The city lights went out.
One by one, the buildings disappeared into darkness, leaving only the pale moonlight hanging above the rooftops.
Rive stood motionless.
Across the street, the little girl in the white dress continued staring at him.
She wasn't frightened.
She wasn't surprised.
She was smiling.
And somehow, that smile made the entire situation feel worse.
"Vikram," Rive whispered.
"I can see her."
"Good. Just checking whether I'm the only one having a terrible evening."
Vikram didn't respond.
His attention remained fixed on the girl.
Something was wrong.
He could sense spiritual energy surrounding her, but it wasn't behaving like ordinary human energy. It was faint, almost nonexistent, yet something ancient seemed to be sleeping beneath it.
The girl raised her hand again.
"Come here."
Her voice travelled across the empty street.
Rive looked at Vikram.
"Should we?"
"No."
"Agreed."
Neither moved.
The girl tilted her head.
"Why are you afraid?"
Rive frowned.
"I'm not afraid. I'm just being careful. There's a difference."
"Then come closer."
"See? That's exactly what someone suspicious would say."
Vikram finally stepped forward.
"Rive, stay behind me."
But before either of them could move, the girl disappeared.
Not by running.
Not by teleporting.
She simply vanished.
A moment later, her voice came from directly behind them.
"You're both very slow."
Rive turned around.
She was standing on the same rooftop.
Only a few feet away.
"AH!"
Rive instinctively floated backward and passed halfway through a ventilation pipe.
Vikram closed his eyes.
"Wonderful."
The girl giggled.
"You're funny."
Rive pulled himself out of the pipe.
"I'm glad someone is enjoying this."
---
The girl looked no older than eight or nine.
Her white dress was clean despite the dusty rooftop. Her black hair fell neatly over her shoulders, and a small silver pendant hung around her neck.
But her eyes were unusual.
They weren't entirely black or brown.
They reflected a faint silver light, like tiny stars trapped inside them.
Rive cautiously examined her.
"Okay. First question. Who are you?"
The girl smiled.
"I'm waiting."
"For what?"
"For someone."
Rive glanced at Vikram.
"That's helpful."
Vikram crouched slightly to meet her eye level.
"What's your name?"
The girl looked at him.
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yes."
She hesitated.
Then she answered.
"Meera."
Rive nodded.
"Nice to meet you, Meera. Now, could you explain how you can see us?"
Meera pointed at him.
"Because you're not supposed to be here."
Rive stared.
"That's becoming a very popular sentence."
Vikram's expression hardened.
"Who told you that?"
Meera pointed toward the sky.
Neither of them looked away from her.
"Someone who lives above the world."
A cold silence settled over the rooftop.
Rive slowly turned toward Vikram.
"Please tell me that's just a child's imagination."
Vikram didn't answer.
And that was enough.
---
Meera walked toward the edge of the rooftop.
Below them, the city was gradually returning to normal. Streetlights flickered back on. Cars continued moving. People stepped outside their homes, wondering why the electricity had suddenly disappeared.
Nobody noticed the girl standing above them.
Nobody except two ghosts.
"Are you dead?" Rive asked.
Meera shook her head.
"Not anymore."
Rive blinked.
"Not anymore?"
Vikram immediately stood.
"Meera, what do you mean?"
She touched the silver pendant around her neck.
"I was lost once. Then someone brought me back."
"Who?"
Meera looked at Rive.
"The person behind the door."
Rive's expression changed.
The forgotten door.
The strange visions.
The voice that had warned him.
Everything seemed to be connected.
"Wait," he said. "You know about that door?"
Meera nodded.
"It has many names. Some call it the Forgotten Door. Others call it the First Gate."
"And what does it actually do?"
"It remembers."
Rive frowned.
"Remembers what?"
"Everything that the worlds have forgotten."
She paused.
"Every soul. Every promise. Every life that was supposed to happen."
Rive felt a strange pressure inside his chest.
The visions he had witnessed after opening the door suddenly returned to his mind.
His past.
His possible future.
The mysterious third figure.
"Then why did it show me those things?"
Meera didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she walked closer.
"Because it recognized you."
---
Vikram stepped between them.
"That's enough."
Meera looked at him.
"You still don't trust anyone."
"Not when they know more about Rive than they should."
For the first time, Meera's smile disappeared.
"Then perhaps you should tell him the truth."
Vikram's expression became unreadable.
Rive looked between them.
"What truth?"
"Nothing you need to worry about right now," Vikram replied.
Rive stared at him.
"Oh, come on. Again?"
"Rive—"
"No. Every time something interesting happens, someone says I don't need to worry about it. I'm beginning to think that's the official language of this ghost world."
Meera giggled.
"He doesn't like telling you things."
"I've noticed."
Vikram sighed.
"Both of you are becoming a problem."
