Ultimate Evolution I Became the Master of the World

The thrill Michael got from peeking into the Ghost Realm vanished in a heartbeat.

"Yeah, this eye might kill me someday, but that's a problem for future me. Right now, I gotta get outta here."

Michael shook off the overthinking and made his way to David and the gang.

But for David and the crew, it was pitch black all around.

"David, we've been walking for like half an hour and still can't find a way out. Are we stuck here forever?" Aria said, her voice all shaky.

"Nikolai said this place is a Ghost Realm. Do you even know what that is? Could there really be ghosts? What if what happened in the classroom was some spooky stuff? If there are real ghosts, we might never get out," another student said, all cautious.

David, trying to sound serious, said, "Chill out, there's no way we're stuck here forever. We'll starve to death in a few days. It won't take a lifetime."

Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the darkness.

"Who's there?" David tensed up, and everyone else was shaking in their boots.

"Relax, it's me, Michael."

Michael's voice cut through the dark.

"Hold up, don't come any closer. You say you're Michael, but can you prove it? What if you're a ghost?" David said.

Michael shot back, "Quit yapping."

David let out a sigh of relief, "Okay, it's really you, not a ghost."

"Everyone, grab hands and follow me. Don't get lost. I can get us out of this school."

"Michael, you really know how to get us out?" Aria asked from behind.

Michael led them down the stairs, not missing a beat. "Yeah, I've got a handle on this so-called Ghost Realm. It's all dark and makes people see things. What you see might not be real. Even though there are still some things I don't get, if everything goes right, getting out shouldn't be too hard. Wait, there's something ahead."

He suddenly shouted and stopped dead in his tracks.

Out of nowhere, a creepy, weird cry echoed in the stairwell. The sound cut through the darkness and hit everyone's ears.

"What is that? It sounds like a baby crying, but not really," a student asked, shaking with fear.

"Don't waste time, move it. It's a Ghost Baby, and it's coming for us," Michael said, looking dead serious.

It was the ghost that came out of Nikolai's body, known as the Ghost Baby.

Even though its danger level was a mystery, it was still super dangerous.

Everyone picked up the pace, and with Michael leading, they bolted out of the school building as fast as they could.

Finally out of the stairwell, hope seemed just within reach.

But then, a baby with a bluish-black body crawled along the wall at a freaky, spider-like speed.

Its round eyes locked onto everyone, empty of any human emotion, just a dead, eerie stare.

The Ghost Baby seemed to recognize Michael and let out a freaky cry, reaching its arm towards him.

That creepy baby arm stretched out, snaking through the darkness.

Michael, leading the group, didn't notice a thing.

Suddenly, he felt a chill creeping up from behind, just like when that ghost attacked him in the bathroom.

He was about to turn around when a sharp pain hit the back of his head. His skin and flesh tore open, and a blood-red eye popped out, spinning a few times.

The pain made him stop, almost falling as he grabbed the wall for support.

A strange cry echoed, and the baby's arm stopped right behind him.

A red eye on the back of Michael's head stared down the baby's arm, glowing faintly, stopping its attack.

The Ghost Baby's head twisted halfway, giving Michael a weird look. The arm slowly retracted.

"Michael, why'd you stop?" someone asked.

The pain eased up, and Michael took a deep breath. "It's nothing, just that Ghost Baby trying to get me, but I'm good."

He instinctively touched the back of his head and felt the eye.

He could now see what was happening behind him, like a rearview mirror in his mind.

"Did this eye just save me?"

Michael remembered what Nikolai had said and thought, 'This eye is a ghost too. It's waking up with all this action. Once it fully wakes up, I'm toast, just like Nikolai.'

Is this what being a Ghost Handlermeans? Humans using ghost powers, but also getting used by ghosts.

Michael gave a bitter smile, thinking, 'What the hell? Is this the price for ghost powers? Or just a countdown to my death?'

The Ghost Baby's attack on Michael failed, but it wasn't giving up. It crawled down the stairwell and leaped, latching onto a girl from behind. Its skinny arms wrapped around her neck, clinging to her like a leech.

The girl's eyes went wide with terror, screaming and trying to shake the Ghost Baby off.

"Sophia Delacroix, are you okay?" The nearby students freaked out, shining their phone lights on Sophia.

In the light, the baby's head twisted, staring at everyone. Its arms strangled Sophia's neck, trying to snap it. Sophia couldn't speak, her head tilted back, almost suffocating, her face turning red with pain. As the baby's skin touched Sophia's, they started to stick together.

In the dim light, seeing that bluish-black baby clinging to Sophia, everyone's hearts nearly stopped from fear.