The drive away from the Gates family house—the very place where Alex had dealt with the monster just minutes earlier—passed in an oppressive, almost tangible silence.

Wednesday spent the entire time watching Xavier through the rearview mirror. In her eyes, he remained the most suspicious of them all: every time the monster disappeared, he would inevitably show up a few minutes later. There were far too many coincidences.

Xavier himself tried to appear calm, but Alex’s words about the strange pattern wouldn’t leave his mind. He stared out the window in silence, only occasionally clenching his fingers, betraying his inner tension.

Enid was the most on edge. Too much had happened in such a short time, and a panic attack was dangerously close. She held on only because she had latched onto Alex’s hand, refusing to let go, breathing heavily and deeply as she tried to calm herself.

Alex was the calmest of them all. The only thing that truly irritated him was the knife he had lost after plunging it into the Hyde during the fight. Still, he quickly concluded that Dean was unlikely to notice the disappearance of a single knife, so there was little point in worrying.

The “Impala” pulled up to the sheriff’s office. Alex was the first to get out of the car and headed straight inside—he knew Sheriff Donovan was still there. Wednesday followed right after him.

Entering the building, Alex went straight to the sheriff’s office without wasting words. When he and Wednesday—dirty, covered in dust and traces of the recent chaos—stopped at the doorway, Sheriff Donovan let out a heavy sigh. One glance was enough for him to realize that another sleepless night awaited him.

Alex began recounting what had happened, keeping silent about the monster but describing in detail everything they had managed to find in the old Gates house. Wednesday added to his account, mentioning the basement and what she had seen there.

The longer the sheriff listened, the deeper his frown became—especially when the conversation turned to the car that had hit Mayor Walker and the body parts of the victims.

After hearing them out, Donovan immediately picked up the phone and started making calls. Alex understood perfectly well that nothing would be found there anymore, but he still decided to go along with the police.

Alex and Wednesday returned to the “Impala”. Starting the engine and explaining the situation to the others, Alex pulled away and followed the police convoy.

As they approached the Gates family house, he saw something that surprised even him. The convoy stopped at the gates, and all the police officers got out of their cars, staring at the burning house.

The Gates family home was engulfed in bright, greedy flames.

Alex, Wednesday, Enid, and Xavier also got out of the car and silently watched the fire. Alex was struck by how radically Marilyn had decided to cover her tracks—burning down a house that had belonged to her family for several generations.

Sheriff Donovan removed his hat and immediately called the fire department.

Under normal circumstances, Wednesday might have felt a strange sense of satisfaction watching such a blaze. But now she felt only anger and irritation. The trail had been lost again, and the main culprit turned out to be far more unhinged than she had expected.

Alex placed a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed it, fully understanding her state. He knew how much Wednesday hated being led around by the nose. But this time, it was unavoidable.

His interference had already seriously disrupted Marilyn’s plans, and the more mistakes she made, the more radical her decisions became.

With a sigh, Alex realized there was no point in staying any longer. He decided to take Wednesday, Enid, and Xavier back to Nevermore, while he himself planned to stop by the hospital to stage Mayor Walker’s death.

Returning to the “Impala”, Alex started the engine and drove back.

When they reached Nevermore, Xavier was the first to get out of the car. He cast a brief glance at Alex, then at Wednesday, and, without saying a word, headed toward the academy.

“You’re not coming?” Enid asked, looking at Alex before getting out. “You said yourself that you needed to lie low somewhere until tomorrow.”

“I still have something to take care of,” Alex replied with a light smile. “While I’m gone, make me a bed on the floor or on the balcony. I’m not picky.”

Enid smiled and nodded. After everything that had happened that day, she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and even Alex’s mere presence, if only slightly, helped to calm her.

Wednesday was also looking at Alex, thinking about what exactly he still had to do. In response to her piercing stare, Alex merely smiled, making it clear that it wasn’t anything serious—just a quick and simple errand.

Wednesday continued to eye him suspiciously, as if trying to discern some hidden meaning, but then she simply nodded and, without a word, stepped out of the “Impala”.

Alex watched Enid and Wednesday until they disappeared onto the grounds of Nevermore, after which he started the engine and headed for the hospital. He intended to visit Mayor Walker, who was still in a coma after being hit by a car.

