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Chapter 38 - The Archivist

Late at night.The corridors of Bureau headquarters were empty and silent, the lights flickering intermittently. Ethan walked alone, the Director's last words echoing repeatedly in his mind—

"If you fail, you must carry out the termination yourself."

The child's face lingered before him like a brand. He knew only seven days remained, yet it seemed no one in the Bureau truly believed in redemption.

His footsteps suddenly halted.From the shadows ahead, a hoarse voice slowly spoke:"Young man… you're looking for answers, aren't you?"

Ethan tensed, instinctively reaching for the psych-energy pistol at his hip.

From the darkness emerged an old man, hunched and draped in a worn Bureau investigator's robe, the cuffs embroidered with nearly-faded insignias.

His eyes were cloudy, yet carried a sharpness forged by decades of experience."Don't be alarmed. I'm no longer active. Now… I am merely a keeper of secrets."

Ethan narrowed his eyes: "Who are you?"

The old man smiled faintly, revealing yellowed teeth:"The Archivist. Those sealed cases, those forgotten truths… I guard them."

He led Ethan through a few nearly-forgotten doors into a dimly lit archive room.Unlike the archive Ethan had seen before, this one had no cold metal racks—only ancient wooden cabinets and dust-covered dossiers. The air was thick with the scent of paper and candle wax.

By the flickering candlelight, the old man opened a blackened dossier, his fingers trembling as they traced the pages."You want to save that child, don't you? You want to know if a host can be saved."

Ethan held his breath, staring intently: "You know?"

"I know… yet I do not," the old man whispered, sighing."The Bureau claims hosts are beyond saving because most are ultimately devoured by the Nightmares. But…"He raised his cloudy eyes, and for a moment, they were sharp as a blade:"Throughout history, a very few have been rescued."

Ethan's heart jolted: "Rescued?"

The old man nodded, pulling out a yellowed photograph from the dossier.In it, a young girl sat quietly on a hospital bed, her eyes clear, yet a faint black mark lingered on her brow."This is a record from thirty years ago. She was a 'surviving host.' Do you know what became of her?"

Ethan asked, his voice low: "What happened?"

The old man exhaled slowly, two words:"Missing."

The archive room turned eerily cold.Ethan frowned: "What do you mean? Taken by the Nightmares, or the Bureau—"

"Shh." The old man raised a finger, suddenly alert, glancing toward the darkened doorway."Even the walls have ears."Then, in a lower voice:"Remember, the Bureau is not what you think. Their so-called justice is merely selective fairness."

"What do you mean?"

"The hosts that were saved… in the end, they either disappeared or were secretly confined. For they carried another kind of power—a power the Bureau does not wish to disclose."

Ethan's brow furrowed: "You're saying… the hosts might be able to control the Nightmares?"

The old man stared at him and slowly nodded."Exactly. That's why the 'Shadow Dossiers' were locked away. They do not contain the Bureau's glorious victories, but the failures and truths they fear."

The air felt suffocating.Ethan realized he had stepped into a whirlpool, yet this was the only chance to save the child.

"What should I do?" he asked quietly.

The old man's gaze flickered, as if weighing a difficult choice. Finally, he placed a rusted brass key in Ethan's hand."Go to the deepest archives. There you will find the answers you seek."

At that moment, footsteps echoed down the distant corridor—cold and heavy.The old man's expression changed abruptly. He shoved Ethan aside:"Go! They must not know you've seen me!"

Ethan's heart leapt. Gripping the key tightly, he vanished into the shadows.As he turned, he saw the old man's figure blur in the dim candlelight, slowly swallowed by darkness.

The approaching footsteps grew louder. The Bureau agents were closing in.

Ethan hid the key in his sleeve, and for the first time, true fear surged within him—Not of the Nightmares, but of the very Bureau he served.

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