A romantic walk... When people were in love, even something so simple as walking through the streets became oh so unbelievably romantic. Mary’s heart fluttered at the mere thought. A luminescent blush painted her cheeks. At long last she had found the one. Mister Right. Her future husband. Simply seeing him set her soul ablaze with flames of love, warming her cold corpse to its very core. Ah, she was getting jitters just walking with him. Every step was bliss, every stop was heaven. It was destiny. Had to be.

...So did it even matter that her beloved boyfriend wasn’t really aware of it?

Meanwhile in reality, a grim figure stalked through the busy streets of Magnolia. It slipped from shadow to shadow, hiding behind convenient corners and stalls. Those who passed by hastened their pace, away from the ghastly sight. Long, squirming, black hair framed a set of deathly pale features. Violet eyes reminiscent of swirls were decorated by dark circles of countless sleepless nights, only accentuated by make up. Beneath them an unnaturally wide mouth was split into a creepy grin. Some would call her a woman, others might mistake her for a corpse of one. Dreary robes nearly swept the ground as she shuffled forward. Worse yet, all of her movements were utterly silent. Like she wasn’t really even there...

Every now and then, the ominous stalker follower would stop to admire her target beloved. She had spotted a tall, rugged and undeniably handsome man. It had been love at first sight. Longingly she reached her hand towards the adonis who was so far out of her reach. Oh, if only she had the courage to get closer... Just a little closer... Answering to her silent prayer, a shadow emerged from her large sleeve. Stretching and morphing, it was like a blob of darkness that came to life. Suddenly it zipped above the heads of the crowd and approached the unwitting man.

An old hag running some sort of fortune-telling stall happened to spot the approaching creature. Eyes widening, she beckoned the tall man closer and pointed at the sky. A raspy voice wheezed an ominous warning. “Careful, son... The shadow of death looms over you...” If the man heeded the warning and looked up, he would see... Well... Some sort of shadow looming over him. Actually, the blob of darkness vaguely resembled a bat. Two white dots acted as eyes and wispy wings flapped slowly. It circled above his head without a sound.

Mary froze in shock, withdrawing her hand in the futile hope that she could undo what just occurred. She wanted to call out, to tell her... uh... pet to come back. Unfortunately the words got stuck in her throat. Silenced by anxiety, she could only watch as the living shadow circled the handsome stranger. Before she could gather enough courage to call out, something unusual managed to reach her ears. It wasn’t easy to eavesdrop in the middle of a rambling crowd, so she was unsure if she even heard correctly... Did he say... c-c-c-cute...? B-but technically Umbra was a part of her, s-so that meant... H-he considered her cute too?!

This had to be destiny!

Emboldened by the kind -albeit misunderstood- words, the ghoulish woman started drawing closer. The crowd around her parted like a herd of startled sheep. Step by silent step... Just a little closer... Sadly, her attire wasn’t exactly suited for shuffling around like that. Distracted by lavender-colored daydreams, she accidentally stepped on her robes. Arms flailing, she hit the ground. Hard. Yet... The fall was completely soundless, muffled to nothing by the unnatural power that blessed her. That only fueled the murmuring of the crowd. What sort of creature seemed to glide along the ground and made no sounds...?

The ghastly mage twitched. Her pale fingers scraped against the ground, struggling to push her upright again. Blood trickled from the scrapes on her face, painting her features with an unsettling touch of crimson. Drip... Drop... It stained the ground at her feet... But she refused to give up! Even when she must’ve looked like a mess, she pressed onward, fueled by unusual fervor. It was now or never! And nothing could stop her from confessing her feelings!

...Buuuut fate took that as a challenge.

Upon seeing the bleeding ghoul stalking its prey, the old fortune-teller nearly choked on her dentures. “Aaaaah! Eeevil! Evil approaches!” She dug out a huge bag from beneath her table and stuck her hand inside. “Begone, foul spirit! BEGONE!” With a commanding cry, she tossed a handful of... salt. It hit the messy woman in the face, right in the open wounds. “H̝͕IEE̶E̱E̞͔͜E͖͖E̴E̡̙̗̠E̲̖!̝͍!!” She recoiled with a chilling scream, like a damned soul wailing in misery. The reaction only fueled the misunderstanding. Clearly the purifying salt was working on this undead monster. “Go back whence you came, demon!” ...Well, to be fair, the salt was indeed driving her back very efficiently.

