CHAPTER 1

Sigh… I slumped against the chair, rubbing my hands over my face in exasperation. Studying was exhausting and this course was doing my head in. Sometimes I questioned why I was even doing this, but then I remembered that aside from the endless amounts of research articles to read and the late hours dressed in a white lab coat doing experiments, scientific research was extremely interesting. There was always something new to learn and discover. However, in this moment, I wanted nothing more than to gouge my own eyes out. Ehhh, screw it. I'm done for today. I pushed myself away from desk and stretched my arms and legs out, groaning with relief as my stiff shoulders cracked and popped and the tension vanished. Hobbling my way over to the fridge, I opened the door and scanned the shelves, looking for a tasty treat to shove into my mouth. I groaned as I realised that I needed to run to the store to buy more food. In my boredom, I had already inhaled everything in the fridge. I'll just uber in something. I can't be bothered going to the shops… I threw myself onto the couch as I unlocked my phone, going through all my social media and feeling completely bored with life. It had been a whole year since I had gone out with friends ever since this damned pandemic and to make matters worse, I was moving towards the end of my Master's degree. To avoid social interactions, I had used my degree as an excuse to not attend any gatherings, I was tired of people but at the same time, I was envious of all my friends and their freedom. I kept mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, liking everyone's photo as if to show that I was still alive until something caught my eye. One of the girls who I had gotten along with in high school was dressed in an extravagant blue suit, adorned with a large black ribbon around her neck, a beautiful black top hat and an eye patch over her right eye. She was sitting on the lap of another person resting on a shining red Victorian armchair dressed in a smooth black suit with short black hair and a sly grin gracing their face. Huh, she's still cosplaying? Who is she dressed up as this time? Ciel Phantomhive? What anime was he from again? Uhhh Black Butler or something right? Hah, one of the ones I didn't actually get into… Thinking back on it, we had first gotten to know each other in the early years of high school because of our love for anime and manga. She had begged me to watch or read Black Butler but at the time, it really wasn't my sort of thing. I had promised that I would try it but it had been years since I was caught up on anything. I had seen videos and news of upcoming new seasons of popular animes but I hadn't bothered to check any out. I didn't have the time anymore or anyone to even talk to about it. I smiled to myself. Maybe I should get back into it. Afterall, I only have like 2 weeks left until I finish my degree. I'll read the manga when I hand up my thesis. I liked the photo and continued to scroll. That was when I got a messenger notification from her.

~ Hey girl! How's it been? I noticed that you liked my cosplay photo! It's been ages since we last talked. Can I call you? ~

I replied back with,

~Hi Tiah! Things have been pretty good. A little busy but such is life. Yeah, of course. Give me a call.~

My phone rang and I picked it up.

"HEYYY WHAT'S UP?! IT'S BEEN AGES. I'VE MISSED YOU. I WANTED TO CALL YOU BECAUSE I WANTED TO ASK YOU SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT!"

I moved my phone away from my ear and winced in pain at the sound of her shrill voice.

"Sure…what did you want to ask?"

"Well… I'm entering a competition for the best event themed Black Butler cosplay. I posted that photo for the competition with my partner but I also had to tag a friend who might also be interested. If my partner and I win, we get the chance to meet the voice actors for the anime! I also heard that we can bring one extra person each and there is a secret prize as well. SO… YOU WANNA COME WITH ME?!"

"Is this legit?"

"OF COURSE IT IS! It was posted on all of the voice actor's instagrams! Didn't you see it?"

"Um… well…. I don't actually follow any of them and I still haven't read or watched it yet."

There was a loud gasp of shock and I could imagine the girl clutching her chest with fake horror.

"OH MY GOD! SERIOUSLY?! YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT! OR AT LEAST READ IT!"

"I-I really appreciate your offer but I'm going to have to pass. I think you should take someone else who is way more into it than I am and would actually appreciate the experience more than I would. It was really nice of you to ask me though."

There was a long pause before she let out a reluctant sigh.

"Okay fine… BUT MARK MY WORDS! I'M GETTING YOU INTO IT. It's really worth your time and I want my anime buddy back. Honestly, it's not the same talking to others about anime…I miss our discussions and long debates ahahah."

"I enjoyed it too. Anyway, I have to get back to work. I'll talk with you again."

"Ohh Sorry girl! I didn't know you were working. You shouldn't be on social media at work ahahah. I'll talk with you again soon! BYEEE!"

