Finals week was coming up, and Charlie was still missing. The dynamic of the house began crumbling in her absence. Tetsuya and Tenseiga argued constantly, and Tetsuya would spend hours searching for Charlie when he wasn't snapping at people. Tenseiga was having trouble focusing on anything, almost burning down his precious kitchen.

But it was more than just the house. The only person who seemed to be able to come into contact with Sam was Tenseiga. Maki was sure he wasn't cheating, but he hadn't been home in weeks. Tenseiga's relationship with Sam became strained because Tenseiga tried to talk Sam out of a war.

Benimaru and Aaron did their best to stay focused because they knew that was what Charlie would want. Their grades didn't slip, but Benimaru fell into a depression that alarmed everyone. Aaron tried to be comforting and supportive, but he was losing sleep because he always watched Benimaru. He was afraid Chad would make a move.

Aaron, Benimaru, Tetsuya, and Tenseiga were picking at a pizza they ordered because the usual Tenseiga dinner was not going to happen. Everyone was silent until Benimaru finally spoke out.

"I'm just so sick of waiting without hearing anything from her," Benimaru shouted.

"Well, the wait is over, little brother," a voice that sounded like the voice of an angel floated to their ears.

Charlie walked around the corner into the dining room doorway, leaning against the door frame.

"Charlotte Obsidian, where have you been that you haven't been able to check in with us," Tenseiga reprimanded as they all rose from the table.

"I told you all this would be a rough trip before I left, and now I've returned. All good," Charlie's smile was strained.

Tetsuya rushed to Charlie, wrapping his arms around her. Charlie wheezed, wiping her mouth before Tetsuya could see.

"Charlie, you're looking a little pale," Aaron did not hold the same level of relief.

"You're burning up," Tetsuya noted, brushing hair from her face.

"I'm fine! You all go back to eating your dinner. I'm going to wash up and try to make it back down, lickety-split, all right?" Charlie stumbled away.

They all watched her leave the room when the smell hit Tetsuya first, then Tenseiga. Benimaru saw the spots on the wall and pools of blood that trailed behind her.

"T-Tetsu, your clothes," Aaron pointed at the blood staining Tetsuya's shirt.

"Is this-- blood?" Benimaru asked, examining the spot on the wall.

Tenseiga went to examine the wall, "Shit…."

They heard a thud. Tetsuya was the first to respond. Charlie made it halfway up the stairs before she finally passed out. Tetsuya scooped her up.

"Princess? Hey. Hey!" Tetsuya was holding her face in his hands.

Charlie groaned, "Tetsu…."

"I need you to stay awake, okay?" Tetsuya's heart was pounding, "she shouldn't be bleeding this much. Why is she bleeding like this?"

"If I knew that, I would have fixed it by now," Tenseiga shouted at him, trying to look her over.

"Well, I need you to figure out how to fix it faster!" Tetsuya growled.

"Guys! Stop, please! She needs help," Benimaru pleaded, "let me call an ambulance."

Aaron put his hand on Benimaru's, "Tetsu and Tensei may need to handle this one."

Aaron was uneasy, but he figured a regular doctor wouldn't help.

"What do you mean, let them handle it? She needs a doctor!" Benimaru shouted.

"Can't either of you call that Goldfuss guy?" Aaron asked.

Tenseiga grumbled, his mind having traveled elsewhere, "Good idea."

Tenseiga picked up his phone to contact Dr. Goldfuss, following behind Tetsuya, who carried Charlie up the stairs.

"Well, at least let me call pops to let him know she's ho--" Benimaru began.

Sam ran through the door as if on cue, "Where's my Charlotte?"

He was out of breath.

"Upstairs, pops, with Tensei," Benimaru directed. Before he could finish, Sam was already up the stairs.

"I've never seen pops that disheveled, ever," Aaron noted, getting more worried if Sam was worried.

"Yeah," Benimaru breathed, "Did he— look a little beat up and sleep-deprived to you?"

"Yeah…" Aaron could only guess what was going on.

They sat in silence, waiting to see what would happen next.

—

Tetsuya was pacing in the master bedroom as Tenseiga stripped her down.

