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Chapter Text

Chapter 11 - Suspicion

History... — Klein frowned in confusion. Various questions filled his dazed mind.

What would it mean to look at history?

How could everything be a grand act?

Has the original Klein really gone mad?

A deafening silence covered the entire room.

Why would he write such a thing? Why was he wondering who he was? What had he seen or discovered to make him so shaken and mad? And the original Klein was also seeing the Hornacis peak... — he scanned the yellowed paper again with a chill running down his spine.

Toc, toc 

Toc.

Klein quickly turned to the door.

At that moment, a vision appeared in his mind.

 Four people were standing in front of his door, they were police officers in typical black and white checkered uniforms, a familiar one whose eyes were deep and gray, a tall one who seemed hardened by life and the other was a tall young man with brown hair, next to him was the young man with brown hair and the last one looked more like a poet, but, there was a second shadow that overlapped with him, Leonard Mitchell. 

He recognized one of them almost immediately, Bitsch Mountbatten.

 He was the police officer responsible for the region, and a person as violent as the crazy people he dealt with daily. 

What are they doing here again? — he asked himself internally as he got up from his chair silently.

 It could be because of something else that pointed out to Klein again or it was possible that they had discovered that he knew about the Beyonders. 

There was also the possibility that Leonard Mitchell's shadow had noticed something abnormal about him which was worrying, Azik could be in trouble too. The first option was the most likely of all.

What could it be?

 Toc.

Toc, toc.

— Who is it? — Klein asked in a tired tone as if he had been busy all day.

— Dunn Smith, Leonard Mitchell, Bitsch Mountbatten, and an inspector, Kenley. The police. — Dunn replied calmly, looking completely unfazed.

Another Beyonder… — Klein narrowed his eyes before making a tired expression.

There was no need to bring three Beyonders when he couldn't even be considered a threat to any of them.

He walked to the door with some hesitation and opened it.

— Come in, how can I help you? — he asked politely. His gaze passed over each of them discreetly as he assessed them.

This third man seemed more serious, but he was very cautious. — Klein had come to this conclusion through his intuition, but he couldn't be completely sure for now. 

This person had an epaulet with two perfectly aligned silver hexagons, so he certainly couldn't be a simple inspector. 

Dunn Smith looked at him and gave him a calm smile: — Mr. Moretti, there are some things we want to ask you.

 After a moment of silence, he asked: 

— What is your relationship with Mr. Welch and Miss Naya?" Welch and Naya?

Klein wondered in his heart. His expression gradually revealed his confusion. He remembered a grotesquely written sentence in Klein's diary:

 "June 18th. Welch said he had obtained a notebook from the Fourth Epoch!"

 The notebook… Was it the reason these police officers were here? Thinking back, the original Klein had only seen strange things before, which had only gotten worse after coming into contact with the Antigonus family's notebook! He even went crazy because of the things he saw... Or maybe he wasn't going crazy...

However, Welch and Naya might have had some strange reaction to the notebook and gone crazy after some time? Maybe they had a worse fate than Klein...

— They are my friends from Khoy University, as well as Mr. Cohen's students. We met at the beginning because of some similar interests in history. I met them a few times to discuss a notebook from the Fourth Epoch. Did something happen to them? — he asked in an alarmed tone.

Dunn Smith was silent for a few seconds and sighed:

— I'm sorry, Welch passed away.

Klein's eyes widened.

— DIED?! And Naya 

Officer Dunn Smith shook his head. — She passed away too. 

They died… — With confused thoughts running through his mind, Klein turned back to the officers.

 — Were they murdered? — he asked in shock. 

Kenley shook his head.

 — They committed suicide at Mr. Welch's house. 

 Suicide… The original Klein also committed suicide on the night of June 28th… An unknown student committed suicide in the early hours of the 28th… Welch and Naya committed suicide…Was that student involved in something? — As he pondered over a few possibilities, he couldn't help but think that none of it made much sense. 

How could Welch have gotten hold of an item linked to the mysterious world? It didn't make much sense that someone would just hand over a relic that was thousands of years old so easily to naive young people. 

Besides, that book would have had an effect on the person who had it before. It was impossible for anyone to notice if it had actually belonged to someone before.  

No wonder Mr. Chariot said that a simple key could trigger a calamity and even result in a case with thousands of complicated and terrifying layers... — Klein sighed internally after looking at the "police officers" in front of him. 

— That's impossible… — he muttered. The thoughts never stopped running through his head. 

What if someone had killed them? The Beyonder world is too unpredictable and terrifying to be able to be certain of anything. 

