"Am I going to spend the rest of the night playing Anomalous? Hell yes."

You heaved an exhausted sigh as you entered your apartment. After flicking on the lights, taking off your shoes, settling down your bag (very carefully since your laptop was inside), and swiftly changing into something comfortable, you threw yourself in front of your computer. Excitement kindled within you as Anomalous began loading up. After a long day of running errands around the city and working on your book inside a cafe, you were more than happy to relax by playing a game you purchased just the other day.

I think I barely passed the prologue. What happened again?

The game's menu loaded up. The dynamic transitions and stylish design of it gave an exciting welcome. You spared no second to get right into the gameplay.

Oh, yeah! It was after the vengeful apparition possessed me––well, the protagonist––and fled. Let's see, what am I supposed to do next...

The operation had come to a conclusion and the protagonist was at the school gates. On the top left corner, a line of white text displayed 'talk to Caleb'. You decided to do the exact opposite and began wandering around the map, interacting with every possible NPC. As someone who liked to write stories, you supposed it was habitual for you to uncover as many details as possible of another story.

Students hung around the front gates as they anxiously waited for their parents to come and pick them up, AEI members were dealing with the media as well as the aftermath of the operation, and staff members were making phone calls and hastily attempting to set things in order; everyone was too busy to notice the protagonist's odd presence. You spotted a few students and clicked to interact with them.

"Man, imagine if Alastor was here. At least we could've gotten some entertainment."

"Aw, dude. Don't say that, he'd totally die and we would need to mourn him and all."

"True. I can imagine him trying to reason with the AEI members saying 'no! We can save it!' haha!"

"Sucks that he transferred. He was fun to mess around with."

"Mess around? You totally beat him up!"

"Oh, c'mon. What's a few bruises and broken bones?"

You stared at the students. Google, how do I refrain from throwing hands at 2D pixels? There wasn't an option to actually talk to them. A shame. The game could've at least let you insult them or something. After wandering around for a couple more minutes, you finally decided to get back on track with the main story. When you approached Caleb, he smiled enthusiastically.

He patted the protagonist on the shoulder. "Hey, hey. Guess what? Thanks to my fantastic persuasion skills, I got you a potential spot in the AEI! Though, we're going to have to do a background check on you to make sure that you're not some wanted criminal," he said. "But, hey. Usually the process is so much more complex. Thank me later and treat me with the money you make, would you?"

A few dialogue options were available. Judging from them, the protagonist was definitely not a talkative person.

"A process?"

Caleb took his hand off the protagonist. "To put it simply, depending on what position you applied for, there's an entrance exam suited for it. I'll spare you the details for now. It doesn't matter to you anyway." He grinned. "Hey, if things go well, we'll be seeing each other often from now on, huh? I'm looking forward to getting to know more about you."

The protagonist remained thoughtful for a moment. "There's not much to me though."

"Right, right. Because suddenly showing up at an operation and not only having exorcism abilities, but also a special ability isn't something massively interesting. Sure, let's go with that." Caleb laughed. "Actually, I never got your name. Mind telling me?"

===

Damn, that memory was from so long ago.

Thankfully, you remembered the conversation between the two students. Even after finishing the game, you never found out the details of the story behind their conversation. Alastor was the name, right? Who were they? Could there be a possible connection between the individual and the vengeful apparition? You weren't sure, but that was the most plausible conclusion you could come up with.

"Miss support, I think the answer's obvious." Caleb smiled. "No."

Yeah, figures.

Caleb was the type to have a carefree attitude even in the most perilous situations, the type to joke around even when the tension was thick, the type to wear a smile even when the odds weren't on his side, and the type to come off as reckless and thoughtless during operations. However, he was definitely not the type to throw others in danger to save his own skin.

Guess it was finally time to put your knowledge on his character to use.

There was a recurring pattern in Caleb's exorcism style. As his abilities had a huge emphasis on power, he can't perform consecutive shots without recklessly burning through his energy and overexerting himself. So, he would skillfully dodge the apparitions and gather them all in one space before exorcising them in one powerful blast. Oftentimes he'd fake an exorcism to throw off the apparitions, but you could tell the difference between a fake and a real one. For the most part, anyway.

