Angelina whimpered quietly to herself. In the relatively short time she'd been alive, she had never felt this afraid before. Not even the monster attack the previous week had instilled this much terror in her. 

She crouched down and curled up into a ball as the shadows closed in around her. It wasn't just the darkness that scared her, but also the lack of tangible form that the space exuded. In the silence of the spirit plane, Angelina's quiet, choking sobs echoed endlessly through the empty air. 

She rolled onto her side, her knees tucked tightly behind her arms. Tears fell from her porcelain face, and she sniffled into the endless darkness. She couldn't even see her hand when she placed it less than a centimeter from her face. 

She knew she had to get up, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She couldn't stop herself from feeling this awful horror that threatened to plunge her past the point of no return. Though she tried her hardest not to stare into the abyss of blackness before her, this abyss nonetheless gazed back. 

“What are you doing?” a voice said from the darkness. Angelina shrieked. 

“Stay away from me!” she yelled, and she scrambled backwards, away from the unknown spirit. 

“Aww, don't be like that! My name’s Luka, what's yours?!” 

Angelina didn't answer; she was too busy hyperventilating. 

“Stop moving away!” Luka said, “it hurts my feelings.” 

Angelina hit a wall. There was a slightly hollow sound as her head smacked it, and she cradled her skull impulsively. She cried out in pain and surprise. 

“You know, you're the first person I've talked to in like, three million years. The least you could do is have a little conversation.” 

“Who are you?” Angelina asked fearfully, “where are you?” 

“Oh, right! You can't see me. Let me fix that.” Fingers snapped, and the darkness changed immediately into a bright blue light. The spirit floated directly in front of her, ignoring the concept of personal space. Its body was formed of pure starlight, reflecting endless galaxies within its depths. A silver tunic wrapped loosely around Luka's body, and the spirit's eyes glinted with intelligence. 

“I'm a mana spirit!” Luka exclaimed proudly. 

“A… mana spirit?” Angelina looked skeptical. 

“Yeah! I'm a spirit with authority over mana! Isn't it cool?!” Luka did a little twirl, staring at the girl expectantly. 

Angelina smiled politely and clapped her hands. “Yeah,” she said half-heartedly, “that's… really cool…” 

“Isn't it though?! It's so fun being me! I couldn't imagine myself as anyone else! Could you?!” 

“No… not really.” 

“That's right!” Luka said exuberantly, “I'm unique! The only me there is! Are you the only you there is?!” 

“Um… I think so?” 

“But why don't you know so?!” Luka smiled, staring expectantly at her. 

Angelina's head hurt. This spirit's personality was too much even for her! She was just about to formulate a response when Luka answered the question for her. 

“I guess if we take into account multiverse theories, it's possible that there could be more of you… Hmmm… That would be pretty weird, though. What do you think?!” 

Angelina looked at him strangely. “I don't know what a… many-verse is, so… I don't really know…” 

“In that case, I'd be happy to explain it! A multiverse is a concept of spacetime in which–” 

“Please don't tell me,” Angelina interrupted, “I'd like to keep it a surprise.” 

The spirit's mouth made a shape like an o, and Luka nodded vigorously. “Sure! I understand; it's more fun when things are mysterious!” 

“But, um… mana spirit… person?” Angelina asked hesitantly, “how do I… get home?” 

Luka frowned. “How'd you get here?” 

“My teacher brought me here. And then he ditched me and told me to find my own way back. So now I'm stuck here.” 

“Wow. Your teacher seems like a real jerk! That's something I can help you with, but… are you really leaving right now?” Luka stared at her with wide, tearful eyes. “It's been so long since I got to talk to anyone…” 

Angelina felt inexplicably guilty. “I… don't have to leave right away!” she explained, “I could stay… a little longer…” 

Luka's face literally lit up. The spirit's eyes changed from pitch black space to a bright yellow sun, and the galaxies flashed and spun within. Luka grabbed her hand and pulled her up. 

“Come on!” the mana spirit said excitedly, “there's so much to show you!” 

