Nowaki is a sort of “guardian” a demon-like entity who’s ability is to ward off certain beings who cause discomfort, nightmares, sleep paralysis and many other ailments. His missions take him all over the world and with each new mission is a new foe ready to be purged for good.
But something was wrong with this picture. Was this a test? Where was the demon he supposed to confront? All Nowaki saw before him was a quiet peaceful bedroom washed in the warm sun of an early spring afternoon. As the calming breeze rolled through the room, his eyes wandered around from corner to corner, looking over every shelf, box, drawer, and shadow. All seemed just too…picture perfect. Nothing was wrong and there was nothing here. Just a regular afternoon and a young man chilling out on his bed enjoying one of the few non-rainy days of the month and messaging a friend…
Nowaki was almost about to leave when his eves dropping got the best of him. What was so entertaining on that phone that someone could be glued to it that long? Then things took a turn for the worse as he soon realized the phone was pitch black this entire time. Motionless and sweaty he struggled to look away from the meaningless task of simply holding his phone still. Eyes bleary in pain and confusion, he pushed the home button and allowed his face to drop as well as the phone onto the sheets below. His body lay limp like a wet towel and the rise and fall of his breathing slowed to almost a standstill despite an obvious heartbeat racing towards its own end.
“Who did this to you?” Nowaki asked to himself. “The culprit has to be close by. Don’t worry I find them sooner or --”
His heat instantly sank. It was right out in open view what happened. Of all the monsters and demons who cause living hell, the worst ones to fight are the ones who live in you.
Random pill bottle there, almost finished joint there, a liquor bottle or two just out of sight range but it was all there despite the happy façade all around. Self-medication was this one’s go to when everything else fails. Whether it be alcohol or anti anxieties, all this guy knew was to drown the feelings in order to keep the scene around him pristine like nothing was wrong.

[I’ll continue this later]