Chapter 25 - The Ghost(1)

Chapter 25 - The Ghost(1)

Ren and Calen rushed towards Klyd's room, their footsteps echoing through the dimly lit hallways. As they went past rooms, they ignored the pensive looks of the other passengers. The tense atmosphere was becoming too dangerous to fathom. It stealthily influenced everyone.

It seemed as though chaos lurked just beneath the surface, threatening to break free at any moment.

Ren thought, 'But to what end will this continue?'

Even now, she failed to see the ghost's objective.

'Maybe there is no purpose like Reve said. Maybe it's just an animalistic urge that fuels its action.'

Hopefully, Klyd's room might provide an insight into the mystery of the ghost.

As they approached the end of a particular hallway, their pace slowed. The door to Klyd's room was slightly ajar, allowing thin beams of light to escape, painting the hallway with an otherworldly glow.

Calen warned her as he opened the door, "Be careful. We don't know what we might find."

"You don't have to worry about me," Ren solemnly replied.

This was what she had been training for. In truth, she had felt the enormous gap separating her from Calen and Reve, not just in combat, but in all aspects. It was like Calen always said: she was too green. Hence, she needed field experience and a sort of independence.

Hence, she followed Calen into the bright room.

The room was unexpectedly tidy, possessing an unsettling orderliness. Every object gleamed with an eerie perfection, as if they were meticulously cleaned each day without fail.

Calen chuckled, "Shocking, right? That's Klyd for you—a clean freak with, perhaps, severe stages of OCD and paranoia. That's precisely why I believe, even in his death, he can still prove useful."

Ren looked at him strangely. "Why does it feel like you had plans for him? You were studying him, weren't you?"

She pressed on, "I thought you genuinely made a friend, but you wanted to kill him, didn't you?"

Instinctively, she distanced herself, her apprehension growing. Every time her understanding of Calen deepened, she trembled at the mere concept of his capabilities. How messed up was he in the head?

"You don't understand. I sensed a numen in him, and I wanted to understand what it was. The thing about numen is that it's intrinsic. It manifests even in the personality of the host. To understand the numen, understand the host. And that's just what I did."

Ren asked, "Is that what you are doing to us? Do we have a numen?"

Calen looked her right in the eye. It was only now she noticed the swirling grey in his eyes, sending a shiver down her spine.

His smirk held a touch of danger as he replied, "What we have is a partnership. Sure, Reve has a numen, but it is unripe. I won't covet it until it grows into fruition. And you. Well, yours is complicated."

"You see us as black lambs while Klyd was your white lamb. He was your friend, Calen!" Ren realized.

Calen's smile widened as he replied with a hint of venom in his tone, "There is no friend. There are only allies and enemies. I choose who stands on which side. Fear not, Reve would kill me… or I will kill him if I touch a single hair on your body. And I don't feel like battling a titan right now."

Avoiding Ren's dagger eyes, he began exploring the room. Each time he made a discovery, he hummed quietly, but he chose not to tell Ren.

When he was finally done, he gazed at Ren expectantly.

"What?" Ren shot back defiantly.

"Have you figured it out?"

Ren rolled her eyes and said, "Just one."

"Tell me."

"The walls are damp. It is bearable noticeably, but the vents of the ship should prevent such a minor situation from occurring, so why?" Ren told.

She continued, "My guess is that it was hit by a body of water, but those leave scars on physical substances. And if that were the case, the floor would be extremely wet. But what if it wasn't liquid water? What if it was in another form, like water vapour or mist?"

The function was to obscure the target and isolate them. That's how the ghost abducted its target, but there should be more to this mist. Just it alone cannot isolate the target.

"Great. You are getting better," Calen smiled.

He pointed to the nearby table and said, "The attack was sudden, but Klyd was prepared. As I mentioned, he is paranoid. He prepped his room for an attack. Underneath his table is a knife, just in case of an altercation."

Ren looked under the table, and unsurprisingly, Calen was right. There was a dagger-like knife concealed beneath it.

"He installed an extra lock mechanism to the door. But it was never broken. Do you know what that means?"

Ren frowned. "The ghost has the ability to infiltrate anywhere."

"Yes, it doesn't need a welcome gesture. Personally, I would have preferred a vampire. Sadly, we don't get to choose who it is."

"Klyd installed various safety mechanisms in his room. A Molotov disguised as a wine bottle, a gun by the side of his bed, and weapons in his closet. Heck, I think he never slept at night. He prepared for a loud battle, to draw attention to himself, but that never happened, did it?"

"He was stunned before he could even move. He couldn't even reach for his gun or blade."

Calen smiled once more. He seemed to understand the viciousness of the ghost, which fascinated him.

He said to Ren, "Yet, ghosty would never expect he had one final trick. Look at the lamp, Ren."

Ren gazed at the bright orange lamp on the table. It was identical to the one in their room, but something was weird about this one. The light appeared to dim from a specific angle.

'There is something in it,' Ren realized.

She removed the cap of the lamp and an object fell to the ground, but she caught it just in time.

Fiddling with it, she discovered it was a small voice recorder. A blinking light on its side indicated it was still recording. She glanced at its display panel.

'Fifteen hours. Klyd started recording fifteen hours ago!'

Calen smiled. "His ultimate trick was the exposure of the ghost. Now, let's see what we can find!"