Their forms were incoherent to him, but his best mental description was that they were possibly of an oval shape.  He could almost imagine seeing their eyes, but they faded in and out of his perception far too often to tell, like will o' wisps.  Each of them spoke to him, but their voices were so faded, that he could barely tell one from the other.  He had many questions for them, but he began with caution.
	"Who...are you?"
	We are the guardians of this mansion, a place that has become a fitting sanctum for what we guard.  It has taken you quite a journey to get here, James Campbell.
	"Wh-...alright, you know my name, fine.  But...sanctum for what?"
	For that which you must defeat.  You have heard the roars that permeate throughout this very manor have you not?
	"Y-yeah?"
	That is why we are here.  We are the Pact of the Four.  Since time immemorial, we have become guardians, protecting the spiritual realm from that most dreaded beast.
	"Wh-what...kind of beast?"
	A true demon.  We used to know its name, just as it once knew ours.  But the passing of time has washed that away from memory, both ours and the world.  Even our forms, once complete, are now nothing but shadows of our former selves.
	"That why I can barely see you?"
	Yes.  Age changes one's form over time, reflecting the memories of your original form.  Soon you forget...but we only had to remember one thing.  To protect the spiritual planes of existence from the evil that we guard here.
	"J-jeez...how long's it been here?"
	Long enough.  We trapped him into a dark abyss somewhere beyond the boundaries of this mansion.  He does not even exist here, but his fury is eternal.
	"How...bad is he?"
	He was once alive, we presume.  We are not sure what he used to be.  All we remember is his madness, his fury, his unending savage hunger to devour all poor souls that wander astray.  His hatred of the spiritual planes is unparalleled, and so he consumes on us, feeds upon spirits.  He hunted us down relentlessly, until we managed to kill him together.  But his malice was far too strong to just disappear, and now he wanders his own prison, devouring souls unlucky enough to wander through his lair, despising his own spiritual form.
	"So...you killed some ghost-eater...and he became a ghost...and he's real pissed because he seriously hates ghosts, right?"
	That is correct.  We do not know the reason for his hatred, as ancient as this cycle has become.  
	"How long has this...cycle been going on for?"

The spirits tried to remember, gently floating with a pensive air around them.
	Perhaps...two hundred and fifty-six years...or more.  The number is...significant to us somehow.  He will not die so easily, unless one is able to face him with the right weapon.  The researcher who passed through here used one that was perfect, the camera.
	"Researcher?  ...w-wait, the Camera obtuse thingy?"
	No, that was the original he based his design on.  We do not know where the Camera Obscura has gone, nor where its owner has fled to.  This mansion's own history does not interest us.
	"Is this...wait...all of this, is this why I'm here?"
	Yes.  We have been waiting for someone such as you, to free us from our eternal guard over this foul beast.  We do not ask for freedom for our sakes.  We ask for this dreaded beast to be banished, destroyed...to keep the worlds beyond and their spirits safe from its ravenous maw.
	"...wait a minute...was this all part of Red Arremer's plan?!  Just to have me come here and kill some evil ancient demon?!"
	...who is this Red Arremer?
	"Oh come on don't pull that shit!  Big guy, red, demon-like with bat wings!"
The spirits did not speak for a while, as if conferring with each other, gently shifting both left and right in the air.
	...we have never met such a creature.  You were fated to come here James Campbell.  It was ordained to be that you would arrive one day, a drifting soul lost within the corridors of space, between dimensions, beyond what you believed was ever possible.
	"So...if that Firebrand dude didn't tell you, who did?"
	Does it matter?
	"YES, goddammit!"
	We do not know who told us.  We merely name him the watcher.  His identity was shrouded in mystery to us when he called to us from afar, far far beyond this world.  We were assured of your arrival, and to watch over you.  Once we sensed your potential to stand a chance against this foe, we guided you.  We are not so callous however as to not offer you something in return.
	"You mean other than letting me leave?"
	That will happen by the end of this.  We are spirits remember, and we can offer something that no other can deliver.
	"Yeah?  What's that?"
	The chance to finally make amends to the dead.

