The suffocating silence didn't last long. An invisible ripple suddenly passed through the entire park. I looked at the time it was exactly midnight.
Nothing seemed to have changed but everything was different.
It seemed as if an invisible restriction was suddenly lifted and the wild beasts had been released. Intense bloodthirsty surrounded me.
The shadows seemed to stretch and distort as if they hid countless devils.
The hubbub and din of a crowd could be clearly heard around me.
If not for the desolate and deserted scene before my eyes I would have believed that I was actually visiting the park during the day.
Pedestrians rushed by me.
Kids whined and parents coaxed.
A few voices could be heard distinctly from the middle of the din.
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"Scammer! I clearly hit the target!" A chirpy young voice seemed to be arguing with a stall owner, "If-if you don't give me the bunny, I-I will bite you!"
"Mommy!" "Daddy!"A young boy seemed to be crying out loud looking for his parents, "Please come back..." "I will be a good boy. I won't ask you to play hide and seek again."
The roller coaster ride whooshed by nearby as screams full of thrill and excitement could be heard.
"Mom, I am 13 now, I am big enough to go by myself, please let me go!" A teen girl seemed to be arguing with her parents.
A nursery rhyme could be heard blasting from the carousel as innocent giggles escaped from the children riding it.
An anxious voice was comforting himself, "This time when we are on the giant wheel I am definitely going to confess to her."
A panting voice could be heard nearby.
"I ... am so ...tired...So hot! I hate this job, I am definitely resigning tomorrow."
Among these voices there seemed to be one voice that was extremely familiar to me, "You guys are the worst! Always making me do all the work! Here have your icecreams, I swear next time you guys better get it yourself."
However, I couldn't pinpoint who this voice belonged to.
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The sounds I could hear around me would seem really legit if not for the gripping cold I felt.
My eyes told me I was in a cold abandoned amusement park in the middle of the night.
My ears told me I was standing in the blistering sun during the peak hour.
The cacophony threatened to slowly overwhelm me as I felt a sharp headache assault my brain.
Illusion attacks?
I smiled in glee. The stronger my opponents, the more soul energy I could harvest, the more fun will be the battle.
I slowly went and sat on the carousel. It started to slowly and gradually light up. It started to gradually spin, the horse I was sitting on gently bobbed up and down.
The speed began to increase faster and faster until all I could see was sharp lights around me. The hubbub of the crowd grew louder and louder until I could see vague silhouettes all around the carousel, waiting for it to stop.
But it never did, it kept circling on and on with no signs of stopping at all.
"So, are you here to fight over this territory as well?"
I heard a familiar chirpy voice and turned to see a little girl sitting on the horse next to me.
The voice belonged to the same girl who was fighting with a stall owner seconds ago...
She was wearing a little bunny outfit, with bunny ears coming out of the hoodie and fluffy bunny-shaped flip flops. She chewed on a carrot, as she looked at me curiously waiting for an answer.
How direct...
Instead of answering her, I asked her my own question "Are you making this carousel spin?"
"Yep!" She nodded her head excitedly. "Have you heard about the Mobius strip? I have used something similar, we are now isolated in an infinite loop. We will keep circling on and on forever. Till the end or beginning of time..."
She pushed up an imaginary pair of glasses as she seemed proud of her achievement.
Then she giggled in embarrassment.
"Of course, We can leave once I stop it." She yawned as she stretched her little hands above her. I can't just keep on spinning it forever it takes up too much energy."
I smiled back at her kindly, so all I needed to do was kill her and then I could leave. To be able to create such an infinite carousel, she must be immensely strong. I couldn't help but grin internally imagining how much soul energy killing her would give me.
"Of course, don't even think about attacking me, if I don't stop it, the carousel will run out of control ripping both our souls to shreds."
How interesting, threatening me with mutually assured destruction. I will decide to spare her since she is a cute loli and seems interesting.
It was definitely not because I was scared that her words might be true. Such an exquisite trap is too high level for a once prisoner of the orb. Though it is possible that she might have devoured other souls or something within the orb and has grown stronger.
I decided to answer her question for now.
"Not really, I just wanted to join in on the fun and mess things up. I don't really care about the territory."
"Hu! hu! Smart answer! I also came here to join in on the fun, but I think I like this place, I am going to take over the core, so just don't get in my way I will let you go."
This kid seemed to have a misconception, I was the one letting her go not the other way round.
However, since she looked cute I decided to be magnanimous and let her have her way.
The carousel came to a stop and I exited it, the bunny girl had disappeared but... this time the amusement park was really in its rush hour.