And then the phone call ended. She was a real ball of energy and I did miss her, but I felt awkward talking to someone after years of not uttering a single word to each other. It's for the best… Fatigue sank into my body as I drifted off to sleep on my couch. I felt myself falling into a deep sleep when a sudden chill ran down my spine and I jolted upwards. Outside was dark and the sun was gone. I glanced down at my phone and saw that it was 8:50pm. I had been asleep for 4 hours and my tummy grumbled in frustration, as if to scold me for letting it go hungry. I ordered myself some pizza and 20 minutes later, my doorbell rang. I greeted the delivery guy and thanked him, watching him turn and leave. That was when I saw a small black box sitting in the doorway. Now generally I would not pick up any suspicious and unknown boxes but it was beautiful. It was made of a deep black silk that had flashes of purple when angled in a specific position to the light. Something compelled me to pick it up and take it with me. I let my fingers brush the smooth surface and tug at the navy blue ribbon wrapping the box. There was a small tag attached in cursive gold ink that said 'Enjoy the gift Jess. Use it well,' and beside it was a tiny wax seal that was too small to see what the details were. I frowned as this meant that this box was likely for me and they knew who I was and where I lived. Not many people knew where I lived and none of those people would ever leave a ring like this without telling me first. The chilly air forced my back into the warmth of my apartment and I shrugged and placed the box on the table as I flipped open the pizza box and proceeded to demolish the entire pizza. After cleaning up and brushing my teeth, I decided to take a look inside the box to see what this gift was. A part of me was excited to see what it was and the other was terrified, hoping that it wasn't something twisted like a severed finger or an eyeball. I carefully pulled the ribbon and watched it glide effortlessly away. I pulled open the box and inside was a small ring. It was a beautiful silver ring that was almost opalescent and shimmered with many different colours. There was a dark blue gem cut into a diamond shape that almost seemed to flicker with something inside adorning the top. What the? A ring? Why would someone get me a ring? And who would get me a ring? I decided to message Tiah asking if she had gotten me a ring to which she replied with a confused anime gif and asked for a picture. I sent her one but she was adamant that she had never seen that ring before. She then proceeded to tease me and say that I had a secret admirer which caused me to roll my eyes because I hadn't spoken to anyone in way that would illicit romantic interest. I decided to end the conversation there and head to bed. While waiting to fall asleep, I decided to try on the ring. It looked really small…Too small to fit any of my fingers. I slid it onto my middle finger, but it didn't fit. Then I tried my ring finger and it fit snuggly. I almost didn't want to admit how beautiful it looked on my finger, but it was literally made for it. A wave of darkness flooded through my body and my eyes instantly felt like lead. I could feel my eyes shut as sleep took me.

I woke up with a start and went to sit up when my head hit something hard and it made a loud THUD.

"OW! Mother fu-"

Why's it so dark? I began to feel my way around and realised that I was trapped inside something. It smelled like wood and polish and using my bare feet and hands I investigated the shape of the box. No way…it can't be… I let out a laugh of disbelief as I realised where I was. AM I IN A COFFIN? WHAT THE HELL? I began to punch the top of the coffin and yell, hoping to catch the attention of someone and hoping that I wasn't already buried underneath a bunch of dirt.

"HEY! ANYONE? I'M NOT FJUCKING DEAD YET! LET ME OUT!"

No one answered and I began to panic. There was no way someone could get into my apartment, carry me in a coffin and bury me without anyone noticing. I decided to use my feet to kick the coffin with all of my might, knowing that I had little to no physical strength to kick or punch my way out of a sealed coffin. I bent my knees in and kicked with all my might, hoping to break through the sides of the coffin, instead I ended up cracking my toes and I cursed in pain. That was when I heard a shuffling noise outside.

"Hey! Whoever is outside, let me out please! I don't know if this was some dumb joke but it isn't funny. LET ME OUT!"

I threw one last punch in frustration as the lid of the coffin swung open and my fist connected with flesh. I winced and shut my eyes as the outside light blinded me and felt my fist in the hands of someone. I opened my eyes and saw that I was in a somewhat dark and small room surrounded by several coffins and strange occult type items. I glanced up as the stranger dropped my fist and I was greeted by a silver haired man wearing an all-black robe and a strange black hat. His hair was covering most of his face aside from a small glimpse of his nose and his lips curled in an unsettling grin.

"Well…how interesting. You're not actually dead. Fufufu!"