"What the hell?" Tenseiga's eyes widened at the carvings on her skin.

"Charlotte? Charlotte!" Sam burst into the room.

A million things were running through Sam's mind. Yes, Charlotte was half-mortal, but even so, her immortality should have kicked in and stopped her bleeding and dulled any pain she was feeling. She was gone for over a month. What happened? He was about to breach the line in reality that separates the mortal realm from the Underworld. After which point he would need to breach Paradise.

"These markings," Sam looked them over, "Mortals shouldn't have access to this language or these symbols. What in the fuck is going on?"

"That's what I'm going to find out," Tenseiga held his hands over Charlie's body, "These… are intended to release Malum from the void. Who on earth would want chaos to roll over the mortal world?"

"I was set up, pops," Charlie managed.

"What do you mean?"

"There's apparently a cult," she heaved, "a cult that worships uncle Mal."

Sam groaned, "I understand why he wasn't there, but it doesn't explain how you're this hurt and why the immortal blood in your veins hasn't stopped all this!"

"The ritual."

"Ritual?"

Tenseiga went pale, "You are not going to like what I will have to do to fix this."

"What? What is it, Tensei?" Sam shook him.

"I'm going to have to burn these so their shapes will be erased," Tenseiga shook his head.

"Burn?"

"Yeah, I will have to cut them up, so the shapes go away, and then cauterize the wounds," Tenseiga gulped.

"Isn't there any other way to do this?" Tetsuya looked between Tenseiga and Sam.

"If there were, he would do it," Dr. Goldfuss entered the room.

"Do whatever you have to do, Tensei. I trust you," Charlie reassured Tenseiga, squeezing his hand weakly. Charlie's breath was ragged, and she was shivering.

Tenseiga nodded and rushed out to get what he'd need from the kitchen.

Sam held her hand while they waited, humming the tune he and Tenseiga used to sing to her to calm her down or get her to sleep as a child. It was just as much for himself as it was for her. It takes a lot to rattle the god of the Underworld. But his Charlotte is the universe to him.

—

Tenseiga rushed passed everyone to get to the kitchen. He was the pale one now.

"Tensei!" Benimaru and Aaron jumped up.

When he came out, they looked alarmed, "What are you doing with that knife, bucket, and the heating unit?" Benimaru exclaimed.

Tenseiga didn't seem to hear him, but when he came by again, Benimaru grabbed him.

“Tenseiga!” Benimaru shouted.

"Huh, oh… Beni, don't worry, we will have it taken care of," Tenseiga rushed up the stairs.

"What taken care of?" Benimaru started to follow after him, followed by Aaron.

They heard screams and ran into the room. When they burst through the door, the markings were glowing.

"What— is this?" Benimaru asked, then swooned, "What is this pressure?"

Aaron caught him, but he also felt dizzy.

"Tetsuya, get them out of here," Sam ordered.

"I don't take orders from you," Tetsuya glared, "Aren't you supposed to see everything anyway?"

"Tetsu," Aaron muttered.

Tetsuya growled in frustration and dragged Benimaru and Aaron out of the room.

Tenseiga quickly sucked out and dissipated the magic. He plugged in the heating unit, blessing the knife before letting it heat up.

Goldfuss prepared the room for putting in sutras and prepping Sam for a blood transfusion. He concentrated until the needle started glowing. He had to prep it because it was impossible to pierce a god with just a regular needle.

"Get comfortable, your majesty. This will be a long process," Dr. Goldfuss instructed as Sam sat in a comfy chair, allowing Dr. Goldfuss to hook him up.

"Do we need to sedate her?" Goldfuss asked.

Tenseiga grimaced. Putting death into a deep sleep is a double-edged sword. Yes, she wouldn't be feeling this pain, but the cost is spiritual unrest across the mortal realm.

"It's not ideal, but we have to," Tenseiga noted, considering the circumstances.

"Your mortals will need to remain here. The spirits will walk visibly and freely if she goes out," Dr. Goldfuss stated.

"I know. I'm texting Tetsu right now," Tenseiga replied.

