"Your trust issues have nothing to do with ."
Alicarde was really getting a headache now. Anne had gone from being terrified to not having an ounce of fear.
"I would suggest you take my advice seriously. While I appreciate your courage, I don't think you should get any more involved."
"Of course... of course, don't worry about ," Anne replied, her tone dismissive.
"I'm leaving now. Goodbye, for good."
"Bye-bye," Anne smiled.
"Why the smile? Soone seems to be happy to be rid of ," Alicarde remarked, raising an eyebrow beneath his hood.
"Ahh, what? I wasn't smiling. You're seeing things," Anne quickly retorted, her heart skipping a beat at being caught off guard.
Then, in a flash of curiosity, she added.
"Co to think of it, do you even see anything under that hood?"
"No more questions for the day," Alicarde dismissed, his tone sharp and final.
"You should go ho. I have business to settle tonight."
"Who are you going to off this ti? You're going to kill people, right?"
"Perhaps," Alicarde replied, his voice devoid of emotion. "So of these people are worse than animals."
"And you decided that, right?"
"I did not," he corrected her calmly. "I rely decide how they die."
"Do you rember our deal? You have to keep it," Anne reminded him, her voice growing firm.
"What deal?" Alicarde asked, his tone almost mocking, as if he truly had no recollection of their agreent.
Anne felt a surge of irritation.
"What? Don't tell you forgot! I plucked up all my courage for that argunt, and you forgot?" She took a step closer, her gaze piercing into the darkness of his hood. "
You have to rember—from now on, before you kill soone... think thrice and do good deeds."
"Ahh, right, that," Alicarde responded, sounding almost amused. "I hope I don't forget. I have a very slippery mind, you see."
"If that's all you have to say, then I think you should go to bed, Anne. Good night," Alicarde said, turning away as if the conversation were over.
"Wait... I still have sothing to say," Anne called out, her voice trembling slightly.
"Back during the day of my university convocation, you saved , right? I wanted to say thank you... thank you for saving . I don't know how to repay you, but I will do my best."
"Hmmm, repay , you say?" Alicarde paused, considering her words. "Very well then, if you want to repay ... give your soul."
Anne's breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening in shock.
Alicarde laughed, a deep, sinister sound that sent shivers down her spine, yet there was sothing strangely charismatic about it.
"That was a joke. I need no paynt from you. Return to your normal life, Anne."
He began to walk toward the edge of the roof, but Anne suddenly rembered sothing and called out, "Right, one more thing!"
Alicarde stopped, turning his head slightly in her direction.
"Wh-why did you pour alcohol on ? And you even fed it to ! Everyone thought I was drunk and crazy!" Anne's voice rose as she stooped slightly, her face now flushed with embarrassnt.
"The more I think about it, the angrier I get!"
"Ahh, that," Alicarde replied with a hint of nonchalance.
"I would never do such a thing. Bla the witch for that. She apparently didn't think you were worth wasting a spell or even a re parlor trick on."
"A witch... you had an accomplice?"
"I did."
Anne glared at him, her cheeks puffing in frustration. "Tell your witch friend that was really an! I was almost gaslighted into believing I was crazy!"
"That was the point of the whole thing."
"Tell your witch friend, I haven't forgotten, and I still hold a grudge."
"Very well, I'll make sure she knows you are displeased when I et her. Now, can I go?" Alicarde asked, his tone almost impatient.
"Oh, okay... I guess it's goodbye for now, Mr. Aeternus... the eternal, or immortal," Anne said with a small smile, her tone playful.
"My na is a secret, so you may refer to as Reaper," Alicarde said calmly, as if the matter was already settled.
"Right, my bad," Anne chuckled awkwardly. "I should probably go now. See you next ti!"
"No... see you never. Stay out of trouble, Miss Danger Magnet. The less involved you are, the better," Alicarde whispered, his voice barely audible.
"Sure, okay," Anne nodded, though there was a knowing glint in her eyes.
"You aren't going to listen, are you?" Alicarde asked in a resigned tone, almost as if he already knew the answer.
"What? Why would you think so?" Anne asked, feigning innocence.
"Forget it."
Anne watched him soar into the night sky, her eyes wide with wonder.
"Wow, he can fly too... aweso," she whispered to herself, still trying to process everything that had just happened.