"Uh… Who? Where? WHAT?"

I looked down and noticed that I was still wearing my pjs. The short silk Asian pjs clung to my body and I crossed my arms in front of my chest to hide them from this stranger.

"Hey, I need to know where I am."

"You're in the back of my shop my dear. Though you came to me as a dead body? Strange, I could have sworn your heart wasn't beating…"

I stared in disbelief. The man was speaking English but he had a strong accent…a familiar accent.

"Not beating? I was literally in bed, asleep and now I'm here! Is this heaven?"

The man chuckled with his sleeve covering his mouth and sat on one of the boxes scattered around the dark and dingy room.

"I can assure it isn't heaven. But I wouldn't the faintest clue how you got here. I found you lying on the ground inside my shop last night and when I checked to see if you were alive…well…he he he…you weren't."

"That doesn't make any sense. Wait is this some kind of prank show? I swear to go-"

There was the sound of a door opening and footsteps as an assertive voice called out from outside.

"Are you there, Undertaker?"

Before I could say anything the man grinned, turned and walked out.

"Hi Hi, I knew you would come. Welcome Earl~"

I climbed out of the coffin and almost let out a shout in shock as my bare feet touched the ice cold ground.

"Fjuck its cold."

Goosebumps covered my arms and legs and I began to tremble. I was almost tempted to climb back into the coffin but I gritted my teeth and decided to explore the room. I walked around, looking at all the different coffins and skulls that littered the ground, the room was lit only by candles which illuminated porcelain and ceramic urns on several shelves. Wait did I hear them call him Undertaker? Is this guy a mortician? Was he going to cut me up!? I shivered at the thought. I could hear Undertaker talking with a group of people. I could hear a few male voices, a female voice and a child's voice? What is a kid doing in a place like this? Heck, what I am doing in a place like this? I need to get out. I tried to look for another door leading out but it looked like this room was enclosed aside from the door leading out to Undertaker and his guests. So curiosity got the better of me and I crept towards the doorway and listened in. I felt horrible for eavesdropping but I needed to know when they left so I could leave as well. I didn't exactly want to let strangers see me in my pjs.

"So…You're here because you wanted to know about Jack the Ripper? Everyone's been scared because of all the disturbances lately but…he he he… This isn't the first time I've dealt with this kind of thing."

I could hear Undertaker giggle and munch on something whilst he was talking. Jack the Ripper? That was ages ago though? A female voice chimed in.

"Isn't this the first time it's happened though? What ever do you mean?"

"Hmmm…it has happened before. A case where prostitutes were murdered. In fact, they were all murdered in a very similar way. Well, the police weren't caring too much about these cases but all of the murdered prostitutes had something in common."

The child voice spoke up again. It was the same voice that called out to Undertaker earlier.

"Something in common? What is it?"

Undertaker chuckled and sighed. His tone relaxed and almost gleeful.

"Well, I wonder what it could be? Yes, indeed. Why Earl? Is it bothering you?"

There was a pause as one of the male voice spoke up. His voice was somewhat high pitched and had a sly tone to it, like he was amused. He also had a slight Chinese accent.

"I see. I see. You are very good at business Undertaker. So how much money do you want for this information?"

"How much money?! I DON'T WANT ANY OF THE QUEEN'S MONEY!"

I jumped in shock at Undertaker's sudden outburst. Undertaker began to giggle and the sound sent chills running down my spine. That man was so creepy.

"Earl, I only have one requirement~ Show me a first rate laugh. I'll tell you anything, no matter what you need to know."

"If that's the case! Let me handle this Earl! THE SLEEPING TIGER OF THE SHANGHAI NEW YEAR'S PARTY, ALSO REFERRED TO AS MY SOUL. THIS SHOULD SATISFY YOU! You like it?"

I bit my lip trying not to laugh. I had no idea what the hell was happening but after that man's attempt at a joke, he was only met with silence. Then the female voice let out a enthusiastic laugh as she attempted to make Undertaker laugh. I put my hand over my mouth as she started to rattle off some dirty jokes that didn't make Undertaker laugh, but it made me giggle a little.

"Well, Earl…It seems like you're the last one. Come on now~ I've been really nice to you and helped you so many times. Can't you be nice to me, just this once?"

