His nose twitched, feeling the urge to sneeze, but that never came. A bit annoyed, he rubbed his nose to ease the itch.
There was a minty scent in the room, a gift from the landlord to welcome him as a tenant. The pot of Pycnanthemum rested on top of the cabinet in the hall, spreading its fragrance across the first floor.
Luckily, I’m not allergic!
Either way, the seer lay on the soft sofa, leaning his head back while massaging his temple. What a headache. His supposed vacation trip in the city was cut short when all he wanted was to enjoy a delicious bowl of chili oil noodles.
What’s more concerning is the fact that it unknowingly involved the Eternal Club, or rather, one of its ‘fanatics’. He wouldn’t even consider Bai Ning a nominated member, which would mean the young man had some qualification that made him a . Murdering old people was not a qualification, far from it. He was more like a deranged psychopath performing some twisted rituals, hoping appease a drowned god.
On that thought, the seer gazed out the window, expecting bright sunlight, but the thick dark clouds blotted out the sun.
I’m very curious… This is my first time coming this close in contact with a ‘true’ member of the Eternal Club, not including Ma’am Felanor.
His meeting with Bai Ning left the little watchman much to consider. For example, the former statement and view of the “Eternal Club”, its meaning, and Eternal existence.
“The Eternal Club is an eternal existence. The members are geniuses, and their action is beyond time, beyond history. They treat the present like history, and the future as the present. I want to join the club and learn the truth about the world, to gain that status. You wouldn’t understand!”
That organization, it must exist in this timeline! In this present! And he’d found the first crucial clues—strange murders that occurred at a specific time frame, 42 of the minute.
“It’s terrifying,” Ulrich murmured, his breath lacking and cold. “Even the Ministry has never heard of this organization… If they knew, then the Twilight Order would be the least of their concern… Or perhaps, they knew, but the lower echelons of the Ministry are not privy to the details!”
Either way, Ulrich felt a burden on his shoulder. In that moment, he closed his eyes and did not open them for a long period of time. The only sound in his ears was the pulse of his heart and the crashing of rain droplets against his window.
By the time he opened his eyes, Ulrich's doubts and worries parted from his mind. He stood up, walking to the closet tucked between the wall of the hall and the lobby room. Fashionist, he wasn’t. The old professor from modern earth was more old school, his closet filled with all kinds of suits and formal wear, all black.
He spent a great deal of time contemplating his options, though an outsider would smack him on the head for taking his time. After all, the suits and shirts, as well as pants, looked almost the same. Ultimately, the seer decided to wear a loose-fitting white shirt, topped by a black coat and pants.
After changing his attire, he didn’t forget to stuff a pair of silky, black gloves into the inner coat pockets. A Watchman cannot forget their silky glove; it was the only fashion choice he’d follow.
With that, he left his terrace house, then made his way toward Selena’s home, her new home.
…
Selena Morris was remarkably resilient. She didn’t ‘seem’ affected as much by that traumatic event, at least on the surface. Though narrow spaces somewhat frightened her. It wasn’t a conscious reaction, more like an instinctual fear engraved in her flesh. Ulrich did not blame her for that; no one could. Having experienced such an event, some marks and wounds are bound to remain, no matter how hard the individual tried to resist.
“How are you feeling, Selena?” Ulrich asked, worried as he wore a slight smile on his face, though it never reached his eyes.
The room was decorated with oil paintings, porcelain pottery, books, lots of books. There was a subtle fragrance lingering in the air; the seer believed it was a mix of lavender and lemon balm, often used to calm one’s mind.
Selena didn’t look up at him, her gaze somewhat vacant toward the window. “I—“ She paused, then caught her words. “I used to hate the rain, Ulrich.”
He had a feeling that his friend wasn’t looking for consolation, so he offered none, only offering his ear with all his attention. Her golden hair unraveled as she twirled the locks with her finger; her eyes remained on the window, watching the droplet come and go.
“I once believed that the rain was dark and gloomy. Couldn’t imagine that some people are like the rain. I believed that everyone is like a ray of light, no matter how small and little they are, the light will find its days eventually.”
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Her expression remained vacant, though he’d noticed her hand gripping onto the fabric of the dress tightly.
“It reminded me of our first meeting,” She said, loosening her grip and turning to Ulrich. The image of that day was engraved in her memories and stayed there for a long time. He was a bit startled, not expecting her to suddenly make him the topic of the conversation.
“How?” He asked.
“Do you remember the first time I found you? In that dark alley?”
He remembered. It was the darkest time of his life, and he’d almost died. Not from hunger, nor people, nor any external factor.
“Back then, you were like a shade of darkness hidden away from the sunlight. I—“ Her voice stuttered a little, but she quickly found the strength to speak her view. “I didn’t know how to comfort you. You… looked hopeless, lost, like a battered ship sailing the vast sea in the darkest storm without land in sight.”