Anne was amazed. This world was far more magical than she had originally thought, more than just the whimsical tales her grandmother used to tell her as a child. Her fingers gently gripped the pendant hanging around her neck, a delicate heirloom that once belonged to her grandmother.
'Magic is real... I knew it,' she giggled to herself, unable to contain the giddiness bubbling up inside her.
The Reaper had vanished into the dark night, leaving her alone on the rooftop, but the lingering sense of awe in her heart made her feel like she was on the brink of a new discovery.
'Hmmm, he's not so scary after all.'
'Today was a really long day.'
She pushed the door open and made her way down the lit stairwell to her apartnt. The university's dorms were top-notch, as one would expect from such a prestigious institution, but Anne, along with a handful of other students, preferred their own places off-campus.
It wasn't just about the comfort; the university had a lot of rules—frankly, annoying ones—that Anne didn't want to deal with. The freedom to co and go as she pleased was worth every penny of the extra rent.
Her apartnt was quiet when she arrived, the silence almost oppressive after the excitent of the night. But that was to be expected—she lived alone, after all.
The small living room was cozy, with a few personal touches here and there; a stack of books on the table, a couple of frad photos on the walls, and a soft throw blanket draped over the couch.
She decided to give Alicarde a call, eager to share everything that had happened. The phone rang, but there was no answer.
Anne frowned slightly, trying again. She didn't want to suspect the psychopath under the hood was Alicarde, but it was suspicious... After so thought, she dismissed the idea. It wasn't possible. Her friend was secretive, yes, but he wasn't a serial killer.
Maybe he was busy? Or maybe he was doing that annoying thing where he ignored calls.
Her patience was thinning, but she dialed his number once more, whispering to herself.
'Ahh, third ti's a charm.'
After a few rings, the line connected, and Anne sat up quickly, ready to burst into her story.
"Hey, Ali! You won't believe what happened to today!" she exclaid, her voice bubbling with excitent.
"Hello, good evening," ca a calm, feminine voice on the other end of the line, completely catching Anne off guard.
"Ehh... huh? Wh-who are you?" Anne stamred, her excitent giving way to confusion. The voice certainly didn't belong to Elizalina.
"My na is Ana, and I am a maid. It seems my master has left his phone behind. If you have a ssage, you can leave it with ."
Anne blinked in surprise. "Ooh, okay... it's fine, just tell him Anne called. Bye."
'Huh... since when did that guy have a maid? I thought he said he lived alone.' She frowned, trying to piece it together.
'No, that makes sense. I an... he is sort of secretly rich, he would naturally have a maid. Then again, he's secretive about a lot of things.'
With nothing better to do, Anne grabbed her laptop from the coffee table. The familiar hum of the machine powering up filled the room, and she logged in, her fingers tapping out her userna: @Ansuper.
The site she had created a few years back was now bustling with activity. It had started as a small corner of the internet dedicated to the supernatural—mostly espers and anything else of interest—but it had grown far beyond her expectations.
The recent revelations about espers and the mysterious Reaper had only drawn more people in, turning her once-small community into a hub of speculation and knowledge.
Find more chapters on empire
The website's ho page was filled with new posts and comnts, all buzzing with excitent over the latest happenings.
Anne felt a swell of pride as she scrolled through the discussions. Her site had beco a go-to place for anyone seeking information or wanting to share their own experiences with the supernatural. She was part of sothing bigger now, sothing that mattered.
After a mont's thought, Anne decided to change the na of her site. The old na no longer seed to fit the scope of what it had beco. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she typed in the first na that ca to mind:
"Immortal Chronicles."
She paused, her thoughts drifting back to the Reaper's words. It didn't feel quite right.
After a bit more pondering, she typed in a new na:
"Eternal Undying Chronicles."
A smile spread across her face as she hit the 'enter' key, the new title officially taking its place at the top of the site. It felt fitting, a nod to the mysteries she had uncovered and the even greater ones that lay ahead.
She had consciously decided not to use the word "immortal" and instead opted for "undying," a term she crafted herself. If Alicarde were there, he would have been utterly surprised at her use of the word, given its deeper significance to him.
Satisfied, Anne looked over the new posts and comnts, eager to dive into the discussions, but her mind was already working on her own new post.
On the newly renad site, Anne began to type, her thoughts flowing freely as she shared her latest insights, careful not to reveal anything too dangerous. She crafted her words delicately, weaving in just enough detail to captivate her readers, without exposing the true depth of the knowledge she possessed.
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