Angelina stumbled after it, descending into an indescribable world of wonderment and chaos. 

“What is this place?” she asked in amazement as a dark red sun was swallowed behind her. 

“This is my home!” Luka replied, “isn't it great?!” A planet exploded in the distance, raining rubble across the colorful space in front of them. Luka led her to a distant planetoid, landing on a small field of lush green grass. A single tree stood off to one side, growing like a giant, carefully pruned bonsai. 

Angelina turned in a slow circle. From her position on the small space rock, she could clearly see the curvature of this tiny world. It felt like she was standing on top of the tallest mountain, looking down on the world around her as if she had gained omnipotence. 

“This is amazing,” she whispered reverently. 

“I know right?!” Luka popped around chaotically, disappearing and reappearing at random within Angelina's field of vision. It hurt her brain to keep track of it. 

“Could you stop that, please?” she asked, “it's a little distracting.” 

Luka looked crestfallen. “I guess,” the mana spirit replied, kicking a rock that appeared in the air. “I'm just really excited, because I've never ever gotten to invite anyone over! I hope you understand…” 

Angelina chuckled awkwardly at Luka's pouting face. She didn't know what to make of this creature! It was hard enough trying to understand its thought process without having the spirit zipping around everywhere and nowhere. And yet, she felt a sort of kinship with Luka. As if there were something inside her that truly resonated with it. 

“Do you wanna see my house?! Come over here! I'll show it to you!” Luka pulled her towards the bonsai tree, and Angelina reluctantly obliged. She really just wanted to go home. Her father would be worried sick, probably wondering if she had run away because of his lies. She didn't exactly hate him for it. She couldn't; he was her father after all. But at the very least, she wanted a heartfelt apology. 

“This is where you live?” Angelina asked indifferently, but Luka didn't notice. 

“Yeah! Isn't it cool?!” 

Upon closer inspection, Angelina noticed that the tree was hollow. A door was set into the base of the trunk, and steps following the natural curve of the tree led to another, smaller door held aloft in the sweeping upper branches. 

“Come on!” Luka yelled, darting into the higher door. 

Angelina stood uncertainly as a star collapsed in the distance, going supernova in a last, desperate protest against its inevitable demise. The lower door was thrown open wide, and Luka frowned at her from the dark hollow. 

“What are you waiting for?!” the mana spirit complained, “get a move on!” 

Angelina’d had enough. She crossed her arms stoically, her lips set in a tight line. “I don't think I want to!” she exclaimed. 

Luka's smile faltered. “Why not?!” 

“You're being unbearably pushy right now! I didn't want to say this, but it's really annoying!” 

“But… that's not my fault!” Luka protested, “I've just… never interacted with a human before!” 

“That's not an excuse,” she chided, “don’t make excuses for your own poor behavior! Now take me home!”

Luka's eyes flashed red, a mocking smile on its face. “At least you have a home to go back to!” the spirit shouted, “I don't even belong anywhere!” 

Angelina stepped back from the violent outburst, one eyebrow raised. “What do you call this place, then?” 

“This? This isn't anything,” Luka scoffed, “this is all just my imagination!” 

The world around them dissolved, unraveling like a tapestry of finely woven threads until they were back in that same silent, bright, empty space. Luka fumed quietly while Angelina stared evenly at the mana spirit. 

“Send me home,” she insisted. 

“Ugh! Fine!” Luka snatched a star from his body and threw it directly at Angelina’s chest, where it exploded in a shower of silver and gold. 

“Now get out of here!” the vindictive spirit shouted. 

“Where–” 

“Behind you!” 

Angelina turned to find a magnificent, arching marble doorway in a place where it wasn't before. The frame was scrawled with golden words in various magic languages, some, but not all, dating back to before the world was. The door opened slowly, scraping across the floor with an oddly melodious noise. 

Angelina moved toward it, entranced by the colorful light seeping through. Luka tugged on her dress, and she looked back at the spirit apathetically. 

“Will you… come back?” it asked remorsefully. 

“I'll think about it,” Angelina said dryly, and she stepped through the door, back to the comfort of her own world.