I was thoroughly enjoying this to the point that I forgot that I had been taken to some strange place with strange people in my pjs. I cleared my mind and focused on my original objective, to get out and go home. I felt something tickle my leg and looked down to see the largest cockroach I had ever seen perch itself onto my calf. I screamed at the top of my lungs and swatted at it with my hand. It immediately got back up and started to fly towards me. I ran like the wind and through the doorway, only to trip over a wooden box and tumbled head first into a small body. I felt them go down with me as I probably crushed them underneath me.

"Ow, ow, ow…That's going to bruise. Oh shit. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

I looked down to see a young boy with greyish blue hair and an eye patch over his right eye. He was dressed in very fancy and expensive looking clothing and appeared to be no more than maybe 12 or 13 years old. He frowned and then glared up at me in annoyance as I jumped to my feet and reached my hand out to help him up. He slapped my hand away and got up by himself, still glaring at me with his eye which was a beautiful cerulean blue.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Oh um…I'm Jessie…Sorry I ran into you. I was attacked by a monster cockroach."

He continued to glare at me, though the initial hostility was gone.

"Are you alright? I didn't hurt you did I?"

"I'm fine."

I then noticed that I had the attention of everyone in the room and I waved awkwardly, sensing the tension and awkwardness in the room had suddenly increased 10 fold.

"Well, it was nice to meet you all, but I'm going to go no-"

I was stopped in my tracks by the woman in red and the Chinese man who were staring down at me with interest in the eyes.

"What odd clothes she is wearing… Is she one of yours Lau?"

"No, no, I've never seen her before. Though she looks like she is also from the East."

The two began to approach closer, as if trying to get a closer look at me and dissect me. I began to back up as the man dressed in black clapped his hands together.

"We came here for work. We should get back to it. So I would like to ask everyone to please wait outside and no matter what, don't look inside."

Everyone began to leave except me, for some apparent reason, I didn't think he was talking to me.

"That includes you too, Miss Jessie, if you'd please."

I woke up from my trance as I nodded and quickly left the store too. Everyone was waiting outside and stared at me as I closed the door behind me. I saw outside and noticed that everyone was dressed in clothes from a time long passed. I had a friend who was really into fashion and she often drew and designed clothes based off clothes from eras that were long gone now. No way…I didn't… I couldn't have. It's impossible. I was snapped out of my thoughts as the sound of howling laughter shook the store and the 'Undertaker' sign fell slightly from its placement. I sneezed as a cold wind picked up and the door opened, revealing the man in black and Undertaker collapsed over a bench, gasping for air. What did he do to make Undertaker laugh like that?

"Alrighty, I'll give you the information you want. You know, I've always thought that there weren't enough guests~"

"Guests?"

"Why, Internal organs of course."

He stroked the jars on the shelves and then proceeded to wipe the dust off the anatomy doll.

"Don't you think that the eternally sleeping guests that lay in coffins are so cute? My hobby is to take out organs for research~"

I saw Lau, the woman in red and another man dressed in black go pale as ghosts as they looked down at their beakers of tea. I almost choked on my laugh as I saw them put down their beakers in shock. Lau covered his mouth with his sleeve as he spat out his drink into the beaker.

"So you're saying, this could have held someone's kidney?"

"He he or something else. Afterall, those prostitutes were not while women anymore. Their wombs had been removed. You see, these guests have been rapidly increasing and leaving poor me so very busy. From what I have seen in the bodies, if the perpetrator was short on time, he should have slit the throat first and then proceed to cut open the stomach, however, that wasn't the case. The wombs of those prostitutes were very accurately and precisely removed so this couldn't have been the work of a normal citizen. It had to be someone experienced."

I blanched at the thought. I had read about Jack the Ripper. I enjoyed reading and listening to true crime documentaries and even learnt about some of these things in school. I had a history teacher who loved crime documentaries too. But I didn't want to jump in. I figured it would be better if I just disappeared into the background. Though I was surprised that they were letting me listen to this conversation. I didn't seem like something that anyone could know about.

"So will you stop them? The notorious noble, Earl of Phantomhive?"

This kid was the Earl of Phantomhive? Wait? Phantomhive? Isn't that the name of that kid from that anime? That's not possible. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? I fell back onto a coffin in shock, the noise startling everyone but Earl Phantomhive paid no attention to me.

"It doesn't matter what happens, I will solve this myself. Apologies for the intrusion Undertaker."

The Earl looked away from Undertaker as he turned and walked out the front door. Everyone else began to follow suit and left, leaving me alone with the creepy mortician.

"You seem uncomfortable, would you like some tea and biscuits?"

