How long have I been dead? A month? A year? Maybe more. It was all too confusing for me. I knew that I had died, but it didn't feel any different than when I'd been alive before besides growing a few inches and a foot.
I stood up and walked across the top of the building. I stopped at the edge, staring out over the vast city beneath me. Underneath my feet, the clouds curled around the tall buildings, enveloping them in gray, their color mixing with the sky's deep purple. I soaked in the view, basking in the sight of it for just a moment.
"Just like home." I mused.
But deep down, I knew that it wasn't the case.
If it was "home" then where are all the villages and townspeople? Instead, there are these huge towers or "buildings" that these people call them. There are also these weird things with 4 wheels that can go really fast which are called "cars."
"Where am I?" I questioned out loud. I felt like a stranger in a strange land.
I walked away from the ledge to gather my sense of self. If I can get that together. I hopped off the building with ease and walked through the dark alleyway, deep in my thoughts.
I took a single step into the darkness and felt a sharp pain in my head. I winced as memories flashed through my mind. Some of them were easy to recognize while others were a bit fuzzy.
"Good luck Minji." A young man wished in a memory.
"Thanks, Satoshi." A seemingly younger version of me replied.
That memory was swapped out with another one.
"You want revenge? Then you can have it! In turn for your soul!" The man laughed in the memory.
It's him! My eyes widened. I know that voice from anywhere.
I reached out to the memory before it disintegrated in front of my very eyes. I let out a scream as I was pulled back into reality.
My vision was blurry and I felt like throwing up. I quickly pressed a hand over my mouth to stop that from happening.
Calm down. You're fine. You're going to be fine.
I growled at my lie, kicking a nearby trash can as hard as I could.
No! Everything is not fine! I'm not back in the life I was supposed to be! I have weird powers for one!
And my memories…that's a whole other story.
Those things…they became foreign. It's all in disarray. Like having broken pieces of glass scattered all over the ground and being left to pick them up and put them back together again.
All I remember was that there was someone. Someone to love. Someone to hate. I was way more than I am now. Then something horrific happened which resulted in my death. Then I remembered being in a place covered with fire and brimstone. A man came to me and gave me a deal which I accepted. Afterward, I ended up here.
Damn! Why do I have to be the one to experience this?! Resurrection should be a smooth process! According to the stories that I was told, resurrection was when a person gets brought back to life after being dead and gets to keep their memories from their previous life.
Or was that reincarnation?
Well, whatever it was, having intacted memories was promised and I didn't receive that. Looks like someone got cheated out of the deal.
What was I thinking when I offered my soul? Blinded by rage and probably revenge must've been coursing through my veins.
Too bad I didn't read the fine print…
I want to die and float in nothingness rather than being alive at this moment.
My body became numb, as if it wasn't my own anymore. All the pain that I have experienced came roaring in my mind.
Why can't I just die? I don't wanna be alive right now.
After lying on the floor for what felt like an eternity, I decided to lift myself off the ground and onto my feet. My legs wobbled and I almost fell to the ground.
It's never going to end…
I continued my walk into the alleyway and took a turn which ended up at a dead end. It was like I was walking in circles. Physically and mentally.
From behind, a couple of thugs walked into the dead end too but I was too lost in my world of misery. I didn't even hear them coming.
"Well, well, well. Look what we have here." One of the thugs chuckled. He took out a switchblade and threw it back and forth in his hands.
"Leave me alone." I told the thug in a monotone voice.
"Now you know we can't do that baby~" The other thug purred. "Why don't you come with us? We'll make it worth your time."
I looked at the two men in utter disgust. Those piss tanks picked the wrong time to mess with me.
Tonight is a beautiful night. The perfect night to go hunting. I can feel it in the air. There are so many people on the prowl in this city. So much innocence...ready to be destroyed. Tarnished.
I twirled my knife in my hand, itching for a fight. My hobby is to peel the skin off of the victims I catch. And my friend here is thirsty for blood. Haven't gotten a good catch in awhile. Everyone's gone soft, they're not meeting my expectations.
Well, what can I expect from a city that has a mid level crime rate. There might be a few police cruisers doing a patrol through the streets every now and then. Although, when they're done, criminals crawl out and do their activities. I never feel any remorse or disappointment when this happens. It just shows that the cops are lazy at their job and this city has lost all justice.
The blade flickered from the moonlight, letting off a luminous glow. I looked up and saw it in all of its glory. The moon. Glorious moon. Full, fat, ivory moon. It's light flooded into the city and it brings joy, joy, joy, joy. To this horrible city. Light. Happiness. Love. It will pave a path to enlightenment and I will be the overseer! This is how it should be! After I do my job, the moon will do the rest. No one will alter that.
