Ensnaring Darkness

XVIII. In which he felt the aftermath

Julien had the illusion of floating in the air. His body was light and his mind was blank. The cold temperature in the room made him shiver but oddly, something was radiating warmth atop his head. Memories came flooding back like rushing water. His eyes shot open as panic filled his heart.

'Am I dead?'

His baby blue eyes collided with stormy gray ones. His despairing heart skipped a beat, only to race erratically afterward.

"S-Sir?" Julien called out, his voice hoarse and weak that it was no more than a whisper. Knox was sitting beside the bed. Upon a quick perusal of his surroundings, he realized he was still in Knox's bedroom and what's more he's snuggly tucked in the bed.

His whole face turned red, even the tips of his ears.

"How do you feel?"

'I feel like I want to die from embarrassment right this moment.' But he didn't tell him that.

"I-I'm fine sir. I'm sorry." He bowed his head in remorse. He got carried away from catching that strange creature and ended up almost dying. What was the use of capturing it when he almost died?

His eyes widened. How in the world was he alive after losing so much blood? He lifted his arm and saw that it was bandaged and it did feel a bit sore but not painful. He peeked at Knox, thinking nervously. 'Did he found out what I was up to?'

"Your wound appeared to be deeper than we thought. You lost a bit of blood and fainted." Knox told him calmly.

Julien gave a soft oh. If Knox knew the truth, wouldn't he directly call out the nearest mental institution?

"I'm really sorry for holding you back today Sir. Your meetings, what should we do about them?"

"It's fine, You were unconscious for only twenty minutes. We can delay the schedule for a bit."

Julien was surprised. It felt like he had slept for hours! He quickly tried to sit up and was made aware of the added weight in his head. He frowned and slowly reached up. His fingertips touched soft and fluffy fur and he immediately retracted his hand, eyes widening at Knox's direction.

"Mu~" The creature atop his head emitted a low and soft sound, different from before as if it was afraid. In fact, he could feel it slightly trembling. But it's not important right now!

It's on top of his head! And Knox is in the room with him!

"What's wrong Mr. Alderean? Are you still feeling unwell?"

Julien couldn't even shake his head. "I- I ...on top of my head...it's-" He swallowed with difficulty. How can he explain it to his superior?

Knox glanced on top of his head and his expression remained the same. He suddenly leaned forward and touched Julien's forehead, shocking Julien and even the creature atop his head, which gripped his hair that he almost winced in pain. He didn't even notice the little thing had claws!

"You don't have a fever. You must be feeling heavy-headed since you haven't had lunch yet. You can eat these eggs first and then I'll give you time to eat in the company cafeteria." Knox gestured at the plate filled with eggs on the table.

Julien was stunned in silence. So Knox couldn't see the little ball in his head?

"Eat first then we will return to the company. " Knox went out of the room without another word. Once he was out of sight, Julien reached out for the trembling furry ball in his head. He stared at the blue eyes and vertical pupils of the demon furball. It was indeed shaking in fear.

"What are you afraid of? I'm the one who should be afraid of you! You almost killed me." He pinched the fur and found it was really soft. He couldn't resist touching a bit more when the little thing didn't even struggle in his hold.

He peered confusedly at it. Didn't it dart away and evaded him before?

"Are you bound to me now?" He asked, thinking it could only be the reason it was so tame now.

The two tails swished from side to side and it responded with a soft sound "Mu! Mu!" coupled with the jingle of bells.

Julien sighed and he let it sit on his lap. The demon furball even rubbed at his palm affectionately. It's action contrasted how it acted before that Julien even had the suspicion it was not the same feral creature.

"Now what am I going to do with you?"

It couldn't be seen by Knox. Does that mean he is the only one who could see it and he needed to bring it with him all the time? Julien looked around for his phone and found it in the table. He opened the app and read the notifications.

Congratulations on completing your first Hard(core) mission! You received a Demon Furball as a reward!

Raise it well. Since it is bound to you, not even death can separate you and your pet. Keep it well-fed! For more information on how to take care of a demon furball, visit the Shadow Encyclopedia.

He hesitantly clicked on this new feature - Shadow Encyclopedia. A new tab was displayed but only the words demon furball and erotic dream ticket were there. He pressed the question mark icon, and a notice flashed on the screen.

"Unlock more information by completing missions, playing the erotic roulette and purchasing items from the store!"

Julien felt dizzy and he turned off his phone, in case a new mission suddenly came again. He turned to the plate of eggs and gobbled it up. It tasted divine and he committed it to memory. When would he get another chance to eat what Roarke cook?

"Mu! Mu!" a certain creature kept pulling at his shirt.

"Can you even eat eggs?"

In response, the demon furball reached out one of its tails and the egg left on his plate immediately turned to ash that was sprinkled towards the creature.

The furball jumped up and down and grinned, revealing its sharp teeth. Julien raised his vigilance and scooted away lest the creature suddenly wanted to drink his blood again. But it merely followed him and snuggled on his lap, looking up at him affectionately. He didn't know why he felt it was suddenly affectionate. Julien felt helpless at its cute appearance.

The furball was too clingy. Either it was resting atop his head or by his shoulder. It wouldn't leave Julien's side no matter what. And since no one can see it, that was fine. What puzzled Julien though was that there were times that the creature would tremble as if it was afraid. Julien had first seen its odd behavior with Knox and thought maybe because it was birthed from Knox's room that it was fearful of him but now he was in a meeting with Daemon and the others and the little thing was emitting a low crying noise.

Julien also wanted to cry. Why was it so afraid?!

By the end of the day. Julien felt so weak. He wondered if the app was scamming him by stating the creature could give him positive karma.

Suddenly, he stumbled and was lucky to recover his balance and not fell face down on the cold and hard pavement. He glared at the cause and felt his jaw drop. Is that a bar of gold?!