Chapter 23

Daniel remained watchful as he walked through dimly lit streets, aware that anything could happen. He was currently in the Eastern District, where the cracked and dented road added to its gloomy atmosphere.

As a device creaked in his ear, a voice suddenly came through. "Sir, we have found the target, we can move in when you give the order." He moves his hand towards his left ear and applies pressure on the tiny metal object inside. "I'll move in first from the front entrance. When I give the signal, we surround the bastard, and I will say it again, lethal force is not authorized we are capturing them today."

"Yes, sir." Daniel lowered his arm and glanced at the old rundown factory in front of him. Around him, he noticed individuals with clearly visible physical disabilities and tattered garments barely resembling clothing. They gave him hostile looks from behind debris and within alleys.

Daniel clenched his teeth together, he could barely stare at them without having complicated emotions course through his body. When he pulled out his gun, he moved closer to the front door. "I'm going in." He got ahold of the door handle and disappeared inside. 

It was dark with the moon being the only thing illuminating small parts of the factory. Letting his energy flow to his eyes in an instant an ecstasy of colors filled his sight. As he grew accustomed to it, the vibrancy gradually faded until he could perceive his surroundings more clearly than ever.

Daniel walked from room to room making sure to keep track of every little sound he heard, didn't matter what it might be he knew well enough that he could be jumped any moment. As he entered the spacious room, he raised his feet to avoid tripping over the extensive pile of garbage scattered across the floor.

Daniel heard metal sliding and quickly turned to investigate, but he saw nothing. As he continued, he listened intently, rotating his body toward any suspicious sounds. Daniel frowned when he noticed that some of them were coming from outside, causing him to move his hand towards his ear and push down on the earpiece. "I can hear the target moving around, make sure to not have them escape-"

"I can hear the target moving around, make sure to not have him escape-" Daniel shut his mouth when he heard his own voice coming from above him.

He had been tracking down the assailant for about two weeks now, during this time he had found the influence of a strange power being used on citizens and noticed that all these people had one thing in common, the engraving on the back of their neck. While he moved from case to case, he found that they all had similar symptoms, fragmented memories, and something close to sleepwalking. It was challenging to understand everything, as he consistently failed to catch one alive, but none of that mattered, if he caught the person behind this, he could get all the answers and luckily he picked up on his tracks to this old abandoned factory. Fully aware that it could be a trap, Daniel made the bold choice to be the first one to enter, ready to face whatever sinister scheme awaited them.

Daniel raised his head and saw metal walkways extending above him, but his gaze didn't end there. His body became completely stiff as he looked further upwards, beholding a horrifying sight the mangled-up bodies of the elite squad he brought along hung high above his head. 

When Daniel hears footsteps in front of him, he takes his shaking eyes off their corpses. He struggled to see the person clearly as they were shrouded in darkness; it didn't matter how much he enhanced his eyesight Daniel could tell the person was blocking it. "Who are you?"

As he approached, the man's mouth became visible. "Well, if it isn't the hunting dog, Could Natasha not be bothered to come by herself?"

Daniel glared at the figure and unsheathed his sword. "I don't know who you are, but I'll make sure to get everything out of you."

The man held his chest; seeming somewhat sentimental. "I would have never thought you would forget me that hurts a lot, Daniel." Daniel's expression deteriorated as he caught on to what he said. "You must be!"

Vulgarly smiling he seemed delighted by Daniel's reaction. "Ah, is it coming back, or-?"

The man stopped his sentence when Daniel dashed towards him with a swinging sword. Easily blocking it the man keeps the disgusting smile on his face. Daniel shot his pistol, but the man skillfully dodged every bullet he shot. Daniel let his energy flow through his body, making strength ooze off him.

"Exchanging our pleasantries was fun, but times up." With his words, doors slammed open, and people began to barge into the room. "What did you do to them?" Daniel's violent energy waned as the groups of people he had seen outside charged towards him. With a smile going from ear to ear, the man stared at Daniel."What did I do? No, no, what have you ever done for them?"

In a rage, Daniel swung his sword, slashing it through the man's flesh. Unnerved and expressionless, the man stared at his arm on the ground.

Daniel's eyes shook as he saw that the man's skin was gray.

"What do you think that accomplished?" When Daniel raised his eyes, moonlight shone on the man, causing Daniel's eyes to widen. "You, why are you." 

In these moments Daniel could feel hands getting ahold of him as he glanced from one to another he noticed one thing among all of them, green eyes.

