The Devil's Favourite Obsession

A small, unwelcome disappointment settled in her chest. But that didn’t stop her from cautiously offering her thoughts. ”Sometimes he acts...” Cixi’s voice sounded slightly distant, as if searching for the right word, ”...as if he is possessive... Obsessed, even..?” She wasn’t certain what Cassian truly felt toward her, but a man who publicly beheaded a person for her for touching her undeniably felt Something... right?

To Cixi’s stark surprise, the ex-Empress slowly nodded in agreement. It was the first time the entity had shown agreement with her.

Wait!

Does that mean she is right?

Was Cassian really obsessed or possessive regarding her?!

Is that truly possible?!

”He has shown traits of being a little fixated on you,” the Reaper acknowledged.

’Fixated.’

The word lingered longer than necessary in Cixi’s head. It had felt like more than a little to her.

”If he already has strong feelings towards me, then it should be easier to make him fall in love,” Cixi reasoned out loud. Her heart suddenly gave a very strange, nervous flutter inside her ribcage. She didn’t know why. But she pushed the feeling aside for now.

Cixi was surprised that they were genuinely having a conversation instead of just the Reaper instructing her to follow and then vanishing into thin air. She enjoyed this development and hoped she could find more help from the Reaper who had cursed her in the first place.

”Perhaps that is exactly why he hasn’t been with any females since the incident.” Cixi found a little hope. Even though she was against the idea of making someone fall for her for her own selfish reasons. She would do it without a second thought.

She would turn into a selfish Bitch to get rid of her curse. So, she put forward her findings, unsure if Reaper was curious to hear them or had already been aware of them. ”I read the articles about him. He only ever engaged in strict one-week contracts with women before quickly moving on to the next one. But it had never stopped. So I might have a chance... I guess...” Cixi couldn’t believe how willing she was to jump into the fire called Cassian Crown.

The Reaper laughed. Her shoulders shook with amusement. It shouldn’t have been a terrifying sound, but icy dread crawled up Cixi’s spine. It felt precisely like the precursor to the worst news she would ever receive.

So Cixi made her skin tighten.

When the laugh faded, the Reaper spoke again. ”Many years ago, Cassian Crown found a stray white kitten on the street,” the Reaper began calmly. ”Its mother had abandoned the poor creature and was dying of hunger. Cassian pitied the cat and decided to raise it himself.”

Cixi listened intently, desperately trying to connect the pet story to her own terrifying predicament.

”As time passed, the animal became attached to him. It followed him everywhere. Cassian too admired the cat and refused to let anyone else feed it or care for it. He alone took responsibility for the kitten. People around him started to admire the bond.” The Reaper purposely paused slightly before continuing. ”People in the criminal underworld admired the rare bond, too. When they got their chance, they kidnapped the cat to blackmail the Devil, planning to force him to do exactly what they wanted.”

Cixi’s brow furrowed, picturing the helpless animal. The mafia won’t even leave the poor animal. ”Did they succeed in kidnapping it?”

”Yes. They successfully kidnapped the cat and contacted Cassian, demanding that he drop a lucrative cartel shipment worth ten million dollars of drugs in exchange for the pet’s safe return.”

Cixi focused on the Reaper’s glowing eyes, waiting for the climax of the story. ”And then?”

”At the exact time Cassian was supposed to meet their demands, a massive explosion tore through the kidnappers’ warehouse. Everyone inside was burned to death. Including Cassian’s cat.” The Reaper finished in the passive voice.

Cixi swallowed a dry lump in her throat.

”So did he love the cat or not?” Cixi looked more confused than ever.

”Among the Reapers, we had a discussion about the incident. Some believe he genuinely liked the cat, while others think he used it as an experiment to see how his enemy would react. Some speculated that he realised the cat was a liability and allowed it to die. As for me, I personally believe he killed the cat simply because he got bored with it and was looking for a way to dispose of the cat and found a perfect reason without feeling guilty... Although there were some rumours going around that the cat never died... it walked out unharmed... I personally never saw it, so I can’t say...”

Cixi nodded slowly with heavy movement, as if her entire life had suddenly become tangled beyond repair. Where exactly had this Reaper placed her? Where had this conversation led her? With so many theories circling her mind, how was she supposed to know which ones held truth and which were nothing more than cruel possibilities?

Should she feel afraid?

Or should she simply surrender and stop trying to free herself from this curse altogether?

Then, suddenly, a thought sparked inside her mind like a flame catching dry wood. ”What if I choose not to do anything?” she asked. ”What if I simply accept the curse as it is?”

The Reaper, who had been sitting straight already, seemed to grow even more rigid, her spine unnaturally still.

”Well then,” she answered, ”you will begin witnessing spirits even with your eyes open... in your ordinary daily life.”

”Why?” Cixi pressed immediately. ”Did you not say that if I want to lift the curse, I must make Cassian Crown fall in love with me? Should it not remain my choice whether I attempt to break it or not?”

”Ofcourse it is your choice,” the former Empress replied. ”But the longer you remain connected to the world beyond in-between land, the more that world will begin to recognise you. For starters, seeing wandering spirits everywhere.”

Cixi’s breath caught in her throat. Can this Reaper ever bring her good news? She pondered.

”And you have no understanding of what they may do once they realise you can see them,” Reaper continued. ”That is something you would be wise not to discover.”

Cixi narrowed her eyes slightly. ”So... you are telling me you felt pity and came to rescue me after pushing me off the mountain yourself?”

”Something like that...”

Cixi blinked slowly in disbelief. ”Do Reapers have no laws?” she asked. ”No rules about not interfering with human lives?”

”We do not interfere with human lives!”

Cixi tilted her head slightly, annoyance now clearly visible in her eyes. ”Do I not look human to you?”

The former Empress regarded her for a long moment, and when the answer came, it arrived with the kind of calm that made it crueller. ”To me, you look like the creature that took the dead cat’s place.”

Cixi glared at the Reaper. ”So... you think I have simply replaced that cat?” The question burned in her throat even as she dreaded the answer.

The former Empress gave a small, amused chuckle at Cixi’s comparison.

”Yes,” she admitted. ”You could say that.”

Cixi’s lips twisted slightly with bitter disgust. So that was what she was. Probably, this Reaper was bored with her monotonous life and decided to make it interesting, and she chose her because her name is Cixi. She cursed her name even though she loves her name.

”Cassian Crown is not capable of love,” she heard Reaper’s tone turning colder, stripped of all earlier entertainment. Grim Reaper rose from the floor in one smooth, swift motion, her tall frame once again towering over Cixi. The heavy iron scythe remained steady in her grasp.

”To love someone, a man must possess a heart. Prepare yourself, Cixi. Make the Devil speak those three foolish words children believe in. Only then shall you be freed from this curse.”

Before Cixi could even gather her thoughts, the Reaper’s form dissolved into the surrounding shadows, swallowed by darkness.

She was gone.

Cixi remained seated on the floor in the quiet apartment. Suddenly, the silence felt far louder than the conversation that had just ended.