— Their suicide really doesn't make any sense. — Dunn Smith sighed — however, Welch slammed his head into the wall until he died and Naya dunked her head into a bucket full of water. 

Klein could picture the scene in his mind, a tall man slamming his head so hard into the bloody wall that at some point his brain matter ended up spilling out of his cracked skull. A young woman with her eyes wide open and lifeless, her head buried in a bucket while her body grew colder by the second. 

 — In addition, a young student named Morigan Brewer committed suicide one morning. Her body was already frozen when we found her. — Dunn added calmly, still looking around. 

At that moment, Bitsch Mountbatten left for some reason, moving away to some other place outside the house. 

Leonard Mitchell didn't even wait for another word to be said before entering the house. 

Just as Klein was about to say something, he remembered something he had forgotten. 

The diary! He should have kept the diary!

As he entered the room, Leonard's expression began to frown. 

— What does all this mean? 

— "June 24th. Those stars..."

— "June 25th. I've been dreaming about that palace on the peak of Hornacis... I saw it again... All of this..."

— "I remember what I heard in my dreams..."

— "Who am I? Maybe I was right."

— "June 26th. Everything is a big act."

— "Look at history."

— And what does that mean? 'Everyone will die, including me'…

Klein put a hand to his temple, a confused look covering his entire face. 

— I don't remember that... I only found the diary a little while ago while trying to remember something...

It wasn't a lie, he didn't remember anything about what had happened during the time the original Klein had the notebook with Welch and Naya. He only chose this alternative because of the things he had to hide at all costs, the gray fog and the transmigration.

— Don't you remember? — Inspector Kenley looked at him suspiciously, seeming to be completely in disbelief at what he had just said.

Klein shook his head slightly in affirmation.

— First, you've always seen strange things since before, haven't you? — Leonard shook the diary, tapping his finger on some specific words.

"February 24th. From what I've seen, it's not normal at all to see… How could I describe it? Actually, dreaming about terrifying and imaginable things isn't either… It should be, I guess. Could it be that my bad luck has reached another level? At least I've gotten used to it over the years… What is an Sequence 2, Angel?"

"I don't remember much more than what I dreamed about… A palace… Actually, what I see every day. That was unreal as always, I must be very tired lately…" 

— These notes are from February of this year. — Leonard said, flipping through the diary again.

— Actually, yes. Ever since... But I'm not crazy, I'm just very nervous about studying. Or maybe it's just my imagination since forever. — Klein tried his best to look just confused, and not totally delirious.

There was a chance they would consider him out of control, or worse.

— Then why didn't you say anything? — Leonard questioned, still trying to corner him.

Isn't it obvious? — Klein almost put a hand on his head, but suppressed the urge, giving a silent sigh in his heart.

— Why would you gentlemen probably think I'm a complete lunatic? I'd probably end up in an asylum for the rest of my life. — Klein replied without hiding the doubt in his voice. He had been ready to defend himself since a long time ago, so it wasn't difficult to retort to Leonard.

Kenley put a hand on his chin and turned his gaze to Dunn Smith, who still seemed very calm.

— Mr. Moretti, you're not crazy. — Dunn Smith spoke with an unshakable tone of confidence. — It's possible that you suffered memory loss due to the mental pressure, but you can remember something.

At that moment, Klein's voice came out with confusion:

— There was a dark peak at the top of the mountain range, Hornacis I think. Above the main peak, a ruined palace. It was full of weeds everywhere... In the center was a throne full of stones... On the throne, there was a being sitting on it... It was a strange thing... It shouted something... Something related to the night.

 — After that... I don't know...

Leonard frowned slightly, his gaze falling on Klein before focusing on the diary again. This time, he even seemed a little thoughtful.

— Mr. Moretti, you have to be at your residence every morning so we can take you to a psychology specialist, she can help you with your memories. If we don't find you here, you will be considered a fugitive. — Dunn said. His expression seemed as serene as ever.

They believed everything... — Klein felt internally surprised, but still relieved.

From what little he had heard, he knew that the officers might not be very kind to those suspected of being Beyonders in some way or to lunatics.

The kindest fate for me might have been madness. — he scoffed internally while still considering some details.

Actually... This specialist...

Uh...

This specialist might be a Beyonder...

What if she finds out about the transmigration? And the mist? They would certainly treat me like a strange being! Worse, they could kill me for considering me a threat!

Klein was still staring at the police officers with confusion and suddenly, Leonard patted him twice on the shoulder.

— You're very lucky, I don't know how you're still alive and well.

Klein frowned and turned to the official Beyonder with green eyes:

— What do you mean?

Leonard smiled as he passed him.

— It's just that most of the time, all cases like this result in death, that's the norm.