What am I even supposed to do? If I pass the day regularly, the day resets, and if I meet the elf, I die. I don't want to go back, I don't want to deal with all the bullshit the witch is putting me in. This was like a checkmate, I was stuck in a position where I couldn't progress to the next day no matter what. I feel like giving up on this, there is no possible way forward... Right? I woke up, it was brighter than usual, and I saw nothing but white.
Cori: Huh? Am I blind? Why is it all white?
Mabye My vision hasn't cleared yet, or I am now blind, my vision is taking a really long time to come into focus. I decided to get up, everything around me was white. I decided to make sure I wasn't blind and finally look at my hands, of course, they were still there. They seemed more gray than usual. The area around me is the space that was really there, I was in a white space stretching infinitely; this is probably the afterlife, spend eternity in white space.
Cori: Did I finally die? I guess this is the afterlife?
A voice suddenly calls out to me.
Voice: Cori... Here...
I turn, the voice seemed to be behind me, even though there was nothing there, I decided to walk in the general direction of the voice. My feet made the sound of water splashing as I crossed the white space, no ripples were in the ground, the floor, if you can call it a floor, is definitely not water. I eventually come across someone sitting at a table. There was a lavish throne, which was all white, and the table was all white also. The only thing that broke the whiteness was the person sitting on the throne, they had a blue mage robe on.
Cori: Hello?
Voice: Your turn, outsider.
The person lifts their head at an inhuman speed, I hear a snap as their head twists upward. The person had short, white hair and yellow eyes, most of the body was skinned except for the face, blood was soaked on almost every inch of their body. Their skin seemed to be a gray color, I couldn't really tell due to the sheer amount of blood coating the skin, blood stained the inside of their robe, I could also see organs hanging out of their stomach, they didn't even seem to care that they were basically walking corpses. I couldn't tell whether the person was a male or female due to the body being disfigured.
Person: Coward, outsider... YOUR TURN!
They seemed to get angrier by the second, their faces contorting into a wide frown.
Cori: Relax! Who even are you?
Person: GET OVER HERE, YOU SHIT!
Cori: What is with the attitude? Did your parents not teach you properly?
Person: All outsiders are the same after all, leave now.
Is this person some sort of god? Why do they think they can order me around? I just got here, what do they even expect? I have no idea what the point of talking to whoever this is was. I turn my back and leave immediately. I look over my shoulder constantly at the strange person sitting on the throne. Before the throne was out of sight once again, I started to see shadows in the corner of my eyes, they began to cloud my vision.
Cori: Oh, hey, something new?
The shadows seem to block the path ahead, a dismembered corpse appears from the showdows, this was different from the one on the throne but seemed eerily similar, it had the same features of a blue robe and white hair, this one clearly had grey skin, the only difference was the injury, it had its arm cut off and was missing parts of its legs, a gaping hole seemed to be in the spot where the heart should be.
Corpse: Turn back, please... It's not over yet.
Cori: WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL?
I was terrified, of course, I sprint back to the table and throne, I never look back at the corpse. The person on the throne didn't respond this time I came back. I came over to check on them.
Cori: Hello??? You there?
They were slumped to the side, I got a closer look.
Cori: Wakey Wakey, I'm right here!
No response, are they dead or asleep? I decided the best course of action was to push the body, it was surprisingly light, they fell onto the floor and lay still. There was nothing better to do, so I sit down on the throne, taking the place of the corpse.
Cori: What is the point of all of this? Do I just sit here for eternity?
Person: Know your place, outsider, you know that you don't belong here, not here...
The corpse suddenly rises and starts to strangle me, as I feel the hands wrap around my neck, the space suddenly shifts around. I jolted off from the throne only to realize that I was back in the alley.
Cori: What type of fever dream was that? Now that Im back here, it's time to make a plan. How will I not die?
I start thinking, obviously, I cannot avoid or meet the elf, otherwise, the day will reset back to the alleyway. Why does she want to kill me anyway? Why was I considered a "sinner" when I did nothing wrong so far? Nothing about me or the elf made sense, I don't really know if I existed before the witch summoned me, I might have committed some type of atrocity for the elf to have such distain over me. Talking to the elf and begging for my life will not work either, I don't even know the details of myself, and the elf cannot be reasoned with. I need someone to protect me while I meet the elf or have good relations with someone related. I can probably sort things out that way. If I fail, I can just try again, there isn't really any other option.