In theory, it sounded obvious. But, with how proficient Caleb was, there was no time to realise what he was doing. You would've never known about it had you not played as his character in the game. And, just putting it out there, playing as his character was one of the most fun experiences in Anomalous.

You kept a sharp eye on Caleb. Though you knew of his style of exorcism, with how skilful he was you admittedly got lost in his moves several times. Not to mention, the male wasn't afraid to spontaneously break his pattern at times to either spice things up for his own amusement or simply because he felt like it. The vengeful apparition, again, targeted straight for you. Instead of fearfully looking away or bracing for a painful possession, you stared right at it. Silently challenging it. Caleb immediately got in front of you and the vengeful apparition began to back off.

"He's faking the exorcism!" you shouted, fighting against the pain that tore through your throat. "If you want to possess me, now's your chance!"

Caleb looked over to you in surprise. "What––"

You weren't able to catch the rest of his sentence when your senses were knocked into a complete mess. From the numbing cold that copiously feasted on your skin to the oxygen intake restriction, yup, the pain was just as overwhelming as ever. You could hardly think clearly and focusing on maintaining your consciousness was near impossible. However, you supposed this time you saw this as an absolute win.

What are you doing?

What should've been a gasp from you came out as a choked cough in response to the voice echoed in your head. It was deep and distorted, the sound reverberated around your head as if someone had placed speakers in every corner of your mind and blasted it at full volume. It threw you off guard, but you continued to desperately fight for control over your body.

Why are you trying to possess me?

No response. Maybe if you tried another approach? It didn't matter too much if you didn't get an answer, you just needed to persist long enough for Caleb or the protagonist to handle the exorcism. However, a part of you was curious if your little theory on the game had some merit.

Alastor, any chance is that your name?

As soon as you finished off your thought, you were crushed with additional pain toppled on top of the current one. You were hardly getting in any oxygen at this point and the temperature in your body had dangerously dropped low to where you felt like a thick sheet of ice was wrapped around you. You wanted to scream, cough, grab onto your chest, rip out your skin if it meant that you could be distracted from the pain inflicted by the vengeful apparition.

You couldn't move your body, it felt like chains were shackling your movements and rendering you stationary. At that, your heart sank at the realisation that you were losing control over your body. At this rate you were definitely going to get possessed. In fact, since your body was already brutally injured from before, you were most likely going to die either during or after the possession. At the thought, your desperation grew.

Hey, you showed me my death, right?! Isn't that confusing to you? I mean, how can a dead person be alive?

Well, that's assuming the vengeful apparition wasn't aware of the fact that you didn't come from this world to begin with. Honestly, you were just throwing words in hopes for some sort of response at this point.

Shut up.

Oh.

Well, that was kind of rude.

Not knowing how to respond, your gaze fell to your hands which were bruised and battered. That struck as a reminder of just how horrible your body's physical condition was. There was no way the vengeful apparition could do anything once they possessed you.

You know, the most you can do is walk a couple of steps when you possess me. Why bother?

Positive that you had made a valid point, the surprise you felt when you saw your hands being healed was immeasurable. In fact, you felt your entire body being slowly repaired. The oppressive weight that crushed your throat had lifted and the cold had dispersed. Before you felt like you were on the brink of collapsing, now you felt like you could conquer the world.

...Perhaps I take that back.

I'll dispose of your body once I'm done getting rid of the exorcists.

Slowly standing up, your body began to move outside of your will. Caught off guard, you were late in resisting and struggled to stop your body from acting on its own accord. A rush of strength powered through your body, you've never felt so energised before. But, how was this possible? Your consciousness was still intact, possession technically shouldn't be feasible yet.

Persistent. How annoying.

Like an electric current, a sudden burst of energy surged through you and broke through your resistance effortlessly. You began to sprint, each stride powerful, towards the closet person. The protagonist. Before you even realised it yourself, you had grabbed this throat and slammed him against the floor. The floor underneath him cracked at the pressure and a barrage of coughs left him.

