Wise didn't remember screaming. Only the emptiness. The dry crunch of a false slab giving way beneath his feet, and then the fall. Not very deep, but enough to hurt—at least in theory.
But when he opened his eyes, there wasn't a single wound. Not a single scratch. Just a faint hum in the air, like a radio that can't find a station.
He was lying on the floor of an underground space he didn't recognize. The walls were concrete covered with rusted plates and dead wires, as if someone had tried to hide this place from the rest of the city. The place reeked of static electricity and a kind of unnatural, almost expectant silence.
Wise sat up slowly, brushing the dust off his jacket and mentally reviewing every part of his body. He was whole, complete… but something was different. I felt it in my bones. That's when it happened. First, the feeling of lightness. Then, a pang in his chest, as if the air itself was pulling him out. And then, his vision distorted—and everything changed. He was no longer inside his body. He floated above himself, suspended in the air like an invisible presence. A ghost. He could see himself, inert, his eyes open, his expression confused. He tried to scream, to move, to go back… and he succeeded. In the blink of an eye, he was back inside his body, breathing heavily, drenched in cold sweat. For days, he didn't speak of what had happened. Not even a Bella. But secretly, he began to experiment. First, small tests: separating from his body for a few seconds, then for half a minute. He discovered he could pass through thin objects, like doors or walls, without heavy metal. Then came the most disturbing part. During one of his spectral fugues, he approached a distracted woman on the street… and when he touched her, he felt his consciousness merge with hers. For a few brief seconds, it was her. And then she was back. It wasn't an illusion. It wasn't a dream.
Wise had a new power. To become a ghost. And possess others. He didn't know how or why. Perhaps something from the Void had entered him. Perhaps the fall had opened a rift in his existence. But more than the source, what troubled him was the scope. He could spy on anyone. Steal access. Manipulate. All without being seen. Where was the limit? That night, in front of the mirror at Random Play Video Store, he studied himself for several minutes. He wasn't looking for a wound, but for a sign that he was still... himself. But all he saw was a young man with too many questions. In that...
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