Chapter 1

"SMACK!" A girl in a school uniform suddenly slapped a guy in the same uniform from behind. The guy held his sore cheek.

"Why the hell are you following me?" the girl demanded.

"I wasn't, I swear. I just happened to be walking this way, same as you," the guy replied.

"Liar. You've been following me since school. I know your house isn't around here. You got a crush on me, huh? Just say it, so I can reject you," the girl shot back.

"It's not that... I seriously wasn't following you," the guy insisted, defending himself.

"Whatever. You better watch it, if you keep following me, I'm gonna call the cops and scream my head off," the girl said, pissed.

The girl turned and walked away quickly, her face a mask of anger. The guy just stood there, rubbing his cheek and watching her disappear from view. Then he turned to look at the wall next to him.

"This is all your fault," he said to the wall.

Right in front of the wall, there was a man in a white shirt, covered in bloodstains. Half of his long pants were missing, as one of his legs was gone. The man's face was unrecognizable, his nose a bloody mess caved into his face and his lower jaw missing. His head was shaped like a crescent moon, with bloody hair sticking out of the wounds. The guy waved his hand. The man nodded and floated away.

After that, the guy turned and walked back toward the school. He glanced over his shoulder one more time, making sure the girl who slapped him was long gone and no one else was following her.

"Whatever. I'm used to getting slapped anyway, and no one would believe me if I told them. I'll just go home," the guy mumbled.

***

Yeah, the reason I was following her was because, at school, I saw her being followed by one of them, and I was trying to get rid of it. My name is Evan Ravencrow. I'm 17 and in my junior year of high school. I've been on my own since I was a kid after my parents died in a car accident, but they still kept me company, even if they looked a little different. I live with my grandma in an old-school house right behind the school. From the outside, the house looks so haunted that nobody dares to walk by it at night, but inside, it's super cozy and not spooky at all.

Living where I do, plus being constantly accompanied by my dead parents and my grandma, who passed away a couple of years ago, I've gotten used to it. My ability to see ghosts and spirits has been honed since I was a kid. There was a time when I couldn't tell the difference between living people and ghosts because they all looked the same. Even now, I still mess up sometimes and can't tell which is a ghost and which is a living person, haha.

But the ones with bad intentions look different. Like the guy following my school friend, I sort of know—well, not really a friend, I don't even know her. But I was glad I could help, even if the reward was a slap and some harsh words. Oh well, since she's hot, I don't mind; I'm used to it. A lot of people think I'm a stalker who enjoys following others, even though that's not the case. I don't feel the need to correct them, because I help people just to help, not for any other reason.

Anyway, now I'm gonna tell you about my daily routine at home. When I got home, it was around 5:30 PM. I went inside. My mom seemed to open the door for me—of course, I opened it myself. As soon as I walked in, my mom, who looks young, like she's in her 20s, reached for my bag. I gave it to her. "THUMP," my bag fell to the floor, but I just let it be. I'd clean it up later. I was happy to see her acting like she was carrying something and putting it down on a chair in the living room.

I looked into the kitchen and saw my grandma, who also looks young and beautiful, cooking. A little later, my mom came to help my grandma. I immediately went to my room to change, and when I came back out, I saw my dad, who was still in his shirt and also looked young, like in his 20s, sitting at the dining table reading a newspaper that wasn't actually there.

To show my respect for my dad, I immediately sat next to him. He put the newspaper down on the table and looked at me, smiling without saying a word. I just smiled back at him. It felt like we were having a telepathic conversation, even though I had no idea why he was just staring at me. A little later, around 6:30 PM, my mom and grandma brought the food they "cooked" to the table and served it.

After that, they sat across from me. My mom immediately served me food onto my plate, which was already on the table and had been for ten years, covered in a thick layer of dust. The plate was, of course, empty. I was happy and looked at my plate.

After she served my dad and grandma, she served herself. We all prayed together, giving thanks, and then we all started eating. My mom would often look at me, and her face would seem to ask, "Want seconds?" even though she didn't say anything. Of course, I'd answer by giving her a thumbs-up and puffing out my cheeks to show I was chewing.

Dinner lasted until around 7 PM. After that, they just disappeared. Only then could I move. I cleaned up my bag that fell and went out to get some food. The reason for this is that once, I brought food home, and my grandma and mom saw it. They didn't say anything, but their beautiful faces looked so sad and disappointed.

Since then, I've never brought food home. I only eat after "dinner" is over. After eating, I usually just lay in my room or play smartphone games. I love reading light novels, manga, or anything readable, and playing light, free online games. I usually play until around 11 PM.

The reason is that every night at 11, they show up again, wearing their pajamas and sleeping around me. Can you imagine being accompanied by your mom, dad, and grandma, who all look like they're in their early 20s, every single night? Sometimes I look at them one by one, and sometimes I'll say something goofy:

"Grandma, Dad, Mom, why don't you guys just go to the afterlife? I'm fine on my own, you know. I'm all grown up, even if I'm still a background character who gets slapped all the time. You guys should go fight the demon lord or something," I'd joke.

Of course, they wouldn't understand or answer. They would just look at me with a smile on their faces. "Bong... bong... bong," the old clock in the living room would chime at exactly midnight, and they would just disappear. Sometimes I'd think to myself and get a little tickled, "For real, just like Cinderella, haha." And that's been my life since I was five, and with my grandma, since she passed away two years ago.

Because of them, I'm never lonely, even though I don't have a single friend at school, or in my neighborhood, and especially not a girlfriend. I'm not worried about money because my parents and grandma left me a trust fund when I was born, and it's a good amount. So I can live comfortably and well without being extravagant or worrying about money. My uncle, my mom's younger brother, also occasionally sends money to my bank account to help with my daily expenses.

I've actually thought about getting a job, but one time I mentioned it to my dad, mom, and grandma, and their faces immediately went sour. It was like they were saying, "Just focus on school for now, and after that, you can think about other things. Instead of looking for a job, you should think about what you want to do in the future." That's what their faces told me, even though I'm not entirely sure what they really meant.

So that's my story and what I do every day. Right now, I have no idea that in just a few minutes, my entire life is about to change, and not just mine—all of humanity's if I can't prevent it. It all starts tonight, with my meeting with someone who will be here very soon.

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