Phantasm

 Kai decided to go through with the training. It hasn't been very long, but he's doing all right. We've been doing unarmed sparring daily, and he's shown noticeable improvement. I don't know how well he's gonna handle himself in a real fight, but I think he's getting there. Tony was there with us today, watching. We decided to take a break, and went over to talk to him.

"How's he looking?" I asked.

"His footwork could use some improvement," he noted. "You oughta teach him how to half-moon properly. He should also do more warm up exercises. Strengthen his rotator muscles. As for you, your unarmed fighting style relies a bit too heavily on elbow strikes and jamming tactics. You should incorporate more reach into it."

I rolled my eyes. Of course he's overly critical.

"You got any other advice for the kid?" I asked.

Tony raised three fingers, and addressed Kai directly.

"There's three things you should always do if you wanna stay alive," he said. "Think rationally. Speak softly. And most importantly..."

He tossed his bokken into Kais arms, surprising him.

"Carry a big stick," Tony finished.

"What about you?" I asked. "Don't you need a big stick too?"

"I got a better one," Tony replied.

He produced, from the table beside him, an actual set of sheathed kodachis. He held one of them up and drew it out a few inches, exposing its bright, silver blade.

"Wow," Kai muttered.

"A real sword, huh?" I asked. "I thought your whole schtick was sparing your opponents or something."

"I prefer non-lethal options, yes," he said. "Mostly legal, and easier for getting information afterwards. However, if war is on the horizon, it might pay to have a lethal option on hand. Besides..."

He returned the blade to its sheath, gripped the hilt with both hands, and demonstrated a proper kendo stance.

"I don't have to draw the blade out," he finished.

I was about to mention that he had a point, but something caught my attention before I could say anything. During my last phone call with Daniel, he said that I should try training my senses, so that I could notice Eldritch energy before getting slapped in the face with it. I've been practicing with Spider Wolfie, which is difficult, because her energy is pretty weak. I have been able to sense it, though, so I seem to have improved somewhat.

I turned my attention to the corner of the room, where I had sensed a presence appear suddenly. Abdalin was standing there, watching us.

Tony followed my gaze, and grabbed his other kodachi, preparing himself.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I'm here at my bosses request," Abdalin said. "He has elected to remain personally out of the coming conflict. However, he is allowing, and in some cases, encouraging, his Emissaries in this world to confront the forest as they see fit."

I felt another presence manifest besides Abdalin before it became visible. What I saw was a little weird to describe. It was a literal fucking ghost. He was about my size, dressed in long robes that became more transparent towards the ends, and he wore a mask, bearing an eye bound in chains, and the letter A. His hair was down to his waste, and completely lacked color. And I don't mean it was black, or white, or whatever you associate with lacking color. I mean the very concept of color ended where his hair began. It was really weird to look at.

"They're doing a bang up job of that, ain't they?" the ghost said to Abdalin. He sounded a lot like Daniel only less matter-of-fact and sciency and more... goofy and eccentric.

"Even in death, you remain irritating," Abdalin sighed.

"Oh please," the ghost said coyly. "We both know your boss would get lonely without me."

The ghost turned his attention to me.

"Hya, kiddo," he said. "Heard you broke my old sword."

It suddenly clicked with me who this guy was. If the Proto-Godslayer was his sword, then that would make him...

"You're-" I managed to get out, before Tony spoke up.

"Marshal Wayne Smith," Tony said. "Better known as the Ace of Chaos. Time traveler, discoverer of Chaos Mana, and the Game Master's arch-rival. The man who cheated death enough times to win the Goddess of Destiny's heart. Blew yourself up trying to kill a Dying Man shard. Silvermit survived that incident, by the way."

The ghost remained silent for a moment, before turning back to Abdalin and saying "I like this weirdo."

Holy shit, I was talking to the ghost of my ancestor.

"Um... wow," I muttered. "Hi. Um... sorry about... the sword..."

"S'all good," Marshall replied. "I have a better one somewhere. I just have know idea about its current location."

