26 Acting

Hillston Borough, Backlund. A few days later, Sunday morning.

After returning to the outside, Ethan immediately paid Eilen his money and got the ingredients he bought from a portal that opened through his Key of Arcana.

He then quickly concocted the respective potions with those ingredients and rapidly took them.

Ethan then received the following powers:

Sheriff: He was now able to recognize anyone he ever saw in his life, if he did so through a painting or picture, he would recognize them as long as their disguise wasn't supernatural in any sense; His intuition got a great boon, as he could now intuitively know when something related to evil and chaos was unshielded, and also detect most forms of monitoring to himself. Tracking non supernatural targets became as easy as tracking mammoths. His ability in his area of action would become incredibly pronounced, and when he left that area, he would have to rely on Beyonder powers alone. The powers of Arbiter also received a boost to affect Sequence 9s and 8s with more ease.

Instigator: He could now use his words to instigate others to commit different crimes and obey his will, this was a form of mental charm power. His abilities in misdirecting, lying, and influencing others also received massive boons. His powers as an Assassin also leveled to high heights.

Midnight Poet: He could now cast certain spells, but he had to recite a poem related to the night or the Evernight Goddess. There were three main spells he could cast: Tranquilize, Pacify, and Lullaby. The first would make the target regain their mental stability with greater ease. The second would make a target lose his will of living and existing, making them not care about anything and turn limp. The last one could put others in a deep sleep, the ones that resisted the spell would feel a difficulty in evoking any emotions.

These were the powers Ethan received from the potions. The mental imprints from these potions were similar from their previous ones from their Sequences, the difference was some differences in their desires like the desire to instigate others or constantly sing poems.

With his new powers, Ethan started tracking the psychiatrist he was after. The man was called Harper Morgan, he was a member of the Psychology Alchemists that was involved in killing certain members of a merchant organization for money.

Other than that, his life was incredibly simple and he just attended patients as a seemingly common Psychiatrist.

Ethan had been monitoring him for a few days so as to better understand his target's capabilities, backings, and mystical items.

During this time, Ethan also came to notice something interesting. A few days ago, there was an attack on the villa of a certain tycoon that was suspected to be involved in the kidnapping of some girls.

This news by itself wouldn't have gotten Ethan's attention as he didn't care about the kidnapped girls or the tycoon at all. While he would just use the man as a sacrifice for his rituals when the chance showed itself, he wouldn't go out of his way to save those girls.

However, there was something very interesting about that attack, as the crime scene was covered with tarot cards, with the 'Judgment' and 'The Emperor' cards covering the eyes of the criminal tycoon known as Capim.

This caught Ethan's attention as it meant the Tarot Club was probably involved in this case, which also showed Ethan the way they acted in these kinds of matters.

'I wonder if I should also scatter tarot cards when I kill someone?' Ethan's coldness was tainted with amusement as he couldn't help but lampoon himself.

He was now sitting inside a cafe in Hillston Borough, quietly looking at a certain building a few yards away that housed a psychiatric consulting office.

As Ethan was observing his target's office, he couldn't help but notice a person's gaze on him. With his enhanced intuition to monitoring, he easily identified who it was.

A young woman, seemingly twenty years of age, was looking at him with hesitation and timidness. She had long blonde hair and hazel eyes, with porcelain-like skin that was incredibly smooth, and wearing a simple, but refined blue dress. It could be said she was very attractive.

As a Telepathist, understanding the girl's superficial thoughts and desires was very simple to Ethan, he didn't even need to exert any of his Beyonder powers at all.

However, he didn't show any emotion on his face. Even when he understood the girl's thoughts and why she was looking at him, he felt nothing. It was like being from a completely different species, she just couldn't arouse any romantic feelings from him.

'Had I not destroyed the imprints' desires for sexual intercourse and these forms of pleasure, I might have still felt something.' He didn't care about the girl that blatantly showed her interest in him, Ethan just picked his cane and top hat and left the cafe.

Walking up to the consulting office he was previously looking at, Ethan used his cane to move the door knocker and let it produce its knocking sound on the door.

After a minute or two, a young man with brown colored hair and eyes opened the door. He was wearing a black tweed suit and trousers with a blue bow tie.

