WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 6 of Lapis Re:LiGHTs,"Ruin Explorers," now streaming on Funimation.
In this latest episode, the students of Flora Girls’ Academy face a new challenge in the form of a summons. Reports of supernatural activity occurring in a a nearby forest prompts an investigation into the source of this phenomenon. The fifth episode of Lapis Re:LiGHTs introduces the pieces of this supernatural mystery. One of the girls caught a glimpse of a supposedly haunted house while investigating the area and Maryberry encountered a girl who looked and acted like a ghost. Something was definitely up with these woods .
Episode 6 of Lapis Re:LiGHTs delved into the specifics of what this haunting truly is. Maryberry disappears, shocking all of the students she had been traveling with. In their search for her, they come across a suspicious building that appears to be suspended in the air, save for a staircase connected to the ground.
Based on appearance alone, the house is almost certainly haunted — or a least supernaturally inclined, in some way. The building's outdated architecture and dust-covered rooms makes it seem as if it'd been sitting in the forest for years and, as soon as the girls enter, an unnatural storm kicks up outside.
Once inside, the girls begin to investigate, eventually coming across the ghost-like girl from before. She tries to come out of a wall to greet her guests, but only winds up terrifying everyone. Ghost girl retreats into the wall, but watches the group through the eyes of broken dolls in the next room. Several that are suspended start to turn towards the students, once again scaring them off.
However, it turns out that the house, while definitely haunted, isn’t quite as spooky place as it first seemed. The girls learn that the house holds two spirits, one named Garnet and the other being a doll that turned sentient over time. However, neither of these ghosts have any malicious intent — despite the doll spirit trying to drop a chandelier on the group. But, after taking a moment to slow down, the girls get a chance to talk to Garnet herself.
Garnet is a ghost that hasn't realized she's died. Wearing a school uniform that resembles the Flora Girls Academy's own, she was often alone in the house save for the doll spirit. Because of that, Garnet wants to make friends with other people. She doesn’t have any ill will towards those she meets, her scariness is just a byproduct of her ghostly nature.
By the end of the episode, it turns out that what at first seemed to be a house of horrors was really just a lonely home. Only those who cared to look deeper would be able to see that friendly spirits resided within. In a sense, this haunted house represents how opening up can be a good thing. On the outside, someone might appear to be cold and distant, but if you take the time to get to know them you might be able to learn something new about them.