Yes, Alex had already saved his life and partially healed his body, but he hadn’t finished the treatment. He understood perfectly well what that could lead to. At the same time, he had no intention of sacrificing the mayor’s life for the sake of his own plan.

Parking the car not far from the hospital, Alex got out and closed his eyes. Focusing, he quickly located the room where Walker was being kept. Taking a step forward, Alex instantly found himself inside.

The first thing he did was look at his clone, whom he had left to guard the mayor. The clone was calmly sitting in a chair, reading a book. Upon seeing the original, the clone set the book aside and vanished without a word in a puff of white smoke.

Alex merely shook his head—he had long since grown used to the strange habits of his clones.

The room was silent. Mayor Walker lay unconscious, connected to a ventilator. Alex looked at him calmly, already preparing to begin the treatment and later explain his plan, when he suddenly sensed another presence.

He shifted his gaze to the dark corner of the room.

A man stood there in a strict black suit—neat, impeccable, looking more like a funeral director. Alex recognized him at once. They had already met after the events on Blackwood Mountain, when Alex had saved Samantha and her friends from the wendigo.

It was the same reaper.

“That’s it, you can leave. Mayor Walker isn’t dying today. So shoo, shoo, out of here,” Alex said, waving his hand dismissively.

“Noble Walker will die. But not today,” the reaper replied calmly. “I’m here to deliver a message. And a gift.”

He slipped a hand into his pocket.

Alex raised an eyebrow, watching the reaper closely. The reaper slowly withdrew his clenched fist and opened his palm.

Resting neatly in his hand was a silver ring with a large white stone.

Alex recognized it immediately. It was the Ring of Death—an artifact that belonged to Death of this universe. Alex knew that after Dean killed Death, both the scythe and the ring were supposed to have been destroyed along with the entity itself.

He also knew that Death in this universe had been merely an executor—one of countless servants of Lady Death, the true embodiment of Death, existing beyond worlds.

And that was exactly what raised questions for Alex.

“And why did you bring me this ring?” he asked, never taking his eyes off the reaper. “Wasn’t it supposed to be destroyed along with your boss after Dean killed him?”

“That’s correct,” the reaper nodded. “But as I said, I’m here to deliver a message. And this ring.”

He leaned slightly forward.

“All you need to do is put it on. And you’ll get all the answers, King.”

Alex tensed. Doubt began to rise rapidly. The only thought spinning through his mind was that Lady Death had decided to pull another trick.

And as if to confirm it, an insistent voice rang out in his mind—Nyan‑Nyan’s. Angry and sharp, it demanded that Alex not even dare to touch the filth belonging to that “dead bitch.”

His head began to ache. The pressure in his temples intensified, his thoughts growing more and more tangled. Alex couldn’t understand what exactly Lady Death wanted from him—and that irritated him more than anything. After a moment of thought, he still reached out his hand.

Alex took the ring from the reaper and slowly turned it between his fingers, ignoring Nyan‑Nyan’s furious screams in his head.

After a brief pause, he slipped the ring onto the index finger of his right hand. In the very next instant, the world before his eyes wavered. Alex vanished from Mayor Walker’s hospital room and found himself within Lady Death’s personal domain. The black‑and‑white world surrounded him once more. He didn’t even have time to look around before he was attacked.

After Alex’s disappearance, the reaper who had given him the ring remained standing calmly in place, patiently awaiting his return.

The reason for his visit was simple and at the same time unsettling. After the Boss’s death, the reapers had found themselves in a state of uncertainty. The one they called Death had been doing all the work the very essence itself was supposed to do—guiding, assigning, maintaining order.

Without him, the reapers continued doing what they knew best: coming for the souls of the dead. Yet Death as a concept could not simply vanish.

The place where the reapers usually worked in this universe resembled a boundless library. It stored the so‑called Books of Life—records of every being that had ever been born, died, or was yet to come into existence.

And one day, at the main desk where the Boss had always sat, She appeared. True Death. Lady Death. She was the boss of their boss. If reapers served Death, then all Deaths without exception served Lady Death.

And it was then that the reaper Alex had once encountered in the hospital near Blackwood Mountain received his order—to place the ring into Alex’s hands. There could be no objections.

There was only one problem: Alex did not belong to this universe. He was hidden from sight, existing outside the concepts of Life and Death, beyond familiar laws and hierarchies. Finding him was almost impossible.

