Even so, doubts clawed at the edges of his mind. She doesn’t an it, he thought bitterly. This was recorded before everything happened, before she knew... before she blad .
But as Es’s voice carried on, soft yet unyielding, it felt so achingly real, as if she were speaking directly to him.
For years, everyone had told him it wasn’t his fault. For years, those words had felt hollow, aningless. But now, hearing them from Es, even through a recording, was different. It cut through the layers of guilt, seeping into the part of him that had longed for her forgiveness.
And yet, that sa guilt whispered back, She should’ve blad . She had every right to.
Jay’s knees finally gave way, and he sank into the nearest chair, his head in his hands as his shoulders shook. The words he had craved for so long, yet felt undeserving of, echoed in his mind: It’s not your fault.
Even if they were just words from the past, for a fleeting mont, they felt like hope. And for the first ti in years, the pain of his guilt didn’t feel so heavy.
Es’s voice was steady but serious, her gaze fixed ahead as if reliving every word she spoke.
"Listen carefully," she began, her tone unwavering. "If anything ever happens to —if I die—it can’t be by accident. Not unless you see it happen with your own eyes. And if I die but my body isn’t found, not even a single piece, rember this: I am not dead. Do you understand? Without my body, I’m alive, no matter what anyone says."
She paused for a mont, letting her words sink in, then continued in a somber tone.
"This didn’t start recently. It started long before I t all of you. It began when I t soone nad Sumr. From childhood to adulthood, there’s a part of my life that even Helga and Aaron don’t know about—a friend who lived overseas. Sumr and I didn’t et often in person, but we were close online. He was a beast owner like , his beast was a scorpion, and we bonded over that. At the ti, I was the youngest to unlock beast power, and my mother... she never supported . No one did. So I turned to Sumr for guidance.
"But sothing always felt off. I rember wearing the beast ring and feeling... strange. Like, when I slept, it felt as though sothing was being drained from , like my life force was slipping away. Yet, every ti it happened, my body would feel better afterward. The first couple of tis I used my power, I’d just feel tired—nothing extre. But slowly, things began to change.
"Each ti I used my power, I grew more and more exhausted. Eventually, I started vomiting blood. At first, I thought it was just my body adjusting, but then I noticed sothing odd—new people would always show up around . In school, there’d suddenly be a transfer student in my class, or in college, a stranger would begin appearing in my vicinity. It wasn’t random.
"I rember when I first t Cain. He wasn’t like the others. There was sothing about him—a sll, faint but distinct, like herbs. It didn’t make sense. This was the city. No one else could sll it, and that’s when I realized it had to be my heightened senses, a side effect of the beast power.
"At first, I brushed it off. But then I started noticing Cain showing up in the most unlikely places. No matter where I went or what path I took, he’d cross my path, like he was following . It didn’t matter if I used the main gate, the back gate, or even jumped the boundary wall. He’d always be there, almost as if he knew where I’d be.
"And then ca the final straw. One day, I was in a rush, jumping over the boundary wall to leave college. I wasn’t expecting anyone, but as soon as I landed, Cain was right there. I fell into him, and his book dropped to the ground. It felt too deliberate to be a coincidence."
Es’s voice trailed off for a mont as she took a deep breath, her eyes hardening with determination. "That’s when I knew. Sothing—or soone—has been watching all along."
Es’s lips curled into a ghost of a smile, though her eyes betrayed a deeper unease. "I played it cool with Cain, you know. A smile here, a quick laugh there, and then I rushed off, acting like the carefree girl everyone thought I was. But then... Sumr stopped contacting . For a whole month, no word, no response, no sign. I tried everything—calls, ssages, even reaching out in every way I knew. Nothing worked. That’s when I realized sothing was wrong."
Her voice lowered, carrying the weight of a secret she’d been holding for far too long. "I couldn’t sit back. I had to find him, and fast. So, I made a decision. I’d create sothing small, a group—no, maybe even an organization, to track down Sumr, but here’s the catch: soone was watching . Always. Following every move. I couldn’t let them know what I was up to. So, I gave them what they wanted. I made it seem like I was falling for Cain. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. I convinced Helga, Aaron, everyone... They believed it. And that’s how the group grew."
Es’s eyes grew distant, the weight of the lies pressing on her. "But I couldn’t let anyone’s real na be known. Everyone had an alias. Only I knew who was really involved. Not because I didn’t trust them, but because if anyone learned the truth, if anyone followed the trail back... they’d be exposed. And the watchers would follow them, too."
Her tone shifted, colder now, as if sothing dark was creeping into the air between them. "It wasn’t just they were watching. I didn’t notice at first, but Helga—she’d been living with the entire ti. If they were after , they had to be after her too. They weren’t just following my every step. They were blending in, moving like shadows, always one step behind. Going to the sa school, taking the sa paths, living in the sa places. They weren’t obvious... they were just there."
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