “The winner is clear! Hazel moves on to the final round!” she proclaimed. “I’ll be sure to play with you lots, Liam.” Hazel watched helplessly as the girl transformed Liam into a doll as well. No matter the outcome, Tomoko had something to win. This whole game was rigged from the start. “Final game. Just you and me, Hazel.” Tomoko’s feet touched the ground as her clothes transformed into Starlight High’s school uniform. Blocks of pillars rose from the ground, turning the whole area into a huge maze. “Keidoro. Or in your land’s language, Cops and Robbers.” A mischievous smile crept along Tomoko’s face. “Just like when we were hiding in the library, remember? You’re the cop, and I’m the robber. Catch me if you can.” Tomoko vanished to the side in a flash. Hazel reacted as fast as she could, chasing after her fleeing shadow. But Tomoko had long disappeared from view. She traced her fingers along the pillars absentmindedly, trying to figure out where that girl could’ve gone to no avail. Everything around her looked pretty much identical. Dammit, she was already lost in this maze. Sucking in a deep breath, Hazel focused every mote of concentration on her power. Once again, the sheer strength of the magic within her threatened to overwhelm her. But she couldn’t afford to hold anything back now. Not when so many people were counting on her to beat this game. So she let go of all inhibitions. The world closed in around her, imploding and sucking her outward at the same time. She saw everything, then she saw nothing. And as the growing magic devoured her mind, her consciousness emerged anew, guided by pure instinct yet remaining entirely in control. No longer were there mere pillars in her path. They were only paths, and she could see which ones led to victory. Haz