Kael hesitated for a brief moment before stepping into the portal, following the old ghost.
The moment he crossed the threshold, his senses distorted—he felt weightless, as if the very concept of gravity had abandoned him. His soul twisted and stretched unnaturally, and a strange pressure built around him.
"Relax, kid. You're acting like you've never traveled between soul spaces before," the old ghost's voice rang out beside him, calm and amused.
Kael scowled. "Oh, my apologies. Next time I get ripped through space, I'll be sure to do it gracefully."
The old ghost chuckled. "Good attitude. You'll need it."
Before Kael could ask what he meant, the weightlessness suddenly ended. He felt himself plummet, and in the next instant, he was somewhere else—a vast, chaotic world of wind and destruction.
A violent storm raged across the endless sky. The winds were unlike anything he'd ever seen—razor-sharp currents sliced through the air, twisting like living beasts.
In the distance, an enormous tornado loomed, swallowing everything in its path. Lightning crackled through it, striking in wild, unpredictable bursts.
But what made Kael's soul tremble was the fire—scarlet flames weaving through the tornado, burning even within the storm's wrath. It was as if the elements themselves had lost all reason.
For the first time since his death, Kael felt fear.
His soul flickered as the winds cut into him, sharp as blades. A searing pain shot through his form, making him flinch.
"You brought me to this?" Kael snapped, forcing himself to remain steady.
The old ghost merely floated beside him, utterly unfazed. "What? Too intense for you?"
Kael gritted his teeth. "This isn't training. This is suicide."
"Nonsense," the old ghost said, waving a hand dismissively. "This is Windfall. If you want to learn the Concept of the Wind, you have to experience real wind."
"This isn't real wind—this is a damn natural disaster!" Kael shot back. He could already feel parts of his soul dimming from the constant slashes of wind.
The old ghost let out a hearty laugh. "That's exactly what makes it fun."
Kael eyed him warily. Though he had always been on guard around the old ghost, this place made it painfully clear—if the old man wanted to get rid of him, there was nothing he could do about it. He was completely at the ghost's mercy.
Yet, despite the overwhelming chaos, the old ghost merely crossed his arms and hovered lazily in place, completely unbothered. "Well, kid, are you just gonna stand there and get shredded, or are you actually gonna learn something?"
Kael inhaled sharply—not that he needed to breathe as a soul, but it was a reflex he hadn't yet lost. His fear was real, but so was his desire to survive. If this was what it took to master the wind...
Then he had no choice but to endure.
Kael relinquished control over his soul, surrendering himself to the raging winds of Windfall. At first, he felt an eerie sense of freedom—weightless, unbound, and untethered. But that illusion shattered in an instant.
A sudden gust hurled him sideways. Before he could react, something jagged and unyielding slammed into him—a rock, sharp as a blade. Agony tore through his very being.
Kael screamed. The pain was nothing like what he'd experienced in life—it was worse. A soul's pain was raw, unfiltered, more intense than any physical suffering he had ever known. It wasn't just his body hurting—his existence itself felt like it was being ripped apart.
He clenched his teeth as the force of impact scattered part of the white mist around him. A creeping dread settled in his gut. If this keeps up, I'll be shredded until there's nothing left of me.
"Isn't a ghost supposed to pass through things?!" Kael bellowed, fury and panic mixing in his voice.
A hearty, maddening laugh echoed through the storm. "My, oh my… little lass, you don't know?" the old ghost chuckled. "There are places in this world that can trap ghosts. Windfall is one of them."
Kael's anger flared. Of course, of course the old bastard had conveniently failed to mention that detail before throwing him in here.
"Damn it!" Kael snarled as he fought to regain his bearings, the chaotic winds dragging him in every direction. He barely managed to steady himself before another gust swept him up like a ragdoll.
He had to figure this out. His soul was already dimming, the white mist thinning every time he collided with something. I don't have much time.
Gritting his teeth, he focused. The wind had a rhythm—it had to. Everything in nature followed patterns, no matter how chaotic it seemed. He had to find the flow, align himself with it, move with it instead of against it.
But nothing made sense.
No matter how much he strained his senses, the wind's movements seemed erratic, shifting without reason. He had no idea what he was looking for.
"Old ghost!" he shouted, frustration laced in his voice. "What am I even trying to see? What's the point of this?!"
Another sudden gust caught him off guard, sending him hurtling toward another rock. He braced himself—impact—agony shot through his soul again, another chunk of mist dispersing into the wind.
The old ghost, still hovering effortlessly amidst the raging storm, let out a long, amused sigh. "My, oh my… won't that kill the whole purpose of coming to Windfall, little lass?"
Kael barely held back a curse. Of course the old bastard wasn't going to just tell him.
But this wasn't a lesson he could afford to fail. His very existence depended on it.
Gritting his teeth, Kael forced himself to push past the pain. Think. Observe. Adapt. There had to be a way to survive this.
And if the old ghost wouldn't give him answers, he'd just have to find them himself.