:Formless Hollow

One wrong movement, and she could become a meal. Diva knew what she was up against, but still, someone has gotta take care of nearby formless hollows.

*Boom!*

She dashed at it with inhuman speed, widening Jack's eyes with her terrific velocity that left a crack in the tarred road—she was definitely not human.

As she closed the gap gradually, the hollow projected three attacks. However, based on reflexes, she dodged to the right, leapt up, and landed steadily on the last one.

"What the heck... Derek's girlfriend is insane."

Just a few steps left, and *kweuk!* Diva got hit hard in her abdomen, sending her back to her initial position with blood trickling beside her red lips.

"Are you okay?"

With no response, Diva stormed at the hollow once more, this time disregarding Jack. Her speed left a straight crack, and she was simultaneously seen behind the hollow, her scythe dripping purple blood.

That's when the hollow exploded, staining the buildings.

"Where's your brother?"

"Uh...? I think an explanation is the first thing here," Jack replied.

Before Diva could think of what words to say, *boom!* The hollow regenerated in 0.00001 nanoseconds and grabbed Diva by her torso, slamming her against the opposite side of the building.

She coughed out blood and grunted with each strike. Lastly, the hollow hurled her against a building, but before she made contact with the building—

*Boom!*

Jack felt something rush past him. He didn't see who or what it was, but he felt something.

"Derek?"

His brother's back had hit the wall instead, creating a web-like crack. As he let go of her, she spoke. "You're late."

Derek gave her a chuckle, but as his eyes landed on the monster, his demeanor quickly changed. He became a different person, someone Jack had never thought would be his brother.

Even at that, the hollow roared and launched its attack.

But unlike Diva, Derek was subtle. He grinned and took off his lens, crushing it to pieces.

"Nourishing, although your abilities do seem trashy," Derek commented, not wiping the grin off his face.

Every attack sent at him passed through his body, more like a ghost than a human. And with every step he took, the hollow was closer to losing its existence.

Eventually, he took the final step and stopped inches away from the hollow, still wearing his grin. The monster, on the other hand, continued to give attacks that ended up ruining the surface further.

Derek placed his palm on the monster's face. "Sleep," a cold voice escaped from his lips.

Jack witnessed as the hollow began shrinking, shrinking into a ball the size of an apple—thick, black, and round.

"Care for some?" asked Derek. Diva replied, rolling her eyes. With that, he swallowed the ball past his grinning lips.

"What the heck!" yelled Jack, his voice echoing in the midnight.

"Oh... Jack, didn't see you there. Oh, and congratulations on your first death," said Derek with a chuckle.

Jack's eyes twitched, alternating glances between Derek and Diva. Still, their expressions remained unchanged.

"Wait, you're not kidding?"

"Kidding? For once, you're right, Lil' B. Something resembling your anime shows exists... But instead, we've got two worlds: Hollow and Real...

"Hollow worlds are for humans like us who died and have something holding us back from crossing the two bridges of hell or heaven, I believe...

"Wait... Like us? You've been dead this whole time?"

Derek gave no reply, just stared at Diva, who gave him a gentle nod. "Yeah, the point I'm trying to make is, those strange deaths happening every year aren't accidents...

"That thing just now is a hollow that hunts prematured forms (souls) for decades, unless you're stronger than them...

"Formless hollows like the one I just took down are responsible. Formless hollows are the bad guys, like Goku Black and Antares, or maybe Sukuna. I'm glad you didn't take a formless path," Derek explained, landing his hand on Jack's shoulder and replacing his lens with another from his pocket.

"Formless path? How do you know I didn't take it?"

In response to his question, Derek glanced at Diva. The girl brought out a device resembling a stopwatch that had been counting for about an hour.

"Formless awaken after 30 minutes of death; they only know how to cause chaos. It's already been an hour, and you're looking pretty much in good form."

*Thud!*

"And if he does turn out to be a formless, I've been sent to personally exorcise him."

Making a grand entry from the darkness, a male with black spiked hair revealed himself, his hands tucked inside his black clothing.

"Avatar, I thought you never accept weak tasks like these ones."

Without exchanged words, Avatar walked towards Jack, gave a stern look, and replied.

"Well... I gotta take care of him like you took care of mine. It's an order, right?" said Avatar with a grin. "Now, let's make sure he isn't a formless."

Accompanying his words, Avatar brought out a small container emitting black smoke.

"Sniff it," said Avatar to Jack.

Diva was about to step in, but judging by the looks given to her by Derek, she suppressed her steps, knowing that sniffing shadow smoke determines the final decision if Jack would be a formless or not.

"It's okay, Jack. I'm here," Derek assured his Lil' B.

"Hmph... He can't save you if you're a formless," said Avatar. "I'll kill you by orders."

Before Jack sniffed the container, he glanced at his brother, Diva, and then at the ruined environment. Though he had just been introduced to this, his heart was pounding hard.

*Sniff... Cough... Cough...*

"Awful... That's an awful smell," said Jack. "Sooo..." Judging by the relief on Derek and Diva's faces, he wasn't a formless.

"Tsk... Luck," Avatar let out his frustration.

"Let's take you to the Hollow world now. There's someone you gotta see," said Derek.

A purple, dark portal materialized in front of them, but as Diva was about to step in, they all witnessed an unexpected turn of events.

"I'm not going in there," replied Jack, his voice changed, colder and more dead than before.

"Pardon?" asked Derek, Avatar already forming a fist with a smile.

"Hehehe... hehehe... bwahaha..." Jack continued laughing menacingly until he spoke again, this time yelling and spreading his hands out like a king, a sinister grin etched on his face.

"I mean, look at this world, filled with weak beings. I could recreate this world but destroy it—it would be a massacre," he yelled and continued laughing.

His eyes widened in joyous discovery of a weak world, his grin widening, but suddenly, he stumbled backward, and another voice was heard.

"Ouch... Sort of blacked out just now," said Jack.

Perplexed, he wondered why Derek and Diva's faces showed worry, like that of a worried mom, and Avatar's face showed that of a happy clown.

"Did I miss something?" Jack asked, perplexity evident in his voice. Avatar stepped forward with a satisfied grin.

"Nope, nothing much, just in time for me to exorcise you by orders," said the spike-haired hollow with satisfaction.

His statement caused Jack to stumble backward momentarily, his eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost.