At a cafe located between the school and Ellie's house (according to her), the place seemed deserted. There were no other customers, only a barista who appeared laser-focused on polishing glasses, ignoring everyone unless they were placing an order. Axel and Ellie sat at the very last table in the back, facing each other with two cups of coffee between them.
The atmosphere was quiet, accompanied only by a slow, soothing instrumental melody. Neither of them spoke at first. Axel, looking indifferent, lifted his cup to take a sip, while Ellie watched his arm. It was covered in jagged scars, looking like old knife wounds.
"Sorry, can I ask you something?" Ellie asked, unable to contain her curiosity any longer.
"What?" Axel asked after swallowing his coffee.
"Your arm... what happened? A fight?" Ellie asked cautiously, trying not to offend him.
"This? Scars from when my family was in a car accident. Shards from the windows and the back glass rained down and embedded themselves in me. Well... luckily, I survived," Axel said casually, glancing at his own arm.
"Oh... I see," Ellie replied briefly. Her expression softened with relief; he wasn't exactly who she thought he was. Then she asked another question. "Um... so you still live with your parents, right?"
"My parents didn't survive that accident," Axel answered bluntly while drinking his coffee.
Ellie went silent immediately. She stared at him, and it seemed she was starting to see Axel through a different lens. Sensing her gaze, Axel gave a faint smirk and set his cup down.
"Don't you go feeling sorry for me," Axel said coolly.
"Oh... right. I'm not," Ellie replied, startled.
"So, you can see those things?" Axel asked, gesturing toward the side. He pointed at the barista, who had a shadow-people clearly following him, staring at the back of his head.
Ellie turned to look at the barista, who seemed totally oblivious, never stopping his task of drying dishes with a cloth. This time, he was wiping down a plate. Ellie looked back at Axel, who was now leaning back comfortably, checking his smartphone screen while nodding for her to answer. After a moment of silence, Ellie leaned forward, resting her face on her hands with her elbows on the table.
"Thank you... for helping me earlier," Ellie said suddenly.
Axel looked up. He stared at her, confused by her smile. He didn't feel like he'd done much of anything besides dragging her back and forth to keep her with him.
"What did I even do?" Axel asked, genuinely puzzled.
"Because you're the one who bumped into me in the hall, the shadow creatures chasing me scattered. Then, when they started coming after me again, you were still there on the road leading to the gate. When I got close to you, they left. It's like they're afraid of you," Ellie answered.
Axel fell silent. He studied Ellie's face; she looked serious yet relaxed, speaking with a blunt honesty. He turned back to his phone screen.
"Okay. You're welcome," he replied shortly.
"Your red eyes really match your hair... it's scary... but cool. You're rarely in class, though I always wonder how you stay ranked number one. I only just noticed today that your face is actually handsome and cute," Ellie continued, keeping the conversation going.
Axel was stunned. His eyes were brown—he was certain they weren't red like she claimed.
"What did you just say? My eyes are red? Not brown?" Axel asked, bewildered.
"Yep... check a mirror. Your eyes are definitely red. I'm not colorblind," Ellie answered casually.
Axel opened the camera on his phone and flipped it to the front-facing view. He was shocked to see that Ellie was right. His pupils—which, as far as he knew from looking in the mirror every morning, were brown—were now red with a black dot in the center. Axel found himself wondering why the color had changed, though he couldn't find an answer.
Eventually, he leaned back again, trying to show Ellie he was calm and not panicking over his changing pupils. He looked at her as she continued to watch him.
"So, you're in my class?" Axel asked.
"Wait... you're just realizing that? Seriously? we're always in the same room even when the periods change... oh, right. You're never there," Ellie replied.
"Pretty much. Sorry if I act like a stranger... because, basically, I am," Axel said.
"Hehe, it's fine. Don't worry about it," Ellie smiled.
Silence fell between them again. Ellie took a sip of her coffee, then set the cup down, keeping her hands around it. Axel seemed lost in thought, staring at his own cup as if it might hold the answers to the questions racing through his mind. After a few moments, Ellie spoke up again.
"So... what were you actually doing at the field earlier? Why did you stop Mason from practicing and tell him to go home?"
Axel looked at her again. He sighed, knowing there was no way she would let that go without an explanation. He started searching for the right words to make her understand. Finally, he spoke.
"Would you believe me if I told you I can see the future?" Axel asked before starting his story.
Ellie looked a bit surprised, but her expression quickly returned to normal and she nodded. Seeing her nod, he told her about his vision—about Mason dying and the swarm of shadow-people burning the body and eating the ash. Axel watched Ellie's face change. Her calm, serious expression slowly turned pale and horrified, yet she remained curious. It was clear she believed him and didn't think he was crazy.
"So that's how it is... no wonder there's no weird shadow following you, and no wonder you looked so pissed at the one following Mason," Ellie muttered.
"Then... why were those things chasing you? You said earlier you were being hunted, right?" Axel asked.
"Because I can see them and... they seem angry at me," Ellie answered.
"Angry?" Axel asked.
"I can touch them... I'll show you," Ellie said.
Ellie stood up and walked toward the barista behind the counter. He stopped drying a plate and smiled at her. She pointed to a croissant in the display case, and the barista moved to the side to grab it. As the shadow-man following the barista moved right in front of Ellie, she reached out her index finger and touched it.
The shadow-man whipped its head around toward her, appearing shocked that she could make contact. Then, its eyes flared red and its mouth unhinged. The creature prepared to pounce on her. Seeing this, Axel didn't hesitate. He pulled Ellie back and, without thinking, threw a punch. It landed squarely; he could feel the physical impact against the shadow-man.
At the point where Axel's fist connected, the space began to distort and swirl like a black hole. The shadow-man struggled, spinning violently before being sucked into the point like a whirlpool. Its wide mouth was open, but it looked terrified as it vanished into nothing. The shadow following the barista was gone.
"Thud." As Axel backed away, still pulling Ellie, he accidentally bumped into the table behind him. The barista looked over and smiled at the sight of Axel with one arm wrapped around Ellie's waist from behind. Axel, meanwhile, looked confused. He stared at his fist—still clenched and trembling—after hitting that thing.
"Turns out you can actually destroy them. No wonder they're afraid of you and ran when I got close. As for why they were chasing me... back at school, I accidentally bumped into one that was just wandering around the lab, not following anyone," Ellie said while still in his hold.
"Please, don't go trying to prove things like that. What if it had attacked you? What if I hadn't moved fast enough?" Axel snapped, annoyed.
"I know... sorry... um... can you let go of me?" Ellie asked, her face turning red.
Realizing he was still gripping her waist and holding her against him, Axel immediately let go. "Sorry," he muttered. Ellie stepped forward again as the barista handed her the plate with the croissant. Axel continued to stare at his fist, his mind flooded with unanswerable questions. But there was a new sensation in his body. As the shadow-people was absorbed, he felt strangely full and satisfied, and a wave of warmth spread through his chest.
"What is actually happening to me? And what are those creatures, anyway?" Axel asked himself, unable to take his eyes off his hand.