The reaper spent a long time searching, until one day he noticed a strange change in the book of a certain man.

That was when he realized—perhaps that was where he would find the one Lady Death called the King and Destruction. He was not mistaken. All that remained was to wait. And just moments later, Alex appeared once more.

His clothes were disheveled, as if he had clashed with a furious beast. His entire face—including his lips—was smeared with traces of black lipstick.

Alex’s gaze seemed empty and unfocused—he was clearly trying to process what had just happened.

“AAAAAAAH! I’ll kill that dead whore! How dare she?!” Nyan‑Nyan’s furious scream echoed in his mind.

That scream snapped Alex out of his stupor.

What had happened in Lady Death’s domain was… strange. And, most irritating of all, somewhere deep down he wasn’t even against what had happened.

Once again, Alex was convinced that such entities—whether it was Nyan‑Nyan or Lady Death—were equally intrusive, bizarre, and completely without brakes.

He could have escaped. But to do so, he would have had to literally destroy Lady Death’s domain. And that threatened consequences that could ripple across entire worlds. So the only thing he could do at that moment was accept it. And, as absurd as it sounded, take pleasure in it.

His thoughts were a mess. His head was being torn apart by a furious stream of abuse from Nyan‑Nyan, who was hurling every possible insult at Lady Death—including ones that had existed since the dawn of the Multiverse itself.

Alex sincerely hoped that, in a fit of rage, Nyan‑Nyan wouldn’t leave Chaos to personally “have a talk” with Lady Death.

He could already picture the scene: Lady Death appearing on his doorstep, smiling, and saying,

“Congratulations, we have a daughter,”

before bursting into laughter.

And now Alex urgently needed to figure out how to calm Nyan‑Nyan down before she started yet another war.

“I’ll calm her down, Destruction. But there will be a price,” Yog’s monotone voice echoed in his head.

“Yeah, thanks, Yog,” Alex muttered, massaging his temples. “You can stop by Erina and Alice’s restaurant. They’ll make you some sweets.”

A long silence followed. The headache gradually began to fade. Alex was certain: Yog would handle Nyan‑Nyan. How exactly—he preferred not to even think about it.

Just in case, Alex messaged his daughters, asking them to visit Nyan‑Nyan. No matter how strange his relationship with her was, the girls still treated her warmly.

He received only one question in reply:

“So when are we getting a new little sister?”

Alex let out a heavy sigh. He didn’t know that himself. Without replying, he put the phone back into his pocket. Then Alex looked at the Reaper, who had been standing silently in the same spot the whole time.

“So…” he said in an empty voice. “I’m thinking—should I hit you, or just ignore you?”

“As you wish, new Boss,” the Reaper replied calmly. “But first…”

He held out a handkerchief.

“You should wipe your face.”

“What do you mean, ‘new Boss’?” Alex asked, taking the handkerchief and wiping away the lipstick stains.

“I mean exactly that,” the Reaper replied with a faint smile. “You are our Boss now.”

He inclined his head slightly.

“It will be a pleasure working with you, King. Or… should I call you Boss?”

“Let’s go with ‘Boss’,” Alex sighed. “Fine. I’ll sort all this out later and stop by wherever it is you work.”

He wiped away the last traces of lipstick and, using magic, changed his clothes into his usual black outfit.

“But for now, I should finish what I came here to do.”

The Reaper gave a short nod and vanished at once, as if he had never been there.

Exhaling, Alex looked at the Ring of Death on his index finger and tried to take it off. Of course, nothing happened. The ring was fused in place, as if it had become part of him.

For a moment, Alex even entertained the thought of cutting off his finger—purely as an experiment. But he almost immediately realized it was pointless. Even if he cut it off and regenerated it anew, the Ring of Death would still be there. Bound not to flesh, but to his very essence.

What interested Alex the most was something else—why exactly he had taken on the role of Death in this universe. And why Lady Death hadn’t bothered to explain anything.

Or maybe she had… and he simply hadn’t heard her.

Clearing his throat dryly, Alex came to the conclusion that either he really had missed the explanation entirely, or Lady Death had decided to leave him in the dark. Either way, it no longer mattered. The fact remained—the role of Death in this universe now belonged to him.

And he could kill anyone, without even moving from where he stood.

However, he had been capable of that before as well, using the power of Destruction. But Death and Destruction were different forces. And at the same time, frighteningly similar.

