—-------------------------------------------------------------

  When I open my eyes, I’m somewhere else entirely. It’s dark, and cold, and shadowy. The ground is cold as stone, yet there’s a certain…dampness to it.

  When I spring up, I feel…strange. It’s as if I didn’t rise up at all… am I still dreaming?

  As if in response, my body begins to walk forward on it’s own. I have no clue where it’s going, but turning my head behind me, I notice that I’m sealed in, on all sides, by stone walls. My eyes adjusted before I even noticed. My legs slowly shamble forward, as if on rails towards something. Looking down, I realize that the legs aren’t mine. My hands, as well, don’t belong to me. They’re longer, a bit bigger, stronger. Older. This isn’t my dream. This isn’t my body.

  As this bizarre body shambles forward, I hear it’s steps echo throughout the strange stone hall. However, something else echoes throughout as well. Something a bit like flowing water, but somehow different. Something -I know, somehow- that only I could’ve heard. Not with my own ears, of course(they’re not trained enough), but a sound that the ears I hold now can hear. At once, my mind realizes what this is: Spirit. Not a little of it either: this is the flow of Spirit Lucas mentioned earlier, the one that all souls return to. This place is Yomi: the Underworld.

  The man I’m following- or rather, possessing, or viewing, or some or other term- follows the sound flowing through the darkness and eventually comes to a river. It’s not a normal river, though. A thick liquid, somehow glowing black with animosity, flows downstream. The man turns to follow the river’s flow, and I join him. Though, it’s not as though I have a lot of choice in the matter. Or, any at all…

  The sound of flowing spirit is deafening, much louder than even a raging river, and yet, the sound is no different than a calm brook. Sometimes, though, as we follow the river, I hear something else. Something like shattered glass, like a child’s tears, like a blade tearing through flesh. Something like people fighting, like a gun being shot, like a fire burning. A sound like all of humanity’s anguish, pain, and horror. It’s something entirely different to the Spirit I knew previously.

  As we progress into the cavern, the world becomes dark, darker, even darker. I can tell, but…nothing seems darker. The eyes of this body burn with Spirit, and light up the way. Now that I notice this, something else becomes obvious to me. The man I’m inhabiting hasn’t noticed me, because his Spirit is so cosmically immense, he can’t even feel my presence. It’s weird, sneaking around in someone else’s body, but…I can’t argue with it. Something tells me that this excess of Spirit isn’t a good thing to alert to my presence.

  Eventually, the man reaches another large room. Looking out, the river of spirit flows out into a massive lake, a lake that fills the entire space. Many other rivers flow into it, and peering into the lake, it seems completely bottomless. This, my heart tells me, is the eventual end point for mankind’s malice, where demons are formed and where hatred rests. This is a Pool of Spirit.

  But that’s not the truly bizarre thing. Looking out into the pool, a young girl stands in the very center, as if floating on the very Pool itself. She’s black, and wears a simple dress, holding a small toy dog. I feel the man’s mouth curl into a smile, and some sickening feeling bubbles from the depths of his mind. As if in response, the girl turns towards me- towards him- and speaks.

  “Watchu want?”

  A frown covers the girl’s face. The man’s smile widens a bit. He opens his mouth, and speaks in a rather deep, rather cold voice.

  “To inform you that the time I’ve waited for is near.”

  “That ain’t got nuthin’ to do wit’ me.” The little girl glares a bit harder.

  “Oh, but it does. You will see soon enough.”

  “Hmph.” The girl turns away.

  “Childish…” The man’s smirk slightly loosens, but it quickly returns. “But, it doesn't matter. The pieces are falling into place, and the enemy is none the wiser. He is still focused on working with the anomaly.”

  “And?”

  “Your technique is doing as it should. I’ve obtained the necessary amount of Spirit for my goal. And of course…”

  Suddenly, an impossible feeling surrounds my very core. MY core, not the man’s. It’s a feeling I feel down to my very heart.

  “The last piece has awakened to his sorcery, and with it, my victory is all but assured.”

  It’s as if a trillion piercing eyes are gazing directly into my soul. I need to run. I want to run, but I don’t have a body to run with right now. Still, I need to-

  —----------------------------------------------------------------

  My eyes shoot open. My alarm is shooting off, and I reach for my phone. 5:03 PM. I sigh, and shut off the alarm.

  Uh, I took a nap. Not much else.

  …asleep. Where were you?

  …huh?

  I think back a few seconds to that feeling. It was as-

  I was having a flashback to make sure, but I think so, yeah.

  …So are you going to explain yourself to me, or-

  Great.

  The reason you can’t tell me what you need me to do? Great.

  Oh yeah, I need to get Beat off my back. Guess I’ll head to the training courts…

  —---------------------------------------------------------

  As I walk through the school grounds, I take a bit to collect my thoughts about the whole experience. First off, Yomi. The place was about what I thought it’d be: dark, damp, filled with pools of Spirit. I wonder how much Spirit was collected there. Is it all the negative emotions from all of time? If so, how deep is that pool really?

