Ghost and Specters (1)

Louise felt a vibration from the phone he had set aside. As memories surged in his head, he felt heat rising from one of his fingers. He looked down and saw the ring slowly lighting up. Smoke arose from the ring and covered his entire body.

A screech woke him from his reverie. Before him, the former love of his life had turned into a ghost—a white lady to be exact. The ghost stepped away from him, as if she was afraid of the smoke. Soon, not just her but the entire surroundings changed.

"What the hell is happening?!" Louise mumbled as the once beautiful park turned into ruins. All the plants were dead; the ground was covered in dried blood; and a huge crater could be seen in the middle of the park.

A memory surfaced in Louise's mind. In that cursed place where he experienced death again and again was a world similar to Earth. There, the same scene of death and decay could be seen everywhere.

"Is this how Earth will look like in a few years?" His surging emotions suddenly died down as he stared at the frightened ghost before him. He was now enclosed in a transparent barrier that made him feel safe. Without any hesitation, he walked toward the ghost.

Louise felt a sudden killing intent nearby. He approached the ghost in hopes of finding the culprit behind it. As he got closer, he yelled, "Appear before me!" He moved forward while the ghost stepped backward. After a few moments, the ghost hit a wall. It seemed the ghost wasn't entirely an actual ghost but a being with a solid form. Cornered, the ghost wailed and bared her claws and fangs.

But Louise was unafraid. He continued until he was in front of the ghost and raised his hand. "You're not the one I want to kill."

The ghost was about to attack but stopped. Her claws and fangs vanished as she felt the warm barrier covering her instead of burning her. A small sound escaped from her lips as her form disintegrated.

Louise watched as the ghost disappeared. That ghost didn't want to hurt him; it was forced. As for why he knew, it was because he didn't feel any animosity from it until it was cornered.

"Now that your pet is gone, isn't it time for you to appear?" Louise clenched his fist as a different emotion surged inside his heart. Reliving this memory and having a vague hope that things would be different—this event was really messed up. A battle event? One that he had to fight with himself?

An eerie sound echoed around him, sometimes far, sometimes close. It cackled before saying, "Heh, you had your chance. Even if you accepted, this event would still reward you. I'm just showing you a better outcome of the past. Something you could have gained after leaving this place."

Louise was unamused. Something told him that it was just trying to play tricks, but another part of him told him that it was telling the truth. Something along the lines of being rewarded for this event...

"The past can't be changed. Only the actions of the present will determine the future." Even Louise himself was surprised by what he had spoken, but after a thought, he knew this was his conviction. Changing the past would mean living in a lie. And lies… they would always be faced with the truth in one way or another.

"Good, good, good. You were given the chance, but you rejected it. This could have been your future, this could have been your fate, but you rejected it! You failed, now die!"

Bang!

What had been speaking all this time suddenly appeared before Louise in the form of a specter—a dark silhouette hidden in ragged robes and holding a two-meter scythe.

Louise winced as the scythe was barely stopped by the barrier around him merely inches from his face. That wince turned into horror as cracks appeared before his eyes. He took a step back as the specter once again raised its scythe to strike.

'So this is what a battle event truly means. Damn! But how do I fight that?' Louise suddenly calmed down as he thought of his current situation. At the worst, he could just die, no?

The barrier around him was struck again and again, and more and more cracks appeared. He tried to dodge a few strikes, but his opponent was faster and stronger than him.

Soon, the cracks in the barrier grew larger and larger, and Louise knew that it would break apart any moment now. He couldn't stay passive! "I have to do…"

Louise suddenly realized that the specter was only using his scythe to attack. When he dodged and accidentally got near him, the ghost retreated a bit before attacking again.

And that was when he realized that he could really do something. The scythe once again hit the barrier around him, but instead of taking a step back, he stood still as if accepting his fate. The specter pulled back and was about to strike again when Louise suddenly threw a haymaker.

The punch hit its target, but the force behind it was so weak that the specter stayed unmoving. However, that was more than enough as flames grew from where the punch landed and covered the entire specter. "Arghhhhhhhhh! What have you done?!"

Louise recalled that the ghost a while ago was so afraid of his barrier—it must have some sort of effect against the specter. It was a random theory, but one that was so effective that the wailing specter gradually turned to dust, leaving behind its two-meter scythe.

Louise breathed a sigh of relief as he sat on the ground. The cracks around his barrier gradually disappeared and reformed anew. He looked at the ground and reached for the scythe. He observed it for a moment before muttering, "Is the event finally done?"

It was at this time that two voices echoed around him.

"Hihihi, Old Black was careless, but we won't be so careless. He didn't want to kill you~"

"You had so much potential, human~ Now it's time for us to avenge Old Black!"

Two specters suddenly appeared in front and behind Louise. He suddenly remembered that when he was in the toilet, there were three ghosts, not one. This event wasn't so easy after all.