The little boy tilted his head and smiled at Elias.

Elias's hair stood on end seeing the boy's toothy grin.

"I have a deal for you." Elias muttered, remembering how this little thing that looked no older than five was probably a decade older than himself.

The boy acted as if he couldn't hear him. Instead of replying, Anton put his little hand on the barrier created by Elias's runes. Crimson red they might have been before but under the little boy's feeble push the runes lost all glow.

Elias couldn't even register the cracking sounds around him as he stared back at the grinning Anton.

"Oi dumbfuck, call that mouse girl right now!" Thomas's scream broke Elias out of his daze.

Yet he was too late, Anton's palm was mere inches away from Elias' legs when it stopped. Anton the young boy frowned looking at the pale hand that gripped his own. Anton glared and Phoebe met his eyes unfazed, her remaining hand however kept shaking struggling to hold the little boy's hand locked in.

Elias jumped back, realising just how close he was to dying.

"LILY, COME GET ME." He screamed as he stepped back.

Dark veins popped up on Phoebe's hand as she tried to keep Anton from moving. With his frown deepening Anton brought his free hand to grip Phoebe's and with a jerk he ripped Phoebe's remaining hand from her body.

An inhuman shriek echoed along the decrepit streets. Phoebe kept wailing as she was brought to her knees. But Anton wasn't done with ripping just an arm.

Elias watched as the young boy manhandled an adult ghost like a ragdoll. He wanted to help Phoebe but what could he even do.

"Thomas, we have to save her! Help me with this." Elias pleaded with the hitchhiker in his body, "Thomas, goddamnit we need to do something."

"Run, you fool. We can't do anything to that little monster. This is his haunt, his curse!" Thomas yelled back in Elias's mind.

Elias's mind raced as he saw Anton grip the fallen Phoebe's head.

"A curse?" Elias mumbled, Taking a deep breath he started chanting words that sounded like gibberish. But Thomas, the ghost residing in Elias's body, felt his soul shake at the garbled words. They sounded wrong.

Soon enough the shadows of the desolate street moved. The ghosts felt a gaze of something ancient land upon them.

– ??? –

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One moment Thomas saw through Elias's eyes. The next his soul separated from his host. The sky was no more. Replaced by a ceiling covered in soot all Thomas could see was pitch black.

To his surprise he was back in true form. His cold dead body that had been beaten black and blue long ago, shivered for the first time.

Surrounded by innumerable coffins, Thomas felt an urge to find an empty coffin and bury himself here. To be lost in what looked like an alien tomb.

The screech of something scraping against the soot covered stone floor stopped Thomas from plunging into madness.

Startled, he whipped his head in the direction of the screeching.

There on his hands and knees, Elias puked out blood on the stone. Thomas had to crane his neck to see the end of the coffin in front of Elias. The cover of the colossal coffin had slid enough for a blackened titanic hand to appear. Thomas felt his undead soul gag at the stench that came with the hand.

Rotten, riddled with maggots, the palm closed around Elias crushing him. Only blood flowed between that titan's fist.

– Leon Street –

Anton had stopped in his tracks. The earlier frown on his face contorted. The young boy looked teary eyed as he loosened his hold on Phoebe's head.

As Anton stepped back his body seemed to degrade. Skin on the young boy hollowed out. He coughed up black blood.

But Thomas couldn't be bothered with all that. He was back in Elias's body. Since he could only observe the world through Elias.

"What did you do?" Thomas asked, still shaken by the vision earlier.

Elias was on the road puking out blood. Wiping his bloodied mouth, he stood up. "I cursed the little bastard."

Thomas observed Elias. The young man also looked like he had aged. It wasn't to a noticeable degree but Thomas could feel the changes in his host’s body.

Not caring to explain further. Elias brought out the knuckles from his pocket. The cold steel of the old weapon stung but he was too exhausted to care. He threw the knuckles out on the road.

By now the curse on Anton had run its course. The young boy with rosy cheeks had now transformed into a proper corpse-like state now. Weakened, bony and with festering boils all over.

Anton gritted his teeth as his eyes met with Elias. Thick bloodlust bombarded Elias but the man didn't look affected in the least.

"My offer to all of you still stands. You all can get your vengeance or serve this mad ghost for all eternity." Elias yelled.

Anton approached him, the previous bloodlust turning even more oppressing. This time Elias couldn't shrug it off, he felt suffocated.

"Last chance." He shouted his voice hoarse. Pointing at the fallen knuckles on the ground, he laid down on the cobblestone unconscious.

Anton was upon him. His ghoulish little arm approached Elias wanting to rip it off but before he could. A punch had made its way on his face.

Anton staggered back. A bruised arm had appeared out of Elias's back. Soon a head popped out of Elias’s back. Within moments a whole ghastly body had come out of Elias's back. This bruised old man looked at Anton with a creepy smile, Thomas had decided to join the fight.

Dusting off his shirt Thomas whistled seeing the old ghosts of Leon street. His pale dead body had also died a violent death; So Thomas fit right in amongst the cursed Leon street denizens.

Cracking his knuckles he confronted Anton the little curse. "Listen up, ya sorry pieces of shits. Today we settle our differences with this little wretch the only way we know. Through blood and fists."

Before Thomas could take the lead. The skinless ghost pounced on Anton. His claws fell upon his captor without mercy. Cuts appeared upon Anton. And Anton started crying. The little ghoul’s wails were grating to the ears. Any living human would have started bleeding hearing such noise. Thankfully being already dead the ghosts weren’t affected.

Claws ready, the skinless man snarled. Anton’s wailing made him pause for a bit but he was ready to finish the job again. Yet before the clawed ghost could do anything everything had turned black.

Out of nowhere another ghost appeared behind Anton, he grabbed the skinless ghost's head and crushed it. And just like that the skinless ghost faded into nothing without even knowing who did him in.

Such a display of strength would have made anyone pause in tracks. It certainly made Thomas stop. But the ghost horde of the Leon street descended on this new arrival without wasting a moment. The chance of freedom and vengeance had driven them mad long ago.

"Strong, cursed lil wretch, calling your daddy at a time like this." Thomas smiled, as he studied Anton standing behind the bulky abomination of a human that kept obliterating his victims even after being attacked on all sides.

Thomas glanced at the unconscious Elias. "This bastard has probably driven me mad too." Shaking his head, Thomas joined the horde to murder both Anton and his stronger, much more sinister father.