Years passed quickly, and Zoe and Jill’s relationship became closer. Zoe was now sixteen, and by the end of the year, he would be taking his university entrance exams. If he passed and got into the school of his dreams, he would leave the orphanage and move into the school’s dormitory. Just the thought of it made Zoe happy. But the future that awaited him was not what he expected, as a tragedy was about to unfold—one that would change his life forever, something Zoe could never have imagined, not even in his wildest dreams.
In the orphanage, there were always older kids who enjoyed bullying the younger ones. They formed a gang, aggressively taking whatever they wanted or simply dragging some poor kid out to beat them up for fun. They found satisfaction in the frightened looks on the younger kids’ faces when they passed by and would laugh heartily when they saw another child crying, bruised, and cowering on the cold, hard floor. Zoe was one of those kids who suffered under their bullying. He was often treated like a punching bag by the older kids. Even as he got older, he couldn’t escape their torment, and during those times, Jill could only stand by and watch, unable to do anything.
One bright and sunny day, it was the day of the university entrance exams. Olwen, the biggest kid in Zoe’s class, led a group of older kids to find some younger ones to bully. Zoe was the smallest and easiest to pick on. In most orphanages, there were strict caretakers to keep things under control, so issues like hunger or lack of clothing were rare. But leading fights and bullying other kids? That happened all the time, even under the caretakers’ watch.
Zoe James, having inherited good genes from his parents, was born with fair skin and a slender figure. He was polite and gentle in speech, and he never got into conflicts with any of the younger kids at the orphanage, not even over the smallest things. Even the cook’s cat loved him, often rubbing against Zoe’s legs whenever he went to the dining hall for meals. Of course, the cat would always be rewarded with a big chunk of bread or a bone with plenty of meat still on it to gnaw on.
Living in that place, Zoe had become so accustomed to the bullying that he barely even recognized it anymore. This time, Olwen and his gang had a new plan. They gathered outside the bathroom, scheming with malicious smiles. Olwen grabbed the shirt of a kid standing nearby and whispered instructions in his ear: find a way to get Zoe to the bathroom. The plan was to strip Zoe of all his clothes and film him naked on a phone.
 Zoe had never harbored any ill will or said anything bad to Olwen, so he couldn’t understand why Olwen would do something so terrible to him and not someone else. When Zoe’s shirt was torn in half by two of the older boys, exposing his upper body, tears streamed down his face as he grabbed Olwen’s hand, begging and asking, “Why?”
“Why? Because we’re bored and wanted to try something new, and guess what, you’re the first one we get to try it on. Smile, Zoe.”
Olwen brushed off Zoe’s hand with one hand while holding the phone with the other, laughing as he filmed. Zoe’s eyes turned red with rage as he looked at Olwen. Just for fun, they were willing to destroy someone’s dignity and humanity. Why?
Jill knelt nearby, watching Zoe being tormented. The anger made her transparent spirit tremble, flickering as if it were about to dissolve into smoke. She couldn’t do anything to help Zoe escape from them, just as she hadn’t been able to escape the humiliation and abuse that led to her death. If Zoe ended up like her, there was no way he could survive; he would die just like she did. The mere thought of it made Jill’s anger surge even more, her spirit trembling violently.
Meanwhile, Zoe was being held down by two older boys who were trying to strip him completely. Zoe’s eyes were bloodshot, his hands clenching tightly against the cold tile floor. He didn’t want to be destroyed like this; he couldn’t let others trample over him. With a surge of natural defiance, Zoe fought back, shouting at the top of his lungs. Unable to control his mind any longer, Zoe screamed with all his might. This defiance awakened his latent ability to absorb spirits, pulling Jill into his body—a body with two souls.
Once inside a living body, Jill went wild like a puppet freed from its strings. She threw off the two boys holding Zoe and then lunged at Olwen, grabbing his legs and hurling him out the window. Caught off guard, Olwen couldn’t react in time and fell from the second-floor bathroom window to the ground below. The two other boys panicked and fled, while Jill, still in Zoe’s body, smiled in satisfaction.
 Reflexively, she opened her mouth wide, revealing a dark abyss that sucked in Olwen’s soul, now hovering in the air. Swallowing the soul that had just left its warm body, Jill felt a rush of exhilaration, as if she could feel the energy coursing through Zoe’s body, digesting and merging with the soul she had just consumed. When Jill exited Zoe’s body, her spirit seemed stronger, her once transparent form now more opaque, as she absorbed the powerful energy.
What was this? Was it the way to gain power by consuming human souls? If she could devour many souls, would she be able to come back to life? Or would she become an immortal and powerful spirit capable of killing with ease? She needed to figure this out, but she couldn’t let Zoe know. If he knew, he would hate her and refuse to let her possess his body again, shattering her plans to regain her humanity or become a mighty spirit.
Jill knelt beside Zoe, who lay unconscious after the intense experience his body had just endured.
Downstairs, chaos erupted. Olwen had died from his severe injuries despite attempts to save him. Zoe was taken back to his room by the school’s caretakers, and when he woke up, he was sent to a juvenile detention center for manslaughter in self-defense. At sixteen, his bright future was suddenly shut down. While his classmates struggled with their university entrance exams, Zoe spent a week in solitary confinement in a dark, filthy room with not a sliver of light.
The case was difficult to judge. The phone left at the scene showed footage of the two boys holding Zoe down and tearing his clothes, with Olwen’s gleeful voice in the background. There was no video of Olwen being thrown out the window, just the unreliable testimony of the two bullies. How could a skinny, frail kid like Zoe have overpowered two bigger boys and thrown a heavyweight like Olwen out the window? It was possible that Olwen had fallen by himself and the other two boys had pinned the blame on Zoe.
It was impossible to prove who was at fault. To outsiders, based on the video, it was clear that Zoe was just a victim. Yet, they couldn’t let him off easily. Releasing Zoe could turn the orphanage into a breeding ground for more unchecked bullying, possibly leading to more fatal incidents.
And so, the victim became the perpetrator. These baseless charges resulted in Zoe receiving a three-year sentence in a juvenile detention center. It felt like he was trapped in a nightmare, one so horrifying that he couldn’t understand how he ended up in prison. Jill stuck close to him, saying nothing, just watching him. She didn’t see the crime she had committed against Zoe; she was only anxious to understand why Zoe could absorb her spirit, allowing her to consume the souls of the dead as sustenance. 
But she didn’t dare say a word. If she told him, Zoe would hate her, ignore her, and her plans to regain her humanity or become a powerful spirit would be dashed. So, she stayed by his side, trying to cheer him up with stories to help him forget the unfortunate incident.
But since entering the detention center, Zoe hadn’t spoken a word, not even acknowledging Jill’s voice. He woke up each morning, did the tasks assigned by the caretakers, and at night, he crawled under the covers and fell asleep. Some nights, Jill could hear Zoe sobbing quietly under the blankets, crying until he was too exhausted to stay awake, and then sleeping, while Jill lay silently beside him, just as before.