7 - Uninvited Visitors

- Court of Doves -

In a dark claustrophobic room, a mysterious lady with smooth silver hair and glazed ethereal eyes mumbled strange yet bone-chilling words as she stared at a blank open book before her. As her mumbling went on, the few candles illuminating the small room seemed to lose their strength, and turned weaker and weaker until the last flame in the room finally went out.

In the pitch darkness, the mysterious lady suddenly jerked back in her seat! Her eyes turned pitch black and streams of black blood suddenly started flowing from it! Her beautiful silver hair turned flesh-like and formed countless rotten tentacles that lashed out in every direction, and her charming face suddenly squirmed with pain and turned into a hideous rat-like monster! Unlike her head, the rest of her body still remained human-like, making her look even more revolting!

With a silent scream, the disgusting woman quickly picked up a black quill from the table and stabbed it into her smooth left arm. Using the blood from her arm, she savagely drew various symbols and letters in every page of the blank book, while continuously stabbing her arm for more 'ink'.

Somehow, the pages of the book did not tear under the ruthless scribbling.

After 30 seconds, the woman seemed to have exhausted herself as her whole body swayed up and down with her labored breaths. Her left arm was completely mangled and looked like as if a vicious beast had chewed on it.

With a final stroke, the woman let go of the quill and fell off her seat. As her body trembled on the floor, her face and hair slowly turned back into their original beauty and her gored arm suddenly healed itself in seconds! The black blood on her face and clothes also started to disappear into black wisps of smoke!

A few minutes later, the mysterious lady stood up weakly and slowly flipped through the scribbled pages of the book. The candles had lit up by themselves at some point and one could see that besides a small stool, a table, a few candles and the book and quill, there was nothing else in this small claustrophobic room. Not even a window.

As the mysterious lady interpreted the strange symbols with her ethereal eyes, a small glint of worry flashed across her face. After reading through all the pages, she closed the book and put the black quill on top of it. Then she covered her face and body with a silver cloak and unlocked the small door behind her.

As she stepped out of the small room, a few well-dressed men and women who were patiently waiting for her, stood up and bowed at her with a fist on their chest.

After staring at them for a few seconds, she finally let out sad sigh and said in a solemn voice,

"A God-killer has been born."

--- East Cinter --- Red Rock Street ---

The few days of waiting that were supposed to be easy, turned out to be the most gruesome days of Geo's life. His excitement to try out his newly acquired magic did not sober up like he thought it would. Instead, it kept growing and growing to the point where Geo had to fully exhaust his body during the day, so that he could fall sleep at night.

He could, of course, use his magic prematurely and in an extremely conservative way before the week passed, but he feared that he would get caught and decided to stick to the fat man's plan.

During the long week, a few doctors did come with Doctor Aaron to check his condition, but left soon after seeing Geo in top form. Geo was very careful around them since they could be agents sent by one of the Courts but fortunately, none of the doctors seemed to suspect him.

Tonight was the last night of the week, and Geo was extremely excited since he would secretly start using his newly acquired powers tomorrow. He had thought of waiting an extra two to three days, in case a few agents were still around, but his curiosity and excitement were too overwhelming for him. He just hoped that the fat man's words were true and that most of the high-ranked agents had switched locations by tomorrow.

As he covered himself with his blanket, Geo tried to fall asleep but his mind kept creating fantasies of what he would do in the future. He had exhausted his body with a lot of exercises during the day, but his mind was still too bright and excited.

After a few hours, when he was finally about to fall asleep, an eerie tinkling sound suddenly woke him up. Geo quickly got up to investigate the sound but instead of his room, he saw a pair of glittery blue eyes staring back at him! The glimmering specks in the beautiful blue eyes were like stars in the night sky reflected by a peaceful ocean. When Geo stared into those beautiful eyes, his whole body felt relaxed and rejuvenated. He didn't question anything as he felt the entire world matter less and less to him.

Then, a worried and serene voice that seemed to be coming from an old reliable friend, entered into his ears,

"Seven nights ago, why did you suddenly faint in your room?"

Geo did not feel any suspicion when he heard this question. It sounded like his 'old friend' was worried about him and just wanted some reassurance about his own health. Geo felt that this old friend greatly trusted and cared about him, and he decided that he would reveal the entire truth to this person. This person was someone who deserved his trust and Geo knew that he would never betray him.

Geo was just about to tell the entire truth, when a shrill and ear piercing sound suddenly disrupted his thoughts! Surprised by the sudden noise, Geo tried to cover his ears to reduce the intense sound, but his entire body seemed to reject his will! He felt confused and tried to move his body again but his body still refused to cooperate!

As he was trying this, he noticed that a pair of beautiful blue eyes were silently observing him from the darkness. Then like a flash of lightning, everything that had happened a few minutes ago surged back to his mind! He realized had been affected by the spell of a powerful agent!

Fear and panic rushed inside Geo's mind but anyone else could only see a calm and serene expression on his face. It seemed like his mind and body had separated two different personalities!

Since Geo hadn't spoken for a few seconds, the calm voice asked the question again, but this time Geo could clearly hear a hint of suspicion and seriousness in it's voice.

"Geo, I asked, why did you suddenly faint in your room seven nights ago?"

Geo felt a bit uneasy after hearing his name. He didn't know how to answer this question but his mouth suddenly moved on it's own and answered,

"I had a headache."

