Chapter 16: The Enigma
"You'll see," I said to the tailed Lilith, stepping out of the elevator as she followed closely behind.
We walked through a crowded lobby receiving the occasional stares from people around us.
Even though the tailed Lilith now wore a coat to cover herself, her curvaceous body could not be hidden so easily. Our height didn't help us stand out any less either.
We finally left the building, only to be met by the busy streets of New York.
"We need to find someplace that isn't crowded to open a gateway, my time is almost running out," I said to the tailed Lilith.
As my human form was reaching its limit, an aura of death leaked out of my body. This caused the people walking past me to feel cold and faint.
Of all the life surrounding me, I felt most drawn to the souls of humans. I could feel a familiar force repelling me from them, like two magnets of the same poles coming together.
"Master, through there. There's an abandoned alleyway across the street," the tailed Lilith said.
I snapped out of my daze and immediately crossed the street without thinking twice. Pain slowly started to spread from my back to the rest of my body with each step I took.
The moment I stepped onto the street, a bike courier suddenly knocked my body. Despite the collision, I stood upright. The bike, on the other hand, had its front wheel bent.
I looked at the man, who was now on the floor, and noticed he was different from other humans. His entire body was glowing and emitting a similar presence to the golden gate at the end of the narrow path.
"I'm sorry sir, I didn't see you crossing. Are you okay? I should have been more observant, haha," the bike courier said with a slight chuckle. It was strange seeing him pay no attention to the bruise on his knee or the damage to his bike.
"I'm in a little rush right now, but here. Contact me if any medical bills need to be paid," he said as he wrote his contact details on a piece of paper and then handed it over to me. He then picked up his twisted bike and ran off.
"Does he have a screw loose or something?" I asked myself out loud.
I then looked at the paper in my hand and crushed it, no longer having time to think about it. I threw away the paper, disregarding this whole encounter.
Finally arriving in the alleyway, I handed my belongings to the tailed Lilith. Lest they get destroyed when I turn. The tailed Lilith received my items and opened a gateway beneath our feat.
We then dropped in the middle of a field as I finally reverted to my 7ft reaper form. All the plant life around us began to decay as the aura of death spread around the area.
"It's getting exhausting maintaining my human form, even now I can still feel some fatigue," I said out loud then stood up.
"You!" I said looking down at the tailed Lilith as my turquoise eyes burned with a raging flame.
"Stand upright on your hands!" I commanded. The tailed Lilith then proceeded to do as she was told.
"Now on one finger," I added. Without retaliating, the tailed Lilith followed my command yet again.
"Now stay like that and do not disturb me!" I said to the tailed Lilith then flew back to the house.
*3 months later*
"Master… Master… GRAYSON!!" The tailed Lilith shouted in an attempt to wake me up. I immediately raised my head from the bed in a rush and sat upright.
"What is it? I thought I told you not to disturb me," I said to the tailed Lilith, clearly annoyed by her intrusion into my nap.
"Whatever, this crazy woman won't stop calling you. It seems important," the tailed Lilith responded sounding even more annoyed. She handed me my phone and it immediately started ringing again. I looked at the caller ID and saw the name Anna with a heart emoji. I accepted the phone call, not paying any mind to how she saved her contact.
"Hello Anna," I said holding my phone to my ear.
"Grayson! Wh- where the heck have you been? It's like you live under a rock!" she said in frustration.
"I've been asleep. Did something happen?" I asked casually.
"OH REALLY? YOU'VE BEEN ASLEEP!" she shouted over the phone. "I don't care about what you've been doing. Just come to the office, NOW!" She added.
"Alright, I'll be there in a few minutes," I said to her then hung up. I checked my call history and…
"75 missed calls!!" I shouted then looked towards the tailed Lilith.
"She's been calling almost every day, it was getting annoying," she said defensively.
"How long was I asleep for?" I asked.
"Almost 3 months," she answered.
"How the heck have I been sleeping for 3 months? Why didn't you wake me up…?" I asked out loud. Suddenly I remembered the punishment I gave her and how I said I did not want to be disturbed.
"Don't answer that," I quickly said.
The tailed Lilith smirked and then said, "Your reaper form doesn't need rest, you can be up for centuries without sleep no problem. Your human form, on the other hand, is like a piece of paper and the power of the dark cloud is like that of an ocean.
The cloud refines your body and strengthens it. Just enough for you to barely manage to contain it. However, that's not what paper is used for. The human body was not created to contain the dark cloud's immense power.
This power isn't infinite though. Each time you take the dark cloud within your body to maintain your flesh, it drains your energy. If you do it frequently, like you have been doing, you will need time to regain that energy.
The fastest way to do that is through sleep. How long you sleep depends on how frequently you change to your human form. Once a month should be fine, but you have done it 3 times in 1 week. Clearly, your weak body can't handle it."
"Humans probably can never train their bodies enough to contain such power right?" I asked. "Now you get it," the tailed Lilith answered with a look of superiority.
"I'll just have to be more careful now," I said then got up from my bed, changed into my human form, and put on some clothes.
"Go put some clothes on. I'm not taking chances with you again," I said in a rush.