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  Talkative today, aren’t we?

  Geez, does that guy scare you that much? If so, we can just avoid him.

  Hm…

  Beyond the Spirit pools, there’s still something else I can’t think to settle on. Something about those people seemed almost familiar. The girl, the man…I can’t put my finger on it.

  I continue to walk. While the sun’s clearly beginning to set, it falls much slower now than it did even a few months back. I suppose that’s just the effect of the weather. It’s rays beat down upon everything, sparing nothing in its relentless mission to warm the earth.. A stark contrast from the cold, damp air of the tunnels. It feels wonderful.

  As I march towards the ring, thoughts continue to swirl in my head. I still have several questions, most relating towards that girl. Why was there a girl in that shadow pool? And why did she seem familiar…

  I don’t know. This isn’t important right now. What’s important is figuring out how I’m going to get this dude off of my back. Maybe I can spin some story about my dad, how I wanna make the world a better place for him? …nah, it’d sound insincere. Besides, that’s the sort of thing you do with siblings, not dads. How about my mom? …nope, I didn't think much about her after she died.

  Huh. I really got nothing.

  Thinking about it, my head keeps drawing a blank, and my thoughts eventually spiral back to that dark abyss. Something about it was so alluring, but dangerous. I dunno. Maybe I’m one of those “thrill seeker” types. Couldn’t tell you. I don’t tend to do much thinking about myself. Hey, maybe that’s why Rocco targeted me. Wait, of course not. No way he’d be able to know me that well, would he…

  Then again, I don’t know his power. Maybe it’s something to do with messing with my headspace. Would explain how he knew all that about me. Plus, it would explain that stuff this morning, what with the ringing and the freezing…

  Or, maybe I’m completely off base. For all I know, his power’s something dumb. It probably is.

  Step by step, I continue on my way to class. Boy, this is a long walk. At least, it feels like it. What really concerns me is the utter lack of people on the way. No clue where anyone is…

  As if in response, I suddenly hear a guitar being strummed. I turn to the source of the sound, and see a very strange sight. A boy about my age is sitting on a bench to the east. He’s fairly skinny, but I definitely wouldn’t be surprised if it was a sleeper build. He’s wearing a cowboy hat, Wrangler jeans, cowboy boots, sunglasses, and no shirt, and he’s strumming out a song:

  After that line, the kid stops, noticing me. “Oh, howdy, stranger!” A massive grin spreads across his face.

  “...” I don’t even have time for this. A cowboy singing Something In The Way like it’s a trail song.

  “Not the talkative type, huh. That’s fair. Name’s Hund’red Gallon. Nice to meetcha, pardner! What’s yours?”

  Okay, now this dude just sounds like a total crackpot. Who the heck is named Hundred Gallon? Why is everyone’s name here simply insane?

  “Heh. Reeaaally quiet, ain’t’cha? That’s aight. So, where ya’ goin’ on this here fine afternoon?”

  “Training court. And I don’t have time to talk.”

  “I see. Ya meetin’ someone down there?”

  “Yeah. Nice to meet you.” I turn and walk away.

  “...Ya know, walkin’ ain’t as fun without people ta walk ‘n talk with, pardner. Mind if I join ya?”

  Weirdly enough, this guy doesn’t seem AS off putting as most everyone else. Despite being…okay you’ve read the text you know how he is.

  “Sure. Just don’t slow me down.”

  “Gotcha, pardner! Let’s get movin’.”

  We continue walking. As we do, this guy keeps talking. Not slowing me down, though.

  “Beeee-yootiful day out, ain’t it, pardner?”

  “...yeah.”

  “Sun shinin’, grass growin’, birds singin’...man, I’d love to stretch out ‘n relax on a day like this.”

  “No one’s stopping you.”

  “Yeah, but somethin’s stopping you. It’d be a mighty shame to abandon someone I just met on the trail that quickly.”

  “...Not your problem.”

  “Heh.”

  We walk in silence for a little while.

  “Ya know, a buddy o’ mine told me I should make my way out here ‘round now. Said that somethin’ int’res’n’d be goin’ down at the court today. You know anythin’ ‘bout that?”

  I stop in my tracks. Turning to the cowboy, he’s grinning madly, but drops it as he sees the shock on my face.

  “Now, don’t let me keep ya! That’s all I know ‘bout any of it. I ain’t got a clue ‘bout what your deal is, pardner. Course, if ya wanna talk ‘bout some juicy trail gossip…” He cocks an eyebrow and smirks slyly. “I’m all ears.”

  “...”

  Man, what’s this guy’s problem?

  —------------------------------------------------

  Against all of my better judgement, I explain the situation to Cowboy McGee.