The calm voice paused for a second and asked again in the same worried tone,

"Do you know why you had the headache?"

"Probably..."

"Probably?"

"I started having this...weird headache...after I went on a detour while coming back home so....that might be why..."

"Can you tell me about the detour? Maybe I can find a solution to your headache."

"You don't have to since I'm much better now, but...when I was returning back from the library, I heard some commotion inside an alley and decided to check it. The alley was filthy and covered with sludge but I kept walking forward due to my curiosity. As I came closer to the source of the noise, I hid behind some metal junk and saw a few people who were having a heated discussion. I couldn't hear or see them clearly, but they were all speaking in harsh tones at each other. Suddenly, I saw one of them point his hand at me and shout something really loudly.

I don't know what happened after that. I just woke up in the alley with my clothes covered in filth. I had a light headache, but I totally forgot about it after looking at the sky! It was already dark and Hilda, our maid, would be furious if I came home too late!

I ran all the way back home but ended up being late anyway. I made up an excuse about why I was late and went to have a bath. The headache worsened throughout the bath and dinner, and before I knew what happened, I fainted again as soon as I entered my room.

Maybe the alley incident cause this...but I don't know. It's weird...

I'm still having a slight headache but it's nothing to worry about. It will probably go in a few more days."

Geo was extremely surprised and confused!

He didn't know what he was saying and why he was saying it!

At first, he thought that he was still under the agent's spell but after listening to himself speak, he realized that most of the things that he had said were completely off from the truth!

'Is this the unknown power's work?'

Geo had a slight suspicion but he couldn't verify it. He was terrified that he wasn't under his own control but was slightly glad too. At least his body did not tell the agent the entire truth like he was about to do a few minutes ago. Furthermore, he himself was not confident on making up such a grandiose lie on the spot. Whatever was happening to his body was happening for the good, and Geo was not about to complain.

The calm voice paused for a much longer time and finally replied in a satisfied tone,

"I see...

I'll still send a doctor to you for the headache. He might arrive a few minutes after I leave, so just wait and don't be afraid when he comes okay? Let him do his job and have a good rest. You will be completely fine by tomorrow! Well....Good night Geo."

With these final words, the beautiful blue eyes faded into the darkness and Geo was finally able to see his room again. His curtains were half open and the window beside his study table was slightly ajar, letting the faint moonlight illuminate the room. Other than that, everything else seemed to be the same.

Geo wanted to let out a sigh and go back to sleep, but his body was still refusing to move. Since there was nothing else that he could do, Geo just sat upright on his bed with a dazed expression and waited to regain control of his body.

...

A long time had passed but his body was still refusing to move! Geo was now starting to feel a bit worried.

What if he was not able to move his body ever again? What if he could only watch from a first person perspective and never be able to control his body? Was his life just a long movie now? Oh God!

As Geo was having these terrifying thoughts, the light entering his room was suddenly blocked. He involuntarily turned to look at the window and saw a classy young man sitting on the window sill.

The unknown visitor looked just a bit older than Geo, but the sharp seriousness in his face seemed to suggest that he was much older and much more mature than what he looked like. He had long, slightly messy hair that reached his shoulders, and was wearing a long black leather trench coat with similarly colored pants and rubber shoes. He was also wearing a white glove on his left hand that had a red cross-like pattern on it.

Geo's body* twitched a bit when he saw this person and asked in a concerned tone,

"Are you perhaps the doctor sent by my old friend?"

The man did not answer immediately. He slowly walked towards the bed with a disappointed look on his face and let out a small sigh.

"This Ruther....so this is the reason why he 'personally' wanted me to 'investigate' here....I will have to give him a mouthful the next time I see him."

After mumbling in a low voice, he stopped before Geo and placed the gloved hand on his head.

"Hey! What are yo-"

Geo's body was about to rebuke him but was suddenly cut off by a strange force. Then, with a slight tremble, his eyes rolled back and his body immediately collapsed back on the bed.

Geo himself felt this mysterious force ripple through his mind, but other than a slight feeling of uneasiness, he was completely fine and fully conscious! He was surprised when his body acted in such a way, but there was nothing he could do about it and he could only watch it happen.

After a few seconds, Geo heard the light sound of retreating footsteps and a slight click of the window. Then there was complete silence. It seemed that the 'doctor' had left his room after using some sleep inducing spell on him.

After about 30 minutes, when he thought he was safe, Geo tried to move his body again but it still did not respond! The panic that had been building up suddenly rushed into his mind like a tsunami and Geo could feel his heart beating faster and faster. The recent events had temporarily distracted him from the situation he was in, but now, in the silence of the night, he finally felt the full pressure of his condition.

He bitterly tried to move his body in any way that he could but it was worthless. His body stayed insensitive to his commands. A dull pain slowly starting building up from his heart and Geo suddenly had a great urge to cry but he couldn't, even if he wanted to.

'Move! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE DAMN IT!'

As he was shouting these words in his mind, Geo suddenly felt a cool gust of wind on his face. Then, he heard a soft sigh and dull click followed by more silence.

''Wind? Didn't that person close the window when he left?'

Geo froze for a second, then, an ice-cold chill crept up his spine when he realized what had just happened.

The 'doctor' had not left.

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* Geo and his body are acting as two separate entities due to some unknown force.

When only 'Geo' is mentioned, the next few sentences points towards his mind's actions.

When 'Geo's body' or 'involuntarily' is mentioned, the next few sentences points at the body's actions.