Eyes of destiny

Chapter 4: Ghosts

"Who are you?" he asked cautiously, trying to remain polite.

"Can't you see? I'm a ghost, just like you," the old man replied, slightly surprised.

Still unsure, Edo sat down at the table, waiting for what this mysterious ghost had to say. The old man smiled gently. "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Sirk, the Spirit of Adventure. And what's your name, boy?"

"I'm Edo... I guess just an ordinary ghost," Edo replied, a bit embarrassed.

Sirk frowned as if pondering something deeply. "An ordinary ghost, you say... From what I see, you're not from the spirit world. It's rare to see such cases."

Edo looked at him, surprised. "The spirit world? No, I'm not from any spirit world. I just... woke up as a ghost, that's all."

Hearing this, Sirk's eyes widened in astonishment, but his face quickly lit up with excitement. "So you're human? But how is that possible? You're entirely here as a ghost! I've been alive for over 300 years, and I've never met someone like you! Wizards have tried for centuries to leave their bodies without entering to the spirit world, but no one has succeeded yet. Living in one world in two forms—body and soul separately. You must tell me more!"

Edo was confused by the flood of information. "I think I need to ask him a few questions," he thought, trying to gather his thoughts. "I have to be careful not to sound like an idiot—I've only just arrived in this world and don't know its rules. Better to ask smart questions."

"Sirk, I don't know much about ghosts... Do you know how it's possible that I'm a ghost?" Edo asked politely.

Sirk thought for a moment. "I have a few theories, more like confirmed methods. It's possible that your magical core is damaged. In that case, your soul might have left your body, especially if you were focused enough, like during meditation. That's usually how people end up in the spirit world. However, it's strange that you didn't end up there but stayed here. The second possibility is the influence of the element of darkness which might have distorted your core for example someone with this element has distorted your core or you have this element and used it on  yourself but that still doesn't explain why you're in this world not in Spirit world."

Edo felt that while he had gained more information, he was still lost. "Magical core? Elements? I've never heard of that..." Edo realized he had said something foolish when he saw the old man's reaction. Sirk's jaw dropped as if he couldn't believe his ears. For a moment, the ghost didn't know what to say, but then he burst into laughter.

"Wait, wait, how do you not know what a core or element is? Every human in this world has one! What, did you crawl out from under a rock? Or maybe... you're from another world?" The old man laughed even louder, unable to contain himself.

Edo felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. He needed to think quickly to stop the old man from laughing. After a brief moment, he responded in a serious tone:

"You see, I've had an accident recently, which have affected my memories. Many of them are destroyed, and I don't remember all the details. Could you help me understand?"

Hearing this, the old man's expression slowly changed. Instead of a mocking smile, a hint of sympathy appeared.

"I'm sorry, boy. I had no idea you had such problems. Of course, I'll help you understand what you need to know so you don't look like a fool in front of others. Listen carefully."

The old man straightened up and began to explain:

"Every person is born with a magical core and an element. The core is the foundation of all magic. The bigger the core, the more energy it can store. And the best part is, the energy in the core regenerates because it draws energy from the surroundings. I myself was formed from the magic surrounding the world, combined with the energy of places where adventurers gathered—that's why I have a desire to hear stories about travels."