Captain Esther went to her private estate and entered her mansion and fell flat on the couch.
"Captain of Vespera." A voice said to her.
She quickly sat up and sent a blast towards its direction.
"That's not how you treat guests." Shinto said close to her ear.
She whipped her head to him and swung her hand but Shinto stopped it with one finger.
"Why would you sneak up on me!" Esther roared.
Shinto rolled his eyes, "I have to do this like that to you Captains because if I knocked, your near infinite egos would make you never open the door."
Then he grinned, "besides, it's a great way to remind your type that not only Captains are strong."
Esther leaned back and sighed, "and such is what we learnt against that Abyss user."
Esther shuddered as she remembered the wraiths that worked with Weber.
Shinto sat down next to her and turned on the TV.
"You have more political power than the president as a Captain. You care to explain this," he said pointing to the TV as different people around the world displayed their sky turning black.
"The president will handle that," Esther said slouching in her chair and folding her arms.
"You're among the five strongest Captains in the world and you lost to... a person still learning their powers?" Shinto scoffed.
Esther glared at him and crossed her legs.
"I couldn't use full power, you fool."
Shinto shrugged, "so, you do realize that your country will suffer soon because the Great Foresight is gone, right?" He said standing up, and Esther scowled at him.
He spread his arms open, "that's bad news for you, good news for me," he said pointing at himself.
"Vespera has had peace for too long and the world never knew why, until now—" Esther sprang to her feet.
"Don't even think of telling the world about Foresight. Every nation has its secrets!" she said.
Shinto cackled.
"The user of Wraiths saw it. My cousin saw it. Several other people saw it. Of course, no one might believe them, so you're safe." He said with his face straight, then grinned.
"But me keeping quiet isn't free and you know I'm the only person Captains can't touch—physically or politically." He said.
Esther clenched her fists because she knew it was true.
Shinto, when he wasn't in his assassin persona, ran the strongest mercenary group in the world.
The number one user of the speed user mana art. The top fighter and founder of Flashpoint, a consulting unit of powerful mana users.
A country that was losing badly and on the brink of extinction would call Flashpoint for help.
But it was expensive.
No one knew his identity except Captains, who are the only ones to see him with or without his assassin persona.
Shinto crossed his arms, "anyways, there's an auction that'll be going on tonight. I need someone to follow me."
Esther rolled her eyes, "why are you telling me?"
Shinto chuckled, "I need you to come. Do you have any idea what's on sale?"
Esther took in a deep breath, "I'm guessing it's not something that's for public eyes."
Shinto nodded affirmatively.
"The best stuff is auctioned in the underworld. Besides, it might help you get back Foresight."
Esther looked at him in askance.
"I'm not following till I have more details."
Shinto shrugged and walked backward, "if you care for Vespera, you'll meet me outside your private estate by 11:00 pm."
After speaking, his feet charged with mana, he took a jump at a speed that made him look like a lightning bolt.
Esther held her chin.
"He's planning something. But he can't try anything funny or it'll ruin his image."
---
"Strange enough, Captains Esther or Lewyin haven't made any move to stop us."
Weber said, keeping his eyes forward as he walked on a sidewalk with Charlotte.
Charlotte scratched her head and cleared her throat.
"Is it okay if I ask how you even used such power earlier?" she asked.
The memory of Weber communicating with wraiths and using them when needed sent a chill down her spine.
Weber nodded.
"The problem is that I can't remember how I got the power."
He said and remained silent and walked forward as he thought of Josh and Ariel and bit his lip.
Weber stopped walking and stopped at the entrance to a hospital.
"I'll be back." He said to Charlotte and went in.
"Gabrielle, show me where Ariel is." Weber said and Gabrielle appeared next to him, only Weber able to see.
After some minutes of sidestepping doctors rushing a dying patient, they arrived at a room that Gabrielle pointed at.
Weber knocked and after some moments of silence, he went in and saw Ariel more pale than ever.
He knelt down next to her and took her hand.
"I'm... sorry. Even with power that's feared by Captains, I couldn't help you."
He gently squeezed her hand and bit his lips.
