Charlie stared at the ancient book floating within his consciousness.
He had seen it before.
It was the same mysterious book he had purchased at a flea market shortly before dying in his original world.
Its shape, binding, and strange patterns were identical to what he remembered.
The only difference was the cover.
The old yellowed leather had been replaced by a brilliant crimson surface that did not resemble paint or dye.
It looked like the color of fresh flesh and blood.
“Is this my special ability?”
Charlie studied the book with growing unease.
Transmigrated protagonists usually received some miraculous advantage that helped them survive their new worlds, but there was something deeply wrong with the object before him.
Before he could examine it more closely, a chorus of ghostly wails erupted from inside the crimson cover.
Charlie recoiled in shock.
Hideous faces began pushing outward from every part of the book.
Some were twisted by rage while others carried expressions of endless suffering.
Their mouths opened in silent screams as their distorted hands clawed at the surface from within.
The entire cover stretched and deformed beneath their struggle.
Although the spirits appeared strong enough to tear through flesh and bone, none of them could escape the book’s restraints.
Its pages suddenly began turning by themselves.
The trapped faces immediately changed.
Their rage disappeared and was replaced by terror as an invisible force dragged them back into the crimson surface.
One after another, they vanished between the pages until the final desperate wail faded into silence.
The cover returned to its original shape.
Charlie remained frozen as he stared at the motionless book.
The brief scene had been more disturbing than anything he had witnessed in a horror movie, and it took several seconds for his racing heart to settle.
The book moved again before he could relax.
It floated across the darkness and stopped directly in front of him.
Charlie instinctively raised both hands and caught it, surprised by the cold weight pressing against his palms.
Dark light spread across the cover as several words emerged from the crimson surface.
[Book of Containment]
That was the object’s name.
Charlie sensed no immediate danger from it, so he carefully opened the cover.
The first page contained only a short inscription written in dark red lettering.
[Observe.
Control.
Contain.]
The moment he read those words, a horrifying vision filled his mind.
Countless vengeful spirits were imprisoned within an endless darkness.
They wailed, begged for mercy, and stretched their decaying hands toward him.
Charlie blinked and found himself staring at the page again.
The vision had disappeared as quickly as it arrived.
Still unsettled, he turned to the second page and discovered what appeared to be a table of contents.
The list began with [Number 000], followed by [Number 001], [Number 002], and hundreds of additional entries.
The numbering continued beyond [Number 999].
Farther down the page, the sequence seemed to stretch toward infinity.
Charlie turned to the third page, which contained the information recorded under [Number 000].
Instead of describing a ghost, demon, or mysterious object, the page displayed information about him.
[Number: 000]
[Name: Charlie Taylor]
[Type: Human]
[Physical Body: 1.1]
[Spirituality: 0.1]
[Abilities: None]
[Containment Points: 0]
[Introduction: As the natural enemy of every supernatural entity and the master of the Book of Containment, you possess the highest authority over all beings that defy natural law.
However, every authority carries an equal obligation.]
Charlie read the introduction twice but still failed to understand its true meaning.
“What exactly is this supposed to mean?”
The Book of Containment answered the moment he spoke.
A brilliant crimson light burst from its pages and swallowed his entire consciousness.
Charlie tried to release the book, but the force pulling him forward was impossible to resist.
His spiritual body was dragged between the pages.
One minute passed, followed by another.
An overwhelming amount of information entered Charlie’s mind as the Book of Containment revealed its purpose, abilities, and rules.
When he finally opened his eyes, he understood everything.
Charlie remained seated inside the passenger train with Zoe sleeping against his shoulder.
Myrtle continued reading her fashion magazine across the aisle while her two valets sat silently behind her.
None of them appeared to have noticed anything unusual.
Charlie raised one hand and quietly summoned the Book of Containment into the physical world.
The crimson book materialized above his palm, but no one else reacted to its appearance.
Only he could see or touch it unless he chose otherwise.
The Book of Containment was responsible for bringing him into this world.
It had protected his consciousness after his original death, carried his soul across the boundary between worlds, and allowed him to awaken inside Charlie Taylor’s body.
More importantly, it gave him a way to survive in a reality filled with witches, ghosts, demons, and other creatures that should not exist.
As its name suggested, the Book of Containment could imprison supernatural beings and mysterious phenomena that violated the laws of the ordinary world.
Every successfully contained target would be assigned a number and recorded on one of its currently blank pages.
Charlie would receive Containment Points based on the target’s nature, danger, and power.
Those points could increase his Physical Body and Spirituality or be exchanged for special abilities.
It was exactly the kind of power he needed.
He was being taken to a boarding school filled with witches, and the world beyond its walls contained far worse things.
Without some form of protection, he might not survive long enough to see his eighteenth birthday.
Unfortunately, the Book of Containment came with a serious problem.
Charlie had no idea how he was supposed to capture anything.
Most supernatural entities were creatures that conventional science could not explain.
Ghosts could pass through walls, demons could possess living bodies, and powerful witches could kill ordinary people without ever touching them.
Charlie was still physically human.
Aside from surviving Zoe’s deadly power, he possessed no abilities and had no experience fighting monsters.
How was he supposed to imprison them?
The Book did not provide a convenient answer.
Instead, it informed him that enjoying its authority required him to fulfill a corresponding obligation.
He had to complete at least one containment assignment every ten days.
The requirements were cumulative.
Failing to capture a target during one period would not erase the task.
The unfinished assignment would remain while another was added during the next ten-day cycle.
Charlie’s expression darkened.
The Book was not merely encouraging him to confront supernatural beings.
It was forcing him to hunt them.
The exact requirements might change as he grew stronger.
His Physical Body, Spirituality, abilities, and Containment Points could all increase, while the Book could unlock additional functions as more numbered entries were filled.
