“Ah, son of a fuck…” A man's voice spoke from under the table.

Surprised, Colby jumped back.

Then, the man he had seen many times before stood up on the other side of the table from him. He was more clear and vivid then Colby had ever seen him before, but looking closer Colby could see that he was still very much so translucent.

Looking at the man while he was trying and failing to nudge the unconscious woman on the floor with his foot, Colby could finally study him closely. He wore a fabric hat and some kind of coat, though it was so long it was almost a cape. Both were beige and were obviously of fine quality, though they were also clearly worn from years of use.

The man also had weird accessories, from his neck hung an oddly shaped metal box, crafted with exquisite craftsmanship.

“Going through you…? Seriously…? Heh, that’s a new kind of penetration for sure.”
The man mumbled to himself as he was trying to kick Mrs Montemgu only for his foot to phase right through her. He had an unshaven beard and dark, piercing eyes. He was tall with visible muscles that reminded Colby of his dad, who was working hard in the mine to try and provide for the family. That thought struck Colby as he remembered what he was here for. Mrs. Montemgu said to ‘tame him’, but you can’t really tame a person, could you? Maybe he should just start by trying to talk with it.

“U-umm, Mister…?” Colby nervously spoke.

The man snapped to attention, forgetting the woman and looking at Colby.

“Oh, so now you can see me, huh? Well, good. I was afraid I was a ghost or some shit.”

“I-I think you are a ghost Sir?”

“Quit jokin’ with me boy. Speaking of which, aren’t I supposed to be you? I’m not sure how this whole reincarnation thing is supposed to work anyways…”

“Reincarnation…?” Colby was confused and a little bit scared, however he had no other choice but to interact with the spirit who was binded to him if he wanted to become more powerful.

“Yeah, like, becoming a new person after death or something. Err, well actually I guess It’s still possible that I haven’t been reincarnated. If so, then what am I…?” The man seemed to fall deep into thought, as though he was trying to put together an invisible puzzle.

“Y-you’re a spirit, Mr spirit Sir.” Colby answered.

“Oh yeah, thanks. ‘Cause that really narrows it down. How do you know? Who told you that, kid?”

Colby nervously pointed to the unconscious Mrs. Montemgu.

“Oh, of course she did. That figures…” The man sighed.

“Alright then, tell me more. Let’s walk and talk.” The man began to move past Colby towards the door.

“Huh? W-w-wait!” Colby hurriedly began following.

“Wait for what? That old hag’s not gonna wake up any time soon. And I might black out again! I gotta tell you, never knowing what’s going on and constantly waking up in random places sucks ass, kid. So- argh!” He let out a frustrated grunt as his hand phased right through the door knob. He nodded a silent command and Colby humbly opened the door for him. “As I was saying, start talking. What d’ya mean by ‘Spirit’?”

“W-well you chose me.” Colby sputtered out.

“I chose you…?” The man looked curiously at Colby as they continued walking down an alleyway.

“That’s what Mrs. Montemgu said. That spirits choose humans to bind to and grant powers.”

“I didn’t choose shit. I feel like if I could chose anything, I’d choose to know what the hell’s goin’ on!” The man mocked.

The duo made it onto a larger street with scattered markets and a few people.

“So what am I supposed to do now, then?” The man asked.

“You need to help me!” Colby cried as soon as the conversation began turning towards his spirit’s bindings.

“Help you? And why would I do that?” The man responded. This threw Colby for a loop as he didn’t really have an answer. He didn’t know much about Spirits himself, after all.

“I- you’re supposed to? Erm… spirits bound bestow powers onto those they choose.” Colby stated.

“Again, I didn’t choose shit. And bestow powers? I don’t know how to bestow powers!” The man said as he looked around the town at the various people and objects on the street.

“But you did! My flame, you gave it to me!” Colby cried.

“Flame? Christ this shit is weird, light a candle or something, I don’t know. What flame are you talking about?”