Alex sighed again, looking at the Ring of Death as if it had grown into his finger. Then his gaze shifted to Mayor Walker, lying on the hospital bed.

At that very moment, Alex felt disturbances in the Darkness, slowly seeping into the room.

He realized he had spent too much time thinking.

With a snap of his fingers, Alex stopped time in the room. The machines froze, sounds vanished, the world stood still. He did this so he could calmly talk to Mayor Walker—to explain his plan and what was supposed to happen next.

Stepping up to the bed, Alex touched the mayor’s forehead with his fingers.

In the same instant, Noble Walker’s soul appeared beside the bed, while his body continued to lie motionless in its place.

“What…? Where am I…?” he began in confusion, not understanding what was happening.

“Mayor Walker, you are a ghost right now. Let me answer the main questions right away. Yes, souls are real. Yes, Heaven and Hell exist. And no—you are not dead yet,” Alex said calmly, sitting down in a chair and crossing one leg over the other.

Noble Walker was a man who believed he had seen everything life had to offer. He had started out as a police officer, then through perseverance became a sheriff, and later a mayor. Long ago, he had realized that the world was far from as simple as it seemed at first glance. It was enough to look at Nevermore—a place where not ordinary teenagers studied, but representatives of the supernatural side of this world.

But what was happening now went far beyond anything he could comprehend.

Noble looked at his body lying on the hospital bed, hooked up to life-support machines, then shifted his gaze back to Alex. The latter sat perfectly calm, leaning back in the chair, lazily rotating the ring on his index finger—as if he had done it countless times before.

Walker tried to pull himself together, but the sight of his own body knocked the ground out from under his feet. He looked at Alex again. Alex calmly lit a cigarette and looked back at him without a trace of emotion.

“You… you’re Death?” Noble asked carefully, choosing his words.

“Yes and no. Right now, I’m just acting as Death. How and why—that’s a long story,” Alex replied lazily, exhaling smoke.

“And what will happen to me? Hell… or Heaven?” Walker asked even more quietly.

“Neither, for now. And I’ll answer all the philosophical questions at once—about the meaning of life, why it was you, and so on. I’m not going to answer them. Everyone has their own purpose and all that. Blah-blah-blah,” Alex said, waving his hand dismissively.

“Um… then what will happen to me? If you’re saying my time hasn’t come yet,” Noble asked in the same cautious tone.

“W-e-e-ell…” Alex drawled, pointing with his cigarette. “Take a look over there.”

Noble Walker turned his head in the direction Alex was pointing and saw black fog slowly seeping out of a ventilation grate in the floor. It spread across the ground, thick and viscous, gradually taking the shape of some kind of figure.

Watching this, Noble Walker became completely confused by what was happening.

Alex, however, remained perfectly calm. He smoked unhurriedly, in no rush at all, allowing himself to simply sit and observe while the entire world around them was frozen in time.

“And what is that?..,” Noble Walker asked, pointing at the black fog.

“That is the one—or rather, the woman—who hit you with the car. That’s exactly why you’re here right now. And I’m here to make sure you don’t die,” Alex replied calmly.

He paused, then continued:

“More precisely, you will have to die. But not for long. And I’ll answer your next question right away—no, I can’t kill this person. And not because I’m Death, but because it has to be this way.”

Alex raised his index finger.

“In any case, you will forget this conversation. But no matter what, Mayor Walker, you will remember one single thing.”

“And what would that be?” Noble asked, swallowing.

“Until the situation in Jericho and Nevermore stabilizes, you will be dead to everyone,” Alex said evenly. “Don’t worry, you’ll be able to return to your family. But they will have to keep their mouths shut and tell no one that you’re alive.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Otherwise your son, your wife… and this entire area will turn into a lifeless wasteland. Why—that I won’t explain. And it’s better for you not to know.”

Alex stubbed out his cigarette and stood up from the chair.

“For now, enjoy your time with the status of the dead, Mayor Walker. Our conversation is over. I’ll see you tomorrow night, when I dig you up. Bye-bye.”

He smiled and waved his hand.

“I…” Noble Walker began, raising his hand.

“Nope,” Alex said, snapping his fingers.

Noble Walker’s soul instantly returned to his body.

Watching this, Alex let out a quiet chuckle. To his own surprise, he had enjoyed playing the role of Death—even though a mountain of work awaited him, work he had never asked for.

