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Doubt

Ian poked at the folders again, not really wanting to do anything. In fact, he was planning to clean that huge room that morning, just to be safe about the old books he didn't want to expose to dust.

However, there really wasn't much to do that day, since there was plenty of time for everything.

— Fortunately, with the increased demand for Beyonder requests, I'll be able to stay alive. — He muttered, paying close attention to the papers in front of him.

Soon, he could finally start working harder to make progress and then consolidate his bases in Backlund so he wouldn't have to run away again.

Even so, Ian couldn't help but consider this last option. Running away was the best second option he had, especially when he was being chased by Intis' own intelligence network.

Ian had made some plans for it, but he would never leave his business at the Bar of the Brave as an information seller and arms dealer.

— My life is finally getting better, I have to keep organizing everything. — He finally had the energy to get up again.

...

When he got home, Melissa was standing near the door, staring at him, looking for some strange reaction or something.

— What happened? — Klein asked, somewhat confused by his sister's actions.

From what he could tell, there didn't seem to be anything wrong, either with Melissa or Benson, who was probably fast asleep in his own room.

She sat back down on one of the chairs around the table and said:

— I don't know, that's the problem.

Klein frowned slightly, his dark gaze hiding all his thoughts.

— Huh? — he was even more confused than before — Explain that better.

Melissa seemed to organize her words, and then finally explained in a very thoughtful tone:

— It's just that when Benson and I were coming back, I noticed that the drawer in your room was open. My spiritual perception screamed that there was something strange, so I moved it to see if there was anything unusual.

— I only found a torn piece of paper that said strange things like "Peek into the past, only to find that you cannot escape it." When I tried to divine about it, I only saw the exact address of a house on a strange street and the dream was shattered. Do you know who left this?

Klein shook his head, his eyes narrowing indiscernibly.

— This is a complicated thing. An invitation to a secret organization to be more exact.

Melissa looked at him with great concern, as if wondering why this was hidden in the bottom of the drawer.

Her sharp gaze deepened with each passing second, like the indescribable bottom of the ocean without any light.

— I refused. — he added before there was a misunderstanding, or Melissa pierced him with her eyes.

Immediately, the questions began:

— What organization is this? More importantly, they won't come after you for refusing, right?

Melissa seemed very immersed in her guesses, but she still stopped to listen to an answer.

— No, they won't come after me. Actually, do you remember that organization I told you about? The Order of Mysteries was the one who tried to recruit me, but I never responded. — he explained unhurriedly.

It was better to set an example for his sister, who still had a lot to learn.

— Order of Mysteries? Klein, that's like an ancient organization, maybe older than the Fourth Epoch! — She was shocked, to say the least.

Melissa seemed to be wavering between disbelief and bewilderment.

— And that's why you should also learn how to use a revolver. If any of those strangers try to recruit you, you'll be able to defend yourself with a good guarantee of winning and they won't need to waste time with rituals... Although your strength is great, just like those playing cards. — Klein looked at her with a very light look on his face, seeming to be planning something.

Indeed, he and Melissa could bend metal with their bare hands. Even so, they could still rely on things like their own intelligence to get out of difficult situations.

Besides, Klein knew that Melissa had worked hard, training alone in secret when she had enough time. It was like Klein, who sometimes had to lie to Benson about going to work to train with the other Nighthawks.

— I know, it's still hard to train when I have a lot of work to do at school. Even so, I think I'll be able to do it in time. — she said with great certainty in her voice.

At that moment, Klein remembered an old memory. Immediately, he couldn't help but say:

— Yes, I remember that. You're working so hard that even your teacher came to talk to me at the beginning of the year. She said you were the most excellent student she had in the field, the kindest she had ever seen in her life.

— By the way, do you remember when we saw Mr. Azik last time? He praised you a lot, especially your invention that I brought for him to see. He would certainly recommend you to his friend. You are a very hard-working person. You were training hidden in your room, even after all the tiredness of staying awake all day.

Melissa looked at him embarrassedly. If a look could kill, Klein would already be dead, without even the slightest chance of being saved.

Klein smiled calmly at her brilliant counterattack. He still remembered the day his sister embarrassed him with the talk about romance.

As always, Melissa was an extremely embarrassed person, especially when it came to something she did in secret.

He didn't hold a grudge, but he thought it would be an interesting opportunity to embarrass her in every way!

