Jun, Wednesday 28, 2007 - 5:00 AM
Metro City
Lying in bed, Paradox was sleeping peacefully when a sudden, sharp knock on the door shattered the silence of the early morning. His crimson eyes fluttered open lazily, filled with drowsy irritation as he glanced at the clock.
5:00 AM.
“…Who in their right mind would be knocking on my door at this ungodly hour?”
His voice was groggy, laced with mild annoyance. With a heavy sigh, he lazily swung his legs off the bed, rubbing his face as he got up. Dressed in only red and black sweatpants, his bare chest felt the cool air of the room as he trudged toward the door.
As soon as he cracked it open and saw the familiar face standing there, his expression deadpanned. Without a word, he promptly shut the door
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The knocking grew louder and more persistent, each impact sending vibrations through the door.
“…What do they want from me now?” Paradox muttered in frustration.
Giving in, he swung the door open again, now face to face with Samantha, whose left eye twitched in irritation.
“I was sent with direct orders to inform you of a mission you will be partaking in,” she stated flatly.
Paradox crossed his arms, unimpressed. “Yeah, well—I decline.
Samantha didn’t even flinch at his immediate refusal. Instead, she smirked knowingly.
“I think you might change your mind.”
His brow arched slightly. “Oh? And what exactly do you mean by that?”
She wasted no time, getting straight to the point.
“We’ve discovered a peculiar house. Anyone who enters—no matter how powerful, no matter what weapons they wield—everything is stripped away, rendering them completely ordinary.
That caught his attention. His half-lidded gaze sharpened slightly.
“…Huh. Now that does
She continued, her tone serious.
“There have been reports of ghost sightingsbroken by whatever they saw inside.
A slow grin spread across Paradox’s face.
“Oh? A place that even cracks minds wide open? Sounds like something straight out of a horror flick.” He stretched, rolling his neck. “Alright, I’m in. Where’s this whole haunted adventure taking place?”
Samantha handed him a small file containing coordinates.
“Inside a haunted mansion. You’re our last hope in solving this case. If you do it, we’ll help you with that little secret building project
Paradox smirked, glancing at the papers before stuffing them in his pocket.
“So it was you guys spying on me. Had a feeling… just didn’t care enough to call you out on it.” He yawned before turning away. “Alright, I’ll have it done in a flash.”
Without another word, Samantha left, heading back to Omega-7 HQ.
Closing the door, Paradox muttered under his breath.
“Haunted mansion, huh…”
Before he could ponder it further, a presence made itself known.
Two pairs of eyes
Looking up, he saw Eve and Norika standing there, arms crossed, staring at him with knowing
“We’re coming with you,” Norika stated bluntly.
“And you can’t stop us,” Eve added.
Paradox blinked before grinning.
“Why would I? I was already gonna ask if you both wanted to come.” He waved his hand nonchalantly. “Now hurry up and get ready. We’re going now
Jun, Wednesday 28, 2007 - 5:05 AM
Outside the Haunted Mansion
The mansion stood like a monolith, draped in shadows. The surrounding air was thick with unnatural silence—the kind that made the world feel dead.
Crows cawedlightning
And then—
A figure appeared.
Standing in one of the upstairs windowsshadow
Paradox took one look at the eerie spectacle and deadpanned.
“Wow. Quite the warm welcome.”
Beside him, Eve visibly tensed.
Noticing her unease, a wicked idea sprouted in Paradox’s mind.
Without a word, his body lifted off the groundghostly hands coiled around him.
Then—
He screamed.
A bloodcurdling, agonized scream.
His body was dragged into the mansion, vanishing into the darkness.
“BROTHER!
Eve’s heart stopped.sprinted forward
Stolen novel; please report.
But just as she reached the entrance—
A hand
Slowly, hesitantly, she turned—only to come face to face with Paradox’s grinning face.
“Yo.”
CRACK!
Her fist
“THAT. WAS. NOT. FUNNY.” Her voice trembled
To the side, Norika was howling with laughter.suspected
After wiping a tear from her eye, Norika took the lead, stepping inside first.
The moment she crossed the threshold—
Something changed.
“…Tch.” She clenched her fist. “I can’t feel my powers.” Her face darkened. “And I can’t access the Omni-Watch.
Paradox tested his abilities. Nothing.
“Yep,” he nodded. “We’re as powerless as horror movie protagonists.”
A soft whimper
Eve had instinctively grabbed his sleeve.
He smirked, ruffling her hair. “Don’t worry, Eve—I’ll protect you.”
“Say that again when you’re not being an idiot.
CRASH!
A nearby table flipped over, chairs levitating into the air.
Eve yelped, while Norika took a defensive stance.
Paradox?
He didn’t even flinch.
“It’s watching us,” he muttered, his sharp eyes scanning the room. “Waiting
His gaze locked onto the walls.
New doors had appeared—ones that weren’t there when they entered.
“…Let me guess.” He exhaled. “We need to find the real
“Sounds about right,” Norika agreed. “Let’s split up.”
“Right. Because splitting up in a haunted house always ends so well.
With a reluctant Eve in tow, they each went separate ways—unaware of the nightmare that awaited them.
Eve moved through the dim corridor, her heart pounding. The further she went, the colder it became.
Then—
Slam!
She was flung through the airsickening thud.
“Ghh… what was that?” She groaned, clutching her head.
A chair hurtled toward her—fast.
Instinct took over. She dodged, just barely
She gritted her teeth.
“Even without my powers… I’m not helpless.”