Daniel heard the distinct sound of bodies colliding and, causing him to glance upward. "I made sure to leave you a role during my play, my-" Before he could hear the rest of the sentence he was swallowed by the flesh falling from above. 

"Samuel, can you close your eyes?" I turn to Valentine confused as to why she would ask me something like this. "Why?" 

"Just do as I say." I closed my eyes just like she asked, a second after this I could hear her open a drawer. She got off her chair, walked towards me, and grabbed my hand. When she places the item in my hand, she looks up at me. "You can open them." 

With my eyes open, I lower my gaze towards the black box in my hand. "What is this?"

"Open it, then you'll find out." With a quick motion, I removed the top and was taken aback by what I saw. "I don't know what to say?" I took out the watch and then placed it around my wrist.

As I observed it, the time still had to be set, but I was unsure of my emotions. "Why did you buy me this?" Flustered by my words she couldn't look me in the eyes. "You need to always be on time wherever I might be. So, I, it was just a necessary expense."

Unable to resist, I found myself looking affectionately at the watch as I saw the expression on her face. "Thank you." Upon hearing my words, she turned away from me. "Valen-" I grabbed her shoulder, attempting to turn her around, but she removed my grip. "It's nothing." 

I lose my balance and unintentionally collide with her, causing her to stumble and press against her desk. While she leaned on the desk, I stood right in front of her, and our eyes were locked. After a few seconds, we both turned our heads in different directions and noticed a bunch of papers littered on the floor.

I walked away from her and kneeled to pick up the scattered documents. However, I abruptly halted when my gaze fixed on a particular piece of paper. "What are you looking at?" Valentine noticed my intense gaze and moved closer. "Ah, sorry I just."

She snatched it away from me the moment she read two words. "When was it your job to read them?" With a stern look, she stared at me. "Right, I'm sorry, V, miss. I'll-" I stumbled over my words finding her mood swing difficult to deal with.

"You may leave for now; I'll see you tomorrow." Before leaving, I stop and look at her once more. "What are you staring at didn't I tell you to leave?" 

"Right." After bowing, I made my way through the door. 

I lay in bed, clutching the watch in my hand. As I stared at it, I felt conflicted inside; I was certain I had read what was on the paper, but all its contents seemed to have lost me. From the surreal letter, I only remember a few words along with the header. It was some sort of invitation sent by a Vander Von Kisher, and it started in large bold letters. [Proposal]

Inside her office, Valentine clasped the paper with both hands while glaring at the two big bold words on it. "Why do I have to be reminded of this again?" With clenched teeth, she tore it into pieces and scattered them across the floor. She slumps into her seat and mutters quietly. "Samuel."

In a rhythmic pattern of inhalation and exhalation, Eiji maintained his focus on the book. With the first page in his hands, he mustered the bravery to flip it over. On the other side, he could see a page with at the top of it a name. [Sarah Ledger] While reading the page, it became apparent that it was filled with memories, but they were quite strange. None of them were concise sometimes sentences would stop halfway into being written and never finished. Every story was mostly when he was a different age, but they weren't written chronologically, making everything feel very sporadic. 

Beyond a couple of pages, Eiji came across another name. [George Evans] The way these memories were written was similar to Sarah's pages, but a lot less in quantity. To Samuel, George was a dear person Eiji could tell and how he described him was funny to him. A timid man who mainly keeps to himself, but when push comes to shove, he can be quite a scary person.

As Eiji continued, he witnessed more names passing by. [Kathleen Ledger] [Jean Evans] [Darius Ledger] [James Ledger] and a [Maria Hamren] whom Samuel called a woman who gives off the feeling of a refined lady, but acted more like a princess that was spoiled by her parents her whole life. When Eiji stopped at the last name, he didn't know how to feel about this as it only was one word [Dad] and nothing else.

Eiji couldn't shake the odd feeling he had about these pages. It seemed like Samuel was desperately trying to capture every detail he could remember about these people.

On the next page, Samuel's whole writing format changed. [Day 1: Today we went to the city of innovation It's a place I never would have thought I would see in my life. It is quite magical I bet you wouldn't have believed me if I told you this place existed, sis.]

It went on talking about the rest of the people he had written about. But how it ended made Eiji feel emotional.

[Everyone is very nice, I don't know why but when they are around me; I feel like I don't deserve any of this.]

With screams echoing in my ears and the scent of smoke engulfing my nostrils, I swiftly leaped out of bed and dashed out of the room. As I stood in the hallway, I found myself surrounded by flames. While navigating the peril, I glanced out the window. On a large open field, I could see people dressed in white, striking down every guard that challenged him.

