"... After that, I don''t remember much, but I vaguely remember, some adventurers who happened to pass by, found us and took us back to the village, the adventurers were from the city, they came to the village because the village chief had requested the Adventurers''s Guild to investigate the Wraith that had been seen frequently on the edge of the forest lately"


    Trisakti listened intently, his expression growing more serious with every word that came out of Olivia''s mouth.


    "Wraiths, huh?"


    Trisakti muttered. And Olivia nodded.


    "Yes. The village chief was worried because the sightings had been increasing. It’s rare for wraiths to linger near settlements, but for some reason, they were gathering at the forest’s edge... It''s like something attracting them"


    Trisakti crossed his arms. For some reason, the words "attracting them" stuck in his mind, but it was just his feeling or maybe he was just overthinking it, so he chose to forget about it, Trisakti said to Olivia.


    "... Let me guess… those adventurers found us instead of the wraiths?"


    "Exactly"


    Olivia confirmed. Then Continued.


    "They thought we were victims at first, but when they saw your condition, they assumed you were cursed or possessed"


    At that, Trisakti groaned.


    "Great. So now I’m the weird guy with a possible demonic possession. That’s just perfect"


    Hearing that, His ghosts snickered.


    "Kekeke~ You were already the weird guy, Trisakti~"


    "Hehe~ Now they just have proof~"


    Ignoring them, Trisakti turned back to Olivia.


    "So, what happened after that? Did they try to exorcise me or something?"


    Olivia shook her head.


    "No. They weren’t priests, just adventurers. They brought us to the village healer instead. You’ve been unconscious for a week, and the healer said you were recovering, but…"


    Olivia said, hesitating to continue her words.


    Seeing hesitating in Olivia, Trisakti pressed. Said.


    "But what?"


    Olivia’s red eyes met his.


    "She said your body was… different"


    Once again, Trisakti felt a chill at her words.


    "...Different how?"


    "The healer couldn’t explain it completely, but she said your soul felt ''twisted.'' Like it wasn’t whole, or like it was pulling something else into it..."


    Trisakti’s grip tightened on the blanket covering his lap.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ''My soul was twisted? What the hell did that mean?''


    He thought, glanced up at his ghosts. Then asks.


    "...Any of you wanna explain?"


    Tuyul hummed.


    "Well~ It’s not our fault your soul is weird~"


    Kuntilanak twirled in the air.


    "Yep~ That’s all you, Trisakti~"


    Genderuwo snorted.


    "Hmph. You merged with one of us. Did you think it would be without consequences?"


    Trisakti clenched his jaw. He had merged with Tuyul to survive back then, but he hadn’t thought about the long-term effects.


    Before he could ask more, Olivia spoke again.


    "The healer said it wasn’t dangerous… at least, not yet. But if you keep using whatever power you have now, things might change"


    So, whatever happened during that merging had left a permanent mark on him. And if he kept pushing it, there was a chance he’d lose control again.


    "...Well, that’s just fantastic"


    Olivia gave him a worried look. Ask.


    "Umm~… Are you okay?"


    Hearing that, Trisakti took a deep breath, forcing a smile to show up on his face.


    "Nope. Not even a little. But what can I do?"


    Trisakti said, Then, shaking his head. Asked again.


    "Alright… what now? Am I free to leave, or am I some kind of cursed guest?"


    With those questions, Olivia hesitated to answer for a while, but it was not that long before Olivia said


    "The village chief wants to speak with you"


    Hearing that, Trisakti wiped his face with his palm, sighed, then said.


    "... Of course he does"


    "Not now is also okay, you can rest first before meeting the village chief, especially since you just regained consciousness, I will go to the village chief and ask him to give you some time"


    "No, I''ll meet him now, take me there"


    Said Trisakti, who then immediately tried to get up from the bed, but As Trisakti tried to stand to his feet, his legs gave out, and he stumbled forward; he felt he lost strength in his legs; Trisakti fell, but...


    Instead of falling straight down, he fell into something soft and warm.


    It''s Olivia.


    "Ahh!"


    Olivia gasped as Trisakti practically collapsed against her, his arms instinctively wrapping around her waist for balance.


    Trisakti froze.


    Olivia froze.