Dr. Goldfuss started running anesthesia through her side of the IV drip. Charlie relaxed and drifted off.

"Ready, Goldfuss?" Tenseiga asked, hand on the knife.

"Yes, fox," Goldfuss replied, sutras in hand.

“Let’s begin,” Tenseiga said.

—

"I wish someone would come to tell us what's going on," Aaron sighed, holding an ice pack to his head.

"Yeah, and what was with those supplies Tensei had?" Benimaru wondered, "well, at least the doctor came. Does anyone else feel kind of funny?"

"How do you mean?" Tetsuya asked.

"Well, when Charlie came in, I felt a little nauseous. Whatever happened inside the room gave me a splitting headache. Now I'm just cold," Beni hugged himself inside his hoodie.

Aaron looked up, "Now that you mention it, I feel the same way… wait, who is that?"

A figure wandered past the door to the dining area.

"Wait! There's more! Who are these people?" Beni exclaimed.

Tetsuya groaned, "They put her to sleep," he thought.

One of them sat at the head of the table by the door.

"Hey, so… anyone know what's going on?" The person was transparent.

"I don't know, man, you tell us!" Aaron responded.

The figure thought for a minute, "Well, the last thing I remember was crossing the street, and some headlights came at me out of nowhere, then I ended up somewhere around here. Wait… I'm dead, aren't I?"

"It looks like it. I can see right through you," Aaron nodded.

"How are you so calm right now?" Benimaru whispered. He was frozen in place.

Another one walked in, "Oh, hey! Is this the waiting area?"

"I guess so!" The first ghost replied.

"Oh! Okay," the second ghost sat down. A couple of more came in while some went upstairs.

"Why are there a bunch of ghosts here?" Benimaru looked to Tetsuya for answers.

"We are just drawn here," the ghost next to Aaron shrugged, "we could feel our way to the afterlife was here somewhere."

Tetsuya put his head in his hands, wondering how they would talk their way out of this one. Tetsuya crossed his arms and sighed. He had to think of what to say next.

“Tetsu!” Benimaru yelled.

"Hold on! I'm thinking. Sheesh. This isn't my area of expertise," Tetsuya yelled back.

"What does that mean?" Benimaru asked.

"Charlie and Tenseiga are better at explaining this stuff," Tetsuya was frustrated.

"Well, you're the only one here, so try," Benimaru pressed.

Aaron put a hand on Benimaru's shoulder, "Relax. He's probably just as confused as we are."

"I can't relax, Aaron. My sister walked in bleeding out, then she started glowing. My father came in here looking stressed, and Tensei had a knife. They called the doctor, and now ghosts are hanging out in the room?" Beni's voice began to rise, "so don't tell me to relax."

Aaron and Tetsuya sat in silence. Benimaru was right. No one should be calm in this situation, and no one was sure what to do.

—

Mal was pacing around in the void, wondering how much time had passed since Charlie checked in. He felt a disturbance in the voices of the dead.

"Why is she in deep sleep? What is happening?" Mal's eyes widened.

"Uncle Mal?"

"Charles! There you are— wait. Something's off," Mal looked Charlie over, "No. No. This isn't right."

Charlie was calling to him, but she didn't seem to see he was there.

"You're right, uncle. This isn't right," Chad appeared next to Mal.

"Chad, you can't be in here—"

"Uncle, Charlotte is hanging in the balance between life and death," Chad touched his shoulder, shaking his head.

"Th-this cannot be," Mal shook his head, "You're lying!"

"Am I?" Chad raised his eyebrows, "Uncle, some mortals— they performed some ritual to bring you back, warping her immortality." Chad tried to sound as concerned and sad as possible. Though, he really didn't care since he was the one to fabricate this whole situation.

"Mortals— did this?" Mal looked between Chad and Charlie's shadow, "H-how?"

Chad waved a hand and showed Charlie on the job. Then, he showed how the mortals were able to subdue her. The book of spells and knife they unearthed from an excavation. They used the ceremonial knife to cut the symbols into Charlie's skin, and how she suffered for days as they tried summoning Mal to no avail.

