ゆっくりと水面へ浮上するような浮遊感。

　ともすれば安寧の安らぎに浸された、暗闇の中から延ばされた手に深い深い水底まで引き込まれそうなまどろみから、浮上していく。

　ぼんやりとしたまま目を開くと、そこには朽ちて薄汚れ、コンクリートが剥き出しになった天井があった。

　懐かしい。

　見覚えのない筈の天井に、ふとそんな想いがよぎる。

　けれど何故か、今見ている天井の、朽ちる以前の姿を知っている、そんな気がした。

　そこまで考えて、弾かれたように意識がクリアになる。そして、
「…知らない天井だ」
　と横たわったままで呟き、奇妙な義務感と達成感を満足させると、ランは体を起こして周囲を見渡した。
（ここは…そっか、私…）
　記憶を手繰り、すぐに自分がパーティー会場から誘拐されたのだという事を思い出す。
　ヘリの中では札のような物を手足に貼り付けられ、身動きが取れないでいた。あれはおそらく紫月が使う呪符の類だろうか、霊体を拘束するものだったのだろうと思う。場所は解らない、とにかくパーティー会場で実体化を強制解除した幼い自分そっくりな霊が、終始興味深げに覗き込んでくるのが不気味だったのと、逃げようと必死で足掻いていた為に、どこへ連れて来られたのかなど気にしている余裕は無かったのだ。仮に判ったところで土地勘の無いランには結局、自分のいる場所を知りようもなかっただろうが。
　目的地に到着した、と思ったのを微かに覚えているのは、ヘリが着地する揺れが解ったからだ。しかし呪符の拘束を逃れられず、額にそっともう一枚の呪符を当てがわれてからの記憶が無い。きっと身動きがとれぬまま抵抗の意思を見せるランの連行に手を焼きそうだと判断され、意識を奪われたのだろう。そして目覚めたのがこの部屋だ。
　長く放置された廃病院の一室を思わせる部屋。その隅の、ランが寝かされていたパイプベッドの横に、適当に用意されたと思しきパイプ椅子が一脚あるのみで、家具と呼べるものは一切見られない。外の様子を窺おうにも窓の類は存在せず、部屋と外を繋いでいるのはノブの無い錆の浮いた鉄のドアだけで、自分が何処に居るのかさえ知る事を許されなかった。
　部屋の中を観察してみると、やはり長い間人の手が入った痕跡はなく、所々にヒビの入る壁と床、天井を這う錆びたパイプと通気ダクトの打ち捨てられた無機質さが、心に薄ら寒さを植え付ける。この寂れた部屋の中で唯一、ベッドに敷かれた真新しいシーツだけがちぐはぐで、殊更異質さを彩っていた。
　ちくり、と頭の奥が痛む。
　ほんの一瞬だったが、痛みは一つの光景をランの脳裏に浮かび上がらせた。
　フラッシュバック、幻覚、どちらともつかないそれは、とても気持ちが悪くて、とても嫌な気分になる光景。
　部屋の中、いくつもの黒い塊が揺れ動く。
　黒い塊はランだ。全て。全てがランで、全てがランではない。
　意志の感じられない目で、虚ろに笑い、晴れる事の無い憎しみに打ち震え、絶え間ない苦痛に苦しみ、恐怖から逃れようと許しを乞いながら、虚空を見つめ、混ざり合い、離れていく、希薄な存在が「そこにある」だけ。
　それを見ている自分。黒い塊の自分。怒りに歪む悪鬼の顔をした自分が、一つの感情のみに支配された自分達を眺めている。
　やり場のない怒りがランを満たしていく。

　声。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　声。
　　　　　　　　　　　　誰かの声。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　声。
　　　　　誰の声？　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　声がする。
　　私。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　誰？　　　　　　　　　　　　　私の声。
　　　　　　　　イタイ　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　クルシイ
ユルシテ　　　　　　　　　　　　ニクイ　　　　　　　　　　　　　タスケテ
　　　　シニタクナイ　　　　　　　　　コロシテ　　　　　　　　　　　　　コロス
　　ワタシ　　　　　　　ワタシガコワレル　　　　　　コエ　　　　　　ワタシ？