  He sighed. “Hm. Sounds like Rocco, arright.”

  “He’s that kind of guy?”

  “Yep. Type to hex people good. He’s good at hidin’ it too. No trace till yer’ already got. Seems yer’ in a reeeaaaal pickle.”

  “No need to tell me what I already know.”

  A smirk returned to his face. “Yep. Real question is, what’cha gonna do ‘bout it?”

  “Well, I was figuring that out as I walked.”

  “Hm. Go figure. Well, that’s for later us to worry ‘bout, heh.”

  “You mean me. And that’s for me in 5 minutes.”

  “True, true. Well, in any case, ya have any weird dreams lately, stranger?”

  “...weird dreams?”

  “Sure. People don’t really talk ‘bout it, but dreams ‘re pretty int’res’n’, I think. Whole worlds we think up down there in our sleep. Mind, not like a lotta people remember ‘em. ‘Less they’re real int’res’n. So I’m jus’ askin. Good conversation, ain’t it?” He laughed a bit.

  …It’s a good thing I’ve met people at school with thicker Southern accents than this. I’d barely be able to understand half of that otherwise.

  “I mean, there’s someth-”

  …okay then.

  “I mean…On the subway here, I had a weird one. Like, some girl’s voice…”

  Wait.

  That dream….that voice…!

  It’s the same as….

  From the pool…

  What the hell?!?!

  “Ya good, stranger? You’ve been starin’ into space for a minute.”

  “I’m fine! I gotta go! I’ll talk to you later!”

  I run off as fast as I can. I know what I have to do now. It’s a lot clearer.

  —----------------------------------------------

  “Man, I was wonderin’ when you’d show. Right on time, eh?”

  Rocco stands on one end of the court, a lollipop in his mouth cocked to the side like a cigar and a smirk plastered to his smug face.

  “So, got an answer? I’m not usually the philosophy type, but I hate waiting.”

  I look around. In the stands, Michael, Reid, and Jan are sitting in the front row, all looking intently at me. Behind them, Lucas is sitting, a placid smile on his face. He’s next to... Hundred Gallon?!

  “Ey, don’t focus on anyone else. They’re not the person you’ve gotta worry about here.” Rocco began walking up to me. “I came here for an answer, and if you don’t got one, I’ll just hex you unconscious.” He’s reached me, and leans down to get in my face. “C’mon, I gave you all day to think. You skipped classes too, so ya gotta have something to say for yourself.”

  “...”

  Hellhound.

  Uh….sorry in advance.

  “...This afternoon…I had a weird dream. I won’t go into all the details, but there was a girl talking to a man.”

  Lucas’ eyes widened in shock, and his mouth fell agape.

  “This girl…I don’t know much about her. But she was in a really dangerous situation. And that wasn’t the first time I saw that girl.”

  I turned to Michael. “Hey, remember that time I passed out on the subway?”

  He cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “...uh, yeah.”

  “I had another weird dream. I didn’t see her, but I heard her voice. She said something about… freeing her. But that’s not the last thing. See…I think my demon’s holding me hostage.”

  “Eh? What makes you think that?” Rocco spoke up, now as confused as everyone else.

  “I don’t know the specifics of the contract, but…I’m supposed to accomplish…something. Something big. That’s the tradeoff for the eternal bond, I think.”

  Lucas was paler than usual, but a smile rejoined his face. “....I see.”

  “So, basically, there’s something big I’ve stumbled into here. I don’t know anything about it, but I think I have to do something here first. So for now, that’s why I’m a sorcerer. That’s what I’m fighting for. At least, before I leave. After that…I dunno. I’ll probably go back home or something. So just let me be in peace until it’s all over, got it?” My neutral glare bored into Rocco.

  Rocco looked away, seemingly in thought. “...man, you’re weird.”

  Lucas called out, in the tone a Roman statesman would use to a friend. “Well, what did you think, Rocco? Was that reason enough for you?”

  “...I, uh…dunno.”

  I begin glowering. “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

  Rocco turned away and thought. “Look. I can tell that answer was sincere. And it’s a valid reason. But….I don’t think I like it.”

  “What?!” Now I’m full on scowling at him.

  “Nope. Not a fan of that. So,” he says, turning back to me, “here’s how we’re gonna settle this. We’re gonna knock the shit outta each other, and then we can let go of all this. To make it fairer, I won’t even use my technique, since you don’t got your own yet. You down?”

  “What, you wanna fight? A ticked off boxer doesn’t sound like a good opponent, but I’m down to kick your face in.” I take a southpaw stance, and brace my Spirit.

  “Heh. They call you the Southpaw Wolf back at your old school, right?” Rocco takes an MMA stance, taller so as to use kicks but less balanced. “But you’ve never had a sorcery battle, have you? Then let me show a wolf what REAL sorcery is!”

  —--------------------------------------------------------