I shook my head and continued to stare at him. He tilted his head as he continued to munch on a bone shaped cookie. I pinched my thigh and winced at the pain. It isn't a dream. How did this happen? I then noticed that the ring was still on my finger, except now, it was no longer a deep blue, but a misty white colour. Did this thing bring me here?

"Are you afraid?"

"Afraid? Of what?"

"What you have just heard. The mysterious killer lurking around and killing innocent women."

"No, not particularly. I'm not a prostitute, so I don't have anything to worry about. But now that you mention it, the killer has to be specialised in human bodies. There's no way someone ordinary can isolate and remove just the uterus like that. Especially in this day and age. Even then, doctors during this time had questionable methods of healing someone."

Undertaker grinned with amusement as he picked up all the beakers and poured out their contents.

"You speak as if you aren't from here. Where did you say you came from?"

"I didn't say where I was from. And I don't think it really matters. You won't believe even if I told you."

I muttered the last bit to myself but from Undertaker's reaction, I had a feeling he heard it. I decided to help him clean up which he seemed a bit shocked but let me help anyway.

"Suit yourself. I could use an assistant around the place. It does get a little lonely despite all of my lovely guests."

"I don't have anywhere else to go, so sure. I'll help out here. Honestly, never really thought I'd ever help out with this kind of stuff. I mean, I kinda guess that you were a mortician when I first woke up and saw your jars of organs and skulls everywhere."

"Like I said, it is my hobby to collect organs for research."

"Interesting hobby… So what kind of work would you have me do as your assistant?"

Undertaker scratched his chin and then shrugged, a large grin stretched across his face.

"But first, we can't have you walking about wearing those clothes and no shoes. You could get sick or be mistaken for a prostitute and end up as one of my lovely guests, not that I would mind, hihihi."

I glared at him for his comment.

"For your information, when I was brought here, it was during my sleep which is why I am wearing my pjs. I didn't choose to wear this outside where strangers can see me. You probably don't have any spare clothing laying around would you? Men or women's clothes doesn't matter."

"Hmmm, perhaps…"

Undertaker turned and went into the back and returned shortly with a simple blue dress and a pair of low black heels. I went out back and changed into the dress. It was a little big but it was better than wearing my silk pjs around the place and thankfully I didn't have to wear a corset and subject myself to torture.

"Thanks Undertaker. So, I'm guessing you'd want me to clean the shop? It looks like it needs a good clean."

"If you want. I will be out for a bit. Hehehe, take care."

And like that, he was gone. I was left alone in the shop. I found a broom and began to sweep the floor, pushing boxes into a corner and cleaning up all the cobwebs. Hours went by as I kept cleaning the front and then made my way to the back. Honestly, I was very fascinated yet disturbed at the number of urns and jars of organs and body parts lying around. I took care not to knock them over or move them from their place, casually reading the labels as I dusted the shelves. My stomach began to growl as I realised that I hadn't eaten since last night. My body and mind must have been in shock until now. Honestly, I still had no idea how I managed to get transported into a fictional world but I figured crying wouldn't solve anything and if I wanted to get answers, I'd have to find them myself. As I was cleaning, I found a few coins and figured I could use them to buy myself some food in the meantime, since I wasn't sure when Undertaker would be back and honestly didn't trust any of the food or drink in this place. So I left the store and decided to go for a walk. I took note of all the buildings, signs and people. I was definitely not home and not in the same timeline. The sun was beginning to set but my stomach was begging for food, so I ignored the nagging feeling in my gut telling me to go back and wait. That was my first and biggest mistake. I bought myself a pastry from small street vendor and decided to head back to Undertaker's store. I remembered the path I had taken to get food and approached the street on which the shop was found. As I turned the corner, I heard rapidly approaching footsteps and turned around. Only I was too slow and felt a pair of hands grab me and a cloth covered my mouth. I felt my consciousness fade and slumped against the person abducting me as I went limp and everything went black.

END OF CHAPTER

Yes, I know…I am writing again. I didn't think I would actually post anything. Originally, it was just for fun but I figured I would just post it and see how it goes. I am also aware that I have another Black Butler story that I haven't finished yet. But it is currently up to date with the manga so there isn't anything I can do so I thought I would write a different Black Butler story but an Isekai styled one instead. So…here we are. I hope you guys enjoy it and I aim to update this one as often as possible – probably once a week or once a fortnight. But thanks for reading everyone!