The Messenger of Death

Chapter 49: skin crawler

['Did you reject a banging body like that or you are saving it for the future?'] Al wanted to confirm.

['Do I look like someone that would go back on his words? I might be a killer but I'm not one akin to lies.']

['So you rejected her body. I have to say, Alex, there are different levels of low. You Alex, you are below low. You are a disgrace to all species with male genitalia.']

['A perfect description of yourself Al, keep it up.'] He brushed away the attention-seeking alter and came back to reality.

Arabella had already opened the glass doors and stepped into the living area of the suite. Alex followed behind.

"You are done? That didn't take long at all." Andrea said. She saw how wide the smile on Arabella's face was, and she got curious about what she and Alex talked about. "Why are you smiling like you just won the lottery?" She playfully asked Arabella.

She giggled and brushed the question away. "We should be on way now. Goodnight Alex, goodnight Cam." Arabella said.

"Goodnight. Let's talk another time." Andrea bade and the two of them left the room.

"Alright. See you tomorrow I guess. Goodnight." Camron replied.

Alex kept quiet and watched as they left the room. "What did you say to Arabella that got her smiling that much?"

Alex snapped out of his trance, he turned and looked at his friend. "Nothing important Camron. I going to pick a room, you pick anyone too, goodnight." He left the area without waiting to hear Camron's response.

'What's wrong with him?' Camron wondered.

Alex walked around till he came upon a hall with three doors. 'These should be the doors to the rooms.' He thought.

He looked to his left then right, trying to decide what room to pick. He decided on the door on the left and walked over to the door. He opened it and was greeted by darkness, he stepped in and as soon as he entered the room the lights came on.

The room he stepped into was just as mesmerizing as the living room. There was a king-size bed in the middle of the room, designed with blue garments, another white door. With curtains that looked a bit like the fur of a very large animal, positioned in where the windows were.

The room was worth the money he paid. He was satisfied with what he had seen. He went towards the king-size bed and sat down at the edge. The softness of the mattress was very comforting.

"What do I do?"

['About what?'] Lex asked.

"I know that I am a killer. But At the same time, I feel like I am more than just a killer. Remember the night Xander said that I am just a confused child with multiple personalities. That I didn't know who I was or who I am. I am seriously conflicted at the moment."

He paused for a while.

"I know who I am and at the same time, I am not who I think I am. But who I think I am is already a part of me, so how can it not be who I am?" Alex had lost his alters with what he just said.

['Alex, I think you should stop thinking about this deeply. I didn't point out your changes to confuse you, I did that so that you could get yourself back. Now your thoughts seem to be drifting off to the wrong places.'] Xander stated.

['Here's advice from me Alex. Don't think too much, that doesn't help with anything. You should take this slowly. You know that you are a killer, but you also think that you are more than that. All you have to do is to find out what the 'more' is.'] Lex advised.

"Easier said than done."

['Alex what is your goal in this world?'] Lex questioned.

"To get stronger." He replied firmly. ['Why do you want to get stronger?'] He pushed.

"So that I can find a way back and kill Kain."

['Is that all?']

"Yes, that's all. Should there be more?"

['What if we don't find a way back? What would you then?']

"Grace Clan's artifact brought me here and it should be able to send me back."

['You shouldn't get stronger because of that. People get stronger so they can protect what's theirs. Some get stronger because the feeling of power is intoxicating, many because they want revenge.'] Lex paused.

"And your point is?"

['Do you even know how long it would take us to reach the strength that would be enough to take us back there? Kain might have even died of old age by then, if that's the case then what? You have no purpose in life anymore.

Alex, you are a cultivator now, your life span is about 250 years at your current strength. I am not saying that you shouldn't want revenge for what he did, all I'm saying is that revenge shouldn't be the only drive you have. It can only take you so far, at a point when its fuel has been drained you might regret it.']

Alex didn't know what to say in response to what Lex said.

['You know what, stop thinking about this. Go to sleep, it should help.'] Xander advised.

He removed his shoes and laid down on the bed, he closed his eyes trying to fall asleep. Alex had been like that for a while, he couldn't sleep, he kept on thinking about what his alters had told him.

-Ding!! Ding!!!

He heard the sound of a loud bell ring. On instincts, he jumped up from his bed, startled by the unexpected sound. "What was that?"

['Sounded like a bell.'] Al pitched his thoughts.

"I know, but why was it rung?"

['Well, it could have been a warning call, or a call for something. I don't know, maybe it was just an alarm.']

"Alarm. Hmm." Alex felt like he had forgotten about something. "The skin crawler." He recalled what he had forgotten. He brought out his blood-stained jacket and checked one of its inner pockets for his mask.

"I hope that it didn't get crushed by that bimbo when she punched me"

"Found it." He brought it out and threw his jacket to the ground. Alex held a triangular-shaped metal in his hand. It was shaped like a nose, he brought it closer to his nose and fixed it on top of it.

After a second, the device started to expand. From his nose it went down to his jaw, then his cheeks, and then other parts of his face. Alex could feel the familiar itch that came with putting the mask on. He could feel the thousands of hair-like needles pierce his skin. After it covered his whole face he brought his hands up to feel it.

-Clack. Clack.

He used his finger to hit the mask. Alex walked down to the other door in his room and opened it knowing that it would be a bathroom. Searching for a mirror he ignored the intricacy of this part of the suite. Alex found the mirror and walked up to it. Looking at his reflection, the part of his face that was visible was his eyes, the rest was covered by the thin metal of his mask.

Alex looked closely, trying to see if there's any crack or dent on it. He sighed after a while of observing his skin crawler. He didn't see anything wrong with it.

"Time to see if it still works." He double-tapped his left temple.

-Ping!

His skin crawler turned on. "Welcome back Alexander." He read on the interface.

*Default mode or custom.

These two options appeared next. The view from the mask was almost like that of virtual reality goggles. It projected its contents to the wearer only, without obstructing their views. It was like seeing the world through a glass. It responds to neurosensory movements of the retina

He used his eyes to pick 'Default mode' just by focusing on it for a second. Soon as the device accepted the command, the mask turned transparent, like he wasn't even wearing it. He used a finger to press his cheek, wanting to find out if sudden contact with abnormality will cause a malfunction in its camouflage. His cheeks went it and it looked natural.

"It's a good thing this wasn't damaged. I would have been pissed off at that bimbo."

-Ping!

*Calculating time is based on the user's current location using a magnetic force.

-Ping!

*Calculation complete. The time is 00:07. March 14th, 3030.

"It's been 13 days since her death huh." He made his way out of the bathroom and back to his bed. He laid down once more, but this time with his skin crawler on. He felt a lot more comfortable with it.

"Did I move on too fast?"

['Everyone has their way of dealing with things Alex. You are moving just at the right pace for yourself.'] Lex comforted.

He gently exhaled and closed his eyes, and not long after he fell asleep.