Crrrrrreeeeak…
The sound of the door creaking open echoed through the old house as Eleanor entered with nervousness clouding her expression.
Dust bombarded her sinuses immediately, causing her to sneeze repeatedly until she adjusted, while the smell of rotted wood filled her nose.
Has it only been eleven months…?
She took a step forward, feeling the ancient-sounding floorboards groan loudly under the weight of even her small form.
Continuing forward, she examined the first room she saw, trying to piece together anything she could tell Aaron about after she left.
There is a living room, a kitchen, a door, and then a hallway that leads into an area that I can't see right now…
Any furniture she looked upon was so covered in dust that it was nearly impossible to discern the color or material, even with the highest-end broom and mop duo, which was likely incapable of saving the house at this point.
Noticing no visible signs of life or portraits of his family, she decided to check the door that was farthest to the left, inside the kitchen area.
The light that entered through the boarded-up kitchen window illuminated the knob-like handle, allowing the girl to grab it easily, turn it quickly, and pull it open.
Before she could react, she was showered in dirt and debris, her eyes filled with a stony material that nearly made her scream out in pain.
"Agh!"
Using a fragment of her Holy Magic to cast a weak barrier around her body at the same time as she cleaned her eyes, she came to a horrifying, spine-chilling, mind-boggling conclusion.
Frozen but attached to her body, from head to toe, inside and out of her clothing, spiders, millipedes, and maggots clung their way into her skin.
"NO!"
Shouting with all her lung capacity, she forced mana into the Aether hairband and reshaped it into a full-body morph.
Allowing it to fall over her entire body except her eyes and mouth, she felt the substance burning away at her flesh.
Sensing the benefits and dangers that went alongside the suit of golden armor, she sighed aloud.
If I wear it too long, it'll burn away my flesh and leave me a husk. Luckily, if I remove it after about 30 seconds, I'll only look sunburnt.
If it was long enough to burn her skin, it should be long enough to kill the creatures.
Counting silently to herself, she released a portion of the Aether after half a minute, quickly watching as a group of maggots fell to the ground dead.
"Thank the Lord…"
Releasing it all at once, she only noticed one or two living creatures that she could easily zap off with a burst of Holy Magic.
Closing her eyes, she placed a thicker barrier of mana around her to prevent such an occurrence from happening again and walked inside the room.
Such a visit was short-lived, however, as what stood before her was simply a regular bathroom, devoid of anything useful to her at this time.
I'm afraid that if I open the toilet bowl, a snake, a spider, or a rat will jump out at me, regardless of the frozen time…
Not daring to take the risk, she moved towards the next door, the one located after the hallway, but not the final door on the right.
Turning the handle and then immediately jumping back, she dodged another shower of insects, successfully gaining access without a panic attack included.
Walking inside, she identified a small bedroom, likely Aaron's, that was completely empty, with the only thing remaining being a turquoise bed.
So he was obsessed with that color even before the turquoise ship… How lucky for him…
Shaking her head, she once again found no clues for anything about his past.
Not wasting more time than she had to, she opened the final door, repeating the same dodging she had done the second time.
It was unneeded, though, as not a single bug crawled downward from the ceiling to try to burrow its way into her flesh.
The room she saw now was a larger bedroom, probably belonging to his parents, that was home to a Sea King-sized bed and a rusted cabinet.
Moving inside, she carefully scanned for anything else, but noticed nothing.
Two drawers. C'mon, luck, give me something useful.
Opening the top one, she found dozens of already scratched lottery tickets alongside a fishing magazine.
Was gambling where their money had gone?
Shaking her head in disgust at the terrible trait, she pulled open the second drawer but quickly shut it.
Standing up quietly, she turned around and walked out of the room without another word, wishing dearly to forget what she saw.
Next, after closing the door to his parents' bedroom, she finally entered the place she had so desperately wished to visit from the start.
Where could this lead, I wonder…
Moving slowly through the hallway while being careful to avoid anything that could fall on her, she began to notice the roof above her head dipping downward.