Shocked, your thoughts just barely caught up with your actions. Profusely apologising to him in your head, you fought against the strength that was urging you to tighten your hold around the male's neck, your lips were asunder and a grunt of frustration parted from it. That allowed for you to register the fact that you still had control over your voice. The protagonist's hands were wrapped around your arm, mitigating the pressure you were applying onto his throat. However, he wasn't struggling any further than that.

"What are you doing? Throw me off you!" you shouted.

A soft smile was on his face as he coughed out, "I don't want to hurt you."

Oh no. He's a good person.

Your grip on him tightened and he winced in discomfort. You tried to communicate with the vengeful apparition again, however, each attempt ended in a fantastic fail. Judging by the tumultuous and disorderly state of the gymnasium, Caleb wasn't going to be able to help the two of you any time soon.

What can I do, what can I do...

At this stage, the protagonist had never exorcised an apparition before. Well, that didn't mean he didn't have the capability, he just didn't have the knowledge. You had no choice but to teach him. It was your only hope in getting out of this mess.

"Listen. You need to exorcise the apparition out of me," you said firmly. "No questions asked, just follow my instructions. I need your utmost concentration and focus. It sounds complicated at first, but it'll become as natural as breathing with practice."

You didn't allow the protagonist a chance to respond as you began outlining the details. The male listened attentively and didn't interrupt you, to which you were thankful for. Yes, you'll appear massively suspicious knowing about how to exorcise apparitions despite not having exorcism abilities yourself. But, that was an issue to be dealt with later. You needed to survive first.

"And that's how you do it. Got it?"

The protagonist nodded and you mentally smiled in relief. He was always a fast learner. Whispering a gentle apology, he pushed you off him and immediately sprung into action. You shut your eyes, holding your breath and bracing for what's to come. A deep and ghastly growl echoed tremendously in your head. Soon, the feeling of control flowed back to you, your head and body feeling faint, but free. You gasped greedily for air and hunched over on the ground to catch your breath. Slowly, you opened your eyes and was welcomed with an eerily silent gymnasium.

With no regards for your surroundings, you fell onto your back out of exhaustion. The protagonist was still a beginner, so you doubted that he properly exorcised the vengeful apparition. But, it was enough for it to flee and leave the vicinity to recover. And with it gone, all the other apparitions under its control will either also leave or become significantly weaker.

It was finally over.

Were you finally done with all the action now that the protagonist had made his appearance? After all, the world advanced on his accord. Once that happens, will you disappear from his world or remain as an insignificant side character?

You closed your eyes and willingly allowed your consciousness to fade.

It was one hell of a day.

===

Though you had a rough idea of what happened after the operation ended, you had no idea what happened to you after you passed out. When you had awoken, you found yourself in the AEI's infirmary. And, from the looks of it, you were in a private one.

After rubbing the lingering drowsiness from your eyes, you yawned and stretched your arms. Your eyes fluttered in a pleasant surprise at how energetic you felt. You took off your jacket and examined your body. No wounds, no scars, no signs of bandaging, no bruises, no blood––in fact, your skin seemed to be even healthier than before. If it weren't for your vivid memories of the experience, you would've thought you had never gone through that operation. The vengeful apparition did you a solid, huh?

You've never encountered a situation in the game where a vengeful apparition healed the possessed individual's body. Usually, they'd simply use it until they break the person before throwing them away afterwards. Like a tool. Also, you were also taken aback when it was able to control your body despite your mind still being under your control. Geez, and you thought that your knowledge on the game was perfect.

There were another pressing issues. The protagonist. You taught him how to exorcise an apparition, how were you going to explain that? And how were you also going to explain your actions in letting the vengeful apparition possess you? You rubbed the side of your head and a stressed sight seeped past your lips.

Man, it's been a while since you've last written something, huh? You were deeply missing one of your favourite past times.

I wonder if my dream of becoming an author is still possible. If I had a stable income, I would totally just quit the AEI. As much as it hurts leaving the characters behind, survival is also pretty neat.

You snapped out of your thoughts when you heard approaching footsteps. Without knocking, Caleb walked into the room, his presence as loud as always. "Miss support! Finally awake, huh?"