Before I could only hear the voices but this time I could also see people around me.
Did the girl pull off some time-travel shit on me, I don't think so I could hear the voices before entering the carousel as well.
I tried to stop someone and ask them about the date and time.
However, they just walked through me, the problem being, they weren't the holographic projections...
... I was.
It seemed as if I was currently only a projection in this realm and wasn't physically here.
The girl said something about taking over a core, I guess that would be the way to gain ownership over the territory and escape this situation.
I walked over to a nearby stall. Sure enough... it was a type of shooting game and the grand prize was a 6-foot bunny.
I tried to find the other distinct voices from before but they were nowhere to be found.
I tried to remember what I had heard.
The easiest to track down would be the one planning to confess his love
I went up to the giant wheel. It was indeed giant, a monstrosity, it slowly turned and creaked as it moved. I could see people rush past me, through me, but no one could see me.
Is this what it felt like to be a ghost?
Watching the world pass you by, nobody ever seems to notices you, yet you are always there.
The world spun around me as I felt crushed by it.
I quickly shook myself out of my reverie.
I had to speed up, the longer I spent in this realm the higher was the risk of getting sucked in by it.
I quickly chose a car at random and entered the wheel.
I looked at the remaining occupants.
There was a young man, probably studying in college next to him sat a pretty girl, there was the sickening feeling of love in the air as an awkward silence surrounded those two.
It seemed that someone will break the silence but they just kept cutting each other off and making weird rom-com noises.
I looked at them in disdain hoping they got over it quickly.
"There's no use waiting, I never managed to confess that day."
I turned to the side and found the same young man sitting to my side, no he wasn't the same.. he was about 10 years older now.
He had stubble growing out and was smoking a cigarette, a classic washed-up man look.
Do all people take to smoking and alcohol after getting washed up.
Becoming a hikkimikori otaku seems like a viable option too. \
But, who was I to judge...
Seriously people have to stop just showing up next to me out of nowhere and starting up a conversation as if that was the most normal thing to do.
"This realm seems to be made from a projection of our memories. I would never think that I would have to see this shameful scene again, and from a third-person perspective at that."
"So, you also do realize who cringy this is"
"Yup.."
"Well we both know why we are here so shall we?"
"Yep!" the guy sat up he put out his cigarette and removed his cloak.
"Since this is a fight to the death, let the best man win!"
He floated up and started to transform, he is hands grew into claws, his teeth extended to fangs. Blood started to leak from his stomach as his white shirt was dyed a deep crimson.
I smiled back and whipped out my knife and taser gun.
A fight to death indeed.
He rushed towards me and I shot him twice with the gun at point-blank.
The electricity seemed to harm his figure as his form became weaker and more see-through.
He nevertheless rushed forth and knocked us both out of the car.
It turns out I had forgotten that I was also a projection as we both went tumbling out of the car and into the air.
As much as I would want to any it, I wasn't good at mid-air maneuvers so all I could do was watch us tumble towards the ground, we bounced off a car near us and I was barely able to hang on with one hand. He on the other hand floated in the air, as it were the obvious thing to do.
He looked at me in doubt, "Why can't you float, you are a ghost, right? Physical bodies cannot enter this realm..."
Huh, bodies cannot enter this realm... that means
I let my hand go
... and then I ...
...miraculously...
...fell.
I didn't float and fell onto the roof of another car...
...fuck that hurt.
Gravity works on all things with mass.
It seems that my soul hadn't been separated from my body, but it was more of a Schrodinger's cat-like situation.
Not wasting time I shot him once more with the stun gun, this time he seemed to be really hurt badly as his movement speed had been greatly reduced.
As he tried to attack me by swiping his class I ducked under them and stabbed the knife into his throat.
This time it penetrated his flesh with a satisfying sound.
However, blood didn't spurt out of his body. Like earlier, his body started to twist and distort as it was sucked into the knife.
He didn't say anything, he just smiled wryly as he sadly accepted his loss.
I immediately sat down and took deep breaths, as my adrenaline dropped I felt cold sweat dripping down my back as I recalled how I almost died. But the thrill and death seeking part of me couldn't be more satisfied.
I checked my stats-
Soul Energy: 2000 (1000 to level up)
I smiled in satisfaction, I only needed to hunt one more ghost. This was much more efficient than hunting those wraiths roaming on the streets that aren't even able to form rational thoughts.
But since these ghosts have rational thoughts won't killing them be the same as murder...
I just killed one, did that mean that I had just committed murder,
again...