August 10th. Morning, around 7:00 AM.
Leo found himself lying in a room that resembled a bedroom. The atmosphere was silent, save for the flickering gas lamp beside the door. The gas inside was nearly depleted, but his family hadn't refilled it due to their financial constraints.
But Leo didn't care about that. He simply stared at the wooden ceiling above him. Since the incident in the expanse of fog, he had suddenly become aware that he was on this bed, while his mother, Nana Miscall, and his older sister, Isabelle Miscall, stood beside him with expressions of sadness mixed with worry.
From the doorway came an old man, believed to possess a supernatural ability called Hollow—the power to communicate with beings from another dimension. Like the first time Leo woke up, he hadn't realized he was in a world where spirits gathered.
However, after his soul and body left that world, his body felt like it couldn't move according to his will. That was why a man named Lucas Moura—a Hollow—had come to minimize the effects.
"How is your body now? Can you move it completely?" Lucas asked with a serious face.
Yeah… I didn't expect to be in a world where spirits lived. No wonder I was being watched when I walked there, and I never imagined this strange event would make my body feel like a living corpse—stiff, with my mind constantly filled with foreign sensations.
Leo closed his eyes before answering. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Moura!"
Hearing that, his mother and sister looked relieved. Lucas smiled faintly, then walked towards Nana and discussed something with her seriously—unfortunately, Leo couldn't hear a word.
But Leo knew for sure that the man possessed a strange ability called Hollow. Because of that, he couldn't shake the worry that his identity would be exposed if the man intended to investigate him further.
Isabelle approached and whispered in his ear, "Don't worry, that person will do something for you."
Those words made Leo's eyes widen. Cold sweat dripped down his cheeks. A moment later, Lucas approached again with the same expression as before.
Leo reflexively swallowed. With a quick and sure movement, Lucas's right hand touched his forehead.
What is this feeling? So calm… like my body is soaking in warm water. Why does my body feel so light?
Slowly, tears began to flow from the corners of his eyes. Shortly after that, the calmness lulled Leo into a deep sleep. Likewise, Lucas's body collapsed onto the cold wooden floor of the room.
When they both woke up at the same time. They had moved to a deserted city street, no longer inside the room but right in the spirit world. Lucas and Leo exchanged glances.
"So, this is the place?" His voice was cold, like a blade long stored in ice.
Leo hesitated for a moment before finally answering briefly. "Yes, sir."
The air here was bone-chilling, unlike the first time Leo was in this place. But the cold was only felt by Lucas; Leo felt nothing at all.
Lucas hadn't expected the cold to be so sharp, even his soul felt like it had been frozen by something, piercing deeper than he had imagined. His body trembled violently, pulling his consciousness back into his body, followed by Leo who woke up gasping for breath.
"What was that?" The question kept swirling in Lucas's mind.
Lucas's ability was like an interrogation—a systematic examination with a series of questions that forced the target to rearrange fragments of memory. But this time was different.
His supernatural power didn't work as he expected, with the target unconscious. The interrogation in that world failed completely.
As soon as he regained consciousness, his body and hands trembled violently. Fear crept in, his hair stood on end, his skin paled.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind. Meanwhile, Leo was confused by the strange and comfortable feeling he had just experienced.
Meanwhile, Lucas tried to calm himself. But the cold still felt like it was piercing through his body. His gaze fell on Leo, who was watching him, feeling like he was being stared at by someone else, he couldn't help but suppress his fear.
Someone who was called a 'Hollow' only felt emptiness and lost emotions within their body. That ability was terrifying because it took away human emotions.
This case was very different, unlike the norm. Lucas, known as 'Hollow,' was haunted by a terrible fear. He only felt a cold sensation, but it was as if his body and soul were experiencing a terrifying sensation.
He didn't know for sure what kind of cold had frightened him so much, but what was certain was that it made him reluctant to approach this house again. Since then, Lucas said goodbye to Nana and Isabelle with strange behavior. But they were of course grateful for helping save their son.
"Next time, Mr. Moura. You can stop by here, I will prepare a very delicious meal because you have helped save my son!" Nana was very grateful, and she said that enthusiastically without worrying about the cost that would be incurred when the time came.
Help how? I didn't do anything, just got him out of the spirit world a little, nothing more. He thought to himself, feeling strange hearing those words.
Lucas finally said goodbye to them all, especially to Nana. But the real thing was, as soon as his feet left the house and stepped on the cobblestone street, the terrible cold disappeared. His body was freed from that prison of death.
Feeling calm and safe, Lucas sighed quickly. The panic had disappeared, and from this moment on, he would not dare to come to this place, or rather, to this house.
On the other hand, Leo still felt that there was something strange about Lucas's change in behavior.
What's wrong with him? Looking at him, he's been very panicked since his hand touched my forehead. He wondered to himself.
Leo turned to the left corner, right on top of the wooden cabinet sat a woman wearing a long white dress and her black hair was wavy. He also felt strange, because his mother and sister couldn't see her.
Because Leo was engrossed in looking at the woman, a gentle voice made his eyes open wide.
"What's wrong, Archie? Is your body still feeling uncomfortable?"
Isabelle's voice was as soft as silk, her clear blue eyes looked at Leo with concern.
Hearing that, Leo was a little relieved because the person who was currently acting like his older sister, was worried about his condition.
Because back on earth, Leo also had two younger siblings, one girl and one boy. Isabelle's personality was similar to his younger sister, who was gentle and liked to worry about him when he was often late coming home from work.
Leo smiled slightly before answering the question. "I'm okay, just a little dazed."
Nana, as his mother, told him to rest in order to restore his physical condition. Both of them didn't feel anything strange about this incident, because there had been several people in Kurs city–Shire county who had experienced something similar to what Leo experienced.
The Shire county police were unable to handle this extraordinary incident, some people who had seen the banyan tree, one of the causes of all this, moved to overcome it and went into the world where the tree was located.
But the location of the banyan tree was not certain, one person held the blue constellation, Conjurer. Once met the tree, in the northern part of the continent. But of course, the tree disappeared after it was discovered by a human.
The incident was long ago, about 5 years since Leo first moved into Archie Miscall's body. His mother and sister left his room, before the door closed, Isabelle gave a smile so that her younger brother could recover and be able to move as before.
Leo, who saw that, only smiled slightly, and the door was closed. He immediately woke up his body slowly, and walked towards the cupboard in the left corner.
"So, who are you? And why can't they see you?" Leo asked with a sharp gaze.