Cori: But who is the elf associated with? I can probably ask the city guards to help me, but they won't be able to go outside the city... If the elf is located at the village, then my best bet is to hire an adventurer or a knight for protection... But I'm broke, and I don't have enough time to hire someone within one day...
Stealing may have been an option, but it's too unpredictable. I barely got past one day by stealing, and I can't steal from anything major like a store. Suddenly, someone crosses my mind.
Cori: That's it! Regel! Regel is obviously in some way associated with the elf to know where she is. I can easily help him this time since I don't need to bother searching around all day for the bandits. My best course of action is to gain his trust by helping him and making a deal to let me see the elf without dying. My help with Regel would definitely convince him that I was worthy to see the elf... somehow.
This was my best bet so far, I knew the location of the bandits, and at this time, I also knew where the elf was at this time. Since he is associated with the elf, the elf should be of his concern. I can probably get him to follow me to the elf, he would definitely at least pay me back in some way after I help him. The only hole in the plan for now is the fact that he knows I am a "sinner" for some reason, but I could do some good deeds in order to balance out the sin I have caused.
Cori: I am such a genius! I should write a book about myself!
As expected, when Regel crosses the alleyway into the open, the "saving the kid" event should happen. I don't want to get his attention now since my clothes were extremely suspicious... Especially in an alleyway. Regel saves the child, gets praise, and goes on his merry way. I follow him like a stalker down the road. I manage to catch up to him this time.
Cori: Regel!
Regel: Eh?
Cori: You're Regel, right?
I have to act like I don't know him, I don't think knowing his name should be hole in my act since he seems famous enough to be recognized in the crowd.
Regel: Hm? Who the hell is Regel?
What the hell? His name is Regel! Did he lie to me when we met?
Cori: Oh... Uhm... Did I get your name wrong?
"Regel" looks at me again, I could feel my soul being touched by his gaze again... Why does this happen each time? He seemed to be more confused this time.
Regel: Yeah? My name isn't Regel... Why are you using the name of the late demon lord so carelessly, screaming it in front of people?
The people around us didn't seem to care. They probably thought something along the lines of, "That weird homeless girl is going insane! She probably now worships a dead demon!" My face turns red.
Cori: Sorry... But I didn't know that the demon lord was called that... Someone told me that your name was Regel...
Regel: Oh, well, my name is Alastor. What do you need?
He seemed extremely weirded out by me. I really hope this doesn't affect the outcome.
Cori: Alright, mister Alastor! I have a request for you! Can we talk it out in some place private?
Alastor: Oh... Uh... Sure?
We head over to the side of the road and start talking.
Cori: I heard you were in search of some documents that were stolen by some bandits.
Alastor seemed to look at me with even more confusion.
Alastor: Why, yes... How did you get this information?
Cori: I got it from some mysterious people, and I want to help.
Alastor: I don't need your help. What you really need to do is take care of yourself. Have you taken a look at yourself?
To think about it, up to this point, I haven't really taken my appearance into account, I haven't been paying attention to myself this whole time. I checked up on my body, I had short hair, which was messy, gray skin, and I was extremely skinny. No wonder he said I had malnutrition the first time we met. I was also covered in mysterious stains, and there were even more mysterious stains on my robe... I most likely looked like a mess to other people around me... No wonder everyone I talked to had a weird look on their face.
Cori: I can worry about myself later, I have some super important info on the bandits that you would want!
Alastor: And what might that be?
Cori: Their hideout location! I know where one of their hideouts is. They have been bothering me for an extremely long time, and I want them gone. I saw them get documents into their hideout, it's a guaranteed win-win! I get to live on the streets in peace, and you get the documents!
Alastor: And where might their hideout be at?
Cori: It is in this one alleyway, come! I will show you.
Alastor: Fine, I'll follow, just note that if you waste my time, I won't hesitate to punish you...
Cori: Thats a deal!
I am in a safe spot for now, I just need to keep my act up in order to avoid being suspected. This is all going according to my plan for now.