「私は…誰？」
　そう口にして我に返った。次いで胃がせり上がるのを感じ、両手で口を押えて込み上げたものを抑え込んだ。
（落ち着いて、落ち着くのよ。きっと誘拐された不安と緊張で軽く錯乱しているんだわ、精神的なストレスで訳の解らない妄想をしているだけ…）
　気付けば荒くなっていた呼吸を整えていく内に、その原因がかつて自分が殺された地下室とこの部屋が似ている所為だろう、と結論付けたランは、恐る恐る自分の体を確認し始めた。
　体にはかすり傷ひとつ無く、暴行を受けた痕跡も無い。パーティーで着ていたドレスには乱れも脱がされた形跡は見られず、僅かに皺になっているのはこのままで寝かされていたからだろう。メイドに整えてもらい結い上げていた髪は、連れてこられる間にずっと暴れていた所為でほどけきってしまっていて、親友達がシルクのようだと褒めてくれた手触りは失われ、埃まみれでざらついていた。
　髪に触れていた手を見て気付いたのは、身に付けていたジュエリー類が指輪を除き無くなっている事だ。暴れている間に外れて落としたか、誘拐犯の手で外されたか、できれば落としていた方が、自分を探しているであろう義姉達の手助けになるのだけれど。
（でも、いくらあの人でも私を見付けられないかもしれない。なんとか…自力で脱出できるかどうか、試してみなくちゃ）
　今の自分は無力な少女ではない。ただ閉じ込められているだけなら、幽霊の自分になら脱出は容易だ。何故か抗えなかった、あの幼い自分そっくりの霊には捕まってしまうかもしれないが、幸い今は一人きりだ。行動に移すなら早ければ早い方が良いだろう。
　…と思ったのは流石に甘い考えだった。霊体化して壁を抜けようと試みても、実体化している時同様、壁はランの手を押し返し、すり抜ける事はできなかった。当然、床や天井も同様だ。よく見てみればパイプやダクトの影、部屋の四隅と所々に呪符が見える。どうやら物体透過と封じる対霊用の呪符らしい。
「まるで幽霊を閉じ込めるのを前提にしてるみたい…」
　何の為に、と考えかけて、すぐにやめた。考えたところで答えは出せそうもないし、脱出の手段に繋がる訳でもない。それに今は、一刻も早くこの部屋を出る方法を探る方が先決であり、考える時間さえ惜しいのだ。
　パイプやダクトもすり抜けられない事を一通り確認してから、ランはドアに向かった。やはりすり抜けるのは無理そうで、鉄のドアは嘲るようにランを見下ろしている。
「どっちみち、駄目で元々だものね」
　ノブが無い為に引く事はまず無理なのは解っているから、ドアを力一杯押してみた。それから様々な角度から力を入れて押すがビクともしない。
「はぁ、はぁ…玉竜なら壊せるんだろうけど、私じゃそんな事できないし…あと試すべきはお約束、だよね」
　誰に聞かせるでもなく独り言ちると、今度は横向きに、ドアをスライドさせるように力を込めた。
「あっ」
　表から「カチャン」という微かな手応え。勢いを付けて横に滑らせると、重いドアはガリガリと音を立て、外へ続く道が開いていく。
「よし、開いた！ふふん、このくらいなら、私の力でも開けられ…る………」
　開いたドアの向こう、薄暗い廊下には、ランの視界を塞ぐように野戦服を着た大きな岩…もとい、男が立っていて、バッチリ目が合った。
　数秒間は見つめ合っただろうか。ランは無言でドアを閉めると、後ろ向き歩きでドアから離れ、ベッドの上にぴょこんと乗り、
「じーざす」
　親友達には見せられない表情でシーツを握り締め、そう吐き捨てた。

