Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 41 - Chapitre 50

Leo woke up slowly. His senses returned to him gradually. He was lying on something soft that quickly became less comfortable the longer he lay there. He opened his eyes to check what he was lying on. Maybe he had fallen off the bed and was on the carpet by his bed instead. The problem was that it felt like grass instead and a glance downwards confirmed it.Another glance upwards showed that he definitely wasn’t in his bedroom. He was outside underneath a blue sky. There was a faint breeze moving over his body. Leo sat up suddenly and put his hand on his chest to check for a wound. He had been stabbed in the chest. It was coming back to him now.He had died this time for sure. One of Nocturne’s servants had taken his soul. He had given it up without much thought. He had already cheated death once. It didn’t feel right to do it again.Where was he now then?Leo stood up and surveyed his surroundings. He was in a field and could only see more fields around him. It was pleasantly warm

“Why are you crying if you are so sure you’re right about everything?” Leo demanded.He felt that Atlas didn’t have the right to cry over this. The entity was the source of the problem. “I brought your soul here and awakened you in a moment of weakness,” Atlas admitted in a thick voice. “I wanted to see you again in person so much. Now I know it was a mistake, it hurts to reject you and tell you that I am killing your soul to your face. The more I stay with you, the less I feel sure about my actions.”“Let me live again,” Leo pressed him. “Nocturne is still alive. From the things you’ve said, it sounds like Nocturne normally died with me. It’s not fair to count this life as a failure if one of us is still alive and fighting.”Atlas stroked his cheek and Leo glared at him. They were most certainly not on cheek touching terms.“I will see what Nocturne does now that he thinks your soul has been lost again,” he said. “You are right, Nocturne does normally die with you or soon after you.

Nocturne looked back at the entity. His mouth was turned upwards and he appeared to be happy. It was the first time Nocturne had seen him express a positive emotion.“Excellent,” Atlas said. “It was hard to admit to being wrong about most of my actions. I am glad that I have finally faced the truth.”“It must have been difficult for you. You even created an entirely new world of humans because you couldn’t accept you were wrong,” Leo acknowledged. “Living in denial isn’t healthy so I am happy for you.”The entity smiled widely at him. “You are always my positive spark.”Nocturne felt that the conversation was taking a turn he wasn’t comfortable with. He cleared his throat.“Leo explained your story to me. Would it ever be possible to recover your lover?”The entity shook his head with a frown. “No. His soul is here in front of me. I accept that I have lost my chance to be with him. Do not worry, I am not after your boyfriend even if he was mine first.”Nocturne wasn’t sure how to resp

Once Leo recovered a little from the embarrassment, he felt annoyed with the man.“Why did you even look in the first place?” he asked.He placed his iced coffee on the table with a thump and glared. The man simply laughed.“I work for a publishing company so I check out anything that looks like a book. Everyone knows that people who write in coffee shops are future bestselling authors,” he replied with a wry smile. “I will give you my business card so you will believe me.”The man put a hand into his suit jacket and produced a business card. Leo took it and read the name. The man was Nocturne Smythe, CEO of Smythe Publishing. His defensiveness dropped rapidly.“I see,” he said. “There is lots of construction work going on where I live so it’s been impossible to write at home. I swear this place is normally quiet and I sit in the corner so nobody can see my screen even if I leave my document open.”“Of course,” Nocturne said. “I did like what I saw. If you’re wondering why this place

The tender look turned hard and Nocturne looked away.“I decided that I would come back to this country after finishing my degree and set up my own publishing company. It became quite an obsession. My boyfriend at the time dumped me over it,” he admitted. “I’m still very single minded about making this company a success. I obtained some good investment using my family connections and I need to provide results.”“I take it you are single then,” Leo said.“That’s right,” the older man confirmed. “My mind is filled with books, business and occasionally games. Did you try that game I recommended?”It was an obvious attempt to change the subject. Leo accepted it and responded to the question. He was learning a lot about Nocturne through these short meetings.Leo continued going to the coffee shop to write even when the construction work on the building next to his apartment block had ended. It would be more convenient to work at home, but Nocturne wouldn’t come to visit him if he wasn’t at