Chapter — The Old Man in the Alley
Becoming a pronreaper has always been a dream of Adams's ever since he was a child. In fact, becoming a reaper was almost everyone's dream.
They defended and protected people against the evil ghosts that continue to haunt them every day, and for that, it was a very renowned profession.
Aside from fame, Anyone who was a reaper, was automatically rich. Seeing as how they constantly risk their lives to protect society, the government pays them extremely well, along with other benefits
And that was Adams' true reason for wanting to become a reaper
Adam knew his family's situation. He knew how much they were struggling, how hard his mom worked just to put food on the table for her kids, but he didn't want that to be the case forever
All he wanted to become was a professional reaper, so that someday he would be able to help his mom and fix their situation.
Because of that desire, growing up, Adam couldn't wait to manifest his curse factor. Every day, he would always experiment to see whether he had awakened it yet. Whether jumping off a table to see if he could fly, or thrusting his arm forward as he yelled "fire" to see if anything would happen.
There was even one time where he sprinted straight into a wall, thinking that his curse factor could be the ability to phase through walls
He tried again, and again, and again for all these years but nothing ever happened. He eventually gave up.
Everyone else in his school had unlocked curse factors, and being the only one who didn't, that was a lot to take in. They mocked him, bullied him, and called him all sorts of names, making him feel more and more inferior
And to top it all off, his grades were awful. When he was much younger, Adam scored much higher in class tests and exams, but then slowly his grades started drastically declining. It even got so bad that the school authorities wanted him expelled but after his mother came to plead, he was pardoned
All his hopes of helping his mom after becoming a reaper someday, all disappeared
Until
A few months ago, Adam had come across this old man while on his way home from school. The man met Adam in a cold, dark alley and told him that he had been watching him for some time now — that he realized Adam was the only one in his school who didn't have a curse factor.
At first, Adam didn't want to listen to anything the strange old man had to say. His mom had always warned him that the world was a dangerous place, and that he shouldn't go around talking to strangers.
However, Adam's mind changed the moment the man said he could help him.
The moon hung low in the sky, and the atmosphere was cold and quiet.
Walking behind the old man, Adam had a mix of fear and excitement swirling inside him.
They were deep in the woods.
"Uh, old man, how long before we get there?" Adam asked, his voice shaky.
The old man stayed silent for a few seconds, which made Adam start to question. Was it really the right choice to trust this stranger?
They'd been walking for well over half an hour, and Adam didn't want to stray too far from home.
Finally, having had enough, Adam spoke again.
"Hey! Old man, how long—"
"We're here," the man said suddenly.
Adam stopped, scanning the area around to make sense of where they were.
The old man turned to look at him with a serious expression, and Adam's heart started pounding uncontrollably.
"Um… what now?" he gulped.
The old man placed his bag on the floor and pulled out a jar containing some kind of white powder. He handed Adam a few candles and told him to arrange them all in a circle — one big enough for one person to stand in.
The air around the man had suddenly changed, growing heavy and tense with each passing second. Adam could feel the pressure in his chest.
'C'mon Adam, focus… it'll all be over soon,' he tried to convince himself.
"Hey, old man, how exactly is this going to grant me a curse factor?" Adam asked as he began lighting the candles one by one.
Curse factors were something that people were born with, and there were no cases where people could actually give another person a curse factor. This made Adam really curious as to how this old man was going to help him
'Um…I hope this isn't some sell-your-soul ritual or anything like that…right?" Adam asked, his voice shaky
The old man didn't respond. He was already drawing strange patterns around the candles with the white powder.
"Just trust me. We don't have much time left," he muttered.
Adam obeyed, and within the next two minutes, they had finished setting up whatever strange ritual they were doing.
"Okay, please tell me how this is supposed to give me a curse factor again?" Adam asked.
A vein popped at the side of the old man's face, showing clear annoyance at Adam's persistence. It made Adam worry that he might accidentally give the man a heart attack if he kept talking.
"Get in the circle," the man whispered.
"Wait, what?"
"Just get in the circle!" the man snapped.
The old man started huffing and panting heavily, sweat pouring down his wrinkled face.
Adam grew worried and moved to check on him, but before he could, the man shouted,
"GET IN THE CIRCLE NOW!"
He shoved Adam hard, sending him stumbling backward. The moment Adam's feet touched the circle, the candle flames erupted, forcing him to cover his face with his arms.
The strange markings began to move — shifting and twisting as if they had a mind of their own.
Fear crept into Adam's chest. He instantly regretted ever following this man.
He turned his head — and what he saw made his stomach drop.
The old man's body was bending in ways no human body ever should. His spine arched backward until his head touched the ground, and his waist twisted sideways at an impossible angle.
Adam froze.
He knew old people had back problems, but this was something else entirely.
"Ugh… are you alright, old man?" Adam stammered. His body was trembling.
He took a hesitant step forward, only to feel his hand press against something hard and invisible.
The air rippled like water.
"Huh? What the— What the hell is this?"
Panic flooded through him. He started slamming his fists against the invisible wall, trying to break free, but nothing worked.
The old man's body dropped to the ground — but from his mouth, something began to emerge.
Adam's eyes widened as a pitch-black creature slithered out. Its cold neon-green eyes pierced through the darkness. It had no mouth, only jagged scars where one should've been.
Adam stumbled backward in terror, desperately trying to escape.
He didn't know what the creature was, but he wasn't going to stick around to find out.
Smack!
His back hit the invisible wall again, sending ripples through the air. He collapsed onto the ground, dizzy and gasping.
His vision blurred as the creature's head slowly came into view.
Just before losing consciousness, a faint blue light flickered before his eyes.
[Congratulations. You have been granted the Ghost State.]