Chapter 10 : Bride

  "It was the happiest moment of my life—our honeymoon. That night ure passion, a memory I'll cherish forever..."

  [...]

  "January 5th

  Kendrick's been ag straely. I suspect he might propose tonight! Though my regur readers won't be surprised; I've mentioned our retionship in previous ns. But I digress—tonight I pn to explore Swanflok's local cuisine. Despite the biting cold, I'm determio try their famous ice cream. They craft it using special id rare edible crystals sourced from Prismara, the capital of Aurelius. The signature dessert es shaped like a swan with a delicate heart led in its ter—quite the romantic treat among couples. I hope my readers get to experiehis someday."

  [...]

  "Mard

  We've entered the indigenous people of this secluded isnd, a unity rgely untouched by modern civilization. Kendrick's behavior has bee increasingly erratice we arrived. I tried expining that I'm here purely for my n, to sample their traditional cuisine, but I 't deny the isnd's romantic appeal for couples..."

  [...]

  "Hold still—let me treat those cuts on your hands. I warned you to be careful on this isnd..."

  [...]

  “Previously the n was distinued due to the author's unwillingness. A new n by Dr. Matt Crawford about the culture overseas will repce it. We are hoping readers will support our efforts t somethio Daily Aurelius Times.”

  From outside, the Feud Residence looked peaceful—perhaps too peaceful. Surrounded by beautiful Jasmine flowers in their well-maintained and decorated garden, with trees not native to Prismara. A red ey could be seen from the cobblestoreet, and a gate that was her too tall nor too small marked the entrance. A newlywed couple had retly moved in after returning from their honeymoon. Some people reported that the owner, Mr. Feud, was an odd man who sometimes lost trol when his wife talked with others for too long. The newlyweds didn't like to ihers to their house. Nobody knew if it was true, but Mrs. Feud had once been a popur writer for the Daily Aurelius Times neer ns.

  rad and Anira crossed the worn cobblestone road that served as an invisible boundary between the Valor and Feud estates. The night air hung heavy with unspokeions.

  "Kendrick Feud," rad mused, his voice barely above a whisper. "How does a man sleep soundly while his wife is missing?" He paused, catg himself. "Though perhaps I'm rushing to judgment. There could be another killer—someone else entirely responsible for his wife's disappearance."

  "My lord?" Anira's voice carried a note of careful sideration.

  "What are your thoughts?"

  "You raise a valid point about his suspicious sleep patterns. No os easily when their beloved is missing—uhey kly where that person is. Kendrick might indeed be an Essentia."

  "I'm ined to agree, as there had been no known iigation or anything. It's like there is nothing going on." rad nodded. "But one piece eludes me: why would his wife hide in our kit closet? More puzzling—she was alive. Alive mere moments ago."

  Anira's silent nod firmed she shared his fusion.

  "e," rad said. "Let's get going."

  The clouds gathered like a thiket across the night sky, slowly sm the moonlight. A gentle rain began to fall, releasing the earthy perfume of petrichor—that distinct aroma of dust and soil meeting the first raindrops. rad and Anira stood in the Feud family's garden, surrounded by what should have been a peaceful dispy of beautiful flowers. Yet uhese circumstances, even the elegant blooms seemed menag, like thorinels ready to enshem at any moment.

  Now that rad was close to the house, his senses were giving him an uling feeling. Perhaps it had been the range issue before—

  Anira may have se earlier, or maybe not. But this garden was creepier than it had appeared from the outside—rad thought to himself.

  For some reason, he couldn't feel at ease among these flowers. They were just... too quiet.

  "These flowers, what kind are they? I've seen them used in weddings... or maybe not?"

  "These are called Night-Blooming Jasmine, my lord."

  "Is that so..." rad took a deep look at the nearby flowers. They were white, pure white, like the first snow on some eloquent winter night. His blue eyes fixed upon them, something pulling him toward their allure. His Brahman fluctuated around him as if maing without his sciousness.

  The petals looked like wedding dresses, and on closer iion, each had a tiny face. rad looked around carefully.

  As the moon emerged from the clouds, moonlight suddenly illumihe area around him. "This is..." His eyes widened. His mind could now see clearly—all the flowers were tiny human faces wearing wedding dresses, so small that one could easily mistake them for normal blooms.

  His legs began to shake, but he tried his best not to appear weak. He took three deep breaths, then cut through all the flowers with his sword. It was an awkward swing but powerful enough to slice through them as if they were made of air. A mist filled the area with each cut.

  "That felt good. I don't know how to handle a sword, but I cut if needed," rad said half-jokingly as he turo Anira. To his disappoi, she remaihe same as usual, blinking at him with her emotionless crimson gaze.

  After cutting through the flowers, rad cautiously approached the door. He knocked and asked, "Is anyone inside?"

  There was no answer, but there were clear signs of life within. At least two people. The meical rhythm of a spinning fan, the stant tig of a clock, and above all, humahing could be heard from inside.

