Elena's adjustment was tough. Maya had her hands full of worry.

They have settled most of the issues in her day-to-day life, but there were still some minor things Elena would have to make peace with.

For example, with the vampiric heightened healing factor and resistance to diseases and poison, Elena could no longer effectively get drunk. An inhuman amount of strong liquor was needed just to give her a buzz, making it unsustainable to spend money on.

Maya wanted her to stop drinking, and, it seemed, she was finally forced into it.

With Keith avoiding her—and her avoiding everyone else—Elena's main purpose in life had become being Maya's decipherer. Thanks to that, they have made significant progress with the book they had acquired.

Maya finally had some glimpses into the book's contents, but also realized that the magic it spoke about was too advanced for someone who had not yet understood the basics.

Perhaps she should join some academic clubs that focus on exploring magic.

"You're a terrible friend, Maya!" Charlise banged on the wall, intercepting Maya as she walked through the hallway.

"Eek!" Maya was startled.

"You don't call, you don't text, not even drop by," Charlise continued with her outburst. "It's like you've forgotten all about me."

In all honesty, preoccupied with Elena's circumstances, Maya had completely put Charlise out of her mind. She stared at the outraged, gaunt girl in front of her. Although she dressed in bright colours, unmistakable gloom lingered around her. Outside her view, the ghosts still followed her.

"Charlise. I'm so sorry. I've been too busy lately," Maya said. "I wanted to text, but I've started this trimester quite behind and am struggling to catch up."

"Then you could come to study at my place, dummy."

"But our non-compulsory subjects don't match," Maya blurted out.

From the second trimester forward, students pick subjects for their non-compulsory course and intermingle with other groups outside the compulsory classes. Although Maya and Elena were still attending all of the same classes since Maya was the one who filled out Elena's application form, as Elena was… well, out of commission at the time.

"B…but, we can still hang out…?" Charlise's lip trembled, and she suddenly seemed as if she was going to burst into tears. "You should have told me which subjects you wanted to enrol so we could go together…"

"O—of course!" Maya consoled her quickly as Charlise began to genuinely sob. "I was fever-struck when I filled out the form. I didn't want you to catch it since… health… is really important for you right now…"

As Maya looked at Charlise better, she really didn't look all right. Besides the haunting presence around her, she seemed quite physically unwell. Maya gulped and prepared to do something she feared to try on both Charlise and Elena lately—activate her Soul Vision.

The soul energy that usually spread through the body, focused around the centre of the being—the core, seemed to be gradually sucked toward her belly. And there seemed to be a growing void devouring it. Her energy was all messed up, and it almost seemed as if inside of her, something foreign was mixed in.

'I don't think she's growing life…'

Maya was terrified. The longer she gazed at it, she began to feel as if it was going to reach out after Maya and devour her life as well, to feed its greedy emptiness.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Maya's eyes fell on the ghost of a girl who had given her a warning before, who now had significantly less presence in her eyes. Ghosts around Charlise were now much closer, clinging to her, wrapping her with their arms like snakes, being dragged as she moved. But they have changed significantly, noted by their empty eyes, obscenely staring into nothing.

It didn't feel like it was their choice. Almost as if that thing had coaxed them in and fed on their lingering souls, slowly devouring them as well. It felt very dangerous.

Maya took Charlise's hand and said with a serious tone, "We have to talk."

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Because Elena had missed a lot of school and obligations, she had to turn to her guardians to excuse her absence.

She couldn't use 'I literally died' as an excuse, and couldn't get examined by a doctor who would immediately notice she had a heart rate of a crocodile. Being a walking reanimated corpse was not a normal human condition.

Her guardian was the only woman who could resolve her absence issue, but to get on her good side, Elena needed to spend some daughterly time with her.

Elena resented her guardian's overbearing motherly instincts with passion. But she had to suck it up and pretend to listen to her blabbing while joining her for her morning grocery shopping and running errands.

Elena only used a part of her brain to simulate listening attentively and avoid her automatic responses sounding confrontational. It was difficult because there were so many things about this woman that pissed her off.

While Elena was following suit, Mrs. Trento suddenly veered toward the butcher's shop. Elena paused, remembering her recent night visit.

'He didn't see my face. It's fine,' she reassured herself. There was no other choice but to follow, anyway.

Inside, the scent of fresh meat and blood overwhelmed her. She attempted to suppress her fangs with her tongue, pushing them back.

Those pesky little things… she seemingly had no control over them.

The butcher greeted them with a congenial smile. "Good mornin', Mrs. Trento. It's a beautiful day, ain't it? What can I get for you today?"

Mrs. Trento beamed back at the butcher. "Indeed, it is. What's fresh today?"

"I just finished chopping some beef tenderloin. I recommend that."

"Sounds excellent. We'll take them."

As the butcher busied himself with their order, his gaze shifted to Elena, who was standing quietly next to Mrs. Trento, her breath held in check. "Is this the young ward you're always so proud of?" he enquired.

Mrs. Trento responded with a gleaming smile of affirmation, squeezing Elena's shoulder in a motherly fashion. "Yes, she is."

The butcher turned his attention to Elena. "Anythin' I can get for you, young lady?"

"I'm just here as a shopping bag," Elena replied, forcing a toothless smile onto her face.

Mrs. Trento laughed uncomfortably. Elena's rude remark threatened to smear the perfect image of her ward that she had painted for everyone in the neighbourhood. But hearing Elena's voice got the butcher feeling uneasy. He couldn't put his finger on what it was exactly.

Ever since she had threatened him, her voice haunted his nights. He wasn't able to make the connection, though.

Elena just stood there, holding Mrs. Trento's groceries and smiling innocently. His confusion was amusing to her. It was entertaining to see him trying to comprehend why his body reacted to her presence in such a way.

"That would be all. Thank you. We have to go now," said Mrs. Trento. She wanted to leave as soon as possible, before Elena found a way to embarrass her.

The butcher, brushing off his unsettlement, smiled. "Of course. Lovely meeting ya."

As they were leaving, Elena couldn't resist the urge to add, "Say hello to your wife."

He froze in place, but before he knew it, they were already outside. Walking beside her unsuspecting guardian, Elena could see him through the shop window, still staring after them in bewilderment. The woman was already blabbering about the next thing.

'Oblivious as always.'

His reaction felt satisfying—Elena's small payback for his betrayal. The little seed of doubt infested his mind. Of course, he couldn't place her with the creature that threatened him; she was walking bathed in sunlight. However, what if they were connected? What if his wife wasn't safe, not even during the day?

Elena chuckled to herself.

What would Maya say to this? She would definitely scold her. Then point out how terrible the risk was to leave hints of her being undead. Yet it felt good. It always felt good to mess with people. Her life was already dry enough.

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