There was a darkness that enveloped him, and it swirled with the unknown as it seemed to try and find its purpose.
Voices rang through his head, as a muddied sea of clouds stopped him from escaping the ever descending pit he was trapped in.
Putting forward his hand too far would make him lose sight of it, causing him to wearily draw back, not knowing of the consequences that lurked out of sight.
It was at that moment, that a translucent blue hand reached into the storm of clouds, and pulled him out.
"!.."
The sudden change in scenery was starkly contrasted when he felt himself get pulled onto a calm floor of unsullied white clouds.
Calm clouds that didn't even seem to have the slightest bit of anger that the storm which held him once had.
Above him, a sky with a multitude of vastly different stars lay above him, resting in their dark blue cradle above. A horizon stretching so far that the end was incapable of being seen.
Looking similar to a scattered pile of sparkling glitter on a dark blank sheet, there was no moon in sight. Despite that, the sheer amount of stars that surrounded him were bright enough to cast a soft glow on his skin.
It was a breathtaking sight, as the sea of light above almost swirled around in the sky like a current, as if a painter had painstakingly placed each of them perfectly trapped in motion.
It when then that he turned around to see who pulled him out of the storm, and his eyes widened.
...
My dreams are becoming too realistic.
Viv's bloodshot eyes looked up at the ceiling, as his hands gripped the lining of his blanket tightly.
On the desk beside him, a little 6 petal plant stood nice and tall, shining under the moonlight that came through the window.
He hadn't had the chance to sell it yet, with no time to spare getting back home and catching up for schoolwork for the next day. Normally he would have stashed expensive things into his desk for safekeeping, but Viv didn't think doing that to a rare plant would be very healthy.
"..."
As Viv's eyes drifted to the side, he immediately stiffened and looked back up at the ceiling.
Agh, that's gonna get creepier.
Standing at the entrance to his bedroom, a familiar little girl with black hair and ruby eyes stood.
Her skin was translucent, just like how he was in his dream.
Now that I think about it, it's been a while since the little princess visited me.
It was indeed the little princess who had supposedly left this world a long time ago. Ever since, she came around sometimes during the night and mostly just existed in the room with him, not doing mainly anything.
The princess's last notable visit was when John had sent him on a stupid task of finding a toy. It was when he had begun to lose faith of doing such a thing that the princess appeared, pointing at a trashcan which held the toy.
He didn't know if it was a coincidence or not, but he didn't dare doubt the visage's power.
But after that instance, she no longer haunted his sleep as often as she once did.
If anyone had asked Viv what he thought of a dead spirit hypothetically appearing and helping him, he would only respond with one word.
"Creepy."
This was in fact the very normal response that Viv even confirmed when he had asked Elva what he would've thought in that situation.
"You're asking me what I would think of a little girl's dead spirit following you around..?"
"Yes."
"Uhm...wouldn't everyone think that's really horrifying? Also, why are you asking me this question? Are you perhaps experiencing-."
"I'm leaving now."
"W-Wait what..? Hold on!..."
"Bye."
"..."
So Viv didn't feel too bad whenever the little princess came around, and his thoughts began to wonder about these things.
Usually he just waited for her to fade away naturally, but...
I really need to use the bathroom.
He didn't realize this at first, but the more he stayed awake looking at the ceiling, the more the floodgates threatened to spill open.
Damn it...I really should've used the bathroom when I got back...
Now he had to deal with using the bathroom in the middle of the night and a ghost...
Turning back towards the door, Viv had fully resolved himself to get up and just ignore the princess to use the bathroom.
"..."
They locked eyes, staring at each other for a few moments before Viv turned back away.
...Maybe waiting for a while might not be so bad.
——
"...uh...?"
A boy with black hair muttered sleepily as he felt his rest begin to be disturbed.
In the cramped dorm room filled with 3 other snoring boys, Ezekiel felt himself get poked in the head by a wispy finger.
Letting out a low sigh, he sleepily stirred himself awake, pushing his long bed head back. Grabbing a green headband on the nightstand beside him, he tied it around his hair with ease despite the darkness.
Pushing away the warm blankets, he shivered before getting up, his warm feet touching the cold wooden floor.
Stealthily sneaking out of the room and into the hallways, Ezekiel scratched his head, grumpily poking at his strange watch.
"Get out already and tell me what's going on, Iodine."
At the mention of her name, the faint visage of a woman seeped out of the strange gadget, her form flickering as floated around him.
There is an unnatural spirit.
Iodine's mouth didn't move but a voice was heard in Ezekiel's mind, a familiar occurrence for him.
"What? Was Einsvul really haunted after all...?"
Sighing, Ezekiel was wondering what it was that disturbed Io enough to wake him. At least it wasn't anything too serious, they could quickly send it off if they found it.
Elemental spirits were the second highest rank in terms of power and rarity, and were usually found in the middle of thick biomes. They weren't usually the type to get along with humans, but Iodine was a special exception.
Unnatural spirits were an uncommon phenomenon that happened when a soul couldn't move on to the afterlife, or got cursed by something while they were alive.
Natural spirits and unnatural ones could easily be vanquished as Iodine outclassed them in terms of rank.
When he had made a contract with Iodine many years ago, her only condition was to help set free unnatural spirits or evil ones left in the world. In exchange he would be able to use some of her power. Such contracts were usually very rare though and Ezekiel was just lucky enough to be liked by an elemental.
Come quickly, she is hurting.
Urging him to come quickly, Iodine led Ezekiel through the quiet and dark stairs of the Einsvul dormitory. As Ezekiel kept going up a flight of stairs, he began to feel confused.
