She was leaving, and the heart I stole felt sad—yet it was a strange, conflicted sadness.
Tethered between sorrow and a cold, creeping emptiness.
Not only do I have to deal with stealing someone's body, but I also have to deal with their lingering emotions.
But it's fascinating... feeling the emotions of another person, even when they collide with my own.
She stopped her steps before turning around the corner.
"By the way," she said, glancing at me, "Lud, you should probably change. There's still some blood on your neck. I left some fresh clothes in the closet."
She already have that prepared? That's convenient.
"I'll do that. Thank you—" I replied, still seated, my hands found themselves playing with the teddy bear on the table, its fur was so soft.
This motion felt too natural...
I did it subconsciously...
"I'll be back. Take care~" she said with a small wave, finally heading toward the guest room.
She just left a man—alone in her room, without a second thought.
But I have no intention of wasting time. She mentioned an audience with the king—there's nothing else to do but prepare.
I looked at her closet from my seat... It was large, with a dark wood texture and two sliding doors.
I sighed.
It felt awful...
I stood up and went closer. Opening the closet, I was greeted with an abundance of clothing—from school uniforms to her casual wear.
Rummage, rummage, rummage.
I'm looking through a woman's belongings, and there's one infuriating problem...
She didn't specify where Luden's clothes were!
They're not on the hangers!
It's filled with her school uniforms and everyday clothes, but I must admit, some of these clothes are too colorful.
Far left of the closet were her formal outfits and fashion outfits.
She does have taste.
I must be looking on the wrong side. My hands softly touched the garments—and honestly, they smell really good.
What kind of detergent does she use? It was some kind of lavender scent.
I continued my rummaging. My healthy left fingers checked every corner of the closet, And finally, I saw a silver lining. It was wrapped in plastic: a formal black outfit, neatly folded.
This must be it!
I took it, inspected it, made sure it was meant for a guy and it seems like it was.
Oi—System, is this a guy's outfit?
» [SYSTEM]: Yes...
Great—
Before wearing it, I carefully admired it from its plastic confines and went to a nearby mirror.
Check this out...
A semi-formal top. The fabric felt comfortable. It's medium-sized.
But... shouldn't I take a bath first? Before opening it?
And so I did—
She had a shower stationed behind a sliding door at the far right of her room. I went inside, and as expected, it had all the necessities.
But this place is odd...
At first, it feels Victorian or medieval, but at the same time: It has a tiled floor, a polished sink, an actual toilet, and a shower head with working pressure.
Also, there are light switches! There's electricity!
It's like someone threw genre tags into a blender!
I got undressed. And despite feeling weak, Luden's body was pale... yet toned.
A few muscles. But I'd prefer to build it further when the opportunity presents itself.
Carefully setting aside my white clothes, I...
I... borrowed the red towel near the shower door... It's hers, isn't it?
I think she'll forgive me...
---
Inside the shower gave me some resemblance of peace...
...
Sigh—
I'm Luden V. Augustine...
A banshee...
I woke up with poison in my mouth...
I took over his body and his soul nearly killed me in the process...
The way people looked at me with disgust in their eyes... Luden never had it easy. No wonder he turned out... Suicidal...
The hot water kept running as I lathered the soap into my skin.
I felt it earlier—how angry I was that Luden didn't defend himself in that memory fragment.
How it made me feel so weak.
I rinsed the soap off, thinking:
If he was hated this much... why didn't he just leave? Why stay? Or even come here in the first place?
I can only think of one reason—it's because of the girl.
And I still don't know her name.
I'll ask once I meet her again—
But first...
System... Can you show me, anything at all?
» [SYSTEM]: Player, my memory has also been lacking in some aspects. I'm not performing in perfect condition.
I see... so we're both dealing with memory issues.
Sigh.
Who am I before Luden?
I have memories, but they're so blurred that I need to be in a specific moment just to decipher them.
I had a dream before all this.
Now I'm having a hard time recalling it.
» [NOTICE]: You've been in the shower for 10 minutes...
...Huh? Has it been that long already?
...I shut the water off...
