Old World

Despite the strange incident, we continue walking towards the sea, while I remain vigilant of our surroundings.

Because when someone like us notices something strange, it's never nothing...

And if something is capable of hiding from me, it's either someone who can use witchcraft or someone so powerful that meeting them would be intriguing.

Well, if something like that doesn't want to be found, I also won't actively search for it, since I don't want my ass kicked.

Strangely, Cthylla stays calm the whole time...

After arriving at the shore, she hurries to a dressing cabin to change into her bikini. Since I'm not interested in getting wet, I sit down next to the shore still dressed in my black jeans and grey polo shirt.

Looking at the sea and the small city of Fairmont itself, it appears pretty idyllic. Cthylla would probably enjoy living here, but sadly, even without her father as a threat, you can never really settle down as an immortal.

Most of the time, you can't stay longer than ten years in one place before people get suspicious of their non-aging neighbor.

The only way to really settle down is probably somewhere in the nearly nonexistent wilderness. But even there, people will find you someday...

"And how do I look?" says Cthylla, and her voice brings me out of the rabbit hole.

She then spins around to show off her green bikini, which covers all the right places while leaving enough room for my imagination to run wild.

"You look beautiful," I say, impressed, and she happily gives me a peck on the cheek, then runs into the water.

While she jumps into the water, I finally pay attention to the person who has watched us the whole time.

Turning to my left, I see the guy from the stall sitting there with two beautiful women who feed him strawberries.

This guy...

Suddenly, I have the urge to go for a walk. So I stood up and accidentally walked towards the guy with the red trunks and white tank top.

As I come closer, the two women, who look like models, stand up and walk towards the water while giggling after seeing me.

Their black bikinis don't really cover much, and there's little room for imagination because I can already see nearly everything...

I stop next to the light brown-haired man who happily munches on strawberries while watching the women jump into the water.

"This is life, isn't it? Pretty women, sex, and strawberries – what more could you want?" he asks, relaxed, while not taking his eyes off the women.

"Yeah... but I would prefer it if no one would try to disturb such a life," I respond calmly.

He stands up, then stretches before patting my shoulder and saying with a strange smile, "Some things are unavoidable, pal, so get used to it."

Afterward, he walks towards the women in the water and jumps in without taking off his tank top... and I can only sigh while watching him.

Whatever he is, he's a problem I can't handle right now... Even up close, I couldn't sense his true aura, but my instinct tells me to get the hell away from here...

---

So, I immediately called Cthylla, much to her displeasure. But when she saw my serious face, she instantly got out of the water.

Then we rushed straight to the car without even giving her time to change clothes or dry herself.

"What happened?" She asks me after we put some distance between us and the sea.

"Nothing yet... but the familiar presence you felt seems to be a guy who can cause us a lot of trouble, so let's get as far away from here as possible."

"Really? I kinda felt safe there for some reason..." replies Cthylla thoughtfully.

Safe? We are normally on the same wavelength when it comes to danger. Why does my instinct scream to get away from there while hers says it's safe?

Has he already done something to her? No I can't feel any differences in her aura, so it seems unlikely.

Arriving at the car, she first dries herself, then puts some clothes over her bikini, and afterwards, we drive out of town.

Only then did I finally calm down...

"Is everything alright?" I ask Cthylla after seeing her deep in thought.

"Yes, but I don't get why that guy should feel familiar to me... I'm pretty sure I would know if I had met him before," she says while grabbing her chin and thinking even more intensely about it.

I see a diner coming up and say, "My gut tells me that we will find that out soon... but we can also find that out with a full stomach. Let's stop here and grab something to eat."

Still in thought, she nods, so I drive to the parking lot and we walk inside the old looking diner.

We sit down at the table, and immediately a waitress comes to our table.

"Welcome, folks! Here is the menu. Call me if you're ready to order," says a young blonde waitress who looks strangely familiar...

I am pretty sure I saw her on a TV show in my old world... Was she a waitress in the real world too before becoming a TV star?

No idea, but I can't feel anything strange from her even though she is standing next to me, so she seems to be fine.

So I order a giant steak and fries, while Cthylla orders fish in all forms the diner has. And only after a few minutes, the waitress named Penny brings us our food.

Cthylla nearly beams after seeing the pile of fish on her plate, and I wanted to take a picture of her face, but sadly, I couldn't due to the only disadvantage of my sturdy phone...

She digs in immediately and looks like she is in a world full of bliss. However, when I stab my fork into the meat, suddenly the lights and the sun outside go out...

---

As the light and sun turned on again, my steak disappeared, and a coffee appeared in front of me.

What the hell... some supernatural being has stolen my steak and replaced it with a coffee.

Not only that, but it also seems that the being had renovated the old diner too, while gifting all the people inside with modern-looking smartphones.

Well except for me, as my trusty phone is still lying on the table in front of me.

When I look through the window, I notice that the scenery in front of me is no longer the dull road outside Fairmont. Instead, it is a busy street in New York.

The only constant was the waitress who took care of the people in the diner.

Cthylla is also no longer at the table, but I can sense her approaching, so I stay calm in anticipation of the events that are about to unfold.

"Do you think we can finally take a breather here? My father's Followers have become pretty active lately..." says Cthylla after coming out of the bathroom and sitting across from me.

Ah, now I remember what day it is...

This Cthylla is no longer in Anna Milton's vessel; instead, it is her old one, of Rebecca Olstead. This vessel was not as powerful as Anna's, but when it comes to beauty, they are equally matched.

She has long red hair, like all of Cthylla's vessels, and bright green eyes that have captured me so many times during our time together.

It was very hot that day, and I would never forget the green summer dress she was wearing right now because it was the same dress her vessel died in...

During this time, we were constantly on the move because the Followers were everywhere, and we came back from Europe just a few days ago after her father found us there.

Sadly, we didn't know that when we came to New York that day, we would run directly into her father's hands.

Then my mouth moved on its own, "I hope so, but we should be fine as long as we stay among some crowd of people, since he seems to avoid publicity."

To our misfortune, the Alpha Follower was already publicly active and had become the mayor of New York only a few weeks prior...

"I hope you are right..." she says with a sigh and starts to drink her coffee.

It is 5 pm now, and the streets are full of people, but suddenly, fewer and fewer people can be seen on the streets.

As soon as I notice it, I take her hand and say, "Grab your stuff! We need to get away from here immediately!"

She looks shocked and only manages to grab her purse before I begin to drag her towards the main exit.

"Wait, you need to pay for the coffee!" screams Penny towards us, but we walk outside without caring about her.

If I could move my body right now, I would go to the back exit and leave my shitty SUV behind that I drove at that time.

Because when we come outside, there are already policemen standing there, clothed as civilians and waiting for us. I want to turn around, but suddenly, police and SWAT cars come from all directions and surround us.

"What is happening here? Why are they after us?" asks Cthylla, in disbelief, but I also didn't know the answer at that moment...

"No idea, but make yourself ready to fight because I have a bad feeling about this."

"Here speaks the police chief of the NYPD! You are both under arrest! Don't try to escape because you're surrounded!" screams the old police chief through a megaphone.

At the same time, I can feel the strongest aura of Cthulhu I have ever felt to this day arriving in a black limousine behind the police cars.

Coming out of it is a suit-wearing rugged middle-aged man with short brown hair and a beard, followed by five other Followers.

That answered our question why the police were here...

"This Follower there... is the first Follower of my father in this world..." says Cthylla and grabs my hand, frightened.