He understood perfectly well that the job of Death was damn boring and endless. Everything had to happen exactly as it should in order not to disrupt the natural order of things. And if that order was disrupted, the consequences had to be cleaned up.

With a sigh, Alex looked at the black fog, frozen along with time. He cast a “do not notice me” spell on himself and allowed time to flow forward once more. The world came back to life.

The black fog instantly took the form of Marilyn. With an icy expression, she approached Noble Walker’s bed and reached for the outlet to unplug the life-support system.

Just to be safe, Alex simply snapped his fingers, plunging Noble Walker into clinical death. At that same moment, the machines erupted with shrill alarm signals. Marilyn immediately turned back into black fog and vanished, seeping into the ventilation shaft. Almost immediately, a group of doctors burst into the room.

Not wanting to watch how things unfolded any further, Alex calmly walked out through the open door of the hospital room, remaining unnoticed by everyone. He went down the hospital corridor and soon found himself outside.

Becoming visible again, Alex lit another cigarette and headed toward the Impala parked nearby.

Sliding into the driver’s seat, he started the engine as if nothing at all had happened to him today—including the fact that he had become the Big Boss of all the reapers in this universe.

Driving toward Nevermore, Alex glanced at the Ring of Death on his finger and thought about how he now had a lot more unnecessary work—work he had never asked for… and work no one was clearly going to pay him for.

Tightening his grip on the steering wheel and narrowing his eyes slightly, he decided that he would definitely demand payment for his services from Lady Death.

Just not anytime soon.

Alex knew far too well how visits to her domain usually ended. Instead of answers or payment, he risked receiving a completely different “package of services.”

Lost in thought, Alex didn’t even notice when he arrived at Nevermore. He cut the engine, got out of the car, and looked up at the night sky.

Trying once again not to sigh, Alex took a step—and found himself standing on the balcony railing of Enid and Wednesday’s room.

Crouching down, he watched as moonlight streamed through the large round window into the room, where the lights were already off.

Alex assumed Enid and Wednesday were asleep and tried to be as quiet as possible. He carefully slipped inside through the window and saw a neatly prepared bedspread laid out in the center of the room. The black ribbon running straight down the middle still divided the room into two halves.

Taking off his coat and shoes, Alex lay down in the place prepared for him, pulled out his phone, and quickly realized that the family chat was practically exploding with messages.

The girls were asking where he had disappeared to, why he had come back in that condition, and what it even meant that he was Death now. Alex answered all the questions except one—what exactly had happened to him in Lady Death’s personal domain.

His reply was short but meaningful. He said that “a lot” had happened.

That was more than enough to set his wives’ imaginations on fire.

Finishing with the messages, Alex placed the phone beside his head and closed his eyes.

He didn’t notice that all this time, black eyes had been watching him from the darkness.

Wednesday had opened them the moment Alex appeared in the room and had been silently watching him ever since, wondering where he had been and what exactly he had been doing.

Alex woke up the next morning to insistent nudges.

Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was Enid’s face. She was squatting beside him, her cheeks propped in her hands, watching him intently. At the same time, Alex clearly felt someone continuing to poke him.

He turned his gaze to the side and saw Wednesday, her face cold and expressionless, methodically kicking him with her foot.

Noticing that Alex was awake, Wednesday immediately stopped and looked him up and down.

Instinctively reaching for his phone, Alex realized it was only eight in the morning. He had already been woken up.

Putting the phone away, he rubbed his eyes with his right hand—and both girls immediately noticed the new ring on his index finger.

“What’s that ring?” Wednesday asked calmly.

“Found it on the street,” Alex replied sleepily. “Where’s the coffee around here? Either I get coffee, or someone’s getting hit.”

“I think there’s some in the cafeteria,” Enid said thoughtfully. “Teachers drink coffee in the mornings.”

Alex nodded. He realized that rumors about Mayor Walker’s death hadn’t yet spread everywhere. But one thing he was certain of—Larissa Weems already knew what had happened.

Slipping on his shoes and throwing on his coat, Alex decided that coffee was far more important than thinking about the upcoming funeral. Looking out the window, he clicked his tongue. The weather seemed to have turned cloudy on purpose, as if in anticipation of the events to come.

