/ˈCHānjliNG/ , noun:
Contrary to popular belief, a changeling is not someone that was secretly substituted by fairies for the parents' real child upon infancy. It is someone who can copy a person's physical form after eating the eyes of the victim. Classified as the devil spirit, these are the night creatures that has failed to have a body from the king of the night creatures.
- A record from the book of good and evil
***
15th February, 2006, Kanagawa Prefecture
When Alex woke up this morning, he cant remember what happened yesterday. He knows that he went somewhere else after school. But he cant remember where it was or how did he go home. He feels like he is forgetting something important. But that thing is the least of his concern right now.
He is sitting on the dining table with his mother, and they are discussing important thing. It is called work. For some reason, his mother has changed for good, which is a good thing for him. But with this change comes a bigger problem. Since his mother has refused to have any transaction with her 'friends' from before and all of the cannabis from the basement was sent to the garbage collector this morning. Without her 'friends' and the cannabis, they wont have any source of income. Alex's has offered having a job, after all, he has his heightened senses to feel his surroundings and the souls-who-refused-to-leave to be his eyes in the new environment. He is well covered if he is going to go out in his world. But his mother refused. Now that she woke up from her nightmare, she plans on looking for a job.
"Mom. Wait. Have you been taking drugs since my birthday?"
She stared straight at his eyes, "No. I am clean since your birthday. I am afraid I might give in to my urges so I threw all of the cannabis and drug substance from my stash."
"When are you planning to look for a job?"
"I am actually planning today. We do not have any food left in the fridge, we only have pitchers of water, and we have other bills to pay, and---"
"Mom, calm down. Listen." He touched his mothers hand firmly. He looks like he is staring straight in the eyes of his mother. She can see properly his dull blue eyes that cannot see. If it is not a dull and darker shade of blue, it would have been a beautiful bright blue eyes. "You have been off drugs for a day only. If they want to do a drug test on you, they will see that you are not that clean yet, drugs would be off of your blood after weeks, 6 months just to be sure. But you will definitely not going to be declared 'clean' after a day of being off drugs."
His mother calmed down and her shoulders sagged, defeated. "So what do you suggest now. I cant go to those people anymore..."
"Mom, I am going to look for a job. Since I am going to school today, I will ask my homeroom advisor later on to recommend me jobs that would fit the blind. That way, we can have some money while you are waiting for the drugs to be off your stream. Would you want to go to rehabilitation center?"
She shake her head fiercely and said "No son. That would be expensive. I'll try my best to rehabilitate myself but we cant afford that. Don't worry about me. Let's go with your plan first.
And so, at the end of the day, he was asked to wait in the teachers office. When he opened the door, he felt several presence. One living human who guided him to sit on the chair next to his advisor's table, and two other heavier presence. One female and one male wondering spirits that refused to leave. When the teacher left, the two spirits approached him, "Sire. Nice to see you once more."
He faced the two souls, "How have you been?"
The female spirit said, "wondering as always." They were about to chat with him happily when the two spirits felt fear and chill in the direction of the door. They turned their head suddenly in the direction where it came from. It has been a while since they felt this chill...when was the last time...Ah, when they were about to be killed. This is a chill that you will only feel in the presence of your killer.
The male spirit asked his female companion, "How many pairs of eyes did it eat?"
The female said, "I do not know. And I do not want to know. Sire." She referred to Alex who is still clueless about the entity that these two spirits felt from miles away. She thought, 'It is understandable though. For someone who can communicate to our world, he has his own limitation as he is still a living being.'
"Are you familiar with the changeling?" She asked.
"What the hell you female spirit. We do not have time to discuss what a changeling is! It is coming our way! We should leave!
Alex's forehead started to have a crease of confusion, "Wait, what is coming?"
The female said, "Shut up dimwit. Not everyone knows what a changeling is! Besides, it takes its own time to walk, it is not in a rush. It is our fault after all. We didn't told him who it is earlier on."
The male spirit stared at their sire and thought, 'What an unfortunate human you are.'
"Sir, a changeling is a devil spirit sent here on earth to physically eat the eyes of the human. They can only have their eyes once they entered a contract with them. They eat the eyes of their victim so they can have a physical body to change into and have more victims."
"I see. Why would humans do contract with beings like that."
