[Iris Perspective]
I jolted awake, gasping for air. I was back on that same cold metal chair, in the middle of that white room.
I tried to move, but my wrists and ankles were bound tightly, just like before. In front of me stood that man his twisted smile, his blind eye.
He didn't move, just watched me.
I screamed, my voice a mix of terror and rage:
"Stay away from me!"
He didn't reply. He simply started walking toward me, slowly.
"I said stay away!!"
He kept coming until he stood right in front of me.
Then he reached out his hand toward my forehead, his long fingers stretching until they nearly touched me.
I screamed, and the anger inside me exploded into fire that engulfed my entire body. The restraints shattered instantly.
I shot to my feet, flames blazing across my arms as I unleashed a fiery wave at him.
But he vanished, reappearing in the far corner of the room with that same disgusting smile.
I screamed again, hurling another fireball at him he disappeared before it hit.
Then I heard a strange rustling beside me. I turned quickly there was a small creature standing there.
It was hideous, its skin gray, its eyes empty, as if they didn't belong to anything alive.
I raised my hand again, ready to burn it to ash, but the man lunged, grabbed the creature, and bolted.
***
Iris was flying madly around the place, unleashing a relentless storm of fire.
Flames blazed from her back, forming wings.
The ghost and the masked boy were running desperately, dodging her attacks.
Every time she neared the ground, the fire would fade away without a trace but with each strike, the ghost's body grew more transparent.
They hid inside one of the apartments.
The ghost tossed the gray cat toward the masked boy, who barely caught it before it hit the floor.
The ghost said, "We need to find a way to stop her. I can't hold out much longer."
The masked boy pointed down the corridor where Iris stood and said, "And how are we supposed to stop that thing?"
"That thing?! She has a name it's Iris, you know?"
"I didn't know you cared about details like that. You haven't even called me by my name once."
"Since when do you care about that?"
"Since today, apparently."
The ghost sighed.
"No time for this. Listen, I have a plan."
"Oh, finally. What is it?"
"Put the cat down."
The masked boy stared at him, then set the cat on the floor, grumbling:
"You could've just not handed it to me in the first place. And now what?"
But the ghost vanished suddenly.
The masked boy blinked into the empty space.
"Did he just ditch me and run?"
***
The gray cat bolted toward Iris. The ghost flew alongside it, his body nearly see through now.
"Go, Timaeus! Stop her!"
Timaeus leapt, dodging fire waves, until he reached Iris and clawed at her face.
She screamed, tried to burn him, but the flames vanished before they touched him.
Blood streamed down her cheek she roared and ripped him off, flinging him away.
She raised her right hand high, and a small fireball formed in her palm.
It swelled quickly, until it was half the size of the corridor.
Meanwhile, the masked boy had stepped into the corridor, watching in silence.
When he saw the massive fireball, he drew a sword hilt from his coat pocket.
As soon as he gripped it, a faint watery blade extended but instantly vanished.
The hilt slipped from his hand, and the masked boy collapsed, his mask clattering to the floor, revealing his face.
The fireball shot forward, obliterating everything in its path. But it stopped, just moments before swallowing the masked boy.
The ghost appeared in front of him, waving his hand and the flames vanished in an instant.
Iris flew at him, flames spiraling around her. But as soon as she neared, the ghost calmly raised his hand.
Her fiery wings vanished, and she fell unconscious.
Before she hit the ground, the ghost caught her.
The masked boy asked in shock, "If you could do that from the start, why didn't you?"
The ghost replied calmly, "I needed a link."
"A link?"
"My ability to influence reality is limited. To affect someone, I need some kind of connection between us."
"And how do you make that connection?"
"There are many ways. But simply put, if I share a bond with something, and that person shares a similar bond, I can use a trigger like blood to link us."
He placed his hand over Iris's face, and the scratches from Timaeus vanished.
The masked boy muttered, "That sounds an awful lot like what evil spirits do."
The ghost smiled faintly. "I don't think I'm much different from them."
He set Iris gently on the ground, then raised his hand again, and the place reverted back to its normal state, as if the battle had never happened.
"You might not see me for a while, but don't worry. It won't be long."
"Is that some kind of price you have to pay?"
"Something like that."
And the ghost disappeared. As soon as he was gone, the masked boy collapsed onto the ground and closed his eyes.