  "Why aren't they answering? Are they so deep ihey 't hear?" rad whispered to himself. He turoward Anira and asked, "Shall we enter without permission?"

  Anira looked at him and replied, "What's your order?"

  Everything seemed abnormal, but the main problem was the possibility of halluation or being misled. If they opehe door and everything proved normal, how would he expin to his sisters what he was doing at night at Mr. Feud's house? But he had to make a decision. His sister's safety was on the line.

  "Let's break in," rad said, his heart thumping at the thought. It felt like he was doing something illegal.

  Ability: Mist Teleportation

  As rad finished his sentence, his sight instantly ged. He was now ihe house.

  At 1:04 AM, Monday, 9th July, inside Feud's Residence.

  rad's eyes darted around in fusion, as if seeing something ued. The house was two stories tall, with two wooden staircases eg the floors—one from the left and another from the right, spiraling with a slight bend to the sed floor. The ter was rgely empty save for some guest seating. A looming darkness, so de was hard to dis the actual structure, shrouded the sed floor.

  "From outside, it didn't look this spacious. It's almost like a huge manor."

  Multiple rooms with brown doors were numbered in Heraphant, starting from 300 all the way to 325.

  rad remained vigint, repeatedly reminding himself not to lower his guard. His hands stayed on the mist sword as if it were a natural extension of himself.

  "My lord, you rex a bit. Keeping a tense mind in a fight where Brahman Efficy is required be lethal."

  You say that, but how would Ms. Overpower know what it means to be in my shoes? I've never been in this kind of situation.

  "Okay... Anira... Thanks for reminding me."

  Anira gave rad a warm smile. As they explored the manor-like house, examining room after room, rad spoke up.

  "Strange, why is no one here? Didn't we hear breathing?"

  "Oddities cause strange phenomena."

  "Do Oddi—"

  Before rad could finish his question, they heard something. A sound, not too loud but clearly audible from the first floor, emanated from above.

  Kashh Kashh Kashh

  This oddly familiar sound in an unfamiliar pce might have given rad a heart attack, but he maintained his posure now. His overtime practice with Brahman and fiden Anira's strength kept him calm. The sound seemed to have been going on for a while, filling the otherwise silent house with an eerie rhythm.

  That sounds like someone writing h paper...

  rad tightened his grip on the sword. As he stepped forward, something fell where he had been standing moments before. He hadn't even sciously reacted. A huge delier crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces, but he had already moved from that spot.

  How did I move? Must be the teleportation ability Anira used before...

  "My lord," Anira's voice came from behind, "your senses tell you things reted to Brahman, but they ot detets or abnormalities caused by it. You o polish your battle intuitioion speed, and a speed. Even Essentarii have lost fights against well-trained swordsmen."

  "I'll keep that in mind." rad took a deep breath, his eyes fog. He had been a well-trained martial artist in his previous life, aried to recall and mahat feeling—what fighters called the 'Flow state.'

  I o focus. No matter how much I remind myself, it only happen through practid experience, just like those days in the gym when I was weak.

  rad's Brahman fluctuated inside him, but with a more stant rate and less vibration. He felt more at ease. His deep blue eyes seemed to pierce through the darkness. Raising one hand, he summoned a small amount of energy that illumihe area.

  A dark vortex-like face, almost twelve feet tall, was bending over, standing very close to rad and staring directly at the light he had summoned. She wore a wedding dress.

  "My lo—" Anira tried to shout, but her voice cut off immediately.

  rad froze, staring at this behemoth figure. Her limbs were long, perhaps too long for any living being. Her dress had blood on it, but it seemed more like decoration. She opened her dark vortex-like mouth, and a gray tongue, split down the middle, emerged from her ent mouth. She licked rad's fihat held the Brahman energy illuminating the area. The light instantly vanished, and darkness engulfed them pletely.

  What is this? Is this an Oddity? Where is Anira? What is she doing? I am feeling somethi on my fingers? Is somebody lig them?

  tless thoughts rushed through rad's mind in a sed. But amidst all of them, ohought surfaced clearly when he felt something like a tooth against the tip of his finger in the suffog silend darkness, a warm feeling only felt inside someone's mouth filling his fingers.

  Am... I... being... eaten alive?

  As this realization struck him, fear took hold. His heart thumped like thunder in stormy weather. His sweat gnds were too shocked to eve. His body heated up quickly. In the cold, raiher, he felt as if he were standing in a desert, waiting for his demise.

  "By mine lord's will,

  A world that none should ken..."

  A voice rang out from a dark er, illuminating rad's mind with hope. The voice tinued—

  "A world cloaked in nameless mist,

  A woverned by The Eye,

  A world yclept Are Veil."

  rad's eyes suddenly found themselves in a familiar pce surrounded by darkness as eternal as time itself. The infinite length and width of the pce couldn't be measured by infinity itself. A living mist surrouhe pce as if it were its only resident. A girl who was the embodiment of darkness and night itself stood there in all her graceful corset dress.