Asher slowly opened his eyes, squinting against the fluorescent light on the ceiling. It nearly blinded him at first, and it took him some time to adjust completely.
'Something is off.'
His fingers brushed his forehead, feeling a strange sensation pressing down on him.
Asher looked around, feeling dazed and confused. The last thing he remembered was being shot—he was sure he had died. But somehow, he was back in his room.
Everything looked just the way he'd left it.
But how was this possible? How did he survive ?
'Was it all nightmare?'
That was the only explanation he could think of. Maybe it was just a bad dream, but the pain was still fresh in his mind.
He instinctively traced his fingers to the spot on his abdomen where he'd been shot, and he froze.
The wounds were still there, open, as if they'd never healed. is fingers trembled as they brushed against the damp edges of the gunshot wound.
'Wait... my hands,' he thought, lifting them to examine closely. His skin was paler than he had ever seen, almost white, as if he didn't have a drop of blood left in him.
Noticing these strange things, he felt uneasy, but he maintained his composure, waiting for his mind to adjust to the pressure.
Slowly, he stood up, feeling as if his body were too heavy or maybe he was just too weak.
He tried to take a step but stumbled, his legs giving way beneath him.
THUD!
He hit the floor hard, but feel no pain.
Gritting his teeth, he reached for the doorknob, using it to pull himself back up.
With a weak grip, he finally managed to get to his feet.
He took a moment to steady himself, leaning against the door frame for support ,before turning the knob.
CLICK!
When he opened the door, the mirror greeted him first.
He walked closer, using the sink for support as he leaned in to examine his reflection.
The familiar features were there, but his eyes had a dull, lifeless look.
There were even dark patches on his skin, pure black in places, giving him the look of someone who had just died.
"Did I turn into a zombie?" he muttered casually.
It wasn't that he wasn't afraid; he just wasn't the type to overreact. He preferred to process things calmly.
"You're really something," a voice echoed from behind him.
He turn around to see a girl leaning against the door frame, arms crossed. It was Lucy.
"Even after dying and turning into… this, you barely react. Are you just that calm, or is something wrong with your brain? "she added.
"Did you turn me into this?"
"Either turning you into that or death? Which do you prefer?" she asked with a sarcastic smile.
"Death," he answered without hesitation.
She was taken aback by his response.
Most humans would be elated to get a second chance, even if it meant turning into a monster, but he looked genuinely disappointed to be revived.
"Aren't you being a bit ungrateful? You were given a second chance to live your life," she said, shaking her head.
The more she looked at him, the more she wondered why Yuki was so head over heels for him.
"Second chance in life, huh?" he trailed off.
"I don't know about that. I barely enjoyed it when I was breathing, so being like this isn't really that exciting."
"That's it!" She stepped forward, her frustration spilling over.
"What's done is done, and I saved you, so now I own you! I don't care if you don't enjoy your life anymore; you just need to serve me!"
She scolded him, but her anger was more about his pessimism than real rage. The expression on his face irked her; how could someone so young have such a negative view of life?
'Serve her ? ' He pondered for a moment.
"Yeah, that sounds like a better alternative. It's not like I have other things to do,"
"Why you little..." She was momentarily speechless.
A part of her felt like he was a lost cause, but another part felt something she rarely experienced—pity.
She wanted to understand why he was like this, what had happened to him that made him so indifferent.
After a moment, she took a deep breath and said, "Alright, for your first command... Live for my sake !"
"Live for your sake?" he repeated.
"That's right." She turned to her heel without giving him an specific answer.
As she walked, she muttered under her breath, 'I'll make sure to change that boring personality of yours.'
In the corner of the small apartment, a gloomy girl watched silently, her fingers digging into the wall's paint as if it could anchor her in place.
'What are you doing with my Asher! ' She gritted her teeth, keeping her thoughts to herself as she struggled to control her emotions.
Lucy noticed her from the corner of her eye and smiled smugly. "I warned you. He's officially mine, and there's no turning back."
"You said you weren't into him!" Yuki's aura intensified, causing the items in the apartment to start vibrating slightly.
'Oh my, she's too easy to read. What a jealous ghost, 'Lucy thought, enjoying Yuki's reaction.
"I'm not interested in him... yet," she teased with a sly grin.