James' heart stopped but for a brief moment at hearing such.  His mind turned blank before continuing once again, as if trapped in time, eyes widening at what he knew they were referring to.
	You have lost someone very dear to you, have you not?
	"...yes."
	As ancient as we are, we are able to commune far across the spiritual planes, to find many souls lost and departed across the ether.  Do you not wish to speak to a dearly departed love, to make your last amends with?
	"...that...w-wait.  Wait no hold on, you're giving me that too easily."
	Oh?
	"Yeah, you just IMMEDIATELY offer me this before I go kill an ancient demon for ya?!  You had this all planned out!"
	We were able to see inside your mind, see your fears and doubts like all spirits can.  We assumed it would be something you would desire.
	"But I know what I've done!  I'm over her now!"
	Are you?
	"...y-yes!"
	There is a difference between accepting one's guilt and the desire for closure, James.  We offer you the gift of closure from the only one who can satisfy you with it.
	"You...you can't be serious.  Y-y-you can't be able to do that."
	We understand how important this is to you.  We would not lie.
	"Yeah!?  What about the mother that was here then?!  Why did she get dragged into this, her and her kids?!  Just to be your personal guardians?!"
	They were lost in the spiritual planes, forever fated to never meet until resolution came to them.  If anything we offered them sanctuary.
	"And how do you think THIS place is a sanctuary?!  Jerk-ass pranksters, lantern-wielding creeps, evil masks fuckin' chasing you down and suckin' the life out of ya!"
	The mischievous ones we did not invite here.  They came of their own will, and I instructed them to assist you partially.  So long as they did not upset our own plans to have you here, we did not mind their presence.  The lantern-wielder, the Poe, he was vain with vengeance, so we utilised it for our own beneficial gain.
	"So you tricked him?"
	With a mimic of what he was searching for.  His greed blinded him from the truth, but he was a powerful foe with his magic alone, enough so to make a fine guardian.  We only wished to make sure that you would prove yourself worthy.
	"But...I didn't kill that guy.  That was...s-something else."
	Yes, the demon inside you.  Unfortunate, but even we have our faults in not predicting such events to occur.  As for the mask that hunts...he is an exception.  A necessary evil unto his world.  Utilising his talents was difficult to say the least.
	"Talents huh?  Sure worked in guarding whatever shit you had in mind, huh?"
	Perhaps.  At least until one such as you was able to arrive.
	"So, wait, was I destined to come here?  All this time?"
	We were told of a strange creature, scaled and filled with vengeful youth, whose arrival to this mansion one day would signify our release from our duty.
	"By who?!"
	The watcher.
	"But who is he!?"
	We do not know.
	"Then what's the point then?!!  Wh-what the fuck you expect me to do, say yes!?  You want me to go walking into some demon's lair, exorcise him out of existence and expect me to NOT die, just like that?!"
	We did not say it was an easy task.  But your skill and tenacity in breaking our seals has proven you capable of such.
	"And if I don't finish the job?"
	If you refuse to assist us, you will be trapped here forever.  A spirit can pass to and fro freely from this manor, but not mortals.  But if you are defeated by the beast, then he will devour your soul with a single bite.  Sadly we will be unable to save your spirit from this fate should you lose to him and his fatal touch.
	"...you have got to be shitting me.  So I either stay here and rot, but I get to fly away as a ghost, or I go and get a CHANCE at leaving by killing this...thing in the basement?"
	That is correct.

