Europe, late at night.

"Shitty boss, shitty job..." An adult man in his late twenties cursed under his breath as he locked the doors of the building he worked in. He was leaving to go home.

"Seriously... 'Hey Addy, do this! Hey Addy, do that! Not like you already have a mountain of paperwork to deal with, RIGHT!?'" The man called Addy quoted his boss in a tone of clear mockery.

Addy let out a tired and frustrated sigh. "And tomorrow is going to be the same thing all over again. If this keeps up, I might just one day die in that place out of exhaustion, but..." After a few seconds of walking, an unhinged smirk grew on Addy's face. "Yeah... maybe I should just die there and haunt that place. It would be hilarious to see that scumbag scared shitless and not knowing what's going on..."

Addy giggled dementedly at the image of his boss's scared reaction to seeing him as a ghost. He sighed and continued on his path back home while attempting to stay awake until he got there.

"Some spare change, please?"

Addy stopped and blinked a few times as his mind caught up. He turned his attention away from the path ahead to his left, where he saw an old man sitting on the ground with his back against the wall of a clothes store called ClothesStorePink (Not as good as ClothesStoreGreen, in Addy's opinion, but still a valid choice for anyone who lacked the money for basic clothing). The old man had a ragged, old hat with a few coins in it.

Addy exchanged tired looks with the old man and the poorly kept hat for a few seconds, considering if he should give or not, before sighing. "Yeah, sure, gimme a second." Addy gave the old beggar some spare change he wouldn't miss today, and if he had felt courageous enough to take the next step to the other side sooner... probably never.

"Bless you!" Addy heard the old man say behind his back.

As much as Addy knew it was inconsequential to have the gratitude of some random old beggar, who probably didn't have much longer to live, it did feel a little nice to be properly thanked for anything after such a long time.

Addy closed his eyes and sighed before shaking his head. "What am I even thinking? Heh, am I really THAT far gone?" Addy asked himself while trying not to cry.

When Addy opened his eyes, his vision was met by the entrance of a tent. "What the-" Addy's eyes widened in surprise as he stopped himself from walking further.

He took a cautious step back and looked up. Addy saw what appeared to be a black tent, perfectly parked between two other buildings. Confused, Addy tilted his head at the sign placed on top of the entrance to the tent. "Fortune... Telling... Tent... Black?" Addy muttered to himself as he wondered how he found himself here.

Addy's thoughts were cut short when he looked down and finally noticed the other sign placed by the side of the tent's entrance.

[One in a lifetime offer, free fortune-telling through the heart of the cards for first-time customers.]

After Addy read the sign, he tilted his head before turning to face the tent's entrance. Addy stared at the entrance, considering if he should go in or not. The entrance bathed Addy with a light that invited him to step inside.

Addy shrugged. Eh, why not... it certainly beats just going home and crying myself to sleep over my life's choices... Addy thought as he slowly made his way inside the tent.

Inside, the first thing Addy noticed was the smell of incense in the air. He couldn't quite point out where it was coming from, but it did make him relax. The second thing was how big the tent seemed from the inside compared to how it looked from the outside. Almost like a certain police box from a show Addy used to watch. Wait... surely I'm just tired... right?

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Before Addy could think further, a woman's voice snapped him back to reality. "Welcome, how can I help you, sir?"

As Addy looked around, he realized that he had sat down on a cushion and was now face-to-face with a young girl in her early twenties with tan skin, long black hair that reached her cushion, lips as dark as the blackest night, and finally crimson-red eyes that were both inviting but also had a hint of danger in them. "Sir?" The lady called for Addy's attention, her expression one of calm and patience.

Addy's eyes widened in realization before his cheeks blushed in embarrassment. "O-oh, sorry, I've... just got out of work and... well..." Addy snapped his fingers. "Card telling! Yes... card telling. I read the sign outside and... yeah."