This young man, one that didn't look older than twenty-five, was Ethan's current target: Harper Morgan

As he opened the door, the young man quickly noticed Ethan and furrowed his brows, seemingly uncertain who the visitor was.

Ethan didn't leave him to his confusion for too long, quickly replying in a soothing voice that could only belong to the best of diplomats, "Good morning. I'd like to know if this is Dr. Morgan's consulting office of psychiatry?"

His tone was polite and refined, it couldn't be distinguished from a true gentleman born in the higher class of society. The young Dr. Morgan thought for no more than a second before replying with a polite smile:

"Yes! This is my office, I'm Dr. Harper Morgan." His reply was very succinct, but still carried a tone of probing.

"Ohh, my! I didn't know a renowned psychiatrist such as yourself would be so young Dr. Morgan. Do pardon me for my previous assumptions." Ethan's acting was infallible, so good it could fool a true Psychiatrist like the one in front of him.

Harper nodded with a polite smile and asked why Ethan was looking for him.

"I've been feeling some serious outbursts of emotion in the last few weeks, I don't know what it is. After telling my friend Linda about it, she recommended to me her own psychiatrist." Linda Sutton was one of the patients of Harper Morgan.

Harper had an understanding expression as he briskly replied, "I see! So it was Linda! Of course, of course. Don't worry about it, you have come at the best time. I don't have any consults right now, so I can attend you right at this moment."

He became very friendly after Ethan mentioned the name Linda to him, going as far as consulting Ethan right there and then.

With the Psychiatrist gesturing for him to enter, Ethan calmly walked inside. The place was a terrace house that was being used as an office, it had a nice living room with a gray-colored divan and simple, minimalistic decorations all around.

When he sat on the divan, Dr. Morgan began talking to him, "So, tell me, what's your name?"

"I'm Arthur Williams."

"I see, it's a pleasure to get to know you Arthur. Now, could you tell me what you've been experiencing in the last weeks in more detail."

Ethan started describing the symptoms of depression and high levels of stress, using the story of James he had killed before to slowly lead Harper to believe these were his current psychological problems.

It didn't take long for Harper to diagnose him, "You seem to be feeling depressed after your sister has died. And as her passing wasn't natural, but through a murder, it has brought you great stress."

Harper then thought for a second and said, "I can help you get rid of these difficult emotions, but you have to promise me you'll not tell what I'll do to anyone."

During their conversation, Ethan had used his powers of instigation at a low level to slowly influence Harper into using his Beyonder powers on him.

He promptly replied, "Of course!"

With these words, Ethan felt that there was something affecting his mental state, like some kind of suggestion for him to never go back on his words. However, this suggestion was so weak he could easily destroy it using Wrath, it wouldn't take a second.

But considering that such a thing would probably make the target notice the abnormality, Ethan refrained from doing so for now.

Harper brightly smiled and continued, "I'll start the treatment now."

He then started to use the power known as Placate on Ethan, which could pacify his mind and rid him of any mental disabilities.

"Think about your sister. Remember all you can about her, every detail, every emotion she had shown you, everything you can."

While speaking, Harper used the Placate to affect Ethan's mind and allow him to more easily remember these details, progressing the treatment.

He kept using his Beyonder powers to progress the treatment and allow Ethan to regain his clarity of mind, free from 'depression' and 'stress'.

The whole process took a long while, and after twenty whole minutes, Ethan's mind showed signs of improvement.

Harper was just about to finish the treatment when he started feeling very strange emotions. He wanted to kill, destroy, give chaos, give order, sing poems, know all locations, among many other strange desires that were so corrupted they would make any person lose their mind in mere instants.

As Harper realized there was something wrong with him, he stopped using Placate on Ethan, starting to diagnose and use Placate and Cue on himself, trying to regain his mental clarity as fast as possible before the corrupted thoughts consumed his mind.

With him trying to treat his own psychological problems, Harper saw his patient get up from his seat and start to calmly stroll to his side.

Walking at a very slow speed, Ethan came to the side of Harper, which was completely paralyzed and unmoving.

He then started to sing a song with a dark tone:

"In shadows deep, a doctor roams,

Lost within the maze of minds he combes.

His gentle touch, once brought relief,

Now lingers on the edge of grief."