James merely raised his arms before slapping them against his thighs in disbelief, turning away with arrogance.
	"Great.  Fuckin' great.  What do you expect from me, I'm not a hero!  I can't do this shit!"
	You have the potential to-
	"I DON'T HAVE SHIT!  What does a hero do!?  Protect the innocent and not go crazy, I failed on BOTH fronts!  Silent Hill fuckin' taught me that."
	Your pendant begs to differ.
	"Huh?"
He looked down at the dull black pendant around his neck.  James gently fondled it as a light slowly turned on inside his head.  But his doubt and younger fears continued to hound him.  He was still shaken by the memories of that restless town.  Every moment where his confidence rose, would be shrouded by that fog.
	Is that not the gift of the maiden you rescued?  A maiden whom you risked your very life for, within a hellish land that few mortals have lived to witness?
	"...how do you know about that?"
	We are spirits.  Do you not think we can see into your memories?
	"You're ghosts, not psychics, there's a difference."
	Our centuries of duty have taught us many things.  In the beginning we were fickle and stupid, chasing and ambushing our foes with little dignity upon ourselves.  But now with our duty, to protect spirits such as the ones you have aided...we have become something more.
	"And...this means what?"
	It means that just as we had our faults and grew beyond them in the face of protecting others, so must you.  I am certain you have learnt this from someone else dear to you.
James looked at the spirits with suspicion, wondering just how much they actually knew of him.  But he could see their point, as he tried to force himself to agree.
	"I...I guess you're right, but-"
	We understand your fear.
	"I'M NOT AFRAID!  ...I just...th-this is too much for me!"
	For one so well-travelled such as you?
	"I-i-i...I...I've never faced any ancient evil before.  Why do you think I can do it, why ME?"
	Because all that you possess, when combined together in your form, can become the qualities of a great warrior.
	"All that I...possess?"
	Your speed, your endurance, your arrogance that evolves into tenacity, your training in wielding your strange weapon, your unnatural powers.  All of this, when combined together in your form...can become something greater.
	"R-...really?"
	Was your training all for nothing James?  Was it merely just for you to survive?
	"I...I-i-i-i...no."
He sighed as he allowed his own fearful doubts to become overriden by the words of his master, echoing from his memory about the ways of a hero.  He tried to doubt himself, trying to believe he wasn't a hero just so he could run away from the task before him.  But he knew he had nowhere left to run.  The ancient spirits had trapped him, and he knew there was only one way left to go.

	"I...I'm scared."
	Fear is natural, but you are not.
	"Huh?"
	You have survived where others would have died.  Whether it was fate, luck, or your own will that kept you from death, it matters not.  You stand before the gateway to your destiny.  Do you accept, James Campbell?
	".........yes."
He bit his lip and half-turned his head before saying it with regrets.  His thoughts turned over in his head endlessly.
I might never be able to return home.  I might not even live to see the outside of this mansion ever again.  But...I can't turn back.  Do I even want to?  ...I didn't survive Silent Hill just to die here, did I?  They don't expect me to die, right?
The spirits waited patiently for James to reconfirm his decision.
	"Yes.  I accept."
	Then you must cross the cavernous path before you, with this weapon given unto you.
The spirits began to shape something out of the ether of their four forms, the colours mixing together into a strange golden hue that soon formed into a rather strange purple object.  He almost imagined it looked more like a strangely wide phone or handheld console than an actual weapon.  Two grey circular buttons were on the right side of a small rectangular laminted screen, a small cross-shaped marking being on the left.  He thought he could press down on the cross mark, raised like a button, but it was stiff and unmovable.
	"The hell?  ...what is this?"
	The researcher's camera.  He developed it just before he discovered us.  We could not explain our purpose to him, but we allowed him to escape in exchange for this device.
	"Wait...really?  Wait you met the guy who was leaving all those notes?!  Who was he?!"
	A researcher of spirits and the beyond, who somehow found his way to this mansion via a weakened dimensional alteration from his own world.  He left behind notes about the camera with us in exchange for freedom.
They offered him a notebook page from the folds of their collective aura, the raptor gently taking it to see what he imagined were the last writings of the traveller before his departure.  Even more strangely, this new page had no date upon it.

Success!  I now have a way to ward off aggressive spirits!  It's not as powerful as the camera that was originally used here, but it will do very nicely.  I call it the Shuttergeist 5000, A handy little camera that's similar in design to my other invention, the ghost detector that...I forget the name of right now.  Thankfully I've made sure not to mix the two up by giving them unique colour schemes, as well as designs.  Even more importantly, it even HAS its own ghost detector feature.
The directional pad will indicate in what direction a ghost will be, the speaker is actually a spiritual sensory receptor, and the buttons both focus and "shoot" an image at a ghost using A and B respectively.  Unfortunately it does require film as a basis to focus its exorcismal power on, after I crafted the screen to become a lens using some mirror shards I discovered before I melded them together.  It wasn't easy let me tell you!
I haven't quite made it digital yet and I'm still trying to figure out how to make it accessible for all types.  But for now I had to adjust it to some old film I found lying around in the mansion.  Quite the chore I must say with my limited resources, but it came out fantastically!  And it's far less cumbersome than a vacuum cleaner.

