MTLNOVEL Chapter 7: 7
** Chapter 7: The procession of the shadows **
*(POV AYMAN AL-SARAAVWI)*
The forest swallowed the light. Ayman ran between the twisted trees, the clone pendrive tightened against his chest like a talisman. The air smelled the burnt, even away from the destroyed hospital. And the *voices *… they started as soon as he entered the woods. Whispers of children singing distorted verses of lullays, women moans, laughs of men with cut throats.
*Ghosts.*
They were not like those of the short stories. These were *Visceral *: Volutes of semi -peded flesh, eyes floating in empty orbits, sewn mouths they tried to scream. Ayman saw his faces in the shadows -*Ravencroft patients, doctors killed during the experiments, and others he did not recognize*. Everyone repeated the same sentence, in choir:
*"The project Phoenix does not sleep. He is reborn. "*
Ayman stumbled into a clearing where the fog formed static figures. In the center, a girl in a white -dressed white dress swayed a headless teddy bear. His feet did not touch the floor.
* "You are not one of them,"* she said, turning her face. Half of it was charred. *"Molly looks for you."*
Ayman retreated. *"Where is she?"*
The girl pointed north. *"There, where ghosts are born. In the *Sanatorium of the Motters *. But be careful… they know you're alive. "*
Before he asked more, the fog stirred. The figures approached, forming a circle around the clearing. The Girl-Girl Sibid: *"Run! It's the*procession*! "*
Ayman ran, but the trees closed in front of him. The ghosts dragged him back to the clearing, where the fog now projected images:
- *Molly, in a corridor of green tiles, his partially translucent body, fighting against creatures made of black smoke. *
- *Men from lab coat opening coffins in an underground morgue, removing corpses with the symbol of the triangle eye painted on the forehead. *
- *Vorstaan, alive, in a room full of screens, watching other hospitals around the world. *
*"The Phoenix Project is*seeds*,"*The girl whispered to Ayman's ear. *"Each hospital plants a fragment of the devourer. When everyone germinates, it will be reborn complete. "*
The ghosts loose him. Ayman fell to his knees, rinled with sweat. The ghost girl put her hand burned on her shoulder. His touch was cold as the winter of Levaosnia.
* "My name was Lira,"* she said. *"They turned me a ghost at Ravencroft. They said it would be*immortal*, but they only got it. "*She opened her mouth, revealing a cut tongue. *"Help us to rest. Destroy the nuclei. "*
Ayman raised, determined. *"How do I find the Sanatorium of the Mosts?"*
Lira pointed to the next river. *"Follow the dead water. She leads to their cemetery. But don't trust in the living you find… just the dead. "*
---
** The river of souls **
The river water was thick, tinged with red rust. Ayman followed his bank, avoiding looking at the reflection-*in it, he was surrounded by shadows of hands that tried to pull him inside*. The ghosts of the procession followed him from a distance, like a funeral entourage.
On the third day of walking, he found a barbed wire fence with a corroded plate:
** Sanatorium of the Mosts - Spiritual Rehabilitation Center **
The building was a nineteenth -century stone fortress, with gothic towers and board -covered windows. In the gates, rusty currents supported the bodies of dead animals -*symbolic guardians*. Ayman climbed the fence, cutting his hands on the wire.
Inside, the sanatorium was silent, but *full *. Ghosts occupied each room: patients tied to invisible strength shirts, bone -needled nurses, doctors who repeated surgeries in no longer existed. Everyone ignored Ayman… until he arrived in room 303.
At the door, a name: *Dra. Elisa Vorn*.
Inside, a clean stalk woman wrote in a diary. She was *solid *, alive. When he saw Ayman, he smiled.
*"Ah, Molly's brother. Finally."*
Ayman wielded a stone. *"Where is she?"*
The woman laughed. *"I am not your enemy. I worked with Vorstaan… until I found out he lied. The project Phoenix is not about immortality - it's about*harvest*. "*She opened the diary, showing photos of patients with bites. *"The devourer feeds on *souls *. Hospitals are fields of cultivation. "*
*"And Molly?"*
Dr. Vorn closed his eyes. *"She is a glorious accident. Vorstaan wanted a host, but the devourer chose her as *litter *. His eggs carry his fragments. If she dies, new nuclei will be born. "*
The bedroom door closed alone. Molly's screams echoed on the walls. * "She's here, isn't she?"* Ayman advanced against the doctor.
*"Not here. *Between*. "*A Dra. Vorn pointed to a mirror covered by a black cloth. *"The Sanatorium of the Mosts is a portal. The ghosts you see are… *messengers *. Molly is on the other side, attached to* - where the devourer's nuclei connect. "*
Before Ayman could answer, Dr. Vorn spitted blood. A knife of bones emerged from his chest-*Lira, the ghost girl, had stabbed her from behind*.
* "She lied,"* Lira he sibed. *"It's a reaper *. Collect souls for the devourer. "*
Dr. Vorn laughed, even dying. *"The procession will come to you, Ayman. They know that you are the key…*the last pure soul*. "**
The sanatorium trembled. Windows broke, and the ghosts began to UIVAR. Lira pulled Ayman out of the room as the floor collapsed.
* "The procession is a ghost storm,"* she shouted, dragging him over an underground tunnel. *"They will use you to open the Entre Portal! If the devourer takes his soul, he will become invincible! "*
In the tunnel, Ayman found what was left of Molly: a scratched wall message with a bloody nail.
** "Ayman - I heard your voice. The project Phoenix is greater. Hospitals in each country. Destroy the sanatorium. Burn everything. I will try to hold them here. "**
Lira looked at him, her burned eyes shining. *"There is gasoline in the warehouse. I hold them. You fire. "*
---
** The sacrifice of ghosts **
Ayman ran to the warehouse while the sanatorium collapsed. Ghosts attacked him, but Lira had them with a supernatural fury, his ghost body disintegrating with each blow.
When the flames swallowed the Sanatorium of the Mosts, the screams were relieved, not pain. Ghosts smiled as they burned, free. Lira, in the midst of fire, whispered: *"Find the *iron circle *… are the ones who resist the devourer…" *
Ayman fled to the forest, the sanatorium ruined behind him. In his pocket, the clone's flash drive pulsed like a heart. He connected him to an abandoned radio in a nearby cabin. Among the frequencies, a family voice:
*"Ayman… if you're listening… the iron circle is in *Blackwater *. They know how to get to me. Don't trust… in the living. "*
It was Molly.
But before he answered, a new voice cut the transmission -*vorstaan*, now a digital distortion:
*"You only postponed the inevitable. The procession of the shadows already goes to the next hospital. And this time…*they will take you*. "*
On the horizon, a storm of flashing lights approached. Humanoid forms flew amid swirls, dragging currents and instruments of torture.
*The procession.*
Ayman took a map from the cabin. The next target was clear:
** WYRMING STATE HOSPITAL - 200 km south **
He accelerated the abandoned jeep, knowing that the ghosts would follow him. And Molly… *she was still alive *, somewhere between the flesh and the spirit.
** End of Chapter 7. **
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** NOTE: ** This chapter plunges into the folklore of history, revealing that ghosts are both victims and weapons of the devourer. The "procession of the shadows" is a horde of enslaved souls that precedes the activation of new nuclei. The introduction of the * iron circle * (a resistance group) and Molly's location in * between * prepares the land for multiple dimensions confrontations, while the Phoenix project proves to be a global possession pandemic.