A few days later...
Saturday arrived once again. The morning in Mystic Falls dawned clear and peaceful, the kind of day that made the town seem almost... innocent. The sky was clear, dotted only by a few thin clouds, and the sunlight fell softly over the old facades of the downtown area, reflecting in the windows of the shops that were beginning to open. The streets were calmer than on weekdays. There were lazy footsteps from people enjoying their day off, bicycles passing slowly along the sidewalks, and only a few cars crossing the center without haste...
Ryan was sitting in a small and cozy café, which was close to the building where he lived.
The atmosphere was quiet, lulled by low music that sounded too old to be popular, light wooden tables, display cases with simple sweets, and a large window that let the sun stream in directly, warming the space. A few people occupied the place: couples talking in low voices, an old man reading the newspaper, two girls whispering while fiddling with their phones.
He was at a table near the window.
A book lay open in his hands, the pages being turned calmly, without any rush. A pair of discreet glasses rested over his green eyes, giving him an unexpectedly scholarly air. He wore elegant clothes as always: a light shirt perfectly fitted, sleeves rolled up to his forearms, dark pants with a clean cut, and simple shoes that were too expensive to go unnoticed.
Some women cast glances that were too quick to be accidental. Others simply stared without any shame, assessing every detail with open curiosity. The café attendant, a young woman with brown hair tied in a messy bun, had already passed by his table more times than necessary, always finding a different excuse to clean something that was already clean.
"Want more coffee?" she asked for the third time in less than ten minutes, smiling a bit more than before.
Ryan lifted his eyes from the book slowly, adjusting his glasses with one finger.
"Yes, I do," he replied with calm politeness. "Thank you."
Her smile widened immediately, almost goofy.
"Of course. I'll bring it right away."
As soon as the attendant walked away, Ryan returned his eyes to the book, but only out of habit. The words were there, clear, well-printed, perfectly legible, and yet they were nothing more than abstract symbols. His mind wasn't following the content. It was stuck elsewhere, revisiting the last almost a month since he had been reborn in that world and, for the first time, recognizing something too curious to be ignored.
It had been... pleasant.
Not just interesting or exciting. Those labels he had always known how to use to explain his interests, reserved for specific moments like torturing someone, killing, or having sex—which were his favorite things in the world—that definition was entirely new to him.
Normally, he would call "pleasant" a night having sex with some beautiful woman or a situation where he could beat or kill someone. Not something so mundane.
That kind of situation was "pleasant."
But he never imagined he would use that word to describe a scene like that: sitting in an ordinary café, reading a book, while the world followed its predictable rhythm around him. In another life, a scenario like that would have been irrelevant, perhaps even irritating. Now, there was something there that didn't bother him. On the contrary.
The light silence, the distant clinking of cups, the low murmur of conversations... everything seemed to fit in a strange way, almost right.
Despite still missing the absolute freedom to kill whoever he wanted, that quiet routine had an unusual charm. A silent satisfaction that didn't come from crushing a worm or having sex to exhaustion, but from the simple repetition of small experiences.
He knew exactly what that meant, even if the concept was almost absurd from a clinical point of view.
Psychopathy isn't something that "cures." It doesn't fade with time, nor with positive experiences. The absence of empathy, guilt, or remorse is structural. Still, what was happening to him wasn't a cure, but something similar to an adaptation process. Like a predator forced to live too long among prey that didn't flee.
His brain hadn't changed its moral metric; it was just recalibrating stimuli. Before, only violence, control, and dominance generated a response. Now, micro-reactions were starting to emerge to things that would previously have been irrelevant: the predictability of a frequent place, the comfort of a routine, the constant presence of the same people.
The most intriguing part was this slow approach to something he could only define as "liking" his current life in a genuine way, and the people around him. Although minimally, he began to notice this change more deeply as the days passed...
It had been three weeks since the night he had tortured the Salvatore brothers. During that period, his routine followed practically the same every day. He went to school like any other apparently normal boy. He joined the football team and, as expected, quickly stood out. He became the best player on the team right from the start and, in the debut game, scored several points for the school. His appearance combined with his impressive performance on the field earned him considerable popularity in a short time.
Besides almost always hanging out with Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline during his time at school, he also started hanging out a lot with Tyler and Matt since they were his childhood friends and all, they were more tolerable than the rest, and he had to maintain the "perfect mask." Matt, who was initially very worried about Vicki, seemed much more at ease now that his sister had been discharged about two weeks ago. Speaking of which, his sister had mentioned to him that she had been attacked by a vampire. However, he ended up believing she was under the influence of drugs, since shortly after she seemed to remember nothing. Someone had clearly compelled her. Besides that, she apparently started getting involved with Jeremy recently, since she and Tyler had broken up...
This sequence of events occurred very similarly to the original story, with one crucial exception: this time, Vicki wasn't a vampire because of Damon. Unlike what happened in the original timeline, she hadn't died at Stefan's hands...
