Lightless Twin Souls | ONC 2023 ✔

Chapter 2 - Immune Soul

"Hey, JD!" Charles called as soon as JD entered the inn. "I know you don't care, but I just got enough silver coins for your change from earli- JD?"

From the moment JD slammed the double doors open, sweat trickled over his face, and his mouth was agape as he caught up with his breath. Charles should've known he must've made some people mad again due to his bluntness.

"See you later, I guess," Charles whispered before turning his back to JD, who ran straight to the staircases without sparing him a glance.

As soon as JD reached his room, he carefully tapped the small plate on the doorframe with a finger. Tiny glitters encircled the plate, and then the door opened on its own.

He pushed the door behind him and aimed to pack his things immediately. If Zalden's goal had been him from the start, JD couldn't fathom why they waited three days before making a move. He shook his head, a train of thought coming to a halt. Perhaps they didn't know where he stayed and only figured it out this morning. No, it was probably last night.

JD had been traveling for the past decade since he left his longtime occupation and hometown, and he was sure he'd resolved every issue before taking off to avoid giving birth to any grudges. None of the CEO's men, including the CEO, sparked any memory from him, and none looked familiar.

If he had enough time to be in the presence of the CEO, he could've tried sensing his soul. Not one soul in this world Garnet ruled could ever remember anything of their previous lives, but with JD's strange affinity to sense, he might've picked up something. This CEO and himself might've had history decades or centuries before their souls inhabited their new bodies and lives.

But if that were the case, it'd mean they had an unfinished business, and this man's soul had remembered it all. And that was impossible.

JD smacked his suitcase shut and cupped his head. "How did you even find me?"

He didn't use a codename back in the day, only changed one part of his name at some point, but with the abundance of people named 'John,' it should've been nearly impossible for this man to have tracked him down.

"Maybe he's mistaking me for someone else?" JD mumbled, but he immediately threw that thought straight out the window.

JD grabbed the bottle of vodka he had wrapped safely and untied the rope effortlessly. He snatched a shot glass on the desk by the bay windows and immediately took a shot.

Whether that soul was right about him wasn't the problem. If that soul truly recalled their memories and aimed to capture him for something related to the past, it'd mean their soul didn't house humans but gods. Just like Garnet.

Or at least, that was what people from the city JD was from often said. It had been ingrained in his beliefs. But even so, it wasn't a matter of simply accepting that as the reality right in front of him. JD had no idea what Zalden would do to him once they recovered him, so it had to be now. He had to leave now.

The medieval-styled homes in Abarly exceeded past the exterior and had been implemented in the interior design. JD adored it: the stone and wooden furniture, the whitewashed walls with wood strips, the floorboards and beams up the thatched ceilings, the bay windows, the patterns of the bedsheets and the couch, the warm color scheme—everything.

More than anything, something about the town of Abarly since JD first arrived drew him in. Much like a lost lamb searching for its shepherd, it finally found a place that felt like it was with its shepherd—home.

It had only been less than a month, but JD had already gotten used to how boisterous and bibulous beyond saving the townspeople were. Ironically, no alcohol for a day might've killed them instead of the other way around. Lovely people, they were, but only when they were sober. Otherwise, JD learned it'd be best to stray far from them.