Why would an uncommon spirit hang around the upper floors, where wealthy students slept?
If a soul had a hard time passing on, it was usually because of surrounding negative energy around it. That's why while wandering around, they usually liked to hang near places of negative thoughts. The poorer lower floors of Einsvul were exactly the sort of environment unnatural spirits should cling to.
Ezekiel had been prepared to climb down many stairs to the lower floors, but it was a strange surprise when he was led upstairs.
Wondering whose rich kid was having strong emotional problems, Ezekiel sighed as he finally reached a floor.
"Huh...isn't this where those top students sleep...?"
Ezekiel muttered under his breath, wondering which room Elva shared with his roommate up here.
It certainly was a much better place compared to the normal dorms, and it was Ezekiel's first time seeing this place.
Come...
"I know." Ezekiel stopped looking at his surroundings and walked forward, activating his mana to smoothly probe around. If the unnatural spirit was here, it would be attracted by the strong flow of mana.
—-
I want my courage back.
Viv's bloodshot eyes stared at the ceiling above him, the same ceiling that he has been staring at for a long unknown period of time. To be honest, he didn't even know how long it had been, too scared to even check the time.
He didn't know where the courage he had to talk to the little princess had went from that day. Some days he had tried to talk to her, but for some reason the little girl was scarier than usual.
If she was usually sad looking other days, then she looked like she was fuming with a silent rage in her dead fish like eyes today.
Something in Viv's gut told him not to provoke her for today...
...But I really gotta use the bathroom.
Viv's hands clutched the blanket till his knuckles turned white, his eyes slowly turning to look at the unmoving little girl.
This will be really awkward if I'm just hallucinating this.
This thought had crossed his mind several times before, and that's exactly why he had less fear talking to her when she first started appearing.
After that incident with finding John's aranka, Viv didn't dare to pass her off as just a mere figment of his imagination.
"..."
The girl who had been still for the past many minutes jolted, her dark red eyes slowly lifting up as she raised her head.
"..." Viv clenched his blanket tighter.
Thankfully she didn't seem to pay much attention to Viv, as she slowly turned around and walked away.
She phased out of the room door, and disappeared quickly anti-climatically.
After a few seconds passed by and she didn't seem to be coming back, Viv quickly threw off his sheets and made a run for the bathroom.
Thankfully he had his own bathroom in his room, a luxurious saving grace that he thanked the stars for, as he slammed the bathroom door shut.
Whew...
——
She's coming.
"I can tell."
Ezekiel frowned as he felt an abnormally strong presence begin to hungrily devour his mana being spread out.
Spirits relayed on slowly absorbing the mana around them to survive, and an unnatural spirit wouldn't be able to resist the strong temptation of a free meal. Unlike normal spirits, the world rejected most of their efforts to absorb its power.
Suddenly.
"..."
A little girl with long black hair stepped out from behind a wall, entering the hallway with a dazed look on her face.
Wearing only a white nightgown, her bare feet floated slightly above the carpet. In addition, ruby colored eyes seemed almost devilish as they shone within the moonlight that seeped in from the corridor windows.
Greedily devouring the last bit of mana left, the little girl slowly turned towards Ezekiel. She licked her lips.
"Iodine."
Ezekiel didn't even need to speak, as the spirit had already fully escaped from his watch.
Iodine's transparent body grew more clearer as she rushed forward towards the little girl and hugged her, holding her still.
Unable to move and confused, the little girl frowned as she tried to push away Iodine, but was no match for the sheer strength difference.
"Of Erma..."
Ezekiel chanted a prayer under his breath, his eyes closing as he held out his hand and began to site a familiar mantra.
{"Oh Goddess of Creation and life, please bestow this humble servant the ability to overcome this soul's unfortunate circumstances and free them of this world's shackles."}
A pale green intricate crest slowly appeared on Ezekiel's forehead, the glowing circle beginning to rotate and shine through the green headband.
{"Let them be released and meet with you in the second realm, and allow them to rebirth anew."}
The markings on his forehead slowly made its way to his hand, a thin stream of the color reaching his fingertips and enveloping them like gloves. A strange wind began to blow in the previously calm hallway, its source unknown but with considerable force.
Perhaps feeling her impending fate, the little Princess began to struggle fiercely, trying to throw off Iodine by biting and kicking.
However, Iodine simply responded by morphing her body into a messy bunch of seaweed around the little girl.
Just as this happened, Ezekiel's eyes flew open as a bright green light shot out from his hands and towards the little Princess.
At the same time, the markings around his forehead and arms disappeared, as the strange wind surrounding him disappeared.
Agh!...
The little girl let out a painful cry as the bright light hit her, and the sound of something colliding could be heard.
A rumble began to shake the hallway, as the screams grew louder and angrier with each second.
There seemed to be a fierce struggle of what was fighting for control, the little girl's mana or the exorcism magic Ezekiel casted.
Just like usual, Ezekiel yawned as he was about to turn to leave and go back to bed.
However...
"..No way."
Breathless, Ezekiel stared wide eyed at the fully intact spirit in front of him, her appearance flickering more brightly than before.
With her hair only slightly frizzed up, the little girl stood there with a murderous gleam in her eyes, looking towards Ezekiel and Iodine, who had already disappeared back into the watch after growing tired.
Don't tell me she's a...
Iodine tiredly escaped from the watch, her hands reaching towards Ezekiel's head. Whispering into his ear, a strange tone of unease was heard for the first time from Iodine.
It's dangerous.
Run.