Apparition Path

After William went to David's room, Edward stood up and started checking the 'superpowers' that William had mentioned. After toiling around for about twenty minutes or so, he was able to sort out his current status.

"Hm... I can almost pass through anything. But I am unable to burrow myself into the earth; there is a certain force repelling me. And the worst part is that I cannot touch anything, nor can anyone see me. Even worse, my movement speed is as slow as those zombies in the movies."

Edward couldn't help but hold his head with a heavy sigh. If David and William hadn't helped him during the escape, he would probably still be halfway 'crawling' to this place.

"Sigh! If I cannot touch anything, nor can anyone see me, how can I let my family know that I am still in this world?"

The more Edward thought about it, the more troubled he felt. At the same time, his desire to become stronger grew.

As Edward remained in this dilemma, about two hours later, two ethereal figures entered the room. These were, of course, David and William, having had sufficient rest. Both of them looked to be in a better state now.

"Edward! Let me introduce myself formally. I'm David, a Tier 12 Ghost Captain. I'm glad that you are actually faring better than many newborn ghosts, who usually panic a lot."

David cheerfully and energetically introduced himself, exuding warmth and friendliness.

He had rescued many ghosts, and most of them were unusually panicked, according to him. He is quite satisfied with the way Edward is adapting himself to the situation.

"Thanks for the 'compliment', I guess. Even though I don't seem to be panicking... right now my mind is completely messed up."

Edward responded truthfully. While he wasn't panicking, he was confused about his future. The only consolation was that he could still stay with his family for some time.

"It's alright! It's better than going to hell and starting a new life after some 'punishments.' A new life means forgetting all about this one, and this f**ing cycle continues forever."

William chimed in from the side, revealing his disdain for the system.

"That's enough, William!... Before we start with the 'Apparition Path,' Edward, I want to ask you something. It may be personal, but I'm quite curious. If you're not comfortable with it, you can ignore it."

David interjected, stopping William. He then looked at Edward with a bit of curiosity in his eyes. Usually, whenever a ghost was born, they were full of intense desires. 

These desires might include longing, greed, sorrow, resentment, etc. But from what he observed, despite Edward having a baleful aura around him, David couldn't determine which desire had allowed him to resist the call from the Nether.

"Nah, this is alright. Actually, I'm a bit confused myself. When I let myself surrender to that 'Call,' it let me go. I don't think I have such strong desires towards anything."

Even Edward was puzzled by this. He had been almost ready to go to 'hell,' take his 'punishments,' and start a new life.

William opened his mouth, then closed it, as though he wanted to say something but didn't know what. Even David looked at Edward oddly, suspecting he might be unwilling to share the truth.

"Maybe I didn't want to leave my family? Maybe I wanted to marry my girlfriend? Or maybe I never got to become a Marine as I wanted? Or a pilot? Maybe I didn't achieve my dream of climbing Mount Everest, traveling to the moon, or even Mars..."

As Edward listed his 'Maybe's,' David and William became increasingly stunned.

"Stop, stop, stop..."

Both David and William shouted simultaneously. Ten minutes had passed since Edward started his 'Maybe's' essay, and he still wasn't finished.

"What do you mean you don't have desires? You're f**ing full of desires! Now I understand why the 'Nether Call' didn't want to take you and why you didn't resist—it's because you know these desires of yours are impossible. Damn, I never knew that having too many desires could be a boon, something even the Nether is afraid of."

David expressed his frustration vocally, while William nodded vigorously in agreement.

"I know... But I think everyone in the world has these kinds of desires, don't they?"

Edward asked innocently, making the duo roll their eyes.

"I'm not bothered to answer that. Now I understand why I couldn't determine which desire was yours—it's a mixture of everything. Never mind about that. Let's start with the Apparition Path."

David and William had never seen a ghost so full of desires for everything in this world and beyond.

Their faces contorted with a mix of disgust and disturbance, creating a striking image of their emotions.

Edward didn't know how to respond, thinking all humans had these kinds of desires. He shrugged his shoulders, deciding not to bother with them.

"Alright! First, we ghosts are Yin-natured and have an innate ability to absorb Yin energy present in the world. Second, what you have to do is just sit, lay down, or even stand still—whichever is more comfortable for you. Next, all you have to do is concentrate on the surroundings with your eyes closed."

David began explaining how to gather Yin energy. Edward immediately adopted a serious demeanor, listening intently and fully engaged in the instructions. But after saying that, David stopped and stared at Edward, which kind of stunned him.

Not knowing what was happening, Edward looked at William, who simply blinked at him innocently.

"What are you waiting for? Start it already and let us know what you find."

David shook his head and shouted at Edward in a commanding manner.

Edward couldn't help but make a long face at such irresponsible teaching. However, he still complied, sitting on the ground and closing his eyes.

He then tried to clear his thoughts and started observing his surroundings, which took him less than five minutes.

David, on the other hand, nodded his head in satisfaction. Even William looked stunned and glanced at David, earning a disdained look in return.

After about ten minutes, Edward slowly opened his eyes, amazement written all over his face.

"I saw a lot of 'grey' colored energy all over this place, mixed with different other colors. Is that grey energy the 'Yin energy'?"

Without giving them a chance to respond, Edward explained what he had seen. He couldn't help but marvel at this innate ability of ghosts.

"That's right! Great job finding it; things just got easier. Now, absorb the energy anywhere on your 'body'... or 'ghost'?' soul'?? Whatever, let's just say 'ghost body.' Just interact with it, and it'll start gathering. Concentrate it in one spot and let me know when you're feeling 'full'... like after Thanksgiving dinner!"

David explained briefly, then stopped, causing Edward to roll his eyes at this strange teaching style. He couldn't understand why David couldn't just say everything at once.

Deciding not to ask more questions that would likely get the same answer, Edward closed his eyes again and focused on the energy around him.