A faint chill brushed against his skin, and he froze. The fluorescent light above flickered once. Then twice.
"...Oh no."
Reader turned slowly, peeking out from the stall door. His breath hitched as he saw it: a faint, wispy figure near the sinks. It wasn't entirely formed, its translucent body shifting and pulsing as though caught between this world and another. Its hollow eyes locked onto him, and its jagged mouth curled into something resembling a grin.
Reader's heart pounded in his chest as he backed into the corner of the stall, trembling. His whispers were barely audible over the blood rushing in his ears.
"Oh no, no, no!" he muttered, his voice cracking. He slammed the stall door shut and locked it again, as if that flimsy latch could keep the ghostly figure at bay.
The system chimed twice more, the sound unnervingly calm given the situation.
[ Lesser Spirit Detected ]
[ Generating Innate Spirit ]
"What... generating what now?" Reader mumbled, staring at the floating text.
Then, like a progress bar on an old computer, numbers began ticking upward on the screen:
[ 1% ]
[ 12% ]
[ 26% ]
The eerie figure outside the stall crept closer, its translucent body phasing in and out of solidity. It hovered just beyond the door, its jagged mouth curving into an unnatural grin.
Reader's breathing quickened. "I didn't even mean to look at it. I swear I didn't!" he thought frantically, curling into himself on the toilet seat.
[ 45% ]
[ 56% ]
The ghost's presence was suffocating now, a chilling cold that seeped through the flimsy barrier between them. Reader's fingers dug into his jet-black hair as he pressed his forehead against his knees, trying to ignore the faint whispers that filled the air.
"What am I supposed to do against something you can't even hit?!" Reader screamed internally, his teeth clenched.
[ 71% ]
[ 85% ]
The stall door groaned slightly, the ghost's form pressing against it as the fluorescent lights above flickered wildly. Reader dared not lift his head.
[ 91% ]
[ 99% ]
The tension was unbearable, each second stretching into eternity.
[ 100% ]
Reader barely registered the final notification before a blinding flash of light erupted from within the stall. He winced, shielding his eyes, as a wave of warmth replaced the freezing cold.
When he dared to look up, the ghost was gone. In its place, floating just before him, was a strange orb of pale, shimmering light. The system chimed again.
[ Mid-Tier Innate Spirit Generated ]
[ Spirit Name: None ]
[ Ability: Slightly Degrade Objects ]
Reader blinked at the screen, still catching his breath. "What the…?" he managed, his voice hoarse.
The orb pulsed faintly, as though responding to his confusion. It hovered in place, spinning lazily, its glow casting soft, shifting shadows on the walls of the stall.
Reader squinted at the screen again. "Slightly degrade objects? What does that even mean? What am I supposed to do—make pencils shorter?!"
The orb bobbed slightly, as if offended by his tone.
The system, as always, was silent.
Reader sighed, standing on shaky legs. He reached out cautiously, his small fingers brushing the orb's surface. It was warm, almost soothing, and he felt a faint connection to it.
The Orb suddenly moving, It was a Spirit