With that final line, the screen disappeared.

A gust of wind prompted you to shield your eyes momentarily and you felt the world around you distort. When you lifted your arm down, you were struck with awe to find yourself in a city. The infrastructures were entirely made out of mist and the space felt dream-like. Sounds were muffled, touching something would cause your hand to be engulfed in fog, and no new scents reached your senses.

Your mind wandered back to––you'd just refer to the holographic screen as 'the system'––what the system said. Of course, you were still confused on their goal, but for now your main priority was to find Amias.

The streets of this city were filled with white silhouettes of people. And whenever you bumped into someone, they'd disappear like a puff of clouds. It left an icy feeling to linger on your body as if frost had thinly coated your skin. From a distance, everyone in the crowd blended together like mist. This made a certain individual on the road stand out immensely. More specifically, a child on the ground.

An incoming car was rapidly approaching him and he still hadn't gotten up yet. Panic screamed at you to rush towards him, however you were too late. A crash resonated through the air and you instinctively turned away for a brief moment. You expected gasps of horror, panicked chatter to fill the air, people rushing to check up on the child.

But nothing happened.

To your horror, the city carried on as usual.

You ran over to check on the child, silently cursing yourself for not doing so immediately. The moment you saw his features closely, your eyes widened in shock.

"... Amias?"

The moment that name left your lips, the world warped and the city became a distorted mess. You had to close your eyes for a moment to not risk getting motion sickness. When you opened them again, the city had disappeared and you were back in the vast space with nothing but mist clouding your vision.

... What just happened?

Amias's younger self... Was that his past?

"Was the death some form of manifestation of a fear?" you mumbled.

There were too many questions and too many possibilities to come to any conclusion. But one thing you were certain of was that the protagonist you thought you knew so well, the protagonist who's past you didn't think much of, was much more complicated than you thought.

"... (Y/n)?"

A familiar voice captured your attention.

You turned around.

Amias!

The male took a hesitant step forward, however his eyebrows creased together in worry when you didn't respond to him.

"Oh..." A bittersweet smile was on his face. "Another illusion?"

Another illusion?

"Wait, Amias, it's me!" you exclaimed, panic seeping into your voice. "Sorry for not responding, I just didn't expect to see you so soon!"

A flicker of hope kindled in his golden eyes and he took a more confident step forward. After that, another pause; it as if he was too afraid to proceed. Then after a soft exhale, Amias rushed up to you and grabbed the sides of your arms. Unsure on how to handle his abrupt actions, you tensed and blinked in surprise.

"You're real, right?" Amias asked, voice slightly cracking towards the end. Contrary to him suddenly grabbing the sides of your arms, his hold on you was delicate to not hurt you. Amias then lowered his head and his voice dropped to a whisper. His gaze was pleading as he waited for a response. "I'm not just imagining it?"

You've seen Amias's vulnerability countless times throughout the gameplay of Anomalous, but seeing him in such a state and turning to you for reassurance made you at loss for words.

Just what did he go through here? And the fact that he mentioned an illusion, how much was he thinking of you?

"It's me." You put on your best reassuring smile. Uh, I don't know how to prove it though. Can illusions answer questions correctly? Quiz me or something––"

Cutting your sentence short, Amias pulled you into an embrace. From the subtle tremble of his body to the sigh of relief that left him when you returned his embrace, gosh your emotions were all over the place at the moment.

"Thank goodness..." Amias squeezed tighter. "I thought––I thought no one would come. I really thought..."

"Hey, hey. At least I'm here now, right?"

Amias pulled away, the corner of his lips curved into a thankful smile. His gold eyes glistened a little as small bits of tears were in the corner of his eyes. "Yeah, I'm glad." He wiped the corners of his eyes. "I'm really glad."

Seeing him so vulnerable reminded you of the times when Amias mourned over the death of the characters in the game. When he cried, you were also on the verge of tears. When he was vulnerable, you swear there were times you wanted to jump into the game just to hug him.

You mentally reprimanded yourself. I want to punch myself for taking so long to find him.

"I..."

What you wanted to say was 'I'm sorry for assuming you'd be fine.'

"I'm sorry for taking so long."

"No, no. It's fine! You must've had your own troubles to deal with." Amias laughed. "I guess I'm not strong enough."

"Don't say that," you said, tone stern. "I––"

Your words were lodged in your throat when a certain something caught your attention. A yellow holographic screen that displayed:

[ RESET ]

Reset?