But he didn't think the two had left town; they were probably planning something, but the waiting time was boring him... A part of him, which had previously been curious to see what the Salvatore brothers would do, eager to have even more fun with them—which was why he had left them alive—had become indifferent over that time.
Anyway, he would be too busy with more important things than waiting for that kind of predictable revenge...
Aside from his normal student life, he spent most of his free time having sex with Elena or Bonnie anywhere possible; he had done almost everything with those two. Besides that, there were countless moments shared with the two that made that feeling he called "liking" start to flourish more strongly, enough for him to start genuinely caring about both. He had even visited Bonnie's grandmother and her father; besides that, he had spent some nights at Elena's house, reuniting with her aunt and her brother too.
Over those three weeks, he carefully worked the idea with Elena that he wanted to date not only Bonnie but also Caroline. It was a topic that had been "softened" little by little, and Elena was starting to show, more and more clearly, that she was close to accepting. Bonnie, on the other hand, had already accepted without major conflicts since they first got together...
As for Caroline, the two hadn't taken that step yet. Still, the tension between them was evident. They had exchanged some pretty hot make-out sessions the other day during break, and if it weren't for the bell ringing, he would have ended up fucking the blonde in the school bathroom. Which, honestly, didn't seem like something Caroline would mind, considering how experienced she was, having already slept with many men...
Setting his personal relationships aside for a moment, he started feeling even more pleasure in this new "emotion" linked to training and obtaining money, something he did intensely over the last three weeks.
The result was evident. He had become much stronger in all aspects. His body had reached an absurd level of power; even without relying on the reinforcement of [Cursed Energy], he was already a physical monster in every sense. Still, his reserves of [Cursed Energy] had also grown significantly, reaching about half the amount that the King of Curses possessed at his peak.
With that, he was already capable of using all variations of [Dismantle] and [Cleave], except for the [World-Cutting Slash]. Besides that, he finally gained access to [Kamino: Fūga], mastered the [Reverse Cursed Technique], and could employ [Binding Vows] whenever he wanted...
The only thing still missing was the ability to expand a "Domain" from Sukuna-related abilities. As for the [Ten Shadows Technique], it remained sealed; it hadn't been released yet.
Regarding money, his net worth had far exceeded his own estimates. He literally had a few million in his bank account, enough to sustain a life of luxury for years without needing to work for real. Besides that, he kept a considerable amount of bitcoins, ensuring solid long-term returns.
For someone like him, getting money was ridiculously easy, especially considering his future knowledge...
The attendant returned shortly after, balancing the cup with excessive care, as if that simple act were an event too important to waste. She placed the coffee in front of him, hesitated for half a second, and then discreetly slid a small folded paper across the table, pushing it with her fingertips.
"It's... in case you want to go out or something, call me..." she said, trying to sound casual but failing in an almost adorable way.
Ryan raised his eyes, met her gaze, and for a moment, just smiled.
"Thank you for the coffee and the invitation; I'll consider it kindly..." he replied simply.
The attendant nodded too quickly, turned around, and practically fled back behind the counter.
Ryan picked up the cup, feeling the heat through the porcelain, and this time drank the coffee with real attention. The taste was simple, nothing extraordinary, but satisfying. He returned to the book and finally started reading for real. The pages flowed naturally now. His mind followed the words, absorbing the story effortlessly, as if that small act of normalcy had become... easy.
When he finished the last chapter, he closed the book calmly, left some folded money on the table, and stood up without haste. The door's bell rang softly when he left the café, and the fresh morning air enveloped him immediately.
The center of Mystic Falls remained peaceful. The sun was already higher, warming the asphalt, and the few people on the street walked without urgency.
Ryan headed toward the building where he lived, slow steps, relaxed posture, one hand holding the book while the other pulled out his phone.
There were some new messages.
Elena had said she would spend the night with Jenna and Bonnie. A "girls' night," as she put it, accompanied by a smiling emoji. Bonnie had confirmed a little earlier that she couldn't go out today because of that...
Ryan arched his eyebrow slightly, thoughtful, before typing a quick response wishing them fun. Then, he sent another message.
"And Caroline, isn't she going?"
Elena's response came almost instantly.
"She hasn't replied yet. Why?"
"For nothing, I thought she had already confirmed..."
Ryan stopped for a second on the sidewalk, the corner of his mouth curving slightly. He opened Caroline's chat and typed without beating around the bush, direct as always.
"Hey. Want to come over to my place later?"
The response came so fast it almost seemed like she already had her phone in hand waiting for exactly that.
"YES!!!"
Ryan let out a brief low laugh, almost inaudible, while continuing to walk, arranging a movie night, although Caroline in all her boldness made it clear she didn't want just to watch movies...
With a smile on his lips, he put the phone back in his pocket and raised his gaze to the building ahead.
Until night arrived, he would still have time to do a few things.
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