Even the personal information recorded under [Number 000] could apparently be altered.
Charlie discovered that the Book offered more than a hundred constantly expanding classifications for physical identity.
If he truly wanted to, he could even change his biological sex without surgery, medicine, or magic performed by someone else.
He had no intention of testing that particular feature.
What worried him was whether the containment assignments would also evolve.
The Book had called him the natural enemy of all supernatural entities, which sounded less like a gift and more like a lifelong sentence.
What would happen if he eventually imprisoned every supernatural creature in the world?
Would the Book demand that he sacrifice himself as the final target?
Charlie opened it again and flipped through the pages.
Every entry after [Number 000] remained empty, as though the Book were patiently waiting for him to fill them.
Perhaps the first assignments were only a qualification test.
Once he proved himself capable of handling supernatural threats, the system might give him more freedom.
That possibility offered little comfort, but it was better than assuming he was already doomed.
A scarlet glow suddenly spread across the open pages.
A notification entered Charlie’s mind.
[Containable Targets Detected.]
Charlie immediately looked around the train compartment.
There were only a few people nearby, and most appeared to be ordinary passengers.
His gaze eventually settled on Zoe and Myrtle.
The meaning of the notification became obvious.
Witches possessed supernatural bloodlines and powers that defied natural law.
According to the Book’s classification, they qualified as containable entities.
Charlie stared at Myrtle, who remained focused on her magazine.
Even if he ignored her position on the Witches’ Council, she was an experienced witch with decades of magical knowledge.
Trying to capture her would be suicide.
Zoe was much younger and had only recently awakened her power, but Charlie had no intention of treating her as a target either.
She might have accidentally killed the original owner of his body, yet she was still his girlfriend and had remained beside him throughout his hospital stay.
Besides, he had no idea whether containment would injure or kill its target.
Even if Charlie somehow defeated Zoe and Myrtle, the rest of the Coven would hunt him down.
He would probably be turned into ashes before he earned his first Containment Point.
Charlie dismissed the notification and returned the crimson book to his consciousness.
He still had ten days before the first assignment became due.
Until then, he would observe his surroundings, gather information, and avoid doing anything reckless.
There was no reason to throw his second life away on the first day.
New Orleans, Louisiana, was one of the oldest and most distinctive cities in the American South.
Built along the Mississippi River, it was known for its historic neighborhoods, crowded festivals, jazz clubs, and French and Spanish architecture.
The city had suffered terrible destruction when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005.
Entire neighborhoods had been flooded, thousands of residents were displaced, and the population had still not completely recovered by the time Charlie arrived.
That was the history known to ordinary people.
Beneath New Orleans’ music, tourism, and colorful nightlife existed another world.
The surrounding wetlands and isolated bayous had inspired countless legends about restless spirits, cursed plantations, swamp creatures, and practitioners of forbidden magic.
Most of those stories had been exaggerated for tourists.
Some were completely true.
New Orleans had long been connected to both witchcraft and Voodoo.
The two traditions were separate and often hostile, but both had built deep roots in the city.
After the Salem witch trials, surviving witches and their descendants scattered across the country.
Some eventually found refuge in New Orleans, where their bloodlines continued into the modern era.
Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies had been created to protect those descendants.
To outsiders, it was an exclusive boarding school housed inside a historic mansion.
In reality, it served as a safe haven and training ground for young women who had inherited the powers of the Salem witches.
That afternoon, a new student arrived at the academy.
She was accompanied by her boyfriend, who had unwillingly been assigned the role of a future servant.
Myrtle and her valets brought Charlie and Zoe to the mansion before disappearing without explanation.
They did not remain long enough to introduce the pair to the academy’s headmistress or help carry their luggage inside.
Charlie stood before the tall white mansion with two heavy suitcases at his feet.
Beside him, Zoe stared at the unfamiliar building with wide eyes and made no attempt to hide her nervousness.
When she looked toward him for reassurance, Charlie gave her a helpless shrug and pressed the doorbell.
A clear chime echoed from somewhere inside the mansion.
The front door opened on its own before either of them could knock.
Charlie stared into the dark entrance.
The academy was supposedly protected by powerful witches, so an enchanted door was probably one of the least unusual things he would encounter there.
“Come on.
We’ve already made it this far.”
He picked up both suitcases and stepped across the threshold.
Zoe remained close behind him as they entered the white historic residence.
The interior was almost completely dark.
Heavy curtains blocked the afternoon sunlight while the unlit hallways stretched into silence.
No footsteps approached to welcome them.
There were no voices from the nearby rooms and no signs of the staff Myrtle had mentioned.
The mansion felt less like an active boarding school and more like an abandoned house waiting for its next victims.
Zoe moved closer to Charlie.
“Hello?
Is anyone here?”
Her voice traveled through the entrance hall but received no answer.
The front door slammed shut behind them.
Zoe spun around in alarm.
At the same moment, a black shape rushed past the edge of her vision and disappeared behind one of the nearby columns.
“Hello?” she called again.
“We were told to come here.
Is somebody there?”
Silence returned.
Another shadow moved across the upper landing.
A second black-clad figure slipped behind a doorway while something else darted through the hall on their left.
The shapes were too fast to identify.
Each one vanished before Zoe could look directly at it.
She immediately grabbed Charlie’s arm and pressed herself against his side.
“Charlie, did you see that?”
“Of course I saw it.”
Unlike Zoe, Charlie showed little fear.
He remembered this scene from American Horror Story: Coven and already understood what was happening.
The academy’s current students were welcoming the frightened newcomer.
Their method was closer to a haunted-house prank than a proper introduction, but that seemed appropriate for a mansion filled with teenage witches.
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