Phantasma

Ophelia doesn’t see Genevieve and thinks the voice might have been a cruel trick by Phantasma. She finds her way back to her room and unpacks before bathing. During her bath, she has lustful thoughts about the stranger. She goes to bed. When she wakes, there’s a ghoul haunting her bathroom, with gore and blood everywhere. Afraid, Ophelia tries to leave her room, but the door seems stuck. She manages to open it and falls into a void. She feels like she’s falling forever until she crashes through the ceiling of the dining room and sees the stranger again.

He asks her where she fell from and seems shocked that she was able to leave her room at all. He is even more surprised when he realizes that Ophelia summoned the Whispering Gate, something no mortal should be capable of doing. She tells him that she’s a Necromancer and only entered Phantasma to find Genevieve. The stranger questions why she doesn’t want to win. He doesn’t answer her questions about Genevieve or the name Gabriel, and Ophelia reminds him that she offered to help him when they met before she entered Phantasma. Surprised, he introduces himself as Blackwell, and she gives him her name in return. He tells her that she’s the one he’s been waiting for.

Blackwell offers Ophelia a blood bargain, but Ophelia rejects his proposition without even hearing the terms. Blackwell follows her back to her room and tells her that if she accepts his bargain, he will get rid of all the haunts for her. To demonstrate, he snaps his fingers, and the Ghoul in Ophelia’s bathroom disappears. As a Phantom, he has the power to move other supernatural beings to the Other Side. She must complete the competition’s levels by herself, but he can offer her some assistance. He also reveals that he is trapped in Phantasma for eternity unless he can escape. Ophelia reminds him that he told her about needing a heart and a key to find freedom, a detail that Blackwell does not remember. Phantasma interferes with his memories. If Ophelia takes his bargain and fails to help him find his freedom, he will take a decade of her life.

Night Two of Phantasma

Ophelia has a sensual dream about Blackwell. When she wakes, she realizes it’s time for the first level. She goes to the dining room and eats. She sees Luci looking haggard, and the two of them ignore the pompous male contestants who try to talk to them, especially Eric, who seemingly wants to win to help his wealthy father escape charges of tax evasion. Another contestant, James, says that the nine levels of Phantasma are based on the Nine Circles of Hell, so the first level must be Limbo. After the group finishes eating, a Devil named Zel, with horns for his Devil’s Mark, summons them for the Limbo level. He explains that they may forfeit now, but once in the level they must bargain for their freedom. If they win, they will receive a Winner’s Mark. Zel gives them clues that will help them in the level: “In deepening light, where senses fade, a labyrinth vast, a daunting maze. No sight, no sound, no touch to guide, navigate true or be crushed inside. Beware the beast, within the heart, and find the door, back to start” (96).

He starts summoning the contestants through the portal into the level. When Ophelia steps through the portal, she’s transported into a place of nothingness.

Ophelia is in a bright white room, and with horror she realizes that she cannot feel anything. None of her senses work except sight. She remembers her mother’s lessons about Hell and Heaven. Hell is not only an afterlife for evil people, and some souls can choose which circle of Hell to reside in. Heaven is populated by Ephemeral beings, but Ophelia doesn’t know as much about them as she does the Devils and Demons of Hell. The Shadow Voice taunts her as she tries to remain calm.

She approaches a maze and starts to navigate through it as her vision begins to fade. She uses her magic to mark parts of the maze she’s seen before. She makes it to the end of the maze and sees a sleeping Hellhound. She realizes the Hellhound is guarding the exit out of the Limbo level. She watches in horror as Cade and one of his friends rush to the exit, managing to escape the level but waking the Hellhound in the process. The Hellhound rushes and attacks the remaining contestants. Ophelia runs through the maze to avoid it, running into another contestant. She helps him flee from the Hellhound. Ophelia uses her magic to blast the Hellhound and drags the other contestant through the door to safety with her.

Ophelia berates Cade for putting everyone at risk by waking the Hellhound. He tells her that those stupid enough to make a deal with the Devils deserve their fate. He then taunts her and attacks her. When he grabs at Ophelia, her arm turns transparent, and his hand passes through it. Cade then accuses Ophelia of being a Demon and working for Phantasma, which she denies. The food on the table turns rotten, and many insects appear, which Cade takes as further confirmation of Ophelia being a Devil. He tries to stab her in the chest, and Ophelia turns translucent from the neck down. As Cade continues to try to attack Ophelia, Blackwell appears and scares Cade away after he calls Ophelia derogatory names. Blackwell helps Ophelia leave and warns her that another creature worse than the Hellhound is coming. He offers Ophelia the blood bargain again, and she still refuses. He tells her to wait for his signal to avoid the monster. She doesn’t. She’s then attacked by a giant serpent that bites her shoulder.

