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Alyx's story spoiler
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Waking up the next morning, it felt as if everything from yesterday had just been a dream. Opening his eyes, he simply lay there, staring at the ceiling, watching as a beam of rising sunlight slowly moved across the room.
Enjoying the silence and the sound of birds singing—birds that usually perched on the roof above his home—he didn’t want to do anything. Just lie there. If only he could spend his whole life like this.
His peace was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a familiar face looming over him.
"Awake?"
He only blinked and turned away.
"What the hell?!" she exclaimed indignantly.
"What do you want from me?"
"Nothing, really," she replied indifferently. "I'm just bored."
"Can’t you move away from me?"
"I can, but not for long and not very far. And I can’t talk to anyone else or interact with anything. I already told you—I need you to connect with this world."
"And why aren’t you a girl?" she asked with frustration, waving a hand dismissively.
"Why does that bother you so much?"
"You don’t understand. It’s uncomfortable for me. I feel your body. I’ve seen thousands of lives lived by men. They’re rough, primitive. It’s just… not me." Her voice suddenly carried a note of sadness.
For a few moments, they were both silent. Leo didn’t know what to say, and Alyx seemed lost in her own thoughts.
"You really feel my body?" he finally asked, more out of curiosity than sympathy.
"The sensations are dulled, but yes. It’s like I’m trapped inside it. And I don’t like it." She flicked her tail irritably.
Stretching, he got to his feet. The sudden movement sent a sharp pain shooting through his legs again, and he felt his clothes grow damp where he had made the cuts.
I wonder how long this will last, he thought.
A grim satisfaction lingered somewhere deep within his mind. He still hadn’t let go of the idea. His life had certainly become more interesting over the past few days, but years of sorrow wouldn’t just disappear in an instant.
He walked to the kitchen, searching for something to eat. The fridge was empty.
He sighed, realizing he’d have to go to work again after classes.

He worked as a painter, covering up other people’s graffiti or simply repainting the walls and fences of old buildings. It was the only job he could find at sixteen after his family kicked him out. The pay barely kept him afloat, forcing him to constantly balance between poverty and destitution, making him save on absolutely everything.
Sometimes, he got commissions to create graffiti, which amused him. It paid a little better and let him do something he once loved—expressing himself through illustrations.
That’s where he met his friends. Unlike him, they never had to worry about money. They lived with their families, who loved and supported them in nearly all their endeavors. But like many kids from good homes, they sometimes craved freedom. So, they spent their nights painting graffiti on abandoned buildings or train cars left on sidetracks.
They planned to go to a design institute, as it was considered a promising career at the time and aligned with their passion for art. Each of them had different aspirations—Emily wanted to go into fashion or interior design, while Steven was drawn to web design.
They were the ones who suggested Leo join them, telling him that if he did well on the entrance exams, he might get in for free.
They had known each other much longer and much better than they knew Leo. And he always felt it. Though, it was possible that it was just his paranoia and distrust—something that, as it turned out, might have been caused by the demon.
Still, that didn’t stop him from sometimes feeling lonelier with them than when he was actually alone. Even when they invited him to spend time with their families.
He was always amazed at how such a thing was possible—having a family that accepted you for who you were, always ready to support you, always happy to see you. And at the same time, he felt an unbridgeable gap between himself and those people.
With the help of his friends, he prepared for the entrance exams and got accepted into the graphic design department.
So, they all went to the same institute, but their schedules rarely overlapped during the day, as most of their classes were different.
***
Disappointed, he shut the empty fridge and started searching for some everyday clothes to go to the store.
— What a mess you have here, — Alyx remarked.
— It’s creative chaos, — Leo waved her off.
In his opinion, a mess didn’t always look terrible; sometimes, it even made a home feel cozier. He liked the old rugs covering the worn-out wooden floors.
Alyx still felt foreign to him. He was used to being alone, and her appearance didn’t exactly help her blend into his modest apartment. The glossy texture of her body clashed with the scuffed and occasionally grimy surroundings. Not to mention, there was very little about her that resembled any earthly creature.
And yet, despite barely knowing each other, he felt a strange kinship with her. Maybe because she was now just a part of him. Like an annoying sister he never had.
Finally, after finding his other sock behind the nightstand next to his makeshift bed, he was ready to go.
His street was a dead-end alley on the outskirts of the city, with very few stores around. The closest one was a two-kilometer walk through the streets or a slightly longer route through the field behind the houses.
Not wanting to catch the eyes of passersby, he chose the second option.

Limping and squinting from the pain, Leo slowly made his way along the path leading to the neighboring residential district. Alyx walked briskly beside him, surprisingly silent, showing little interest in his struggles.
— So, what exactly was that demon’s goal? — Leo broke the silence. — Can you read my thoughts? What about my memories?
She raised an eyebrow sarcastically, tilting her head slightly toward him, but answered nonetheless.
— Yes, I can read your thoughts, so unless you want to spend the rest of your life in what you call a psych ward, you’d better keep it internal when we're around people.
— No, I can’t see your memories. Not that I’d care to. Unless you're actively recalling something specific in the moment—like a thought or a dream.
— Not the demon, but many of them, — she continued. — There are plenty in your world. They take over human minds and souls in moments of weakness—when there’s an empty space inside.
— Yours, apparently, was claimed from birth. That doctor said you had a clinical death right after you were born, right? Most likely, during that time, part of your soul was already breaking down—just like part of your brain. You made an easy target for things like them.
— Anyway, — she went on, — they feed on life energy, the kind that always lingers in souls. They need it to keep Hell running. Over time, they poison both it and the host’s mind, slowly driving them to suicide. And once that happens, whatever’s left of that soul goes straight to Hell. Eternal suffering.
She widened her eyes dramatically and bared her fangs in a wicked grin.
It was probably meant as a joke, but for the first time, Leo truly took notice of the wild, animalistic features of his unusual companion.


— But why fight them?
— I needed a host, just like they do, to interact with this world. Without one, I’m just another immortal spirit wandering around.
They approached the residential area, and Leo stuffed his hands into the pockets of his windbreaker.
— Embarrassed? — Alyx asked mischievously.
— Mhm, — Leo mumbled, lowering his gaze.
— Just say the word, and I can put everything back the way it was, — she said nonchalantly.
— No! — he snapped, a little too harshly. His face flushed.
He liked his new hands—the smoothness, the fluidity. The absence of scars, of consequences.
Alyx smirked subtly, barely turning her head away.
Leo quickly bought everything he needed from the store and used the self-checkout to avoid unnecessary questions—or just to avoid people’s stares altogether.
Alyx noted how little he had bought. From the countless lives she had seen before, she knew what normal people ate. She walked beside him, sometimes falling behind, sometimes moving ahead, always carrying herself with natural grace and quiet pride.
The way back took far longer. Leo’s limp worsened, and dark bloodstains began to seep through his jeans. He had to stop occasionally just to rest.
— Want some help? — she asked.
— How?
She shrugged easily. — The same way I fixed your hands.
Leo’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
— You could do that this whole time and didn’t say anything?!
Alyx just shrugged again, as if to say, You never asked.
— Yeah, do it. — His voice held poorly concealed eagerness.