Melissa hid her face, which was completely red with embarrassment, with her hands, her embarrassment overflowing from her face.

If she had any strength left to say anything, it would probably be: "I'm going to throw you into the Khoy River while you're sleeping!"

She immediately ran out without saying anything else.

Baa!

Her bedroom door slammed loudly, though it was quiet so as not to wake Benson.

...

The next morning, Klein headed to work as usual. Arriving at the Blackcourt security company the next day, he didn't see Rozanne behind the counter as usual.

The other Nighthawks seemed to have disappeared, with no trace of them other than going down into the underground.

The church inmates always left some papers confirming their presence on a small wooden bulletin board near the door leading down to the huge tunnels, so it was certain that they were all here.

What could have happened? — Klein opened the dark wooden door and went straight down the long staircase.

When he went down, he saw the candles upside down on the ceiling far above anyone's head, as it always was, and some old paintings and photos adorning the wide walls, shades of black like the dark sky.

Some of the photos were of old squads of Beyonders who had been from Tingen, some had other people from other churches or official organizations present.

There were also very old paintings depicting many things, such as the starry sky or even different places. From what Klein heard from Leonard, all of these were painted by ancient Nighthawks.

Klein walked through a few corridors until he reached the break room.

He didn't hesitate to open the door.

Dunn Smith had an unhealthy pallor all over his skin. His gray eyes now seemed encrusted with fear, a kind of horror that Klein had only seen him have when he fell into the flashy dreams.

He was leaning against the sofa with his body half limp, immersed in his own thoughts.

Leonard was also next to him looking quite dazed and next to him was Sekka Tron with a much deeper look in his eyes, perhaps thinking or something.

From their state, Klein had a hunch that yesterday's mission had failed somehow or cost the three of them a lot of damage.

— What happened? Hanass Vincent? — Klein asked with concern. The captain was paler than usual, even paler than a sick person.

Suddenly, someone entered the room with some enthusiasm, which lasted until he saw Dunn Smith's face.

— Captain...? — Royalle turned to look at his deplorable situation.

Leonard stared at them, and with a deep touch explained:

— Worse, we found nonsense in Hanass Vincent's house. He was a complete lunatic, he kept papers that were more nonsense than anything else...

— Hanass Vincent is dead.

— Dead? How did that happen? — Klein almost frowned in shock, sitting on the couch in front of them next to Royalle.

— What? That Hanass Vincent that Klein mentioned? — Royalle raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

Sekka Tron nodded with a hint of doubt visible on her impassive face.

— Hanass Vincent died in his sleep. We even tried to save him to get information, but it was too late. — she said, her eyes narrowing.

Was he corrupted by some kind of influence from the True Creator? — Klein thought at the same time.

It wasn't hard for something like this to happen to lunatic believers of secret organizations, especially when it came to members of the Aurora Order.

Suddenly, Dunn coughed a little before quickly covering his mouth with his hand and when he removed it, there was a dark, viscous liquid like blood.

— Captain, are you okay?— he asked almost at the same time as Royalle, she seemed anxious to know.

Dunn Smith sighed. His eyes no longer contained the serenity of everyday life.

— It's okay, I just got hurt because of some wounds from before that didn't heal. I should clarify something to you. Yesterday, Sekka, Leonard and I went to Hanass Vincent's house and questioned him. Since he didn't have any abnormal behavior and didn't show anything strange, I decided to enter his dreams.

— In your dream... In your dream...

He paused for a moment, his hands shaking so slightly that it was almost imperceptible.

— In your dream, I saw a huge cross, so big that it covered the entire sky. On that cross, there was a naked man nailed to colossal black nails. He was upside down, glowing in horror... His arms and legs were bound, with his arms stretching out... Strips and streaks of blood as well as wounds were all over his body.

— Klein, rhat was similar to what I saw in your dreams…

Klein frowned slightly, unable to help but be confused and even found it nonsensical.

— Huh? I don't remember anything like that…

Dunn nodded weakly, his thoughts covered by his very colorless expression.

— I know, I hadn't told you about it.

— In those strange dreams, I could see something similar, however there was one clear difference… The statue of that faceless man from your dreams was helpless and grandiose, even with its destroyed form, looking in all directions at once and even at me. I couldn't even look at the statue, but the man from Hanass Vincent's dreams can only be described as vile.

— In any case, Hanass Vincent is dead and we have no clues to anything other than the papers we found.