Suddenly, a multitude of dots connected in your head. Reset––if you were to use video game terms, it might explain why you saw Amias's death as a child. In a video game, when you die you reset and try again. It was a simple mechanic. The Amias you know now already showed abilities that were heavily related to video game features, so the idea of resetting wasn't out of the picture.

So, it meant that he had access to his abilities ever since he was a child?

Was this what the system meant by control?

A protagonist of a video game had control over the world, they are a reflection of a player who can simply pause a storyline whenever they wished, try a different route for entertainment purposes, reset whenever they desired if they make a wrong choice or failed to complete something; the list went on.

Wait.

If Amias resets now, what will happen to you?

"(Y/n)? You suddenly stopped talking." Amias's gaze followed yours and when he spoke, relief flooded his tone. "Ah, you can see it, too?"

"I..." You took a deep breath. "Amias, Have you used it before?"

He nodded. "I have, but only when I was younger."

So, he hasn't used it while you were here. The unknown consequences that came from Amias pressing that button caused your mind to spin in complete dread. If Amias chose to reset, would the world reset with him? Would your consciousness also be reseted? The thought unsettled you, you weren't a video game character. You weren't some programmed AI.

Another possibility: would he disappear? Something like an alternate timeline and leaving this one behind. Then, the world would continue to exist without him. But then, the system said his presence contradicted yours. So, what was your role? To challenge that control he has?

God, this is getting very confusing.

One thing's for sure, you needed to keep Amias by your side until you figured things out. After the SF trial, the two of you are going to have a long talk.

"Oh! The mist cleared up." Amias smiled, his movements a lot more energetic. "I feel a lot lighter now."

"Are you sure you're okay though?"

"Now that you're here, of course! Let's keep moving," he said. "Oh! Is Caleb okay?"

You were uneasy moving on so quickly, but you reminded yourself that this was still the SF trial. As much as you wanted to talk more about Amias's emotions, you'd have to put it on hold for now.

"Caleb should be close by. Just follow me."

Amias diligently stuck by your side, a bright expression on his countenance. Seeing him so happy made you almost forget how vulnerable he was moments ago.

During the walk, the reset button kept pestering you despite your best attempts to ignore it. You wanted to refrain from bringing it up, but your nerves got the better of you.

"Amias, can I ask you to do me a favour?"

"Of course! What do you need?"

"Uhm... The reset button from earlier." You searched his face for any signs of discomfort, but Amias simply waited for you to continue with expectant eyes. "Is it okay if you never press it?"

You felt horrible for ordering Amias around all the time and giving literally no answers. If he was starting to grow frustrated with you, there would be no surprises.

"Look, sorry for asking so much of you. But––"

"Sure!"

You paused. That's it?

"Are you not going to ask me why?"

Amias shook his head and replied back casually, "It'll be nice to know, but don't feel pressured. When you're ready you can tell me."

"Oh, uhm..." You didn't anticipate this at all. Amias was way too understanding for his own good. "I... Are you sure?"

"Yup, is there anything else you need? If it's within my abilities, I'll do my best."

Some may say Amias's generous and kind nature was typical for a protagonist, but you always found comfort in it. However, seeing him this eager to help you? There must be some significant reason behind it. Though, before you could ponder any deeper, you saw a figure in the distance. Caleb came into mind, but the individual's physique was a lot more muscular. Purple hair, sharp and unfriendly red eyes, piercings on the left side of his eyebrows––yup, it was definitely him. Lyle.

You knew that Amias encountered him around this time. The reason why you were thrown off guard was because this information was buried in the back of your mind due to everything else that has occurred.

Then you accidentally made eye contact with Lyle.

Yep. This is awkward.

You raised a hand and waved to him. "Hey, Lyle!"

He turned away.

"..."

You were left speechless and offended.

"Miss Support!"

Before you could voice your indignation after getting ignored by Lyle, Caleb approached you and Amias.

"Where did you disappear off to? The moment I took my eyes off you, you were gone." He huffed. "That's mean."

"Ah, right..." There's no way you could explain the whole holographic screen leading you to Amias thing. "I'll explain later."

"The suspicious behaviour keeps on piling up. Well, as long as you're safe it's fine. Send me a word next time, okay?" Caleb glanced over to Amias. "Seems like you've brought back my apprentice. Great work."

"Sorry for causing so much trouble."

Caleb slapped Amias's back, causing the male to stumble forward and shoot Caleb a confused look.

