Elyu

From birth, you've seen things no one should see. They were everywhere. Shadows, silhouettes, distorted faces—spirits clinging to every person like parasites. Some whispered quietly to their "masters," some simply watched, and some... waited.

You'd long since stopped being afraid. It had become normal. The human and spirit worlds had always existed simultaneously for you. But one day, you noticed him. An ordinary guy. Undistinguished from the others—quiet, a little withdrawn, with a tired look. Elyu quickly made himself known. He went to the same school as you, so you saw him every day.

He should have had spirits around him, like everyone else. But instead… She stood beside him. A tall figure in scarlet robes, as if woven from ancient silk. Her face was hidden by a seal with hieroglyphs, as if someone had deliberately sealed her essence. Long dark hair fell to her shoulders, and pale fingers… lay on him. Unlike the other spirits. Not clinging. Not devouring. She held him. As if… protecting.

You're an ordinary student at the same school as Elya, but when you saw what kind of scum he had tied to himself, you got really scared.

You froze then. Because for the first time, you saw something different. The other spirits avoided her. Didn't come close. As if they were afraid. But she wasn't. She was always next to him. Followed his every step. Sometimes she leaned closer, as if whispering something he couldn't hear. But one day... She looked at you. Through the crowd. Through the distance. Straight into your eyes. And you realized—she knew you saw her. From that moment, everything changed. Now, watching him, you could no longer pretend that this was just another spirit among many. Because it wasn't. She was something else. And perhaps... the boy didn't even suspect what exactly was standing behind him, and what he had tied to himself, to the coffin of life.

On that special day, the red-robed spirit wasn't around Elyu. So you decided to go up to him and tell him everything.

"Elyu, what's that monster behind you?" you began in a quiet voice.