"You see sire." The female started while she grabbed his hand and they started walking away from the teacher's office. "The promise that we made with the trinity god will be forgotten once we were born as humans. Since we forgot the promise that was made, some were easily led astray by this devil spirits. they were led astray from the promise made to them, resulting our untimely death and our unfinished business. That is why there were some souls that refuses to leave and were bound by the regrets because we didnt get to fulfill the end of our destiny, that was written by the god of destiny himself. We died early than what was written. So the god of death himself cannot guide us back home. This way sire." She said as they are going down the fire exit.
"Well I know that souls are still here because of regrets, sadness and anger. But why would the living make a contract with the devil spirits themselves? Did you once had contract with them?" Alex asked.
The boy answered, "No sir, as our spirit still has eyes, we died either of natural cause or we took our lives ourselves. As to why some humans enter a contract, they offer a shortcut to the end of our destiny. Sometimes, they promise to grant the things that we long so bad. Instead of us, working on our wishes according to the design of our destiny, we took a shortcut to meet the outcome soon. And the cost of that are our physical eyes."
"We crave to see the future that was laid before our eyes. We crave for power that is beyond our nature, therefore, some humans are being led outside of the protection of nature in this earthland. And that is how those devil spirits can get to us." the female spirit continued.
"Shit it is coming closer!" They both said at the same time. They hid under the stair case of the fire exit. Even though the female has no need to cover his mouth, she covered it anyway. Alex thought, maybe this is one of the reflex that she still had when she was alive.
After sometime, he heard footsteps from the corridor above them. His heart started to beat louder in his chest, he is worried that it might hear it. He can feel as well the fear that the two spirits, therefore, resulting in him having the same fear. Then he felt it. The bone chilling presence of this being. It's presence is the heaviest that he has felt so far. Heavier than the most sinful adult human.
"I know you are here." He heard his voice from the stairs above them. It was his advisor! "I have to hide from this school for a while you know. Because that nuisance god of death keeps hanging around here. Well, he is not here today, because he got the soul of the child that he is looking for. It seems. I cant see that child anymore."
Under the staircase, Alex is covered with huge boxes that contains valentine's decorations so he was not visible from the vision of this man. But for some reason, he stopped in front of the box and said, "That child keeps on calling me Papa before. Maybe that was this man's daughter. hmm"
Alex remembered the child from yesterday. The soul of the child who asked him to help her go home. He felt cold sweat running down from the side of his face...'This man, this changeling killed the father of that child!'
The changeling, pretending to be his advisor bent down. His eyes stared at the gap between the boxes that was placed under the staircase. He had a sinister smile on his face. He blew an air between those gaps. Alex felt the air that he blew and the hairs on his skin stood up. The female spirit with him whispered, "Shit I want to die now."
Mean while, the man laughed maniacally.
The male spirit said, "While he is distracted with his antics, Ill go through the walls and ask for help. Sire, please be safe for now. Try to prolong your life and wait for me. Hey female, you are dead already, go make your self a bait for sire to have more time." Then he passed through the wall.
"Sire, I just want to let you know before I go out in there..." The female spirit said, "The light of your soul is enough to make us feel human again." She smiled and went out.
Now that Alex is alone and hiding behind the boxes from the staircase, he didn't know what to do anymore.
***
Spirits, or the souls-that-refused-to-leave, defy the law of physics. Since they don't have physical body, physics doesn't apply to them. This boy knows that the place that he is going to ask for help is not that far. The owner of the place is the king himself. And he strongly refuses to meddle with the human business. However, this time he might help, because a changeling is involved with a not so ordinary human.
So that is how he found himself kneeling in front of the king of the night creatures. This king that lives in the modern world has many names from the past. And like human kings, he was involved in a scandal that no one wants to discuss as it is a taboo subject.
"So you are saying, you want me to help this human with a pure soul as he was about to be eaten by a changeling?"
"Yes sir. I know you might not believe me as there is no human that has a pure soul. But this sire of mine, has no speck of darkness within him. We are not strong enough to protect him physically. And that is the reason why I humbly ask for your help, your majesty." The male spirit knelt down and his forehead touched the ground.
The king, whose soul is as dark as the shadows, with the raven hair and bright blue eyes that seems out of place and too bright for his dark soul, stared at the wondering soul in front of him. He knows how the wondering souls are. They just wonder aimlessly and it is rare for them to act and beg like a human. Their emotions has been numbed from staying too long in this world even though they should have left. The king admits that this is quite a sight for him.
So he decided to go and help the little human of this wondering soul as he was curious to see what made this living dead alive once more.