As soon as Alex, Wednesday, and Enid entered the cafeteria, he poured himself a cup of coffee. But he didn’t even get a sip before Larissa Weems appeared, her expression grim. Conversation immediately fell silent, and all eyes turned to her.

With a heavy sigh, she announced that, unfortunately, Mayor Walker had succumbed to his injuries overnight. Enid instantly gripped Alex’s hand, frozen in shock. Wednesday frowned—the only person who had gotten close to the truth had died last night.

A murmur spread through the cafeteria. The students of Nevermore were starting their morning not with breakfast, but with news of the mayor’s death. Larissa Weems announced the time of the funeral and added that anyone who wished could attend, though she doubted many students would come.

Alex, however, had no doubt—Wednesday would go. As for Enid, he wasn’t so sure.

The funeral was set to take place in a few hours. After a quick breakfast, Alex, Enid, and Wednesday returned to the dorm room. Enid still couldn’t come to terms with the news of the mayor’s death. Wednesday, as always, remained cold and composed. Alex stepped out onto the balcony to smoke.

Pulling out his phone, he called Dean. After a couple of rings, Dean answered.

“Dude, where’s my car?” came his voice immediately through the speaker.

“I’m in Nevermore right now,” Alex replied irritably. “Because of someone, I had to sleep on the dorm floor. Anyway, I need to fill you in—you missed a lot because of your date. By the way, how did it go?”

“Fine,” Dean replied, calmer than usual. “Probably the first proper date since Lisa. We just sat and talked. It was weird… but nice. So, what did I miss? Could that much really happen in one evening?”

“For starters: Mayor Walker got hit by a car and ended up in the hospital. I visited the old Gates family house—there, a monster attacked me. I lost your knife. Wednesday and Enid found parts of victims’ bodies in the basement. Then the culprit burned the house down to cover his tracks. And finally—last night, Mayor Walker died. So, do you think you missed a lot in just one evening?” Alex recited calmly.

At that moment, Dean, sitting in the hotel room finishing his morning coffee, stared at his phone. Thinking he must have misheard, he even rubbed his ear with a finger. But after replaying Alex’s words in his head, he realized—he hadn’t imagined it. A logical question immediately formed in his mind: how the hell could so much have happened in a single evening—and why hadn’t he known about any of it?

Meanwhile, Alex continued recounting what they had found in the Gates house and how his suspicions had been confirmed: the culprit was most likely Laurel Gates, who had faked her death and forged the documents.

“Listen, Alex…” Dean finally said. “Are you sure all of this happened in one day, not over several? Because even in our line of work, that many events don’t happen in a single evening.”

“I’m shocked myself,” Alex replied, taking a drag of his cigarette. “Anyway, Enid is going to change now, and then we’ll pick you up. We have a lot to talk about.”

“Alright,” Dean sighed. “I’ll wait by the hotel. And hurry up. I don’t like funerals. And the weather… it’s crap. Feels like we’re in some depressing movie.”

“Not impossible,” Alex smirked. “Okay, I’m signing off.”

Shaking his head, Alex put his phone in his pocket and slowly exhaled the cigarette smoke.

He looked up at the overcast sky—heavy clouds hung so low it seemed rain could start at any moment. All that was left was to sigh.

“Are we done? Did you talk on the phone?” Enid asked, stepping out onto the balcony.

“Yes. We’ll need to pick up Dean,” Alex replied, putting out his cigarette.

Enid nodded. Sadness was clearly written on her face.

Despite everything, she genuinely felt sorry for Mayor Walker—she truly believed he had been a good man.

Noticing her state, Alex stepped closer and gently hugged Enid, stroking her back to try to calm her.

Back in the room, Alex glanced at Wednesday. She was already holding an umbrella and clearly just waiting for them.

He gave a faint smile, and soon the three of them headed downstairs.

Once they reached the car, Alex, Enid, and Wednesday got into the Impala.

Starting the engine, Alex briefly explained that they needed to pick up Dean at the hotel. Wednesday silently nodded—her face emotionless.

Then again, she actually liked funerals. She had been attending them ever since she could walk.

As they approached the hotel, Alex spotted Dean standing by the entrance. He was dressed in an agent’s suit. Alex pulled up next to him.

“Alright, pale little lady, get in the back,” Dean said, opening the door.