"It's fine~ Anyways, not to strike panic or anything. But time's ticking before the trial's over. It'd be a good idea to start moving."

You nodded. "Let's get going––"

A rush of fatigue hit you and your balance grew precarious. You caught yourself by leaning against a nearby wall. Static clouded your mind and you closed your eyes for a moment to take a breather. A sinking realisation surfaced.

Were you reaching your limit?

You've been doing your best to train, but there was only so much you could do to prepare for the SF trial in those few months.

Shoot... But the last thing I want is to collapse in the middle of the trial. I'll do better to conserve my energy.

Amias cast you a worried look. "(Y/n)? Are you okay?"

"Miss Support, need me to carry you?" Caleb offered. "Not to brag, but I'm pretty strong."

"I'm fine, I just got a little dizzy," you said. "Anyways, let's keep going and try and catch up with Lyle."

Caleb pouted. "Why him? Let's go the opposite direction."

Because the way he's going right now is the fastest route according to the plot.

"I mean... The more the merrier, right?"

"Not with him."

"Okay, fair point." You didn't have the mental capacity to think of a solid excuse, either way you'd look suspicious. "But let's just go anyway."

Caleb shrugged and followed while Amias happily walked by your side. And not long after, the ground underneath began to tremble. You sighed wearily. Yup, you expected this. Doesn't mean that you were happy about it, though.

Several ghastly screams lacerated the once still air whilst came rushing, the cold akin to blades slicing open your skin.

Conserve my stamina––yeah, that was a wishful thought.

Underneath the clamorous wind, you heard Amias shout,

"What's happening?!"

The wind carried Caleb's laughter. "Dear apprentice, would you like a practical demonstration on what evolving apparitions look like?"

Right after Caleb asked the question, a drastic drop in temperature seized your movements and an intense pressure rendered you circumspect. When you looked up, you saw a large apparition tower over you three. It was a blurred silhouette of an individual, difficult to distinguish whether the figure was a man or a woman. Aside from the disturbingly eldritch and vacant eyes, there were no features on the apparition's face.

Caleb exorcised nearby apparitions with a powerful blast. "Looks like we're getting a pretty cold welcome!"

One may ask: if attacks such as this occur, then how did regular people survive in this town? Well, aside from massive luck, there was a specific way. It was to enter the mist. Yes, you'd probably be facing illusions and immersion of a traumatic past, but you were technically safe from outside interruptions. Obviously, it was easier said than done. Willingly manifesting a dreadful past needed some serious mental power and experience. It was basically impossible to do unless you have lived in this town for years. Not to mention the mental strain it brought.

"Is there a way to exorcise it?!" Amias asked, the wind was so loud his voice was almost indistinguishable.

"Probably!" you yelled. "But I'm assuming it won't be easy. Maybe just making a run for it is our best bet. We have limited time and we should conserve our energy!"

A low pained groan distorted the space and the air grew dense with apparitions. The three of you nodded at each other before taking off in different directions. The apparition's attention locked onto Amias. He used his ability to teleport to avoid its attacks, attacks that mainly involved sending apparitions towards him for possession or using heavy winds to harm him. You knew the consequences that came if the large apparition happened to make the slightest contact with Amias, and you did not want to think about it.

However, you found Amias's movements to be a little odd.

Of course, early in the game Amias wasn't as powerful as towards the end, but he was still very strong around this time. When you played, running away from the apparition was a piece of cake. Heck, it was more of an exercise to improve your in-game parkour abilities.

In the game, the amount of apparitions you exorcised are reflected in Amias's level. The higher the level, the more powerful and more abilities unlocked. You wondered, did that apply to him now? It should, right? He has all the other game features, what's stopping him from being able to 'level up'?

You didn't have the luxury to continue to mull over that thought any longer as a swarm of apparitions headed your way. They were swiftly evaded, however the breeze that rushed by you whenever you passed them caused frost to travel up your skin.

It's cold.

At this rate, you did not doubt that you'd quite literally freeze to death.

You're really cold.

Alastor's voice echoed in your head. Yeah, I know.

Any plans to stop that? You know you'll die at this rate, right?

You wanted to nervously chuckle, but even your face felt too stiff for that. Hope for the best?

If you don't find a solution, I'm taking over.

Having Alastor possess you would help you evade the apparition a lot more efficiently, but allowing him to take over will consume a lot of your energy. Summoning the other apparitions would do the same. Could you afford that?

I know what you're thinking.

Just know that those brats will come out on their own if you get hurt.

