Novel Bin Chapter 4: How Did I Die?
Chapter 4: How Did I Die?
At some point, he floated to the middle of the bath, he was faced up and closed his eyes while the maids shifted from cleaning him to massaging his now well-defined muscles.
\'Voice in my head?\'
[Yes?]
\'What\'s your name? What do I call you?\'
[I have no name]
\'Hmm, what exactly are you?\'
There was a few seconds of silence.
[I am your Decadent Assistance. I possess all the assistance you could possibly need to become an absolute soul-hungry degenerate.]
\'Hmm, I see. Alright then, let\'s see some of that assistance\' Evian thought with excitement.
[Decadent Store is locked.
You require 1000 Soul points to unlock it]
\'A paywall? How original\' Evian thought with a chuckle while rolling his eyes behind his closed eyelids.
[Every assistance I can offer is indeed locked behind a \'Paywall\'.
However, I do have one piece of advice that I can give for free]
\'Oh, and what\'s that?\'
[Get off your butt and start hunting for souls]
\'...\'
It wasn\'t even the words but rather the cheeky tone the voice had said it with that took Evian by surprise.
The maids bathed Evian for half an hour and he directed them to leave him alone while he floated in the bath for another thirty minutes just enjoying the soothing feeling of the bubbling water as well as the sweet perfumed smell.
Eventually, Evian got out of the bath and when he walked back into his bedroom wearing a bathrobe the maids had left behind for him, he found them waiting for him.
"You\'re still here?" he asked them with a smile.
The two presented him with a beautiful purple robe as well as purple shoes to go with it.
"Clothes for the Feast," one of the two said.
One of the maids put down the shoes in her hand and stepped forward to help him take off his bathrobe before the two started dressing him in the ones they had brought.
They helped him put the robes on and Evian was glad they did.
\'It\'s likely foolish but I\'ll probably have worn these robes the wrong way if I was left alone with it\' he thought.
Although the robes were the ancient sort, they of course contained trousers to be worn underneath. The one thing they did lack though was underwear.
\'I\'m gonna miss wearing boxers. Maybe I can fashion myself a pair\' Evian contemplated with a finger to his chin.
All in all, the clothes felt good and the shoes were very snug and looked cool. Looking at himself in the large mirror in the room, Evian admitted he cut a dashing figure.
\'My eyes look so cold and scary. I like\'
...
The sun had set and the sky above the Stygian Estate was already getting dark.
The news that Evian Stygian had defeated fate by literally coming back to life after his death, had already spread all over the Estate and as Evian followed the lead of the maids, he heard whisperings about him among guards and servants.
They always stopped when he got close but not before he caught keywords to know he was the topic.
Whenever they stopped talking to bow to him, Evian always gave them a smile and the occasional wave and he found it interesting how ladies swooned to be smiled at by him.
The guards even glared at him with envy although they would not dare to frown at him.
\'Is- Is this what they call Pretty privilege?\' Evian thought with a small chuckle.
In his past life, he had been of average looks and had had to work so hard to not lose the attention of a lady within the first fifteen minutes of knowing her. Never once had he been looked at with envy by other men. Contempt and underestimation sometimes but never Envy.
The Dining hall was just as it sounded. It was a massive hall fitted with a large table with seats for every important member and occupant of the Stygian Estate.
There were butlers and servants all lined up along the walls and at strategic locations all around the table ready to cater to the whims of those seated at the table.
Safe to say, everyone seated at the table was related to Evian in some form.
There was Lord Stygian seated at the head of the table, there was Lady Myrine seated at Lord Stygian\'s right hand, and on the left side was a black-haired man who looked to be in his late twenties and had his arms folded with a perpetual frown on his face.
"Ah, just look at him. I must say the Grey hair quite suits him. Maybe even more than the Stygian black"
"Oh, I don\'t know about that, it looks a bit scary to me. Ominous even"
The Stygian relatives at the table were muttering among themselves but Evian ignored them and set his eyes on the three at the head of the table.
"Evian, come sit by my side," Lady Myrine said with her usual wide smile on her beautiful face.
Evian walked and sat himself down by his Mother.
Lady Myrine cleared her throat and glared at the black-haired young man sitting on Lord Stygian\'s left side.
"Adrian, you won\'t even greet your brother?"
Evian raised a brow.
\'Oh, so he\'s Adrian\'
Adrian frowned.
"Welcome back to the land of the living. Let\'s see how long you stay this time" he said with a smirk.
\'Is that a threat?\' Evian thought with twitching lips.
"Adrian!" Lord Stygian said in his deep voice while everyone else at the table gasped.
It wasn\'t so much the words but rather the spite behind them.
"What? Did I say anything wrong?" Adrian asked.
"Apologize to your brother," Lord Stygian said.
"Why?"
"Apologize!" Lady Myrine said in a sharp tone and Adrian looked like he had been cut.
"Mother-" he started to say but Lady Myrine interrupted.
"Apologize," she said much more slowly with every syllable deliberate in showing how displeased she was.
"It\'s fine," Evian said suddenly and eyes all turned to him. "I don\'t know him well enough to be upset."
Adrian shook his head.
"No. I was wrong. I apologize" he said through gritted teeth while giving his Mother the occasional glance to make sure she had accepted the apology. It was meant for her and not his useless brother anyway.
As the reason there was even a feast in place in the first place, now that Evian was seated, the meals were served and in minutes everyone was eating.
Evian\'s eyes glowed at the sweet smell of all that was served and he wasted no time filling the plate he had been provided and digging into the meal while topping it with a side of wine.
He was a bit worried at first that he would not find food delicious now that he was Wraith but was happy that was not the case.
As he ate, Evian became aware that someone was looking at him.
At first, he tried to ignore the look but it intensified and his senses were going crazy until he eventually looked up and found himself looking into Adrian\'s black eyes.
Being forced to apologize had not made Adrian more pleasant. In fact, his hatred seemed intensified.
\'Damn, what did I- I mean, what did Evian do to make him so mad. He looks ready to skewer me.
Wait a minute, is that it?
Did he kill Evian which allowed me to take over this body?\' Evian wondered.
He realized he had no idea why the Evian from before had died. He had just not thought it of enough importance to ask but now with the unexplainable hatred he was receiving from his \'brother\', he couldn\'t help but ask.
"Um, Lady Myrine?"
"Call me Mother, dear" Lady Myrine said with a smile.
\'Well, I\'ve only known you for a day so that feels a bit awkward\' Evian thought but the more he looked into her warm brown eyes, the more he realized it was not about him.
Lady Myrine was hurting. She might have been hiding it well behind smiles but the fact that her son had no memory of her had to be painful.
"Alright, Mother?" he said and was amazed when her smile got even wider and her eyes sparkled.
"Yes, dear?" she said, almost sounding like she was choking up.
"How did I die?"