Chapter 9: A New Ability

"How is he?"

"Except his bleeding forehead, everything's fine."

Inside John's room, 5 minutes after the confusing incident. Aina and Doctor Chris, whose name we finally know, are sitting near John's unconscious body.

"His circle is healed and judging from how he was acting before he passed out, he doesn't seem to remember anything but of course we would have to ask the boy himself to confirm."

Aina could not help but sigh in relief from the only positive news she's heard this entire month.

But she still had some worries over her son's behaviour from a while ago.

"But doctor what about what happened when first woke up? He was speaking very differently from the John that I know. I and my Husband never raised him to be the type to swear. I even ordered the servants to hide away any books with that kind of content."

Hearing her words doctor Chris could only shake his head.

"I apologize your grace but I am a doctor that specializes in the brain. Anything that involves a person's behaviour or personality is the job of another kind of doctor."

Hearing Doctor Chris explain that he can't help disappointed Aina. It seems that she would have to ask her husband to look for a psychologist to look into John's condition.

After a few more examinations and with all of them showing no signs of other injuries Doctor Chris excused himself for the day, exiting the room after.

Once again Aina and John were alone just like last time. Maybe this time the moment won't be ruined by another headbutt.

The whole time Aina remained quiet as she caressed her son's cheek before she kissed his bandaged forehead goodnight and then left the room.

Sensing that he was alone, John slowly opened his eyes.

When he was sure that there was no one else in the room, he got up from his bed and went to the standing mirror in the corner.

"F*ck... I really am the brat."

John Dweller, the old man that was thought to be dead now back in a new but familiar form.

"Wait... so where's the brat? Is he just... gone?"

// No, I'm still here Mr Dweller. \\

"Oh, sweet Jesus!"

Dweller could not help but jump in fright when some random person's voice was in his head.

Obviously that "random person" is John just from what he said.

Seeing Dweller jump from his spot made John giggle.

"If you were here the whole time kid why didn't you say anything?"

// Oh, that's because I was flying around in the room! It was super fun Mr Dweller. \\

' Room? '

Confused by what John said, Dweller asked him about what he just said.

"What do you mean by room? Isn't it all just dark?"

// Nope, I'm in the same room as you right now, but to be more specific I'm right above your head. \\

Hearing what John said, Dweller quickly looked up only to see nothing.

// Oh! I can also go through solid objects like a ghost! WoOoOoO~~ scary~~ \\

"An out-of-body experience!" Dweller was shocked and a bit mad to hear John's experience.

He spent 6 whole years with only a giant screen and a large orange ball in the dark, but this kid gets to have something like this? 'This is BS' He thought.

"So how long have you been flying around now John?"

// Hmmm... like 10 minutes now. "After he said that he stretched his arms while slowly floating down to the ground. " But I'm bored now so I wanna go back \\

Dweller couldn't help but think of something and ask John about it.

"But do you know how you can go back?"

// Huh? But aren't you the one that did this? \\

"No? I just suddenly woke up in your body. I didn't do anything at all."

Hearing Dweller's words started to make John scared because of the chance that he might stay a ghost forever.

// ...Please fix this Mr. Dweller I don't wanna stay like this forever!... I don't want to be a ghost forever!... \\

Dweller didn't know what to do really. He could try to help John out and get his body back, but what about him? Go back to being trapped in that dark void again? No way.

But then again didn't he promise himself to help this kid protect his family? How's he gonna do that without a body.

After a few minutes of silence and thinking, Dweller finally gave John a reply.

"Hah... Alright kid you win, I'll help you out."

Hearing what Mr Dweller said made John so happy that he ran full force into his body to give Mr Dweller that was inside it a powerful hug.

But as John's incorporeal body made contact with his corporeal body, He suddenly went into his body like he was sucked in.

At the same time, Dweller could feel something was off, and before he could even say anything about it he felt something with a lot of force push him that he dropped to his knees.