Charlie was barely able to get away, stumbling home. With her power weakened, she couldn't use it to get back. Mortals looked away from her, no one offering help as she suffered, walking for miles.

Mal was pale, then the void rumbled as his anger grew.

"I knew it. I knew the mortals didn't deserve her, and they don't deserve anything they have," Mal's eyes flashed black.

"Uncle, what will you do?" Chad asked, hiding his smile.

Mal pulled the scythe from the void, "It's time to end humanity. It's been a while... nephew, will you help me?"

"Of course, uncle! I'd be glad to," Chad smiled as Mal handed the scythe to him.

Chad's eyes glowed gold, the sclera black. Mal passed through the scythe and then appeared bound to Chad in chains on the other side.

"Nephew? What is this? What have you done?" Mal asked, feeling powerless against Chad.

"What you, my father and uncles lacked the balls to do," Chad laughed, putting on his armor in preparation for war.

—

"Finished," Tenseiga wiped the sweat from his brow, "all that's left is to salt the flesh and burn it."

"I just have to finish the sutras and let the transfusion finish," Goldfuss said, still working.

"Okay, well, I'll leave the rest to you, Dr. Goldfuss," Tenseiga nodded, heading out the door to finish his part of the job.

When Dr. Goldfuss finished stitching and dressing the wounds, he covered Charlie in a blanket as Sam held her hand. Dr. Goldfuss found a chair and waited for his part of the job to finish.

Sam was happy she was no longer bleeding out but bitter at what they had to do. Tenseiga was feeling the same way. He knew Charlie trusted him implicitly as a caregiver and expert in things of this nature. However, he still hated that he had to do it to her.

"Hey, man, how long will she be out," a ghost sat down next to Dr. Goldfuss, "I'm ready to move on."

Sam glared at the ghost, "I think you'll be okay if you sit there for an hour or so."

"A'ight. Well, do you want to talk about the weather or something?"

"Not particularly?" Sam furrowed his brow.

"I suppose it would be even more of a wasted conversation now than while I was alive. I can't feel the sun or the rain anymore," the ghost sighed, "I can't even eat bacon. I thought the afterlife was supposed to be at least halfway decent depending on where I end up."

Dr. Goldfuss shook his head at how simple-minded this ghost was. Were all spirits this simple? Or was this how he was when he was living?

"So, did you know you're like a deer?" the ghost asked. Dr. Goldfuss looked humanoid to the naked eye.

"Yes. Do ghosts always ask these silly questions?" Dr. Goldfuss scoffed.

Sam knew it would be a long hour because more started coming in to sit around Charlie's bed, waiting for her to wake up.

"So, can I go to the bathroom?" one of the thirty ghosts that came to sit in the room asked.

"You're a ghost! You don't have a bladder anymore," Sam shook his head.

"Are there going to be snacks?" another ghost asked, raising their hand.

The ghost sitting next to Sam said, "Nah, bruh. We can't eat anymore... I tried."

"Well, damn."

"None of you can be hungry or go to the bathroom! You're all ghosts!" Dr. Goldfuss groaned.

"Jeez, you don't have to be rude about it, man," one of the other ghosts called out.

Sam and Dr. Goldfuss sat there, wondering how in the world Charlie did her job without actually killing anyone for real.

"So what happened to her?" Another ghost came in to sit down.

"It was terrible! Worse than falling off that mountain I ended up bleeding out on," one of the ghosts who happened to be passing by noted retelling what happened.

The first ghost pat Sam on the shoulder, "That's rough, buddy."

Sam said, "Tell me about it," as tears streamed down his face. He felt a chill as the ghosts tried to be comforting Sam, but they kept passing through him.

"That's not going to work. I tried that several times," another ghost in the back piped up. At that point, everyone except the sleeping Charlie wept.

"I didn't realize ghosts were so emotional," Dr. Goldfuss raised an eyebrow.

One of the ghosts hiccupped, "Can we stay until she wakes up?"

The other ghosts, who were also crying, nodded in agreement.

"Well, okay," Sam said.

Dr. Goldfuss blinked, "Emotional and picky."

All across the globe, the ghosts stopped their haunting and wept.