What I woke up to this time was-

(Nox) "Oh, good morning. How are you feeling?"

The nice scary guy from yesterday...

This is weird. Not bad, I think, but weird. It's been a while since someone said 'good morning' to me.

Still, is this the same guy from yesterday? The one who mentioned punishment while dragging his screaming brother out by the neck?

(Nox) "The effects of yesterday's soup should still be affecting you, so you shouldn't need to eat for a few days."

Won't not eating for a few days kill me? Wait, I'm already dead... then how did I eat that soup?

*Sigh*, thinking about these things will get me nowhere.

From then on, I decided to try and change my way of thinking.

Well, it won't be easy to forget something ingrained over my whole life. It'd be like switching from a wuxia novel to a JRPG. You wouldn't have a clue what you're doing until you talk to every important character. Even then, killing things for levels while thinking about how the wuxia characters just had to sit down for a while is...

(Nox) "Stella?"

I got a bit derailed. How do I do telepathy again? How did I use it in the first place?

*Sigh* This might be a problem.

(Nox) "Is something wrong? Is there still pain?"

He came over to put a hand on my head but I pushed it away. Then I looked him in the eyes and shook my head.

(Nox) "Then why aren't you talking?"

I just glare at him.

Aren't you the one who said that I don't have vocal chords?

(Nox) "Perhaps, you can't use telepathy anymore? That can't be right, you used it just fine yesterday..."

I'm not even sure how I used telepathy in the first place. How should I know why I can't use it now?

Not sure what else to do, I just continue glaring at him.

What, I should just talk? Don't wanna. It might be childish, but I don't want to talk to these people. Even if I haven't reacted well to what's going on, they haven't been very understanding either. How would I describe what I've been through since I came here? Wherever 'here' is... Still, seems like my luck hasn't changed much. *Sigh*.

(Nox) "If you can't talk, maybe I should find some paper or..."

He went through the arc to the other room to find something.

Does he really think that I'm mute without telepathy? Whatever, I don't want to talk, so that works too.

Selfish? These people claimed to be responsible for destroying my family and harming everyone who cared about me, for no real reason at that. Why should I be nice?

He soon returned with a small whiteboard, an eraser, and a black marker.

(Nox) "Here, this should be easier than paper to carry around, just use this until you can use telepathy again."

He really forgot I could talk.

(Nox) "Now that that's settled, what do you want to do?"

(Stella) (?) It's too much of a pain to write a whole sentence on a whiteboard.

(Nox) "What does that say?"

Well, that's surprising. He can't read English? Isn't he a god?

(Stella) (English?)

(Nox) "Ohhhh, I think I get It. We can understand each other because you are "listening" through your soul, not your ears... this could be a problem."

I don't get it.

Maybe he noticed my confusion seeing as he started explaining... again.

I also hate not knowing everything.

(Nox) "Basically, we both speak different languages. Because you don't have a body, what you are hearing is like you are reading my spirit waves. What you hear are my thoughts of what I'm saying and not my actual words... the reason that's a problem is that as soon as you have a body, you won't be able to do that - not if you can't use telepathy proficiently."

So we won't even be able to talk after I get a body,? Great. But I don't get the rest of that, I'm not hearing words? I'm reading his thoughts? What are spirit waves?

*Sigh*, more things I don't know.

(Nox) "On the bright side, if you can learn to control telepathy well enough before getting your body, then you could easily train your body to use it naturally. That means you will never have another problem with the language barrier."

The silver lining in this mess, I suppose, is that I never have to talk again... if I can figure out how to do it. It's telepathy, not high school math. If everyone could use it, we wouldn't be in this strange mess. Is it too late to say I can talk? Why can't this god do it instead? Maybe it's because I'm not talking out loud?

(Nox) "I'll look into why you could use telepathy in the first place, after that we can practice until you can do it as easily as breathing."

I'm dead, do I breathe? Seems I still need to work on killing my logic. Still, might as well be mute... at least I won't have to talk to people. At least, not directly.

(Nox) "For now, let's go on a walk. Staying inside all day isn't good for anyone. Come on, we won't go too far."

Nox grabs my hand to help me up then drags me out the door. When did I say I wanted to go for a walk? Is this a downside of being mute?

We really didn't go that far. His home is at the edge of a small town. Not on the floating castle, but maybe near the clearing I was at before? Not a place I expected a god to live in, especially not the god of death.

(Nox) "You may have already noticed, but not many of my siblings live down here. Most of them think that a higher rank means a bigger house, but I think that a big house with no one in it is pointless. Besides, this is one of the few places with a fantastic view around almost every corner. Take the place we found you in for example; It's surrounded by trees and small flowers grow everywhere, makes it a good place for a picnic."

Well, that is certainly is a place I can see people going to for a picnic. Wait, did he just say he has a high rank? I guess gods have a ranking system of some kind.