「様子を見ようと鍵を開けてみれば、勝手に開くから何事かと思ったぞ。自力で脱出しようとするとはな、大人しそうに見えるが、なかなかどうして肝の据わったお嬢さんだ」
　折角閉めたドアを開け、野戦服の男がのっそりと部屋に入ってくるのを感じたランは、キッと男を睨み付けた。
「ほう、この状況でありながらそんな目付きができるか」
　値踏みするように向けられる視線に気圧されたランだったが、それを悟られまいと強気の姿勢を保つ。
「何が狙いなのかは知らないけど、私を誘拐したのは失敗だったわね。必ず後悔する事になるんだから…！」
「誘拐とは人聞きの悪い」
　男の陰から現れた枯れ木のように痩せ細った老人。ランは知る由もないが、この老人はリュート・カーマインと共にパーティー会場を去った執事であった。
「これが誘拐でなくて何だというの！？あの人を…シュトラヘルツ財閥を敵に回して、ただで済むと思わないで！それに…」
　男と執事を睨み付けたまま、ベッドの上で立ち上がったランのドレスのスカートが大きく膨らみ、ジャックという名で呼んでいる巨大なカボチャに変わった。カボチャの顔を形作る穴から見える、ランの存在していない体の部分からは、光すら通さぬ深い闇が覗く。ハロウィンの日に殺され、怨霊として黄泉返ったことで、都市伝説に引きずられる形でハロウィンに相応しい愛嬌のある姿形になってはいるが、これがランの本気を表す姿だった。
「会場では不覚を取ったけど、私はハロウィンの怨霊ジャック・オ・ランたん！大人しく捕まっていると思ったら大間違いよ！」
　雄々しく啖呵を切るが、玉竜や紫月のように戦いというものに慣れていないランの内心では、恐怖が渦巻いている。ジャックから派手に鬼火を呼び出しての威嚇に、男が銃を抜きランに向けたが、執事がそれを手で制した。
「成程、そうやって自我が芽生えましたか…いや、記憶に浸食されたのですかな？なんとも哀れな…我々にとっては好都合ですがね」
「！？」
　執事の言葉に虚を突かれ、鬼火が勢いを失う。「自我を得た」「記憶に浸食された」、何の事を言っているのか解らないのに、何故だか自分の存在を脅かす言葉に思えた。
「我々は貴女を誘拐したのではなく、取り戻したに過ぎません。どうやらすっかりお忘れのようなので思い出させて差し上げましょう、ジャック・オ・ランたんという怨霊は間違いなく故エトランゼ・シュトゥーリアその人ですが、それは彼女であって貴女ではない」
　そして続いた言葉は、理解し難いものだった。彼女。貴女。まるで自分が二人いるような物言い、いや、まるで自分が自分ではないような…。
「か、彼女…？それは私の事でしょう？私は今ここにいる私だけ！意味の解らない事を言わないで！」
「では、貴女を捕まえた貴女は、どう説明なさるおつもりで？まさか『生前の記憶』があるのが証明だとでも？貴女はそれを正確に思い出せるのですか？家族や親しかった者達の顔を、どんな風に笑い、どんな声で、何を話していたかを？」
「そ、それは…」
　答えられない。膜のかかったような薄ぼんやりとした過去の記憶、幼い自分そっくりの霊、幻覚に見た、部屋中に漂う自分達、自分以外に自分が居る、否定したい、けれどできない。
　この老人の言う事はまともじゃない、聞いてはいけない。頭の奥底で警告音がけたたましく鳴り叫ぶ。今すぐここから脱出しなければ良くないことが起きる、それを理解しているのに、ランの体は金縛りにあったかのように硬直していた。動かなきゃ、そう思っても、指先ひとつ動かせなくなっていた。いつの間にかジャックは消えてなくなり、ベッドの上にへたり込んでいる自分に気付く。
　何かをされた訳ではない。ただ、ランの中で無意識での葛藤が起きていたのだ。この老人の言葉に耳を貸してはいけない、という危機感と…聞かなければならないという、微かな、しかしハッキリとした、言い様のない確信との葛藤が。
「ハッキリさせておきましょう。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　。　　　、　　　　　　」
　瞬間、全ての音が、消えた。
　執事の一言が、ランの心を空っぽにしてしまった。聞こえていたはず、けれど、頭がそれを理解していない。理解したがらない。
　何故だから解らないが、そのたった一言が、ランの中の「何か」の核心を突いた、そんな気がした。