[Day 13: I don't know what to do anymore. As much as people show me kindness, I feel stuck, unable to escape that day I lost you all. They keep shouting at me in my dreams it feels so suffocating. Sometimes I wonder if I should have died that day as well, if that had happened all these feelings wouldn't be drowning me right now.]

I sprinted through the mansion without pausing, swiftly maneuvering around every obstacle in my path as I raced toward her. "Valentine!?" When I pushed open her bedroom door, she was not there. 

As I exited the room, I glanced to my left and saw the pathway I needed to take collapse right before me. As I turned right, my pace quickened to an even faster sprint than before. While I turned right once more, you were the only thing on my mind. I was completely exhausted after making my way to the other side of the mansion, but I couldn't afford to take a break.

[Day 15: I've been trying, I really have but they never stop. My stomach continues to grumble more and more as I can't even take a bite, not that it matters as everything I even try to eat comes back out. I try to hide my feelings as I don't want to burden them with what I'm carrying, but it makes me wonder do they see how pitiful I am.]

Eiji stared at the page, he observed that the letters grew thicker and uglier with each passing day. On the last day, Eiji's eyes quivered.

"Valentine?" As I pushed the door to her office open, I came to a sudden halt and found myself unable to do anything except stare. "Valentine!" As I regained control of my body, I hurried ahead. 

Blood poured out from the area where her heart should have been as she leaned back in her chair. In a state of panic, I instinctively placed my hands over the hole, but I was at a loss for what to do next. "Please stay with me!"

I glanced around the room trying to think of a way to help her, but I felt lost. With my eyes focused back on her. "If only I." I clenched a fist, while no more words could leave my mouth.

I kneeled and started picking up all the papers, not stopping until I had stacked them all neatly on her table. I stayed by her side for the rest of the day, life went by like normal and nothing bad ever came to pass that's what should have happened, but sadly, that wasn't my reality. I held her body as tears rolled down my cheeks. "I don't want to lose you as well."

I wanted to do something, I wanted to embody the change I wished for, but I knew no matter what I did it would be useless. Not that I expect anything else from myself. 

A dizziness took over my thoughts, making me able to see the large amount of smoke that was stuck inside her study. As the fresh air inside the room disappeared, I could feel myself slipping away and not long later it did happen. 

 [Day 18:…] The way the page was written wasn't concise, every sentence or word was in a different size as they overlapped each other. To Eiji, it seemed that he had written something first before the mess took place on the page. [I C.nt ho.d t.is an.long.r I fe.l l.ke I.m ab.ut to bu.st.] This was the only sentence he could somewhat read, as the rest could not even be called that. [I tried][I'm sorry][My head keeps spinning][How long do I need to hold][What options do I have left][I don't want to die, but I deserve none of this][What should I do][Useless][They keep me up at night][I just want to forget][I am the monster][I know I am][I am][I deserve this] they repeat, repeat, come back, come back, he continues to scream but the words don't help; the ink melts together as all the nuances vanish, with every word another comes on top they build up on each other as he cried for help yet he never stopped, but the ink at some point must have run out. 

Eiji closed the book with a slam and suddenly viewed the man he thought was his friend in a different light. He knew well enough that Samuel was going through a lot, but not to this extent. Eiji reflected on the previous page, realizing it was a nightmarish experience. That he could even discern the words Samuel had written on it surprised him. In that mesh of emotions, there was one thing that must have stayed in Samuel's mind when he closed the book never to write in it again. On that dreaded last page in the center, written in giant letters were his last words to the people in the journal. [I miss you] 

As I opened my eyes, the sound of shouting surrounded me. When I surveyed my surroundings, I discovered that I was in the midst of an arena. the seats were filled by shades of darkness. They looked at me with vulgar smiles as their laughter clogged my ears.

With my gaze straight ahead of me, I could see a magnificent knight clad in armor. He withdrew his sword from the floor and pointed it at me. As I stared at him, I tried to think what to do, but the grading laughter made it extremely hard.

I had taken my gaze off him for a mere second, but when I looked back, he was already gone. Out of nowhere, my gaze is stuck to the gorgeous moon high above the arena. Mesmerized by the sight I couldn't look away, when I fell to the ground I could see my headless body flop down as well. Unable to comprehend what was going on, I watched as his foot rose above my head, With one quick motion the figure slammed it down, and I could only hear one word before darkness descended. "Weakling."