Weber staggered to his feet and held his chin high as the hundreds of ghosts stood before him.
Ariel noticed Weber's hands shaky, and she clenched her fists.
The chief of the deceased villagers walked forward to Weber.
"Our deal was that we help you once. So, what shall we do?" he asked.
Weber's ghostly features turned off, and he turned back to his normal self and fell to the ground from exhaustion, Ariel catching him.
"You see this woman," Weber said to the chief, squinting at Ariel.
"Do whatever... she... says," Weber said and passed out, his vision shaky before everything went pitch black.
Ariel gasped, then looked at the large number of ghosts and shuddered the longer she looked at them.
Because of Weber's power as Wraith Keeper, he no longer had fear of the paranormal.
But for a person, mana user or not, they still couldn't help at the sight.
Ariel was shaking Weber, "wake up, wake up... I can't do what you do," a tear rolling down her eye as she felt his life slipping away.
She looked at the ghosts, but their presence alone was suffocating.
But Weber was slowly dying.
Ariel took in a deep breath and clenched her fists.
"Well, we are at your service," the chief said.
Ariel thought for some moments, "I'll attend to you all... after some minutes," she said, and picked up Weber, and the ghosts watched her until she got into a taxi and left.
Ariel laid Weber down inside the cab and sat down, and the driver began taking them to the nearest hospital.
She held his hand, "why does this have to happen to you again? That your power is doing this to you," she murmured, and the driver was whistling absentmindedly.
As he looked at the rearview mirror, he saw a large gray cloud behind the car for a second. Looking closer, it was the hundreds of ghosts that Weber summoned.
The driver ashened, and as he blinked, they were gone.
The driver kept looking back and saw nothing.
He shrugged and stopped Ariel at her destination.
As he drove off, he saw several people appear next to Ariel, and the moment he concentrated on them, they vanished, making the driver lose his breath for a moment.
She handed Weber over to medical staff, and they checked Weber's vital signs.
The doctor walked to Ariel and asked, "you're his friend, right?"
Ariel nodded affirmatively.
"Any idea why he fell into a coma?" the doctor asked.
"He... worked non-stop and passed out," she lied.
The doctor squinted at her, "if it's overwork, I don't think he should be in this state."
Ariel furrowed her brows, "what's wrong?"
The doctor turned and waved for Ariel to follow her into the room where doctors were examining Weber.
"I never meant this in medical school..." Ariel heard a doctor murmur.
The doctor who led Ariel into the room pointed at a screen that showed Weber's state of being and his vitals.
"His brain, heart—everything is fine," then she whipped her head to Ariel, "but the problem is he's not asleep or conscious either."
Ariel folded her arms and looked at Weber, "you're saying his vitals show he's perfectly fine, that he should be awake, and his organs are active, but he's just not awake either?"
The doctor nodded, "when a person has an active, busy system like his, they wake up soon or now. But he looks lifeless from outside but fine on the inside."
Ariel sighed, "thank you doctors for the help. Maybe he just needs to rest."
The doctors agreed and left.
"I'm going to bring back Josh, so wait for me, okay?" she said, patting his shoulder, her voice low.
She said and left the hospital and went to their apartment.
As she arrived, she packed food, weapons, and clothes that would last her days.
She took the luggage and put it into her car.
"I don't know how long it will take to find Josh, but I need to be ready for it to take a while."
She went to the fuel station and filled her tank to last her enough to reach Crystal City, Vespera's largest city.
Ariel drove for hours, her eyes focused on the road.
As nighttime drew nearer, her fatigue increasing, she looked over the bridge and on the other side were the shimmering lights of Crystal City.
"Finally..." she said, almost sleeping, then forced her eyes open.
As she arrived in the city, most of the buildings in the district were decorated with neon lights, some as transparent as crystals, explaining the city's name.
"This is also the most expensive to live in," Ariel said, grimacing.
Her hand instinctively grabbed her head as a splitting headache hit her.
And a new memory returned.
---
Two years ago.
Ariel and Weber were walking on the sidewalk of a neighborhood.
"These places are too expensive to live in," Weber said, rolling his eyes.
Ariel chuckled, "yeah, but Fantasia is better. I know it's frustrating, but what are you thinking of doing? Buying a house?"
Weber didn't answer and only looked at her and smirked.
Ariel squinted at him as he walked into a two-story building and shook hands with a man in corporate clothing.
"Ariel, this is real estate manager Alan." Ariel darted her eyes between Weber and Alan, then forced a smile and shook Alan's hand.
"Hello, madam," Alan said, and turned to Weber, "my job here is done. Pleased to have you as a customer. Good day!" Alan said and left.
Ariel glared at Weber, "what are you doing?"
Weber stretched his hands, "we're going to get married soon, and before all these dumb wars make things worse, it's best to have an investment—even if it costs most of what you have..."
Ariel gritted her teeth and put her hands around Weber's shoulders and began shaking him, "why would you get broke just to do all this!"
Weber smiled, poked her nose, and removed her arms, "you'll know why later."
---
Two years later.
Tears rolled down Ariel's eyes, and she tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
She wiped them and sighed and began driving.
"I have to look for that house he bought," she said and parked at a parking garage, the pavement alone shimmering brightly enough to cost more than apartments in the town she left.
As she stepped out and looked over the city from the 7th floor.
"Let's find Josh," she said and looked around the parking garage, sensing no sign of life.
She bent down on one knee and spread her palm wide open, slowly placing it on the floor as she thought of the menacing aura of Weber's aura.
"Spectres of the Wraith Keeper, fulfill your promise," she said in a low voice and stood up.
The temperature dropped, and the floor was covered in smoke as the hundreds of ghosts appeared, and Ariel shuddered.
"We're not the enemy. We will help you this once," the chief said, stepping forward.
Ariel nodded, "search for Josh throughout this city, and if not found, go to surrounding cities. Do this as fast as you can," she said, raising her chin high.
The chief nodded affirmatively, and he turned to his people, and with the wave of his hand, they all vanished and began searching through every building, structure, and space for Josh.