"I'm going to destroy Celestia. I'm going to rid it of their Captain Lewyin that sealed away Josh," he said, tears rolling down his eyes.
"And when that happens," his irises shone bright white, "you won't have to almost die again."
Then Weber's heart tightened and a great fear came over him and his eyes started flickering between white and hazel.
He was sensing the fear of death.
As Wraith Keeper, he had the ability that came on at random and right now, there was a fear of death from someone outside and it was coming from Charlotte.
A gray aura came over Weber and he stood up.
"I need to go. But trust I'll return with good news," he said and became intangible and jumped out the wall.
A tear rolled down Ariel's eye as he left.
Weber materialized and landed on the floor and saw that Charlotte was gone, but he was still sensing the fear.
Closing his eyes and concentrating, the fear was coming from the sky.
He looked up and high up into the air, he saw that Charlotte was floating.
Weber gritted his teeth.
"I am a Wraith Keeper but I can't fly!"
Andrej and Gabrielle appeared, folding their arms.
"We can," Andrej said.
Weber sent the power of the Abyss, making them look human.
Weber jumped as Gabrielle cupped her hands and she gave him a boost into the air, while Andrej carried him higher.
Weber sat on the shoulders of Andrej and they both gaped at what was happening to Charlotte.
She was lying down, but floating, her eyes dark blue.
Weber clutched his shirt as the fear of death in Charlotte intensified.
"Why is this familiar—" Weber screamed as a headache came on his head, getting worse by the second.
A memory of him floating in the air with dark blue eyes as well returned.
"Another memory?" Andrej asked.
The headache left and Weber took in a deep breath.
"Yes, but as usual, it leaves me more confused."
Weber squinted at Charlotte as his eyes widened.
He could sense Charlotte's soul.
And Weber could only sense souls of dead people. Unlike mana users of the revealing art like Ariel that sensed life, Weber sensed death.
Weber carried Charlotte, his heart racing.
"Charlotte! Charlotte!" Weber yelled, then she began screaming.
Weber furrowed his eyebrows and looked Charlotte over.
He could sense her soul, but it was still trapped inside her body.
"Destroy her," the Abyss said, appearing next to Weber.
Weber whipped his head to it with his frown deep.
"Can't you do something positive for once?"
Abyss looked at Weber, its eyes hollow white and emotionless.
"Two users of a Great Enigma cannot stay in the same place." It said and crossed its arms.
Gabrielle appeared floating next to the Abyss.
"Foresight never left to a random void. It performed a ritual without even knowing and now has entered this human." The Abyss replied.
Weber squinted at Charlotte.
"But why is she dead and alive at the same time?"
Abyss paused for some moments, "as a user of an Enigma's power, you enter such a state when you get closer to the entity."
Weber remembered how he nearly died of exhaustion after summoning 500 ghosts to look for Josh.
But when taken to the hospital, he was neither dead nor alive.
"I can't just kill her. Besides, in the wrong hands, you would have destroyed this world. But I haven't done that. So maybe Charlotte can be good too."
The Abyss nodded negatively at Weber's words and slowly vanished.
"The only Enigma that can match me is Foresight even though I still scare it," the Abyss began slowly vanishing.
"If you fail to show Foresight, you are the unopposed Wraith Keeper; the sky will rain fire with Foresight responsible."
Weber stiffened and the Abyss turned back and vanished.
Charlotte closed her eyes and Weber could no longer sense her soul, which meant she was alive. But the problem was when she opened her eyes.
All the clouds present flickered gold for a second and Weber gasped.
Looking at Charlotte, she had woken up, her eyes normal.
She blinked and saw that Weber was carrying her.
"I wish I could fly," she said and hovered into the air, then her eyes turned gold.
"I warned you," the Abyss whispered as Weber watched in horror.
Then Charlotte started falling and Weber gasped.
"Wraiths!" Weber yelled and several of his ghosts appeared and swirled around Charlotte and slowed down her fall, and she landed where people might not see her.
Weber landed on the floor.
And looked at Charlotte, knowing that he was going to deal with problems just as bad as his.
And that was figuring out how to contain a Great Enigma.