Statue of a faceless man? Captain, why didn't you tell me about this before? — Klein could only be confused, because it was probably something hidden from the church for Dunn to have never mentioned.

Of course, he even thought about fortune-telling, but he soon gave up on the idea because it was too risky even in the gray fog to try to find out about something that might have been caused by the fog itself.

Yes, I can only wait until I can find out about this... For now, I can only make guesses... Waiting for directions while resembling The True Creator...? That... Doesn't that sound like the description of The Omniscient and Omnipotent Creator of the City of Silver?

Yeah, and I've already dreamed of the Forsaken Land of the Gods... It could be that... But the Captain could never know about Him or the City of Silver! That's impossible! Are there more stories of a Creator in the world, like the one from the Aurora Order...?

Uh... There's also the Creator of the Silver Court Order, where He is also described as eternal, Omniscient and Omnipotent...

He also suspected that this organization, Order Silver Court, might have been formed from some ancient group of people from the Forsaken Land of the Gods who may have migrated to the Northern Continent somehow before the Cataclysm of the Third Epoch, the supposed beginning of the Dark Ages, so The Creator of this organization might be the same Creator as The Creator of the City of Silver.

Of course, the Silver Court also worshipped another deity, but that was another matter that Klein had no other clue about.

With so many troublesome thoughts tangling like elaborate webs in his consciousness, he sighed inwardly.

In any case, it might be that the Captain feared that I was corrupted by one of The two examples of Creators from the two organizations… That is the most likely option, since the Captain is not corrupted and does not know anything about the Forsaken Land of the Gods.

In his deep reverie, Klein sighed in his heart with many guesses hidden under a calm and surprised look.

— I see... And what happens now? — he asked carefully.

Dunn paused for a moment.

— For now, nothing, but you, Royalle, Leonard, Kenley and Sekka must go on a very simple mission while Neil and I sort out the documents of Hanass Vincent's death. — he said without much attention.

Simple? Then why are there five Beyonders involved? — Klein wondered, with the other three seeming to have similar thoughts.

When Dunn opened his mouth to speak, he coughed a few more times with a little more blood visible on his hands.

He grabbed a dark cloth from a small table to clean himself and continued:

— All four must go to Mr. Deweyville's residence to help with an attempted murder case by a Beyonder and a suspicion of spirits haunting the residence.

Deweyville...? That reminds me, old Neil and I met him on the street because of the debt suspension ritual... — Klein remembered immediately, the almost instantaneous result of the debt ritual was striking.

— Attempted murder? How is that connected to the murder, if it is...? Is there any information on who did it? — Royalle asked, interested in the subject.

— No. — Dunn answered simply, before continuing in a serious tone:

— Nothing but your butler.

— What do you mean? — Leonard asked, straightening up to listen more carefully, like a true gossip.

The pale Dunn Smith forced himself to continue speaking, his tone deeper than usual:

— The butler told us that a figure will come to haunt him in his dreams, tormenting him incessantly with each passing day. A few days ago, he was miraculously cured. He even returned to his own home to celebrate with his family. I saw them, they were very happy that day, I myself was sure that everything was fine. At one point they even offered me sweets, I felt that everyone was cured of the incident...

— Three days ago, the entire family was found dead. They all killed themselves.

Notes:Investigation

With a sudden chill running down his spine, Klein became thoughtful after hearing those words.

He and Old Neil had met one of the butlers of Deweyville once, but Klein wasn't sure if it was the same man.

That butler had committed suicide, and so had his entire family… — Klein couldn't help but remember the Antigonus family diary, but such a thing was impossible, Medici himself had escorted the Antigonus family notebook and the Spark of Cosmos to Backlund.

Even so, he couldn't rule out the possibility that it was something related to evil rituals for some occult entity.

— So should we go now? — Leonard asked with a somewhat confused look.

Everyone looked at Dunn, who didn't offer any answer.

In fact, his eyelids were already gently closed, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep at some point when no one was paying attention.

Seeing this, Klein could only sigh in his own heart.

— Yes, let's call Kenley... — he said, heading towards the door to let Dunn Smith rest at least a little.

They all walked to the gates of Chanis, passing through several corridors that made them feel very small.

— Hey, do you really think the captain is okay...? — Leonard seemed a little too thoughtful, his green eyes tender like those of a poet.

— To tell you the truth, I don't know... He was very tired. — Royalle muttered without paying much attention to the words.

