I broke into a cold sweat and threw off the covers, jumping straight out of bed.
My sister jumped in fright and instinctively started to come help me, complaining, "Brother, don't..."
She didn't finish. She tilted her face up and stared at my expression, stunned.
My expression must have looked awful.
My gaze wasn't focused on my sister. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her shudder. Her stiff body edged toward me, but she didn't take a step forward.
I went to her and grabbed her arm, trying to shield her behind me.
That figure followed naturally behind my sister, as though programmed to trail her automatically at a fixed distance.
I reached out to stop it. It suddenly turned to look at me.
In that instant, I saw the malice in its eyes.
The malice vanished at once, and its figure disappeared with it.
I stared at the spot, feeling the arm beneath my palm tremble. Slowly, I calmed down and comfortingly patted my sister's back.
"It's all right now. Don't be afraid. It's over," I said, feeling a sense of déjà vu at the scene before me.
The last time I'd comforted someone like this had been when I comforted Mu Ai.
Mu Ai...
The memory suddenly came back to me, adding to my unease.
This world was no longer one where the Ghost King ran rampant, but that didn't mean things were much better. The Ghost King was still here. The Courier Ghost might still be alive.
Mu Ai and Mu Ge might not have been taken away by the Ancient-Dressed Ghost. They might still be in this real world, and still alive.
I pushed the thought aside and looked at my sister.
She slowly calmed down. She didn't look at me, but leaned