Cold breeze from a rainy day made me shiver. I stayed at one of the abandoned buildings in the dead city, not knowing, where to go and what to do. How could I find my brother now, when I'm all by myself? I have found some leads, while sticking around with the group. They knew this world and I could only follow them. I was thinking for a long time, if I should somehow ask Ven for help, but I had feeling, that it wouldn't be a good idea. I left the building, had to keep going.

Two days passed by fast, I tried to cover most of the places, that I could reach, but still found nothing. I was mad, both at myself and the others. How could they kick me out just like that, only because of who I was? "Don't judge a book by its cover" they say, while their opinion about me has changed in seconds. My mood was grumpy and I couldn't focus on anything, even on my surroundings. Suddenly, a big monster cut off my way and was ready to attack me, but it fell on the ground before it even had a chance to land its claws on me. I was shocked, trying to wrap my head around what just happened. I looked behind me and saw Ven, putting away his weapon.

- On my, you are really slow. - He said.

- Thank you... - I sighed with relief. - I guess you are like my guardian angel now.

- And you are like a rock on my back. - He laughed and so did I.

We chilled out a little bit in the forest, I told Ven what happened and I could see, that he wasn't surprised. He gave me this "I told you so" look, I should have believed him.

- Humans are so...vexatious. They are mindless to understand someone's powers. - He started pacing around me. - They are frightened of those, who are stronger... but Ghosts are in a different category. - He stopped for a second and then came closer to me. - YOU need to understand, Joker. Humans will NEVER accept who you really are. Not even your wife, your bother or your friends. When they will learn the truth, they will see you as only one thing... an enemy.

My heart sank after Ven's words, I felt lost and hopeless. I spent so much time and energy trying to find Shaun, that I've never even thought about what could happen, if he would learn about me. And Elizabeth? What would she think about it? They were dear to my heart, a family, that I would give everything for, but the experience, that I got here has shown me, how much people can change, when they learn the unpleasant truth. Would Shaun and Elizabeth just abandon me, because I am a Ghost?

I buried my face in my hands, it felt like the world started to spin, then I felt a strong grip on my shoulders.

- I'm sorry, Joker. I didn't meant to stress you out...- Ven said with worried voice. - I just want to protect you.

- I'm tired of all of this... - I said with a long sigh. - Tell me, what should I do?

- You should think of yourself more, Joker. Move your own way.

He stood up and stretched. I glanced at him, wishing he could be more specific. I tried to clear my mind and focus on something else, my brain was too tired to deal with it at that moment. I spotted a red feather, attached to Ven's jacket. It wasn't a normal feather, something about it felt... "different".

- Where did you get that? - I pointed at the feather.

- I got this from a friend... - His expression changed fast. - He is gone now and this is the only thing, that reminds me of him.

I thought for a moment and pulled out a photo, that I found inside a grave, from my coat's inside posket.

- Is your friend on this photo? - I asked.

He looked at the photo and gasped, eyes widened in surprise. Ven quickly grabbed the photo from my hand and turned with his back to me.

- Where did you find it? - he finally spoke.

- Inside one grave... - I pulled out the letter and handed it to him as well.

Ven looked sad and somehow disappointed. For the first time I could see some kind of emotions from him. I felt uneasy, but I wanted to know more and he was the only one, who could give me answers. I gave him some time to read the letter in silence. When he finished, I kept my eyes on him, moving closer.

- Yes... this feather was from Réss. We were really close friends. He was almost like a brother to me. He always understood me the best.

- What happened to him? I didn't understand much from the letter.

- Well...- He gave the letter one more look. - The Darkness took him away...

- What is the Darkness? - I asked, curious.

- Not "what", but "who"... She is a god of the darkness, evil and powerful. Réss was always interested in darkness, he wanted to know too much, and I'm pretty sure, this is how Mother of Darkness got interested in him.

That information scared me a little, but my curiosity was stronger. - What about the others? What happened to them?

- Sém and Ori got killed by Ghosts... - Ven's gaze met mine and I felt anxiety creeping on me. - They were never careful. But Amos... - He fell silent for a moment, while looking at the photo with angry eyes. - He is still alive and ready to find you. He even changed his name to Ray Söne, so I won't be able to find him quickly.

- And what would you do, if you were to find him?

- I would kill him. - His voice was cold like ice. - I will get my revenge...

- Revenge? What did he- Ven stopped me with a raise of his hand. I could see from his face, that he was already tired from all the questions. I didn't wish to make him more mad, so I obeyed.

He hid the photo and the letter inside his jacket and turned to me.

- Could you show me the grave, Joker? - He asked quietly.

I nodded, hoping, that I still remember, where the grave was.

