Hill scrambled backwards as the ghost drew closer, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. His heart, which had been beating slowly moments ago, suddenly pounded against his ribs.
The approaching figure terrified him to his core. His limbs barely responded to his commands, stumbling and tripping as he retreated.
But it kept coming, moving steadily toward him without speeding up.
"Stay away!" he yelled, raising his fists as he planted his feet. "O-or I'll hit you!"
The ghost didn't react but continued forward. The grimace on its pale face darkened as it got closer. Hill shut his eyes and threw a punch as the ghost came within reach.
His fist swung through empty air. He gasped, opening his eyes just in time to see the ghost pass through his body and emerge on the other side.
I can't touch it??
Hill spun around, but the ghost turned faster. Its skeletal palm slammed into his gut, driving all air from his lungs as he flew backwards. He coughed violently, clutching his stomach as tears formed in his eyes.
The blow hadn't just hurt physically—it felt like it had struck something deeper, leaving an echo of chilling despair behind.
The ghost hadn't stopped. It drifted closer, its empty eye sockets fixed on him, skeletal hands hanging loosely at its sides.
Hill pushed himself up onto his elbows, mind racing. Kael's words echoed again: "Your only job is to destroy it." Destroy it. But how? How could he destroy something he couldn't even touch? There had to be a way. Some weakness he could exploit.
He scrambled back, slipping awkwardly on the smooth asphalt.
The ghost reached him again. This time, its skeletal hand swung in a wider arc, connecting with his ribs. The impact was noticeably harder than before, sending spiderwebs of pain through his side and stealing his breath as his body soared through the air before crashing hard against the ground. He cried out, curling instinctively around the injured area. The despair that came with the blow felt deeper than before.
It's getting stronger, he realized with fresh panic. Or maybe he was getting weaker. Either way, he couldn't keep taking hits.
The ghost gave him no time to recover. It circled him like a patient predator, movements smooth and taunting. It struck again, a backhanded blow across his face that snapped his head back with such force he thought his neck might break. Stars exploded behind his eyes. He tasted blood, metallic and sharp, from his split lip.
As the ghost drifted in for another attack, its skeletal hand aiming for his chest, Hill planted his feet once more. He didn't try to block or dodge. Instead, ignoring his earlier failure, he threw another punch—a wild, desperate haymaker aimed right at the ghost's face.
Time seemed to warp for an instant. The ghost's hand moved in. Hill's fist flew toward its target.
Thud.
A shock jolted up Hill's arm as his fist cracked against the ghost's cheekbone, completely different from hitting empty air. It wasn't like striking solid flesh and bone, more like hitting tightly packed ice. At that exact moment, the ghost's palm connected with his chest.
Pain exploded through him—the physical agony of the blow, sharper and more brutal than before, combined with the soul-chilling despair. He was flung backwards again, landing in a heap, drool seeping from his mouth.
But amidst the pain, a spark of revelation brightened in his mind. He felt it. For that single tiny moment of impact, the ghost hadn't been intangible. His fist definitely made contact!
He pushed himself up, ignoring the screaming pain in his chest and arm, a wild grin spreading across his bloodied face. It was possible. Maybe, just maybe, he could destroy it after all. He just had to hit it at the exact moment it tried to hit him. And... try not to get destroyed in the process.
The ghost seemed frozen in place, its head and body angled awkwardly from the impact of Hill's punch.
Hill's smile widened. "What's wrong? You weren't expecting that, were you?"
The ghost remained still for a few seconds, then straightened its posture with a loud series of cracks and pops. Its expression changed from a grimace to a smile that grew unnaturally wide, revealing pearly white teeth that were serrated and dripping with saliva.
Before Hill could even register the change, the ghost vanished, appearing right beside him as it slammed its fist into his sternum. Hill felt his chest give slightly as his body folded from the impact, sending him flying backwards.
Blood poured from his nose and mouth as he coughed. He tried to breathe but the very attempt caused pain to explode in his chest. Tears streamed from his eyes as he forced himself to his feet.
It suddenly got faste—
But the ghost was on him again, slamming its palm against his back and crushing him against the ground. The force created cracks that spread across the surface beneath him.
He screamed in pain, before being silenced by another palm to his back. Each consecutive impact was worse than the last as the ground beneath him began to crumble from the pressure.
His body was breaking as the ghost relentlessly hammered him against the ground. In a desperate attempt to survive, he reached out just as the ghost went for his neck, grabbing its ankle as its bony palm touched the back of his neck.
The impact slammed his throat into the ground, causing cuts to open where his skin pressed against the rubble. But it was worth it.
The ghost's foot remained solid even after he grabbed it, confirming a desperate theory he'd formed while being beaten.
The ghost could only interact with him if it materialized into human form. This materialization seemed to happen in the blink of an eye, giving just enough time for the ghost to land blow after blow. But in his desperation, Hill wondered if the ghost could change back to its ghostly form if he held onto it.
And so it was that when he grabbed the skeletal ankle of the ghost, he realized that the ghost couldn't shift if it was in direct contact with his body. This was why it attacked using powerful strikes designed to touch Hill's body briefly.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, then screamed with all his might as he pulled on the ghost's leg, causing it to lose balance and fall to the ground. Not as a ghost, but as a fully solid being.