Though your body was dying from the cold, it was nice knowing that there was someone to your rescue. It made you a little less anxious.

For now, let's do our best.

Making use of the skills you've developed from your training (some you learnt from observing Lyle) you evaded the apparitions and made use of your surroundings to maximise your movements. Every second in the cold was another grim reminder of the repercussions it had on your body. Every bristle wind that sunk into your warmth caused you to wince at how much it stung.

... Would it be more beneficial to let Alastor take over?

Before you could answer your own question, an abrupt wall of flames surrounded you and halted your movements. The blazing hue of orange and red were glaring down. The sudden shift in temperature was like someone had taken a dozen thick blankets and dumped them onto you without mercy. It was uncomfortably jarring at first, but it didn't take long for you to sigh in relief at the warmer air.

This fire ability...

"... Finn?"

"(Y/n)! Didn't expect to run into you here." The tall male was right behind you. He smiled cheerfully, orange eyes gorgeously complimenting the bright conflagration. "Sorry about that, I didn't notice you there. You didn't get burnt, right?"

Finn was another character Amias encountered during the second phase of the SF trial, so you weren't surprised to see him.

"Nope. In fact, I should thank you for the fire. Getting a little burnt beats freezing to death."

"Happy to be of service. Oh, wait. You're hurt. Hold on a sec." Finn pulled out a teddy bear bandage from his pocket, which you thought looked very cute, and approached you. "Stay still for a moment."

He gently cupped your cheeks and your body tensed at the close proximity. Gently, Finn applied the bandage over the bridge of your nose. Then, he dusted off the debris on your clothes, straightened your tie, and took a step back before nodding in approval.

"There we go! There was a cut on your nose."

You touched the area where he applied the wound. "Th-thanks?"

"Ah! Don't touch it," Finn lightly scolded. "It'll make it worse."

I feel like I'm getting scolded by a parent. It terrified you how easy it was to envision Finn sending a disapproving motherly glare. You almost forgot that this is the same man who could skilfully exorcise apparitions and the same man who also cracked horrible dad jokes.

Wait––skilfully exorcise apparitions?

"Finn, did you happen to exorcise the huge apparition?"

The male nodded. "Yup. I just lit it on fire and hoped for the best."

"Great strategy."

Finn always had monstrous stamina, so you weren't surprised that he could exorcise such a large apparition effortlessly. Though there were drawbacks in his abilities, an opponent like the large apparition was his perfect match.

"(Y/n)! Are you okay?"

Amias came running after you and Caleb wasn't too far behind.

"Miss Support! Need me to warm up your hands again? Oh, the fire hazard's here as well!"

"I gave her a warm welcome, don't worry."

"Stop." You said that discouragingly, but you unsuccessfully hid your amused chuckle at the little pun Finn slipped in. "Alright, since everyone is here, we can keep going."

"Okay, Miss Captain." Caleb laughed. "Let me know when you want to hold hands."

Now there was a new addition to the team. Looks like the cast was expanding. For a short while, things progressed smoothly. Amias adorably fretted over your wellbeing, Finn did a check up on everyone like the parent he was, and Caleb did a dramatic recounting of everything that has happened to keep Finn up to date. Somewhere along the lines, you and Caleb somehow ended up holding hands anyways. It was so smooth you didn't even question it. Free warmth.

But like you said, things progressed smoothly for a short while.

Interrupting your conversations, an unsettling feeling evoked serious looks and guards to be up.

You mumbled, "another wave of apparitions."

At least the apparitions in this town revealed themselves a lot more often than the ones in the city. It made dodging easier for you.

Caleb followed up your words with, "Disappointed, but not surprised."

"I suggest everyone to stay away from me when I exorcise the apparitions," Finn said. "My abilities sometimes get a little out of control."

The onslaught of apparitions created a painfully strong wind, vanquishing any remnants of warmth. Then, lo and behold, another abnormally large apparition appeared. Seriously, where do they even come from?

"Stand back," Finn instructed. "I can handle this one."

"Okay~ I'll take care of the others," Caleb said. "My apprentice can help me out as well. Miss Support, be on the lookout and fill in our blindspots."

Whilst everyone fulfilled their roles, you noticed something––someone moving in one of the rubbles.

No way... Is that Brynn?

It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was in danger. Every rational part of you screamed at you to not play hero and rush over to help. The reasons were endless. First off, you were barely holding up as it is. You literally told yourself to save stamina. Second, if you endangered yourself, Amias and the others will endanger themselves to protect you. Third, Brynn wasn't exactly the nicest person to you, emotionally you didn't have any attachments to her.

