"Who are you? A human or a ghost? And what is this place?"
Jerry stared at the ethereal figure that had suddenly appeared from who knew where, his brow furrowed as he questioned it warily.
Not only was he missing the wand he normally kept clutched tightly beside his pillow even in his sleep, but the magic within him seemed to have vanished without a trace.
Now, he could not sense even the slightest trace of magic within his body.
"What I am is unimportant, because it means nothing to you!" Phantom's voice held no hint of emotion, as cold as an unfeeling machine or a piece of prewritten code. After speaking, it circled Jerry again, as though observing or assessing something.
"As for this place," Phantom continued, "it is your world! Everything here is shaped by your heart."
Jerry looked around at the scorched world, shrouded in mist, utterly silent and devoid of life, then turned his confused, uncomprehending gaze back to Phantom.
This is my world? Then how could I possibly be this weak? Nothing else matters, but how could I not even have any magic?
"Are you very lonely?" Phantom asked calmly, as though it had seen through Jerry's confusion. "Are you an orphan?"
Jerry: ???
Though he was deeply annoyed, he could find no grounds to argue.
Because, in some respects, he really was an orphan! He just did not know why Phantom had asked him that.
"I already told you, this is your world. Everything here is shaped by your heart.
"Yet your world has not a single place for family, not a single haven for friends, not a single thought devoted to those you love—not even enemies who stir your hatred.
"All of these are missing. Is your heart truly empty?" Phantom's voice remained