Chapter 11: Confessing Everything
After taking a shower, Anya left her room and waited outside. She hoped that everyone else was still asleep and wouldn't notice her still awake.
Minutes passed, and she felt that it hadn't been worth it to decide to wait for the Radio Demon in the hallway. Just as she was about to return to her room, she heard the sound of shadows emerging from behind her.
"Oh, sorry for the delay, dear. I had to take care of some things before I got here. I hope I didn't keep you waiting." - Alastor declared from behind her.
The little child had to hold back a shiver in her body, with the fear she still felt of him. She then sighed and turned to him, her expression now serious. - "Yes, sir. Anya understands."
Alastor smiled wider, showing satisfaction at her understanding. - "That's great, dear. Now, follow me. We have a lot of business to attend to." - with that, he began walking down the hallway, while looking back, waiting for the girl to follow him.
Anya sighed and started following him, trying her best not to get too close to him.
They both walked for a long time, until they reached a door. Alastor opened it and waited for Anya to enter first, which she reluctantly did after she heard his thought of "ladies first".
As soon as she entered, the girl watched him enter and close the door with a snap of his fingers, which briefly surprised her. And then, she followed him and was instructed to sit in one of the two armchairs there. As soon as she did, she saw the Radio Demon sit in another one, across from her.
"Well, I think we can begin now, child." - He began to speak, making Anya look at him with a brief anxiety growing inside her.
He snapped his fingers again and a set of cups appeared between them. - "Would you like a cup of coffee?" - he asked, to which the child politely declined. With that, Alastor shrugged and began to pour himself some, while Anya began to look around the room.
"Did you like my room, dear? I see you have quite good taste, child. Now, let's start with some questions." - Alastor declared, after finishing an entire cup of coffee.
The little girl looked back at him, wide-eyed. And then, the first question was asked.
"How did you end up here, child?And don't think about lying or hiding anything, understand?" - the last part of the sentence was said with static and a brief shift around them both.
Anya broke out in a cold sweat, fearing what might happen if she told him the truth or lied to him. She started looking around, still thinking whether she should really tell him the truth or really continue hiding things.
The Radio Demon's terrifying thoughts warned her that she would suffer the consequences if she didn't tell the truth.
Having no other choice, Anya sighed and prepared to tell the truth. - "Okay, like Anya said before, Anya was at the orphanage when Anya stopped here. But well, Anya came here through... a portal."
That ended up piquing Alastor's interest. - "A portal?" - he asked. That at least explained how that child had gotten there. And then he continued.
"You said you went through a forest before stopping here. Is that where you found this portal?"
The child nodded and continued. - "Anya was sleeping in the orphanage room, when a light caught Anya's attention. From the forest. And then,... Anya snuck out of the orphanage and entered the forest, following the light. And Anya found a cave where this light came from and Anya entered. And in the end, Anya found a portal inside and went through it."
As soon as she finished, the girl breathed heavily, as if she had been freed from a weight. She closed her eyes, waiting for Alastor's judgment on this whole story.
"Hmm, how interesting. And seeing as no one else in the orphanage saw that light, besides you, I can say that it was quite brave of you to go through a portal, without knowing where you would end up, child." - he commented, disinterested but impressed.
The girl just looked down, thinking that was all. But then, another question terrified her even more than the first. - "And do you also have some kind of special power or something? Right, child?"
Anya felt like her eyes would pop out of her face at that very moment. - "W-What is Sir. Alastor s-talking about?!" - she stuttered in fear.
Alastor looked around, with a mocking smile. - "Well, let's just say that since that day I met you, I've been spying on you at all times. Except in your private moments, of course. And at one point, I discovered something quite interesting, child."
He remained silent, waiting for the little girl to add one plus one alone there.
When she did, Anya looked at him in shock and disbelief. - "So Sir. Alastor heard Anya and..." - The Radio Demon nodded in response, pleased that she had gotten it right so quickly.
"Yeah, I overheard your little chat with Husker, and that's how I found out about it al.," - he admitted, almost proudly. He briefly peeked at the girl somewhat in shock. And as expected, she asked.
"How did Sir. Alastor do all this without Anya noticing?" - she asked, still not believing it all. Alastor just laughed lightly and summoned his thin cane and pointed to an unlit fireplace that was between the two armchairs in which they were both sitting.
And out of nowhere, a shadow emerged from there and took the form of Alastor, only more terrifying. Anya shrank briefly in her seat in fear before composing herself.
"Through this, child. I can also manipulate shadows, you know?" - he revealed, followed by a laugh.
The child just stared at him in silence, in complete fear and disbelief. - "Does Sir. Alastor also do this to everyone here at the hotel?" - she asked. Alastor just shrugged and answered. - "More or less, child. When I want to know what they're doing or to find out things, I do this. Sometimes, I even send them out of the hotel."
As he explained more about the extent of his powers, it took Anya longer to assimilate everything. She knew that some of them had special abilities, but not powers. And so she questioned.
"Does everyone who goes to Hell end up gaining powers or something?"
The moment she saw his reaction, Anya felt a deep regret for asking. Not because he was angry, but rather, that he would probably give her a long lessom about it.
"Well, I'm glad you asked, my dear. Because not only will I tell you how, but I'll also tell you the full extent of this place. And I'm sure you'll have a great time." - he declared, making the little girl slide off the chair, while groaning in frustration.
That would definitely be a very long night...
02/03/2025: And here's another chapter. Yes, our dear Anya will spend the whole night learning about the extent of power, especially about the Overlords of Hell. The dialogue will be so long, that I wouldn't even want to stay there to hear it all. Well, I hope you like it and wait for the next chapter.