Natanael looks up the staircase in the hallway and sees a source of overwhelming desire energy. He starts climbing, examining the place carefully, but stops halfway up after catching the smell of sulfur. The pressure felt immense as he moved to inspect the area.

He continues upward, spotting a trail of energy and beginning to follow it. Eventually, he reaches Maia’s parents’ bedroom, which looked as though it had been used by only one person. Broken picture frames littered the floor, only one side of the bed was messy, and a wedding ring had been thrown onto the ground.

“Wait… where’s the spirit? I think all I need to do is bathe this room in positive desire. A meditation session should be enough.”

Natanael thought as he sat on the cold floor, ignoring the sulfuric smell. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to turn the stress inside him into a dim, warm light. Energy began to seep from his pores, fighting against the dark mist emanating from the abandoned ring.

The weight inside the room almost seemed to disappear. It happened quickly, thanks to the enormous amount of energy Natanael possessed. A deep calm reached his heart, but his eyes widened when he realized there was still energy somewhere in the house. Not here, but in another room. Something much bigger was there.

He headed toward that room, following the energy. This time, it carried a toxic stench, and he found himself almost crawling as he tracked the rotten smell.

When he reached the door, he noticed a plaque that read: “Maia.”

He slowly opened the door and instantly felt crushed by the pressure inside the room. A massive energy, equal to or perhaps even greater than Natanael’s own, radiated from an egg resting on top of Maia’s diary.

“What? An egg? I need to exorcise this thing as fast as possible.”

Natanael materialized a blade in his hand and charged toward the egg. He thought he had sliced it open, but when he turned around, he saw something horrifying: a small creature breathing heavily, one glowing eye fixed on him. With nothing more than a lift of its hand, it hurled him against the wall.

“You cursed creature… I’ll destroy you.”

Natanael tasted blood. His sword released liquid hydrogen across the floor, freezing it solid and doubling the speed of his strike. He slashed the creature, but the being only laughed as it regenerated.

“What?! I cut you with desire energy—you should’ve died. Unless… your soul is connected to something else.”

He dematerialized the blade and summoned a reddish stone axe instead.

“Looks like we’re going to have to burn a notebook.”

As Natanael leaped toward the diary, the creature unleashed a repulsion force that sent him flying, nearly smashing him into the wall. He managed to stop himself by digging the axe into the floor.

“These techniques resemble simple desire manipulation… but it evolved them. Maybe if I imbue desire directly into my body, it’ll work?”

An aura began surrounding Natanael as he rushed the entity again. The creature grabbed him by the throat and threw him out of the room and into the hallway. Laughing, it slowly followed him while the diary floated beside it.

“My aura is weakening… and I can’t die here. I’ll retreat, recover my energy, and come back later. At least I stopped its growth.”

Natanael sprinted toward the stairs, but the creature suddenly appeared behind him and kicked him down the staircase. As he fell, Natanael turned back one final time and hurled his axe at the diary, igniting it with the last of his remaining energy.

“Sorry, Maia…”

The diary burst into flames, and the creature dissolved into ashes alongside it.

BOOOOM!

A loud crash echoed through the house as Natanael hit the final step at the bottom of the stairs. Jasmine came running in panic.

“Natanael! You’re so reckless—you fell down the stairs! Let’s go to your mother’s house, I’ll take care of you, okay?”

She placed the half-conscious boy against her thigh, tears glimmering in her eyes as she looked at him.

“It’s okay, love… but did you at least convince her mother?”

The boy spoke weakly, his body aching, the taste of iron and blood filling his mouth, though the energy around him had become light again.

“My God, boy, how badly did you hurt yourself? Go home already. Maia will come tomorrow, and I’ll enroll her.”

Her mother said worriedly, the hairs on her body standing on end after seeing the boy injured inside her house.

“Shall we go to my mom’s house? I think our time here is over.”

Natanael smiled as he tried to stand.

“Yes. But on the way, you’re explaining this whole jockey thing.”

Maia helped him back to his feet as they said goodbye.