The serpent releases Ophelia’s shoulder, and she uses her magic to blast the creature, then grabs a longsword from the wall and kills it. She hears Genevieve’s voice, then turns and sees Genevieve. She follows her down the hallway, though something is off about Genevieve’s voice. She begins to feel dizzy and faint. Arms and a velvet voice envelop her, and she loses consciousness.

Night Three of Phantasma

Ophelia wakes up in her bedroom still injured. Blackwell is in her room and tells her that the Genevieve she saw was a Poltergeist, a ghost of a deceased Demon capable of mimicry, whose ultimate goal is to possess a living mortal and steal their soul. He chastises Ophelia for failing to wait for his signal and not trusting him. He offers to heal her, but his magic isn’t strong enough for healing until she agrees to the blood bargain. He tells her she did a good job in the Limbo level, revealing that he can see what happens in the challenge levels due to his status as a Phantom. He thinks that she’ll succeed at Phantasma and is hopeful that she can find the heart and key that tether him to the manor. He offers her the blood bargain again and reminds her of the terms: He will appear whenever she summons him and help her when she’s in danger, and in return she will help him find the tether or give him a decade of her life. She’s worried a decade is all she has left, but Blackwell tells her that the lifeline on her palm is long. He also tells her again that he hasn’t felt hopeful for escape in a long time.

Ophelia wants a gift in exchange for helping Blackwell escape, and he tells her that he will do his best, but her best bet for saving Grimm Manor is to win Phantasma and win the Devil’s Grant, a favor more powerful than any other. Ophelia agrees to make the blood bargain, but she stipulates that she will not kill anyone in the competition. He tells her not to be so sure about that. He retrieves an onyx dagger and slices their palms before pressing them together, mingling their blood as he recites some ancient words. All she must do is say his name three times to summon him. This mechanism, with its repetition of three, pleases the Shadow Voice. After finishing the ritual, Blackwell heals Ophelia’s shoulder and tells her it’s time to get started.

Blackwell and Ophelia return to the secret corridor in her bedroom where she encountered the frightening creature on the first night of Phantasma. As they walk, Ophelia tells Blackwell about Genevieve: She’s afraid that Genevieve has carelessly put herself in danger, too enchanted by the idea of solving all their problems to consider what Phantasma could cost her. She also tells Blackwell about her mother’s death.

She asks Blackwell about the structure of the haunts, but he tells her that only the Devils know what haunts will appear when and that the manor has a mind of its own. Only the Devils and the contestants that make it to Level Nine meet the creator. Ophelia asks Blackwell how he became trapped here, if he’s not a ghost who performs the haunts. He doesn’t know. He tells her that many of the contestants who have previously agreed to his blood bargain have won Phantasma, but they failed to free him, giving him decades of their lives that keep him powerful. He tells her not to be compassionate, as those with soft hearts suffer and perish in Phantasma. They reach a door, and Ophelia opens it, revealing a broom closet. Blackwell tells her to picture what room she wants and to try again. When she opens it, it’s a different room. They enter.

Ophelia and Blackwell find nothing in the room from the secret corridor, so they continue their search throughout the manor, in the drinking parlor and then the library. Ophelia finds nothing, and nothing seems familiar to Blackwell. Ophelia asks questions to try to get to know Blackwell better. His earliest memories of Phantasma are no help; Ophelia wonders if he died in Phantasma, if he was an immortal, perhaps a vampire, who met his end in the manor. He’s not sure. She then asks him the basics: His favorite color is red, and his favorite book is Frankenstein. They are interrupted by Jasper, one of the Devils. He makes fun of Blackwell for still being stuck and asks if he’s kissed Ophelia yet, implying Blackwell has had romantic relationships with his other bargainers in the past. When Jasper leaves, Ophelia asks Blackwell why he hasn’t kissed her. He asks her if she wants him to, and she lies and denies it. He tells her that her left eye twitches when she lies and informs her that the next challenge is based on Lust.