Lately, Adam felt odd. Like something isn't right. For the longest time, he hadn't had frequent dreams probably due to his bad sleeping habits. Often, he finds himself with dreamless sleep and rarely ever has any dream.
But that changed a week ago.
It started with the dream about him getting transported into another world like one of those overused Isekai tropes. From then on, he keeps getting these similar dreams day after day.
They felt so vivid and realistic that he could hardly dismiss them as simple dreams anymore.
Every night he was haunted by those terrible dreams where horrifying robed people strap him to an operation table an subject him to equally horrifying and terrible torture that often make him wake up in the middle of the night drenched in cold sweat.
It got so bad that he went to the doctor and got administered sleeping pills to battle his insomnia. But it didn't stop those dreams.
Adam continues to dream of those terrible nightmares where he was transformed into a massive warrior in silver armor, fighting against demonic abomination.
Each of those experiences felt so vivid. As if he was there in that reality fighting those abominations. Every emotion and thought of the silver warrior was felt by him as if they were his own emotions and thoughts.
———
"Fuck… what the hell is happening to me?" Adam was genuinely distressed and exhausted.
It was another one of those dreams that plagued him.
But this time, he experienced a dream about a battle against a certain entity. A beautiful yet underneath it's beauty is horror beyond mortal comprehension.
Unable to return to sleep, Adam rose up from his bed and made himself a cup of coffee before going to the balcony to smoke a cigarette and relax his stressed mind.
Feeling the cold and crisp early morning air, Adam lights up his cigarette before staring into the dark sky, wondering what is happening to himself.
But, suddenly he heard something.
"Meow~"
"Hmn?" Adam turned his head and saw a black cat leaping from the neighbor's balcony into his own.
"Shoo! Can't you see I'm smoking over here, dumb cat." Ray tried to chase away the cat out of concern since he remembered that the cigarette smoke would affect even the animal.
But the cat being a cat, it ignored Adam's words and approached him while meowing even more as if asking for food.
"Haah… I can't even smoke in peace." Adam grumbles and takes a scissor to cut off the burning part of the cigarette and save the rest for later. He is already poor enough he can't afford to waste even one.
After storing away his cigarette, Adam reaches for the cat near his legs and brings it to his lap.
"Since you come to disturb me, at least let me pet you to my heart's content." He said before showering the cat with caress and pets while the cat purrs under his skilled hands.
"Hmph, while this venerable didn't mind being pet and adored. This venerable would prefer a cute girl rather than ugly schmu—"
"A ghost!" Adam did not hesitate and threw the weird talking cat he labeled as ghost off the balcony from the 12th floor.
After some hesitation, Adam looks over the balcony to look at the cat only to find no corpse on the street below which further ascertaining that the cat is some kind of ghost.
Adam isn't that surprised to see ghosts. In fact, this isn't even his first encounter with one. While he didn't know for sure if it's true or not. His family lineage has relation to the mystic. Due to that, the 'veil' of his eyes was weakened by his heritage. Although, Adam sees it more as a curse than blessing. After all, the purpose of the veil is to separate the world of the spirit and the living like a veil. None could interact as long as the veil is intact.
To those without power to ward off the spirit, being able to interact with one is like having an enemy that can harm you while you can only stare at it helplessly.
Cursing it off as his streak of bad luck, Adam sat back at his plastic chair and about to light up his unfinished cigarette.
"Boo!"
"Jesus fucking fuck fuck!" Adam screams hysterically because the cat is back and floating off the balcony.
Adam ran into his apartment and shut the balcony door tightly before praying fervently despite being an atheist because while he believes in none, the power of religious faith does have effect on hostile spirits. However, what came out his mouth isn't the usual kind of prayers he recites.
"Foul creature of the Warp, I cast thee out in the name of the God Em—"
"Huh?" Adam paused when he recalled these same prayers from his dream.
"Why did I…" He tried to figure out why he would instinctively use such a prayer that he forgot about the existence of the 'ghost' that is staring at him with a smirk.
"Well well well, it seems you are still not a lost cause yet, Adam Black." The 'ghost' spoke which immediately made Adam recall about its existence and return to panic mode.
"Get the hell out of here!" Adam grabbed anything could reach and threw it at the 'ghost'.
"This is going to be annoying." The 'ghost' grumbles before he does something which immobilizes Adam as his body seized up like a statue.
"Now. Let's talk like civilized people shall we?" The cat said while Adam could only give a muffled grunt which didn't answer the question but the cat took it as a Yes.
"Good. Now, I wouldn't want to be here either. But it seems someone is trying to tamper with your soul, aka my property. Although, not enough for me to take action yet. So listen carefully, Adam Black." The cat said while floating mid air and crossing its legs and arms.
"Personally I wouldn't want to come here since I am busy with collecting lol– *cough* stuff. So, you are on your own with this shit you caused. But I wouldn't let you be on your own either." The cat said before removing the immobilization on Adam.
Adam didn't immediately escape, still confused by the situation. But decided to listen regardless not to offend this powerful being that could rob him of his freedom.