Being continuously a-salted, the gloomy woman couldn’t even defend herself. There was salt everywhere. Her eyes watered and wounds burned. She could barely even see. Luckily, someone was there to save her. Granted, the old fortune-teller didn’t quite share the same appreciation. She was much too feeble to protect her precious ammunition. “What are you doing, you rude thug?!” She could only screech while the man poured the salt on the ground. Kneeling down to scrape back what she could, she shot a venomous glare at him. “You will regret harboring a demon! Mark my words!” Well, it seemed Barrett didn’t put much faith in the ramblings of an old hag.

Much too dazed to really resist, the wounded ghoul followed along. Her cold fingers clutched onto the warm hand weakly. Soft sniffs and sobs escaped from beneath her breath. If she hadn’t been in terrible pain, she would’ve probably appreciated the gesture more. Unable to say anything, she simply nodded at his suggestion and headed into the bathroom.

Meanwhile, inside the bathroom three schoolgirls were skipping class and having some silly fun. Two of them held candles beneath their faces, while the third one stared at the mirror intently. After a long, pensive silence, one of them piped up mockingly. “She’s not gonna do it.” The other one agreed... “Yup. She’s scared~” ...Much to the annoyance of the third one. She glanced back with a huff. “I’m gonna, okay? It’s just a stupid story anyway...” Turning back to the mirror, she took a deep breath. Even if she knew it couldn’t possibly be real, her heart hammered anxiously.

“Bloody Mary... Bloody Mary... Bloody Mary.”

The absolute silence returned as all three held their breath. Just as the bravest of them dared to turn and open her mouth... “See, it’s not re-” Something caught her eye... A shadow near the entrance looked far too much like a person, a pale woman to be exact. Drip... Drop... Blood stained the floor. The teen raised a trembling finger towards the specter. Her voice was barely even a whisper. “D-do you see that too...?” The rest of them turned too, just in time to see the shadow move towards them. A shrill scream shook the whole toilet. Within a heartbeat, all three girls rushed out. If the waiting man wasn’t careful, he was at risk of getting knocked over.

Once the confusing moment was over, the anxious woman finally dared to approach the set of sinks. Young delinquents always scared her... Fortunately they went away... While washing her features, she winced at every motion. There was a lot of salt... And blood. Little by little her vision returned. She had plenty of time to ponder too. Something the man had said was still haunting her... He had called her... 'ma’am'. Not 'miss'. Closing the faucet, she looked into the mirror and sighed deeply. Perhaps... That was right. She wasn’t a young girl anymore. She could see horrible wrinkles covering her face and ancient gray spreading across her hair, as she rapidly turned into a dry mummy.

...Okay, maybe that was just her self-esteem crumbling.

Mary’s shoulders sagged with another solemn sigh. So much for a good first impression. She had ruined her chances. But... The least she could do now was thank the kind soul before running away. She owed him that much. Mustering all her courage, she came up with a battle plan. She would head out, properly introduce herself and then thank him. Keep it simple. Name. Point at self. Thank you. Bow. ...Yes, she could do that.

However, the second the gloomy woman stepped out of the bathroom, all that courage went down the drain. She turned even paler, if such a feat was even possible with her complexion. Standing stiff and lifeless, she just stared silently at the handsome man. Her lips parted, but words refused to come out. Absurdly sharp teeth gleamed in the light. Eventually, a raspy whisper crawled from her throat, haunting like a voice from beyond the grave. “Maaaaarrryyyyyy... meeeee...” She pointed at herself, as if that would somehow clarify the vague words.