After some time we have finally reached the place, where the large gravestone was placed. Ven approached it carefully and with caution, observing the surrounding area. He kneeled near the grave to get a closer look at it, his fingers tracing the engravings. I thought, that I should leave him alone for a while, but then I heard him chuckle.

- "May your soul find rest and happiness."... I, sadly, don't think he will... - Ven said with mixed feelings. Then he turned around to look at me. - Was there something else inside the grave?

- Well... a body and that weird "ball" thing, that you also have. - I answered.

- That "ball" thing is an Orb, we call it the Keeper's Eye. I can use it to see the future and other things. - He stood up, brushing off the dust from his pants. - Wait, a body? That's impossible...

- Why impossible?

He pushed the cover of the gravestone without any hesitation and looked inside.

- It's impossible, because the Darkness does not only take the soul, but also the body to the Dark Realm. It prevents the person from leaving, making everyone, who is taken, a prisoner of the darkness. - He started searching the grave, pulled out the Orb and looked at it with a slight worry. - There has to be more.

- More? What about the body in the grave?!

Ven placed his hand on the armored body, which was still wrapped in sheets and then looked at me with faint smile on his lips.

- There is no body, Joker. - He chuckled.

- What?! But I saw some bones there!

- Yes, there are some bones, but they don't belong to Réss. I think those, who buried him, didn't want to place an empty grave, so they placed this inside. This isn't even his armor.

I rushed to look inside. No signs of a body, just like Ven said. I felt kinda stupid, that I didn't inspect more before. Ven burst into laughter and patted me on the back. I tried to hide my embarrassment, but then I noticed something under the fake body. I reached to grab an object, which turned out to be a notebook.

- What is this? - I handed it to Ven, since I wasn't feeling comfortable with looking at his dead friend's stuff.

He carefully opened the book, flipping the pages one by one.

- These are his notes, I can recognize the handwriting... - Ven's voice dropped to almost a whisper.

- What did he wrote?

- Some interesting stuff about darkness. These notes are like his research.

I wanted to say something, but then Ven placed his hand on my lips to shush me. I raised my eyebrows in confusion, then I saw his eyes glowing gold. I wasn't sure, what to do, so I just stayed in one place. Seconds later he removed his hand from my mouth and quickly handed me the book. He looked like something has really scared him.

- What happened? - I asked.

- You need to run! Now!

- What... but...

- Now! - He pushed me, almost making me trip.

I still was really confused, but my gut feeling said to trust him. I ran into the woods and hid behind the trees and bushes, I didn't wanted to leave him alone, because I still didn't understand, what is happening. I peeked from behind my cover to see what's going on and I saw someone coming towards Ven. The mysterious man had long, dark coat with a hood and a weird, creepy mask on his face. I looked at Ven, he was angry and ready to fight.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

- Ven! What are you doing here? - The man asked with a deep voice.

- I wanted to ask the same, Ray...

I was terrified. That man, who just showed up, was the last Keeper, that Ven has was warned me about. He was searching for me and almost succeeded. If I hadn't ran to the woods, I could be dead already. I panicked, but I stayed in the same position to observe them.

- Ven, please... Don't make this harder for me. - He said.

- What do you mean? - Ven said with disdain in his voice.

- You know where he is... So give him to me! I don't want to make this uncomfortable.

- Oh. - Ven chuckled. - Make me.

Art Page 17 P1 by Kinia24Lara [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/82661c93-9351-4e6d-b82f-6e1e720e90f5/dfefj3d-f01bddfb-03f6-4b90-a542-ed6c76fa346a.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_581,q_80,strp/art_page_17_p1_by_kinia24lara_dfefj3d-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NTgxIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvODI2NjFjOTMtOTM1MS00ZTZkLWI4MmYtNmUxZTcyMGU5MGY1XC9kZmVmajNkLWYwMWJkZGZiLTAzZjYtNGI5MC1hNTQyLWVkNmM3NmZhMzQ2YS5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.pcADu2ILjF6sbA5I11panHkIFT1Ym1xvUAES7087F8s]

A spear was formed from Ray's hand and Ven prepared his katana. The spear was two times his size and was glowing with light blue. Both of them got to the ready positions and in seconds the fight began.

My eyes tried to follow them, but they were too fast. All I could see were the flashes of blue and red light. This just showed me, how slow I really am, I wouldn't stand a chance against them, but luckily I had Ven on my side. The fight was taking some time now and I still coulnd't see, what is going on, but then I noticed Ray kneeling down, some sort of a barrier appeared around him. Ven couldn't stop in time and bounced back from it, leaving himself vulnerable. Ray used this opportunity and swiftly attacked. Ven fell on the ground, bleeding and trying to catch his breath.

- Fuck you! Always using this fucking trick of yours! - Ven said with angry and trembling voice.

