Michael followed Kayla through the alleyways of the slums, avoiding prowling demons and degenerate human mobs.

Peeking her head out of a corner, Kayla sees a familiar building illuminated by a modern neon shop sign.

It spelled out “Doomed For Eternity”. There was another phrase, “At Least Have Some Fun” but its neon light was dead.

Following her lead, Michael noticed the sign as well. He feels an immense exhaustion bury his body. He thinks of Bob and Evelyn to ease some of his tension.

“This is the place. Uhhh… Oh, I didn’t get your name.”

Michael turns to Kayla. He contemplates giving her a fake name but he decides to not hide it.

“Michael.”

Kayla nods.

“Easy to remember. I’ll see you around then Michael.”

Kayla turns to leave but quickly turns around, as if forgetting to mention something.

“Oh yeah, once you’re in, look for someone named Edward. Tell him Kayla sent you. He’ll help you get started.”

Michael nods.

Kayla turns around to leave but Michael calls her.

“Hey Kayla.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. I’ll return the favor soon.”

Kayla chuckles.

“You’re welcome but that’s a good deed for me so maybe one day I’ll be able to get out of here.”

Michael nods.

I doubt it but at the very least I can be sure that I’ll return the favor.

Michael watches as Kayla enters the alleyways and disappears in the shadows.

I’ll need to learn that too.

Turning his attention toward the neon sign, Michael walks forward.

Touching the oxidized doorknob, Michael senses a presence within the building.

Watching me? No, it watched us earlier.

Michael steps through the doorway and is welcomed by the ambiance of a charming cafe-like setting. As he enters the building, the door closes on its own. Despite the cafe’s attempt at being welcoming, it was empty of customers.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Michael sees a single person manning the cafe’s counter, cleaning some cups and mugs. And for the first time since his first death, Michael heard music again. It was a soothing jazz that reverberated across the entire cafe. Michael couldn’t help but feel emotional, losing some of the built-up mental stress.

Heaving a relieved sigh, Michael goes toward the counter and greets the man.

“Hello, are you Edward?”

“Who’s asking?” the young man behind the counter spoke with a sharp tone, untrusting.

“Kayla sent me.”

The atmosphere suddenly changes. Michael internally curses.

Not again.

Edward, at least as Michael assumes, suddenly lunges forward. Anticipating this move, Michael swiftly leans backward, using the counter's edge as leverage to evade Edward's animalistic pounce.

Michael then stands up and leans toward the counter and pulls out a knife or so he imagines. Unfortunately, the most dangerous weapon Michael could pull out is a large fork.

Turning toward the cafe owner, Michael sees a humanoid wolf creature on all fours. It resembled a werewolf according to common legends and myths. It growls toward Michael. Speaking in garbled tongue, the werewolf curses Michael.

“Another customer?? Looking to defile her eternal soul???”

Michael quickly realizes what Edward meant and tries to speak but the beast lunges again.

Fuck this, I’m too tired for this shit!

Regaining the stress he just lost to music, Michael lunges forward. With honed reflexes, he sidesteps Edward's attack and swiftly thrusts the fork forward. Unfortunately, the fork couldn’t pierce Edward’s tough hide and the beast takes advantage of this, knocking Michael away.

Michael is sent flying to the counter and wedged between it and the wall. Wincing in pain, he glimpses Edward crashing down upon him. Edward's large maw opens wide, revealing rows of menacing teeth.

Pissed, Michael shouts.

“I’m not a customer!”

Edward lunges downward with bloodlust. At the sight of the wolf's bared teeth, reminiscent of the Draco's fury, Michael feels magma flow through his invisible veins and thrusts his hand into the werewolf's maw, shoving his entire shadowy arm down the monster's throat.

Not expecting Michael’s actions, the creature starts to choke on Michael’s arm. It tries to chew on Michael’s appendage but without any way to wind up its jaw, it couldn’t exert much force. It then feels Michael’s arms choke its throat from the inside.

It starts to gag and tries to pull away but finds that Michael’s death grip is far stronger than expected. It turns to look at the shadowy creature it tried to maul but finds that its eyes were bloodshot. It wasn’t afraid at all.

I-I made a mistake.

The werewolf's access to oxygen gradually disappears and so does its consciousness.

Darkness overtakes it and its body stops moving. For good measure, Michael keeps his arm inside the creature for a few more seconds. Once he was sure that the creature was fully unconscious, Michael pulled out his arm.

Groaning, he stands up and watches Edward revert to his human form. Still annoyed but fully rational, Michael looks for anything to tie up Edward with. Exploring the cafe’s first floor, he finds a storage room with some supplies. Taking a long rope from the cache of supplies, Michael returns to Edward’s unconscious body.

The silver-haired werewolf seems to rouse from his sleep.

“I guess you monsters all regenerate quick huh?”

Michael then delivers a well-placed kick toward Edward’s head, knocking the creature out again. Looking around, Michael finds the cafe a bit messed up. He takes a chair, lifts Edward, sets him down, and ties him up.

Once done, he follows the music and finds a jukebox. He touches it, not familiar with this type of machine. He fiddles around a bit but finally manages to switch the music to something more lively.

After switching to a more upbeat song, he goes to the kitchen to look for some food. Despite the absence of a body, he felt hungry.

I died. I’m in the spirit realm. Yet, I’m hungry. Curious.

Opening a very modern fridge in the kitchen, Michael creates a cheese and ham sandwich. Taking a bite, Michael enjoys the taste of processed food.

This tastes amazing.

While enjoying the taste of the sandwich, Michael hears some movement in the cafe’s main area. Returning with a sandwich in hand, Michael sees Edward stirring. Once Edward fully recovers, he sees Michael standing in front of him with a large sandwich.

Before Edward could bare his teeth or speak, Michael spoke.

“I’m not one of Kayla’s customers. Can you listen to me first? At least hear me out before I knock you out again.”

Edward groans.

“That was a fluke. I wasn’t being careful.”

Michael would’ve raised an eyebrow if he had one.

“Oh? So you’re saying, you’re lucky I didn’t gouge your throat open with the large butcher knife I saw in the kitchen?”

Edward stays silent. Michael sighs.

“Look. I’m not Kayla’s customer. Look at me, do I have anything to use??”

Edward stays silent but Michael notices that the wolfman’s expression is getting softer with some hint of regret.

“Another thing, I just recently got here. A day hasn’t passed since I was marked.”

Hearing that, Edward’s face loses its edge.

“Wait, you’re… you’re new here??”

Michael nods with some annoyance. Edward suddenly looks away, regretful of his actions.

“Wait! That’s impossible! If you’re new, then you couldn’t have adjusted so quickly and fought me like that.”

Michael would have rolled his eyes had he possessed any discernible visual features, but regrettably, he only had two vacant white voids in place of eyes. Leaning forward, Michael grabs Edward’s collar.

“Look, Kayla told me you can help me. Can you help me or not? Because I swear to Goddess, if I don’t get to rest soon, I'm going to do something that justifies my presence here."