"Kid what the hell is happ--" Dweller's voice was suddenly cut off, and at the same time his body went limp and fell to the ground.

After a few seconds of looking like it was dead, John's body started to twitch.

A bright light started to shine from John's chest, It kept on getting brighter and brighter until something was shot out with great force.

*Thoomp!*

{ AAAHH-- GUH!... Ughh... what just happened? }

It turns out what shot out of John's chest was Dweller in his 50-year-old incorporeal body. He shot out with so much force that he ended up hitting the ceiling and sticking to it.

Right at the same time, the eyes in John's body regained their color and soon after started to get up off the ground.

"Am... Am I back?" John asked himself as he started feeling his face. Not convinced with just that, John tried to go through the wall by running at it.

*Thud*

"Ow... I'm back! Mr Dweller I got my body back!"

Dweller who was still stuck on the ceiling congratulated him.

{ Congrats kid... } Dweller pulled himself off the ceiling, quickly floating down with no issues since all he's been doing for 6 years was floating around.

{ Good thing we both got what we wanted in the end, you got your body back and I don't get to go back to that dark void. } Dweller deeply sighed in relief, he really expected that he would go back and continue living his life in a pitch-black void.

Seeing that he was still free really made him happy, almost as happy as he was when he chopped people up.

"Oh! Does that mean you're also a ghost like me a while ago?"

{ Yep. By the way did you do something before we switched? }

"Oh I just ran straight into you to hug you, but then I went Fwoop! And I was forcefully sucked in and then everything went dark only for a moment until after a while I could see again and then here I am back in my body."

Listening to John's actions gave Dweller an Idea that he wanted to try out. His idea was to do the same thing John did which is to just run straight into him.

{ John I think we may be able to switch who controls your body. }

"Hmm... But I don't want to go back to being a ghost..." John pouted.

{ No no I just want to test this idea, and if it works you can just do the same thing you did and take your body back, deal? }

"Hmm... Ok fine, let's do it, besides this sounds interesting."

John gave Dweller a thumbs up and prepared himself. Although he just got back his body, he was gonna lose it again, but at least there's a way to take it back so John wasn't as worried this time compared to a while ago.

{ Ok good. Now relax and stay still. }

Hearing this, John relaxed right away.

Seeing John being relaxed, Dweller started by slowly extending his right arm towards John until his palm touched his back.

Dweller gathered all the strength he has and used all of it to push his hand into John's back. When he did, he finally felt like he was being sucked in but not pulled in.

Dweller now thought the reason John felt like he was sucked in was probably that the momentum of his running was brought over during the switch.

Slowly, Dweller pushed his hand further and further into John's back until it was up to his shoulder now.

Now Dweller just had to push his other arm in,

then his head,

then his torso,

and lastly his 2 legs.

The moment his legs went all in, the same thing as a while ago happened, John's eyes lost their color and his body goes limp and then some bright light in the chest, but this time he didn't fall down when he went limp, and when the bright light reached it's brightest, instead of shooting John out, an incorporeal John gently came out of his chest.

"It works! Do you see this John!"

Dweller was ecstatic, he actually has a body now... well, a shared body at least but still a body nonetheless.

He called out to John again to celebrate but didn't get a reply.

"John?"

// Zzzz... \\

"Wait.. you're asleep?... Hey you stupid kid wake up!" Hearing no response from John, Dweller gave up trying. "What the hell am i supposed to do now?"

Although he was ecstatic about getting a body, that was it. He can't really do much while in such a young weak body.

"Sigh... Alright, goodnight then John." After saying those words Dweller decided to explore the building with his own two feet. Yeah, you could say that he already explored everything since he spent 6 years watching John do the exploring for him, but now that he could he move himself, he wanted to be the one to experience it this time.

So while Dweller lurked around in the dark and quiet hallways. John's ghostly body on the other hand followed him around passing through everything, as if it was attached with an invisible rope.