Kael's breath caught as the vision faded.
"I've… been here before," he muttered, his hand brushing against the cold wall. His eyes locked on a strange sigil scorched into the wood. He froze it was the same one drawn in the ritual book that strange man had given him back on Earth.
John Gary's sharp gaze cut through the silence. "Kael. Don't hide anything from me."
Kael forced a calm smile. "Captain, if I knew more, I'd be the first to speak." His words slid smoothly, but inside, his pulse thudded. No way I can mention transmigration.
Gary narrowed his eyes but didn't press further. Instead, he handed Kael a small rod etched with runes. "Use this for divination. You'll lead a squad. Don't disappoint me."
As Kael stepped out, he spotted Kim leaning casually against a pillar.
"What's your body count?" Kael asked suddenly.
Kim blinked, then smirked. "One."
Kael glanced black aura. A blatant lie. He raised a brow. "One? More like one hundred, right? Don't tell me it was a single cockroach you stomped and you've been counting it ever since."
Kim chuckled, pretending to ignore him. "Tch. Rookie's got jokes."
The carriages rattled down the cobbled road, Kael holding the divination rod in one hand. Kim sat opposite, staring at him.
"You know, you look way too calm for someone about to walk into hell."
Kael smirked. "And you look way too pretty to be taken seriously as a nightmare."
"Oi—!" Kim's jaw dropped while the others in the carriage burst into laughter.
They arrived at the site, chaos breaking loose. Civilians screamed, running from the crumbling building. In the rush, a girl collided into Kael, nearly knocking the rod from his hand.
"Watch it " Kael stopped. His gaze dropped to her neck. The same sigil burned faintly against her skin.
Before he could speak, she was gone swallowed by the fleeing crowd.
Suspicion flared in his chest.
Inside the building, room after room revealed nothing but blood and broken furniture. Then, in the bedroom, the stench hit them. An old man lay on the bed, his body pale, blood drained until he was more husk than human.
The whispers started.
Reaper… reapart… reaper…
Kael's vision warped. A flash: the original Kael Mortty, blade in hand, fighting someone with bright yellow hair. The vision cracked and vanished, leaving him dizzy.
Kim frowned. "You good?"
Kael forced a grin. "Depends. You carrying me if I pass out?"
"Not a chance."
They called it a day.
That evening, Kael sat at a quiet lake, fishing rod dipping into the still water. His mind tangled threads together the sigil, the girl, the drained corpse, the whispers. None of it fit.
"Still the same contemplative student."
Kael turned. His breath caught. "Professor Lowel…?"
His old university mentor smiled warmly. "You've changed, Kael. Come let's share a drink."
The bar smelled of stale smoke and old wood. To Kael's surprise, Marlowe was already seated with a drink in hand.
Marlowe raised a brow. "Well, well. Fate likes playing dice."
Lowel chuckled. "Kael was always the one asking the strangest questions. Now look at him caught in the city's madness."
Kael swirled his glass. "Madness, huh? Sometimes I wonder if it's following me."
Marlowe leaned forward, grin crooked. "Careful, boy. Madness doesn't follow it waits. It waits until you open the wrong door, then it greets you like an old friend."
The words sent a chill down Kael's spine.
Later, Kael returned to the organization. Behind closed doors, John Gary was hunched over documents, pipe smoke curling through the air.
Gary didn't look up. "Your father. Your brother. Your sister. All conveniently absent during the Mortty party massacre." His voice was flat, almost cold. "Coincidence? Or conspiracy?"
Kael's lips curved faintly, though unease gnawed at him. "Depends who's writing the story, Captain."
Gary finally raised his gaze, sharp as a blade. "This isn't a story, Kael. It's your life and every step you take digs the hole deeper."