The tailed Lilith then rolled her eyes and proceeded to wear my mother's clothes. She put on my mother's iconic black, skintight leggings and a bright green t-shirt that did little to contain the melons that were her breasts. As soon as she was finished she opened a gate before us.
"I guess you don't need underwear?" I said to her before walking through the gate.
"Let's just go," she said walking through.
We then appeared in the familiar alleyway and immediately started pacing towards 450 Park Avenue. This was the first time I walked into the building without masking my presence. I never paid any mind to the security procedures everyone had to go through before getting to the elevators.
However, as soon as I showed my ID, I was escorted to the elevator by a receptionist who called me by name.
"I hate coming here," I said to the tailed Lilith on the way up. Surprisingly she was silent throughout the whole way…just the way I liked it.
We then stepped out of the elevator and walked towards Anna's office, receiving the occasional stares, smiles, and "congratulations."
'What the hell happened these past 3 months,' I asked myself.
I walked into Anna's office alongside the tailed Lilith who still hadn't said a word.
"Grayson! Good, you're finally here. I'll get straight to the point. Your book is amazing. It has become a major topic of discussion amongst philosophers and scientists alike.
Some professors are even using it as a reference/guide in universities. We have never received such ratings from our books before, not since your mother's book "Purpose".
With the way these ratings keep rising, it will eventually surpass it!" she said with surprisingly no emotion, clearly still holding back some piece of information.
"I believe that's a good thing, but that's not why you called me here. So, what's wrong?" I asked. Anna breathed out a long sigh and then walked behind her desk to take a seat.
"Although your book has become quite popular, it has also caused some disturbing results to a significant amount of people," she said disappointedly.
"What do you mean disturbing results?" I asked already understanding what she meant, but didn't want to let her know.
"Ever since the book was published, there has been a spike in suicide victims and suicide attempts from different corners of the world.
There still isn't enough proof to tie the suicides to your book. However, from what I have gathered, most of the suicide notes left behind by these people have one thing in common. The phrase...
"Humanity is a mistake"!
People are starting to talk and are blaming your book for the loss of their loved ones," she said depressingly.
"I never suggested for anyone to take their life in that book. Any decision that they made after reading it is their own," I said to Anna trying to fain ignorance.
'This was too easy,' I thought to myself. Humans are so weak-hearted. Of course, I knew about this. How could I not? I could feel the lifespans of these sheep strengthening me. This was all part of the plan,' I continued my chain of thought letting a smile slip.
I began to view the victims all around the world through the eyes of my shadows. Many of them are still ending their lives, believing life is pointless to keep living. Here I am, getting rich and stronger from all of it….
'Hold on…No, not you!' I thought to myself in panic as I watched someone, I never expected to, try and end their life.
"What is with that smile on your face? Does this amuse you?" Anna asked me with a disgusted look.
"Of course not. I never wanted anyone to lose their life in my attempt to show people the truth. This is serious and I need to get on top of this!" I said in a sudden serious tone as I tried to feign empathy.
Pretending to be completely taken by the news that Anna had delivered, I quickly stormed out of her office.
"I must say, this was quite brilliant," the tailed Lilith said to me with a smirk.
I paid no attention to her and rushed towards the elevator. Anna was a little worried about the families threatening to sue, but in the end, she was a little devil. What truly mattered to her were the dollars, and this book was bringing them in by the boatload.
'I didn't consider her being affected by this. She shouldn't have been,' I thought to myself. I pressed the elevator button pointing down and waited for the elevator to come up.
"As soon as we are inside, open a gate to the top of the Empire State Building immedi-," I said turning back, thinking the tailed Lilith would be behind me. I looked back and saw a familiar man talking to the tailed Lilith A few steps away.
"Hey, you're Lilith, right? I don't know if you remember me, we talked a little last time you were here. Well, I did most of the talking, haha. I'm Ben. I was wondering if maybe we could…" he tried to finish saying until I cut him off.
"We need to go!" I said to her, not paying the man any mind.
"Hey, what's your deal?" He asked angrily.
"Get in my way again and I will kill you!" I said to him, putting pressure on him before turning to leave.
We then left the man on the floor, wetting his pants. I couldn't help but smile at the site of it.
"Open a gate to the top of the Empire State Building," I said to the tailed Lilith after we were safely in the elevator. She raised her hand in an attempt to open a gate, but nothing happened.
"What are you waiting for?" I asked her.
"I can't," she replied.
"What do you mean you can't? Stop being stubborn and open the gate," I said impatiently.
"I'm not being stubborn, I really can't. There must be someone there greatly protected by Theós. The light won't allow me to open a gate within her vicinity," she said.
"Damn it, just get me as close as possible," I commanded.
The tailed Lilith then opened a gate beneath us and we suddenly dropped a few hundred meters from the Empire State Building.
I hid my presence and quickly ran into the tall building faster than the naked eye could see. I ran through all the flights of stairs at a blistering speed. Finally, I was at the top of the Empire State Building, grabbing the hand of the woman who was just about to fall off.
I looked at her lifespan and realized something.
"You were surprisingly meant to die today. Just not like this…you're still an enigma, even now," I said out loud.