Chapter 42: Karma
"AHHHH….."
The innkeeper’s spirit issued out a weak shout, half lament and half agony, repeating over and over: "It hurts so much, hurts so much, hurts so much…"
The first was a cathartic yelp, but it then got slowly weaker until it at last became but a murmur.
Much like someone plagued by severe narcolepsy, he struggled only briefly awake, but then involuntarily sank back into a stupor. No longer able to shout, he began to whimper and cry.
The others hanging upside-down turned toward him one by one.
At first, they’d still been whispering, just a bit of sound and they’d echo one another in endless succession. But now, they descended into a strange silence.
They looked silently upon the innkeeper. Clearly, the flesh at the corners of their mouths had been pulled to their cheekbones, but because they were hanging upside-down, they appeared extremely sorrowful.
"Why is he crying…" someone softly asked.
This statement went down like water into hot oil; those suspended spirits suddenly shook, and then exploded.