　何て、言ったの？
　私はラン・シュトラヘルツ。エルザ・シュトラヘルツの義妹で、ジャック・オ・ランたんなんて名前で呼ばれる幽霊。
　普通の女の子だったけれど、今では普通なんて言葉がどこかへ吹き飛んでしまったような、そんな日常を送る妖怪の女の子。
　今は幽霊だけど、元は人間。
　そして、人間だった頃の、私の家族…

　思い出す。思い出せる。

　昔、まだ生きていた頃の記憶。家族でピクニックに出かけた時の記憶。覚えている。ちゃんと覚えている。

　木の上から降りられなくなった仔猫を見つけて、まだ幼かった弟が、止めるのも聞かずに仔猫を助けようと木に登り始めて、私は両親を呼びに行ったんだ。
　私が両親を連れて戻った時、弟は仔猫を抱いて木から降りようとしていた。
　でも、その途中で足を滑らせて、落っこちて。
　大した高さじゃなかったから無事だったけど、お尻から落ちた弟は泣き出したんだった。
　そんな弟を見て、両親は怒る事もできず、弟をあやすので必死だった。私も、その横でオロオロしていたっけ。
　弟がやっと泣き止んだ頃に、助けた仔猫がまるでお礼を言うように一声鳴いて、弟の手を舐めて。
　ありがとうって言ってるんだよって、お父さんが言って、お母さんがそれを聞いて吹き出して。
　私も弟も、つられて笑って。

　ほら。

　ちゃんと思い出せる。私の記憶だもの。

　こんなにも鮮明に思い出せたのに。

　どうして？

　どうして、記憶の中の家族には、顔が無いの。

　ゆっくりと言葉が浮かんでくる。
　理解を拒んでいた言葉が、その意味が、染み入るようにランの心を空虚に浸していく。

　貴女はエトランゼ・シュトゥーリアではない。

　貴女は、彼女の偽物だ。

「貴女はここで生まれた。彼女、エトランゼ・シュトゥーリアの記憶、そして怨念をダイレクトコピーされて生まれた、我々の研究の集大成…」
「い…や…いやぁ…っ」
　やめて。
　聞きたくない。
　聞きたくはないはずのに、その言葉を制止する声が出ない。耳を塞ぐことができない。
　自分が、自分ではない？
　自分だと思っていた自分を模倣して作られた、それが自分？
　なら、自分は―――エトランゼ・シュトゥーリアであった自分は、一体何者なのか？
　今、ここにいる自分が、自分である証が、バラバラになっていく。自分というものを感じられる境界線が段々と、加速度的にあやふやになっていき、何もかもが溶け剥がれ、真っ白になったキャンパスから零れ落ちていく、そんな感覚。
　違うと叫びたかった。自分はランなのだと、エトランゼ・シュトゥーリアだったのだと叫びたかった。これまでの記憶を、生きてきた証を、自分という存在を、その全てを否定される事が、ただただ恐ろしい。
　だというのに、ランの中で、カチリと。
　自分とは違う自分の記憶のピースが、はまった。

「記念すべき『人工幽霊第一号』なのですよ」

「いやああああああああああああぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁぁ！！！」
　そして。
　エトランゼ・シュトゥーリアだったものが、全て、零れ落ちた。

It was a floating feeling like she was floating on water.

She floated, surrounded by a peaceful feeling, like she was being drawn in a deep ocean, as she stretched her hands out into the darkness.

Still in a daze, she opened her eyes, and she saw a bare, dirty, crumbling, concrete ceiling.

How nostalgic.

She suddenly felt that about a ceiling that she should have no memory of.

But for some reason, she felt like she knew this ceiling, before it started crumbling.

