The Crimson Man
"No, no, no, no! Why did Seiji have to go down the right path! He'll never find his way through the darkness without any light." The Crimson Man said to himself in a panicked tone. Not that the teens could hear him in his butterfly form. All they could see what his flight pattern change to something more erratic and panicked. It would seem he would have to lead them down the right path instead of the safety of the left one. The right path was tricky even with light, there were sudden twists and turns that if not followed would lead the teens off the edge of a drop, or onto freezing cold water. They couldn't die here, considering they were already dead, but it would wear him out to bring them back each time.
That was part of his
deal with Kami-sama, he could manipulate things somewhat in this land between the living and the dead, but not without cost. Because his job would be easy, and Kami-sama didn't want that. Then every undeserving teenager would get a second chance at life and screw it up. Only those who proved themselves got to go back. The Crimson Man hoped that this group would make it. They really did deserve to go back after dying in such horrible ways. He wished he could take his human form and hug them all, but that would scare them. And he couldn't touch them in his own, ghostly form. It was
Mika who was the first to approach him, reaching out a finger for him to land on. Normally he would have, but there was no time now. Instead he did the butterfly equivalent of bop to the nose. He fluttered past her, brushing her nose with a wing as he did. He stopped at the right path and increased his glow, showing the teens that he could light the path if needed. And it was needed if they were all going to get to the next clearing safely.
The Right Path
The right path was exactly as described. A long, pitch black road with sudden twists and turns leading to drops, water, ditches, things that wouldn't be fun for anybody. If those turns weren't taken, the teens would find themselves in a bind.
Seiji was very close to one that led to a ditch that would be impossible for him to climb back up himself. The path was really only dangerous if one wandered off without the light the crimson butterfly could offer. It was one of the longer beginning paths and could tire out those without much
stamina. But was wide enough that those who were
clumsy didn't need to worry about falling off.