"Well, that guy seems to be intent on looking through your memories to orchestrate all this. But due to the contract between us, I am obligated to protect your soul, by extension, your memories. So, be grateful." The cat said arrogantly with its head lifted high before looking back at him.
"As for the rest, you are on your own. Adios." The cat said with its paw pointed at him before flicking its paw and vanished without a trace.
Adam was left confused and honestly thought he was hallucinating from his lack of sleep for the past week due to insomnia.
After a few minutes of sitting still, trying to comprehend his hallucination. He decided to give up and take a leave for today to visit the hospital.
———
In the morning, as planned. He made a call to his supervisor to ask for a medical leave before going to the hospital. He took a bus there since the hospital was located in the middle of the city.
On the bus, Adam stared at his phone and read a novel since it would take nearly an hour to reach his destination. He sat at the very back and wore earplugs while listening to a song album from a certain Japanese musical band well known for their gothic rock themed songs called Elfensjón.
But something out of the ordinary happened today. Not that his encounter with the talking cat isn't extraordinary but he chalks it off as his hallucination.
Anyway, a girl. Beautiful one that is at the level of idols or something, with blond hair and also oddly, purple eyes which he assumed were contact lense. This girl suddenly sat next to him which he found odd on many levels.
First would be a beautiful girl who even commutes on a bus. Second, blond hair since this is a third world Asian country's backwater city with little foreigner tourists where people would have predominantly black hair. He didn't even consider someone using hair dye since he never saw one in real life. Third would be her strange eye color.
But, Adam didn't think much of it and assumed the girl is probably a cosplayer that is cosplaying for some event in the city. He never bothered to even attend any because it's expensive and he didn't have time. So, he simply didn't care and got back to his novel after a brief admiration.
Nearly an hour later, Adam arrived at the bus stop he needed to drop on and got off the bus.
He noticed the girl also got off the bus. But didn't spare her much thought before making his way over to the hospital, unaware the same girl glanced at him very intently.
The hospital was close by, just a block away from the bus stop he got off. But before going to the hospital, he decided to grab something to eat from a convenience store since he slept all the way to 7 am in the morning after his hallucination this morning and didn't have time to make his own breakfast.
All he got was just a piece of bun with red bean paste filling and a bottle of mineral water to wash it down. But after he paid for the bun and left the convenience store, he noticed the same girl standing on the other end of the street while staring at him.
When those purple eyes stared at him. He felt his body shiver involuntarily from a chill.
"Fuck… don't tell me it's another ghost…" He whispered and turned his body away and pretended he hadn't seen the girl as he walked away with hurried steps.
Forget about seeing a doctor. What he need now is a fucking priest to exorcise his shitty aura.
At first, he walked with hurried steps. But when he turned his head over his shoulder and still saw the girl at the edge of his vision. He started to run.
In the process of running, he collided with a few pedestrians. When he accidentally pushed someone to the ground. He hastily apologized and offered a hand to pick the person up. But then he realized something that made him retreat a few steps.
The person he pushed down did not have a face!
Turning around, Adam saw the girl was approaching even as she walked leisurely while he ran.
"Seriously! What the hell is going on!" Adam broke into a sprint and ran into the direction of a church.
Pedestrians vanished from his surroundings.
Roads become empty without vehicles.
The city feels empty when it's usually noisy.
Something is up but he couldn't get a grasp at what is wrong.
When he reaches the church, Adam immediately barges through every door looking for a priest. But the whole church was empty without even a single soul.
He collapsed to the floor in the prayer hall, hyperventilating from out of breath. He couldn't think anymore until he heard footsteps.
Turning around and panickly looking at the entrance, he saw the same blond girl. As opposed to everyone he encountered so far, she had a face. An emotionless one and her eyes seem to bore deep into the depth of his soul.
With each step she took, Adam crawled back with his arms and legs until his back was against the wall. But, even so. The girl continued to approach him until she was standing right before him.
His body froze in fear and his throat tightened, unable to utter a word from this traumatic situation.
"So, this is the true you, Adam Black?" The girl said as her emotionless expression morphed into disdain and disappointment.
"W-What the fuck you want from me, bitch!" Adam said hesitantly after swallowing the lump of fear stuck on his throat while staring straight at the purple eyes.
"I never did anything to you! I never even knew y–" Adam couldn't finish his words when the girl choked him and lifted him up by his throat despite her frail and slender looking arm.
"Never did anything to me? Never known me?" The girl laughed disdainfully while tightening her hold. "It is true for the current you. It's so pathetic I couldn't derive any joy or pleasure from snuffing out your miserable existence."
The girl suddenly let go of Adam's neck as Adam fell to the ground with a loud thud as he coughed and desperately inhaled a mouthful of air.
"Shut up, this is between me and him." The girl suddenly growled much to Adam's confusion as he only had one thought which was to escape.
"I will make him remember everything! All the pain and misery he caused me. Then, I will enjoy–" The crazy girl shouted again but paused before she grumbled angrily. But by then, Adam already reached the entrance and ran out from the prayer hall.
—————
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