Despair.

This voice... I recognize it. I immediately turn around and I saw thin bearded man standing there. It's Michael!

"Hey, kid, it looks like you're alone, want me to keep you company?" He grins.

I blinked. Why is he here?

"Don't look at me like that," he said, looking uncomfortable. "Okay, okay, I apologize for suggesting to kill you back then."

Actually, I wasn't thinking about that. But being reminded of it has made me feel bad again. It's like something is twisting my stomach and I can feel a sudden surge of anger in my heart.

"Why are you here?" I asked with a slightly cold tone.

"You told us which school you go to, kid," he reminded me.

"Oh, right," I said suddenly remember the event from a few hours ago, which now feels so long ago.

Michael's eyes catch something on the field. He quickly turns his head. Sharpening his gaze, Michael looks closely at the basketball player who is dribbling the ball.

"Are you a twin, kid?" Michael asked without looking away.

"No," I said weakly. "He's the transfer student, the other Alex."

After a brief pause, Michael spoke up.

"You know, he really looks like you," he said, as though he had just made a profound observation.

Of course, Michael. That's the problem.

"So, he's the one causing all this?" he asked. "Weird... he looks normal."

"Normal?" I said, try not to growl. "He stole my life and that's normal?"

"Stole your life?" Michael said, looked at me.

"It's nothing," I said, remembering he doesn't know about my conversation with Mai earlier. Of course, what I said won't make sense to him.

Michael looks at me with questions in his eyes. Since I don't say anything else, a few moments later he looks back at the transfer student.

"Hey, kid," he said again.

"What is it this time?" I said.

"Are you famous or something?" he said. "The students around us are staring at us instead of the ones playing basketball. Look at them, they're whispering." Michael gestured towards a group of students standing a few meters away from me.

I see.

Michael doesn't know that I'm now like a ghost. To them, it looks like Michael is talking to himself. Of course, he's drawing attention to himself.

I smirk. Silly idea pops into my head. Back then, Michael could act calmly because he knew what was happening, right? But this time it's different.

"Watch this," I said, approaching a student who is engrossed in his phone.

As I get next to him, I glance at Michael. He's looking at me, confused. That's when without hesitation, I walk through the student's body.

"WOAA!" Michael screams in shock, almost falls over.

The students around are also startled, they look at him confused and curious. Including the ones playing basketball.

"Surprised, Michael?" I chuckle.

"You... you're a ghost?" Michael's face pales. Seeing his reaction, more students around start whispering.

"Maybe," I say with a playful smile.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the new student smiling. The pleasure of teasing Michael disappeared as soon as I saw him gazing at me.

"So," Michael said, starting to calm down, "you're not human? Does that mean you're the one who made all this ha--"

"You're wrong," I said quickly, cutting him off. Great, now Michael was even more suspicious. If I didn't explain quickly, he might think of killing me again.

As I was thinking of the best way to explain, I heard someone talking behind me. "I thought you were watching him," the familiar girl's voice said.

I immediately turn around. It's Mai. She's standing behind me, looking at me blankly without expression. I don't know when she got here.

"Weren't you supposed to read--"

"I'm done," she interrupted. "Come with me." Mai pulled me away from the side of the court. Michael, who was still frozen, came to his senses.

"Hey, wait," he said, running after us.

Both Mai and Michael seemed to not care about the confused looks of the students around. After getting far enough, Mai stopped.

"What's going on here?" Michael asked.

Mai looked at him. "Who is he?" she said.

"Michael," I said. "The one I told you about earlier."

"Who is she?" This time Michael was the one asking. "Why did you pass through earlier? What's really happening?" Michael looked really confused.

"This is Mai, my friend," I quickly said. "She's the same as us. Before I met you, I was with her, but she suddenly disappeared."

"Nice to meet you," Mai said as she observed Michael.

"Oh, nice to meet you too," Michael said, looking a little awkward being stared at intensely like that. "But that doesn't explain--"

"This is a different world," I continue. "Different from the place where we disappeared before, here the conditions are reversed. I switched positions with him, the transfer student. That's why I pass through like a ghost."

"Reversed?" Michael said.

"Yes," I continue. "Earlier I said he stole my life. Now you understand what I mean, right?"

Michael scratched his head, still looking confused. It was understandable considering the chaotic nature of my explanation. Meanwhile, Mai remained silent beside me, showing no inclination to help me explain. In the end, it was up to me to save my neck.

"Okay," I said. "Just calm down for now. I'll try to explain more clearly."