They all felt the same way, Dunn Smith was extremely tired with everything that had been happening and he couldn't even rest when he got injured on the missions.

It was only when Medici arrived that he got some rest, since the demigod had to deal with most of the things related to documents and observation of the Antigonus case. However, Medici returned to Backlund and Dunn was extremely overwhelmed again.

— Really, if we think about it that way. Well, unfortunately he can't take a vacation. — Klein pointed this fact out, feeling that it was very unfair.

However, the duty of a Nighthawk was above that, and especially the captain of Tingen's squadron.

Sekka Tron didn't say a word, only sighing upon hearing about his captain's situation.

When Klein looked once more at the next wide corridor, he could see a huge gate with some symbols, as well as the sacred symbol of Midnight.

Kenley was sitting on a chair absentmindedly, in his hands was the latest edition of Emperor Roselle's book "The Raven".

And my compatriot's originality really went to waste. — Klein couldn't help but scoff, remembering the time when he was a child when he took this book hidden from his nanny's eyes, when he was still Zhou Mingrui.

Only his very observant brother found out about the book being stolen from the shelves and even encouraged him to read more since he enjoyed it, saying it was important for his mental health.

After that, some books appeared in Zhou Mingrui's room frequently.

From far away, Leonard called in a very clear tone:

— Kenley, ask Frye to replace you on shift! We have to go on a mission.

The confused Kenley raised his head, his eyebrow half raised in question as to what was happening to be so urgent.

Even so, he stood up almost immediately just to run over and ask:

— Hey, why are so many people here? Did something really bad happen somewhere in Tingen? Did someone die? Oh, don't tell me there's an occultist out there...

He looked pitiful, the thing he hated most about having to deal with were the murderous occultists that appeared in rare but terrible cases.

— That's exactly it, but a little worse. — Leonard gave a half-hearted smile.

All of Kenley's thoughts had probably fallen apart, his face becoming like one of regret.

— Okay, I'll go get him... — he muttered dejectedly, his mood seemed completely destroyed.

...

With only a few meters to go before reaching the door of the grandiose Deweyville mansion, Leonard nudged Klein with a lot of interest on his face.

— Klein, has anyone ever told you that you look like a black cat? — he suddenly asked.

Klein's expression almost fell at the same moment. What kind of strange and meaningless question was that?

Who looks like what? — he looked at Leonard with a very calm look, but deep down he was completely confused.

Royalle nodded. She seemed to agree as if it were the best argument she had ever heard.

— That's true, like my little cat, Candy, who keeps staring at the wall as if there was something terrifying from another world that no one else can see. — she said, amused by the situation.

Kenley seemed to look away from Klein, staring at him as if he were searching for the similarity hidden under his face.

After a few seconds, he seemed to have come to a conclusion:

— Doesn't it really look like that? There's also that thing that all cats have, a supernatural sense.

Klein looked at him very calmly, preparing to say something, but it was enough to make them shut up, perhaps for some reason that neither Leonard nor Kenley could explain.

— Hey, don't stare at me like that. You had that same look when you said those terrifying things about Ray Bieber. — Leonard immediately accused with a slightly strange look.

He looked away, preferring to stare at the beautiful door of the mansion.

At that moment, everyone seemed more professional, since they were about to knock on the door.

Toc.

Toc, toc.

Leonard knocked three times, not too softly or too hard, just with the necessary force.

After a few seconds, a butler with silvery blond hair opened the door very politely, so much so that he seemed to have trained his whole life for it.

— Good morning, we are the police officers who called to investigate the attempted murder, moral harassment and stalking of Mr. Deweyville. — Leonard spoke professionally, none of his frivolous personality showing.

Wow, who would have thought that this damn door could at least seem a little polite. — Klein satirized, his face very serious on the outside.

— Of course, we were waiting for you gentlemen. Please follow me. — he spoke formally, his tone very light and at the same time solemn.

He led them to the huge main room, where there was a huge white sofa with someone sitting on it, in addition to a gray piano resting on the left corner of the room, next to a beautiful window.

In that room, sitting on the sofa, was Deweyville, much more disturbed than usual.

He seemed completely shaken. There were strong dark circles under his eyes, clouded by strong fatigue.

Deweyville's mouth moved almost imperceptibly, he whispered something to himself like a madman.

