Zhou Mingrui frowned slightly upon hearing the knocks and cautiously took a few steps back.
His body unconsciously tensed and his eyes widened, but suddenly began to narrow.
He had just committed suicide, but there were still many suspicious and unknown details about this 'death'.
It didn't even make sense for Klein to have committed suicide given his perfectly normal life as a history student; in fact, he would even get a job as a teacher soon.
Melissa and Benson were also completely like other citizens of the kingdom of Loen, living in a way that wasn't so stable, but it was possible to continue in a way that was somewhat better.
These facts only made his mind wander through all sorts of terrifying and imaginable possibilities that could have happened before to the previous owner of this body.
Did the person who could have done this fake suicide scene come back to check if I was really dead? Otherwise, why would there be someone knocking on the door?What was the motivation for fake suicide for an ordinary young man?
Could the owner of this book be the person who was knocking on the door? Then could this person have something to do with that hallucination of the mountain ranges and the gray mist?
Would this guy totally kill me now if he found out I was alive, or would he be scared? He would probably eliminate me anyway...
It could just be another ordinary person too...
After a moment, Zhou Mingriu didn't hesitate to pick up the copper gun from the table to defend himself.
Even if he didn't know how to shoot, he could at least bluff long enough to get some help or even scare the person away.
In the worst case, there was a possibility that the stranger would fight back, so Zhou Mingriu would have no choice but to actually try to shoot, and from the distance, perhaps he would actually be able to hit the killer.
Of course, there was also a chance that it was just another person who had nothing to do with Klein's suicide.
An image flashed through Zhou Mingriu's mind. It was a tall man who looked very much like a poet and was probably no older than his age. His hair that reached down to his neck was black and messy. His eyes had a green tint and looked relaxed.
However, there was a black shadow overlapping in the depths of his body.
Beside him was a man with calm gray eyes, but they were also deep like a forest covered in thick fog. His hair was slightly pulled back.
They were both wearing black and white checkered uniforms with caps, and the older one had three silver hexagons on his clothes while the other had two.
This…
What was this?
In the fragmented memories, there was almost no information about the police epaulette ranks, so he couldn't tell what these guys' positions were.
There are two police officers… Uh… Two and three hexagons… Two superiors… What was that black shadow? And what was that vision?... I should put that gun away... — Zhou Mingriu wouldn't dare keep the gun in his hand when there was a higher-ranking police officer outside.
He was thinking of putting the gun under one of the boards of his bed, but he didn't even know why this police officer was knocking on the door in the middle of the night.
He walked without making any noise until he got close to the back of the stove and only then did he pick up a basket of dirty clothes.
Zhou Mingriu buried the copper gun as deep as he could between the linen shirts and put a cloth on top.
He walked to the door of his room and messed up his hair a little to hide the hole in his head.
Toc!
Toc, toc!
The knocking continued, this time at a more constant rhythm.
— Who is it? — Zhou Mingriu asked in a tired tone.
A voice calmly replied:
— I'm Dunn Smith, and I'm with an inspector, Leonard Mitchell. The police.
Zhou Mingriu narrowed his eyes slightly before his expression returned to its previous calm.
Inspector, is it? — he scoffed inwardly.
In Klein's memories, he had never remembered any police officers in the area with such names, but it could be normal given their rank was higher than the others.
Even so, it was strange for two officers with higher ranks to personally knock on his door in the middle of the night.
— Alright, I'm going. — Zhou Mingriu replied almost immediately.
It didn't take him long to walk through the corridor slightly illuminated by the crimson moonlight streaming through the window and open the door.
Zhou Mingriu saw the exact same person from his vision, green eyes and black hair, in addition to the relaxed appearance.
Dunn Smith assessed him before saying:
— Mr. Moretti, we'd like to ask you a few questions.
— Sure, come in. — Zhou Mingriu agreed without showing any abnormality.
They went into the living room where there was a small sofa next to a small table with a thick book on it and another old brown sofa.
The two men sat across from him on the second sofa in deafening silence.
Dunn Smith looked at him kindly and said:
— Mr. Moretti, did you see or hear anything strange tonight?
As he was considering the words spoken, Zhou Mingriu couldn't help but find this question ironic.