James chuckled at the strange-looking device, finding the power switch to turn it on before the cross-shaped pad lit up insanely fast with a bright green flash, pointing upwards directly at the four spirits before him until he turned it off.
	"Hehehe...well, it works!  But...um...didn't he say this needed film?  WAIT wait I got it!"
A light flickered on in his head as he swiftly dug his hand into his satchel, the crystal no longer obscuring much of the contents before he dug up the small old reel of film he had picked up, way back in the kimono room after meeting Boona.  It fit perfectly into a slot at the back of the "camera", directly behind the screen.  James felt he was ready to take on any ghost now.
	"Haha!  Hey look, I'm all loaded up!  Alright...I think I'm ready for this demon now, huh guys?"
The spirits seemed pleased by the raptor's sudden burst of enthusiasm before explaining further.
	Head down the baptismal path beyond where the ancient rituals of this mansion were carried out, and turn left halfway.  You will find a red door that does not fit within this mansion.  Open it with this key.
From their luminescent hue, there appeared a solid gold key.  There was no mark upon the handle, no special symbol inscribed other than a circular hole through the flat rectangular handle.  Just a big golden key.
	"...wait, so all those keys were you guys?"
	Yes.
	"...why?"
	Each door you unlocked opened a new layer for you to uncover.  It was the only way for you to face the many spirits within the mansion without being overwhelmed by them all at once.
	"...huh.  Really?  ...wait, what about the Boos, what about Boona?!"
	They have already left.  We assured your friend that you would survive.
	"...oh.  ...um...thanks?"
	We also offer you this to recuperate from your recent battle.  We await your return.
They said nothing more as they created a small old jug of water to put into his other hand, merely waiting for the raptor to make his first step towards destiny, according to them.  With key in one hand and a bottle in the other, he treaded cautiously across the wide darkened chasm, the strange snaking path set upon stone making him wary of any loose false step.  He took a careful drink of the water as soon as he reached the other side, standing before a smaller version of the giant door that the Blinding Mask unlocked.  His energy was fully revitalised as a result.

Cautiously opening the door before him, he found himself within a rather disturbing room.  A perfectly square room, where ropes hung down ragged from the ceiling.  In the centre of the room was a large dais, with four turnstiles at each corner of it, lashed together with ropes.  Judging from the dried bloody gashes marking out limb-like shapes, James could easily guess what the purpose of this room was.
As he passed the torture device towards the door opposite, he felt a cold shiver reach into his spine.  Then he heard the creaking of ropes turning behind him.  He cautiously turned his head, seeing the turnstiles gently rotate, a pale clawed hand crawling out of the central dais.  James stepped back against the door, seeing a creature emerge before him.  The ghostly velociraptor, blank eyeless sockets and shivering teeth staring up at him, slowly raised upwards by the pull of the ropes.
	"...oh...god...dammit."
	"Hhhhhhh...p-p-please...s-s-save...my-"
	"SHUT UP!  I don't have time for you, whatever the fuck you are!  I'm about to go kill some ancient demon, why the fuck should I be scared of YOU?!"
	"S-save...s-s-safe...m-m-mirror...p-protect...me..."
	"Whatever you want, you can fuck off.  I'm not dealing with this."
Having dealt with enough strange spiritual terrors, his courage stayed strong, despite the fact that when he turned he felt the ghost charge at him.  Quickly dodging to one side, the creature shrieked with his own voice, clawing away at him as the ropes continued to turn and creak.  James brought out his scissors, charging up a flame strike before slashing straight for his own spirit.
The unexpected furore from the raptor surprised the apparition, making it flinch back and shriek as it tried to strike out once more.  Swinging its claws with panic-stricken combos, James somehow managed to feel the fear rising from this creature.  But he did not drop his guard, not allowing himself to be tricked by any false empathy it wanted.  He had enough, he wasn't going to let his own shadow stop him.