Ahead, she could see vast amounts of sunlight even within the home, the only thing she could think of now standing before her.
At her feet, she could see that the hall continued at a downward angle, likely turning into stairs into the basement shortly; however, what stood in her way was an issue.
This tree…
It was old and mighty thick, so removing it would take time, although in a world where such a thing was frozen, she had high hopes.
"Let's see…"
Thinking of what form she should have the Aether take, she suddenly felt a pang of absolute terror bubble up in her chest.
"Hmm?"
She took a step forward and felt her feet meet a wet substance, one that she couldn't identify by feeling alone.
Turning her gaze downward, she observed the strange, slimy sludge that stuck to her boot.
It was pitch-black in color, but far more importantly, oozed divinity akin to that of an Angel.
Lady Esmerelda!?
Instantly, she prepared to chop down the tree and break into the area where the woman was likely stuck, yet something stopped her.
It was not her own emotions that caused her to freeze and take a step back, but a tug on her hair.
"Eh…?"
The Aether that she had kept wrapped into a bun was repeatedly placing force on her scalp, almost begging her to turn around.
I-I knew it had some type of consciousness, but for it to actually be able to guide me…
She herself couldn't understand what was causing the reaction, nor why it was trying to get her to leave, but it couldn't be overlooked, not at all.
Her heart rate quickened, and almost simultaneously, the pressure of the air around her turned tight, almost restricting.
Below her, she could feel something move, something large and almost certainly dangerous.
Her breathing quickened, and the Aether in her hair tugged faster and faster, pleading for her to run.
And while Eleanor Lynn might've exhibited defiant traits throughout her time back after her death, this was not one of those times.
As fast as she could, she bolted from the hallway, the feeling beneath her only increasing in strength as she moved.
N-not fast enough!
Pounding echoed through the hallway as something slammed on the exit to the basement, a horrifying crack of the wood sending chills down her spine.
Bursting into the main room and slamming through the half-opened door, she called out to Aaron with all her might.
"SOMETHING IS DOWN THERE! DANGEROUS!"
He lowered into a ready stance, the sword in his hand glowing a radiant turquoise.
Whispering something under his breath to the woman that Eleanor knew inhabited the blade, he slashed downward weakly, causing no change in the surroundings.
She was puzzled at first, yet that was only for a second.
Her eyes widened as a familiar presence consumed the surroundings, a fear so primal that it inspired hatred within her heart, coming to light instantly.
The God Slayer is here!?
The wind that was previously stationary returned for only a second, causing the grass to ripple and the half-destroyed house to groan.
Within that sealed basement, something ceased all movement, returning to a calm, tranquil state of silence.
Aaron stared at the house for a moment before allowing Ocean's Bane to return to the ring, his own blood pumping hard.
It had been weeks since he had used the Old Man's aura that still existed within Penelope to ward off horrors beyond his imagination, but for some reason, whatever was within that house he could sense would cause far more damage to him than anyone else.
"Are you alright?"
Disregarding his fearful thoughts, he rushed over to the panting Eleanor, who looked at him with horror in her eyes.
"Y-you felt like…"
The blond-haired boy frowned, checking over the girl's body before determining that, physically, she was alright.
"It's the lingering aura attached to his blade. Nothing more."
Trying to reassure her in any way he could, he exposed the technique he used easily, not allowing any room for misconceptions.
She continued to stare, causing him to sigh.
"I think we both need rest at this point… While I might've been passed out this morning, you couldn't have slept much after we arrived here because you carried me all the way up from the Ghostship that had begun to unsummon itself after hitting the island."
Eleanor nodded halfheartedly, still wary of the presence of the God Slayer.
"How about this…"
He paused to think, holding his index finger that held the sapphire gemstone ring to his lips.
"There's a hostel a few houses away… I think it had one room when I disappeared… Though I don't know when this place was frozen, so if it's full of frozen people, then we're out of luck."
Finally, he garnered a nod from the girl, the prospect of a good night's sleep, even during the day, something to always look forward to.