The red screen remained suspended before Ethan's eyes.
It pulsed slowly.
Like a warning beacon.
Unlike every notification before, this one felt urgent.
Serious.
Dangerous.
---
[Emergency Alert]
Spiritual Activity Detected
Location: 1.2 Kilometers
Threat Level: Unknown
---
Ethan stared.
For several seconds, he simply stared.
---
"What does that even mean?"
---
No explanation appeared.
No helpful guide.
No detailed instructions.
---
Just the flashing warning.
---
Outside the window, the city remained unchanged.
Cars moved through intersections.
Streetlights illuminated sidewalks.
People walked home.
Everything looked normal.
---
Yet according to the system...
Something was happening.
---
His eyes drifted back to the spot where the ghost had stood.
The space outside the window was empty now.
---
Too late.
---
Those were the words he had mouthed.
---
The memory made Ethan's stomach tighten.
---
A second notification appeared.
---
[Emergency Quest Generated]
Investigate Spiritual Disturbance
Reward: Variable
Failure Penalty: Unknown
---
Ethan immediately disliked the phrase "Unknown."
---
Unknown rewards were bad.
Unknown penalties were worse.
---
Still...
The disturbance was close.
Only 1.2 kilometers away.
---
That meant one thing.
---
Whatever had triggered the alert was inside the city.
Not beneath Platform Three.
Not behind the hidden door.
Not somewhere distant.
---
Here.
---
Nearby.
---
Ethan grabbed his jacket.
---
A few moments later, he was walking through the night streets.
---
The city felt different.
---
Maybe it was because of the system.
Maybe because of the ghost's warning.
Maybe because he knew too much now.
---
Whatever the reason...
The familiar streets felt less familiar.
---
The red alert guided him.
---
A small arrow appeared at the corner of his vision.
Always pointing in the same direction.
---
Useful.
---
Also slightly creepy.
---
Twenty minutes later, Ethan reached the source.
---
A public park.
---
He stopped.
---
"...Seriously?"
---
The place looked completely ordinary.
---
A playground.
Walking paths.
Trees.
Benches.
---
Nothing unusual.
---
Nothing threatening.
---
The alert remained active.
---
Distance: 43 Meters
---
Ethan frowned.
---
Someone walked a dog nearby.
A jogger passed.
A couple sat on a bench.
---
Nobody seemed worried.
---
Nobody seemed aware.
---
The system couldn't be talking about them.
---
Could it?
---
Ethan activated Mana Sense.
---
Immediately the world changed.
---
Blue particles filled the air.
Thousands of them.
Drifting between trees and streetlights.
---
Then he saw it.
---
A cluster of black particles.
---
Dozens.
Maybe hundreds.
---
Floating near the playground.
---
His heartbeat quickened.
---
The black particles weren't stationary.
They were gathering.
Slowly.
Like insects forming a swarm.
---
And at the center...
Something stood.
---
At first Ethan thought it was a person.
---
Then it moved.
---
The shape twisted unnaturally.
Its arms were too long.
Its body too thin.
Its movements wrong.
---
A cold sensation spread through Ethan's body.
---
Nobody else reacted.
---
The dog walked past it.
The jogger ran by.
The couple continued talking.
---
None of them could see it.
---
The creature turned.
---
Its head snapped toward Ethan.
---
Their eyes met.
---
The world suddenly felt much colder.
---
A notification appeared.
---
[Entity Detected]
Classification: Residual Spirit
Threat Level: Low
---
Low?
---
Ethan almost laughed.
---
The thing looked terrifying.
---
The spirit tilted its head.
Studying him.
---
Then it started moving.
---
Toward him.
---
Fast.
---
"Okay."
---
Ethan immediately took a step backward.
---
Then another.
---
The spirit accelerated.
---
A child suddenly ran through the playground.
Chasing a ball.
---
Directly toward the spirit.
---
Ethan froze.
---
The child couldn't see it.
---
The spirit ignored Ethan.
---
Its attention shifted.
---
Toward the child.
---
A terrible feeling settled in Ethan's stomach.
---
The manual's words returned.
---
Spiritual entities influence reality.
---
Maybe the spirit couldn't kill someone.
Maybe it couldn't physically attack.
---
But influence?
---
That was another matter.
---
The child reached the edge of the playground.
---
The spirit stretched out a hand.
---
Its fingers looked impossibly long.
---
Without thinking, Ethan moved.
---
He ran.
---
His body surged forward.
---
Mana Reinforcement activated instinctively.
---
The familiar warmth spread through his limbs.
---
His speed increased.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
---
Enough to reach the child.
---
Enough to grab his shoulder.
---
Enough to pull him backward.
---
A bicycle raced past.
---
Exactly where the child would have stepped.
---
The cyclist never slowed.
Never noticed.
---
The child blinked.
Confused.
---
"What are you doing?"
---
Ethan released him immediately.
---
"Sorry."
---
The child ran back toward his parents.
---
Unaware of how close he had come.
---
Or maybe Ethan was overreacting.
---
Maybe.
---
The spirit didn't think so.
---
Its head slowly turned.
---
Back toward Ethan.
---
This time it looked angry.
---
Very angry.
---
The black particles surrounding it began moving faster.
---
The air temperature dropped.
---
A new notification appeared.
---
[Hostile Intent Detected]
---
Well.
That wasn't good.
---
The spirit lunged.
---
Ethan's heart nearly stopped.
---
The creature crossed several meters instantly.
Far faster than before.
---
Instinct took over.
---
Mana Thread.
---
A blue strand shot from his fingertips.
---
The thread struck the spirit.
---
For a brief second, both froze.
---
Then the spirit screamed.
---
The sound wasn't physical.
---
It echoed directly inside Ethan's head.
---
Pain exploded through his skull.
---
He stumbled backward.
---
The thread shattered.
---
Mana: 2/10
---
"Oh, that's bad."
---
Very bad.
---
The spirit recovered first.
---
Its form became unstable.
Flickering.
Distorting.
---
Yet it wasn't gone.
---
Not even close.
---
Ethan's remaining mana was almost depleted.
---
The spirit charged again.
---
And for the first time...
Ethan realized he might actually lose.
---
Then something appeared between them.
---
A pale figure.
---
Black coat.
---
The ghost.
---
The spirit froze instantly.
---
Fear appeared on its distorted face.
---
Genuine fear.
---
The ghost said only one word.
---
"Leave."
---
The spirit vanished.
---
Just like that.
---
Gone.
---
The park immediately returned to normal.
---
The black particles dispersed.
The cold disappeared.
The pressure lifted.
---
Silence returned.
---
Ethan stared.
---
The ghost looked weaker than before.
Much weaker.
---
Parts of his body were becoming transparent.
---
As though he was fading.
---
"Ethan."
---
His voice sounded distant.
---
"You don't have much time."
---
"What does that mean?"
---
The ghost looked toward the city.
---
Thousands of lights stretched across the horizon.
---
Then he answered.
---
"The barrier is breaking."
---
Before Ethan could ask another question...
The ghost vanished.
---
Leaving him alone in the park.
---
A final notification appeared.
---
[Emergency Quest Complete]
Reward Granted
Skill Acquired
Spirit Touch Lv.1
---
Ethan barely noticed.
---
Because his attention remained fixed on the ghost's final words.
---
The barrier was breaking.
---
And somehow...
He knew exactly what that meant.
---
The Ghost Era had already begun.