I was not stupid enough to immediately believe what that book was telling me.
I mean, who in their right minds would easily believe that they're going to die just because of a book?
That was the case until I saw a figure in front of me, with a transparent body, seemingly floating in the air, which was slightly glowing with a white light.
"What the hell?" Those were the first words I muttered in this world, but I didn't even have time to pay notice that since the being in front of me took my whole attention. I heard a soft thud on the floor, only to realize that I had unconsciously dropped the book I was holding.
The figure in front of me was of a woman in her late twenties, wearing a white dress with her straight, long black hair that was neatly tied in a low ponytail. I was even about to shout 'Sadako' at that time if she didn't tie that long hair.
She was pretty, quite a looker, I must say. She had round almond eyes, tall nose, thin lips and other well defined features in her small face. She's like an innocent deer lost in the woods, but her bluish lips and the look of anger and sadness in her eyes gave away the fact that she was taken down by a ruthless hunter during her times of peace.
"It never occurred to me that I'll hear a young child curse like that." Her voice was mellow and soft, but the sound of sarcasm was present.
It might be the shock from the revelations dropped to me or that I lost my sanity after reviving, but instead of being scared with a ghost-like woman in front of me, I went ahead and refuted her.
"Now you see a rare case, miss. Who are you, anyways?" The sassy tone in my voice came out before I could even stop it. The woman went silent for a while before bursting on a loud laughter.
My eyes blinked fast out of confusion, thinking if the woman was insane or something.
"I'm Serene, a lost soul. I must say you're one interesting kid, though it's quite a pity that you would really die." The shock from her introduction was cut short as my denial of the reality hit me hard upon hearing those words from her.
"I would really die?" I can't help but ask her. I don't know how that question came out but I remember the tinge of pity in her face after I that question.
She then explained to me that I would indeed, inevitably face a near death. As a dead person's soul, she can see the life of the living in a form of a string, and she saw that mine was shorter than normal people's. Strings get shorter as time passes, and if you'd originally have a shorter one, you'd obviously die earlier.
"However, your string is quite different. Aside from being short, it's not the normal white string. It's more of a grayish one and I can see that there are some parts that are already black." Her eyebrows were crossed from confusion, trying to figure out something.
"Setting the grayish color aside, what do those black parts mean?" I can't help but ask her as she said those words. Her confused expression turned serious, and she stared at me with calm eyes.
"Tell me... Have you died once?" I turned silent with her question, processing the things she told me. I avoided her gaze and blankly looked at the floor.
"I guess I did." Not just once though. It was actually twice. Once as Adelaine, another as Zeshia. Serene gasped and I turned my attention to her. She was looking at me with pity in her eyes, but also of hesitation. "What is it?"
"Then I guess the gray string meant that you're half-dead. White string signifies life, while the black one signifies your death. This is just a theory, but if you have a mix of those, you are still alive, but at the same time, you're half-dead, considering that you can see me."
"Then does that mean that I also can't die until my string runs out?" It took her a while before she nodded. I laid down the floor and blankly stared at the ceiling.
"So I guess the curse is really true." I whispered and sighed. "Curse?" I turned to Serene and calmly explained to her about who I am, both as Adelaine Reese and Zeshia Kylio Edregburn, and the curse that I've read in the book.
For some reason, the book was nowhere to be seen so I only reiterated what I remembered about its contents. This body also has quite a good memory, so it wasn't that much of a problem. Serene was attentive and always met my eyes as I told her my story.
I don't know why, but I just felt comfortable with her. Even if she was a ghost and scared the heck out of me at first, she was the only one who looked at me with concern and gentleness, so I guess that made me soft.
The interest and worry in her eyes continued to interchange as I discussed it to her, but I just let it be until I finished my story.
"And now, I'm at a loss at what to do." I told her and I was shocked when her hand reached out for me and patted my head. Although her hand just passed through my body, I can't help but smile when I somehow managed to experience a little warmth in this unknown world.
"Smiling suits you really well... Shia?" My eyes widened when she called me by my nickname.
I've never been called by a sincere nickname before, much more one with an affectionate tone.
Overwhelmed and embarrassed, all I could do at that moment was to nod at her, all while turning my gaze on a different direction. From the corner of my eye, she smiled before giving me another pat in the head.
"If you're at a loss, then do you want to get assist us?" Her question piqued my interest and I immediately stared straight at her eyes.
"What do you mean?" She smiled and gave me a wink. "If you want to, you can take jobs from us, the lost souls that wander in this world."
Aren't lost souls those of people who died and can't find peace?
"Lost souls?" I asked her for confirmation.
"Yes. Souls that have regrets and can't pass the after-life. Since you're a child of a demon, I think you can make contracts with us with equivalent exchanges." My head tilted in confusion with her words. I get what she meant but...
"How do I make a contract? And in the first place, how can I even help you?" Serene smiled at me and held my hands, even if I can't feel it.
"Since you're a child of the most powerful witch, you should be able to conjure magic and use that to help us in resolving our regrets in this world. As for the contract, we can use a drop of your blood as a medium." I nodded and she looked at me with a soft expression on her face.
"Then first, I'd need to learn controlling magic, right? How do I do that?" It's not like I would really die even if I do nothing, but I'd rather do something to survive since feeling pain is annoying.
Serene's face looked confident after I asked the question. Her eyes were sparkling, eyebrows raised, and a proud grin on her face.
"Don't worry about that, Shia. I'll teach you." Before I could even ask how she'd be able to know about it, considering that magic is still quite rare in this world, she just dragged me outside and then our training started.
With Serene's help, I learned how to properly control my powers. It may be because I'm part-demon, but I can't summon or control magic without drawing my own blood. Although unlike usual demons, I can create high-level spells and have better elemental control since I'm also part-witch.
Like my mother, I'm also able to control different elements and like my father, I can create spells, although the most usual one that I use is for disguise. I can change my appearance, from a woman with amethyst eyes and silver-gray hair that transitions to dark blue and dark violet hair on the ends, I can be a normal looking middle-aged woman or a little boy, and assume those bodies as my own. It can last for days or months, depending on how much blood I used to create the spell.
This spell is also the reason why I resolved myself to one job in this world, being an contractor for the lost souls. I disguise as different people, or even the appearance of the souls themselves, in order to fulfill their wishes.
When I was 7, or two years after practicing magic with Serene in my parents' sanctuary, I left home and went into different places to seek for lost souls and help them.
That's how it went for around 9 years. I am now 16, with two years left until my fated time of death.
And during those nine years, I've encountered the corruption and shitty systems in this world that never differed from my past one.
I was first opened to this reality when I took my first job, in which I thought it would be simple and an easy task to finish, but hell, I was wrong in every way.