His words were filled with the powers of an Instigator, Light Supplicant, Midnight Poet, Sheriff, and Barbarian.

"Through halls of madness, he seeks reprieve,

A tender heart, now begins to cleave.

His patients' tales, their sorrows bind,

Yet in their burdens, his own mind entwined."

The powers of the Curse of Insanity were amplified to impossible heights, the madness it brought being something not even a Sequence 5 Dreamwalker of the Spectator Pathway could resist against right now.

"Each whispered secret, each tear he dries,

They're echoes now of his own cries.

The boundaries blurred, between sane and mad,

The doctor's soul begins to collapse."

Harper started to rapidly lose control, his body filled with silver scales and his eyes turned amber in color. His mind was being consumed by the insane thoughts that swirled inside of it, he barely had the ability to try to Placate himself anymore.

"In desperate search, he grasps for light,

But darkness creeps, devouring the sight.

His sanity's threads, frayed and torn,

In this tragic waltz, he's but a pawn."

"nO..! pLeSE…" Harper's voice started to crack with deep roars resembling a dragon, his whole mind so broken he couldn't control his powers anymore.

"Fading slowly, his essence drains,

As he's consumed by his own pains.

The doctor's mind, now lost in sin,

A haunting echo, a spectral being."

Harper couldn't even talk anymore, his mind was about to be consumed by insanity forever.

Every word Ethan spoke was so powerful they could make common people develop minor psychological problems, and when this power was combined with already existent ones…

"A cautionary tale, this path untold,

Where healers' hearts turn bitter and cold.

In the realm of the mind, there lays the abyss,

A shattered soul. Adrift it is."

When he finished, nothing of Harper's mind remained anymore, it was consumed by the infinite desires brought by the Curse of Insanity.

The body that had lost its human mind was also taking a different form, looking like a small dragon with silver scales.

Ethan didn't allow the dragon to form completely, he grew a bone sword from his arm and *Swish cut the forming dragon's head like butter.

The fountain of blood gushed all around the living room that served as a psychology office, however, not a single drop of blood fell on Ethan, like the cut had been perfectly aimed for not dirtying him in any way or form.

With the target dead, Ethan removed a flask from the inner pocket of his tailcoat suit. He then perfectly aimed the flask at the trajectory of some drops of blood that was still gushing all around and allowed it to trim down the flask.

Ethan then conjured his cursed fire to burn the body and blood that gushed all around, his control of the fire was so precise it didn't burn anything from the entire room and just removed the blood and body.

It was like the scene of the bloodied body of the dragon that was there before was nothing but an illusion. But the putrid smell of burnt blood and flesh still lingered in the air to attest to its previous existence.

While waiting for the Beyonder characteristics to form, Ethan started to analyze his current digestion of the Serial Killer potion, 'I've digested at least forty percent of it already, is it because I acted as a Serial Killer by killing the Devil and this Psychiatrist?'

Ethan knew he didn't need to act like the other Beyonders did, as his own existence was already the embodiment of killing, destruction, death, suffering, and desires that a Serial Killer represented.

However, he came to realize that acting still worked for him and made the process incredibly fast even. By killing a Sequence 6 and 7, he was able to digest almost half of the potion already. Which meant that, if he killed two more Sequence 6s he would be able to digest the potion and advance to become a Devil after having all Sequence 8 Pathways.

'This finding will be useful for when I have to become a Faceless before a Witch.' While he was analyzing himself and thinking about his future steps, the characteristic of the long gone dragon formed from points of light.

The points congregated together to form a beautiful silver gemstone that looked like the brain of an adult man. Ethan quickly got the characteristic and stored it in his new suitcase that was still empty aside from big sealed jars.

He then used his spiritual perception and divination, alongside his intuition of the location of valuable objects as a Marauder and started walking in the direction of a room on the second floor.

Phasing through the door, Ethan went to the drawer on the side of the bed and opened it, finding many different jewels and 367 pounds inside.

'It's a pity I'm not a Faceless yet, I could disguise myself as this guy and get the 6000 pounds he has in investments in the bank.' Ethan thought regretfully while picking the 360 pounds, quickly phasing through another wall on the other side of the front entrance.

He found himself falling from the second floor of the terrace house he was in, as his body gracefully descended like a feather.

"Time to get more ingredients."