Eternal Undying Chronicles

Anne didn't remember much—it was all a blur. She was grabbed by someone, saw flames, and heard the assistant class rep, Mark, calling her name.

One moment, she was walking out of the library, and the next, she found herself here.

It had happened so fast. She hadn't lost consciousness, but she had been teleported. The sensation was disorienting, like being ripped from one place and stitched into another.

Now, she found herself in a large, dilapidated room. The walls were cracked, with peeling paint hanging like dead skin, and sunlight streamed through several holes in the ceiling.

Despite its rundown appearance, the place felt oddly lived-in. Scattered chairs, a battered TV, and old furniture gave it a strange, makeshift coziness.

Anne's eyes scanned the room, quickly locking onto a dark-skinned young man—Caden. She recognized him almost immediately as the leader of the rogue espers group, The Rogues. Seeing how she had been kidnapped, it wasn't hard to put two and two together, vague descriptions of him were on different blog sites as well as AI generated images.

His presence was intimidating. Beside him stood a woman with dirt-blonde hair, another with brown hair, and several others who seemed equally out of place in this decrepit setting.

Among them was a middle-aged man, whose playful expression sharply contrasted with the tense atmosphere.

Anne's chest tightened with fear, her nerves on edge.

"W-What do you want with me?" Anne stammered, trying to keep her voice steady.

Caden smiled, though there was no warmth behind it as he stepped closer.

"I have questions, and you're going to answer them, or else," he said, his tone carrying a menacing weight.

Anne's heart pounded faster. Before she could react, the woman behind Caden—Petra—smacked him on the back of the head.

"Don't scare her, you jerk," Petra scolded, her voice full of annoyance.

"Hi, I'm Petra," she said, her tone suddenly lightening as she turned to Anne.

"That's Christina over there, and the asshole is Caden. The one who teleported you here is Chris—he's Christian's twin brother. That's Chrona, and over there is Maya. The older man... we just call him 'the old man.'"

Petra rattled off their names like they were at a casual gathering. Anne nodded slightly, still wary but grateful for the introductions.

"We're not going to hurt you," Christian said softly, trying to reassure her.

"Yeah, what she said. We just have some questions," Petra added, her demeanor genuinely friendly despite the situation. The others remained quiet, letting Petra and Christian take the lead.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell us, I mean, we aren't going to hurt you."

Anne nodded, her tension easing slightly.

"About a month and a half ago, you were kidnapped. Do you remember anything?" Petra asked, her voice gentle but probing.

Anne furrowed her brow, trying to recall the events but choosing her words carefully as she gauged their reactions.

"No pressure," Caden added, rubbing the back of his head. "We just know you were kidnapped by a monster and taken to the docks. That place was a human slaughterhouse. You survived."

Anne's expression hardened, struggling to remember. She had been unconscious and later dismissed as a junkie.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"We know that only two people survived—you and an unknown little girl. When you were taken, a shadowy figure went after the monster and rescued you. We want to meet them," Christian continued.

"We kinda figured if we took you for a little while, they might show up. We just want to talk to them, ask a few questions. You know, that kind of stuff," Petra explained, as if they were discussing something casual.

Anne nodded again, feeling somewhat calmer now that she understood the situation better.

"I don't know any shadow people," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "When I was taken, it was by a hideous monster. I looked it up later, and I think it was... a Strigoi. When I woke up, I was in the university's hospital... apparently, I had been drunk."

She lowered her head, her voice growing softer. "No one believed me, except Ali."

"Ali? Is he your boyfriend? Oh my God, I finally get to do college girl stuff! Tell me all about it!" Petra interrupted with an excited giggle, her eyes lighting up with curiosity.

Caden took the opportunity to smack her on the head. "Focus, Petra."

"Ouch, my bad. Focusing now," Petra pouted.

Caden turned back to Anne, apologetic. "Sorry about her. She always wanted to go to college... any school, really. So did the rest of us. That's why she got so excited."

"Back to the topic, everyone. We can exchange stories afterward," Christina interjected, clearly annoyed by the diversion.

The others deflated, their earlier excitement fading as they returned to the more pressing matter at hand.

Just then, the door creaked open, and a young man who looked exactly like Christian walked in, accompanied by a red-haired girl and a boy who seemed to be in middle school. Their arrival shifted the tension in the room.

"Hey, guys," Chris greeted as he strolled in, his expression bored. He dropped into a worn-out chair, as if the whole situation was mildly annoying.

"We ditched the van," he continued nonchalantly. "Now we just wait. I doubt the shadow person can track us."

Anne, feeling a bit more at ease now, turned to Petra. "Who is this shadow person you keep talking about?"

Petra smiled gently. "I don't think he's actually a shadow person. We gave him that name because, when I tried using Psychometry on your hair, I couldn't see his face or body shape—nothing. Just shadows... or more like darkness. Kind of like the night."

"Do you have any clue who it could be?" Caden asked, his tone curious yet insistent.

Anne shook her head, her brow furrowing. "No, not a clue."

