"Miwah!" Yalch whispered excitedly. The woman's eyes closed tighter as she tried to stay asleep.

"Miwah!" the ghost repeated except louder. Miwah's head gently shifted from side to side.

Frustrated, the ghost hovered next to her ear. He cupped his hands in front of his mouth. "Wake up!"

Miwah jumped forward, her eyes opening wide as she looked from side to side rapidly. She squinted, not quite accustomed to the rising sun across the horizon that gave the calm waves of the sea a deep orange hue. "What? Huh?" she stammered.

"Didn't mean to startle you!" Yalch said in a significantly quieter voice. "I just wanted to let you know that land isn't too far from here. The ghost pointed past Miwah's head. She turned around and saw a long beach in the distance. The sand at the edge of land mass was a golden brown and above it was a vivid green tree line.

"That doesn't look too far," Miwah said as she turned her body around. She leaned over the wall of the boat to get a better look. In the distance she could make out a flock of birds passing over the canopy and another large ship off to the far side of the land. "Looks like an island. Do you know where we're headed?"

Yalch twisted its body from side to side. "Nope. But I've got a feeling that we're supposed to be heading in that direction."

"What makes you say that?" Miwah asked, looking at the ghost with confusion.

Yalch pointed at the two long appendages that jutted out from the top of its head. "These antennas of mine let me know when there's someone with Potential nearby. My readings are a bit faint now, but my gut tells me that there's more people like you over there!"

"Like me?" Miwah said with a hand on her chest.

"People that can become purifiers. Do you still have that bag of necklaces I told you to hold onto?"

"Oh!" Miwah frisked her body, stopping when her hand touched the side of her hip. She took out the small sack that was secured between her top and the ribbon fastened around it. "This, correct?"

"Whew, close call." Yalch wiped away a bead of intangible sweat from his brow. "I was worried you would have lost it during your fight or once the transformation wore off."

"It looks like our trip to the island will still be a while. Perhaps you could give me some answers to help bide our time?"

Yalch smiled wide. "I'd love to! Where do you want to begin?"

"Let's start with you." Miwah sat down on one of the benches of the boat. "Who... or what are you exactly?"

"That's an easy one," Yalch said as it floated towards the bench opposite of it. He floated a few inches above the wood, looking back at Miwah with open eyes. "Let's see… how far back should I go?" Yalch tapped his chin with his hand.

"Let's just go with whatever you think would be most relevant."

"Alright. So that means why I picked you. Does that work?"

"Sure."

"Like I said, I can detect individuals with potential. My antennas go off whenever there's someone in the vicinity that can utilize the Beacons to access their potential. When you hid away in that the chest back at your village, I followed right behind you. That way I could help you out when you finally decided to escape. Only problem is that I went inside one of the Beacons and got stuck."

Miwah pulled the necklace from out of her top and let it rest in her hand. She stared at the diamond. Rays of sunlight glistened against its edges. "You can hide in this?"

Yalch nodded. "Yep! That's how I restore my energy. I can't just stay floating out here forever, you know? I can do it for a while, but eventually I'll have to get some rest inside a Beacon."

"Do you need to go in now?"

"No. I can stay out for a few more hours." The smile on Yalch's face soon flipped to a scowl. "You're not trying to get rid of me, are you?"

"No. Not at all. I appreciate getting a chance to understand what exactly it is that you've gotten me into."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I like how you manage to think so positively despite your situation!" Yalch replied.

"I still want to know... what you are," Miwah said as she squinted at Yalch. She put one finger through its intangible gullet. "You are a ghost?"

"Yes. I'm a spirit," Yalch said with hesitation. "I don't want to bore you with all of the excessive details, but I've been... chosen... to help those with Potential to fight surge of evil forces that are swarming this world!"

"I see."

"Have you ever seen a spirit before?"

Miwah shook her head. "No, I have not. I assumed they were just myths."

"That's because only those with Potential can see spirits such as myself! It's a very small fraction of the population."

"So those plunderers could not see you the entire time?"

"Nope."

"Could they hear you?"

"Not at all."

"So if I were to start talking to you around normal people, they would think that I am a bit... off?"

"Probably."

"Fascinating." Miwah looked back to the island. The size looked the same as before, meaning progress towards the shore was slow. "Thank you for letting me know before I embarrass myself."

"Of course!" Yalch flew to the other side of the boat and hovered in front of Miwah's face, obscuring her view of the land with his transparent body. "Do you have any other questions for me?"

"How much longer do I have to wait before I can transform again? That seems like it would be some useful information to know."

"That depends on your stats." Yalch closed his eyes and pressed his hands against the side of his head. "Now that I've gotten to see your capabilities when you cast Insight, I can access your Sheet whenever." He opened one eye and looked at an unenthused Miwah. "You don't mind me doing that, do you?"

"Not at all."

"Alrighty." Yalch closed his eyes tight. "Let's see here. Can you see what I'm looking at?"

Name: Miwah Lu-Hwung Class: Martial Artist Rank: 2 Current Weapon(s): Liberator (Offense) Element: Qi Lethality: 15 Proficiency: 10 Vitality: 80 Guard: 8 Agility: 10 Vigor: 10

Miwah shut her eyes. "Yes. It's that same table that I saw before when I first transformed."

"Notice anything different about it?"

"No."

"Oh, right. You only got to glance at it once. You ranked up!"

Miwah nodded her head. "I see. Is that a good thing?"

"Of course! Before you were Rank 1. After taking out that plunderer and... whatever that slug thing was... you got enough experience to reach Rank 2!"

"Am I more powerful while I'm a purifier?"

"You will be! Once you convert those Experience Fragments into improving your attributes." Mentally, Miwah focused on the two small crystals that floated beside the table of stats.

"This is all so much to take in," Miwah said with a hint of frustration. While keeping her eyes closed, she rubbed her temples with her fingers. "I do not even understand what most of these terms mean in regards to being a Purifier."

"Good thing I'm here then! I can tell you everything that you need to know!"

"Please, do so."

"Alright. First things first. Your class is Martial Artist. The class your Beacon picks for you is drawn from your personality and skills. Do you practice martial arts?"

"My father and brother ran a small school in my village. I learned quite a bit from them. But I would not consider myself to be a formidable fighter. At best, I might be able to deter an average-sized thief from robbing me."

"The current limitations of your body don't play a role in what class you're given. It's more dependent on what you do and how you behave. Martial Artists are known for being quick, agile and deadly. But despite their power, they tend to be quite fragile."

"Does that mean I will be more likely to succumb to wounds and injuries?" Miwah inquired.

"For the most part. While you're in your Purifier form, you'll still be far more durable than the average person. But compared to other Purifiers, you'll go down a lot quicker. But that also means you'll be dealing a lot more damage and taking down a lot more enemies."

"I think that style fits me well," Miwah said with a nod. Her eyes remained closed as she continued to look at the numbers on the table.

"That's so good to hear!" Yalch said gleefully. "I don't think I've ever seen a Purifier that didn't like the class they were assigned. It's very accurate in that regard."

"Was my weapon determined in the same manner?"

"Yep! If I had to guess, you were given Liberator because it's light yet powerful. Don't take this the wrong way, but your Guard Stat is a bit lacking." The ghost opened one eye and looked at Miwah's arm. "I don't want to sound rude, but I don't think you should be putting those Experience Fragments into that area with muscles like those."

Miwah opened both eyes, giving Yalch a narrow stare. "I appreciate the compliment. Since you know so much about all of this, perhaps you should guide me on how to best utilize these... Experience Fragments."