Ethan got home at 4:13 AM.
Not that he checked on purpose.
The number simply stuck in his head.
Maybe because everything else felt unreal.
Maybe because looking at a clock was easier than thinking about ghosts.
---
The apartment was silent.
Lily had fallen asleep on the couch.
A blanket covered her.
The television was still on.
Muted.
A half-eaten bag of chips rested on the table.
Ethan smiled despite himself.
She had probably tried to stay awake waiting for him.
---
Carefully, he turned off the television.
Then froze.
A blue screen appeared in front of his face.
---
[Mana Regeneration: +1]
---
"Seriously?"
The screen vanished.
Ethan rubbed his eyes.
Unfortunately, it remained real.
---
After making sure Lily was asleep, he entered his room and locked the door.
Then immediately sat on the floor.
For several minutes he simply stared at the wall.
Trying to process everything.
Ghosts.
The system.
The creature beneath Platform Three.
The man in the black coat.
The pocket watch.
---
The pocket watch.
Ethan quickly reached into his jacket.
The silver watch remained where he had left it.
Cold.
Silent.
Ordinary.
At least it looked ordinary.
---
He opened it.
Inside was a faded photograph.
A woman.
A young girl.
And a man.
The image quality was poor.
The colors had almost disappeared.
Yet Ethan immediately recognized the man.
The ghost.
Or at least...
The man he had once been.
---
For a moment, Ethan forgot to breathe.
The realization made the ghost feel real.
Not some mysterious entity.
Not some supernatural being.
A person.
Someone who had once lived.
Someone who once had a family.
---
A strange sadness settled over him.
He carefully closed the watch.
---
The moment it snapped shut—
The room changed.
---
Ethan jumped to his feet.
His heartbeat exploded.
The walls were gone.
His room was gone.
Everything was gone.
---
Darkness stretched in every direction.
An endless black void.
Silent.
Cold.
Empty.
---
"What the hell?"
His voice echoed endlessly.
Then another voice answered.
---
"Not hell."
---
Ethan spun around.
A figure stood several meters away.
Black coat.
Pale face.
The ghost.
---
Or something resembling him.
His body looked less stable now.
Parts of him flickered.
Like a damaged photograph.
---
"You."
The ghost smiled weakly.
"Hello, Ethan."
---
"What is this place?"
"A memory."
The answer only confused him more.
---
"A memory of what?"
The ghost looked around.
For the first time, Ethan noticed sadness in his expression.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Sadness.
---
"My final days."
---
The darkness shifted.
Buildings appeared.
Streetlights.
Cars.
Crowds of people.
An ordinary city.
Yet everything looked faded.
Like an old film.
---
Ethan watched silently.
The people couldn't see him.
Couldn't hear him.
They walked through him as though he wasn't there.
---
"What am I looking at?"
The ghost didn't answer immediately.
Instead he pointed.
---
A younger version of himself stood across the street.
Alive.
Human.
Holding the same pocket watch.
---
Ethan's eyes widened.
"So this really is a memory."
The ghost nodded.
---
"Watch carefully."
---
The younger man crossed the road.
Entered a train station.
Walked down a staircase.
Then stopped.
---
A familiar sign hung above the entrance.
---
Platform Three.
---
Ethan felt his stomach tighten.
Again.
Everything came back to Platform Three.
---
"What happened there?"
The ghost remained silent.
His gaze never left the memory.
---
The younger version of himself stepped onto the platform.
Looked around.
Then disappeared.
---
Just disappeared.
No flash.
No attack.
No warning.
One second he existed.
The next he was gone.
---
The memory shattered.
Darkness returned.
---
Ethan stared.
"What happened?"
The ghost looked exhausted.
As if simply showing the memory had drained him.
---
"I found the door."
---
The words sent a chill down Ethan's spine.
---
"The hidden door?"
The ghost nodded.
---
"What is it?"
---
For several seconds, silence filled the void.
Then the ghost answered.
---
"A mistake."
---
The darkness trembled.
Cracks spread through the void.
The ghost's form flickered violently.
---
"Ethan."
His voice sounded urgent now.
Far more urgent than before.
---
"The system chose you for a reason."
---
"What reason?"
---
"Because you're the first."
---
The cracks widened.
Something moved beyond them.
A shadow.
Large.
Watching.
---
The ghost noticed it too.
His expression changed immediately.
---
"Leave."
---
"What?"
---
"Leave. Now."
---
The shadow moved closer.
The darkness shook.
The void began collapsing.
---
The ghost shoved Ethan backward.
The same way he had done at Platform Three.
---
The last thing Ethan heard before everything vanished was the ghost's voice.
---
"Do not open the door until you're strong enough."
---
Then the world disappeared.
---
Ethan woke on the floor of his bedroom.
Breathing heavily.
The pocket watch lay beside him.
Closed.
Silent.
Ordinary.
Yet one thing had changed.
---
A new notification floated before his eyes.
---
[Main Quest Updated]
Find the Hidden Door
Warning: High Risk
---
For the first time since receiving the quest...
Ethan seriously considered ignoring it.
To Be Continued...