"Why are you two here?" Tony demanded.

"Oh, I like spying on people with my ghost powers," Marshall said. "'Specially my Descendants."

"Wait, so how long have you been watching me?" I asked.

"Long enough to know you've got chemistry with that cute Japanese girl you're always hanging out with," he said. "Fun fact; her dad was borderline immortal before he died."

"Um... okay...," I said, feeling somewhat violated.

"As for me," Abdalin said. "I've come to talk business. As I mentioned earlier, my boss is encouraging certain Emissaries to counteract the forest. He has also learned that your acquaintance, Dr. Ferris, is aspiring to build a small army of Demi-Gods to combat the forest directly."

Tony shot me a look that I think was some kind of warning, while Marshall cocked his head to the side.

"Yeah, he is," I said. "What about it?"

"My boss is offering the service of one Emissary in particular to contribute to your cause," Abdalin said.

"So you're offering our army an additional soldier?" I asked.

"Precisely," Abdalin said.

"Which one?" Marshall asked, sounding a lot less silly all of a sudden.

Abdalin remained slent for a few seconds, seemingly preparing himself for what was about to unfold. Then he spoke a single name.

"Phantasm."

Marshall immediately flipped from cooky magical goofball to absolutely terrifying. The lights flickered, and Kai took cover behind me as the ghost raised his now distorted-by-Eldritch-power voice.

"HELL NO!" he bellowed directly in Abdalin's face. "How much of my Descendant's blood is on that monster's hands!?"

Abdalin, remaining stone faced and calm, shot back "How much of our Emissaries' blood is on yours?"

"Not nearly enough," Marshall retorted, in a menacing hiss.

Abdalin scofffed.

"Like it or not, you don't get a say in the matter," he said. "You aren't even alive to stop any of this. Phantasm is already on his way."

With that, I noticed yet another source of power approaching us. I turned towards the door, and everybody followed my gaze. In walked a man clad in loose fitting black clothing, along with a hooded robe obscuring most of his features.

"You!" Marshall hissed angrily.

"Hello, Chaos," the cloaked man said. "How are the wife and kids?"

I couldn't see his face, but I could hear, and even feel the smirk in his voice.

Silverlight flaired from Marshall's body, as if his anger was physically flaring up.

"If I had a physical body-!" Marshal growled.

"I would strike it down," the cloaked man interrupted.

Marshall remained silent for a while, but everyone in the room could still feel the rage he was giving off. Then he relaxed his ghost body a bit, placed one arm behind his back, and raised the other hand to move his mask slightly, enough to expose one eye, which was glowing a bright, pinkish-purple.

"I've got my eye on you," he muttered, as his body slowly faded away. "You miserable cunt..."

Marshall vanished completely, but I could still feel his power, and even more, his wrath. He really hated this guy...

"Pleasant as always," the cloaked man said, approaching me. "David Kallaway. My name is Phantasm. I will be working together with you an the Doctor."

"Fine then," I replied. "But don't go trying anything funny."

"Very well," the man said, turning to Tony. "You there. Get me some whiskey. Something strong."

"You're not in charge-," Tony began to retort, but something shifted in the atmosphere of the room.

A shiver of fear ran down my spine, Kai fell to his knees, terrified, Tony almost fell over as well, and even Abdalin seemed to flinch a bit. Phantasm had done something, and I'm not sure what, but everyone there was suddenly shaking in fear.

"Now," Phantasm said.

The sense of fear lifted, and Tony hesitatingly left the room to fulfill this guys request.

"You are truly a sadist," Abdalin said.

"Naturally," Phantasm said, taking a seat.

"I'll leave you to it," Abdalin said, before vanishing.

So, Phantasm's with us now. I don't know quite what to make of this guy. What I do know, is that judging by Marshall's reaction to him, this man is responsible for the deaths of several Descendant's. Several of my family members.

Every instinct I have is telling me not to trust this guy. And, like Tony advised, I think I should follow those instincts.