Just as the sun sank In the heart of the dying city, Circe stepped onto the bus and sat at the nearest seat. As she settled onto the worn seat, the bus jerked forward, carrying her away from the clamour of the lower city.
The journey to the train station was swift, the bus gliding through narrow alleys and bustling marketplaces. Circe watched the cityscape blur past, the neon signs of unlicensed potion shops, the steam rising from alchemical factories, and the flicker of streetlights that danced with both electricity and fae fire.
She closed her eyes wondering how the cloaked man was doing and if he had finally got home. She glanced down at her communication device and wondered if she should call the person he called to ask if he was safe. One could consider it as helping all the way.
She lowered her head swaying with the shaky movements of the bus. The screen blinked to life, revealing a pristine home screen. She checked the call log intending to dial the previous number but her finger froze.
There was no call history. The man was so careful not even to leave a trace of himself like they were cutting off ties. She had nothing to complain about. He had paid her back a thousand times more for what she spent on him but still wasn't this a bit dismissive?
"Unbelievable," Circe muttered, her anger simmering. She had helped a lot of people in her past life and never had she been this insulted. She never wanted to be repaid and no one had dared to shun her like this.
She scoffed the smile on her face disconcerting.
Outside the window, the city blurred past. The next stop was the train station, and Circe could see it in the distance.
As the bus slowed, she stood up while locking the communication device. She stepped off the bus, the pavement cool beneath her shoes. Just as she took a few steps she heard the shrill screams of people.
Her brows furrowed as she instinctively took a step towards that direction. A group of commuters hurried past her their eyes wide with fear.
The floating displays that adorned the station's walls suddenly changed. Each panel that had been playing colourful advertisements now had the same soulless image of a woman repeating the words, "Attention all citizens. A creature has breached the upper level. Stay clear of the street."
At the sound of the announcement, Circe was caught in the chaos. She stumbled and was swept along by the frantic crowd. As the crowd surged she clung tightly to her suitcase and purse, the leather strap digging into her shoulder. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, there was the platform.
Soon after the train arrived silently, its sleek form gliding on invisible rails. The doors opened and Circe stepped inside, the crowd pressing in behind her. The doors slid shut, and the train shot forward, hurtling through the tunnel.
Circe closed her eyes to relax her tense muscles. She was being squeezed on all sides and she hated the feeling. Her mind began to wander aimlessly as she stood there feeling like a sardine packed in a tin with the others.
'I thought we obliterated all these critters. This is such a headache... for someone else,' she thought to herself. She was unable to make sense of it neither did she care to. She accumulated a lot of scars fighting those nasty things only for them to be back two decades later.
One stop after the other the train was finally less packed with the mixed nauseating scents of sweat and perfume decreasing drastically. She finally got to sit down and like most commuters after a long hard day at work, she leaned back and closed her eyes as though to sleep but she was simply lost in thought.
At the next stop, a pair of father and son walked in and sat right across from her. The little boy was no older than six years old. On his back, he was carrying a cute puppy school bag. As cute as he looked he seemed quite upset. It seemed he wanted to stay a little longer at the amusement park and his father was telling him that it was getting late.
But the kid kept making a fuss thus the man thought of another tactic. A tactic that plenty of parents use these days to scare their kids.
"If you keep making a fuss the evil demon sorceress of hell will crawl out from underneath your bed and take you away. You know she loves naughty children," he said reprimanding him.
Circe's brow twitched. Who else in the history of mankind was the evil demon sorceress who loved to kidnap naughty children?
'It couldn't be my lovely sister, could it?' she said to herself but her eyes remained closed.
"Papa, you always lie to me. I bet that scary lady never existed," replied the little boy trying to act brave but his voice was obviously trembling.
A half-drunk man wiped the droplets on his moustache after drinking some liquor from his flask and said, "Hey kid, listen to your old man. Let me tell you... if you say that succubus' name thrice in the mirror she will appear. Circe... Circe...."
"Sir, stop you are scaring our children," said a young woman covering her daughter's ears.
The man shrugged his shoulders and burped prompting others to look away in disgust.
"Then that means it's effective... let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, the world was trembling under the weight of the Shadow monsters. They were monstrous beasts that had crawled out of hell hungry for blood. They devoured everything in their path, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction."
"But they were not the only predators in this world. Vampires, werewolves, and witches had existed for centuries, hiding in the shadows and preying on humans and each other. They were natural enemies, locked in a perpetual war of supremacy and survival."
"Until the day they realised they had a common enemy. The Shadow Monsters were too powerful, too numerous, and too hungry for any of them to face alone. They had to unite or perish. And so they did, forming an unlikely alliance with the humans they once hunted."
"Together, they waged a desperate battle against the invaders, using their magic, strength, and cunning to fight. The war was brutal, but they prevailed. They managed to destroy every last one of the Shadow Monsters, saving the planet from annihilation. They celebrated their victory, hoping for a new era of peace and cooperation.
But their hope was short-lived."