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Alyx's story spoiler
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With a quick flick of her wrist, she effortlessly conjured an illusion, catching a mug out of thin air.
Leo quickly prepared a simple breakfast, still overwhelmed by what had happened. He swore he could still feel the now-nonexistent parts of his body.
— "So that’s what the clothes were for," — he remarked, waving a hand behind him where a tail should have been.
— "Mhm,"— she smiled, nodding.— "And the height difference."
Leo hesitated before asking,— "Why do you think we might need this? Is someone after you?"
She let out a short, dry laugh.
— "Someone’s always after me. You saw how easily Edward tracked us down. You really think it’ll be much harder for others?"
—"So, your entire existence on Earth is just constant battles?"
—"Weeeell, not exactly."— She stretched the word out playfully. —"You could move to some remote backwater, and we’d be completely alone there. But I’m afraid I’d die of boredom with you."
She smirked, but her eyes held a glint of seriousness.
—"Encounters like this are usually rare. Neither I nor the demons have much to gain from direct conflict. Edward was an exception. But if he wasn’t lying, he had his own reasons."
She paused, thoughtful.
—"Lately, though, I’ve been feeling like there are more of them. For some reason. I don’t know why yet."
Leo considered this. —"Are there other spirits like you?"
—"There are. But we’re an exception. We probably shouldn’t even exist." —She shrugged.— "If we meet any of them, I’ll ask what’s going on. Why demon activity is increasing."
Leo frowned. —"Why don’t demons just feed more often? Humans can’t see them, and there are more and more people every year. What’s stopping them?"
She sighed, thinking.
—"I don’t know for sure. But the ancients could detect and banish them. At least, I knew priests in ancient Egypt who could. If too many suspicious deaths start piling up, someone will eventually start fighting back."
She smirked, amused by the contradiction in her next words.
—"Why start a war when they can feed unnoticed and enjoy their little hellish paradise?"
Leo noticed the distant look in her eyes as she drifted into thought. He decided not to disturb her and quietly finished his breakfast in silence.
***
— I was her! — He waved his hand vaguely to the side.
—"What?!" —his friends exclaimed in unison.
They were standing in a quiet corner of a distant hallway during a break between classes—one of those places where students rarely wandered.
—"She told me to stand between the kitchen and the room and just watch. Then she approached me, just like she did yesterday when her hand was drawing those symbols," — Leo said in a hushed voice. — "And then… we sort of merged. Became one."
"Cooool," —Steve drawled out, his eyes wide.
"What was it like? What did you feel?"— Emily asked, her voice more thoughtful.
At that moment, Leo wondered if he should’ve kept this to himself. It felt too personal in every possible way. Meanwhile, Alyx stood off to the side, leaning against the wall, giggling at how the friends were reacting to his story. She found it amusing, though she hoped they wouldn’t think he’d lost his mind. Then again, after everything they’d already seen, they probably wouldn’t.
Leo blushed and looked down. —"Well… it was actually kinda nice."
"Nice?!" —Steve gawked at him.
"You wouldn’t get it," —Leo muttered, desperately searching for a way to change the subject.— "It’s like… you’ll never be alone again. You’re free from your body."
His friends exchanged glances. They didn’t fully understand what he meant, but they nodded along, pretending to. They had never struggled with their sense of self or loneliness in the way he had.
"What about that demon?"— Emily asked. —"Edward?"
"I haven’t seen him today,"— Steve said, glancing around.
Leo wasn’t exactly eager to meet him again. Honestly, even though he had liked being one with Alyx, he had zero interest in testing how that would work in a real fight. And what even was this fight, anyway? What were these demons actually like?
Was Alyx—at over six feet tall—really planning to beat up a nineteen-year-old guy? Even if that guy was technically a demon?
He shot a quick glance at Alyx, but she had clearly picked up on his thoughts and was now silently laughing to herself off to the side.
— “What?”
— “Nothing. I just really don’t want to find out what happens when Alyx decides to start a fight with someone.”
But of course, as if on cue, their newest acquaintance strolled into the hallway.
Alyx’s ears twitched in his direction, and her posture became noticeably less relaxed. She wasn’t as tense and aggressive as the last time they’d encountered him, but she definitely wasn’t at ease either.
