Kael's heart pounded as he felt the pull of the soul wraith, its shadow growing larger and darker the closer he got. Panic clawed at his insides—his instincts screamed at him to escape, to fight, but his body remained uncooperative. The world around him blurred as he tumbled, helplessly, through the air, unable to stop his downward descent.
"Dammit!" Kael hissed, eyes wide in disbelief as he flailed, trying desperately to regain some semblance of control. He cursed the old ghost under his breath. "You son of a—"
But the old man's voice broke through the chaos, calm and mocking, carrying a strange sense of ease. "Kid... you should try to control yourself. Don't fight the wind, instead, embrace it to your advantage..." He paused, and Kael could hear the old man's grin in his voice. "Well, if you do want to die, you might as well learn."
Kael's mind raced. Embrace it? How the hell was he supposed to embrace falling toward a soul-sucking wraith?
He tried again, feeling the air around him, the way it twisted and pulled him in different directions. But his attempts were futile. His form was still too raw, too unstable. He could sense the wind's pull, but he couldn't bend it to his will like the old man suggested.
Kael gritted his teeth as he plummeted toward the wraith, the fear beginning to edge its way into his thoughts, but a flicker of defiance surged in his chest.
He wasn't going to let this be his end... not after his first death.
The old man, however, was still having the time of his afterlife. His laughter echoed in Kael's ears as he continued to tumble helplessly toward the abyss below.
Kael gritted his teeth, the old ghost's sarcasm washing over him like an irritating tide. He didn't have time for games, not when he was about to be dragged into the clutches of a soul-sucking wraith.
He struggled to stop his descent, fighting to regain control as the creature loomed closer, its dark, tendrilled form reaching for him like a death sentence.
"Dammit, I swear, this old man's got it out for me," Kael muttered, his frustration boiling over. "This isn't training. You're just using me to get away from the wraith, aren't you?"
The old man's ghostly form chuckled, swirling around Kael with an air of mockery. "Oh my, you're catching on fast. But you've got a good head on your shoulders, kid, that's the spirit!" His voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"Is this a type of karma?" Kael thought. "Isn't it supposed to affect living being only?"
"Karma? You think it only applies to the living? Well, aren't you just the perfect little philosopher?" The old ghost's laughter rang out again, full of mischief.
"Karma's a tricky thing. It doesn't care if you're breathing or not. What's important is that it keeps score. And oh boy, kid, you've racked up quite the tally."
Kael tried to ignore the old man's taunting as he fought against the soul wraith's pull, but it was like trying to swim upstream in a raging river. Every time he thought he could regain control, the wraith's gravity intensified, drawing him closer.
The sense of direction was a mess, distance seemed to have distorted, even the world itself was distorted, the crimson forest is now above and below him.
The old man circled around him, his voice carrying the same mocking tone. "The wraith won't even bother with you unless you've got a lot of karma.
But kid, it seems you've got more karma than I've had in my entire afterlife!" He let out another bout of laughter. "How old are you, anyway? You've got all this karma just hanging around like a bad smell!"
Kael's face darkened with frustration. Karma? What the hell was he talking about?
"Listen, old man, I don't know what you're playing at, but I'm not going down without a fight. And I sure as hell won't be your bait." He shot a glare at the old ghost, desperate to get some distance from the wraith, which now seemed just inches away.
The old ghost's laughter dimmed slightly as he floated lazily around Kael, watching him struggle. "Oh.. my, don't take it so personally, kid. But like I said, if you really want to live—" His voice dropped to a mockingly serious tone. "You'll learn to control this whole karma thing, and quick."
Before Kael could respond, a sharp, cold tendril of the wraith's essence lashed out, grazing the edge of his form. Kael recoiled in panic.
"See? That's the thing about karma, kid," the old man mused with a twinkle of humor. "It's attracted to you now, whether you like it or not. It's not a matter of if, but when." The sarcasm in his tone was unmistakable as he added, "And here I was thinking you might be the lucky one."
Kael could feel the wraith's presence closing in, the coldness seeping into him.
The old ghost's voice lingered in the background, almost casual as he offered his advice, but Kael couldn't shake the bitter realization—the old man was right.
Karma wasn't just about the living. It seemed that even as a soul, Kael was far from free. And worse, he wasn't just a target for the soul wraith—he was practically a magnet.
"Damn it..." Kael cursed, his thoughts swirling. "I really need to figure this out—fast."
Kael's form shuddered as the soul wraith's cold essence pressed against him, its tendrils wrapping around his body like a tightening vice. He could feel it—his very being being drawn into the darkness, the sensation of his soul being consumed inch by inch. It was excruciating, like he was being pulled through a tunnel made of ice, every part of him being slowly devoured by the wraith's malevolent presence.
"Help me!" Kael shouted, the desperation in his voice raw, even though part of him hated that he was asking. He didn't know why he'd waited this long to beg for help, but the fear that he was about to lose himself was stronger than his pride. "Please, old man, I'll do anything! Help me, and I'll owe you a favor. I swear it."