Seven stood before the bathroom mirror, his pale reflection staring back at him with empty gray eyes. He tugged his black head warmer over his disheveled hair, inhaling deeply before speaking.
"Are you ready?" he asked coldly, his gaze unwavering from his reflection.
From anyone else's perspective, it would seem as though he was speaking to himself. But another clairvoyant would have noticed the faint shimmer of a semi-transparent boy beside him.
The boy had short black hair, wore a simple amber T-shirt and brown pants, and bore a neutral expression. Nothing about his appearance stood out—no stab wounds, no grotesque marks of a violent death.
Seven studied him. The absence of chaos in his form suggested a peaceful end, but he pushed aside his curiosity to uncover the boy's cause of death. Time wasn't on their side.
"..."
The silence stretched as Seven's sharp eyes caught something peculiar. The boy—Jason—seemed to flicker a little, the faint glow surrounding him pulsating. His form trembled like a candle in the wind, and his expression betrayed his troubled mind.
"Are you okay?" Seven asked again, his tone softer this time.
"Uh... yeah. I-I'm good," Jason stammered, the deep glow in his eyes betraying his nervousness.
Seven sighed inwardly. Jason was like many other ghosts he'd encountered: burdened with lingering human emotions and bound by unfinished business.
"You'll be fine," Seven said quietly, more a reassurance than a statement of fact.
Before Jason could respond, another voice cut through the tension.
"Uh, gentlemen, your target is leaving," Zephyr said nonchalantly, leaning against the doorframe with an almost arrogant air.
Unlike Jason or the others Seven had encountered, Zephyr wasn't your typical ghost.
His nearly incorporeal form was flawless, with no signs of wounds that could be tied to his death, and an otherworldly aura no ghost he'd ever encountered possessed. It was more like he never died...
Like he never even walked the surface of the Earth in human form.
"Alright, let's g—" Seven began, but stopped short when he turned and found Jason gone. His head snapped to the doorway, but Zephyr was gone too, leaving only the swaying door behind him.
'Great!'
Did he mention that Zephyr didn't pass through walls like other ghosts?
No, Zephyr had his peculiarities—his ability to remain invincible and traverse distances at impossible speeds. If not for his other ghostly tendencies, Seven might have mistaken him for a superhuman, a testament to his ability to be corporeal.
"Tch," Seven scoffed, exiting the bathroom.
---
Outside on the School Lawn
A black-haired boy with his hands shoved deep into his pockets walked toward the dormitory with measured steps. His head was bent, his face void of emotion.
"Hey! Wait up!"
The sound of hurried footsteps followed the call, but Jacob didn't slow down. Being new at school, he assumed someone else was being called.
"Jacob, wait!"
Seven sprinted after him, mentally cursing himself for agreeing to this. The sunlight burned his pale skin as his white lashes fluttered in the hot breeze, making him squint uncomfortably as he yelled after the boy.
Finally, Jacob stopped and turned, confusion evident on his face.
"Hi, I'm Seven," Seven introduced himself, adjusting his head warmer to shadow his eyes.
"Seven?" Jacob asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes. As in the number." Seven's voice was cold and detached, his expression blank.
"Phantom kid?" Jacob muttered, his tone uncertain.
'Yay! I'm famous,' he thought sarcastically.
Seven sighed. "I need to speak with you. Somewhere private. It won't take long."
Jacob hesitated, then nodded. Seven led him to a secluded area between two buildings, where the shade cast an eerie darkness. Night was only a few hours away.
"Give me your hand, please," Seven asked indifferently, outstretching his arm and maintaining a good distance to reassure him he meant no harm.
Jacob stared at him incredulously. "What?"
"Just trust me. This will only take a moment, okay?" Seven said, his voice low but firm. Reluctantly, Jacob complied, grasping Seven's cold hand.
With his free hand, Seven reached out for Jason. The ghost's form shimmered faintly as their hands connected. A soft glow enveloped the three of them, forming an invisible bond.
Seven's voice was quiet, trembling with emotion. "I'm so sorry it had to end like this..."
"Jason?" Jacob asked, mixed emotions in his eyes. He almost pulled his hand away, but Seven tightened his grasp.
"What... what is happening?!" Jacob questioned slowly despite the lump forming in his throat. His eyes glistened with tears, and his knees buckled slightly as he watched Jason's ghost shimmer.
'I must be losing my mind,' he muttered.
Yet, deep within, he knew it was real.
Seven held him even tighter. He might not look it, but he worked out a lot—courtesy of Zephyr.
Some ghosts needed a good beating, he would say.
Seven continued, his words a mix of regret and pain as Jason spoke through him.
"I never meant for things to get so bad between us. I hope Mum and Dad can forgive me... I hope you can forgive me."
"If I could turn back the hands of time, I would rewrite our story and write I love you all in every space, and the words I never meant to leave. But it's already too late..."
Seven sniffed. This was part of his job; he would never get used to it. He shared emotions with each ghost he helped. He blinked rapidly, forcing the tears to stay in check. This wasn't the time for emotions—it never was.
"I realized that night I wandered off, lost after I ran away from home. I was holding onto a pole one second, and the next, I couldn't feel anything. Here I am, unable to hug you one last time..."
Jacob's grip tightened on Seven's hand as tears welled in his eyes. "I miss you," he choked out, squeezing his eyes shut. "We all do. Mum and Dad too. Life hasn't been the same without you."
The glow around Jason began to fade as peace washed over him. Seven opened his eyes and watched in silence, his heart heavy.
Jason turned to Seven, his expression one of quiet gratitude. "Thank you."
He realized it was time to leave. Letting go of Jacob, he turned around and outstretched his arm.
Since childhood, he had messed around with lots of divine arts and prayer books. With Zephyr around, he had more than enough at his disposal.
Slowly recalling a chant he had said a few times, he lifted his hands and drew an invisible circle in the air. With his finger and deliberate precision, he traced a symbol within it.
His voice was steady as he chanted, "Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine..." A soft glow flared, forming a portal of light.
"...et lux perpetua luceat ei."
Jason stepped toward it, pausing only for a while with a contemplative expression on his face. He turned back to talk to Seven.
"One more thing," he stated in a serious tone.
"There's another spirit here. It's like me, but darker. I sense its pain, its hate... You'll need to deal with it before it fully manifests."
His form faded, the shimmer surrounding him appearing like it was getting sucked in by the light. Seven stood rooted to the ground, his brows furrowed.
"Goodbye, Jason," Jacob murmured, his voice breaking.
"Requiescat in pace. Amen."
The light consumed Jason's form, leaving only a silent whisper in its wake. Seven turned to Jacob, who pulled him into an awkward but heartfelt hug. Seven stiffened but allowed it.
From a distance, Zephyr watched the scene unfold, a faint smile playing on his lips as his chest heaved like he had run a thousand-meter race.
"God's work, huh?" he muttered under his breath. "Maybe there's hope for me after all."
---
Still stuck in an awkward hug with a grieving brother, coupled with emotions he wasn't used to, Jason's last whisper rang in Seven's head:
"I moved with grace, the rhythm was my heartbeat. Betrayed, I was silenced in a flash.
Where I fell, the roots hold my secret."