Addy internally cursed the exhaustion in his body that made him act like a complete doofus in front of such a beauty. Annnnd this is why you're fated to die alone Addy, way to go you daft cunt! Addy internally berated himself.

Thankfully, the fortune teller in front of Addy didn't seem bothered by his blunder as she calmly pulled out a deck of tarot cards from under the table. "Very well," the fortune teller said before shuffling her deck. If Addy wasn't as tired as he was from work, he would have noticed that the fortune teller's eyes didn't look like real eyes, but glass eyes one would use as a substitute for the real deal and also that she hadn't moved her eyes away from Addy's and yet was able to shuffle her deck without any problems.

Addy didn't know why, but the longer he stared into her eyes, the hazier his vision became. "So beautiful..." Addy muttered before reflexively reaching for his mouth, eyes widening in surprise. 'What are you doing idiot! She's way out of your league!'

Again, the fortune teller didn't seem bothered by his behavior. If Addy weren't so tired, entranced by her beauty, and thankful for her turning a blind eye to his blunders, he would have noticed how weird she was acting towards him.

When the fortune teller inevitably finished shuffling her deck, she drew three cards and set them face down on the table. "Please, pick one," the fortune teller said calmly.

That snapped Addy out of his trance as he blinked a few times before nodding. "O-oh, okay." Addy exchanged glances between the fortune teller and the three cards set on the table. After giving it some thought, he chose the one in the middle.

The moment he touched the one in the middle, Addy's vision began to blur as his exhaustion grew tenfold. It didn't take long before it became too much for him to keep his eyelids open. Inevitably, Addy closed his eyes. The calm expression from the fortune teller subtly transforming into one of satisfaction was the last thing Addy saw before his world turned dark.

The next time Addy opened his eyes, he was met by a scene that would soon shock him down to his core.

For some reason that evaded him, Addy was standing where he once was when he had given that elderly beggar some of his spare change. But suddenly standing where he once was became the least of Addy's concerns as he finally started to become aware of his surroundings.

The first thing Addy noticed was the ruins of what used to be ClothesStorePink. The half-buried sign under the rubble, still flickering its lights, served as confirmation. As Addy took in the destruction in front of him, it took him a full minute to notice the body of the old beggar lying on the floor in front of him.

The old beggar looked like he was unconscious as his body lay on the floor, all beaten up and bruised, with the coins the old beggar had collected now scattered across the floor. "W-what the... hey, are you okay?" Addy asked as he kneeled and reached to touch the old beggar.

When Addy checked the old beggar's condition, his eyes widened. 'H-he's dead! W-who could have done-'

Before Addy could finish that question, he felt a sting of pain from his other hand that wasn't in contact with the old beggar. When Addy raised his hand to look at them, he swore the temperature around him had fallen to an absolute zero with how cold he felt.

Bruises, even though he had never remembered touching anything with either of his hands for them to warrant this amount of bruises in them. W-wait... surely, I couldn't have... Addy looked between the old man's beaten-up corpse for a few seconds before turning to look back at his bruised hand. Piecing the situation together, Addy couldn't help but tremble in fear.

His breathing, already shaken, became frantic as memories of what he had done to this old beggar suddenly flooded him. The horror and confusion on the old man's face, as Addy beat him mercilessly to death, made him feel horrible. I didn't do it, I didn't do it, I didn't do it, I DIDN'T DO IT, I DIDN'T DO IT. I. DIDN'T. DO. IT! Addy kept telling himself that, but his attempts to calm himself down failed.

"F-freeze!"

Snapping out of his confusion, Addy's entire body tensed like a statue as he heard a voice from behind. Slowly turning his head, Addy's vision was welcomed by two police officers with tense looks while aiming their guns at him.

As Addy stared at the two policemen, he could see how even though they were the ones who were armed, they were more afraid of Addy than Addy was of them. The small but noticeable shaking as their guns were aimed confirmed Addy's guess.

"I didn't do it." Addy muttered repeatedly with a distant look as tears fell from his eyes.