"Yup, with my arms intact and everything. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Mhm, you did look pretty beaten up back there. Didn't mention it out of courtesy, of course." Caleb approached your bed and made himself comfortable on the chair next to it. "Going to be honest here, my curiosity on everything is killing me. But, I guess that's what makes working here so exciting. Don't you think?"

There was a moment of silence. "...Are you mad at me?"

"Well, that was out of the blue." The male crossed his arms and a hum of contemplation left his lips. "Oh! You're talking about the possession." He tilted his head to the side. "I don't know, am I mad?"

"Well, I'm going to apologise either way. So, sorry about that." You rubbed the back of your neck. "If things took the wrong turn, it would have jeopardised your position. Plus, it was a pretty reckless move overall."

Caleb laughed, a carefree smile on his expression. "Aw, how can I be mad at you? But, c'mon. What do you take me for? I was more so worried about your life than my position. Believe it or not, I'm pretty selfless sometimes." He suddenly leaned over and drew his face closer to yours. "Though, what I do want to hear from you is not an apology, but details on what you said before the vengeful apparition possessed you."

Oh shit. You managed to hold back a nervous chuckle. "Mind telling me what it was?"

"You know what it was, your face totally says it all. But, since I'm nice, I'll recite it for you. 'He's faking the exorcism. If you want to possess me, now's your chance!'" The male went the extra mile to sprinkle in some acting, albeit, was a little too over the top. "Sounds familiar?"

"Well..." Damn, you wished you had more time to think of an excuse. "Would you believe me if I said that I got lucky and managed to guess it was a fake?" Technically, that wasn't a lie. You knew how to identify if the male was faking an exorcism, however, you weren't always right. Meaning, luck was on your side back there.

The male leaned back, amused at your response. "I'll pretend to for now. But, what was your plan when the vengeful apparition possessed you?"

"...To talk things through?" Oh god, that sounded so stupid. "So I can give you guys time to exorcise the apparition."

The male appeared lost for words for a moment before an adorable chuckle passed his lips. Seriously, there was something about his smile that seemed to light up his entire countenance. "I was totally planning on annoying you for more answers, but I'll spare you that, for now. I'll at least give you a gold star for your bravery." He winked. "You've definitely piqued my interest ever since I've met you. And I intend to know everything about you."

"Is that a challenge for me to be even more closed off?"

He shrugged. "If you want to spice things up, sure."

As expected of him, his curiosity in others wasn't something to take lightly. "Question. What happened to uh, that other guy."

"Oh, the stranger with the teleportation ability? Right, right. Who would've thought someone with so much potential just walked right into our hands?" An amused grin stretched across his lips. "Not sure where he is now, but he may become a potential AEI member. I'm looking forward to what he brings to the table."

Cutting off your chance to respond, a knock came from the door and an individual entered the room. At first, you looked over in confusion. However, that confusion was quick to morph into surprise when you recognised who it was.

Caleb chuckled. "Took ya long enough. Guess even the honor student can be late, huh?"

Gently closing the door behind him, tender champagne pink eyes glanced at you and Caleb. Uniform the same as Caleb's, short and tidy hair coloured a light coffee brown with an undercut near his nape, and a peaceful and calm presence radiating off of him; Elias, another member of the speciality force in the AEI and a part of the main cast.

"There wasn't a scheduled time," Elias responded. "Besides, I just got out of a meeting."

"With the chairman, right? Dude, do you even rest?"

"It's called coffee." He looked over to you and a mature smile graced his lips. "I hope I'm not disturbing you, but could you spare a few minutes? I'd like to ask some questions."

Questions? You swallowed, nervous. "Sure, I don't mind."

Caleb sprung from his seat and patted Elias on the shoulder. In comparison to the brunette who had more muscle on him, Caleb had a much leaner frame and a little less height. "Alrighty then, I'll leave the interrogation to you!" He looked back at you. "Miss support, let's go out again sometime, okay?"

He closed the door and left you alone with Elias. The male wordlessly sat down on the seat beside you. You kept your eyes on the clipboard in his possession, trying to contain your nerves.