Wednesday shot him a cold look, but Dean’s expression made it clear that arguing was pointless. She rolled her eyes and slid into the back seat. Dean took the front seat and immediately glanced at Alex. His eyes instantly dropped to Alex’s hand—specifically, his index finger. Dean’s eyes widened sharply. He looked back up at Alex.

“Dude?!” he blurted.

“What?” Alex asked, turning his head.

“Dude… what the hell?!” Dean said, pointing directly at the Death Ring.

Alex exhaled sharply.

“I’ll explain later.”

Dean nodded, but the question still lingered in his mind. How the hell had that ring ended up on Alex’s hand? And with every passing second, more questions arose, yet not a single answer came.

Noticing this strange exchange of glances between Alex and Dean, Wednesday once again focused on the ring on Alex’s finger—the one he claimed to have simply found. From Dean’s reaction, she immediately understood that the piece of jewelry was far from ordinary, having provoked such a strong response.

Enid, meanwhile, watched everything with complete bewilderment, unable to grasp what was happening. The events of yesterday and today had hit her all at once, and with every passing minute, her sadness only deepened—especially with the upcoming funeral.

Alex parked near City Hall, located in the very center of town.

As he stepped out of the Impala, he looked up at the sky, where rain was beginning to drizzle slowly. Clicking his tongue, Alex glanced around and noticed that a surprisingly large crowd had gathered for Mayor Walker’s funeral.

But his thoughts were elsewhere. He still had to explain to Dean that the mayor wasn’t actually dead and that they would have to dig him up. And at the same time, he needed to come up with at least a somewhat convincing lie about the Death Ring.

At the cemetery, Alex, Dean, Wednesday, and Enid stopped in the front row.

In one hand, Alex held an umbrella; with the other, he gripped Enid’s hand, as she could no longer hold back her tears. He calmly looked at the coffin, understanding more clearly than most a simple truth—everyone dies sooner or later.

Noticing Enid’s state, Alex wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her close, stroking her shoulder in a silent attempt to comfort and support her.

Shifting his gaze, he looked at Mayor Walker’s family—his wife and son Lucas, who were also crying, their eyes fixed on the coffin.

The atmosphere was heavy and oppressive as the priest delivered the farewell speech.

Alex noticed Wednesday starting to leave first and remembered that she would later meet her Uncle Fester—a truly unique man whose mind seemed completely unhinged, many bolts long gone, and half of them seemingly lost forever.

As the ceremony drew to a close, Alex and Dean, still supporting Enid, headed back to the Impala.

After seating the tearful girl in the car, Alex decided to talk to Lucas.

Spotting the boy standing alone, he approached him.

“Listen, now’s not the time to fall apart. I know you’ve lost your father, but your mother’s still here. You have to be strong for her. Take care of her.”

“Despite everything that’s happened between us, I sympathize. Stay with her and don’t let her break. Right now, she needs you the most,” Alex added, placing a hand on Lucas’s shoulder.

Lucas looked at him, recalling their past encounters and how they usually ended.

But seeing the genuine support in Alex’s eyes, he realized that Alex was serious and sincere. It wasn’t an order or a lecture, but an honest and important piece of advice.

Lucas then looked at his mother, who was crying over her husband’s fresh grave. In that moment, he clearly understood: he had to be there. To be her support. After all, he was now the only man in their family.

“Thank you, Agent,” Lucas murmured with difficulty.

“You’re welcome. Stay with your mother. You both need support right now, and it’s best to find it in those close to you,” Alex replied, patting his shoulder once more.

Lucas nodded and immediately went to his mother, embracing her as soon as he reached her.

Seeing this, Alex silently nodded and walked back to the Impala. He was certain that Mayor Walker’s family would be extremely surprised when they eventually saw him alive and well.

Back at the car, Alex briefly answered Dean’s question about where he had been. Dean nodded knowingly and started the engine, heading back toward Nevermore.

After all, another difficult conversation awaited them—about where Alex had gotten the Death Ring.

To be continued…

(Ahem. I’ll admit right now, I planned this. Honestly, it wasn’t the voices in my head that told me to do it. And no, no one threatened me “Save Me. My editor ran away and locked me in the basement.” Ahem. Moving on to another question, nothing will change, Alex will just have to visit the library of life, give instructions to the reapers, and that’s it. Possibly. It will just make some things a little easier for Alex in the future. Or at least it should.)

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