[46.3] Astra POV: A Chance Encounter in a Cemetery

My bottom lip trembled.

I wanted to stay, but I knew my brother.

He thought I abandoned him.

He thought I betrayed him.

He doesn't forgive those who do that to him.

I bit down on my lip and forced myself up. I couldn't handle the silence anymore and ran away sobbing, "S-Stupid brother!"

I would never betray you!

How could you not trust me!?

I have been defending you since we first got kicked off that mountain!

I ran through the city, hyperventilating every time a human looked my way.

They are going to kill me.

They are going to lock me up, then kill me.

I have to find somewhere to go.

But where?

Should I find Atta?

But if I go to her, my brother will only misunderstand more!

Should I go find Mama and Zephyr?!

No…

Zephyr hates me.

I tried to find him in the last 1000 years, but I couldn't no matter how hard I tried.

I couldn't even find him in the dreamscape!

Everyone thought he was killed by Alora, but I knew better…

But he would never believe me if I told him I tried to find him.

My tears rushed down my face.

I shouldn't have bitten him to steal all his candies!!!

If I didn't do that, he wouldn't hate me!

There's no way I can go to him now…

Plus Mama lives with scary humans…

My steps slowed.

Do I…

Have nowhere to go?

A new wave of tears rushed over me.

I have to figure something out!!!

If I fall asleep here, the humans will capture me and throw me in a cage!!

Is there a place close by that humans wouldn't go to?

I looked around breathing hard as I held my hood over my horn. My eyes stopped on a sign.

My eyes lit up.

That's it!

A cemetery!

It's perfect! Humans here avoid these because of malicious ghosts!!!

I'd rather take my chances with a ghost than a human!

I sprinted to the cemetery and looked around for a mausoleum. As soon as I saw one, I made a beeline for it.

However, my eyes started getting uncontrollably heavy.

I'm… I'm going to fall asleep…

I let out a yawn.

No… I need to…

I need to get inside first-

I collapsed to the ground in a deep sleep.

...___...

[Author's note: This section is from no one's perspective]

In the dead silence of the cemetery, a whistle was the only thing that could be heard.

A short-statured adolescent boy skipped into the cemetery with a shovel flung over his shoulder.

His dark sandy hair and pale brown eyes showed no fear as he whistled. He sang to himself, "Gunna steal a body~ Gunna steal a body~ Then those annoying classmates will know I'm deadly~"

His footsteps halted when he noticed a small girl laying face down on the ground. She was sleeping peacefully with a pair of fox ears and fox tail twitching.

His eyes were drawn to the horn on her head.

Instead of breaking out into a cold sweat from fear, his eyes lit up.

"No way! A demon! It's my lucky day!!!" He ran over to her and started poking her, "Oi. Oi. Demon. Are you alive? Can I use your body for a sacrifice?... Don't say anything if I can use your body for a sacrifice."

Astra was fast asleep and had no idea what the boy poking her was saying.

He abandoned his shovel and grinned, "Awesome! I'm glad you agreed to be my sacrifice!"

He tried to pick her up but was too weak to do so.

In the end, he could only drag her inside of the nearest mausoleum.

He placed her on the ground and pulled out a book from his knapsack. The cover had a crudely drawn skull with the title "My Diary of Necromancy" in poor handwriting.

He hummed a tune as he flipped through the pages, "Okay… Which magic circle should I use? I think if I use a circle for rejuvenating plants, maybe I can probably gain immortality by sacrificing a demon."

He quickly jotted down his thoughts and nodded in determination. He pulled out a piece of chalk and went to work creating a magic circle. The circle looked just as bad as the handwriting on his book.

Yet, he was still proud of himself.

"Yup! This has to be it. So I guess I just need blood now." He pulled out a knife and held it to his palm. He stared at it for a while before breaking out into a cold sweat, "I-I just need to glide it across… But will it hurt?"

He slid it across his skin, but it made no damage.

Feeling his resolve weaken, he pricked his finger to get one droplet of blood.

He dropped it onto the circle, "That's probably good enough."

A spider crawled across the ground and he quickly grabbed it and threw it into his mouth. After he swallowed, he made a face, "I really should stop eating spiders…"

He stood up and shrugged, "Whatever. Time to make a sacrifice!"