Twilight Requiem

The Offer

Nyx looked at the old man, confused by what he meant and waiting for him to continue what he was saying.

Thaddeus smiled at her.

“You were just a few months old when your mother spoke to me,” he started as Teddy and Celestino took a seat.

“She said that she is certain that the baby she gave birth to has died when she was born.”

Thaddeus said, and Nyx glanced at Celestino. Thaddeus was talking about the same thing that Celestino told her before. She looked at the old man once again.

“You must be wondering why she said that. Niana said that when your father was sleeping, and she was feeding you, a woman came into the room. The woman was anything but ordinary.” he paused as he took a deep breath.

“The woman said that the soul inside the baby is an entity that is far beyond our understanding.”

Thaddeus revealed, and Nyx was taken aback.

“What?”

Thaddeus closed his eyes with a small smile, like he was reliving a memory.

“My same response when your mother told me that,” he said.

“What kind of entity? Another soul? How is that even possible?” Nyx asked.

Thaddeus looked at her.

“That I cannot answer. Your mother just said that the woman warned her that the entity in the baby’s body would be awakened when she is in great danger.”

Nyx remembered what happened with Edward. When he attacked her, she did feel threatened; she was in danger.

“So, the entity was awakened when Edward attacked me, and she took control of my body to kill Edward,” she said, and Thaddeus nodded.

“When Celestino called me about that, I just knew that what your mother said is true. Whatever entity is in you has awakened,” he said.

Nyx thought about her other self, the one talking to her and the one that has been pestering her dreams.

“What else did my mother say about the entity? Is it dangerous?” Nyx asked.

Thaddeus shook his head.

“She didn’t say. But she also said that the woman told her that the child of life and death is the one destined to be your lifelong companion. Your mother said that the woman she was talking to disappeared into thin air,” he said, and Nyx felt both surprised and worried.

Teddy and Celestino also looked surprised.

“You never told me that, Thaddeus,” Celestino said, and the old man smiled.

“Because that information is for Niana’s daughter only.”

“Is what Niana said true, Dad? I mean it's very hard to believe,” Teddy said, and then his father looked at him and answered.

“The only one who can answer that is Nicola.”

All three men looked at Nyx.

“I hear a voice talking to me. I also see her in my dream. I kept seeing what happened that night. It was me who killed him, ripping his throat like it was nothing.”

Nyx said the three men looked at him. Teddy whistled in disbelief as Thaddeus looked at Nyx with something in his mind.

“So, the entity in you is the voice you were hearing all this time?”

Celestino asked.

“It seems like that,”

“Nicola,”

Thaddeus called, and Nyx looked at him.

“Can you be open to what I am about to say?” he asked, and Nyx waited for him to continue.

“Since your mother is my advisor and also a part of this family, I wish for you to be one as well.”

Thaddeus said, and Nyx was surprised.

“What?”

“My father wanted you to take your mother’s place. Even if not as an advisor but anything you want, anything you are capable of,”

Teddy said, and Nyx frowned.

“What can I exactly provide this family? I am not a lawyer like my mother. I'm studying psychology.” She reasoned, and Teddy nodded, smiling.

“We need a psychologist, Nicola. We have very stressful work, and we also need someone who can play mind games with the people we work with,” he told her.

Nyx looked at Celestino, who spoke to her.

“Think about this offer, Nicola.”

“There is no need to rush. Think about what I offered.” Thaddeus said.

Nyx nodded.

Then there was a knock on the door. One guard came in with Klaus. The baby was making a fuss, so Nyx stood up and took her son. She cooed the baby, and soon, Klaus calmed down.

“You have a child,”

Thaddeus said, and Nyx turned towards him. She took the baby towards the old man.

“This is Klaus, my baby,” she said.

Thaddeus smiled as he looked at the one-year-old boy.

“Such a handsome boy,” he said.

Teddy leaned closer, looking at the boy.

“Yeah, he’s going to be a heartbreaker when he grows up,” he said.

Nyx smiled as she sat down again, bouncing the baby on her lap.

After spending a few more minutes with Thaddeus, they had to let him rest. So, Teddy offered to tour her around the property while Celestino left for a bit for an errand.

“You have a very beautiful property. The view is to die for,”

Nyx said, and Teddy nodded.

“My father loved the view. When he first moved here, the view was what captivated him,” he said.

Then there was a moment of silence between them.

“Honestly, Nicola, I want you to join the family. I want you to stay here with us. And based on what Dad said and what you said about how you dealt with that boy, I know you belong to this family,” Teddy said.