I turned the corner and walked into an alleyway. It was dimly lit and the light post kept flickering. The homeless staggered around with their heads hung low. It's kinda funny if you ask me. That's why I call them "zombies." They have the same mannerisms and antics. The only difference is that the homeless mooch you for money which they'll use to buy drugs. Zombies on the other hand will eat your brains. Besides that, they're more of the same. And in any horror flick, the monsters or attackers must die in a horrific way.
For example, I grabbed one of the "zombies" and pinned him against the wall. He was short and stubby so it was easy to subdue him. From his looks, he had to be in his late 50's. Wearing a dirty trench coat with a wife beater underneath. Yep, dressed like a true zombie!
He kept slurring over his words and tried to break free from my grasp. From the smell of his breath he must be drunk off his ass. Another common habit for the homeless. On the plus side, it makes it easier for me to kill him. Wouldn't make much of a sound.
"Don't worry. This won't hurt a bit!" I smiled gleefully behind my mask, raising my knife 3 inches from the man's face.
I pushed half an inch of the blade into his left eye, flicking the handle up, instantly popping the retina. The "zombie" could only watch on helplessly as I started stabbing him in the chest lightly, above the waist. His eye burst open and hung out the socket and ran down his face. I yanked the eyeball out and continued my handiwork.
I was tempted to cut open his stomach and play around with his intestines but I don't want to risk getting caught. It's already bad enough that I got the biggest Korean gang on my back as it is. I don't need the cops following me either.
I dropped my latest victim to the ground and analyzed him. "I feel like something is missing. But what?" I looked at the corpse closely when a light bulb went off in my head. "Oh! That's what I forgot!"
I got down on one knee and positioned my victim correctly. I moved the blade towards his forehead and began my other "craft," carving. A simple star would send those gangsters in a frenzy. This symbol is practically plastered all over town, mostly on people.
Why, you may ask? Because, I like to send pursuers on a wild goose chase while making them paranoid. If this ever goes on the news then it would cause mass hysteria.
After I added some finishing touches, I stood up and continued down the dark alleyway. Then, something caught my eye. A woman beating up some thugs.
She wore a pink kimono with a peaked hat and sandals. It was hard to see her face since it was concealed in bandages. Her height was abnormal for an average woman. Stood well over 6 feet but not reaching 7 feet. That doesn't scare me though.
I continue to watch on as she threw a few bricks at the thugs. One brick sent them flying into a wall which was interesting. The other one tried to escape but the woman used her bandages to snap his neck. It was beautiful.
A twinge of pleasure rushed through me as the lifeless body hit the floor. The mysterious woman looked at the fresh corpses for a few minutes, even placing her foot on their chests to make sure they're dead. My eyes drew to the discarded body in front of me so I decided to get a better look. Not too shabby. Could use a little improvement but it's a cut above an average killer.
Footsteps approached me and I knew it was that woman.
I cleared my throat and said, "You did a very good job dear."
This caught her attention.
I looked behind my shoulder. "What did you say?"
The man stood upright. He dusted his hands off and smiled. "I said, you did a very good job. Those punks didn't stand a chance. The way you took them down…it was magnificent!"
"What the hell do you want?! Who are you?!" I shouted, getting defensive.
He stepped into the street light, making it a whole lot better to see him. But his appearance…confused me.
His whole body was pitch black and covered in stars, must've been a suit or something.
"My name is Nightfall," The idiot bowed in front of me. "A pleasure to meet you."
I looked unamused. Why do I always attract unwanted attention?
"Get the hell away from me!" I shouted, raising my fist back.
Nightfall quickly backed away. I could've probably finished him off if I wanted but I had other things on my mind.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I was trying to compliment you on your work."
"You call this work?! It's nothing but corpses!"
That idiot seemed unfazed by my outburst. He seemed to be enjoying my anger
"Why are you angry? I was simply telling the truth."
"Leave me alone." I walked away.
I could feel his eyes on my back. I didn't stop walking until I could no longer feel his gaze.
"We cut from the same cloth me and you. I can show you some of my work if you want." He called out.
I didn't respond. I had no idea what he was talking about.
"I'll be waiting for you," He said. "I'll always be waiting."
I spun around and he was gone. I looked for any sign of him. I didn't see anything.
"What a weirdo." I mumbled. Something tells me to steer away from a man like him.
After looking around for one more time, I walked into the darkness, wondering what I should do.