A sharp bump on your shoulder caught your attention. You looked over to see a girl with dark red hair scoffing at you.

"Had fun leeching off us?"

And there was also that other time.

...Seriously, what's your problem?" you asked.

"My problem?" She laughed. "It's just infuriating to see her and a support member get this far. How much help did you receive?"

Yeah... Definitely not the nicest person to you.

However, an infuriating part of you just couldn't just turn a blind eye. You were basically indirectly killing someone by not taking action. It was nauseating and the guilt will accumulate and eventually eat you away. You already felt horrible as it is being unable to help the people in this town who asked for your assistance.

Amais's eyes widened. "(Y/n)? What are you––"

Yup, you took off to help her. Sometimes, you just wanted to punch yourself.

Most of the apparitions, thankfully, either avoided you or simply didn't attack. But the ones that saw you as their target, you had no choice but to dodge. You should seriously figure out a way to deal with apparitions, dodging wasn't going to cut it in the future.

Whether it was adrenaline or pure luck, you managed to reach Brynn. After lifting the debris that trapped her onto the ground, you grabbed onto her hand and pulled her up. You had no idea where the strength came from, but hell you'd take it.

"I didn't think this through."

Now, you were surrounded by a concerning amount of apparitions. If it was just you, it would be less of an issue. But Brynn, to say the least, was not in good shape. The woman had ripped her heels off, her dress was completely tattered, fresh and fried blood from cuts littered her arms and legs, and bruises blemished her skin.

The red head glared at you. You swore if it weren't for the fact that you were her ticket to survival, she would've said some insult. Already, you were regretting helping her. Oh well, it wasn't like you expected her to like you. And admittedly, you were kind of impressed how she managed to make it so far with such inadequate clothing.

Brynn extended an arm and her palm glowed a red hue, the colour less vivid than Lyle's abilities. Strings of light wrapped onto the apparitions and exorcised them. It was brief, but that created an opening. Without much choice, you grabbed onto Brynn and carried her bridal style.

"What the hell are you––"

"Shut up so the both of us can live."

Brynn bit back an insult. Though, it felt like she was using all of her willpower to do so. Just how much did she hate you?

While you were essentially Brynn's personal uber, she made sure to exorcise any nearby apparitions that were trying to reach you. It was dreadful to admit, but the two of you worked pretty effectively.

During your run, you spotted an injured child. The young boy was surrounded by apparitions and it was a matter of minutes before he was possessed. You cursed under your breath. Someone up there is testing my moral conscience.

"Don't you dare," Brynn spat out. "I know what you're thinking."

"Don't tell me what to do."

You sighed. I am about to bite off more than I can chew, aren't I?

With a snap of your fingers, you summoned Mochi. Slowly, the adrenaline that kept you energetic was depleting, but your resolve encouraged you to keep going.

"Mochi, take her somewhere safe." The wolf hesitated for a moment, most likely concerned for your wellbeing. "I'll be fine. Go!"

Mochi did as you asked. Right before Brynn left, she scowled at you.

"You're an idiot."

You rolled your eyes and didn't respond. But yeah, she was kind of right.

Well, no going back now.

Sending a prayer to your exhausted legs, you ran towards the child. The apparitions ended up going for you instead and you took advantage of that to lead them away from the child. He remained still, staring at you with concerned eyes.

"Run!" you screamed. "I can only keep them distracted for a few seconds!"

The child nodded frantically and sent you a meek thank you before running off. As you were about to sigh in relief, more apparitions blocked the child's path. And these apparitions were far more aggressive. Buildings began to collapse and the ground showed signs of splitting open.

Oh, fuck me.

Just in the nick of time, you pulled the kid back before he was injured.

"S-sorry, I-I––"

"It's fine," you said.

The stern nature of your tone masked your uncertainty. There was no way you could get out of this alone. Frantically, you glanced around in search of help. When you spotted Amias not too far away from you, you almost cried in relief.

Golden eyes made contact with yours. Before you knew it, he had teleported in front of you.

"Amias, take the kid out of here!"

He was taken aback. "But––"

"Go! I'll be right behind you. Don't worry. So please listen to me," you pleaded.

"I can teleport us both out of here!" he shouted. "(Y/n), just hold onto my hand."

Ah, I was so panicked that I wasn't thinking clearly.