But even his own shadow had a few tricks up his sleeve, slamming into his chest and biting James hard with spectral teeth, making him scream at the deep wounding pain in his shoulder.  He could feel the memory of being stabbed by the Scissorman rise blindingly in his mind, the piercing thrust into his bone making him cry and fall back.  As he collapsed against the wall, the spirit disappearing into the walls, something jiggled in his satchel strongly.  Then he remembered, and almost wanted to slap himself.
He pulled out the camera.
	"I just GOT this goddammit...alright...let's give you a test run."
Standing up, he wielded the device before him, clicking it on and seeing it light up its directional pad towards his left.  Quickly backing away from the wall, he turned around more and more, until the pad lit upwards with a bright pale green.  The spectre of himself soon faded out of the wall, shivering with both fear and madness in its sorrowful expression.
	"Smile, BITCH!"
Focusing with one button before shooting with the other, he got a good close-up hit of his mimic before a blinding light flared from the back of the device.  It was powerful enough to send the creature back, shrieking with agony as it clutched its hollow eyes with a violent twitching throughout its body.  As it bent over and tried to recover, FG grinned smugly upon his foe.
	"What now punk?  Huh?  You feel that?  That's me winning.  Any last words before I take your picture?"
It did not respond with words this time.  Instead, it revealed its face.  And then James would scream, while flinching back in horror.  The reflection of his own face had suddenly turned into a blurred, warped form of his own.  The eyes had elongated into hollow oval caverns deep enough to fall into.  The mouth and jaw hung low, stretched and distended as his screams became twisted and stretched out.
	"WH-WHAT THE FUCK!?!?"
	"This is just your face...as it truly is."
A demonic voice came from somewhere around him.  It sounded as if it were coming from inside his ear, realising it was coming from his spirit.
	"Get the fuck away from me!"
	"Ohhh...but it is the night of blooming...and some flowers never make it to blooming."
	"N-NO!  GET BACK, I'M NOT DYING YET!"
He flashed another shot from the strange camera, striking straight for the eyes before it had a chance to attack, forcing it back into a howling scream of fury.  The demon voice soon turned into a twitching stutter.  Yet the spirit's mouth did not move.

	"Y-you le-et them DIE, pi-ti-f-f-ful boy, why do y-YOU deserve to live, cowardly SNAKE!"
	"I WAS MEANT TO BE HERE!  I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU ANYMORE!"
	"I...BEG...to differ...you...worthless child.  I will end your pain here."
	"NO!"
One more shot was enough to send the creature back, as well as the foul voice that seemed to bloom from within its empty heart.  A vile scream came from the shadow of himself, as it fell to its knees, its body warping and twisting into rapid foggy aberrations.  James covered his eyes with his arms to try and withstand its death cry.
	"WRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHH!"
When James opened his eyes once more, the ghostly raptor was no more.  The ropes had stopped, the room now still as death.  The cold unnatural feel that had permeated the place was also gone.
	"Huh...heheh...y-yeah.  That's right...nothing's gonna stop me now."
He looked down at the camera with a smile, believing in its power far more than he did before.  He also noticed something on the ground glimmering up at him.  A very small hand mirror, fit for a child.  James picked it up, seeing his own reflection stare back at him curiously.  The glass was amazingly well-polished, almost shimmering with its own special light.  Then he realised.
	"...Hey!  My reflection!  ...huh...wait, so...who DID take it?  ...mmmmaybe I'll ask those shadow guys after I'm done with...this."
With hesitation gently growing within his heart, he pocketed the hand mirror into his satchel and walked on towards his final destination.  Beyond the torturous room was the baptismal path.  A long snaking corridor completely supported by red pillars lining along both cavern walls.  To see so many red columns in one place made him nervous, expecting a curse upon him at any moment.  But he walked on nevertheless, taking a deep breath before making his first steps.
Halfway along the path, just as the spirits had told him, was a strange red door.  It wasn't like any of the doors he had seen in the mansion, a blocky glaring red with dark blue outlines and a small yellow handle with a keyhole.  The door seemed to shimmer like a desert mirage, as if it just barely exist outside of time and space.  The raptor brought out the single golden key.
	"Alright...here we go."
Turning the key into the door, he pushed it open to see a dark cavernous hallway stretch out before him.  Small white lights seemed to float in the centre of the road, placed equidistant from each other.  As soon as he passed through the boundary of the door, stepping into the mysterious dark cave, the door slammed behind him.  The moment he turned, it had disappeared from existence, leaving the raptor completely alone within this other world.