- And you never learn. - Ray answered.

Ray started moving towards Ven, while fixing his grip on the spear, meanwhile Ven tried his hardest to stand up.

Art Page 17 P2 by Kinia24Lara [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/82661c93-9351-4e6d-b82f-6e1e720e90f5/dfefj3f-76a3ec75-d244-4e2d-9885-c70dafc4b947.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_558,q_80,strp/art_page_17_p2_by_kinia24lara_dfefj3f-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NTU4IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvODI2NjFjOTMtOTM1MS00ZTZkLWI4MmYtNmUxZTcyMGU5MGY1XC9kZmVmajNmLTc2YTNlYzc1LWQyNDQtNGUyZC05ODg1LWM3MGRhZmM0Yjk0Ny5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.0Wiad5_OGsCrm0JMTQXU3vdEF_vkQRgoEuExkhj6zRM]

This was my chance to do something. I grabbed my bow and created a "ghost" arrow, aimed to the ground before Ven's position, so I could make a smoke cover for us. I fired an arrow and as soon as it exploded, I teleported to Ven, grabbed him and teleported away from the place of battle.

I glanced at him and he looked at me with disoriented eyes. I ran with him as far as I could, Ven was heavy and my arms got tired quickly from carrying him and running at the same time. When I thought we were far enough, I stopped and gently placed Ven on the ground. Looking at his deep and clearly painful wound, I placed my hands on it to stop the bleeding. Ven shook my hands off and attempted to stand up, but with no success.

- Why didn't you run away?! I told you to do that! - He screamed at me.

- I can't just leave you like that! - I screamed back at him, a bit irritated.

He frowned, visibly confused. - Why? - He asked.

- Because you are my friend, right!?

He chuckled a bit and grabbed my hand. - Right. Sorry...

Somehow I understood, how he felt at this moment. I tensed, because I heard something behind us. I got nervous, thinking the threat isn't over yet. I looked again at Ven, who started breathing heavily and I realized, that I won't be able to take him to the safe place myself.

- Ven, are you able to take us away from here? - I asked. - You know... using that portal to your place?

He took a sharp breath through his teeth and pulled out his katana, handing it to me.

- Use my katana, it still has some of my power to create portal.

- But... how?

- Just make a big swing, you can do it...

I took the katana from him and Ven lost consciousness. I felt a rush of anxiety, but I had no choice than to try it out. I stood up and I raised his weapon, taking a deep breath I swung down the katana, feeling some kind of power going through my hand. A strong light came out, creating the portal before me. It felt amazing using this kind of power. I felt proud of myself for the first time in a very long time.

I attached the katana to my belt, picked Ven up and then went through the portal.

Art Page 17 P3 by Kinia24Lara [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/82661c93-9351-4e6d-b82f-6e1e720e90f5/dfefj3g-0ad6980c-5687-492c-b29b-a546e5c77e62.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_563,q_80,strp/art_page_17_p3_by_kinia24lara_dfefj3g-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NTYzIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvODI2NjFjOTMtOTM1MS00ZTZkLWI4MmYtNmUxZTcyMGU5MGY1XC9kZmVmajNnLTBhZDY5ODBjLTU2ODctNDkyYy1iMjliLWE1NDZlNWM3N2U2Mi5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.Q65_MurhS5VXTH30-x_ZY_fbRYixIQa2l9wXN4XMSzw]

The next day came and Ven was still unconscious, I tried my best to bandage the wound, hoping, he will be alright. Meanwhile I had some time to look around the place, it was big and empty, only one floor in the whole abandoned building was taken by Ven. The building was in a quite good condition and it was placed in the middle of nowhere, inside the deep forest. It was a really quiet and lonely place.

I heard Ven's voice and rushed to check on him. He checked his bandages and looked at me with a tired smile.

- Well... you are really bad at bandaging, Joker. - He laughed and I smiled.

- Maybe I should have left you there. - I teased.

We smiled to each other, then Ven fixed himself up a bit and looked around.

- How long was I out? - He asked.

- Just a day.

- Huh, I guess it could be worse.

I looked at him and his arms. He had some tattoos and scars all over them.

- These are some cool tattos... do they mean something? - I asked, trying to de-stress the situation.

- Thanks, I did them myself and yes... most of them mean something, but it's kinda hard to explain.

I stared at Ven's chest without realizing. He was strong and kinda made me wish I would take a better care of my body.

- Do you like what you see? - He said with a smirk on his face.

