[8.2] An Unwanted Occupant

(Author's note: No one's POV)

In the emptiness of space, Zephyr's true form suddenly materialized. He flicked his hair as he proudly placed his hands on his hips. Usually, people would be concerned about a half-naked man walking around, but this wasn't an actual place. He wore a single cloth covering his lower front as he displayed his muscular chest proudly.

As he walked in the darkness, he snickered mischievously. "Alright stupid human girl… Let's see all your memories. Hehe~ There must be something here for me to use as blackmail."

As he walked, the space around him began to materialize into a hallway complete with empty frames. He stopped and furrowed his brow.

The sight was unfamiliar to him. He was sure he had never seen such a place in the human nor demon territories. The floor seemed to be made out of fake bricks, but instead of being rough and bumpy; they were smooth and glossy.

There was a strange orb of light on the ceiling which hurt his eyes as he stared at it. He thought it was a magic light at first, but he soon discovered that it wasn't magic at all.

Whatever this place was, he had never seen anything like it.

It was completely foreign.

"What kind of place is this? Master told me that the locations in people's minds are wherever they are happiest. However, this is just creepy."

He lost his train of thought as he peered into the empty frames, "Eh? Why are there no memories?"

He frowned as he walked along the empty hall with only frames on the walls. He paused when he noticed that one frame actually had a painting inside.

The painting began to move as he watched it.

He saw a hand reach for a door that was already open. Then, the hand pushed the door.

Before he could see what was behind the door, red liquid poured from the painting, dripping to the floor.

He jumped back in a panic, "That's…. Ominous."

He scratched his head as he stared at the painting, "I don't think I ever saw that before… Did Master ever mention that?"

He shrugged and kept walking down the eerie hall. He stopped when he noticed the empty frames were now beginning to contain something. However, they were still incomplete. In one, he noticed a woman with short black hair walking with children following behind her in a line.

It was the same hallway as the one he was in now.

He tapped his chin, "Odd."

He continued and noticed it was getting harder to breathe.

He coughed as the air got foggier.

He waved his hands, "Eh!? What's this now? Why is it hard to breathe?!"

He wasn't paying attention and suddenly knocked into someone.

He fell onto his backside, "Ack!"

He rubbed his lower back and turned to see what he had run into. The woman he had seen in the painting was now in front of him. She was staring at a large painting in front of her with lifeless eyes.

He scrunched his eyebrows at her, "...Reika?"

"Mn." She gave a nod without withdrawing her eyes from the painting.

His eyes widened, "No way! Are you actually from another world?"

Her eyes grew soft as she stared ahead, "A different world… Yes. Originally I wasn't from your world..."

He slapped his leg, "No way. I can't believe it. Are you sure you're not crazy?"

"Perhaps I am… But the world I am originally from is real."

"Hmm." He tapped his chin and followed her gaze to the large painting. His eyes widened when he realized the painting didn't move, which meant it wasn't a memory. He peered at it closely, "This painting…"

She finally turned to him with a burning gaze, "What do you think? Is it worth dying for?"

"Huh? Dying for?"

A screech echoed through the hall forcing Zephyr to cover his ears in pain.

An unknown body, visible yet opaque, jumped out of the wall screaming, "GET OUT!"

Zephyr felt her cold hands as they tore into his body.

He panicked as her sharp nails went through his body, sending unnatural chills up his spine.

He jumped out of Reika's mind before the sharp nails could kill him for real.

…

(Author's note: Back to Reika's POV)

Zephyr let out a scream as he sat up.

I jumped in surprise at his sudden scream. I had no idea what he was so upset about. All I had seen was a blinding white light.

I blinked in confusion, "What? What is it?"

He let out a sigh and wiped his sweaty brow, "Y-You… Just what ghost did you piss off!?"

My eyes widened, "G-Ghost?"

He glared at me in his animal form, "Yeah. You have a ghost living inside of you."

I shivered as I glared at him, "Don't say such creepy things… You can try to scare me, but it won't work."

This is a magical world. Not a supernatural one. There is no way ghosts could actually be real.

He shook his head, "I'm not trying to scare you. I'm telling you the truth. There is a ghost attached to you… Maybe even a poltergeist."

I shook my head, "No way. Ghosts aren't real."

"...Ghosts are real."

My face twitched as I gulped down my fear, "How would you know?! It has to be superstition!"

He stared at me with his mouth agape before speaking slowly, "...Do you know what a ghost is?"

"Yes!! Of course I do! They are dead people who try to scare you. They can be friendly or mean."

He groaned in exasperation, "No you idiot! They are dead people, but they are spirits infused with magic!"

"...Infused with magic?"

He clicked his tongue, "Listen up, idiot! I will only tell you this once. A ghost is a spirit who died with too much resentment. Anything with mana has the ability to turn into a ghost or spirit after they die. However, only those with intense hatred or resentment stay. There is no such thing as a friendly ghost!"

