Chapter 60: Battle of the Damned

Two weeks.

For fourteen endless days, Ben had been trapped in his own personal hell.

The house was empty without Ellie. Not just physically empty—but hollow, lifeless. He barely slept. When he did, his dreams were filled with her laughter, her touch—then her screams. He woke up in a cold sweat every night, gasping for air, reaching for a woman who was no longer there.

And it was his fault.

He had failed her.

Again.

Victoria, on the other hand, had no regrets.

She stood at the edge of the room, her spectral form flickering, her once-luminous beauty tainted with obsession and rage. Ben could feel the weight of her presence, suffocating and bitter. She didn't care about Ellie's soul.

Not one bit.

All she wanted was that body.

And she wasn't the only one.

The thing inside Ellie's body—the nameless soul that had taken her place—was holding on with a grip stronger than Victoria had anticipated. It had a will of its own. A presence. And it wasn't planning to step aside.

Tonight, Ben was about to witness a war unlike anything he had ever seen.

A battle not of flesh, but of souls.

Victoria moved closer to Ellie's possessed body, her form shifting like smoke in the dim candlelight. Her eyes burned with fury as she whispered:

"That body should have been mine."

Ellie's lips curled into a smirk—but it wasn't Ellie smirking. The thing inside her tilted its head, eyes unreadable, cold.

"You're persistent," it murmured, its voice smooth yet unnerving, as if it was speaking with someone else's vocal cords. It let out a soft chuckle. Mocking.

Victoria snarled.

"Get out."

The entity inside Ellie merely laughed. A slow, eerie sound that sent chills down Ben's spine.

"Why would I?" it asked.

Victoria's form flickered violently, the walls around them shaking as her anger manifested into raw energy.

Ben stepped back. He knew what was coming.

The lights flickered. The air crackled with static.

Victoria launched herself at Ellie's body with full force.

A shockwave erupted between them—an explosion of energy, pain, and pure rage.

Ellie's body jerked violently, her back arching unnaturally as a shriek tore from her throat—a sound that wasn't hers. The very walls of the house seemed to scream with them.

Ben couldn't move. He could barely breathe.

This wasn't just a fight for control.

This was a battle for existence.

Victoria clawed at Ellie's possessed body, her spectral fingers sinking into flesh—trying to tear the invader out.

The entity inside Ellie fought back.

"You think you can take this body from me?" it hissed.

Victoria's face twisted in a snarl.

"It was supposed to be mine!" she bellowed, her voice splintering into echoes.

Ben had to do something.

But what?

How do you stop two ghosts from destroying the woman you love?

The entity inside Ellie smiled, eyes glowing with unnatural amusement.

"Let's see who's stronger."

And then—

The battle truly began.