Deep was standing behind the counter, one hand on his cheek, lazily supporting his head. With the other, he was scrolling through the feed of a popular short video app on his smartphone. He was eighteen years old and had been working in this antique shop for five years. Naturally, if asked, he would respond that he had held this job for only two years. Laws and regulations forbade child labor, after all.
At the moment, the shop was empty of clients. From time to time, he would raise his head and see a passerby glancing into the store while walking past. The busy Figgs Street was visible through the shop's vitrine. In those moments, he couldn't help but marvel at the fact that the shop was still running. Usually, the number of customers never went above fifteen each month.
How does that guy even make money? Deep often wondered. 'That guy' he was thinking of was the shop owner, a man of undecipherable age named Velis Pit. He was quite handsome with lengthy auburn hair and a beard, though he looked unkempt most of the time. The man only came into the shop two or three times a week to check the sales and do inventory.
The clients of the shop were also weird personas; they paid with random trinkets instead of paper money. The trinkets generally didn't seem particularly valuable in Deep's opinion. Given the nature of those transactions, it was a wonder Velis managed to pay him at the end of each month.
Deep didn't care as long as he could cover his utility bills and the rent for the small apartment he lived in. It was not far from the shop—just five minutes away. Besides the weirdness, it was a cool gig, just slightly boring.
Still, it was better than begging on the street for a pittance. The somber thought came out of nowhere. Deep's eyes glazed over as he reminisced about his life before meeting Velis when he was thirteen. Back then, Deep had been a beggar and a street rat.
The door's bell rang, pulling Deep out of his musings. He placed the phone on the counter and greeted the customer with his usual absent expression. The woman who had just entered the shop turned toward him after hearing the dry greeting.
"Hello, I am here for..." She paused and reached into the back pocket of her jeans, pulling out a card. She briefly glanced at it and continued, "Mr. Velis Pit?"
"He is not here at the moment. I am the shopkeeper. How can I help you?" Deep answered mechanically.
"Well, I came here on someone's behalf to exchange for an ancient deck of cards."
"Oh, I see. A minute, please." Deep remembered what it was about. He went into the storage room through the door behind him. The place was full of dust and old things. He took a ladder and retrieved an ancient case sitting on a higher shelf. Who knew how long it had been there?
Deep casually blew on the surface of the case, raising a small cloud of dust. He observed as the patterns on the case were revealed. They were extremely intricate, forming various unrecognizable creatures. The case itself was slightly smaller than his palm and felt incredibly light, although its material seemed like it should be much heavier.
Deep shrugged; it was not the first time he'd seen weird things in here. He stepped out of the storage room to find the woman sitting casually on a couch, a book in hand. The book naturally came from one of the numerous bookshelves that lined the place. It must be said that despite his personally unkempt look, Velis had masterfully decorated the interior of the shop. With beautiful wooden chairs, long desks, and a living area with various fluffy couches that allowed for comfortable reading, the shop gave off an old but welcoming vibe.
Deep stopped before the woman, who was seemingly engrossed in her reading. He didn't interrupt and waited patiently to the side. After what seemed like a few minutes, the woman raised her head and was startled to see Deep standing silently next to her.
"Oh, I apologi—" she started, but Deep cut in.
"No worries, here's what you were looking for." He handed her the case. As soon as she saw the object, she fell silent, her eyes fixed upon it. She even closed her eyes, her hand gently tracing the patterns on the lid.
Weirdos, Deep muttered inwardly.
All the clients were like this, always looking as if they had just obtained a treasure. Deep coughed to signal the young lady. She snapped out of it and smiled awkwardly.
"Here you go." She stood up and handed him a crystal. If he had to describe its color, he would say red or crimson, but only because he couldn't find a more appropriate expression.
Inside the crystal, there seemed to be a viscous liquid swirling with every slight shake.
"Transaction completed. Thank you for your patronage," Deep said after observing the crystal for a bit. The woman smiled, then excused herself; she was in a hurry as she left the store. Deep picked up the book she had left on the table and placed it back in its proper spot.
He was about to put the crystal in a box and store it when his phone started ringing.
"Just on time," he muttered while answering the call.
"Deep, how are you doing?" Velis's voice sounded a bit strained on the other end of the line.
"Fine. The client sent someone and took the card deck away," Deep informed him, ignoring the background noises on Velis's side. He knew he wouldn't get an answer even if he asked; Velis was a deeply private and mysterious individual.
"Good. You can close the shop. I don't think there will be any more clients today," Velis said before hanging up suddenly. He wasn't one for idle chat, which was good, as Deep wasn't the type to exchange platitudes either.
Deep shrugged and slipped the crystal into his pocket alongside his phone, completely forgetting to put it in the storage room. He was pleased with the fact that he was going home early today. Also, he was slightly hungry, not having eaten since the morning. He carefully closed everything up and locked the store with his key.
Stepping out into the street, he noted it was already dusk. Before heading home, he decided to stop by the coffee shop at the end of the street to get some snacks. He slipped through the stream of pedestrians heading home from work or out for dinner and reached the small cafe.
The coffee shop was full of people, par for the course at this hour. Deep joined the long line, knowing he would have to wait a bit to place his order. He aimlessly scrolled through his socials while waiting.
He wasn't the most extroverted person, and his follower count reflected this fact, barely reaching a hundred. Those subscribers were people who shared his addiction to web novels. On his feed, he saw news that the next volume of a web novel he liked was out. His mood lifted at the information.
He was so pleased that he didn't even find the wait long. Thirty minutes later, it was finally his turn. He picked out a few pastries and a tea-based drink before paying at the cash register. When he stepped out of the coffee shop, night had already fallen. He picked up the pace and took several turns in succession.
When he stepped into the alley leading to the street where his apartment building was located, it felt as though he had been isolated from the world. All noises had disappeared, and the light of the city seemed absent from this place.
Deep paused in surprise. This was not the first time he had taken this alley back to his place, but it was the first time he had witnessed such a phenomenon. Usually, the alley was well-lit and relatively safe-looking.
As he was pondering, he heard footsteps breaking the unnatural silence. He looked up, and a man in a long cloak appeared before him. He wore a large hat that covered half of his face and wielded a huge hunting knife.
"Give me the crystal, kid." His voice had a deep bass that made the alley almost vibrate.
"Who are you?" Deep was wary. Alarm bells had started echoing in his mind the moment the man appeared.
"Not important. Give me the crystal," the man said again. He took a step forward, and Deep took a step backward. Before Deep could speak again, he found that the man had vanished from his sight.
Not good. Deep only had time to complete this thought when a punishing blade strike pierced his chest, burrowing into his heart. He didn't understand.
How could a human move that fast? The man had crossed the ten-meter distance between them as if it were nothing. Just before Deep fell unconscious, he finally saw the face of his assailant. The man was only skin and bones, looking like a skeleton with skin loosely wrapped over it.
What manner of creature is that? Deep fell to the ground, and blood permeated his clothes before pooling on the hard surface of the alley. He looked up at the dreadful figure looming over him and blacked out.