Mysterious Awakening

The surrounding environment held the distinct familiarity of a shopping mall, its architecture blending seamlessly into the background. Yet, this world was surreal, as if bathed in a haunting crimson glow, draping everything within sight in a faint red hue.

This world, known as the ghost domain, might appear confined at first glance. However, once within, its boundaries seemed to expand infinitely, echoing the characteristics of an alternate dimension perched precariously between reality and illusion. Its nature was so complex that even Miles, the domain’s guardian, struggled to understand its true form.

Suddenly, an ominous presence materialized before Miles – a mangled corpse. Its arm was missing, and its head grotesquely twisted at a disconcerting angle. It was a grim sight that struck a familiar chord. The corpse was one of Master Catch’s apprentices, whom Miles had been shadowing previously. Despite the dreadful circumstances, the apprentice, a young man in his early thirties, looked surprisingly untouched by time.

Miles pondered, “As I suspected, this spirit prefers to inhabit fresh bodies, discarding those decayed or incompatible. Yet, it’s capable of inhabiting any corpse as it pleases. Ethan, for all his strength, wouldn’t stand a chance of capturing it unless he somehow managed to restrict all bodies simultaneously.”

His eyes flickered with realization, “However, trapping it within my ghost domain changes the equation. It’s the only surefire way to prevent its escape.”

Miles felt a grim satisfaction, “Ethan made the right choice by choosing to collaborate with me. His role as bait has not been wasted.”

His eyes darted towards the countdown timer on his mobile. Two minutes and forty seconds had already elapsed, but that didn’t deter him. The spirit had been located, and his time limit was five minutes. As long as he could confine the spirit within that timeframe, the plan would succeed.

The stakes were high now, the danger palpable. Until now, they had only been dealing with corpses puppeteered by the spirit. Now, Miles was up against the entity itself.

The corpse before him stirred, slowly reorienting its twisted head into a natural position. Its lifeless grey eyes stared back at Miles, emotionless and rigid – a chilling sight.

Miles remained unfazed. He had previously confronted far more terrifying entities, including the notorious knocking ghost. Those encounters had steeled his resolve.

Suddenly, the spirit-infused corpse lunged towards him. Its movement was swift, its speed inhuman. In mere seconds, it was upon him. Instead of going for his head, the entity aimed its solitary arm towards the eye embedded on the back of Miles’s hand.

He mused, “Is that your plan, ghost? To piece together a grotesque form composed of vengeful ghosts? Is that why you’ve been replacing body parts, in search of suitable limbs for yourself?”

Despite the imminent threat, Miles remained unflinching, ready to face whatever was coming next.

“It seems like you possess the same growth potential as that ghost baby. If you manage to piece together a body composed of spirits, your level of terror might even reach an S-class destructive level. However, it’s a pity that your current level of terror isn’t that high.”

Miles stood before the ghost, his hand in its grasp, the ghost eye on the back of his hand about to be forcibly plucked out.

But then, he vanished.

Miles reappeared not far behind the ghost.

“I’m grateful that today we can restrain a ghost that poses an immense future threat. Yet, up to now, I still wonder if you ghosts possess any wisdom.”

He attempted to analyze useful information from the ghost’s actions, motives, and existence to amplify the achievements of this mission.

However, the ghost did not respond, merely standing rigidly in place and motionless.

“Since we can’t communicate, we have no choice but to imprison you, this terrifying entity,” said Miles cautiously, even though he was in the ghost domain.

“Ethan, it’s your turn.”

With a red light enveloping the clothing store, Miles’s figure became visible, along with the corpse.

Ethan had already reattached the arm that the ghost had taken. It’s unclear how he managed to do so. Perhaps it was the power of the ghost within him.

“Are you certain it’s this corpse?” Seeing Miles appear suddenly, he blinked in surprise, asking immediately.

“I’ve trapped it with the ghost domain. Have the other bodies moved at all during this time?” Miles asked.

“Well, no,” Ethan looked at the other bodies. Indeed, they were still and unmoving.

“I just want to confirm one more time. If we make another mistake, you know what my situation is.”

Miles replied, “We are risking it all, there are no what-ifs. If we succeed in imprisoning this ghost, you can retire early, can’t you? Something worth a billion, it’s enough for you to die without regrets, same for me.”

“You’re right,” Ethan clenched his teeth and entered the ghost domain.

The ghost domain was not a place he could enter on his own, only Miles’s permission could allow him in.

But as soon as Ethan entered, perhaps his presence threatened the ghost.

Immediately, a blurry figure emerged from the corpse.

