Ambrose and Claire stood facing each other in the hidden chamber, their hands pressed together in that curious half-tangible connection. Though he’d never performed a ghost contract before, Ambrose had encountered some spirit contract descriptions in several ancient texts during his earlier reading marathon. The process designed for binding spirits should, theoretically, work equally well with ghostly entities.
Closing his eyes, Ambrose silently recited the incantation, focusing his mental energy on the point where their hands met. As the ancient words flowed through his mind, a luminous energy began to coalesce around their joined hands, pulsing with an otherworldly glow that cast eerie shadows across the dusty bookshelves.
The radiance intensified, spreading tendrils of light up Claire’s arms. Her ethereal features reflected a mixture of determination and uncertainty as the connection between them strengthened. Minutes passed as the energy built to a crescendo, bathing the entire chamber in its spectral illumination.
Claire’s translucent form began to waver, her expression shifting from uncertainty to fatigue. Her luminous eyes widened in surprise as tiny motes of ghostly essence began breaking away from her periphery, like glowing snow drifting upward against gravity. These particles of spectral energy floated gently toward Ambrose, disappearing as they made contact with his skin.
"Is this... normal?" she whispered, her voice growing fainter as more of her form dissolved into drifting particles.
Ambrose maintained his concentration, not daring to break the ritual. "Just hold on," he assured her, though uncertainty flickered across his features. The texts had mentioned absorption, but witnessing the process firsthand proved unexpectedly disconcerting.
The disintegration accelerated, Claire’s ghostly form growing increasingly transparent as more of her essence transferred into Ambrose. Her outline became indistinct, blurring at the edges until finally, with a soft sigh that echoed strangely in the chamber, she disappeared completely, the last motes of her spectral form vanishing into Ambrose’s being.
Ambrose stood alone in the chamber, a peculiar warmth spreading through his chest where Claire’s essence had been absorbed. The bond felt different than he’d anticipated—not like acquiring a tool or weapon, but more akin to welcoming another consciousness into his own mental space.
"Did it work?" he asked aloud, directing his thoughts inward where he sensed Claire’s presence.
A faint voice echoed in his mind, carrying Claire’s distinctive cadence. "I think so," she replied, her mental voice sounding somewhat disoriented but intact.
"That’s good," Ambrose nodded, satisfaction evident in his expression. With the contract successfully established, he could now test the practical applications of having a bound ghost. According to the texts, contracted spirits could be summoned externally when needed, while otherwise residing safely within their contractor.
Extending his hand, Ambrose channeled his mental energy, focusing on locating Claire’s essence within him and drawing it outward. He visualized her form materializing before him, gathering his concentration to execute the summoning.
Before the process could complete, Claire’s voice suddenly cut through his mind with unexpected urgency.
"Master!" The panic in her mental cry startled him, his concentration wavering. "Help me..."
Her voice trailed into a scream that reverberated painfully through his consciousness before abruptly silencing. The connection between them severed with jarring suddenness, leaving Ambrose standing with his hand outstretched, a bewildered expression frozen on his face.
"Claire?" he called mentally, searching for her presence. Nothing answered.
Confusion gave way to analytical concern as Ambrose lowered his arm. How could their connection be severed so suddenly? What danger could possibly threaten a ghost already inside him? Was his Weak Body Physique incapable of housing ghosts?
Settling into a lotus meditation posture on the dusty floor, Ambrose closed his eyes and deepened his breathing. He directed his consciousness inward with methodical precision, expanding his awareness throughout his own body and conciousness. Layer by layer, he examined his internal landscape, searching for anomalies or disturbances that might explain Claire’s distress.
…
In the next instant, Ambrose found himself in a familiar yet unsettling environment. The murky void of the dark expanse surrounded him. His consciousness floated within the shadowy nothingness, suspended in the same mysterious realm he’d encountered several times before.
He looked around the murky void. Before, he’d only been able to access it involuntarily, typically when rendered unconscious through external means.
The revelation that he could enter this space through deep meditation presented intriguing possibilities. If he could access this place, did this mean that he could explore the white expanse whenever he wanted? His gaze instinctively traveled upward, searching for the contrasting brilliance of the white expanse that typically existed as this realm’s counterpart. However, nothing but continued darkness greeted him—no glimpse of that pristine, luminous void.
"I suppose conscious entry has its limitations," he mused, mentally cataloging this discovery for future investigation.
His contemplation shattered as Claire’s desperate cry cut through the murky void like a knife.
"Master! Help!" Her voice echoed with genuine terror, reverberating through the darkness.