Colby mustered up his mana and ignited his small flicker of fire on his fingertips. The man jolted suddenly and grimaced.

“Argh, ok stop whatever you’re doing! That’s unpleasant as hell.” Colby looked down, disheartened. If his one and only spell upset the spirit man, then how could he ever hope to gain more power?

“I’m sorry…” he sqeaked out.

The man looked down at Colby and softened his expression. “It’s… fine. Just triggered some bad memories is all.”

“So… will you help me?” Colby nervously asked.

“I don’t even know your name-”

“Colby!” Colby panickedly shouted out after realizing he didn’t introduce himself.

“Err, right… Richard, but people call me ‘Dick’. Anyways little Colby, I don’t know how to help you. Besides, I died and now I’ve got a chance to explore la-la land. You can’t seriously ask a guy to give that up?”

Colby’s chest hurt from anxiety. He was desperate. “Please Mr. Dick!” He begged. “My sister is going to die if I can’t become powerful enough to make money!”

However, Richard wasn’t listening to his heartfelt plea, as he was completely distracted by a passerby. It was a young Elven woman, though with Elves you could never really know their true age. She wore a grass short skirt and Richard tracked her with his entire head, entranced.

“Oh-hoho… sorry kid, but find some other spirit or… something…” Richard muttered haphazardly as he started to chase after the woman. But once he got a couple feet away he hit the air, as though there was a wall there.

“Oof!” He fell on his rear, rubbing his nose in frustration. “Aww, what??” He got up and started feeling around, confirming that there was indeed some kind of invisible barrier blocking his path. He began pushing against it, using all his weight.

Colby walked towards him, curious and hoping to help when Richard suddenly fell over as though the barrier disappeared.

“Wha-! Gods, I’ve spent enough time face down in the mud this last week to last a lifetime…” He muttered as he got up.

“M-mr Richard?” Colby asked nervously. Richard turned and looked at him intensely, thinking for a second before pointing his index finger at him.

“Stay there for a sec, kid.” Richard walked a few steps in the direction of the lady again before once more hitting the barrier.

“Hmm… Walk away from me for a second.” The man commanded. As Colby confusedly walked away, Richard seemed to be pushed towards him by some invisible force.

“Ohhh no… oh fuck, come on!” Richard seemed to have come to a revelation, even though Colby wasn’t quite sure what was going on. As the man turned his attention towards him, Colby was starting to connect the dots.

“You said I was bound to help you or something, didn’t you boy..?” Richard asked.

“I- err-” Colby just nodded his head, as Richard let out a frustrated sigh, taking off his hat and roughly ruffling his own hair.

“Guess I got no choice… But you’re gonna make it worth my while, ya’ hear?”

Colby thought that meant Richard was agreeing to help him, so he was cheering up. “B-but wait. Make it worth your while?” Colby asked.

“I wanna have fun! Ya’ know, let loose. You don’t get opportunities like this every day. I’m finally free from loan sharks, the fuzz and I’d like to see those damned Krautz get me here-” Richard looked at the blonde haired, Blue-eyed Colby before finishing his sentence “well, good enough anyways…”

“What do we need to do to have fun…?” Colby asked nervously.

“Well, it seems I can’t get more than a dozen feet away from you. Though it seems most people can’t see me…” Indeed, many pedestrians had been glancing Colby’s way as it seemed like the boy was talking and crying to nothing. “...I’m sure we can find ways to have fun with this. Just follow my lead- err wait, you said something about your sister, didn’t ya’?” Richard corrected himself.

“Y-Yes! My sister, she’s sick and we can’t afford medicine. I wish to borrow your magic Mr Spirit, so I can use it to earn money to buy a cure!” Colby explained.

Richard looked troubled for a moment. “Well… I don’t know shit about magic… But I know a thing or two about trickery. We just need money, right?” Colby confirmed as Richard smiled menacingly, looking towards a stand.