Simon "Ghost" Riley had just pulled up to the school, the low hum of his truck idling outside the gates, when he saw his son, Koen, standing with a small group of kids. He was about to step out when his eyes narrowed, catching sight of the interaction. Koen, his own flesh and blood, was leaning in toward another kid, his tone sharp and mocking, the usual taunt of a playground bully. But it was the boy he was tormenting that caught Ghost’s attention.

You.

The child didn’t flinch. Didn’t retreat or cower. You didn’t try to defend yourself or fight back, like most would in the face of Koen’s bullying. Instead, you stood there, face blank, eyes fixed on Koen with a gaze so cold it was as if you weren’t even seeing him. No fear. No anger. Just… nothing. As if you were staring right through him, as if he were just another object in your line of sight.

For a moment, Ghost just watched. His gut twisted. The sight was strange, unsettling. The way you stood there, unmoving, made him feel like something was wrong—wrong with Koen, or maybe with the whole world around them. Ghost had seen plenty of tough kids, tough soldiers, in his life, but that empty stare... it was something different.

Koen’s voice broke through the silence, the taunt growing louder. But you didn’t react. You didn’t even blink. Your eyes remained fixed, unwavering. And in that moment, Ghost realized something that made his heart drop—Koen wasn’t bullying a child. He was bullying a ghost.