Ignore the voice

Mara shook her head hard. “No. Nope. This is stupid,” she muttered under her breath. “It was just a dumb ritual and I’m probably just tired or dehydrated or something.” She refused to acknowledge the voice and the absurdity of its claims. Soul swapping? Possession? That was insane. The kind of thing that only happened in horror movies or weird internet stories. Determined to act like nothing happened, Mara got up from her bed and went through her usual morning routine. She made herself her favorite breakfast, instant ramen. She then turned on the TV to watch her favorite morning anime, Fate/Stay Morning. For a while, it almost worked as Mara started to relax. Then everything went black.

When she regained consciousness, Mara found herself floating in the middle of a dark, eerie forest. She looked down at herself and felt a surge of panic. She is completely naked and her skin is translucent, emitting a soft pale glow as if she is a ghost. Before she could even process what had happened to her, she heard rustling and nervous footsteps nearby. A young man stumbled into the small clearing. He looked like the same age as her. He is wearing basic traveler’s clothes and a sword that he is gripping shakily. His eyes are wide with fear and excitement. As a fan of fantasy, this is obviously a newbie adventurer.

The moment the adventurer saw her, he let out a terrified shout. “A wraith!” he yelled, voice cracking. “Stay back, foul spirit!” Even though he was clearly scared, he raised his sword and charged forward clumsily, swinging it in a wide, reckless arc straight toward her. Mara had only a split second to react.