Chapter 2 – Xelix, the Courtesan
Several hours later…
In a bustling shopping district, Marva's steps came to a halt.
Amid the crowd of laughing students and chattering strangers, a strange ache stirred in her chest—
as if she were glimpsing a life that had never been hers.
She had died.
Not once—but four times.
And each time, a foreign hand brought her back.
A blessing?
A curse?
She didn't know.
But that day, Marva chose to smile faintly, continuing her steps, clutching her shopping bag like one clutches a fragile manuscript of their life.
But the world never grants pause.
Across the street, two burly men shoved a woman to the ground, right in front of a violet-lit nightclub.
Her dress was torn at the shoulder, her face bruised, but her eyes... still burned with fire.
Xelix.
Without thinking, Marva dropped her groceries and rushed forward.
She reached out, helping the woman to her feet.
But as their skin touched—
Cold.
Numb.
Like touching a living fog.
"What is this…?" Marva whispered.
But her body was already pulling away, moved by an instinct that didn't care to explain.
Unnoticed, a business card slipped from her pocket—landing silently on the asphalt.
Enver.
---
Meanwhile…
"I just want to speak with Madam," Xelix said softly, but firmly.
One of the men smirked and pulled a thin knife from beneath his jacket.
"Madam doesn't want to see you anymore. You're useless now. And we don't mind taking out the trash."
Xelix pulled out a small bundle of rice balls, neatly wrapped in dried leaves.
Her hands trembled as she held it out.
"I only came to return this. Back then... when I was dying, Madam gave me this rice.
Today I've come, not to beg—just to say thank you."
But the world rarely has room for gratitude.
And mercy seldom grows in soil watered with business and revenge.
---
That night…
In a cramped, damp apartment, Xelix lay back on a sagging chair, staring at the cracked ceiling.
In her hand was the business card—Enver Eraly.
Her eyes were heavy, but she didn't sleep.
Her body began to sweat.
Then shiver.
And collapse.
Something moved inside her—like worms burrowing into her heart.
And as her consciousness faded, a voice emerged.
A low voice. Whispered. Echoing.
> "Come to me…"
The floor beneath her trembled, then… cracked open.
From the gap slithered a massive, snake-like creature, its eyes glowing green, its tongue flicking silently—
as if awaiting permission.
But before it could strike—
Enver's voice filled the room.
> "Don't touch her.
It's not time yet."
The creature hissed… then vanished into the darkness beneath the floor.
---
Elsewhere…
Enver sipped a warm concoction from a dark porcelain cup.
Marva stood in the corner, annoyed—wearing a maid's uniform, her hand still holding a rag.
"Continue cleaning until midnight. No breaks," Enver said flatly, without turning.
Marva clenched her fists.
"I dropped the groceries today… because I helped a woman being attacked by two men.
Was that wrong?"
Enver turned slowly.
His eyes—dark. Deep. Empty.
Like a well that never reflects.
"Say that again…"
His voice cold.
> "…and I'll hand you over to the creatures
that sniff your fear while you sleep."
Marva froze. Her knees buckled. She lowered her gaze and returned to scrubbing the floor.
She knew—debating morality with the owner of darkness was a waste of breath.
Enver stared out the window, toward the shifting night sky.
> "The western wind has moved…
Which means… he will come soon."
---
At a crossroads near Enver's home…
Xelix stood frozen. The business card still clutched tightly in her hand.
Her heavy makeup began to smear with sweat.
But it wasn't her makeup that revealed fear—it was her eyes.
Before her wasn't a road,
but a bamboo forest—dense, swaying as if breathing.
"Is this… really the address?" she whispered in disbelief.
She stepped forward.
The wind greeted her—
not with gentleness, but with stinging force.
The air peeled at her skin.
Her legs grew heavy. Her vision blurred.
> "What is this...? What's happening to me?!"
And then… that voice again.
> "You can't run from your own shadow…
Everything you've buried… will come back for you."
> "You've shattered lives, Xelix.
Not just one… but many.
Mothers. Children. Men. Love. All of them."
Xelix's body trembled violently. She tried to turn back—
but the ground behind her was gone.
This was not a forest.
This was not a place.
This… was judgment.
From the fog… two small children emerged.
Their bodies bloodied. Broken. Cracked.
Their eyes—empty, yet burning.
And behind them—
A figure in a crimson kebaya appeared, gliding forward.
Her steps elegant.
Her laughter—hoarse and piercing.
> "Hahahaha… So you've finally come, Xelix…"
Xelix tried to run, but the two children already clung to her ankles.
Cold. Heavy. Trembling.
> "Return... what you took from us…"
And the laughter of that creature…
Now echoed from every direction.
Through the bamboo,
Inside Xelix's head,
And far, far deeper—
Deep within her soul.