Art Page 17 P4 by Kinia24Lara [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/82661c93-9351-4e6d-b82f-6e1e720e90f5/dfefj3e-bc4e8819-768d-471d-9cf3-cca1f0d7871b.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_542,q_80,strp/art_page_17_p4_by_kinia24lara_dfefj3e-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NTQyIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvODI2NjFjOTMtOTM1MS00ZTZkLWI4MmYtNmUxZTcyMGU5MGY1XC9kZmVmajNlLWJjNGU4ODE5LTc2OGQtNDcxZC05Y2YzLWNjYTFmMGQ3ODcxYi5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.gAmJ9jKAI3zhX7tYTjAtFODUUrne80L95ilyOulY9W8]

- Wha... - I felt my face heating up and quickly looked away. - Sorry!

- Hah! it's alright.

He got up from the couch and excused himself for a moment.

I took a look outside the windows to occupy this moment with something, while Ven was changing clothes. When he returned, I noticed a bottle of whiskey in his hand and two whiskey glasses. He placed them on the table and invited me to sit with him.

- Thank you, Joker. - He started. - You saved me there.

- You don't have to thank me. You saved me many times already. - I smiled while he poured me a drink and then he raised his glass.

- Cheers, my friend!

We emptied a couple of glasses and the day has turned to night. While drinking, he tried to explain the meaning behind some of his tattos, most of them were symbolic to the place, where he came from. Listening to his stories about an army and old times made me realise how much he has seen.

- How old are you even? If I can ask. - I asked with hesitation.

Ven scratched his head and looked to the side. I could tell he feels uncomfortable.

- Well... thanks to the Keeper powers I can live for a... really, really long time. - He looked at me. - But so do Ghosts! How old do you think your mother was, when she died?

- Um... She was 45 years old. - I replied.

- No. - He said. - She was around 180 years old.

I was speechless, there's so much I didn't know even about my own family. I wasn't even sure, if I could handle all of this information, but somehow I was interested, what else was there.

The next morning my head was spinning. ''How much did I drink last night?'' I asked myself, while searching for Ven. I found him sitting at the table, reading his friend's notebook. He looked at me with a smile and then he stood up, bringing me something to drink.

- I hope this is not whiskey. - I mumbled, rubbing my temples.

- It's a medicine, don't worry.

I drank it all, didn't even cared about the taste and then I noticed Ven's worried face.

- You really like to drink, don't you?

I laughted anxiously, trying to ignore the question. I looked in the mirror and saw how much of a mess I was.

Later me and Ven went to the roof of the building, because Ven wanted to show me something. We stopped in the middle of the roof, then he told me to get ready.

- Ready? For what? - I asked.

- It's time for your combat lessons. - He answered with a serious tone.

I glared at him in surprise, but I knew he wasn't joking. So I tried to get myself ready, scared of getting my ass kicked. He showed me some very important and basic moves, that I was able to learn rather quickly, but I knew, that there is still a lot, what I should work on.

A cople of days flew by and every day Ven tried to teach me new moves and every time after the lesson I felt like I was going to die. I noticed, that I got better and even stronger, he showed me, how I could use my "ghost powers" in a combat and that was a game changer. I enjoyed the time spent with Ven, I sensed like I was going in the right direction.

One day we took the time off from training to get some more rest. Ven was impressed with my learning speed, which made me felt good, but then he looked at me and I knew, that something is wrong.

- You should use two knives instead of one. - He said.

- Two? Why?

- Your style could become more useful, if you would use two knives. I've noticed, that you can use both hands in the combat, switching the hand just to take the knife takes some time off.

I've never thought about that before. Suddenly, Ven's eyes flashed with gold, just like last time and his expression changed quickly.

- What is it? - I asked right away.

- Nothing... - He replied quietly. Lies.

Then I heard a strange noise coming from my coat. I reached for it and that was the communicator, that I got from Emma.

- They didn't take it away from you? - Ven asked.

- They didn't asked for it...

I glanced at the device, that continued making sounds. I pushed the button and heard a familiar voice.

- We need help! There are too many monsters! - That was Thea, she sounded scared and hurt. - We are at the Red Zone of Poruln City! Anyone who can help, please do!

I looked at Ven in panic, my hands gripping the communicator tighter.

- I know, where it is... - I said.

- Do you really wish to help them after everything they've done? - He said with an anger in his voice.

I knew, that it really wasn't their fault, that Emma kicked me out, but they could have said something. Instead, they did nothing at all. I was torn between going there and lending a helping hand and just ignoring the call, but I couldn't. I had to do something.

I gathered my belongings, Ven was looking at me with visible disappointment, but I didn't care. I asked him, if he could at least help me to get there faster with the portal, he agreed.

- Joker, you need to remember, that I won't be able to help you, if something will happen.

- You can't or you don't want to? - I tilted my head.

- It's your choice to go there, it's your path. - He said it in a firm tone.

I assured him, that I will be okay and I will return. Ven turned away and opened the portal for me without looking at me, when I went to it. I knew I made him mad, but this is what I had to do.