In a single instant, everything went from bad to worse. The stranger... laughed. It gained a haunting echo inside Mary’s head. Her gaze turned hollow. Tiny, glimmering pearls formed in the corners. The wavering attempt at a smile died on her lips. A sound similar to glass shattering rang through her ears. Ah... It was just her heart breaking. At the same time, the living shadow stopped hovering above the man. It shuddered, nearly dropping from the air. With weak flaps it hurried to its owner’s side and swooped right into her roomy sleeve. The white eyes glanced back at the laughing man, before melding into the darkness.

The heart-broken woman recoiled from the teasing words. Some desperate part of her wanted to believe he was being genuine with the offer, but the wink stabbed like a knife into her chest. He was... just jesting, wasn’t he...? How cruel... A weak sniffle escaped her breath. The pearls started rolling down her cheeks. By the time Mr. Barret had introduced himself, he would find the creepy ghoul on the verge of crying. She was holding it in, but just barely. Everything he said now sounded like a mean-spirited joke to her. After all, she was fairly certain that the local libraries didn’t sell alcohol.

After a painfully awkward moment of silence, the gloomy woman managed to respond with a weak mutter. “M-mary... M-my name is... Mary...” One question was answered, but the other one was left lingering between them. She was no good with jokes... Trying to figure out an answer that wouldn’t get her bullied more felt like an impossible task. She clutched her dress to stop her hands from trembling. However, she was spared answering when the wind brought a distraction. Her eyes widened at the sight. At first she couldn’t believe it. Or perhaps didn’t want to believe... Yet as she got a good look, she had to accept it looked all too real. “Fairy... Tail...?” The guild name was spoken with grim disbelief. Like she had just seen a ghost. ...Although, she probably would’ve been excited to see a ghost.

Perceptions could change quickly. Just moments ago Mary had been stalking enjoying a romantic walk with a man of her dreams. Then... Everything had started going wrong once again... Now she found herself facing a towering behemoth who laughed at honest effort. She listened to his answer, reading far too much into the wording. H-he wanted... to get his bone d-dirty...? And intended to fix that very soon... It sounded like something she had read in detective novels. All of a sudden, he seemed so much taller... And muscular... An imposing giant with a fiendish glint in his eye blocked her path. In stark contrast, she felt like she was shrinking by the second. Smaller and smaller...

Perception was a powerful thing.

When the misunderstood man drew closer, the gloomy woman instantly flinched and recoiled away from him. Her all too vivid imagination painted visceral images across her mind with a splash of crimson. The icy fear on her features grew even colder. N-no, she couldn’t let those massive hands anywhere near her eyes. Otherwise... He might try to get his fix... The sudden change in his tone didn’t go unnoticed either. Clearly he was trying to get her to come with him somewhere more secluded... She wanted to say no, but... “O-okay...” The fear gripped tightly, moving her mouth before her mind could form the right words.

Seeing no other way out, the meek mage would follow along wherever the imposing stranger decided to lead. At the same time, she was desperately trying to find a way out. M-maybe she would run into another guild mate and they could... Oh. Right. All the others were... gone. The creeping, uncomfortable silence wasn’t doing any favors for the jittery woman either. Her imagination was running wild, picturing all the possible and impossible ways this could end. Most of them were... bloody. This was no longer a romantic walk, but a hostage situation!

When the silence grew too much to bear, Mary finally dared to open her mouth again. Only for a weak whisper. “I-I... am from... Fairy Tail... too...” She hoped it would discourage him from trying anything violent. Laying a hand on a guildmate was strictly against the rules. ...B-but by that logic she should’ve been expelled too because of... the incident. Nope, not a good thing to think about. She needed something, anything else. Quickly! Uhhh... “M-mr. Barrett... Do you... believe in ghost stories...?” Well, at least it was a topic she liked. Better than nothing, right?

At the same time, responding to the eerie woman’s inner turmoil, a certain spell met all its conditions. A magic seal depicting a grim skull appeared at her feet. Her shadow stretched like a thin tendril, trying to latch onto the man’s shadow. If he moved away, nothing would happen and the magic would simply fade away... But... If the shadows touched, he would suddenly feel a deep chill, like someone walking on his grave, as his constitution slipped away. Another skull seal would appear behind his back, haunting him as a Grim Omen.