Chapter 5: The Life Of The Artist

The transaction was established. Edward's surroundings suddenly changed to a dark red. The demon eye kept floating in the air and was so huge that Edward's legs trembled. However, he couldn't back down anymore.

Edward took a deep breath. He tore a few hairs from his head and bit his finger hard to make it bleed. Those two items flew overhead and entered the demon's eye. It was dim and slightly curved as if enjoying a delicious dish. Then, the eye opened and stared at Edward. He felt energy run through him. The demon’s eye suddenly narrowed and entered Edward's head.

Edward woke up startled. His head ached as if something had hit him. Sweat was soaked on his forehead. Edward raised his hand to wipe the sweat and smelled the blood. He looked back at his hand and saw the bite mark on the tip of his finger. That's exactly where he took his blood to give to the demon eye.

"Isn't it all a dream?" Edward whispered. However, he did not want to think about it any further.

Edward stood up and began to clean up the drawing tools on the floor. He did not want his wife to come in the morning and see this scene. When Edward's hand touched the paintbrush, an unnamed emotion surged through him. Edward immediately raised the stand and turned to another blank page. The brush stroked the page continuously. Edward stared at the drawing and touch the table to take the palette which had been lying on the floor for a long time.

One night passed, and Mrs. Dieter awoke and asked the servants to prepare food and snacks for her husband. Then she took the food and tea basket and went to Edward's room. However, the door was locked from the inside.

“Honey, I brought you breakfast,” Mrs. Dieter knocked on the door and called inside.

Seconds later, Edward's voice came out, "Leave it outside. I'll get it later. Right now, don't let anyone disturb the time I'm painting."

Mrs. Dieter nodded and left the food in front of the door. She walked about ten paces and then looked back but saw that the door still showed no sign of opening. In the past, every time Mrs. Dieter came, Edward would open the door for his wife no matter how busy he was. Now, he was probably too busy. She didn't think he wanted to avoid her seeing his failures. Edward's voice just now was filled with excitement as if he was actually creating a masterpiece. Mrs. Dieter got a little happy and left.

From then on, food was always placed in front of the room door. Mrs. Dieter and the servant only dared to knock on the door to signal but did not dare to stay and disturb for too long. They were afraid of affecting Edward's emotional sublimation. Ms. Dieter was more focused on her work. If anyone asked her husband, she would say that Edward was working on the greatest work ever. For some reason, this time Mrs. Dieter was so confident that Edward could succeed as he always wanted.

One day two months later, Mrs. Dieter, as usual, brought breakfast to Edward's room.

"I'll leave the food outside. Don't be so busy drawing that you forget to take care of your health,” Mrs. Dieter knocked on the door and was about to put the food on the ground. The front door suddenly opened.

Edward stood in front of his wife. Mrs. Dieter was overjoyed and on the verge of tears after many days without seeing her husband. Edward gave a small smile and took the food basket in her hand, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"No, I'm always willing to wait for you," Mrs. Dieter shook her head and smiled.

Edward reached up and touched his wife's cheek and wiped her tears for her. Mrs. Dieter leaned against Edward's hand and felt his warmth. After that, the two return to their room and spend time together after many days apart. Mrs. Dieter saw that Edward was getting sicker, so it was even more heartbreaking. She personally went to the kitchen and made him many delicious dishes.

Edward ate more and was constantly hungry after only a few hours. The food he ate was all medium, even though he had never eaten anything which was still a slight smell of fresh blood before. However, he was thinner even though he ate more than three people combined. Mrs. Dieter felt strange and advised Edward to see a doctor. After being begged and sulked by his wife, Edward also accepted to do as she said. After that, things didn't get any better. The doctors could not find the cause, so they assumed that he had been fasting for too long and that his body was trying to restore energy.

Mrs. Dieter heard that, so she no longer forced Edward to go to the doctor. The food presented to Edward began to turn medium rare and he ate it with great appetite. Although Mrs. Dieter found it strange, the doctor could not find the cause.

That day, Edward prepared everything for tomorrow, the day the artists gathered and displayed their latest work. He waited for Mrs. Dieter to arrive and then immediately dragged her up to the room. Edward's hurried expression made her laugh.

"What's so urgent?" Mrs. Dieter took Edward's hand and followed him.

Edward turned to look at her as he walked away and smiled fondly, "You'll be the first to see my work."

Mrs. Dieter was surprised. In the past, Edward rarely showed her his works because he felt extremely self-conscious about them. This made her more nervous and excited than ever. Edward led her into the watch room and closed the door carefully. He turned on the light and walked over to the stand. Dieter loved to see her husband's excited look, so she was also looking forward to this work.

“Are you ready?” Edward asked Mrs. Dieter. After receiving her firm nod, he removed the white cloth covering the painting, "Welcome to the work of Edward Dieter."

When the white towel fell, the painting began to appear. The smile on Mrs. Dieter's face also gradually faded. She took a step back and went from confusion to panic.

“What do you feel? Very beautiful, isn't it?" Edward looked proudly at his drawing so he didn't see Mrs. Dieter's strange expression.

