— NOELLE —
Mom… Dad… where are you?
Images drifted through her mind as her body grew colder and the pain slowly began to fade.
I never wanted to live a life like this! I wanted to live happily and in peace!
It was twenty years ago… when my life changed completely.
Until then, my three siblings, my parents, and I had lived peacefully in the ghettos of the city of Straßn. Beastfolk were separated from humans, yes—but we were not yet brutally persecuted.
We lived normal lives, never harming anyone… until one night soldiers stormed our home, dragged our parents away, and sold us children at the slave market.
From that moment on, the true horror began. I had to work endlessly as a slave under humans with cruel and twisted natures. I was abused, beaten, and tortured.
But six years ago… he bought me.
My master—Marcel Bernheim. He treated my wounds, and together with his wife, they cared for me.
I never understood their kindness.
They even managed to locate my siblings within the country and helped them flee abroad—far away from slavery.
Our parents, however, were never found. I chose to stay until they were. But in recent months, what moved me even more was how this couple helped so many beastfolk, asking for nothing in return, risking their lives under this regime.
I wanted to help them. Support them.
And Kubato… a beastfolk… their stepdaughter…
She moved me deeply.
Noelle pressed her trembling hand against the gunshot wound in her chest. It was warm between her fingers.
Please… I want to live! I want to help them! They don't deserve an end like this! Please! Someone help me!
"Hold on," a melodic voice said.
Noelle tried to see who was speaking to her… but her eyes were already too tired.
She could only make out a black silhouette moving before her fading vision.
"Who… are you?" she asked weakly.
"I am Akumu. Death itself. I'm afraid I am no healer—but I can offer you another way to survive. However, you would become almost like me. Dead, yet somehow alive. Do you want that?"
There is hope? But I would… become different?
"Please," she whispered, her strength draining away. She nodded faintly.
"Save… the Bernheims…"
"Do not worry," the silhouette replied.
Suddenly his face drew closer, and his lips touched hers.
His pale skin and dark eyes were striking, his lips soft—cold, yet gentle.
In that instant, she felt tiny little feet crawling out of his mouth. She immediately realized they were small, creeping creatures forcing their way through her mouth and down her throat.
Noelle wanted to gag, to resist, to recoil in disgust—but she had no strength left. More and more she felt the creatures spreading within her. Her heartbeat slowed with every passing second. Her vision faded further and further until, at last, everything went dark.
Silence. Complete silence.
As if something that had always been there was suddenly gone.
Am I dead now?
The catwoman opened her eyes.
Gagging, she leaned forward, pushing the mysterious man away and spitting several of the creatures onto the floor.
What was that? Where does this strength suddenly come from? Why am I still alive…?
Her consciousness was fully intact. She felt alive. Her strength had completely returned. But…
My heart… it… isn't beating anymore…
She looked at her bloodstained hands.
Then at the bullet wounds in her chest and leg, still soaked in blood. Her filthy maid outfit.
Her wounds… were closing.
"What…?" she asked, staring at the man.
He crouched before her, wearing a suit made of black, stitched leather straps. The buckles rattled with every movement, giving him an awe-inspiring presence.
"You are now neither dead nor alive. I prevented your soul from leaving your body by turning you into a kind of lich."
He took her hand and helped her up. Her black hair shimmered gracefully over her delicate shoulders, and her bloodstained dress distorted the image of an otherwise beautiful catwoman.
She stared at him, confused—unsure what this meant for her. She clearly felt changes within herself… above all, she felt energized, despite having been on the brink of death moments ago.
"A lich…? Does that mean I'm… a zombie now?"
"Perhaps. But you are still different. I have formed a pact with you, and as Death itself, I grant you that you will not die unless I will it. You are now my servant," he grinned with satisfaction.
"And for such a beautiful flower, it is not yet time to die."
Noelle didn't know whether she should feel grateful or afraid. He had saved her life—yet bound her by a pact, a contract. Still… he seemed almost kind.
"What do you… what do you intend to do now, Master?"
She followed the etiquette drilled into her during her years of slavery and bowed respectfully.
Akumu stared through the room, as if searching for the meaning of his own existence.
"That is simple. I will save the Bernheims and free Kubato."
Joy blossomed within Noelle, and she smiled happily.
Please! They do not deserve such a fate!
"But there is one thing I must make clear," Akumu said sternly, raising a finger and pointing toward the two dead soldiers left behind by their own men.
"I will kill no one—and neither will you, as long as I am here. Agreed?"
Noelle stared at him in disbelief. She had struggled to kill the men—but as her hand moved toward the hidden blade she always kept beneath her skirt, all the hatred she held for this regime surged up within her.
"But these people are murderers!" she protested. "They have slaughtered countless beastfolk and hunt them across the land! Why am I not allowed to take revenge?!"
She felt her anger boiling over.
"They have caused so much suffering! Why can't I?!"
Akumu's eyes did not condemn her. For a moment, she was surprised to see something almost like pity in his gaze.
Then he spoke: "They have wives and children as well. They, too, have people they love—and people who will miss them. Do not become like them. Be better."
Noelle stood frozen, unable to find words.
As if he had invalidated all her arguments with a single sentence…
"But—"
A knock echoed at the door.