    For a moment, the world went silent.


    The feeling of Olivia’s body pressed against his, her warmth, the faint scent of something floral, it all hit him at once.


    "U-Uh…"


    Trisakti stammered, his brain struggling to process the situation.


    Olivia, her face now bright red, looked down at him.


    "A-Are you okay…?"


    Olivia said, Her voice was softer, hesitant.


    Trisakti swallowed.


    ''Crap! This is way too close!''


    Trisakti thought, in his entire life, even in the old world, he had never been this close to a woman except for his mother, what happened before was incalculable because it was a critical situation, but this?


    Above them, his ghostly companions were not helping.


    "Kekeke~ Ooooh~ Trisakti, you''re moving really fast, huh?"


    Tuyul snickered.


    "Wow~ This is like a scene from a romance novel~ I''m sad but also Happy~"


    Kuntilanak giggled, covering her mouth dramatically.


    Genderuwo simply huffed.


    "Hmph. At least have the decency to do this in private"


    "My child Aksara is Grown up now~"


    Wewe Gombel said in sad tone.


    Hearing what his ghosts said, Trisakti’s face twitched in annoyance.


    "Shut up!"


    He snapped at them, which, to Olivia, just made it look like he was shouting at nothing.


    She blinked, confused.


    "Umm…?"


    Realizing how ridiculous he must look, Trisakti quickly tried to push himself away, only to nearly fall again. Olivia instinctively tightened her grip, keeping him steady, and now their faces were way too close.


    Trisakti could feel her breath against his lips.


    He panicked.


    "I-I''m fine! Really!"


    Trisakti blurted, quickly straightening up, though his legs still wobbled.


    "Let’s, uh... Let''s just go meet the chief before this gets weirder!"


    Olivia, still blushing, looked away.


    "O-Okay…"


    As they walked, Olivia kept a firm grip on his arm to support him. It made the whole thing feel… strangely intimate.


    And the villagers? Oh, they definitely noticed.


    "Are they… a couple?"


    "I heard she cried when he woke up…"


    "They look close, don’t they?"


    Trisakti groaned internally. This day just keeps getting worse.


    Olivia, on the other hand, just smiled softly.


    --------


    The moment they stepped outside, the cool village air hit him. The village itself looked like something out of a medieval fantasy, with simple wooden houses, dirt roads, and villagers going about their day.


    Some of them stopped and looked at him.


    Whispers followed.


    "Are they… a couple?"


    "I heard she cried when he woke up…"


    "They look close, don’t they?"


    But the further they walk away from Olivia''s house, the more the whispers they hear sound different as they begin to realize who Trisakti is.


    "That’s him…?"


    "The one they found in the forest?"


    "He looks normal, but…"


    Hearing those whispers, Trisakti sighed.


    "Great. I''m already the village attraction"


    Olivia glanced at him.


    "Don''t mind them. They’re just wary of outsiders... But you can trust me, they are good people, they are the ones who took care of an orphan like me so that I could grow up like this, and become independent"


    Olivia said as they walked through the village, eventually arriving at a larger house near the center. Olivia knocked on the door, and after a moment, a deep voice called out.


    "Enter"


    Olivia pushed the door open, leading Trisakti inside.


    The room was modest but well-kept. At a wooden desk sat an older man with graying hair and a serious expression. His sharp eyes studied Trisakti carefully.


    "You’re awake"


    The village chief said.


    Hearing that not-so-good greeting, Trisakti forced a grin.


    "Yep. Lucky me"


    The chief didn’t smile. He leaned forward, fingers interlocked.


    "Tell me, stranger… what exactly are you?"


    "... Human?"


    "From what I hear... You are more than just human... So once again I ask, what are you really?"


    Trisakti felt silent; how was he supposed to answer a question that he himself didn''t know the answers to?


    "And chief, once again I answer... I am a Human from the beginning and will always be so..."


    "..."


    "..."


    With that, the situation became intense, with the Village Chief and Trisakti looking at each other with intense gazes, as if neither of them wanted to give up on what they believed in. But...


    "Grandpa! Stop it! He''s the one who saved me! There''s nothing wrong with him! He''s completely Human!"


    ....


    ...


    ..


    .