Dried off with the red towel—which wasn't mine. Very unhygienic, but I'll apologize later.
I stepped out of the bathroom, steam still trailing off my back. Fitting, considering I'm supposed to be a banshee.
The cold hitting my skin didn't seem to bother me...
My hair was wet, clinging to my forehead, and droplets slid down my chest as I walked over to where I'd laid the black outfit.
There it was.
Neatly folded and crisp. Wrapped in plastic that crinkled softly when I touched it again.
I peeled the wrapping back with more care than I expected—it felt like opening a gift on Christmas...
Does this world even celebrate Christmas?
Though the gift... it felt like it didn't belong to me.
Holding the shirt up to the light, I noticed how smooth the black fabric was. And it looked new...
I flipped it over, and then.
Interesting.
There it was. Still attached beneath the collar:
A small rectangular price tag: [3 Gild]
Money... I should... think about that later...
My fingers brushed the tag, flipping it to check the label.
Not a brand I recognized.
Some stylized local language in a fancy font.
A serial code and price are written in clean ink.
She brought this not too long ago. It looks like she was preparing for something specific.
...
Was today Luden's birthday? Also, how old am I?
» [SYSTEM]: You are 18 years old—and yes it is Luden's birthday...
...So he tried doing 'it' on his birthday of all days?...
...But if the girl knew this was for a birthday, shouldn't she be doing something more extravagant?
...Unless she doesn't know or birthdays, aren't that celebrated here...
» [SYSTEM]: ...
I gritted my teeth.
I'm wearing his skin—
Discomfort and guilt flooded my soul, but I stood up and put the shirt on, regardless of what I was feeling...
It slid across my toned shoulders like silk. Light and fitted, just the right amount of snugness on my pale wrists.
It was perfect...
I buttoned it slowly, looking into the mirror.
The black reflected well against my skin. Sharp angles and a pale face, noticeable wet hair hanging over one eye.
I finished dressing, straightened the collar, and took one last look at myself.
Luden, fret not—we look fresh, that's all that matters.
With all that being done, I sat down on the wooden chair. At this point, all I have to do is wait for her...
I wonder what she's doing? Does she suspect me?
As I stared around her cabin-like room, a thought crossed my mind. It's something I should've done sooner.
It's foolish that I haven't tested it yet...
---
» [SYSTEM]: Logout requested.
» [WARNING]: Memory core unstable.
» [Do you wish to Exit Life?] Y/N
» Y
» [INPUT RECEIVED]: Y
» [OVERRIDE ATTEMPT DETECTED]
» [WARNING]: Consecutive attempts will result in a punishment.
Punishment? Why is the system preventing me from logging out?
This feels so familiar...
My intrusive thoughts want me to attempt a logout once more—but my common sense decided not to.
Let's do something else...
---
» Status Check:
» RACE: Banshee
» BLASPHEMY CREST: N/A
» CLASS: N/A
» ARCHETYPE: N/A
---
» HP: 200/200
» ATK (AD): 20
» ATK (AP): 300
» DEF: 0
» RESISTANCE: 10
» ELEMENTAL RESIST: 20
» SP: 30/30
» SANITY: 180/180
» WEAKNESS: Takes 100% more damage from holy ailment.
---
That's... a high Sanity capacity, but my attributes are very low.
Except for my AP, which is abnormally high—even without having a Blasphemy Crest. I guess that comes with being a banshee...
And at this point, I'm destined to become a caster.
Considering Luden has a wand.
Though my weakness... Holy Ailment? I'll pray I won't have to deal with that.
And that elemental resistance... it's the first time I've ever seen that stat.
My HP being at 200 was alarming. I'd die if someone sneezed too hard in front of me.
Obviously, I'm joking...
» Destiny: Conquer the tower and reach the summit of Babel—and attempt a successful logout.
Why is that my destiny?
Why do I want to log out in the first place?
What's beyond the tower?—
---
"Lud!" Knock! Knock!
She's here already?! On my way... I'd better set this aside for now.
And focus on the dialogue with the king...
Chapter End...