"Whoever it was went after the monster because it took you," Petra added softly. "I could feel that he was driven to save you, more than anything else. The emotions were strong, so strong that they clung to you."

"Is there anyone you think it could be?" Caden pressed.

Anne lowered her head, thinking. If she had to guess, there was only one person who came to mind. But Alicarde had told her it wasn't him, and she believed him. He always kept things to himself, but she had no reason to doubt his word. She decided to kill her doubts.

"No, there's no one I suspect or think would go that far to save me. I don't know anyone with superpowers," Anne said firmly.

"Are you sure? Think deeper. It could be any—" Caden started, but was cut off.

"Now, now, guys, don't pressure the poor girl," the middle-aged man finally spoke up. His deep, calm voice had an air of playfulness as he rose from his chair, walking over to join the group.

"We already knew she'd be oblivious," John continued, looking at Petra for confirmation.

"She was more or less unconscious during the whole thing, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," Petra nodded in agreement.

"In that case, let's all just relax and play some games while we wait for our mystery man to show up," John suggested, his tone lightening in an attempt to ease the tension.

"Okay, old man," Caden chuckled.

John scowled, though a glimmer of amusement flickered in his eyes.

"I'm not old. I'm just thirty-eight," he grumbled. "And stop calling me old man."

He turned toward Anne, offering her a warm smile. "Name's John, but you can call—"

"Old man!" Petra interrupted with a mischievous grin.

John gritted his teeth, clearly annoyed but still trying to keep his composure. "You can call me Uncle John," he insisted.

"Just call him old man!" the others chimed in unison, perfectly synchronized. The room erupted into laughter, with everyone playfully teasing John and encouraging Anne to join in.

At first, Anne hesitated, uncertain of her place in the group, but the genuine warmth and humor quickly won her over.

She found herself laughing along with them, the earlier tension dissolving into a sense of camaraderie. As the conversation flowed, she learned their names and their unique abilities, realizing that, despite their odd circumstances, they weren't bad people after all.

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Snacks were passed around, and Anne eagerly listened as they shared tales of their powers and experiences as espers.

In return, she recounted stories of her school life, the latest fashion trends, and the movies making waves in the outside world.

They hung on to her every word, enthralled by her description of a life they had been cut off from. To them, she was like a bridge to a world they could only dream of, making her feel like a minor celebrity.

"So, what's it like in the big city these days?" Summer asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"Yeah, what kind of movies are people watching now?" May chimed in, her voice eager.

"And what about fashion? Is it really all that different from what we see on TV?" Maya added, leaning forward in anticipation.

Anne smiled, happy to share. "The city's busier than ever," she began, "and the fashion? It's always changing. Right now, it's all about bright colors and bold patterns. As for movies, there's this new sci-fi film everyone's talking about… although I know one guy who hates it because the writers messed with the source material too much."

Laughter filled the room again as they traded stories, the espers' eyes lighting up as they imagined a world far beyond the crumbling walls around them.

Time passed quickly, the growing bond between Anne and the group making her feel more at ease, as if they had been friends for years.

But just as the atmosphere reached its peak of comfort, everything shattered—literally.

The walls of the room exploded inward, debris flying in all directions. Shards of brick and plaster seemed to hang in the air, suspended by some invisible force, creating a surreal and terrifying sight. Through the chaos, a figure emerged—the Reaper.

His violet eyes glowed ominously beneath the hood of his dark cloak, piercing through the room with a gaze so cold it seemed to freeze the air.

The laughter from moments before evaporated as if snuffed out, replaced by an oppressive silence that weighed heavily on everyone's chest.

Anne's breath caught in her throat as the Reaper's presence enveloped the room, his aura like a suffocating blanket that crushed the will to move, to even think. The espers stood paralyzed, their previous confidence crumbling in the face of the sheer power emanating from this dark figure.

Without a word, the Reaper lifted his hand, and the debris hovering in the air responded immediately. One jagged piece of brick shot forward with the speed of a bullet, targeting Summer.

Anne's heart leapt into her throat as the brick collided with Summer's head with a sickening crunch. The force of the impact snapped her neck back, her skull caving in under the pressure. Blood sprayed out in a grotesque arc, splattering across the floor as her body crumpled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. The light drained from her eyes in an instant.

"Summer!" The others screamed in horror, but it was too late—she was gone, her lifeless body sprawled at their feet, blood pooling beneath her head.

The Reaper's violet eyes flickered with something cold and merciless, and he lowered his hand slowly, as if he hadn't just taken a life with a mere flick of his wrist. Anne's heart pounded in her chest, fear gnawing at the edges of her mind. She was next—no, they were all next.

The Reaper wasn't finished.

"Move, damn it!" Anne's inner voice screamed, but her body refused to listen, frozen in terror. The air was thick with tension as the Reaper took a slow, deliberate step forward, his presence blotting out everything else, as if the world itself was shrinking around him.

Every second felt like an eternity, the room now filled with the choking scent of blood and dust. Anne's mind raced—how could they possibly fight something like this? The Reaper hadn't even spoken, hadn't even exerted effort. And already, he had claimed his first victim.