But his eyes remained serious.
He knew Meera wasn't an ordinary child.
And he knew that her arrival immediately after the door had opened was no coincidence.
---
Suddenly, Meera's silver pendant began glowing.
A thin line of light travelled across its surface.
Rive recognized the symbol.
Three circles.
Connected by a silver line.
The same mark that had appeared on the ancient door.
He stepped closer.
"Where did you get that?"
Meera held the pendant tightly.
"It was given to me."
"By whom?"
She looked down.
"I don't remember."
Her voice had changed.
For the first time, she seemed genuinely frightened.
Then a strange sound came from somewhere beneath the rooftop.
A metallic scratching.
Slow.
Heavy.
Something was climbing the side of the building.
Vikram immediately moved in front of Rive and Meera.
"Stay behind me."
Rive looked over the edge.
At first, he saw nothing.
Then a long black hand appeared over the rooftop.
Its fingers curled around the concrete.
Another hand followed.
Something pulled itself upward.
It had the shape of a human, but its body seemed to be made from layers of dark smoke and broken shadows.
A pale mask covered its face.
There were no eyes.
Only a narrow vertical crack where its mouth should have been.
Rive recognized the energy immediately.
"Watchers?"
Vikram shook his head.
"No."
The creature slowly stood.
"This is something else."
The masked figure tilted its head toward Rive.
A distorted voice emerged from beneath its mask.
"THIRD VESSEL…"
Rive's expression tightened.
"Oh, fantastic. Another creature that knows my name."
The creature raised one arm.
"RETURN."
The word echoed across the rooftop.
Meera grabbed Rive's sleeve.
"Don't let it take you."
Vikram's spiritual energy began spreading through the rooftop.
"Rive, get Meera out of here."
"What about you?"
"I'll handle it."
Rive looked at the creature.
Then at Meera.
Then back at Vikram.
"I'm beginning to hate this phrase."
---
The masked creature attacked.
Its shadow stretched across the rooftop like a living wave.
Vikram raised one hand.
"Nature Authority."
The air twisted.
A powerful gust struck the creature, forcing it backward.
But instead of falling, the creature dissolved into black mist.
Vikram's eyes widened.
"Rive! Move!"
The mist appeared directly behind him.
A black hand reached toward his shoulder.
Rive reacted instinctively.
He stretched out his palm.
For a fraction of a second, everything stopped.
The creature's hand froze.
The surrounding air became silent.
A tiny silver crack appeared in the space between Rive and the creature.
Then—
The creature lost its arm.
Not cut.
Not broken.
It simply vanished from existence.
Rive stared at his hand.
"What… did I just do?"
Vikram grabbed his shoulder.
"Don't use that power carelessly!"
"I didn't even know I was using it!"
The creature stepped backward.
For the first time, it appeared hesitant.
Its mask turned toward Rive.
Then it spoke again.
"THE KEY IS AWAKE."
Meera suddenly began trembling.
"No…"
The creature slowly raised its remaining hand.
And pointed directly at her.
"THE KEY'S KEEPER."
Before anyone could react, Meera's pendant shattered.
A brilliant silver light exploded across the rooftop.
---
When the light faded, the masked creature was gone.
Meera stood frozen.
Her expression had completely changed.
Rive approached carefully.
"Meera?"
She didn't respond.
"Hey. Are you okay?"
Slowly, she lifted her head.
Her silver eyes were now glowing brightly.
Then she spoke in a voice that didn't belong to a child.
"Vikram."
Vikram went completely still.
"It's been a long time."
Rive looked at him.
"You know that voice?"
Vikram didn't answer.
The girl continued.
"You were supposed to protect the vessel. Instead, you brought him here."
Vikram clenched his fists.
"Who are you?"
Meera smiled.
A cold, unfamiliar smile.
"Don't you remember?"
Her gaze shifted toward Rive.
"The boy who opened the door has finally returned."
She raised her hand.
Behind her, the air split open.
A familiar black doorway appeared.
The same door from the In-Between.
But this time, something was standing on the other side.
A tall figure wearing a silver crown.
Rive couldn't see its face.
Yet he felt something inside his soul respond to its presence.
The figure slowly extended one hand.
And spoke.
"Welcome back, my third vessel."
Rive stepped backward.
Vikram's expression turned pale.
For the first time since Rive had met him, the Guardian of the Afterlife looked genuinely afraid.
"Rive…"
His voice was barely audible.
"Whatever happens, don't answer that thing."
The crowned figure tilted its head.
Then it spoke one final sentence.
"Ask your guardian why he was ordered to kill you."
Silence.
Rive slowly turned toward Vikram.
"...What?"
Vikram said nothing.
And somewhere beyond the newly opened doorway, a familiar voice began laughing.
It was Arin.
End of Chapter 21.