"(Y/n) (L/n), am I right?" he asked, voice gentle and friendly. He crossed his legs and leaned his clipboard on his lap, gaze focused on the papers in front of him.

You nodded. "Yeah, that's me. Uhm, I'm not in trouble or anything, right?"

Elias shook his head. "I just have a few inquiries. After all, there has never been a case where an individual has survived a possession from a vengeful apparition twice with their sanity intact. I hope you understand."

"Just a heads up, I'm not sure if I'll be of any help."

"That's alright. Just recite your experience as best as you can according to your memory," he said. "To start off, can you please describe your experience during your first possession? Take your time with it. If you feel uncomfortable, feel free to stop whenever you please." Elias was careful with his words and his tone held a level of sincerity.

Possession was traumatising to many and recalling it often ended in breakdowns. Just remembering your experience made you feel nauseous. Not only did you see the grotesque sight of your dead body, but you also had to experience the pain during the death as well. It mentally and physically tortured you. But, of course, you couldn't tell Elias what you saw. You were going to give the most generic, but detailed, response. Hopefully, it'll deter any initial interest he had in your odd situation.

"Well, I felt a little cold. It wasn't too bad at first, but then it began to become so intense that it felt like my skin was burning. Then my oxygen intake became restricted, almost crushing my throat. I could still breathe, but it was difficult," you explained. "My mind became clouded and I could hardly grasp my own thoughts and the thoughts the apparition was forcing into my mind. It made my emotional state pretty unstable."

Elias nodded, the sound of his pen scribing filling the room. "Can you recall in greater detail in how the vengeful apparition managed to impact you emotionally?"

"I don't exactly feel comfortable disclosing it...Just something sad that happened in the past."

"I understand," Elias said, showing you a sympathetic smile. "Unlike past recorded experiences, you didn't face any severe mental repercussions. In fact, you went into an operation the next day. Do you have any idea why?"

Right, it was odd for you to not request a temporary leave. "To be honest, no. I did try my best to resist against it though."

Usually individuals would remain emotionally unstable for weeks, or even months. Trying to get any of them to recall their experience was a long and meticulous process. Though you had your fair share of an existential crisis after the possession, you were still able to continue on relatively fine. You being able to converse normally like this was also out of place. But, you weren't that good at acting to fake a believable hysteria, so you'll take the L here.

"What about the second time?" he asked. "Oh, I'd like to mention that any of the information won't be disclosed to the public for the time being. If it does go public, your name won't be mentioned."

"Uhm, can I request for it to not ever be public?" Even if your name won't be mentioned, members in the AEI can probably connect the dots to you.

"Sorry, that's not for you to decide."

You winced. Yup, Elias can be a little blunt sometimes, especially in the early stages of the game. Though he came off as caring and sympathetic, it's a mistake to believe that he was your friend. He was dedicated to his job, he wouldn't compromise it because of your emotions. In fact, he was likely only acting friendly so that the questioning could go smoothly.

"According to what I've received, you willingly allowed the vengeful apparition to possess you. Why did you decide to do that?"

"To be honest, I wasn't thinking straight at the time. It was a reckless decision in the moment. I thought it'll buy time."

"Can you describe what the experience was like?"

You tried to hide your surprise, no mention of how you helped the vengeful apparition get past Caleb's abilities?

"It was essentially the same as the first time. Only more painful because I was injured. It did feel longer though."

"That makes sense, the vengeful apparition was able to control you for a few minutes."

You pretended to be surprised. "Seriously? Did I hurt anyone?"

"There were no severe injuries."

You sighed in relief. "Okay, that's good."

You kept to yourself that you were still conscious during the possession. Even if you mention the truth in passing, Elias was definitely going to remember and consider it deeply. He had a splendid memory and an analytical mind and can possibly create the connection of your conscious state to how the protagonist exorcised the vengeful apparition. Though, in theory, it was a huge stretch that a support leader such as you would know how to exorcise an apparition, Elias wasn't the type to disregard all options.

That's what made him so troubling for someone like you who had a multitude of secrets and abnormalities that one would normally disregard as illogical.

