Urban Ghost Catcher

Chapter 3 Knocking on the Door

Back in his room, Seven Nights shut the door. He didn't turn on the light. It was late at night, and the stars outside the window were scattered on the floor. In the dark room, Seven Nights sat at his desk and slowly removed the black satin from his eyes. The mirror on the desk reflected the face of a handsome young man. Seven Nights was very handsome. If he took the black satin from his eyes and tidied himself up a bit, coupled with his inexplicably aloof and deep temperament, he would definitely be a handsome schoolboy.

Unfortunately, he always wears black satin over his eyes, and his status as a disabled person completely obscures his charisma. In the mirror, Seven Nights has his eyes closed. His eyebrows are slightly furrowed, the eyelids covering his eyes are trembling as if he is trying very hard to open them, and even his hands are clenched into fists. One second, two seconds, three seconds... His body trembled for a long time and finally, unable to bear it any longer, it suddenly relaxed and he gasped heavily. A few drops of sweat trickled down Seven Nights' cheeks, and a look of anger appeared between his eyebrows.

So close... so close! Why was it always so close? When would he be able to open his eyes again and see the world for himself? He had lied when he said he could see now. His eyes could not open at all, not even a c***k. But he hadn't lied. For even with his eyes closed, he could clearly 'see' everything around him. It was an amazing feeling, as if he had eyes all over his body, able to perceive everything in all directions, seeing more clearly and farther than before.

At first he couldn't. For the first five years after he lost his sight, he was no different from the rest of the truly blind and could only perceive the world through sound and the walking stick in his hand. But for some reason, starting five years ago, something seemed to have changed in his eyes and he was able to begin to perceive his surroundings. At first he could only see a few centimetres in front of him, but as time went on he could 'see' further and further away, and more and more clearly. Now, five years later, the range he can 'see' has reached ten metres. If a normal person could only see ten metres, his eyes would be basically useless, but for a young man who has lost his sight, those ten metres mean everything. The crucial thing is that the ten metres he 'sees' are ten metres that ignore obstacles.

In other words, within a ten-metre radius of Seven Nights, he has absolute vision. To put it vulgarly, he can see through things, but to put it more poetically, he can see every speck of dust floating in the air, every part inside the machinery, every little move the magician makes under the table... And the source of this ability seems to be the eyes that have been closed tightly under the black satin for ten years. Despite this almost superhuman power, Seven Nights is still not satisfied. It is good to have an absolute field of vision of ten metres, but he would rather use his own eyes to see the world for himself. This is the stubbornness of a young man. Although he did not open his eyes today, he could clearly feel that...he is not far from truly opening his eyes.

After washing up, Seven Nights went to bed early as usual to get ready for the night. After all these years of living as a blind man, it was not all bad. At least he got into the habit of going to bed early. But as soon as he lay down, a mental image came to him. Under the dark cosmic sky, the dead surface of the moon, the grey-white land reflected the bleak starlight. In the centre of the moon's largest and deepest crater stood a figure like a sculpture. The figure stood quietly, as if it had been there since time immemorial, with a divine golden glow that caused all living things to bow down in awe.

Behind him, six exaggeratedly large wings spread out, blocking the sun's rays from behind and casting a huge shadow on the silver-grey ground. But what really burned into Seven Nights' mind, and would not go away, were his eyes. Those eyes, full of divine power and burning like a furnace, were as blinding as the sun at close range! He saw those eyes for a moment and his world was left in darkness.

Ten years ago he spoke the truth, but was diagnosed with mental illness. But in his heart he knew best what was real and what was delusion. Ever since he had seen the seraphim on the moon, he had known that the world... was never as simple as it seemed.

Slowly, Seven Nights fell into a deep sleep. He didn't know it, but the moment he fell asleep, two streaks of bright golden light shot out of the cracks of his eyes in the dark room and disappeared in a flash.

Tap, tap, tap... In the world of mist, Seven Nights walked alone. The mist around him swirled endlessly, and although he was clearly walking in the void, every time Seven Nights set foot, it made a crisp, thumping sound, as if there was an invisible ground beneath his feet. Seven Nights looked down at his body and sighed.

That dream again... Every night there's a knock at the door, it's tiring, isn't it? Seven Nights shook his head helplessly and took a step forward. The next moment, the surrounding mist rolled back and a strange-looking modern building appeared in front of Seven Nights. It was strange because it was clearly a modern building, but it was full of a mysterious atmosphere in the way it was detailed. For example, there was the large iron gate carved with gods and immortals, the electric lights that looked like burning fireballs, and the carved tiles that floated underfoot...

It seems to be a mixture of modern architecture and elements of those temples of ancient mythology, neither one nor the other, but there is an indescribable beauty. This kind of architecture, Seven Nights recognises it and it looks very familiar. It is very similar to the Sunshine Psychiatric Hospital where he lived for a year. The most convincing proof is that where the big words 'Sunshine Psychiatric Hospital' used to be at the entrance, there is now another line of words: 'Asylum of the Gods'.

What a strange place. Seven Nights shook his head and walked to the front of the large iron gate.

Five years ago, not only his body, but his dreams began to change. For five years, every night he has had the same dream, and the protagonist of these dreams is always this mysterious Asgard Psychiatric Hospital.

However, the doors of this asylum have always been locked and cannot be opened. Seven Nights has circled the asylum countless times, and there is only one entrance, the large iron gate in front of it. Although the surrounding walls are not high, the most outrageous thing is that every time Seven Nights jumps up, the height of the wall also increases. As for brute force... even if Seven Nights were to collapse completely, the great iron gate would not move an inch. There seems to be only one way in - knocking on the door.

Seven Nights grabbed the ring on the great iron door, took a deep breath and pounded hard on the surface of the door. Ding-dong! The sound of an ancient bell echoed through the asylum. The great iron door itself shook and swayed, but it didn't open. Ding-dong! Another blow and the door still wouldn't open. Seven Nights didn't seem surprised or annoyed by this, and continued to knock with great patience. Over the past five years, he had become acutely aware of the rules of this dream: there is no other way to open the great iron door except by knocking, and in this dream, except by knocking... there seems to be nothing else he can do. Fortunately, he never gets tired in dreams, otherwise his body would have collapsed long ago.

So Seven Nights was like a hard-working labourer, knocking at the door again and again that night...