The increase didn't last.
> Existence Stability: 13%
So even emotional absorption wasn't a permanent solution.
It only bought me time.
---
I stayed near the emergency ward.
Not too close.
Not too far.
Just enough to feel the emotional waves without drowning in them.
Grief.
Fear.
Anxiety.
I absorbed them slowly.
Carefully.
Like taking shallow breaths instead of gulping air.
---
> [Emotional Absorption: Active (Limited)]
[Stability Increase: Minor]
Pain still lingered, but it was manageable.
Control.
That was the key.
---
Then—
Something felt wrong.
The air shifted.
Not emotionally.
Physically.
Cold—but sharp.
Different from me.
---
I pulled back instinctively.
At the end of the hallway, a man stood still.
Black coat.
Silver chain hanging from his neck.
His eyes weren't normal.
They were focused.
Locked onto something invisible.
Locked onto me.
---
"…He can see me."
Not clearly.
But enough.
> [Warning: Detection Attempt Detected.]
That sentence didn't make me feel better.
---
The man raised his hand.
The silver chain glowed faintly.
A symbol flickered in the air.
My existence screamed in alarm.
Pain surged through me.
> [Existence Stability Decreasing Rapidly.]
"Not good."
---
I turned and fled.
No footsteps.
No sound.
I phased through walls, floors, ceilings—anything to put distance between us.
The pain followed.
Like a hook tugging at my soul.
---
> [Emergency Skill Activated.]
— Wraith Drift
My form blurred.
The hospital twisted around me.
I slipped—
not through space—
but through presence.
---
The pain vanished.
I reappeared inside an unused storage room.
Dark.
Silent.
My vision wavered.
> Existence Stability: 9%
"…That was close."
> [Assessment: You were nearly sealed.]
"Nearly?"
> [Correction: Probability of capture was 87%.]
I didn't want to know the remaining thirteen percent.
---
Minutes passed.
Nothing followed.
The presence was gone.
But the message was clear.
I wasn't alone.
And I wasn't safe.
---
> [New Threat Identified.]
— Spirit Hunters
Hunters.
Of course.
The world wouldn't just let ghosts roam freely.
---
I sank into the corner of the room.
Breathing out of habit—
even though I didn't need to.
"Seven days," I muttered.
"…And the world already wants me gone."
---
> [Beginner Task: Ongoing.]
Days Remaining: 5
---