As she thought about it, she snapped back to reality. And then,
"..It's an unknown ceiling."
She whispered, still lying down, and in order to fulfill her odd sense of duty and accomplishment, Ran got up and surveyed her surroundings.
(Where am... That's right, I...)
Her memories came flooding back, and she remembered that she had been kidnapped from the party site.
Inside the helicopter, paper-like things were placed on her arms and legs, and she couldn't move. They were probably something like the charms that Shizuki uses, and were probably things used to bind ghosts. She didn't know where she was, and there was that ghost that looked just like her younger self and forcibly sealed her turning physical at the party site. As that ghost stared deep into her, she felt a weird sensation the entire time, and since she was desperately struggling to escape, she didn't have any time to worry about where they were taking her. Even if she knew the location, Ran had no knowledge of the area, so in the end, she had no idea where she was.
She only knew that they had reached their destination from the vibrations from the helicopter as it landed. However, she couldn't escape from the shackles of the charms, and another charm was placed on her forehead, so she lost her memory. More than likely, even though she couldn't move, Ran would still try to resist, and that would be a bother, so they made her lose consciousness. And when she woke up, she was in this room.
The room seemed like a hospital room that had been abandoned a long time ago. In one corner, next to the pipe bed that Ran was sleeping on, there was a hurriedly constructed pipe chair with only one leg, and it really wasn't anything that could be called furniture. There wasn't anything like a window that she could see out of, and the only thing that connected the room to the outside was a knobless, rusted iron door. They wouldn't even let her know where she was.
Looking around the room, it seemed like there had been no traces of human activity here for a long time, and there were cracks in the wall and floor here are there. A rusted pipe and abandoned ventilation duct ran long the ceiling. The lack of anything living gave her a cold feeling in her heart. The only thing in this room, the bed with brand new sheets on it, was completely out of place and highlighted the difference.
A prickling feeling inside her head hurt.
It was just for a second, but the pain made one vision come to Ran's mind.
A flashback, or an illusion, she couldn't tell which it was, the vision was very sickening, and made her feel terrible.
Inside of a room, countless black masses were shaking.
The black mass was Ran. All of them. All of them were Ran, all of them weren't Ran.
With eyes devoid of a will, an empty smile, shaking with hatred without happiness, the anguish of endless pain, asking for forgiveness to escape this fear, while gazing at empty space, mixing in, separating, a weak existence that is only "there".
Myself watching this. Myself the black mass. Myself making a demonic face twisted with anger, staring at myselves who are being controlled by a single emotion.
With no where else to go, the anger filled Ran.

Voice.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Voice.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Someone's voice.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Voice.
　　　　　Who's voice?　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　The voice speaks.
　　　　I.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Who?　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　My voice.
　　　　　　　　It hurts　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　It's painful
Forgive me　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　I hate it　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Help me
　　　I don't want to die　　　　　　　　　　　　　Kill me　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Kill
　　I　　　　　　　　　I'm breaking　　　　　　　　　　　　　Voice　　　　　　　　　　　　　I?

