And I suddenly wished I had stayed average and alive.
I stared at it.
It stared back.
Or at least… I think it did.
The shape was tall. Slightly bent. Too still.
"Okay," I whispered, slowly turning away, "we respect personal space in this city."
I began moving faster.
Not running.
Because ghosts apparently don't run.
We dramatically glide.
After walking—no, gliding—for what felt like ten minutes, I noticed something strange.
I wasn't breathing.
I wasn't blinking.
But I was… tired.
Which is unfair, by the way.
If I don't have lungs, why do I have exhaustion?
Then a random thought hit me:
So this is afterlife? No angels. No fire. Just unpaid emotional damage and low battery mode.
I rubbed my face.
Still transparent.
Still dead.
Still confused.
And then—
I heard footsteps behind me.
Not frozen footsteps.
Moving ones.
Slow.
Dragging.
I turned.
The tall shape from before was closer now.
Too close.
Its body looked stretched, like a shadow pulled the wrong way. Its face was blank — smooth — like someone erased it.
It tilted its head.
My entire soul did a backflip.
"Nope," I said calmly. "I reject this reality."
The creature's arm extended.
Not forward.
Longer.
Longer.
Longer than humanly possible.
It wasn't walking.
It was sliding.
Glitching.
Coming toward me without sound.
I tried to run—
And slammed straight into something invisible.
A wall of air.
The creature stopped just inches away from me.
Its blank face almost touching mine.
I froze.
It leaned closer—
And then—
A sharp snapping sound echoed through the street.
Like glass cracking.
The creature's body distorted violently and dissolved into smoke.
I collapsed to my knees.
"…I hate this city."
"Most newcomers do."
I spun around.
A boy stood a few meters away.
Around my age.
Messy black hair. Hands in his pockets. Expression completely bored.
He was transparent too.
But unlike me—
He looked stable.
Clear.
Sharp.
"Who are you?!" I demanded.
He shrugged. "Someone who didn't scream when I first saw that thing."
"I did NOT scream."
"You absolutely did."
"…Internally."
He sighed and walked toward me casually.
"Name?"
"Rive."
"Newly dead?"
"Unfortunately."
He nodded like this was normal small talk.
"Alright, Rive. Welcome to the In-Between."
I blinked. "Is there like… a welcome brochure?"
"You're talking to it."
Rude.
He gestured around us.
"This world is a reflection. A shadow of the living one. Time barely moves here. Only people with unfinished bonds stay."
Arin.
My chest tightened.
"My family…" I whispered.
Without answering, the boy snapped his fingers.
The scene around us shifted.
Suddenly—
I was standing inside my house.
But not fully inside.
Like watching through fogged glass.
In the living room—
My mother was crying quietly.
My father sat beside her, silent, staring at the floor.
And my big sister—
She wasn't crying.
She was angry.
Punching the wall.
"Why him?" she shouted. "Why Rive?!"
I stepped forward.
"Hey… I'm right here."
My voice didn't reach them.
The mysterious boy spoke softly behind me.
"They can't hear you. You're not on their frequency anymore."
My throat tightened.
On the table was my photo.
With a garland.
That hurt more than the faceless monster.
I looked at him. "So what now?"
He crossed his arms.
"You have two choices. Fade slowly as your bond weakens…"
"Or?"
"Find your Anchor. The one person or thing tying you here."
Arin.
It had to be.
I turned back toward the living room—
And that's when something terrifying happened.
The lights flickered.
But not in the real house.
In the ghost layer.
Behind my parents—
A dark silhouette stood.
Watching them.
Watching my sister.
Watching my mother.
It slowly turned its blank face toward me.
It could see me.
The mysterious boy's expression hardened.
"Ah," he muttered. "That's bad."
"BAD? That's your reaction?!"
"That thing feeds on grief. The more your family breaks… the stronger it gets."
My stomach dropped.
"So if I stay here—"
"You'll attract worse."
The silhouette smiled.
Its mouth tearing open where there was no face before.
The boy grabbed my shoulder.
"We move. Now."
The house shattered like broken glass around us.
We were back in the frozen street.
I breathed heavily.
Even though I wasn't breathing.
The boy looked at me seriously now.
"Listen carefully, Rive. The In-Between has rules."
"Of course it does."
"Rule one: Don't let the living's despair consume you."
"Rule two?"
"Don't let the Watchers mark you."
I froze.
"Those faceless things?"
He nodded.
"And rule three?"
He looked directly into my eyes.
"If you find your Anchor… you might not stay dead."
Silence.
My mind exploded.
"Wait. WHAT?"
He smirked slightly.
"Welcome to your second chance."
Somewhere in the distance—
Something else moved.
And this time…
It wasn't alone.