You grabbed onto Amias's hand. Sparks of electricity flickered around him and you waited for him to teleport.

But he never did.

The male winced and stumbled back. With trembling fingers and a pale face, he raised a hand to his head.

"What just... My vision..."

There was no time for you to question what happened. A simple glance behind you skewered danger into your skull. On impulse, your nerves snapped and your hands shot to push Amias out of the way.

"(Y/n)––?"

For the fraction of a second that was available, you tried to rid of any fear on your expression. And before you could comprehend if the kid was also out of the way or if Amias tried to reach out for you, a building crashed onto you.



===



...

Well... I'm still alive. I think.

Your body ached and you were, to what you assume, buried underneath rubble. Mind spinning nauseously, if Alastor or any of the apparitions were trying to communicate it sure wasn't reaching you. It was dark, not pitch black, but it was almost impossible to see your own hands. With the crumbs of strength that you still had, you weakly summoned the book and began turning to Mochi's page; your movements slow and languid.

Hold on. What is that?

On one of the pages, the writing was faded and smudged. The paper felt like it was a million years old underneath your fingertips, as if it was about to crumble into dust at any second. The cogs in your head turned for a few seconds before you realised this was the page that you kept the irregular apparition in. To summon an apparition, you'd tear the paper. If this page was torn, who knows what would happen?

"Let's just carefully––"

Oh.

The moment you moved your finger and barely brushed against the paper, the page violently tore itself.

A surge of wind blew and something emerged from the book. You were met with a disfigured form of a person. The sounds of bones cracking made you shudder and the figure morphed into a reflection of you, albeit one with hollowed out eyes and an unsettling grin on its face. You considered summoning Mochi, but the fatigue warned you that expending any more energy was going to knock you out completely.

"Finally, I'm out of that stupid book." The apparition tilted its head and the grin on its lips grew wider upon seeing you––it was unnerving seeing your face doing that. "And isn't this a funny situation?"

It looked down on you with eerily smiling eyes and you've never felt so small in your life.

"What..."

"What's going on? How the hell am I supposed to know that?" The minimal light coming from your book devilishly lit up the apparition's features, the shadows lighting every horrifying feature. "Did you really think keeping me in between some stupid papers was enough?"

You didn't have the energy to question things as you usually did. For now, you were hyper focused on getting out of here.

Cursorily, you glanced at your surroundings and tried to ignore the apparition's words. The more you listened, the more time was wasted. It was strange, it was your voice, but it was so foreign.

"What was it again... Understand my emotions right? Who do you think you are? What connection do you and I have?" A maddening laughter filled the air. "Do you think you can go around hoping that understanding someone will resolve everything? That's so naive, so incredibly stupid."

Ignore it.

Steadily, you tried getting up and a pained grunt left you. Your hands trembled and strength slipped past your grasp.

... Did I get a head injury? I can't think clearly...

"That mentality may work here and there with some apparitions, but that's because they're desperate. Did you think I entered your book because I was touched by you? That you understood me? I only did it because it'll protect me from those damned exorcists."

Desperately, you tried pushing the rubble off you. But it wouldn't budge. Numb. Everything was growing numb. You tried communicating with Alastor, the kids; any of the apparitions. No response. Your thoughts ran wild, thinking of several ways to get out of this situation. An air of futility shackled you down, but you refused to remain chained.

I can keep going, I just need to try a little harder. I'll be okay.

"The injections, the test runs, the serum, the thirst for revenge and how the chairman wants to monopolise it; the list goes on. It's funny how you know all about us, but that's not enough to convince me to cooperate with you." It spread its arms out theatrically. "You're better off getting rid of me! Don't try to play the role of my therapist. It pisses me off."

You flinched, the apparition's words finally going through to you. As much as you didn't want to admit it... There was a lot of truth in its words.

Were you just trying to naively play the role of some sort of hero that could simply connect with anyone they come across?

Then, what is my book's ability?

Why did it take knowing an apparition's emotions to be able to write them in your book? What about Alastor and the children? Did they follow you simply for survival?

The air around you grew dense. A dreadful feeling of tightness in your chest caused you to panic. Possession, you were getting possessed. Mind a wreck, body weak and vulnerable––a perfect human to take over.

"Pft, that's a wonderful expression! Well then, if you're such an empathetic person, let's see how well you'd handle this." It drew closer and lifted your chin up, hollow eyes crinkling in amusement. "While you're doing that, I'll be taking over for a bit."