The house loomed before them, its windows and doors locked tight. Jean hurried to secure every entrance, a sense of urgency in her movements. "Who was that man? Do you know him?" Elena asked, her brow furrowed with concern.
Jean's expression darkened. "He wasn't human. He may have been reincarnated, but he was a monster before."
Elena's eyes widened. "A monster?" she breathed, a shiver running down her spine. "He's after my soul."
Jean nodded, "You felt it too, on the bus - the goosebumps, the fear. You recognized him, even then."
Elena swallowed hard, recalling the unsettling sensation. "What does it mean?"
"It means you remember, too - the monsters from our past lives." Jean's voice was grave. "This won't be the last time we encounter one."
"Have you always had that knife with you?" Elena asked, eyeing the blade at Jean's side.
"Can't we just report this to the police?" Elena suggested, her voice tinged with desperation.
Jean shook her head. "The police are useless. We can't trust them, either."
"Why is it after you?" Elena pressed, her brow creased with worry.
Jean's expression darkened. "It holds a grudge from our previous lives."
"Previous lives?" Elena scoffed, her patience wearing thin. "You can't be serious."
Jean's gaze hardened. "I told you, I remember. But you don't believe me."
"Let's just go home," Elena said, unconvinced.
"We can't," Jean replied, her voice laced with urgency. "It'll hunt us down. That man was nothing compared to what's coming."
Elena's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"The most frightening thing is Orexis," Jean said, her words heavy with dread.
"Orexis? I don't care. I'm calling Mom to come get us!" Elena turned towards the door, but Jean grabbed her arm, pulling her back.
"That's why I told you to wear a mask. If Orexis spots you, we'll both be dead!" Jean's voice rose in anger as Elena pushed her away.
"Do you think I wanted this?" Elena cried, her frustration boiling over. "I never asked to be your twin! I don't understand any of this, and I'm not running away with you!"
The next day, Elena and Jean continued their journey, heading to a small town in Wales. "How much longer do we need to walk? I'm hungry," Elena asked.
"We're almost there. It's that house," Jean answered, pointing to a modest dwelling not far ahead.
Soon, they reached the gate, and Jean knocked. A woman in her fifties opened the door, her eyes widening in recognition as Jean removed her mask. "I told you I'd be back," Jean said.
"Is it you, sister?" the woman asked, her voice filled with amazement and joy as she embraced Jean.
Sister? Elena was confused, watching the emotional reunion unfold before her.
*The woman was Jean's little sister from her previous life.*
The woman ushered them inside, serving Elena a warm meal. As Elena ate, Jean and the woman retreated to the next room, their hushed conversation hidden from Elena's ears.
When Jean emerged, Elena was waiting. "Hey, are you done talking? Can we leave now?" she asked.
"Stay here for the time being. I have somewhere I need to go," Jean replied.
"Are you telling me to stay here without you?" Elena asked, glancing at the woman. "Why? Can't I just come with you?"
"That will only put both of us in danger," Jean said. "So listen carefully to what I'm about to say."
"I don't want to hear it. I'm going with you. Where's my bag?" Elena protested, moving towards the house.
Jean grabbed her arm. "Listen to me. Don't call our house. You can never go back there. If you don't listen, your family will die because of you."
Elena's eyes widened. "They're going to die? What do you mean by 'your family'? They're your family too."
"Promise me you won't go back there. Answer me!" Jean shouted.
"Fine. I promise. It won't take long, right?" Elena asked.
"Be a good girl," Jean said, her expression sombre.
"Where are you going?" Elena asked again.
Sadness clouding her features, Jean answered, "I need to go back and put an end to this karma. This is my final chance. I need to find the sword that can kill Orexis - the same sword that killed me six hundred years ago." With that, she left, her determination unwavering.
"She shouldn't have reincarnated like this," the woman said, moving closer to Elena and looking deeply troubled.
That night, Elena couldn't sleep. She quietly woke up beside the woman and called her mother, tears streaming down her face.
"Elena, where are you? Are you okay?" her mother asked, her voice filled with worry.
"Yes, I'm okay," Elena replied. "But Jean's not with me anymore. She said I shouldn't go back home, that our entire family will die if I do. I don't know what to do. I'm scared."
"Where are you? I'll come pick you up, okay?" her mother replied. "You don't have to cry."
Elena tried to sneak out, but the woman caught her and dragged her back inside. Desperate, Elena pushed the woman away and ran home in the middle of the night.
She was picked up by the call centre, where her mother came to get her. They hugged tightly, and Elena fell asleep in the car.
As they approached their apartment, they noticed someone lurking in the building - it was Jean.
"Jean!" Elena and her mother exclaimed, shocked to see her.
"I told you not to come out," Jean scolded Elena.
"Jean, look..." her mother began, moving closer, but Jean cut her off.
"We have no time. Go somewhere else," Jean warned.
"What's going on? Tell me, I'll..." her mother asked, trying to calm her down.
"Stop it!" Jean exclaimed. "I'm not your daughter."
"Jean!" Her mother was confused.
"Get out of here if you want to live," Jean said.
Suddenly, the lights went out, and a terrifying sound approached. "Run! Go!" Jean shouted.
They rushed into their apartment, and their mother called the emergency number. The beast battered at the door, and their mother stayed in the living room to protect Elena and Jean, sending them into their room.
Jean quickly hid Elena in a tiny wardrobe, warning her not to make a sound or come out no matter what happened. She gave Elena a mask to cover her face.
"Listen carefully, you have to live. Live in hiding and don't trust anyone. And look for a way to kill Orexis," Jean said.
"How? How do I do that?" Elena asked.
It's...as Jean completed her words, their mother's agonized scream cut through the air as Orexis attacked her. Jean closed the wardrobe, rushing to defend her mother.
Elena cried, listening to her mother's cries for help. She emerged to see a man in black, its face hidden.
.
.
.