I gulped, "Then… The ghost inside me is mean?"

"Mean?! More like vicious! She nearly killed me!!! If a ghost is attached to you, that means you are the subject of their resentment or hatred. They won't leave until their resentment or hatred is relieved. Most of the time that is only accomplished by killing the host."

I shivered. Could I exchange this body for someone who doesn't have a ghost attached to it?

Please and thank you?

He stared at me critically, "So who did you kill?"

"I didn't kill anyone!... Well… I don't think I did at least… I'm not sure. Could it be the body's previous owner?"

He shook his head, "There's no way. The ghost attached to you is an adult woman."

"Ah! Then it was me from my previous world?"

He smacked me with his paw, "No! You idiot! I saw the real you. I also saw her. You two were completely different."

I just wanted to pretend I didn't have a ghost inside of me.

My voice came out as a whine, "Couldn't you have at least let me live in denial?"

"Not a chance." He looked at me closely, "So? Who is it? How did you arrive here? Could it have been caused by that?"

"I really have no idea. I woke up in this body in the middle of the slums…." My eyes lit up as I remembered something, "Ah! I woke up next to a corpse! They had said I was trying to bring her back to life… Could it be her?"

"That seems likely… Who was it?"

"I think they said…. This body's mother?"

Zephyr snickered, "She's probably mad you stole her daughter."

I hung my head, "Ugh..."

He leaned closer with a mischievous smile, "She's probably waiting for the right moment before she rips you apart in your sleep~"

I flicked his forehead, "Stop trying to scare me!"

He rubbed his forehead, "Stop hitting me!! Abuse! Cruelty!"

But is there really a ghost inside of me?

I felt a chill crawl up my spine. I shook my head, "Nope! I don't like it. I want it out now. I need an exorcist."

He tilted his head, "An exorcist?"

"I need someone like a priest to suck the ghost out of me. I've seen them do it in movies."

"Movies?"

"They are like moving images on a screen." Seeing his confused expression, I shook my head. "Nevermind. I just need to get rid of the ghost."

"I think you are just stuck with her. Like I said, the only way to get rid of a ghost is to destroy its source of resentment and hatred. She really didn't like you…" He frowned at me as he muttered to himself, "And I can understand why."

I glared at him, "Shut up. So you are saying that I am stuck with this weird… Ghost-thing?"

"Until you die. Yup."

"And there's no way I can get rid of it?"

"I could kill you. That'd get rid of it."

"..."

I sighed and held my forehead, "Whatever. It doesn't seem to be causing any problems at the moment, so I will just ignore it."

His tail swished as he stared at me with excited eyes, "By the way, why is your head so empty?"

My face twitched in irritation, "Are you calling me stupid? Do you want to die?"

He shook his head, "No! I mean… You didn't have any memories. All I saw was a group of kids following you and a door that was slightly open."

I flinched, "Oh.."

I closed my eyes and tried to recount my memories. However, there was a huge gap. I could only remember that door…

But what was behind that door?

And what happened after I gave that tour to those children?

I shook my head, "I can't remember anything else."

His eyes widened, "Amnesia?"

"Huh?"

He suddenly grew excited, "My master told me about this! She said that those suffering from amnesia will have empty minds."

I suddenly grew interested and leaned forward in anticipation, "Did she say how to solve it?"

He nodded quickly, "Yes! She said: All you need to do is not remember."

My face twitched, "What kind of bullsh*t solution is that?!"

He frowned, "Stupid human! Don't disrespect my master! My master is wiser than you could ever hope to achieve!"

I rolled my eyes, "Did you have a crush on your master or something? Why do you keep singing her praises?"

"BAH! Stupid human! I am not worthy enough to have a crush on my master! My master was a fairy with no equals. No one has seen such a powerful being since the world began and they won't see another like her when it ends either!"

My eyes widened, "A fairy?"

He nodded, "Yes! She was beautiful and charming!"

"What did she look like?"

"She looked-" His words trailed off. He furrowed his brow, "I can't remember what she looked like… Has it been that long?... No. I don't think I could ever remember. BUT! That doesn't matter! She was an ethereal beauty!! No one could compare!"

I waved my hand, "Okay, whatever. She's a beauty. But her advice that I shouldn't remember is useless."

He clicked his tongue, "You really are an idiot. She meant this: the more you try to recall a memory, the harder it will be. You can only remember it when you don't think about it. It will come back to you naturally."

I sighed, "Ugh… I don't want to wait…"

He sneered, "Well too bad. You don't have a choice. If you force it, then it definitely won't come back."

I let out a sigh and leaned backward. I rubbed my temples. But why can't I remember? I've never had memory issues before.