Remember, no more Earth logic.

(Nox) "I'm taking you to one of the places I like to go during the summer. It's a bit closer than most of the scenic spots I know. It also looks better in summer but you are still too weak to walk much farther."

How can somewhere look better in the summer? In spring and fall flowers and different colored fruits make things look pretty and more colorful, not to mention the leaves themselves in the fall, but summer's all about the most vibrant green for plants so it can't be that.

By the way, it's early spring. As for what month it is... are they even the same in... where ever I am? Earth doesn't have a castle in the sky after all.

(Nox) "We're here."

I look up from thinking and finally understood why this place was better in the summer.

In front of me was a 10-meter tall waterfall with a large pond beneath it. Jumping off the waterfall in the summer would definitely be fun.

(Nox) "In the summer there is a rainbow across the waterfall, that's what makes this place even more beautiful."

Was I the only one who thought jumping in from the top would be fun?

(Nox) "Sometimes some of my siblings come here to play in the water while having lunch, it's fun but sometimes they go a bit overboard and make some waves. Sometimes even the food gets ruined and I have to clean up the mess."

Great, I can be compared to childish gods... also, can he read my mind? I feel like he's saying this on purpose.

Well, this place is still beautiful. I mean, what kind of waterfall isn't? I wouldn't mind coming out here again.

(Nox) "Let's rest for a while before heading back. You can explore if you want, just don't go too far. There shouldn't be anyone else around here but if you do see someone just come back to me. You can't talk to them after all. I'm going to relax under that tree for a bit."

He said as he pointed to a random tree at the edge of the tree line.

I nodded and walked closer to the water. When I got close I noticed how clear it was... shame, fish can't live in clear water, they won't have any food.

I walked along the shore for a bit before deciding to take off my shoes and soak my feet in the water.

How does a disembodied soul wear clothes? No, need to kill Earth logic...

As I was thinking of questions I'll likely never get answers for, I heard a voice behind me.

(???) "So this is the human. Hey, human what's your name?"

I look behind me to see a boy roughly Nox's age with green hair waving his hand towards me.

How do I answer that I won't talk?

While I wasn't sure what to do... I created a misunderstanding.

(???) "Why won't you answer me? Are you ignoring me?!"

W-what do I do now???

I started panicking... Nox said a majority of his siblings are unreasonable. What will I do if this one is like them?

I got out of the water and started walking towards where Nox said he'd be.

(???) "You are ignoring me human! I only asked for your name! You cursed kid! You child of misfortune! STOP IGNORING ME!!!"

I froze. I haven't been called that in years... I know it was my fault but...

(???) "I finally got your attention. Well, of course I would. That's the nickname someone called you whenever something bad happened. Well, you did try to get close to people when you had a curse after all."

Hearing him made me remember some things I'd rather forget. By the time he finished that sentence I was shaking.

Please don't say more.

(???) "Well, even if some things weren't your fault most of them were. Like a certain girl who fell down some stairs."

Stop!

(???) "Or that nice old man down the street."

STOP!

I covered my ears only to realize that it was pointless, I could still hear him.

(???) "Or how about that kid who was just unfortunate to be standing next to you when-"

(Nox) "SILVA!!!"

When did he show up? This might be the first time I'm glad to see this god of death.

(Nox) "Silva, what are you doing to Stella?!"

(Silva) "What do you mean 'what am I doing to her'? She ignored me so I-"

(Nox) "Then why is she crying?!"

?... since when was I...

Only now did I notice that I really was crying.

(Silva) "I didn't... I just wanted..."

(Nox) "Stella lets go back for today. You are still a bit see-through so we shouldn't stay out for too long. Ok?"

While making a strange excuse, he took my hand again and started walking in the direction we came from.

(Silva) "Nox, I..."

Nox didn't look back. We kept walking in silence until we got back to Nox's house.

Once we got inside he dragged me to the bed I was using and sat me down before getting one of the chairs and sitting down in front of me.

(Nox) "Are you ok?"

How do I even respond... would you be ok if your old scars suddenly got scratched open by someone you never met?

(Nox) "Stella?"

I just sat there, looking down. I don't know what to do... it was all my fault they got hurt after all...

While I was busy blaming myself... he suddenly hugged me.

??? What is he-

(Nox) "It's ok. It wasn't your fault."

He spoke to me in a soft voice.

I-

(Nox) "It was never you who hurt them. It was my sister's curse. You even tried to protect them."

I started crying again but this time my tears wouldn't stop.

(Nox) "None of it was your fault."

I cried and cried... even if some people told me that before, they still avoided me like the plague. It was just a formality, they still thought I was the cause, so did I. No one meant it.

Nox meant it...

He said it wasn't because of me...

I cried for such a long time...

At some point, I fell asleep.