— “Relax. I just want to talk,”— Edward said.
Since the hallway was empty except for them, he turned directly toward Alyx.
— “You’ve noticed it too, haven’t you? There are way more demons in this world than before. And they’re getting… aggressive.”
— “Mhm.”
— “And that doesn’t concern you?”— He raised a sharp, aristocratic eyebrow.
— “It does,” — she replied calmly. — “The real question is—how do you feel about it? And what will you do if, let’s say, one of them decides to attack him?”
She jerked her head toward Leo and his friends, who were watching this bizarre conversation unfold against a literal wall.
— “Maybe we should record this and upload it online,” — Steve suggested with a smirk.
— “Let’s not,” — Leo said quickly. — “Who knows what he might do to us.”
Edward sighed.— “Nothing. They’re as much of a threat to me as they are to you. I have no intention of returning to Hell, especially if it means likely being executed after so many centuries on Earth.”
For some reason, that thought sent a shiver down Leo’s spine.
For the first time, he truly felt like he was witnessing a conversation between two ancient beings. Up until now, he had only ever seen Alyx as a rowdy, sharp-tongued nineteen-year-old girl with strange abilities.
But now? Now he wasn’t so sure.
— "Helping you isn’t really my thing, but I won’t get in your way either."
Edward's voice was smooth, indifferent, but there was a weight to his words. — "I came to find you just to warn you. I can sense you from quite a distance. Especially your friend—the one you, for some reason, partially transformed. You might as well have strapped a giant beacon to his back for demons to follow."
Alyx’s ears flattened slightly as she shifted her weight from one paw to the other. She hadn't even considered that side effect. It wasn’t something she had ever done before—altering a host like that. But her stubborn pride wouldn't let her admit it was a mistake. Undoing it now would feel wrong.
Seeing that she wasn’t going to respond, Edward continued.
— "When I arrived at the university today, I sensed several new demons nearby. I’ve never felt them here before. They’re clearly gathering because of you. They’ve picked up on something. And let me tell you, a spirit like you is not what they want lurking around their feeding grounds."
His gaze flickered toward Leo.
"The same goes for wherever you’re living. If you’re not careful, you’re going to make it very welcoming for them."
He smirked. — "Not that I’m particularly worried about you. But eternity’s less dull with good company."
There it was again—that invitation. The subtle but ever-present offer to join him at his estate. Alyx narrowed her eyes slightly, arms crossing over her chest.
"Mm,"— she hummed in acknowledgment.— "Thanks."
But then she scoffed, shifting her weight again.— "As if I’m the only spirit in this entire city."
"Wait, there are others?!" — Leo suddenly blurted out, startling his friends.
— "Obviously, genius," — Alyx smirked, tossing her hair over her shoulder.— "But none of them are as gorgeous as me."— She fluttered her lashes dramatically.
Edward sighed. — "Tell your little boy not to interrupt when adults are speaking."
Alyx’s expression darkened as she turned her head toward him. — "What we do is none of your business,"— she said, her eyes narrowing.
Edward’s smirk deepened.— "I think he’d be very interested in hearing your full story."
A sharp snikt cut the air as one of Alyx’s claws stopped just short of his nose.
"Try it, and you’ll be back in Hell before you can even say—‘damn.’"
For a long moment, they stared each other down, both breathing heavily, tension crackling between them.
— “Fiiine,” — Edward finally drawled, stepping back with a smirk. — “Still, I do hope you’ll pay my estate a visit. We can discuss the situation in a more... civilized setting.”
With that, he pivoted smoothly on his heel and strode off, disappearing into the nearby corridor where the sounds of university life filled the air once more.
Alyx exhaled sharply, then turned to Leo.
“He’s right,”— she admitted, ears twitching slightly.— “I’ve been sensing something too, but I hoped I was imagining it. On the way home, we need to stop by a few places where I can get a better read on any presences nearby.”
— “You have your paints with you?”
— “Only yellow, but the can is nearly full.”
— “That’ll do.”
With that, they headed off to class. As they walked, Leo quickly summarized their conversation for the others—one last discussion before their schedules split for the day.