The shrine was supposed to be safe.
Supposed to be.
Outside the glowing boundary, the shadow creature dragged its long arms across the ground, scraping the street like broken glass.
And then—
More shadows appeared.
One.
Two.
Three.
They slid out from the dark alleys like liquid nightmares.
I slowly turned to Vikram.
"Please tell me that's normal."
Vikram stared at them.
"…It's normal if you enjoy dying twice."
"Fantastic."
One of the shadows slammed against the shrine barrier.
The invisible wall cracked slightly.
A thin line of light fractured across the air.
I pointed at it.
"Vikram."
"I see it."
"Vikram."
"I see it."
"Vikram that looks very breakable."
"Yes, Rive," he sighed, "that's because it is breakable."
The creature slammed the barrier again.
CRACK.
The light flickered.
Vikram rubbed his forehead.
Then he looked at me.
Then at the monsters.
Then back at me.
"…You know what?"
"What?"
"I'm tired."
"That's fair."
"No," he corrected, rolling his shoulders, "I mean I'm tired of running."
He stepped forward toward the shrine entrance.
"Wait," I said. "That sounds like a bad decision."
"Most good decisions start as bad ones."
"That sentence worries me."
The barrier shattered.
The first shadow lunged inside.
Its arms stretched across the ground toward us.
And Vikram finally moved.
Not backward.
Forward.
He raised one hand.
For the first time since I met him, his relaxed expression disappeared.
The air around him twisted slightly.
Dark cracks formed in the ground beneath his feet.
"Hey," I said nervously.
"Yeah?"
"Please tell me you actually know what you're doing."
Vikram smirked.
"I've been dead longer than you."
A strange symbol of glowing lines appeared across his arm.
Then—
He snapped his fingers.
The air exploded.
A shockwave burst outward like invisible lightning.
The shadow creature froze.
Its body shattered into hundreds of black fragments that dissolved into smoke.
The other creatures outside screeched violently.
Vikram swung his arm again.
This time the ground itself cracked with glowing lines.
Another wave of energy blasted through the street.
BOOM.
Two more shadows disintegrated instantly.
I stood there staring.
"…Okay."
He brushed dust off his jacket casually.
"Problem solved."
"YOU COULD DO THAT THIS ENTIRE TIME?!"
He shrugged.
"Maybe."
"VIKRAM!"
"What?"
"WE RAN HALF THE CITY!"
"Cardio is important."
I stared at him in disbelief.
"You are the most annoying ghost I have ever met."
"I'm also the one keeping you alive."
"…Fair point."
But the remaining shadows began screeching again.
More shapes were forming in the distance.
Vikram sighed.
"Yeah… that ability attracts attention."
"That's bad, right?"
"Extremely."
He grabbed my arm.
"Time to leave."
Before I could complain, he slammed his hand against the ground.
A circle of glowing cracks spread across the street.
The world around us warped slightly.
Then—
Everything blurred.
The city disappeared.
A second later we landed on top of a tall abandoned building.
Wind moved through the empty rooftop.
For the first time, the city felt quiet again.
I slowly sat down.
"Okay," I said.
"That teleport thing? Very cool."
"Thank you."
"But next time maybe use the destroy-monster ability earlier?"
"I was observing the situation."
"You were lazy."
"Observation requires laziness."
I groaned.
The rooftop was strange.
Broken antennas.
Old water tanks.
And strange glowing symbols carved into the concrete.
"What is this place?" I asked.
Vikram leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.
"A temporary survival spot."
"Your hideout?"
"More like a ghost camping area."
"…We have ghost camping now?"
He nodded.
"This building sits on a thin boundary between worlds."
"So monsters can't find us?"
"They can."
"…You said survival spot."
"They'll just take longer."
I sighed.
"Your definitions are very stressful."
Vikram looked out across the silent city.
"Relax. We should be safe for a few hours."
A few hours.
For the first time since dying, things were quiet.
But far away in the frozen streets…
Something much larger moved in the darkness.
Watching the rooftop.
Watching us.
And this time—
Even Vikram hadn't noticed it yet.