He belatedly realized that there were guests in the room and raised his head, greeting them in a rhythmic tone:

— Good afternoon, dear police officers.

This man looks more like a robot than a human... — Klein narrowed his eyes indiscernibly, discreetly activating his spiritual vision with his fingers.

Deweyville's silhouette was entirely taken over by colors of blue and in huge, darker patches, almost covering his existence. He even seemed cold, and even crazier with those unreal tones that mixed so slowly that it was almost imperceptible.

He was a little worse than a lunatic in an asylum, but also very tired and delirious, even paranoid.

Klein gave a meaningful look to his companions and Leonard, together with Royalle, took a step forward.

— Mr. Deweyville, I need to confirm a few things at your residence before taking your statement. — Leonard began with a bit of his frivolity disguised in his serious tone.

Royalle saw that the persuasion seemed to have an effect on Deweyville, who nodded slightly.

— Could we inspect the room where your butler is, Mr. Cullen? We will also need to look for evidence of a break-in in your room, don't worry, we will let you know if anything happens. — She gave a serious expression — Please wait for us here.

In fact, it was not even necessary to ask to enter, since since Deweyville specifically required the police themselves to follow all standard procedure in the call they made, they themselves had been authorized beforehand.

Of course, there was a lot of bureaucracy to be followed with people like him, who were wealthy businessmen from Backlund.

Yes, it is a bit complicated to deal with people like that when you are just a Nighthawk. Fortunately, we have the support of the church and the law of the Order Hunters in many things, otherwise we might be lost... — Klein sighed in his heart, unable to help but feel sorry for the former Nighthawks, who lived in chaos without the organization of the official Beyonders.

It was simply a huge stroke of luck that the Order Hunters, those responsible for judging the law in the churches above all else and, most importantly, the military men who served specifically and only for the good of the Orthodox Churches, always ignoring any appeal from the King or any noble, existed in the world.

The Beyonders at least had their rights protected!

Deweyville glanced at them, not paying much attention. He nodded silently, and said in a hoarse tone:

— Take them to the rooms they must inspect.

The butler did not wait a moment longer before leading them through several elegant and extremely well-arranged corridors, with vases carved from expensive stones and other very beautiful paintings.

He did not say much, only indicating the respective rooms they would have to investigate.

— Gentlemen, we will be waiting for your answers. — the butler said before disappearing into the corridors.

When he was sure the man was already far away, Klein turned to the others.

— The state of Deweyville is very bad. His spirit is completely filled with sadness and very disturbed. — he said as he looked carefully inside the room where Cullen was.

It wasn't bad, very tidy in fact. There were a few shelves with books and a bed that wasn't even made.

Nothing seemed too unusual.

— The hypothesis of a lie can be ruled out. — Leonard said in his poetic tone.

Soon, everyone went to search the room for minimal evidence.

— Guys, are you sure it wasn't some kind of ritual? This is looking too perfect... Is the supposed ghost obsessed with tidiness? — Royalle murmured jokingly, her focus however never leaving the subject that should be discussed.

After all, a spirit can have OCD. — Klein scoffed in his own mind.

— No, it probably must have been something sinister related to the more spiritual side. I can't say, Klein and old Neil are the masters of these subjects. — Kenley replied, smiling.

Leonard nodded in turn as he rummaged through a closet from head to toe. When he was about to say something, he stopped with a complicated expression.

He moved something from inside the closet with a cautious air, even though he was unconcerned.

— I found a diary. — Leonard flipped through a few pages. — It's from a child. There must be something in it at least.

He opened the notebook without much attention, perhaps not expecting to find anything very useful, only at the end if they were lucky.

At the same time, Klein also began to snoop through the notebook.

"April 7th. Today is very boring. There's nothing to do."

"April 9th. My older brother, Adler, swallowed a coin! Seriously, what could he have in mind to do something like that? He must be stupid..."

"What kind of person just shoves a Soli down our throats? In addition to normal doctors for my brother, I think we'll also need those mental doctors my sister, Granya, mentioned."

"April 14th. I almost fell down the stairs. Luckily, Adler caught me. I take everything I said back, you are the best person in the whole world!"

"April 18th. My third baby tooth fell out! When I told Granya this, she said it was a bad sign that I was such a bad person that a The Goddess decided to punish me by rotting all my teeth so I could never eat again!"

"I cried myself to sleep. This is so unfair, but I will try hard to please The Goddess! I will become a faithful believer and never steal sweets from offerings again!"