“Why… why did you draw this scary thing?” Mrs. Dieter stammered and looked at Edward in disbelief.

Edward noticed his wife's strangeness and turned to look at her, "Scary? What do you say? Isn't it beautiful?"

Mrs. Dieter shook her head. She strode toward the painting, “This is not your school. This painting doesn't look good. You throw it away and paint another one.”

Edward felt confused but quickly took Mrs. Dieter's hand to calm her down, "Tomorrow is exhibition day. There won't be time to draw another one. I decided to take this painting for the competition. I will definitely win prizes with it. You have to trust me."

"Can not. We can wait until next year to join again. You must burn it now,” said Mrs. Dieter, pointing at the painting and shouting.

“I have waited a long time and cannot wait any longer. I will be competing with this drawing,” Edward assured his decision. He didn't understand why his wife lost her temper and hated the painting so much.

“If you don't do it, let me do it,” Mrs. Dieter quickly grabbed the drawing and intended to smash it to the ground and destroy it. However, a thrust caused her to fall to the ground.

"Are you crazy?" Edward shouted.

Mrs. Dieter felt dizzy after the fall. She blinked a few times and then looked back. Edward was holding the drawing and checking it for scratches anywhere. Mrs. Dieter felt pain not from the fall but her heart. She had never seen Edward hurt her because of a painting. At this moment, the demon eye in the drawing suddenly moved its pupil towards her.

Edward's first drawing after making a deal with the devil was the demon eye he met in his dream. It was the scary realistic paintings. The blood veins in the eye were also carefully sketched. Its sudden movement frightened Mrs. Dieter. The lights in the room flashed one after another and the whole space fell into a terrifying darkness.

Mrs. Dieter could not contain the terror in her heart, so she immediately left the painting room. That night, Edward still clutched his painting for fear of it being vandalized again. Mrs. Dieter was alone in her bedroom, but she was always surrounded by nightmares. She woke up startled after seeing demon eyes hovering around her. The sun had already begun to seep through the curtain and shine on the bed.

Edward left early. Mrs. Dieter knew she couldn't stop him if he had actually made the decision. For the first time, she expected the painting to be dropped. Her hand was still moving over the papers, but her mind was on Edward's competition. At this moment, a knock on the door broke her attention.

“Come in,” said Mrs. Dieter, still staring at the papers.

A male servant entered and bowed to Mrs. Dieter, "Madam, Mr. Dieter has returned and has good news to tell you."

Mrs. Dieter stopped writing after hearing the servant's report. The two words 'good news' made her heart beat faster and had a bad premonition. She closed her eyes to regain her composure and sent the servant out. After regaining her composure, Mrs. Dieter stood up and went downstairs.

Down in the hall, all the servants were ordered to assemble. Edward could not hide his happiness while still holding the drawing tightly in his body. The next second, he watched Mrs. Dieter as she walked down the stairs. Her majesty made all the servants respect, so they stood up straighter and more upright. Edward hurried to the foot of the stairs and grabbed his wife's hand and helped her down.

"What makes you so happy?" Dieter tried to put on a natural smile.

Edward motioned to Mrs. Dieter to stay where she was. He entered the downtown area and solemnly announced the very important news, “Everybody knows that today is the day of the artist competition. Now, people can confidently go out into the streets and say you have a deep acquaintance with the brilliant painter Edward Dieter. Because I won first prize.”

All the servants gasped and burst into tears. They all clapped together to congratulate their boss. They have been here and serving the Dieters for a long time. The Dieters did not treat them like lowly servants but saw them as part of the family. They always silently prayed for the two of them. Therefore, when Edward announced this news, all the servants were sincerely delighted.

“Sir, could you show us your drawing?” a servant spoke up with everyone's expectant eyes.

Edward laughed and took off his protective towel. Mrs. Dieter saw it and the next second felt that she could no longer stand. Edward actually took the painting of the demon eye to the contest. Everyone flocked to admire his masterpiece. They all felt the demon eye had a deadly attraction. Only Mrs. Dieter stood a few feet from the drawing and hugged herself.

Edward received acclaim for the first time, so he was even more inspired. He moved his painting room into another room. He asked people to break down the door so that everyone could see what he was doing with his other great works. Opposite the empty door, Edward hung his drawing of the demon's eye.

Since then, strange stories happening in the house always bring peace to everyone. Murders happened to servants. Every day, people lived in fear. They did not know who would be next and what death would come to them. Until the butler closest to Mrs. Dieter hanged herself in the painting room and faced the drawing of the demon eye.

Ms. Dieter decided that the picture had to be resolved as soon as possible. At that time, Edward became a very famous painter. He was engulfed in praise and ambition. When Mrs. Dieter took down the painting to burn it, the demon's eye simultaneously instigated Edward to dedicate the life of the person he loved most. Edward took the knife and beheaded Mrs. Dieter in an unconscious state. The servant was so scared and called the police. Edward was imprisoned but for some unknown reason was able to escape. Later, it was found that he used his own blood to wash the drawing of the demon's eye. However, blood did not stain the drawing. The house has since become one of the scariest haunted places.