I took the phone and dragged the progress bar.
Just as the boy said those words, the ghost in ancient clothing stood at the edge of the frame.
I stared at the ghost's expression and found the trace of something unusual I'd been looking for. The ghost glanced quickly at the boy, then looked toward the camera, revealing undisguised regret.
All of this happened in the space of a single sentence, and the man's gaze, like the focus of the image, was fixed on the boy.
I watched closely. The more I watched, the more I thought of myself.
I shuddered, a sudden chill spreading through my heart.
"That man's ability... isn't just communicating with the dead. It's more than that... death..." I lowered the phone, but kept watching the video as it continued to play.
Mingxite's disappearance appeared on the screen again.
"He can influence the definition of death!" I blurted out my guess. "He can influence Mingxite, influence the spirits connected to death! And the underworld... After the underworld disappeared, all those ghosts were trapped..."
I spoke as I thought, and cold sweat had already soaked my back.
The man had said the transfer station disappeared, ghosts appeared in the human world and became trapped. Some escaped on their own, and later they all got out.
The scene at the end of the video, with the old woman appearing alongside him... That must have been what he wanted.
Someone who'd been able to communicate with the dead through letters since childhood would naturally take it a step further and want to meet them in person.
When the world hadn't yet deteriorated and the underworld still existed, there was no way his wish could come true.
But then the heavens had their personality erased by me and became nothing