The Brenner apartment had turned into a silent battlefield, the air heavy with a tension that weighed like fog. Quinn, confined to a wheelchair after the accident, lay in bed with her legs in casts, her pale face reflecting exhaustion and fear. Cassian, stationed in the living room at Sean's request following days of inexplicable phenomena, reviewed his tools: the ceremonial dagger, vials of holy water, and a Latin prayer book. Since his arrival, the events had escalated: knocks echoed on the walls at midnight, a bell Sean had left by Quinn's bedside rang on its own, and that morning, bloody footprints had appeared on the floor, leading to a broken window without explanation.
Sean burst into the room, his face contorted with disbelief as he held the phone.
"This has to stop, Cassian," he said, his voice trembling with anger and desperation. "My daughter is terrified. Last night she heard something in the wall, thought it was the neighbor, but he wasn't home. Then that damn bell rang by itself, and when I came in, it was shaking. What's happening here? You said you could handle it, but it seems to be getting worse."
Cassian looked up, his expression serene but his eyes sharp as blades.
"It's getting worse because what she called won't leave without a fight. It's a demon, not a lost spirit. I've faced them before, but this one's different. It doesn't want to possess her; it wants her soul to torture for eternity. I can smell it in the air: sulfur, decay. It has a name, or at least a form. They call it 'The Man Who Can't Breathe.' I saw it at the accident, and I feel it here now."
Sean stared at him incredulously, running a hand through his disheveled hair.
"A demon? Are you seriously expecting me to believe that? She's my daughter, not a horror movie! She's been depressed since Lillith died, and now she's injured. Maybe she just needs a doctor, not a priest with knives and magic water. How do you know you're not making this up to scare us more?"
Cassian stood up, adjusting the crucifix around his neck with a slow movement.
"I'm not making anything up. The footprints you saw this morning weren't left by a man. The blood wasn't human; it smelled of ancient death. If you don't believe me, look at Quinn. She feels it, she sees it. Ask her what she heard last night, and then tell me if it's me who's scaring her."
Sean pressed his lips together, his gaze wavering between doubt and fear.
"Fine, I'll talk to her. But if this is madness, you're out of my house. I won't let you mess with her head."
He entered Quinn's room, where she sat on the bed, staring at the bell with glassy eyes.
"Quinn, sweetheart, I need you to tell me what happened last night," Sean said, softening his tone. "Cassian says something's stalking you. Is that true? What did you hear?"
Quinn looked up, her voice trembling but clear.
"It was like… knocks on the wall. I thought it was Héctor, the neighbor, so I knocked back, like a game. I did the 'Shave and a Haircut,' and something finished the pattern. I texted Héctor, and he said he wasn't home. Then the bell rang by itself, Dad. I didn't touch it, I swear. I was so scared I turned off the light and stayed still, but I felt something watching me."
Sean paled, turning toward Cassian, who had silently entered behind him.
"What does that mean? What's doing this? I can't protect her if I don't understand what's going on!"
Cassian crossed his arms, his tone calm but filled with certainty.
"It means it's playing with her, testing her. It wants her to be afraid, to give up. It's not a lost spirit; it's a conscious, cunning demon. But it won't touch her while I'm here. We need more help, someone who can see what I can't. Do you know Elise Rainier?"
Sean frowned, nodding slowly.
"The medium? Quinn went to see her weeks ago, before the priest. She said she couldn't contact Lillith, that something interrupted her. I thought she was a fraud, but… do you think she knows what to do?"
Cassian nodded.
"She has a gift. If she can enter the plane where this thing lives, we might understand it better. Call her. Now."
Sean dialed the number with trembling hands, and after a tense conversation, Elise Rainier arrived at the apartment that night. She was an older woman, her face wrinkled but her eyes piercing, carrying a bag of ritual objects. When she saw Cassian, she assessed him cautiously.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice firm but weary. "You're not an ordinary priest, I can tell. What are you doing here?"
Cassian inclined his head, his tone serene.
"I'm Cassian. The Vatican sent me. I face what lurks in the shadows. Quinn awakened something when she called for her mother, and I'm here to stop it. You already felt it, didn't you? When you tried to help her before."
Elise nodded, sitting beside Quinn with a sigh.
"Yes, I felt it. I tried to contact Lillith weeks ago, but something blocked me. A dark, strong presence. It almost killed me then, and I didn't want to come back. But if you're here, I suppose I have no choice. What do you know that I don't?"
Cassian knelt beside the bed, looking at Quinn.
"It's 'The Man Who Can't Breathe.' He doesn't possess; he drags souls into torment. I saw him at the accident, and I feel him now. I need you to enter 'The Other Side' and confront it. I'll protect her here."
Elise looked at him skeptically but agreed.
"Alright. But if I die in there, it's on you. Sean, stay with Quinn. Cassian, keep watch. This won't be easy."
Elise closed her eyes, entering a trance as her breathing slowed. In 'The Other Side,' she found herself in a dark hallway, but the Bride in Black, a malevolent spirit with a pale face and black dress, attacked her, bony hands wrapping around her throat. Elise screamed, returning to the physical world with a gasp, trembling.
"I can't!" she exclaimed, her voice broken. "It's too strong. Something else is there, not just Quinn's demon. It was going to kill me."
Cassian, with his usual coldness, cut his palm and traced a circle of blood around Quinn, reciting: "In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, te protego." The air vibrated, but a rattling roar echoed, repelling him. He remained steadfast, looking at Elise.
"What did you see?" he asked, his voice icy.
Elise took a deep breath, still trembling.
"It was the Bride in Black, but behind her… it was him. The one with the oxygen mask. He's stronger than I expected, Cassian. Quinn might be losing part of her soul. I don't know if I can go back in there."
Sean, desperate, interjected.
"Then what do we do! My daughter can't keep going like this. If you can't handle it, I'll find someone else."
Cassian looked at him with cold eyes.
"There's no time. But there are others. Specs and Tucker, paranormal bloggers. I've heard them mentioned. Call them, but don't expect much."
Sean dialed the number, and soon Specs and Tucker arrived, carrying clunky equipment and talking nervously.
"We're experts at this," Specs said, adjusting his glasses. "We've recorded ghosts before. How bad can it be?"
Tucker, holding a camera, laughed.
"Yeah, relax. We record it, upload it, and we're done. Easy."
Their incompetence became clear when a loud bang shook the wall, and Specs dropped his equipment. That night, as they tried to record, the demon dragged Quinn from her bed, leaving her on the floor with red marks on her neck. Sean lifted her, shouting, while Cassian and Elise exchanged a tense glance.
"We'll work together," Cassian said, his voice low but determined. "This isn't over until we face it."
Elise nodded, still pale.
"So be it. But we're at a disadvantage, and you know it."
Silence fell, broken only by the distant rattling of the demon, lurking in the shadows.