Hannah forced Lug to rest.

To make sure he wouldn't try to return to Primont, she moved in with him for a while.

"I'm looking for an apartment in the next town over. It will be easier for training. In the meantime I'll stay here and take care of you." she said as she unpacked her bags.

"I don't feel like I have a choice." replied Lug.

"Stop it, you're happy to have such a pretty girl in your house." Hannah joked.

She was right, the only thing that could keep Lug from killing himself by forcing his way through Primont was the beautiful blonde who was in the process of setting up a bed in the corner of the house.

For the next few days, Hannah didn't go to see the Wise one, she didn't train.

She stayed with Lug, making sure he got his strength back.

She cooked for him and forced him to eat all his meals.

They had grown closer and Lug had finally found some stability.

After a little over a week, Hannah found an apartment.

She thought Lug was doing better, so she went to town to work out the administrative details.

Leaving Lug alone with his thoughts.

Lug was on his bed, cross-legged, eyes closed.

He was visualizing a giant sun in place of his body.

His whole being was vibrating under the impact of the millions of insects that seemed to be crawling under his skin.

He felt as if he was hosting an anthill in his bosom.

He was teeming with life.

But the other night; that night of noctambulism when he had managed to enter Primont, it was the opposite.

He was a living dead; no energy flowing, no life in him, barely a glimmer.

The solution was there.

He remembered the words of the Wise One.

"Your psychic body has such density, that you can touch and be touched by ghosts."

Lug opened his eyes, stretched and sat on the edge of the bed, his arms extended behind him supporting his weight, his legs outstretched forward.

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His head was tilted to the side, he looked out of place.

Yet he wasn't thinking about anything at that moment.

His mind was empty, he was looking at his feet and moving his toes.

His eyes then wandered around him, as if looking for something that would pique his interest.

He was already missing Hannah.

She had left a void, as big as a black hole, that sucked up all of Lug's thoughts.

"I can't focus." he said to himself.

This frustrated him even more because he felt he was close to finding the solution to the jigsaw puzzle known as Primont.

So he took a seat across from Gavan.

"What do you want?" asked the latter, annoyed that Lug was hiding the wall he so loved to stare at.

"I'm bored."

"I think I preferred you dying." replied the old man.

"You're prickly today." replied Lug as he watched the ghost stir his tea.

Lug had his chin resting against his palm and his elbow on the table.

He kept turning his gaze all over the place.

He was feeling hyperactive.

"Maybe I should go back to Primont?" this idea was starting to take up space in his head.

Perhaps the only thing that managed to stay in his head was bad ideas.

- Weeds can grow under any conditions.

Maybe they also thrive near fallen stars. -

Lug got up and walked to the door.

He took his coat, put on his shoes and went out.

Outside, Eno was sitting by the door.

"Still at your station." said Lug to him.

"What do you mean?"

"Since we first met, you've pretty much always been there."

"Yes, and?" Eno asked, unable to understand what Lug was getting at.

"No, nothing.... No, hold on."

Eno stared at him, sitting on the floor, looking up.

"You remember, I hit you the first time."

"How could I forget?" replied Eno.

"Can you hit me back?"

Hannah returned a few hours later.

As she opened the cemetery gate, she saw Lug with his eyes closed, his back against the wall, and Eno punching him.

Then Eno would pull his arm back, wait a few seconds and then punch again.

" What are you doing, are you out of your mind?!" shouted Hannah.

She quickly got between them.

While this would not have prevented Eno from hitting Lug, Eno stepped back regardless.

"What's going on, I need an explanation." said Hannah who had an expression somewhere between fear and anger.

Lug decided to explain everything.

"I'm getting ready for Primont, Eno is hitting me in different places and not too hard so I won't get sick."

"What do you mean by that?" Hannah asked, slightly reassured that this was not a conflict between the two.

"I'm trying to reduce the density of my psychic body; the goal is to not be touched - or violently attacked - by ghosts."

Hannah understood immediately where he was getting at, the idea made sense and was far less dangerous than running headlong into Primont.

"I understand you want to train. But maybe you can find a workaround so you don't have to get beaten up?" said Hannah as she tilted her head, it gave her a motherly look.

"I'll think about it." Relied Lug as he looked down, embarrassed by Hannah's sweet expression.

Lug thanked Eno for his help, then walked with Hannah back to his house.

Inside, Hannah explained that the paperwork was done for the apartment and that she would move in today.

Lug kept his feelings to himself and congratulated her.

He was good at hiding his emotions.

He would have been unbeatable at poker.

But he had preferred to wall himself up with ghosts and make himself suffer with a training that - so far - had only weakened him.

This training didn't even have the decency to make a noble liquid flow, like his sweat or blood.

He watched Hannah leave with her things.

He felt once again that emptiness that had become familiar, almost a companion, but still never pleasant or comforting.

They said goodbye, Lug knew he would see her again soon, but that didn't stop his stomach from tightening.

As soon as he heard the engine of her car running, followed by the sound of it fading away in the distance; he asked Eno to pick up where they left off.

"But harder this time." said Lug, with a blank look.