"April 24th. I had to go to school, and gosh, I never thought I would be so interested in history class... At least now I know what I want to be when I grow up, I will definitely be a very professional teacher or a fashion designer, I always loved those intricate embroidery that looked like cool works of art in museums."

"April 28th. There was a fight at school. I heard that one student started hitting another because they said his handwriting was bad. I can only wonder if that was true or not."

Today's children are very violent... — Klein, who had only been in contact with strange children, couldn't help but think so.

He continued to read carefully.

"April 30th. I have a very strong suspicion that it is possible that Adler or Granya have hidden my artist's brushes! I swear, the day I find one of their favorite books lying around, I will take it and hide it somewhere they will never find it again!"

"Oh, I remember that Adler loves that book, Don Quinxote, which he loves. This revenge will be a success!"

"June 2nd. I am so happy! I heard that my parents are organizing a party tomorrow!"

"June 3rd. The party was very good, there was lots of ice cream and sweets, especially chocolate! I have never felt so happy eating, but at some point they took me out of there, otherwise I would have gotten sick from eating so much."

"There was a very strange uncle there, but he didn't say anything, so I ignored him... He even tried to talk to Adler, Granya and my cousins, however they got scared and ran inside the house and I went with them, also terrified."

"Honestly, I'm too lazy to write anymore, so maybe I won't write much. Besides, I think I could die of embarrassment if any of my brothers found out about this diary!"

"June 5th. Adler realized his book was missing, and his reaction couldn't have been better! He started crying and crying and Granya laughed at him until nightfall."

"He turned every corner of the house upside down, but he really must not have expected me to have stuck the book under one of the wooden beams of his bed! Granya must have found out, because I saw her sneaking under the bed and laughing right after."

After that, everything was pages full of normal things that a seven-year-old child would write until the day they all died.

— Nothing special, it doesn't even mention anything suspicious or anything else besides the strange man. — Leonard muttered, who was already expecting this result.

— Why would this man talk to two children and not even try to mess with the diary writer, who is a child too? — Klein noticed this at once.

Since they had no proof, they would only be left guessing.

_ That's really strange… — Royalle agreed with an arched eyebrow.

Leonard gave a somewhat frivolous smile, like all the others he gave.

— Could it be some kind of requirement for something? — he gave his guess confidently.

At that moment, Sekka Tron stepped forward as he looked around appraisingly.

— Then should we split up? It would be easier. — Sekka gave the idea very calmly, his face showing no emotion.

Everyone agreed with the idea. It would be easier to see so many places with the splitters to thoroughly inspect the rooms they were allowed to look at.

— Klein, why don't you go to the Deweyville room? You're an expert on ghosts. — Kenley thought quickly.

Neither he nor any other Nighthawk would be as good at ritual altars as Klein, so he was naturally the best choice.

Klein also thought so, and he didn't disagree, and left the room to investigate the other room. He looked around as he passed through the corridors again.

There was a cold wind coming from the open windows of the mansion, a petrifying and even comforting ice.

The lights danced in sync with the curtains, sometimes shadows tried to dominate, but with the light from the chandeliers this was not possible.

A silence took over the place, with only Klein's light footsteps, which did not make a single sound.

He finally stopped, looking at the white door adorned with rich and detailed decorations on the large frame.

This really looks like a scene from a horror book... — Klein swallowed any complaints he had and opened the door.

He was not wary of ghosts, but rather of the possibility of lunatic Beyonders who could appear at any moment.

It was the largest and most luxurious room Klein had ever seen with his own eyes in all his two lives. There was a huge bed that was impeccable, no matter from which angle it was viewed.

The cabinets were carved with precision, several details visible. Dressers and tables were made of dark wood, but very beautiful. There were many priceless decorations, however it was not exaggerated.

Uh... Someone has come in here... — Klein realized, his spiritual alarm blaring in his subconscious.

His eyes swept to the corner of the room, where he was heading as he scanned from afar.

The bone-chilling cold was even greater in this room, where the windows were wide open.

A few candles, left to burn on their own, were already nearing their end.

Whoss!

With the movement of the curtains, the shadows stirred, reaching their peak in the almost crackling silence of the room.

The flames finally lost their faint glow.

Klein shivered with a cold chill, casting his gaze towards the now-closed window.

There stood a translucent figure with black hair swaying unrealistically, silently watching.

Notes: