Shadow and Scars

Dorm 207| 9:30 PM

Lidia held her phone close, her voice low.

The voice spoke.

"What happened to the book?"

"The Grail suddenly spilled."

"Did something happen?"

He asked coldly, but the anxiety in his voice betrayed him.

"I don't know, it... It just disappeared."

Silence.

"Lidia," the voice sounded, "Do whatever it takes to find out what happened."

A pause.

"I give you my permission."

Lidia knew how serious this was. She hesitated, but in the end, she had no choice.

"Okay," she said, her voice firm. "I'll remove the seal."

The phone beeped.

Lidia stood there, her reflection caught by the mirror.

Her flowing hair framed against her face perfectly, her pendant hanging just below her collarbone, its weight steady against her neck as her green eyes shimmered with quiet elegance.

She sighed, then tore her pendant abruptly.

The green in her eyes became more luminous, the air around her changed as if something was driving it forward, an unseen ripple spreaded outward with her as the center.

For a moment, her reflection fractured, a hundred Lidias stared back, their eyes burning like emerald stars."

**************************************

Room 307|11:08 AM

Meanwhile, Mike snored loudly in the dim-lit room, unaware of the distant tremor that had just passed through the world outside.

I stood there looking at the mirror, still processing what had happened.

"Why is there a cover on my back?"

'How can a book fuse with someone?"

"It doesn't make sense, does it?"

No.

A sudden surge of determination pushed me to my feet.

I grabbed a knife from the kitchen, ripped off my shirt , and reached back, desperate to scrape the markings away. I felt the blade dig in, a searing pain shot through my nerves. My breath hitched as warm blood oozed over my fingers. The pain blurred my vision, but... I kept going.

"It better heal by tomorrow, I thought, gritting my teeth."

My breath quickened as I continued scraping at the markings, my blood dripped towards the floor, but before reaching it stopped-suspended midair, twisting slowly before pulling itself back into my wounds.

A sudden wave of heat surged through me.

The knife suddenly burnt unbearably hot,

Melting, forcing me to drop it with a sharp gasp.

Then, an agonizing pain shot through my spine, driving me to my knees. Dark veins surfaced across my skin, the pain I've been fighting so hard to suppress bled into the room, thick and suffocating.

"Ahhh!!" Mike jolted upright, sheets tangled around his legs, shouting"Take the money, just don't kill me!".

Silence.

"What's the hell is going on?" Mike asked, his voice thick with sleep.

He then saw me laying on the floor.

"Dude, you look terrible. What happened?"

"Did you sleepwalk ?"

Ignoring him, I tried to steady my breathing.

"I'm fine," I managed.

"You're clearly not fine. Come on, let's get you back to bed."

No, no I can move. I stopped him before he noticed anything ... I got up weakly.

Mike, supporting my shoulder as I limped back to bed.

My limbs felt heavy, and my thoughts felt lost in a fog."

I don't know what's happening, but I need to find someone who does.

Wait Lidia?

She seemed to have been searching for a book.

And then I realized.

Yes.

That first day in the special section, and then yesterday before lunch

The pieces suddenly clicked into place, leaving me dumbfounded. Had I been too enamored to see it?"

She was the one that found me in the library immediately after the incident, these can't all be coincidences, right??

"Ethan... Ethan..." Mike's voice snapped me out of it.

"Yeah?" I said weakly.

"Bro, you look tired. Get some rest."

"Should I tie you to your bed or something?"

Just in case you try to get up and wander around again."

I sighed, too tired to respond to mike. I slowly closed my eyes, letting the darkness engulf me. The pain in my back still stirring a reminder that everything happening is real.

**************************************

Elsewhere in the city|River District|11:38 AM

Chief Gary stepped into a bar.

Seliskies.

The sound of men laughing could be heard, a smell of bear mixed with some other unpleasant smell washed over his face.

His face scringed in disgust for a moment before spotting a middle-aged woman at the desk counter.

He stepped forward, his presence seeming to disturb the room as everyone watched him approach the counter.

Hello, ma'am, I'm Chief O'Connor head of the Worcester police department. I have a few questions I wanna ask you.

"What could make a high-standing officer like yourself walk into this old dump, the woman asked with sarcasm."

"Just want to ask a few questions, Chief Gary said, scanning the bar ."

"Rusty tables, dented stands, tilted stools.

It was really a piece of dump."

Gary thought before turning his attention back to topic ."

"We want to know more about this person," he said, placing an ID card on the counter.

John Doe.

The woman's brow raised, seeming to recognize the person.

"Yeah, he's been here a few times. I wouldn't say I know him, just a frequent customer."

The woman said after glancing a few times at the picture.

"Do you know anyone who would have wanted to hurt him, possibly someone he had an altercation with recently?"

"I don't know anyone who would want to mess with that guy."she said.

"Oh, and why's that the chief asked, seeming intrigued by her words."

"Nothing...he's just someone you don't really wanna get in a fight with."

"You see Baldy over there."

The chief turned, facing the direction she was talking, a broad-shoulders guy with a massive beard and ferocious look was sitting there, trying to woo a lady on the other end.

"He got in a fight with him last month, maybe he was just trying to gain some attention or prove something to himself and got his ass kicked, it was one of the very rare entertainments here."she said seeming to remember a good show.

"Sounds like enough motive to me, the chief suddenly said."

The woman leaned in slightly, lowering her voice. "Baldy? Nah, he's all talk. But..." She hesitated, glancing toward the door, lowering her voice. "There was someone else... but I ain't sure I should be telling you this."

The chief back straightened. "Who?"

"Well, just between us, before John died, this weird guy came around asking if he'd been here and wanted to know when he'd be back. I obviously found him suspicious and didn't say a thing. I mean, know how you can just sense a vibe from someone at first glance? That guy was shady as hell."

The woman said, shaking her head.

"Well then, is there anything you can remember that may lead us to this guy?"

"Like, what he was wearing?"

"Well, he was just wearing some broad leather jacket and a hat with a mask covering his face couldn't really get a good look at the guy."

The chief sighed, "well then thank you for corporating if there's anything and I mean anything, don't forget to contact the police department."

Will do, Chief, the woman said.

As the door closed, the woman suddenly turned and entered through a side door, inside sat a middle age man with military style tattoos.

Marcus.

"It seems you were right, they did come asking questions, the woman said."

Marcus said without turning his head.

"Keep a lookout."

"This hunter guy seems to be getting closer, Let's see how sharp his silver is when I rip out his spine." he said smiling as his eyes glowed golden."