When Trisakti opened his eyes, the first thing that he saw was the ceiling, a different ceiling than what he had in his house in his original world.


    "... Ughh~ Where is this?"


    Trisakti said as he sat on the bed, and looked around.


    He was inside a room (absolutely). The walls were made of stone, rough and uneven, with a single wooden window letting in dim light. The air smelled faintly of herbs.


    Trisakti blinked, slowly piecing things together.


    The last thing he remembered was… Running. Getting caught. Merging. Fighting. And then...


    "... The Women!! What happened to her?"


    Trisakti jolted upright, his heart pounding.


    If the woman died, then his struggle to help her was pointless; he then scanned the room, but other than furniture, there was nothing; he was alone inside that quiet room.


    "... You up, Trisakti?"


    Well, not completely alone, maybe.


    Hearing that voice, Trisakti looked at the source of the Voice, and there he found, up there, his Ghosts, his Ghosts gang, floating.


    Legless and Small.


    "... What now? Are you guys trying to become Casp*r now? Or Jin, maybe?"


    "Kekeke~ Even when we were in a different world, your joke remained the same, huh?"


    "We can''t help it; our energy is not enough for us to maintain our full form, so we don''t have another choice, do we?"


    "Yeah~ And your subconscious is boring, Trisakti~ There''s nothing there, it''s absolutely nothing~"


    "With that, we decide to come out in this form, well~ It looks lame but at least we can still talk to you and see the outside world, so there''s nothing to complain"


    The ghosts said in turn.


    But Trisakti was not happy at all; with a sigh, Trisakti lowered his head while murmuring.


    "... Just when I thought that I would find peace around me... I guess peace is not for me"


    "You said something, Trisakti~?"


    "No, nothing"


    Trisakti said while wiping his face. Then said again.


    "... Do any of you know where we are?"


    "Well~ We were here the moment you woke up, so no, we didn''t know anything either"


    "*Sigh* It was my fault for asking you guys that, forget it... Can one of you-"


    *Kreek~*


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Before he could finish what he wanted to say, the sound of the door being opened was heard.


    Trisakti''s eyes quickly turned to the door.


    Outside the door, Trisakti saw a woman, with long red hair that she let down, red eyes, and wearing typical medieval clothing, standing with a surprised expression while looking at Trisakti.


    Their eyes met, silent; no one moved or said anything; they just stayed there looking at each other for a few moments before Trisakti finally spoke up.


    "Ano~ Can I- huh!?"


    But once again, before he could finish what he wanted to say, Trisakti''s word was cut off again by the sudden movement of that woman, who ran toward him, closed the distance between them, and immediately hugged Trisakti tightly.


    "Eh! Uh? Ano-"


    "I thought you would never wake up, Thank God~"


    The red-haired woman said in a voice as if crying, still hugging Trisakti.


    But instead of being happy, this actually made Trisakti even more confused with this situation, especially with the Ghosts who seemed to be teasing him because of this situation, making the situation even more complicated for Trisakti.


    "Uh… excuse me?"


    He said awkwardly, his arms hovering uncertainly in the air. Afraid to touch the women.


    But the woman didn’t seem to care. Her grip remained firm, and he could feel the slight tremble in her body.


    Meanwhile, above him, his ghosts were not helping.


    "Kekeke~ Trisakti, you move fast, huh?"


    Tuyul cackled.


    "Wow~ This! How dare you cheat in front of me~"


    Kuntilanak said, covering her mouth to appear more dramatic.


    Genderuwo simply grunted.


    "Hmph. So this is the kind of woman you like, It''s unexpected"


    Trisakti shot them a glare. Unconsciously said a little angrily.


    "Oh, shut up! I don''t even know who she is!"


    At those words, the woman slowly pulled away, her red eyes still slightly teary but filled with relief. She looks at Trisakti, then asks.


    "You don’t remember me?"


    Hearing that, Trisakti blinked. He tilts his head a little, then asks again.


    "Um… should I?"


    Hearing that, The woman let out a small laugh, wiping the corners of her eyes. Said


    "I guess that makes sense… You were unconscious for a whole week"


    ''Whole week?! Seven days?!!''


    Trisakti’s body tensed.


    ''I''ve been out for that long?!''