Nyx looked at him.

“You want me to join because the entity in me is a killer?” she asked.

Teddy looked at her; his face was serious.

“Yes. I don’t just cherish the connection this family has with you because of your mother, but I also see the advantage you have because of who you are,” he told her, voice cold, void of the playful tone he had earlier.

“For one, I am not a tool. Two, you make it seem like I am not human, and three, I am not mafia material,”

Nyx responded.

Teddy looked down at her. Their height difference was obvious. Nyx looked like a child next to Teddy.

“You are not a tool; that’s why we ask you, not demand. Based on what Dad said, your body is human, your soul isn’t. And mafia material? It's leaned, sweetheart,” he said.

Teddy and Nyx had that stare-down.

‘Accept it. This place is like home for me.’

Nyx heard the entity’s voice in her head. She looked away with a deep frown on her face.

“What’s wrong with you?” Teddy asked with a frown.

“I will have to think about your offer,”

Nyx said, walking away from Teddy and going back inside the villa. When Celestino came back, they were asked to stay for dinner. The table was full of delicious food, and Teddy was watching Nyx as they ate.

Nyx then looked at him.

“Can you stop watching me like a hawk? It's creeping me out. I will give you my answer when I have one,” she said.

Celestino looked at Nyx and then at Teddy.

“Thaddeus Jr,” Celestino called out, and the young boss huffed.

“Fine.”

After their dinner, Celestino took Nyx and Klaus back to his villa. When they got back, Celestino spoke to Nyx in the guest house’s living room.

“I know the offer was sudden, but please think about it. Not because of what you can do, but because it's your mother’s family,” he told her.

Nyx looked at him.

“I just feel like I'm not me. I mean, how is this even possible? An entity that is not a human soul? Is this really real? Do other creatures exist as well?” Nyx expressed her worries.

Celestino touched her hand.

“I know you are worried; you are confused about what you found out. But you can take time. Think about everything,” he said, and Nyx nodded.

“The voice keeps telling me to accept it. She said it's like home for her,” she said, and Celestino looked at her.

“This voice, you think it’s the entity that entered your body?” he asked, and Nyx nodded.

“I want to have a proper conversation with her. Maybe tonight when I fall asleep,”

Nyx said.

“Alright. If you think you need that conversation, then do it. Just be careful,”

Celestino told her.

“I’ll be fine.”

That night, Nyx lay down in her bed, looking at the ceiling. She was thinking about what the old man told her and the offer. What bothers her is something everyone didn’t pay attention to. The one about her lifelong companion that is the child of life and death.

It’s something she really cannot understand.

“What does he mean by the child of life and death? Is that even a thing?” she mumbled to herself.

Soon, she finally felt sleepy. She continued staring at the ceiling until she finally drifted to sleep.

While Nyx was sleeping, a man in all-black robes and long black hair appeared in the room. He walked closer to the crib where Klaus was bubbling and playing with his feet.

The man smiled down at the boy.

“What a handsome boy,” he said.

Then another figure appeared. A woman with long blonde hair and wearing white robes with gold trimmings. She also walked closer to the crib and looked at the baby. She smiled; her hand reached out to stroke the baby’s head.

“He is such a sweetheart. My heart is beaming with joy.” She said.

The man looked at her lovingly.

“It seems like only yesterday that we were looking at our son; now we are looking at his son,” he said.

The woman smiled at him.

“You are right. Decades went by so fast,” she said, and then she straightened her back and glanced at the boy’s sleeping mother.

“Wake up,” she said.

Then Nyx’s body sat up. When she opened her eyes, her eyes changed their color to silver. She gave the pair a curt nod.

“You have awakened,” the man said.

“I did,”

The entity in Nyx responded.

“Whatever you do now, make sure that your actions don’t implicate this child,” the man said, picking up the boy in his arms.

He cooed the baby, nuzzling his face. The woman walked closer to the bed and spoke.

“It is your duty to do good for the people this time. You have the power to intervene now, but keep it to a minimum. Don’t make huge interventions that will throw the balance and make the fates upset,”

Nyx nodded.

“I understand, and I will keep that in mind,” she replied.

The blonde woman gave her a curt nod before turning towards the baby, taking him from the man. She hugged the baby, humming a lullaby, and put him to sleep. Once the baby was asleep, she laid him down in the crib and kissed his head. The man also planted a kiss on the baby’s head.

Then the man and the woman turned away and disappeared into thin air. Nyx, still in that state, stood up and walked over to the crib.

“My baby…”