after the storm

Inside the dark space, Charles reflected on what had happened.

"So, I killed your childhood friend, and that made him take back control of your body?" he sighed and continued, "I should have expected this outcome. When a mortal dies, there is a certain amount of time before their soul goes to heaven or hell. Whenever someone dies in this world, a reaper comes to harvest the soul of the deceased person to take it to the afterlife. But, if the person who died is resurrected before the reaper does their job, the soul can return to their body and then be fully resurrected. So, that light responsible for getting me out of here was your death? Let's think about that later. The boy is waking up."

Opening his eyes, Thomas found himself in a cell, with handcuffs attached to the walls, his arms, and legs. The cuffs could easily bind an S-class.

Not understanding anything, he looked up at the cell bars and saw a man in a black suit wearing a completely white mask without any holes or designs.

The man watching Thomas wake up said, "Finally awakened? To wake up only now, she must have hit your head very hard."

Thomas ignored the mysterious man's words and asked, "Who are you? Where am I? Why am I chained?"

The mystery man answered calmly, "You may call me Sir Mors. You are in a secret headquarters called Paradisus and..." He paused for a moment and continued, "You are here because there is something inside you that we are trying to identify its source."

After hearing everything Mr. Mors said, Thomas was shocked, but he asked another question, "A girl named Annabelle... Have you found her?"

Mors, hearing the question, answered, "You mean the student you made disappear? It's good that you know her name. It seems you were not affected..."

Hearing Mr. Mors' answer, Thomas hastily asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Mors replied calmly, "This supposed girl Annabelle never existed."

Hearing this made Thomas' heart flutter.

What Mors was saying bordered on the absurd to Thomas, and he replied in an aggressive tone, "You have to be kidding, how come she never existed? She has parents and a brother, she goes to the same academy as me! Then how come she never existed?!"

Seeing Thomas' behavior, Mors knew that this Annabelle girl existed, so he said to Thomas, "I know, boy. I don't know yet who the being inside you is, but he seems to have erased Annabelle from existence. In the academic system, there is a student named Annabelle with no picture, only information about her parents. When we contact her, they say they never had a daughter named Annabelle."

Thomas heard that and became more and more desperate, starting to cry with his head down, saying, "What have I done? Why?"

Mors, seeing Thomas' state, said in a hopeful tone, "Hey, relax kid. You can make a deal with the being inside you to bring Annabelle back."

Thomas, hearing this, a glint could be seen in his eyes. Mors just kept saying, trying to comfort the boy, "If she were dead, I could bring her back, but it seems she never died."

Thomas heard Mors' words but ignored him and asked him desperately, "How do I make a deal with this being inside me?"

Mors was beginning to laugh and replied, "You are too hasty, but you can try to talk to him mentally. Maybe he will answer."

Thomas immediately said mentally, "Hey? Hey? Are you there? Please say something. I want to make a deal with you!"

After waiting for the answer from the being inside him for what seemed like years, it finally came, "What do you want?"

Hearing this, Thomas replied in a hurried and desperate tone, "I want you to bring back Annabelle, my friend! Please, I'll do whatever you want!"

Hearing Thomas' reply, Charles replied, "Then give me your body."

A simple but at the same time complicated answer, Thomas was surprised but answered him, "Why do you want my body?"

Charles replied with a laugh, "How can I bring her back without being in control of the body? Hahahaha."

Thomas, seeing the answer from the being within him, startled him. He asked himself, "Doesn't he want anything?"

Charles, who already knew what Thomas was thinking, said, "I'm going to do charity work, so give me your body soon. You can take control of it anytime, right?"

Thomas, even suspicious, decided to follow what the being said and allowed Charles to control his body.

.

.

.

Lord Mors observed Thomas in silence for a long time before finally contemplating, "Should I have warned the boy not to trade his body for a girl named Annabelle? No, no one is that stupid to give their body to an unknown being... Fuck!" As he finished speaking, Mors noticed a tattoo of the moon on Thomas's forehead, his eyes were completely black, and an extremely cruel and lethal presence grew in the atmosphere, something that made even Death itself, Mors, afraid of dying. He heard the being in front of him say, "That boy is really stupid, isn't he? He gave me his body for free without even signing a contract hahahahah, but I'll honor my word."

Easily freeing himself from the chains that could bind an S-Class, he exclaimed while snapping his fingers, "Bring back into existence, Annabelle." With a snap of his fingers that seemed to have no effect, Charles knew it did and said it in his head, 'Come on boy.'

Thomas, hearing the being inside him, regained control of his body quickly and mentally thanked the mysterious being inside him, saying, 'Thanks...'

Mors, watching the entire scene unfold in front of him, was shocked and thought to himself, 'If he wanted to kill me, he could easily do it... I don't know who this guy is, but I don't think he should be our enemy, for now.'

Thomas looked at Mors and exclaimed in a cheerful tone, "I did it, Mister Mors!!! He brought Annabelle back!"

Mors, hitting Thomas on the head, scolded him, "You idiot! You gave him your body without having signed a contract?"

Thomas replied, "Aiii!!! He said he'd bring her back, and I was so happy that I forgot about the contract. Sorry."

Mors sighed and asked Thomas to follow him, saying, "Follow me, boy. I'll take you to meet some important people."