"Who... am I?"
Saying that brought Ran back to reality. She felt something rising from her stomach, and she brought both hands to her mouth to hold back her nausea.
(Calm down, calm down. I must be a little disoriented from the anxiety and stress of being kidnapped, and I'm just imagining some delusion I don't understand from the mental stress...)
As she brought her ragged breath back under control, Ran concluded that the cause of this was that this place looked like the basement that she was killed in. She scaredly began to check her own body.
Her body didn't even have a scratch on it, or any traces of being assaulted. She saw no traces of the dress she wore during the party being disturbed or taken off, and only a slight wrinkle from her sleeping in it. Her hair, which was styled by the maids, had gotten messed up while she was being taken, so it was undone, and had lost the silk-like feeling that her best friends had praised her about, and felt rough, covered with dust.
Looking at her hand that touched her hair, she realized that aside from the ring, the rest of the jewelery was missing. Maybe it had fallen off in the struggle, or the kidnappers removed it. If possible, maybe the ones that had fallen could be a clue for her adoptive elder sister who was probably looking for her.
(But, even so, she might not find me. Somehow... I have to see if I can escape myself or something.)
Her current self wasn't a powerless girl. If she was just shut in here, as a ghost, it would be simple for her to escape. She might not have been able to resist being captured by that ghost that looked just like her younger self for some reason, but fortunately, she was alone now. If she was going to act, then she should do so now.
...Is what she thought, but of course, that was being naive. When she tried turning ghostly and passing through the wall, it was the same as when she had a physical body, and Ran's hand was knocked back by the wall, and she couldn't pass through it. Naturally, the floor and the ceiling were the same. It seems they had an anti-ghost charm that prevent her from passing through things.
"It looks like they already planned to shut a ghost in here..."
She thought about the reason for this, but quickly stopped. As she thought about it, it didn't seem like she would come up with an answer, and it wouldn't necessarily be related to helping her escape. And right now, looking for a way to get out of this room asap takes priority, so there was no time for thinking.
After making sure she couldn't pass through the pipes or duct, Ran turned her attentions towards the door. Of course, she couldn't pass through that, and it was like the door was looking down with a sneer on Ran.
"Either way, it looks like it was pointless from the start."
Since there was no know, she knew that pulling on it was an impossibility, so she tried pushing it with all her strength. And then she tried pushing on it from various angles, but it didn't budge.
"Hah, hah... If Tamaryuu was here, she could break it, but I can't do that... But I have to try."
There was no one else around to hear here, so she was just talking to herself. This time, she put her effort into sliding the door from the side.
"Ah"
She hear a slight "clack" from the outside. If she forced it from the side and slid it, the head door made a grinding sound, and the path towards the outside was opening.
"All right, it opened! Heheh, with this, I can open it with my own... strength......"
In the dim hallway, facing towards the open door, there was a giant rock... or rather, a man wearing fatigues that was blocking Ran's view, and their eyes met.
For a couple of seconds, they stared at each other. Ran silently closed the door, and walked backwards away from the door, and lied down on the bed.
"Jesus."
She spit that out, and she grasped the situation, with an expression that she couldn't show her best friends.

"When you tried unlocking it so you could look around, I thought something was happening and it was opening on its own. So you were trying to escape, huh. You look pretty docile, but you've got some guts, little lady."
The door she finally closed was opened, and the fatigue wearing man slowly entered the room. Sensing this, Ran glared at the man.
"Oh, even in this situation, you still have fight in your eyes."
Turning his sights on Ran in order to judge her, Ran felt intimidated, but he didn't know that, so she kept up her strong willed attitude.
"I don't know what your goal is, but you made a mistake in kidnapping me. You will definitely regret it...!"
"Kidnapping makes it sound so bad."
Appearing from the man's shadow was an old man who was thin and frail, like a withered tree. Ran had no way of knowing this, but this old man was the butler that left the party with Ryuuto Carmine.
"If this isn't a kidnapping, then what is it! This guy... He's making an enemy of the Schtlehertz Konzern, so don't think this is over! And..."
Glaring at the man and the butler, Ran stood on top of the bed, and the dress of her skirt puffed out, and turned into the giant pumpkin known as Jack. Forming the pumpkins face from what looked like a hole, it was the part of Ran's body that didn't exist, and they could see a darkness so thick that light couldn't pierce it. Killed on Halloween, and reborn as a vengeful spirit, and influenced by urban legends, she took on a form appropriate for the fun of Halloween, but this was Ran's form when she got serious.
"I was beat at the party, but I am the vengeful spirit of Halloween, Jack-o-Ran-tan! If you think I'll be quietly captured, you're making a huge mistake!"
Ran gave a gallant speech, but unlike Tamaryuu or Shizuki, she wasn't used to fighting, so in her heart, was drowning in fear. Threateningly summoning demon fire from Jack, the man drew his gun and pointed it at Ran, but the butler stopped him.
"I see, so your self-awareness has bloomed? ...No, your memories have degraded? How sad... Though very convenient for us."
"!?"
The butler's words pierced her, and the demon fire lost its power. "Obtained self awareness" "memories degraded", she didn't know what he was talking about, but somehow she felt that they were words that threatened her existence.
"We didn't kidnap you, we were simply getting you back. It seems like you've completely forgotten, so let me jog your memory. The vengeful spirit Jack-o-Ran-tan certainly is the late Etranger Shutulia, but that is her, not you."
And his next words were hard to understand. Her. You. He's talking like I'm two people, no, just like I'm not me...
"H, her...? That's me, right? The only me is the one here now! Don't say things that I don't understand!"
"Then, how do you explain the you who captured you? Do you actually think that having "memories from when you were alive" is proof? Can you remember them perfectly? Your family and your friends' faces, how they laughed, their voices, what they talked about?"
"T, that's..."
She couldn't answer. Her veiled dim memories of the past, the ghost that looked just like her younger self, the illusion she saw, her selves floating in that room, her other selves than herself, she wanted to deny them, but she couldn't.
That old man isn't telling the truth, I can't listen to him. Inside her head, a warning siren was going off. If she doesn't escape right now, something bad will happen. She has to move. But even though she thought this, she couldn't move a finger. She realized that at some point, Jack had vanished, and she was now collapsed on the bed.
It's not that something was done to her. It's just that there was an unconscious conflict inside of Ran. A conflict between her sense of danger that told her that she couldn't pay any heed to the old man's words... And a faint, but clear, unspoken belief that she had to listen to it.
"Let me make this clear. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　. 　　　,　　　　　　　　　　."
For a moment, all sound disappeared.
The butler's words made Ran's mind go blank. She should have been able to hear it, but her mind couldn't comprehend it. She didn't want to comprehend it.
She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that those words pierced the core of "something" inside of her.