In that moment, Ulrich averted his gaze, afraid that she’d see through his true thoughts.
“I couldn’t understand it. That despair and hopelessness. Then, I saw it, the truth from my own experience.” She said, her body shifting on the soft sofa to ease the numbness from her posture.
Despair and hopelessness? Is it about the kidnapping?
There was silence, a long, comforting silence that rested between Ulrich and Selena. After about a minute, Selena's voice came again.
“I never told you why… no, I never told you what I have been doing in my free time.” She said honestly, her golden pupil dimmed a little. The seer recognized it as a sign of embarrassment.
“Ahem. It’s not crimes… right?”
Actually, he’d grown so accustomed to crimes that unless she was a psychotic killer like Bai Ning, he’d probably not find her guilty. His conscience would, but the image of Selena holding a knife, or gun, and killing people was so far removed from his imagination that it was inconceivable.
Immediately, she blinked, a bit surprised at her friend’s conclusion. “What? No!”
On second thought, Selena's voice grew weak, becoming sheepish. “Maybe…”
“Explain.” He said dryly.
“Is reading and researching considered a crime?”
Ulrich raised his brows, amused and entertained by her inquiry as a Watchman. “Depends. Are you researching flowers and botany? That’s not a crime. How to cook a pot stew? Bien. Summon a Drowned God? Now, that’s a crime against humanity!”
Selena giggled, her voice soft and warm. “You’re so funny. Why would I want to summon a god, drowned no less?”
The mood in the room lightened with Ulrich and Selena's playful banter. She felt much better; even the therapist sessions from the past couple of days weren’t as effective as talking to Ulrich and hearing his jokes.
“Seriously,” She coughed, adjusting her posture once more. “I’ve been trying to figure out the meaning of dreams for a long time now.”
“Dreams?”
He was a seer who had performed dream divination a couple of times, though that one time was rather traumatic. Still, he was a professional!
“Pray do tell, I am quite experienced in this subject. I’ll interpret your dream,” He smiled. “Free of charge for madam.”
She didn’t point out his teasing and entertained him, “I’ve told you before. I often dream of strange, square, metal boxes. Of a cemetery, flowers, and fireworks. I don’t understand it, but they keep coming to me. Out of curiosity, I tried to interpret my own dream for many years.”
At this point, Ulrich's eyes lit up with realization. “Don’t tell me… You became a librarian for this reason?”
She immediately retorted with a guilty plea, “No, no. Of course not! I like reading, it’s just convenient that I get to do both at once…”
“And you delve into mysticism, too? For this?”
From the look on her guilty face, he’d already guessed the answer. She did. In pursuit of trying to interpret her dreams, Selena had unknowingly dug down into the depths of the world of mysticism, the supernatural society, becoming a target for the Twilight Order. Goddess, she had even garnered the attention of the Ministry!
“You…” He paused, trying to not give away the Ministry name. “Were too competent.”
Selena tilted her head, letting a golden lock of hair fall on her shoulder. “Thank you?”
It wasn’t a compliment… Or maybe, it was. Either way, Selena was way too good at what she does. Admittedly, Ulrich had benefited from her knowledge and expertise in the past. On that note, he frowned at the thought of the Twilight Order.
According to Captain Ottis's summary, Terry Mondie had escaped from his and Rosaline's encirclement through a bizarre cursed item.
The nature of this item was unknown, but to escape a Keeper of the Sanctuary and Captain of the Ministry was no easy feat. Clearly, this item must have some nasty price to pay. The stronger the side effect of a curse item, the more powerful the effect tends to be. He hadn't forgotten to attend Father Lorel's lecture the past couple of days.
No doubt, those madmen will target Selena again for some nefarious purpose. For that reason, he wanted to convince his friend to stop her dangerous research, afraid that it would attract some unwanted attention.
“Selena.” He called out, his voice serious, unlike the light, playful tone that she was used to.
“Yes?” She looked at him, eye to eye, her golden pupil focused on the seer’s face. Ulrich had never noticed it before, but her eyelashes were extremely long, with a golden hue to them that was unnoticeable unless examined closely.
He took a deep breath and said carefully. “I want to ask you to stop your research.”
“Okay.” She said with a firm nod. Her face relieved, as though a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulder.
What? Ulrich was too stunned to speak. He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again.
“Okay?”
She nodded again with a radiant smile on her face. “I won’t research that topic again.”
It was that easy? She just accepted his request? Not a slight resistance? Wait a minute, he should be happy about this, but for some reason, Ulrich felt the victory came too easily. Was this a dream?
Noticing his confusion, she leaned forward, concern drawn on her face as she asked. “What’s wrong?”