"Well, that's consistent with what I received from Caleb. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if he withheld information for his own amusement. Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

He looked at you straight in the eyes and you almost flinched under his gaze. The pink hues in his eyes were friendly and inviting, but knowing his nature only made it more daunting for you. In a way, he gave off a false sense of security.

"The vengeful apparition did heal me, which was odd, but convenient."

Elias nodded. "That's what I wanted to discuss about next, actually."

"Sorry to disappoint, but I don't think I was conscious during the time. It was probably when I was possessed."

"I understand." He wrote down a few words before looking up and smiling at you, unknowingly sending chills down your spine. "You were able to survive two possessions from a vengeful apparition. I commend you for your strength."

"...Thank you."

"It's an intriguing case. I hope that its secrets will be uncovered soon." You couldn't help but feel as if he was alluding to something else as well. "By the way, did Caleb mention the new individual in the AEI?"

"The guy with yellow eyes and black hair? Yeah. Was he questioned like me? What's going to happen to him?"

"We're considering to let him work in the AEI due to his special ability. Though, it's not decided what his position will be just yet. He did get questioned and it didn't seem like he had much to hide as he disclosed a lot of things."

"..."

That was such a smooth lie.

You almost thought Elias was telling the truth despite you literally knowing the contents of the conversation that went down between him and the protagonist. The protagonist never disclosed anything to Elias, in fact, the two got into an argument because of that before Caleb came in and interrupted the tension. Then, the protagonist was sent to see the chairman.

But, why would Elias lie to you?

"A lot of things? Guess he wasn't suspicious. He helped save me, so I'm glad."

"His potential is certainly beneficial to the AEI."

You held back a witty comment of 'you don't actually believe that'. "It's weird how he ended up in the school. Did you find out how?"

"We did, but we can't disclose that information with you."

Another lie.

"Oh, okay. As curious as I am, I won't question."

"Thank you for your understanding." Elias stood up. "We're done here. Thank you for your cooperation. I suggest you rest for a while."

The male bid you a polite goodbye before leaving the room. You waited for a good few minutes before flopping back into your bed and heaving a long sigh of relief. Talking to the male made you feel like a thin sheet of glass; fragile and transparent.

"He said I should rest, but I'm full of energy."

You jumped off the bed, did a few stretches, and exited the infirmary. Stepping out into the empty hallway, you looked both ways and gauged where you were at. Thankfully, you recognised the area's general layout and had an idea on how to get back to your room.

You took advantage of the moment to fully bask in the building's interior. There was a monochromatic aesthetic; grey blue, black, and light grey dominated the palette. The hallway space could fit at least six people walking side by side, the tiles looked like it was polished every hour, and you'd walk past vending and coffee machines at every corner.

The windows were tall and rectangular and tinted a light grey. You stopped and spent a fraction of a minute to stare outside. It was raining, the soft pitter patters of the droplets heard faintly from a distance. It always seemed to rain in Anomalous. There was never a day where sunlight and warmth embraced the city. Against the dull sky, there was a distant view of the city's buildings. The sight briefly reminded you of the view back at your apartment on the night of your death.

Your vision focused on your reflection and an odd sense of emptiness weaved into your heart. Seeing your figure dressed in the AEI's uniform; since you loved the game, it did look pretty cool. However, you felt like a complete stranger in it, you didn't belong in it, you didn't belong here.

"I wonder what my purpose is..."

Were you brought here because you happened to be well versed in the game? But, you were positive that there were several others that have a much stronger dedication to the game than you and would kill for a chance like this. You were just an aspiring author who happened to pick up a game that you were going to have a momentary interest in.

Your thoughts were interrupted when you heard footsteps from around the corner. Stepping away from the window, you continued walking. Not expecting anyone important, you were surprised to see the protagonist.

"Oh! Uh, didn't expect to see you there..."

Well, your surprise regarding his presence was quickly shifted onto something else––specifically, what was displayed in front of him. It was a pale yellow holographic map that hovered in front of him. It looked like it was the map feature taken straight out of the game Anomalous. It was a basic game feature created for the player's convenience of navigating around the map, locating characters, and doing fast travels.

So, were your eyes playing tricks on you, or is something that belonged behind a screen was right in front of you in real life?