Chapter 294: Ch 293: Chasing a Ghost

Kael had a lot of money now, but he also had the financial sense of an adult and knew not to spend it all at once.

His first way to save money was to find a small apartment that met his needs, and he bought it outright instead of renting it. This way, he could save on rent and slowly accumulate his money back.

But the fact that he had been able to buy an apartment in this economy was a testament to how good his new job was.

With a permanent home acquired, it was time for Kael to start settling in. So the first thing he decided to do was head out and get groceries for his new home.

The mart was not that far away, and he had a lot of stuff to get. So he did not delay his trip and quickly headed out.

Kael did not have a car, so he walked to the mart and entered through the door. But the second his foot crossed the threshold, his sense of danger alerted him to step back.

He quickly stepped back, only to have the A.C. fall down where he had been about to step.

"Oh my god!"

"What happened?"

"How did the A.C. fall off? Was it mounted properly?"

People began to question what was happening, and Kael tried to calm his fast-beating heart.

What was happening to him could no longer be called an accident. This was a deliberate act meant to harm him.

But who would want to kill him? And for what reason?

More importantly, how could anyone even plan this stuff out? After all, it was not as if they knew he would enter this mart at exactly this time. And what if they killed someone else? Did the killer not care?

"Sir, please stop blocking the door. Either move or get inside."

An employee told Kael while leading him toward the side. Kael sighed and leaned against the window, only for it to break as well. He barely avoided getting impaled by the sharp glass before he took a deep breath and considered his situation.

He knew that this world had no magic, but he could not help but feel like he was cursed.

But was that thought really so far-fetched? After all, he had already seen a Leon look-alike. What were the chances that this really was because of magic?

"Darn it! I must be much more tired than I expected. I should head back home and sleep."

In the end, Kael bought a small amount of groceries and decided to call it a day. He headed back toward his apartment before he noticed something strange.

"Huh...? Why is the sky so dark? Just how long have I been out for?"

He asked as he looked at his phone, only to see that it was 7:00 PM. Since it was summer, it was not supposed to be this dark outside...

"I don’t have a good feeling about it. Should I try and run?"

Kael asked in a worried voice before he looked around. His instincts were screaming at him, and then he heard a loud noise from around him that caused him to start running.

It was not his imagination. Something really was weird with his surroundings.

"Kael! Where are you?"

The voice...no, the mixture of voices called out to him, and they even felt familiar. But he had no time to think about it.

First, he needed to get out of this situation, and then he could think about what was happening.

"Are you trying to run away from us? But why? All we want to do is help you out."

The voices asked, but Kael did not turn around. He kept running, trying to find a way out of this mist. But there seemed to be no exit.

"Tsk, what is this? It almost feels like I am trapped in corruption."

But that was an absurd thought. He had used world magic to erase the reason for corruption to exist. Moreover, this was not even the same world as the one with gods and corruption. So was there truly any reason for him to feel this way?

For now, he kept running, only to see a familiar silhouette.

"Doctor Kael, where are you running to? Are you not going to help me? I-I like you so much! Please help me out."

Sera...!

The person who was talking to him was Sera, or someone who looked and felt exactly like her.

But that should not be possible. The last he had heard of Sera, she had been captured and was awaiting trial. So why was she here?

Kael stopped for only a second before his instincts screamed at him to move again. He did not need to think about it anymore. Whatever was standing in front of him was not Sera, because the real Sera could not possibly be here.

And yet, that did not make the sight of her any less disturbing.

"Doctor Kael, why are you running away from me again? I told you that I would never hurt you. I just want to stay with you, so why do you keep trying to leave me?"

Sera’s voice trembled with the same desperation Kael remembered from his previous life, and that familiarity made his skin crawl.

He could remember the way she had looked at him before, the way she had cried and begged him not to abandon her, and the way that desperation had eventually turned into something far more terrifying.

"Sera...?"

The woman smiled when she heard him call her name, and Kael felt an uncomfortable chill run down his spine because everything about her was familiar, yet something about her presence felt completely wrong.

"Yes, Doctor Kael. I have been looking for you."

Kael took a cautious step backward while continuing to stare at her, as if he was trying to find some kind of flaw that would prove she was not really Sera.

"No, this does not make sense. You cannot be here."

"Why not?"

Sera tilted her head with an innocent expression, and Kael’s confusion only grew as he tried to understand what was happening.

"Because you were arrested, and the last thing I heard was that you were going to stand trial. Unless something happened after I died that I don’t know about..."

His voice trailed off as he rubbed his forehead, trying to organize his thoughts.

Sera only continued smiling at him.

"I don’t remember any of that. And if I don’t remember it, then it did not happen."

"What?"

"I only remember you leaving me behind."

Kael’s expression stiffened as he stared at her.

"That is not what happened."

"I know what happened."

"No, you don’t."

Kael answered almost instinctively before realizing that he was arguing with someone who should not even exist.

He took another step backward as the mist around him began to thicken.

"This is some kind of illusion, isn’t it?"

Sera did not answer his question, and instead, another familiar voice suddenly echoed through the fog.

"Doctor Kael, why did you leave me?"

Kael immediately turned toward the voice, only to see another silhouette slowly emerging from the mist.

His confusion deepened when he recognized the person.

She was another patient from his previous life, someone he had spent months treating before her condition had eventually become too difficult for him to handle alone.

"I didn’t leave you. You were transferred to another therapist because I was no longer assigned to your case. But you decided to attack me."

Kael said as he stared at her.

"But you abandoned me."

"No, I didn’t."

"You did."

The woman stepped closer, and Kael instinctively moved backward while looking between her and Sera.

"What is going on?"

He genuinely sounded confused now because none of this made sense to him.

"I don’t understand why you’re here, and I don’t understand why you’re saying these things to me when I know they aren’t true."

Neither phantom answered him.

Instead, another figure emerged from the mist.

Then another.

Then another.

Kael slowly turned his head from one side to the other as more familiar faces began appearing around him, and the realization that followed made his stomach sink.

They were people from his previous life. Seraphina, Iris, Lyra and even Elena were here.

"Why are you all here?"

Kael asked as he looked around at them, but the only response he received was a series of quiet whispers.

"You promised to help me."

"You said you would never abandon me."

"You should have stayed."

"You should have done more."

"You should have saved me."

Kael’s expression became increasingly bewildered as the voices began overlapping.

"I did what I could. I don’t understand what you want from me."

He said, although even he sounded uncertain as he spoke the words.

The phantoms began moving closer.

Kael took another step backward.

Then another.

He did not know whether they were real, whether this was another memory loop, or whether the corruption had somehow followed him into this world, and the fact that he could not determine which possibility was true made him far more nervous than the phantoms themselves.

"Wait, stop for a second."

The figures continued approaching.

"Can someone please explain what is happening?"

His question went unanswered, and when the phantoms suddenly started running toward him, Kael’s confusion finally gave way to panic.

"Why are you chasing me?!"

He turned around and ran, his groceries slipping from his hands as he hurried through the mist.

Behind him, dozens of footsteps echoed through the streets while familiar voices continued calling his name.

"Doctor Kael, wait for me!"

"You promised you wouldn’t leave!"

"You said you would help me!"

"Why are you running away?"

"Kael!"