"Damn it," Aneira muttered under her breath, tightening the hoodie over her head.
The spectre stirred, groaning in frustration.
"Tch… You've been too careful lately! How did they even pick up your trail?"
She didn't answer. Her thoughts were racing. If he was tailing her this closely, it meant the association was on to something. Maybe not everything, but enough to assign someone to watch her movements.
She tried to shake him off. Walked into crowded places, made random stops, and loitered in front of store displays she had no interest in. Anything to give the illusion of normalcy. Anything to throw him off.
Minutes stretched into hours. She could still feel him.
He wasn't making a move, but he wasn't backing off either. He was waiting. Observing. Like a wolf watching a rabbit too far from cover.
And so—
Aneira had no choice but to abandon the idea of hunting another victim today. She could feel it—that suffocating presence, the sharp eyes that had been shadowing her since this morning. An esper… a persistent one. If she even so much as entertained the thought of targeting someone, she knew she'd be exposed.
So instead, she wandered.
She weaved through alleyways, took detours through crowded intersections, and lingered in shops she had no intention of buying from. Window shopping. Loitering. Killing time while pretending to be just another girl enjoying her weekend. Only she wasn't.
She kept her movements casual, careful. Just enough to make her tail grow bored. After nearly an hour of circling the same block and checking over her shoulder, she finally felt it—that shift in the air. The pressure was gone. He had stopped following her.
She let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding.
"Aght… I can't!!" came the spectre's voice, suddenly shrieking in her mind.
Aneira flinched.
"I said I need it today! That Esper bastard who's been following you is gone. You can finally hunt again, right?!"
"I can't just choose anyone," Aneira whispered back through gritted teeth, her eyes darting toward passing pedestrians. "I don't want to leave any trace behind."
"I DON'T CARE!! I DON'T CARE!! I DON'T CARE!! I DON'T CARE!! I DON'T CARE!! I DON'T CARE!!"
The spectre's voice exploded like a tantrum, its tone shrill and erratic, like nails on glass. Her head throbbed with the noise.
"IF YOU DON'T FIND SOMEONE NOW—I SWEAR—I'LL SUCK YOU DRY AND FIND A NEW HOST!!"
Aneira clenched her fists. Her heartbeat thundered in her chest, but she knew she couldn't argue anymore.
So she boarded the next train she could find, barely thinking. Her hands trembled as she stepped into the crowded compartment. The air was thick and stuffy. Her eyes scanned the packed car—nothing. Nothing—wait.
A wave of raw energy hit her like a gust of wind.
"Such overwhelming esper power…" the spectre gasped in her head, sounding almost drunk with anticipation. "Hurry, she's our target!!"
Aneira's eyes locked onto the source—her. A girl about her age, maybe a little younger. She had soft black hair, a plain outfit, and an expression that screamed she didn't want to be there. She was leaning slightly against one of the poles, scrolling through her phone with a casual indifference that made her seem vulnerable.
Aneira swallowed hard, nerves clawing at her throat.
She approached slowly, cautiously, trying to appear like just another bored teenager on a train. Her breath hitched. Every step felt heavier than the last. As she got closer, her hand hesitated, hovering near the girl's lower back. Just one touch. That was all it would take.
She reached out—
And was immediately grabbed.
Her wrist was seized with surprising force, and the girl turned with a glare so sharp, Aneira nearly gasped aloud. Her body stiffened. Her mouth dried up. She was caught.
"What are you doing…" the girl said coldly.
Just pretend. Just act. Deny everything.
The spectre's voice was back, now calm and calculating.
Drain her power while she's distracted. Lie.
"What are you doing!... Why are you holding my hand!" Aneira snapped back, mimicking shock and confusion, her voice slightly high-pitched from the panic.
But the girl didn't buy it. Her eyes didn't waver. They were calm. Focused.
"So, you really don't know what you did wrong?..." the girl asked, tone quiet but full of menace.
Aneira's heart beat so hard she thought it might burst.
"W-What do you mean?... I-I don't understand!" she stammered, her voice trembling with genuine fear now.
Does she know? Aneira thought.
No… no, there's no way. She couldn't. She shouldn't. Unless—
Suddenly, searing pain lanced through her hand.
Aneira's knees buckled slightly, and her vision blurred. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from screaming. Her hand—God, her hand—felt like it was being crushed by iron.
Tears welled in her eyes. It was unbearable.
And then, in the midst of the pain, a whisper brushed against her ear.
"Do something like this again... and that arm of yours won't be connected to your body anymore."
The words cut deeper than any pain.
The train screeched to a halt.
As the doors slid open, Aneira didn't hesitate. She yanked her hand free and bolted, shoving past passengers as she fled the compartment.
Her breath came in ragged bursts by the time she made it down the platform and into the side alley outside the station. Only then did she stop.
She bent forward, clutching her knees. Her body trembled. Her hand throbbed. Her eyes still stung with tears.
But worse than all of that…
That girl knew. She didn't know how, but she knew.
Aneira ran.
She didn't care where—only that it was far. Far from the girl on the train. Far from the crushing pain in her hand. Far from the overwhelming pressure that made her feel like she was about to suffocate.
Her feet carried her through the busy station, across the intersection, and finally into a narrow, empty alley tucked between buildings. There, where the noise of the world dulled to a faint hum, her legs gave out and she collapsed onto her knees.
Her breaths were shallow. Erratic.
"I can't… I'm sorry, Mr. Spectre… but please, give me more time," she cried, voice cracking between gasps. Her hands clutched at her chest, trembling. "I just… I just need more time…"
But there was no response.
No slithering whisper. No cruel laughter. No weight pressing against her mind like always.
Silence.
For a while, Aneira kept begging, thinking the spectre was simply toying with her again. But with each passing second, that eerie, familiar presence remained absent.
"Mr… Spectre?" she whispered, her voice suddenly small. She looked around the alley like a child searching for a lost parent.
Still nothing.
Her breath caught in her throat. Her hands reached for her head, grabbing at her hair as she slowly began to realise—
"He's… gone?" she murmured.
The parasite—no, the curse—was gone. The constant chill in her veins, the invisible chains around her soul… they had vanished. Only a faint residue of otherworldly energy remained, like the last echo of a scream in a long hallway.
Her eyes widened.
"Don't tell me… that girl…"
It couldn't be a coincidence. The moment that girl touched her—no, crushed her hand—that's when the spectre disappeared. As if ripped out of her.
Aneira's lip trembled.
"I… I'm free?" she whispered, as if afraid saying it aloud would break the spell.
Tears began to pour down her face. But this time, it wasn't from guilt or fear. It's because of relief. From hope.
For the first time in months, she felt like herself again. She let out a sob, then a laugh—raw and unsteady. Her body shook as the weight lifted off her shoulders, as lightness returned to her limbs.
"I'm free… I'm really—"
But before she could even finish that sentence, a rush of air swept through the alley, followed by a powerful force crashing toward her from behind.
Her instincts screamed.
She rolled out of the way just in time, the place where she knelt now cracked and scorched by the blow that landed there.
Aneira scrambled back, heart pounding. Her joy twisted instantly into dread.
A figure stepped into the alley, tall and imposing, shadows clinging to him like a shroud. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were full of cold fury.
"Finally found you…" He said, his voice sharp like ice.
Aneira's breath caught in her throat.
"You spectre slave bastard."
It was him.
The Esper who had been following her. The one who never let up.
She stood frozen, body still recovering from the rush of hope… now plummeting into fear once again.