    The woman smiled softly at his shock, then placed a hand on her chest. Said with a voice full of gratitude.


    "My name is Olivia... You saved me, remember?"


    Hearing that, Trisakti stared at her for a moment. Then, finally, pieces of his memory clicked into place.


    The creatures. The fight. The moment he decided to carry her. The pain in his back before everything went dark. He didn''t remember much about the woman''s appearance, but... If She said so, then maybe it was true.


    "Oh…"


    Trisakti muttered, rubbing the back of his head. Then said.


    "Right. That happened"


    Olivia chuckled at Trisakti''s words, then said.


    "Yes, it did. And because of that... I owe you my life"


    "*Sigh* Well, I wasn’t exactly expecting a hug as a thank you…"


    Araya smirked.


    "Would you prefer something else?"


    Trisakti opened his mouth, but Tuyul immediately interrupted.


    "Kekeke~ He wants a kiss!"


    "Oi!"


    Trisakti snapped at the floating spirit, but Olivia only laughed.


    "You have some interesting… companions, I guess"


    She noted, glancing at the ghosts.


    "Eh! You can see them?"


    Olivia shook her head.


    "No, but I can feel it, something, no, many interesting companions... What are they"


    Olivia said as she looked at the empty space where the Ghosts were. Then ask again.


    "Were they the ones who made you like that back then?”


    Trisakti frowned at Olivia’s words.


    "Like that?"


    He repeated, confused.


    Olivia hesitated, glancing at him with uncertainty before taking a deep breath.


    "...After the wraith retreat, and you fainted, something strange happened to you"


    Hearing that, Trisakti’s eyebrows furrowed.


    "Strange how?"


    Olivia bit her lip before continuing.


    "After falling, you stand up again... But It was like… you weren’t you anymore. Your body moved on its own, and your presence felt… wrong... Unnatural?"


    Hearing that, Trisakti immediately turned to his ghost gang.


    "Oi, what did you guys do to me?"


    Tuyul whistled innocently.


    "Kekeke~ Don’t look at me~ I don''t know anything... After the Marged was done, I was immediately dragged to your subconscious space~"


    Genderuwo crossed his arms, thinking about what might have happened to Trisakti at that time, as well as the other Ghosts, they didn''t say anything because just like Genderuwo, when they ran out of energy, even when Trisakti was in the merged process with Tuyul, they were in Trisakti''s Conscious Space, watching from Trisakti''s point of view and after Trisakti fainted, they didn''t see anything anymore.


    Didn''t find the answers he wanted, Trisakti narrowed his eyes. Looking back to Olivia, then asks.


    "Can you be more specific? What is exactly change?"


    Olivia took her time. Thinking about that event always scares her, so it''s hard for her to explain it to Trisakti.


    Then, after a while, she finally opened her mouth.


    "... Your eyes turned completely black... Your body twitched, and you were whispering something... Words I couldn’t understand. And then…"


    Olivia swallowed before continuing again.


    "... You laughed"


    Hearing that, Trisakti’s breath hitched. He didn''t say anything and only waited for Olivia to finish her words.


    "It wasn''t a normal laugh"


    Olivia continued, her voice lowering.


    "... It was deep, echoing, inhuman..."


    At those words, the room fell silent. Even the ghosts didn’t make a sound.


    And After a few moments, Trisakti finally spoke.


    "...Then what happened?"


    Olivia exhaled, seeming relieved that he wasn’t denying it.


    "You collapsed. Your body convulsed, and for a moment, I thought you were dying. But then, suddenly, it stopped. You went completely still"


    Hearing that, Trisakti felt a shiver run down his spine.


    "And then?"


    At this question, Olivia looked him straight in the eyes. Said.


    "You exhaled like you were waking up from a deep sleep… Looking at me... And then you smiled at me"


    Trisakti blinked.


    "...That doesn’t sound too bad?"


    But Olivia shook her head. Trambled, just as she remembered something very scary.


    "No, Trisakti. That smile... wasn’t yours... It''s completely different... That smile is so creepy and abnormal"


    The weight of her words settled in Trisakti''s chest.


    Something, someone had taken control of his body, not the Ghosts, but something else, something that resides deep inside him.


    And he had no idea who or what is that.


    ....


    ...


    ..


    .