Eternal Undying Chronicles

Alicarde picked up his phone. The voice of his older sister came through immediately—Sarah, as persistent as ever. She still seemed deeply interested in what had happened in Evergreen City three weeks ago.

The sky had changed color. Monsters had flooded the streets. The chaos had been all over the news—the so-called "Reaper" had saved the city.

Officially, the reports claimed that a fringe scientific cult had been experimenting with bioengineering and weapons of mass destruction. Their experiments had spiraled out of control, nearly dooming the city.

The current mayor had resigned—then was promptly assassinated, along with several city council members. The heads of multiple underworld factions had also been eliminated.

Yet, despite all that, the people of the city were satisfied with the outcome. Those who had died were officially blamed for the widespread destruction. Property damage had been severe, but casualties had remained surprisingly low.

All thanks to the fact that the Central District—primarily an administrative sector—had been evacuated beforehand, courtesy of Carrisa. The Nightshades had also handled most of the rampaging Strigoi before they could do real damage.

As for the monster corpses, Carrisa had claimed them all, extracting their mana cores for her own purposes.

Naturally, as someone living in Evergreen City, his family had called to check on him. As usual, he played dumb. He had pretended not to know what had happened, even going as far as to claim he had slept through it all.

They hadn't believed him, of course.

But he sure as hell wasn't going to tell them he had been at the very heart of the conflict.

Now, after three weeks, things had returned to normal. Exams had come and gone, and he was nearly done with them. His sister had called to ask if he was coming home for the winter break.

"Hey, be honest with me," Sarah said. "You didn't get a girlfriend there, did you?"

He sighed.

"For the nth time, no. I got in trouble with my professor, so I'm spending the break helping out to stay on her good side."

Sarah sighed dramatically over the phone.

"Fine… I guess it's just me and Layla for the break, huh? It's just not the same without you."

Alicarde smirked.

"If you're about to tell me you love me, then I kindly demand you shove it."

She chuckled.

"As if. I just want someone to suffer with me… Besides, Mom's gonna keep nagging about her 'precious son' until it gets unbearable."

He exhaled.

"Can I go now?"

"Wait, wait, don't hang up!"

She hesitated.

"So tell me the truth, baby brother… Did you see them? The monsters? There was this giant one on the news with three heads…"

Alicarde sighed again.

"If I had seen it, we wouldn't be having this conversation. You'd already have me wrapped in white fabric and buried six feet under."

He grinned.

"So no, I did not see it."

She giggled.

"You really don't change… Fine, what about those mysterious ninja guys? Or the blurry women who were with the Reaper?"

His patience wore thin. He glanced at his phone, exasperated.

"I don't know, bitch. Leave me alone. Bye."

And with that, he hung up.

He noticed the eyes on him.

Carrisa sat across from him, with Amena by her side. Argint and Elizalina were seated next to each other, watching him with interest.

Argint smirked.

"You really love your dear sister, don't you?"

Alicarde found himself in that familiar, unwinnable situation—admit he loved his sister or attempt to mop the ocean. He knew his choice.

"Love her? Please… just please…"

Elizalina chuckled softly. "Having siblings must be a wonderful experience. It seems like a truly sublime bond to share."

Alicarde shot a glance at Carrisa.

"The Evernight family has entered the chat."

Carrisa jabbed him with her elbow.

"While my siblings were constantly attempting to take my life, I chose to interpret their actions as an unconventional expression of love."

Alicarde raised an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh. Tell yourself that. Incest would have been the lesser evil—at least there's love involved."

Argint glared at him.

"You're disgusting."

Alicarde clicked his tongue.

"At least you aren't engaged to your cousin. I have to go through life worrying that my family might decide that's a valid option just to ruin me."

Amena, as stoic as ever, glanced at him.

"Is your cousin truly that terrible?"

Alicarde shuddered.

"She's the one who trained the devil. Humanity got kicked out of heaven because God knew she was going to exist."

Carrisa sighed.

"Enough of this. We need to go. Our first stop is visiting Chris, after which we have a ceremony to organize."

Alicarde nodded and changed into his Reaper's vestments. He followed Carrisa as she and the others took the elevator down to the garage and eventually settled into a sleek black sedan.

Argint side-eyed him as they drove.

"Why are you even wearing that? We haven't reached the hospital yet."

Alicarde shot her a glare.

"Mind your own goddamn business."

The drive to the hospital was short. Soon, they arrived at the same facility owned by Doctor Victor Stein.

Alicarde sighed. Carrisa had somehow convinced him to negotiate with the doctor to work with them. To his surprise, it had worked.

Now, Stein was in charge of caring for the unconscious Chris, who had remained unresponsive for three weeks. Physically, he had healed, but his mind was strained. His lips moved from time to time, as if trying to speak, but no sound ever came out.

Alicarde pushed open the door to the large hospital room, stepping inside with the others close behind.

The Espers seated around the room immediately stood up, eyes wary as they glanced at him.

He turned to Petra.

"How is he?"

She shook her head.

"The same as before. His lips move occasionally, but we can't tell what he's saying."

He nodded.

Carrisa stepped forward, her gaze unwavering.

"I understand that this is an unfortunate situation, and I wish there were another way. However, we require the information he holds. You must use your abilities to extract it from his mind."

Petra's eyes widened in horror.

"W-What? But his mind is fragile right now! I don't know what will happen to him… Please, I can't—"