Its height and size changed rapidly, transforming to match Miles’s stature and build. Yet, this ghostly figure remained headless.

A headless ghost!

So, this was the ghost’s original form?

No wonder the head was always the first to decay in each corpse, it was missing its own.

“Miles, it’s aiming for you!” Ethan shouted urgently upon seeing this.

Before he could finish, the ghost figure approached swiftly, seemingly about to merge with him.

It was uncertain if Miles was simply too slow to react or if the ghost’s actions were entirely unpredictable. The spectral figure fused with Miles in a sudden motion, leaving him motionless.

“No way,” muttered Ethan, his eyes narrowing and heart tightening. After their extended encounter, he had come to comprehend the ghost’s unique ability. It could hijack bodies, human and otherwise. If the ghost had indeed seized control of Miles, it would spell disaster.

“What’s the surprise?” Miles’s voice emerged from the side, his figure unscathed. “The ghost only took over a mannequin. Apparently, even ghosts can be deceived.”

Sure enough, the figure was not Miles but a dummy under that flickering red light.

“So, this is the power of the invincible ghost domain?” Ethan gawked at Miles, who seemed to have appeared out of thin air. He wondered if this Miles might be a diversion too. In the ghost domain, reality could be twisted at will; only what Miles perceived as real was genuine.

“If you don’t take action soon, I’m out of here,” Miles warned.

“I understand,” Ethan responded, snapping out of his stupor. He took a single step and found himself in front of the mannequin. Distance seemed to have lost its meaning.

Ignoring the peculiarities of the ghost domain, Ethan seized the dummy. His gloved hand was wet with blood, which quickly seeped into the mannequin.

“Thump, thump, thump!”

As the ghost-blood capable of subduing other specters came in contact with the true ghost, bodies strewn around the clothing store began to crumble. Like a carefully stacked set of blocks, the corpses disintegrated.

“It worked. Congrats, you’ve apprehended the true ghost. Your abilities are impressive. I can only trap it, not restrain it,” Miles remarked, glancing over.

Ethan managed a bitter smile, “Your invincible ghost domain is the real terror. Unless I physically grapple with a ghost, I’m helpless. If I can’t subdue it, I won’t even have a chance to escape. But, if we teamed up, ghost hunting would be considerably simpler.”

Upon completing his train of thought, Ethan looked at Miles again. Their abilities did complement each other quite well. A wave of regret washed over him, considering his life was nearing its end. Had he met Miles sooner, things might have been different. But until recently, Miles had been a simple student, new to the world of ghost taming.

“Let’s chat later. It’s been nearly four minutes. I’d rather not die due to a vengeful ghost’s revival. Hurry up and subdue it,” Miles urged.

“Just a bit longer, it’s not time yet,” Ethan responded.

Upon hearing Ethan’s words, Miles had no choice but to bide his time patiently.

Approximately ten seconds passed before Ethan’s ghost blood had infiltrated the mannequin enough to start its transformation. The plastic dummy began to dissolve slowly, ghost blood seeping from its every joint, gradually engulfing and then dissolving it. Along with it, the spectral figure seemed to evaporate as well.

A pool of blood formed on the floor, disrupting the surrounding ghost domain.

At this sight, Ethan squatted down and placed his hand over the blood pool. The blood appeared to be drawn back into his body, diminishing swiftly until only a tiny pool remained. Within this crimson puddle, a headless figure writhed, flipping and stretching, attempting fruitlessly to escape the blood that served as its restraints.

“Now, it’s ready.” Ethan produced a hefty, gold-crafted box from his pocket. Despite its modest size, it was sufficient to contain the small blood puddle.

As if possessed with a life of its own, the blood pooled on the ground, guiding the trapped headless ghost into the box.

“Click!”

The box snapped shut. For added security, Ethan encased it in several layers of gold foil, ensuring there were no gaps.

“This is only the initial confinement,” he explained. “If necessary, melt the gold foil on the surface to seal the opening entirely. That way, the ghost won’t ever be able to escape. Any tiny gap could potentially allow it to break free. Ghost tamers have been unfortunate victims of such an oversight in the past.”

Ethan exhaled deeply, only after ensuring all this had been done.

“So that’s how it works? I’ve learned something new today,” Miles noted, observing the entire process and committing every step to memory.

Using gold alone wasn’t enough; the opening needed to be securely welded shut, with no cracks left.

“Now that we’ve successfully trapped this ghost, what’s your next move? If you don’t mind, I could hold on to the box for a while. What do you think?” He cautiously proposed.