Ambrose whirled toward the sound, immediately spotting Claire’s luminous form several meters away. Unlike her usual ghostly composure, panic contorted her features as she struggled against the murky substance. The dark expanse seemed to be actively consuming her, pulling her translucent form deeper with each moment, like quicksand claiming an unwary traveler.
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"Claire!" he called out, instinctively reaching toward her.
To his surprise, the mere intention to move propelled him forward through the darkness. Unlike his previous experiences where he’d felt himself slowly sinking into the void, Ambrose now moved with deliberate control, gliding effortlessly through the murky environment. The realization struck him with sudden clarity—he wasn’t merely a visitor to this realm but possessed some fundamental connection to it.
Focusing his will, Ambrose directed himself toward Claire’s struggling form, discovering that the darkness responded to his mental commands. He extended his hand, grasping her arm.
"I’ve got you," he assured her, concentrating on stabilizing the darkness around them.
The void responded to his authority, creating a pocket of relative stability within the otherwise consuming darkness. Though his influence extended only to their immediate surroundings—perhaps a few meters in radius—it proved sufficient to halt Claire’s descent into the murky depths.
As Ambrose maintained this protective bubble, Claire clung to him with surprising force for a spectral entity. Her translucent arms wrapped around him with desperate intensity, her form trembling against his. Unlike her usual composed demeanor, raw fear had stripped away her dignity, leaving only primal terror in its place.
Ambrose patted her head gently. "You’re safe now," he soothed. Though initially calculated, his protective response had evolved into something approaching genuine concern.
Is the darkness really so terrifying? To be able to turn someone like Claire who was a ghost into such a mess, he wondered, continuing his calming strokes along her spectral hair as her trembling gradually subsided.
Several minutes passed before Claire’s panic diminished enough for coherent conversation. Ambrose maintained their protective bubble with steady concentration, discovering that the effort required minimal exertion compared to his normal abilities. But even then, he still couldn’t control the rest of the murky void, just the small area around him.
"How did you get here?" he finally asked, his analytical curiosity reasserting itself.
Claire lifted her luminous gaze to his, lingering fear still evident in her spectral features. "Well, I was floating in your consciousness until I saw those two lights," she explained, her voice carrying an ethereal tremor.
"Two lights?" Ambrose’s interest sharpened immediately.
"Yes." Claire nodded emphatically. "There was a white one and a dark one."
She described how, while exploring his internal landscape, she’d encountered two contrasting luminous points within his consciousness. Drawn by curiosity, she had approached for closer examination, only to be unexpectedly pulled into the dark light by an irresistible force. Once captured, she’d found herself immersed in absolute emptiness—no sound, no light, no sensation whatsoever—floating in pure darkness that seemed determined to consume her entirely.
"It was like being erased," she whispered, her form shuddering at the memory.
Ambrose contemplated this information with growing interest. His own experiences within the dark expanse had never included such overwhelming dread or sensations of consumption. The difference in their experiences suggested that Claire’s status as an external entity might be triggering defensive mechanisms within this mysterious space.
"This might present an opportunity," he realized, an idea forming in his mind.
"Claire," he began carefully, "would you be willing to do me a favor?"
The ghost looked at him with apprehensive eyes but nodded her agreement.
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"I’m going to expel you from this dark expanse," Ambrose explained, "and when I do, I want you to try entering the white light you mentioned instead."
He hypothesized that if the dark light corresponded to this murky void, then perhaps the white light represented a gateway to the white expanse—the white expanse seemed to be hiding many secrets and he didn’t know how to unveil them as every time he entered the white expanse, he’s always in a random location and is always on a countdown and never had time to fully explore.
If Claire could access it while maintaining their contract connection, perhaps she could serve as his anchor, potentially allowing him more control over when and how he entered that mysterious space.
Ambrose anticipated resistance to his request. After all, Claire had just endured a traumatic experience within one mysterious realm—why would she willingly venture into another? To his surprise, she agreed without hesitation.
"I thought you wouldn’t want to," he admitted, genuine confusion breaking through his typically composed expression.
"The white light doesn’t feel like the dark one," Claire explained, her spectral features softening. "It doesn’t radiate that same sense of... hunger. It feels calm, peaceful—almost welcoming."
Ambrose didn’t fully understand the distinction she described, but acknowledged her assessment with a nod. If the contrast between realms was as significant as she suggested, perhaps the white expanse truly did represent something fundamentally different from its dark counterpart.
"Very well," he said, tightening his mental grip on the murky void surrounding them. "Ready yourself."
With concentrated effort, Ambrose extended his newfound control over the dark expanse, creating a current of energy that surrounded Claire’s spectral form. The darkness responded to his will, swirling around her translucent body before propelling her upward and outward with gentle but insistent force, expelling her from the murky void and back toward the twin lights she had described.