Michael nodded without much choice.

I take a deep breath before saying anything. I sort all the information in my head. A few moments later, after feeling that everything is in the right position, I start talking.

I explained from what I had told him earlier to all of Mai's suspicions a while ago. When I'm done, it seems like Michael is starting to understand this situation.

Suddenly, he looked back at the basketball court behind him. The game had already ended a while ago, and the bell had rung indicating the start of class.

I could see Salmon, Dread, Rhino, and the transfer student, among other students, walking away from the court towards their class, laughing and sweating.

"There's one thing," he said, seeming hesitant to express his thoughts. "If he's the cause of all this, what about killing him?"

Once again about killing, I sighed.

"That won't work," Mai speaks up. "I've tried to touch him and I just passed through."

"Same with me," I said. And obviously I don't agree with the idea of killing. Because I know sooner or later everything will shift from killing him to killing me.

Michael continued to watch the transfer student until he disappeared behind the building.

Michael sighed.

"Listen, kid," Michael said, turning his gaze towards me. "I came here looking for you because I need your help."

"Help?" I said, confused. "Me? You need my help? Did I hear you right?"

He nodded. "After you disappeared, kid, I heard what happened from Emily," Michael said. "Rafael and Fiona panicked and searched for you but no matter how they looked, they couldn't find you. That's when Rafael saw the book lying on the floor."

Earlier I hadn't had time to think about them, but now I was curious.

"Emily was terrified when Rafael read the book and vanished," Michael recounted. "Curious, Fiona decided to read it as well, only to disappear moments later, leaving Emily in tears once again."

That makes me feel bad, even though it wasn't my fault.

"A few minutes later, Jack and I arrived at the library," Michael continued. "We heard Emily's cries and rushed to her side. As I comforted her, Jack picked up the book from the floor and began to read. It was then that I witnessed someone else vanish after reading the book."

After Michael paused for a long time, I grew impatient and asked, "So what did you do?"

"We sat down and stared at the book for a while," he replied. "I thought the book might be a way out, given that you and the others vanished after reading it. So, I asked Emily to examine every page of the book."

"Really, Michael?" I said incredulously.

"Hey, hey, don't give me that look, okay?" Michael said defensively. "I didn't turn her into a lab rat or anything. I didn't want to try it and leave Emily all alone. Plus, you and the others had already tried it, so I figured it was safe. But when Emily tried it, nothing happened. She couldn't read yet, so I thought the book only reacted if someone could read it. In the end, we just sat there staring at the book."

"Okay," Mai said. "Then what? What happened next? And why are you here now?"

Michael let out a sigh. "I couldn't stop thinking about it and made me restless," he explained. "I mean, we could have been standing in front of the way out, but we couldn't use it. That thought stressed me out. It was the only clue we had to escape. If we didn't use it, we might be trapped there forever."

"I guess that's true," I said, trying to imagine myself in his position.

Michael simply nodded.

"So, I finally decided to give it a try," he said. "And it turned out to be successful. But when I returned to the library, you, Rafael, and Fiona were no longer there. That's why I came here to find you and ask for your help to bring Emily here--"

"Are you stupid?" Mai interrupted, her voice filled with disbelief. "You left a little girl all alone like that?"

"But I had no choice!" Michael protested.

"Yes, you did," Mai said. "The solution is simple, right? Teach her to read. It may take more time, but it's a surefire way to solve the problem. But what did you do? You asked for help. From whom? Him? Are you sure Alex can help you? He doesn't know any more than you do. That's just an excuse to justify your selfishness. You only wanted to save yourself."

Michael's face went pale.

"No," he said, his voice trembling. "I didn't... I didn't think about teaching her to read at all."

Michael hung his head, looking defeated. From where I stood, he looked genuinely regretful. I didn't think he did it on purpose. In a situation like that, not everyone can think as clearly as Mai. Even I, myself, didn't consider the simple solution that Mai had suggested.

"I don't know..." Michael said, his head held in despair. "I really have no idea."

Ignoring him, Mai pulled on my arm. "Come with me," she said. "Before I explain the contents of this book, I need to ask my mother something."

"Are we going to your home?" I asked.

Mai shook her head and replied, "No, we're going to the library. As you saw earlier, my mother works there."

That makes sense. That's why Mai could borrow that book.

Glancing at the bearded man, I asked, "Hey, Michael, are you coming with us or not? We will also try to find out how to help Emily."

Michael raised his head and looked at me, his expression still sad. However, as we began to walk, he pushed it aside and followed us.

***