Her grip tightened on her red rods.
A shadow
“…Oh no you don’t.”
She flung a rodstopped.
A force unlike anything she had ever felt crushed the air around her.
A presence so overwhelming… so utterly horrifying
That, for the first time in her life—
Eve felt true fear.
Paradox strolled through the farthest part of the mansion, hands casually behind his neck, his expression carefree despite the ominous air surrounding him.
“If I were some kind of cursed item needed to escape a haunted room, where would I be hiding?”
Before he could finish that thought—
SHING!
A swordrushing toward himflinging
CLANG!
The blade passed straight through its intended target—revealing a ghostly knight
Paradox let out a small chuckle, amusement flashing in his crimson eyes.
“Y’know, it’s really bad manners to stab people from behind—especially with a sharp object.”
Another sword came hurtling toward his chest.
This one was much faster.
Paradox barely had time to react, his hands shooting up on instinct—catching the blade between his palms.
His eyes narrowed.
“Fast,” he admitted, gripping the weapon’s hilt. “But not fast enough.
With a flick of his wrist, he flung the attacker away
‘Good thing I summoned my [Uni Gloves] in time. Otherwise, I’d be looking like a damn kebab right now.’
Now, if you’re wondering how he can still use his gloves despite all powers being stripped away—well, much like his little sister Eve’s weapons, his [Uni Gloves] weren’t tied to his internal power source.
And Paradox?
Paradox was always
Before he could relish in that small victory—
BAM!
A sudden impact struck his facemeteorrocketing through a windowplummeted toward the ground below.
But the fall never came.
Instead—
He landed somewhere else entirely.
The moment his body touched the floor, he realized something was wrong. The air was thick with dampness. The walls were made of rough stone, lined with torches that flickered with an eerie blue glow.
It was a dungeon.
Paradox slowly pushed himself up, groaning.
“…Sometimes, I should really just keep my damn mouth shut.”
His gaze flicked forward, locking onto his new opponent.
A massive, spectral knight stood before him.
A towering entity clad in dented black armor, its sword dripping with something far too dark to be normal blood.
Paradox cracked his neck.
“Well, congratulations, you’ve officially pissed me off.” His smirk sharpened. “And for ruining my amazing point,Death
Meanwhile—
Norika wasn’t walking
She was chargingbulldozed through furniture, walls, and whatever else
She wasn’t running away
She was hunting.
And what was she hunting?
The strongest ghost in this damn place.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” she called in a mockingly sweet
Her handobsidian blade.
Her entire aura shifted
“—Don’t think you can sneak up on me.
In one fluid motion, she spun around—slicing through the air.
SCHWING!
Couches, chairs, paintings, and even the wallscleaved in half
And standing at the end of her onslaught
A man.
A very handsomemuscular
Norika raised an eyebrow.
“You’re way too pretty to be a horror movie extra.”
The ghost smirked.
“You will never leave this building,” he declared. “Your life will be given to Mother.
Mother?
A flicker of excitement
“So there’s a boss ghostYou should’ve just led with that.
She grinned.
“Take me to your ‘Mother.’ I wanna meet her.”
“That cannot
With a wave of his hand, everything in the room lifted into the air—then came flying toward Norika.
Tables. Chairs. Glass shards. Everything.
Norika’s grin only widened.
“Then I guess I’ll just have to kill you
Her foot dug into the floorcracking beneath her weight
And then—
She vanished.
Moving faster than the eye could followlaunched herself forwardobsidian blade igniting with crimson flames.
“Kindly—
She swung.
“—DIE.”
But before her blade could connect—
Her body froze.
Her limbs went limp.
Her entire consciousness shut down.
She collapsed to the floor, unmoving.
The last thing she heard before the darkness took her was the ghost murmuring—
“Thank you, Mother. You always protect me.”
And the last thought in Norika’s mind?
‘I’m gonna kill that bitch.
Eve ran
Not out of fear.
But out of sheer, desperate urgency.
She needed to find her brotherNorika.
The air grew heavier
Then—
She tripped.
Something was in her way.
Looking down—
Her blood turned to ice.
Norika.
She was lying motionless
“Norika?!” Eve dropped beside her, shaking her shoulders.
No response.
Her body was burning up.
And then—
The wounds began appearing.
Small at first. Then more. Then dozens.
Blood pooled beneath her.
And yet—
A smile
Eve’s breath hitched.
“What’s happening to you?
Norika wasn’t just injured.
She was fighting something.
Something that wasn’t in this world.
Eve’s fists clenched.
“She’s battling something in her mind… If she doesn’t wake up soon—”
Her blue eyes narrowed.
Then I’ll just have to wake her up myself.
Inside her mind—
Norika was being ragdolled
Her sword arm trembled.
Blood dripped from her wounds.
Her opponent?
A monstrosity.
Dark purple wings.
Burnt skin.
A body covered in razor-sharp blades.
A mouth filled with too many teeth.
It let out a distorted, inhuman voice.
“YOU CANNOT ESCAPE.
Norika wiped the blood from her lips.
A wild grin
“Escape?” She spat on the ground.
“I’m not escaping.
Her eyes gleamed.
“I’m winning.
She charged
Meanwhile—
Paradox stood in the warped, shifting dungeon.
The very laws of physics
The ceiling was now the floor.
Everything was twisted.
Paradox cracked his knuckles.
Then he smirked.
“Alright, beastie.
He summoned his [Chrono Sword].
“Let’s make this interesting.”