***
Meanwhile, back in the school, his advisor is sitting in front of the boxes where Alex is hidden. This is the first time that he found out, if someone is going to eat a wondering spirit parts by parts, you can still hear a faint crunch. And the wondering spirits can still feel pain.
He keeps on hearing the painful cry of the female spirit as her anatomy are slowly being eaten.
"Ah, spirits shouldn't feel any pain. You should be numb from walking around the land of the living, you know." The changeling grabbed the face of the female spirit, "What made you human once more? Hmm?"
The female spirit didn't utter a word and just stared furiously in the eyes of the changeling. He still looks like a human. Nothing has changed. Except for the soul. The soul of this body was so heavy, like hundreds of souls are living inside him. She thinks, 'Is it because of the eyes of his victims? If so, he must have eaten a lot of pairs of eyes.'
Alex felt that the presence of his advisor--changeling, is suffocating. He tried to feel the soul of this man. Indeed, this is heavy, the soul is far heavier than what a human body could take. Like, it was not born in here, 'Is this the soul of a changeling?'
The changeling laughed once more when he didn't got any answer from the female spirit that was writhing in pain. "What made you human again, wondering soul? Ah, Is it because of that thing behind the box?"
Both the eyes of Alex and the female spirit went round as saucers because of fear. Who are they kidding. Of course, he knew all this time that he is hiding behind these boxes!
The changeling crawled in front of the boxes and with one hand, he slowly moved the boxes, enough for him to see Alex huddled and hugging his knees. On his left hand, he gripped the neck of the female spirit as she tried to get away from him. She keeps on saying "Get away from him!!"
But the changeling cant hear her at all. Wonder is visible in his eyes as this is the first time he saw a human with a pure soul. He gripped Alex's face and stared at his eyes. "Your eyes are empty. But you do have a pure soul. Not a speck of darkness within! But where are your eyes? Tsk tsk tsk. How am I going to eat you? Your soul doesn't have eyes!"
The changeling threw the spirit that he was holding on his left hand and leaned on Alex's neck. He started sniffing on his neck and the memories of his childhood came back to him...Alex was frozen in place. He cant hear the female spirit saying "Run Sire, RUN!" This is the same thing that happened to him when the two women visited his home. He felt something wet licking the side of his neck and he heard the changeling said, "Ah, delicious. Indeed. I can keep you as my candy since I cant eat you, maybe I can lick you. What do you say? Hmm?" He pushed him to lay down on the floor. His ears are ringing, skin is cold and his heart is beating fast, like his breathing. A mantra keeps on running in his head; 'I should not move. If I move, she is going to hit me with her belt. I should not make a sound...Or else she is not going to stop..'
"A teenager! Very obedient indeed. Your mother has taught you brilliantly. Since you behaved so well, maybe I can show you as the worldly pleasure as a reward..." The changeling licked his lips in hunger and started undoing the buttons on Alex's uniform. He licked his neck, down to his chest and about to go further to his abdomen when the changeling was thrown meters away from him. The loud noise of his body crashing against the wall brought Alex back to his senses. He suddenly became aware of the state of the female spirit and the male companion with her. The female one is huddled in a corner and her legs is slowly regenerating. The boy dragged her by the hand and told him to stand up as they should leave.
Subconsciously, Alex turned around to navigate what was happening. He can feel that the changeling was sitting on the ground and he can hear the fear from his voice, asking for the forgiveness from the man that has saved him earlier. Since Alex was born, he can never see, even a spot of light. His world is all darkness. But for the first time, when he stared at the man whose soul is as dark as the shadows, he saw his eyes alone. Bright blue eyes that makes it standout from his dark soul. Those eyes are familiar to him. At the same time, the king of the night creature is staring on the human that he just saved.
One thought has crossed his mind, 'Ah, I found you.'
***
The three of them relaxed when they reached his home.
The phone reads 21:45, his mother was asleep when he checked her room a while ago. He cooked fried egg for dinner.
"How are you feeling?" Alex asked the female spirit as he laid the food tray with him on his bed. The female spirit is now named Emily. It is tiring for him to call her female spirit all the time. Since she asked to let her stay with him, she agreed for him to name her.
"I am feeling good now. Though I don't think we need to eat. We dont have bodies so we dont have to eat. And my legs feel fine." She added as she stared at her legs.
"Dont worry, this food is not for you. It is for me to eat. I am starving from all the running we did."