What did he say?
I am Ran Schtlehertz. Elza Schtlehertz's adopted sister, a ghost known by the name of Jack-o-Ran-tan.
I was a normal girl, but now, like the word normal was blown off to somewhere else, I spend my days as a youkai girl.
I'm a ghost now, but I was originally a human.
So, when I was a human, my family...

I remember. I can remember.

I saw a kitten stuck in a tree, and my brother, who was still young, not listening to me telling him to stop, started climbing the tree to rescue the kitten. I went to get my parents.
When I brought my parents back there, my brother was holding the kitten, about to come down from the tree.
But midway down, his foot slipped, and he fell.
He wasn't very high, so he wasn't hurt, but my brother, who landed on his butt, started crying.
Looking at him, my parents weren't angry, but instead desperately tried to comfort him. I was on the side, worried.
When my brother finally stopped crying, the kitten that he saved mewed, like she was thanking him, and licked my brother's hand.
Dad said that she was saying thank you, and Mom, hearing that, laughed.
My brother and I also joined in laughing.

See.

I can remember. It's my memory.

So even though I can remember this so clearly.

Why?

Why in my memory, do none of my family have faces?

The words slowly came to mind.
The words which she had refused to understand, the meaning of them, soaked into the emptiness in Ran's mind.

You are not Etranger Shutulia. You, are her fake.

"You were born here. You were born as a direct copy of her, Etranger Shutulia's, memories, and also her grudge. The fruits of our research..."
"N...o...No..."
Stop.
I don't want to hear.
I shouldn't want to hear it, but I can't speak against those words. I can't plug up my ears.
I'm, not me?
The me who thought it was me was made as a copy, that's me?
Then, I--- The me who is Etranger Shutulia, just what am I?
The me that is here now, the proof that I exist, fell to pieces. The boundary of what I feel is me, was quickly becoming more and more vague, everything was mixing together, spilling onto a white canvas. That was how it felt.
I wanted to scream he's wrong. I wanted to scream that I am Ran, that I was Etranger Shutulia. That I remember this much, the proof that I lived, that I exist. To have all of it denied was very very scary.
But still, inside of Ran, something clicked.
The memory of herself and a different self, fit into place.

"This is cause for celebration. You are "human-made ghost number 1".

"NOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo!!!"
And then.
That which was Etranger Shutulia, completely shattered.