Emily pouted. Even if she dont need to eat, it would be nice and a courtesy for her master to ask if she wanted to eat.
The male spirit that was sitting by the window said, "Stop pouting Emily. Sire is kind enough to let us stay by his side." This male spirit is now called Asher.
"So, who was that man that you came with?"
Asher stared at his master eating on his bed. 'Ah, his soul is warm. Was this how the sun felt on my skin when I was alive?'
"That man was the king of the night creature."
"Night creature? Like what, vampires? Do they drink blood?"
Asher thought of an explanation that would let him understand that the king is different from a vampire. "Well, for starters, night creature in general are vampire, yes. According to the book of good and evil it was said that before the earth was born, the godly realm and the early night creatures are living side by side, separated by a thin veil that protects the night creatures from the light." This is the first time that both Alex and Emily is hearing this. Therefore, Emily sat beside Alex and heard his story.
"Their soul," He continued, "is as dark as the shadows and they have red, glowing eyes that would let them see in the dark, but very sensitive in the light. They cant cross that veil. If they do, their soul will be erased, like how a shadow will be gone when exposed to light. So the myth about vampires unable to withstand the sunlight is true. Their souls are like a shadow, so even here on modern earth, they can only stay in the dark and go out when the sun is down."
"So that man with you was the king of the vampires?"
"Yes," Asher paused once more as he tried to collect his memory about why the king was a peculiar case. "But he is different. He can withstand the sunlight. Unlike the rest of his underlings."
"But how is he different?" Emily, who is now lying on the bed, asked.
"Well, first, he doesnt need to drink blood to feed himself, though he can definitely drink blood and he has fangs like a normal vampire. He can withstand the sunlight because of his eyes."
Alex stopped eating and Emily sat upright from the bed. "His eyes?! Is there a reason why his eyes was so blue?" She placed her head on Alex's shoulder. "Come to think of it, you said that vampires have red eyes. Why is it that he has blue eyes? Somehow, it looks out of place from his shadow like soul."
"Can you please stop being clingy to Sire!" Asher was feeling jealous. "Anyway, he was involved in a scandal that goes back before the first human was born. In that scandal, it was said that he took the eyes of a god and up to this day, he still has the same eyes...*cough* from that god." Asher fell on the floor as he coughs. "...and that is how he can withstand the sunlight." He can feel that his throat suddenly became itchy and he cant help but cough it so bad.
"Hey are you alright?" Emily asked worriedly. "I didnt know we could get sick as well. Here, water. That cough is so bad." She got the water from the study table that was supposed to be for Alex. Asher drank from it but the itchiness of his throat wont go away.
"Dummy. We are dead! water--- wont help!!" He said as he still coughs furiously.
Emily placed the water gently on the table. "Then why are you coughing?! Are you hallucinating that you are still alive?!
"Dimwit! I am sorry Sire, I think I cannot continue my story anymore. Because the sin of that god, his name, and even his relationship with the king of the night creature is a taboo topic. No one is allowed to tell to the god involved, the story." Now that Asher has no intention of telling the story, his coughing has stopped.
"wait." Alex is thinking, "You said that you are not allowed to speak about those things in front of the god that was involved, right?"
Asher sat upright from the floor. "Yes sire, as it is a taboo topic."
"But I m a human. And I am pretty sure that none of you is a god."
Asher went into deep thought while Emily went around the house and checked every nook and crook, even the roof, "Sire, there were no spies, It is just us and your sleeping mother, wearing a sexy---"
"SSSH! Dont even say what she is wearing. I am not interested in that." Alex face palmed and sighed.
"My thinking sire, is you might be the reincarnation of that god--- *cough* ---alright, I wont tell a word! damnit!"
'So he cant say anything related to it. But based on what is happening to him, there could be a chance that I am that god itself.' Alex thought.
"Well, that could explain why you have a pure soul. Sire, do you not remember anything at all?" This time, it was Emily who asked the question.
What Alex can remember are his own traumatic experience and nothing more. "No, I cant remember anything related about that. Asher, where did you learn this information?" He has no choice but to go to the source himself.
"There was a book from the old library in the city. It was called 'The book of good and evil' It is hard to find and there is only one copy of that book that I happen to stumble upon. Not everyone knows that book and the scandal that the king was involved."
"I see. Help me find it tomorrow. I am going to read it myself."
Let's see what I am really made of.