If you disregard waking up in another world in a different body, miraculously curing yourself of death, having terrifying delusions with worms on a destroyed throne in a ruined castle above the peak of a mountain range, entering a chaotic place above a gray mist after passing through seven lights, a world of saturated and stacked colors that could never be understood by human reasoning and that terrifying shadow superimposed on your partner then no, my night was as good as any other. — he mocked internally as he seemed to reflect for a while.
— No, tonight was normal. — Zhou Mingriu simply answered without daring to look behind Leonard Mitchell.
He paused for a moment and his voice sounded confused:
— Did something happen?
— Unfortunately, it's a confidential case, I can't tell you but don't be nervous. — With cloudy eyes, Dunn Smith neither confirmed nor denied.
Leonard Mitchell leaned forward slightly, his face lit by a crimson glow.
— Mr. Moretti, have you come across anything strange this past week? Any strange phrases or stories from college? Or perhaps one of your brothers has been acting strange these past few days or exhibiting unusual behavior? — His tone was too relaxed for a police officer, as was his expression.
Zhou Mingriu thought for a moment as if he was trying to remember, and then replied:
— Not that I can recall.
— I went to the university for some history subjects and talked to Mr. Azik, the professor of the university's history department. Melissa was studying at the Tingen Technical School during that time, and my older brother Benson was working in the factories all that time, only coming back at night.
— At that time, I was just reading some history books about the consequences of Emperor Roselle's actions and their impact, the beginning of the Age of Steam and Machinery.
His words were not a lie at all, he was telling the truth as a way to hide his memory loss and suicide. From the fragments of Klein's memories that Zhou Mingriu had managed to analyze, he was indeed studying history during the time of Emperor Roselle.
As the young inspector was about to ask another question, soft and slow knocks came from the door.
Toc, toc.
Toc.
A strange tension covered the room almost instantly.
Everyone turned their heads towards the corridor, which was covered in silent darkness and gave them an unconscious discomfort.
It was as if the constant and intense cold was drowning them in a torrent of unimaginable terror, covering the atmosphere of the room completely in a supernatural way.
Zhou Mingriu felt that if he made a single movement, the moonlight shadows would start to move in the room.
— Who is it? — he asked loudly.
After a few seconds of silence, a young voice answered:
— I'm lost in this neighborhood, could you help me?
Zhou Mingriu felt his body freeze to the bone with that strange voice echoing in his mind. He shivered and was stunned.
Inspector Leonard Mitchell and Dunn Smith exchanged glances with some trace of recognition.
Leonard stood up and walked towards the door with a carefree air, not giving Zhou Mingriu a chance to do anything.
He opened the door without saying a single word.
— Thank you. — the boy thanked after entering, looking completely unfazed even though he was lost.
He was a dark-skinned teenager. His eyes were different colors, one deep dark blue and the other crimson red, but he was strangely serene. Her shoulder-length hair was dark brown with a few slightly lighter streaks.
His features were fine and still had a childish air.
He was wearing an old black coat and a white shirt as well as black pants.
The young man glanced at Leonard first and then turned to the others inside the house before turning his attention to the tarot cards in his hands.
— Do you know which direction the cemetery is? — he asked, fiddling with the cards. His cloudy gaze fixed on Zhou Mingriu and Leonard for a few seconds.
Leonard Mitchell silently assessed him while still glancing at Dunn Smith from the corner of his eye.
Dunn Smith nodded and smiled calmly.
— We can take you there.
The young man thanked him before handing over one of the cards from the deck to Zhou Mingriu and another to Leonard.
As soon as Zhou Mingriu touched the card, he saw an ancient dark glow fill his vision completely.
It was a place that was as dazzling as it was chaotic and did not belong to this era, covered by countless stars that stretched into the depths of the unknown cosmos in the sky.
Everything was so distorted that it was impossible to discern anything in this infinite place whose existence made no sense, but he could still see two blurry figures looking at the perpetual vastness, at some specific place.
The scene fragmented into thousands of pieces in an instant, and Zhou Mingriu's thoughts dispersed like dust.
His mind felt like it was being poked by dozens of needles at the same time as different voices piled up, whispering various things to the depths of his consciousness.
Zhou Mingriu immediately took the card, not wanting to continue looking at the boy.
After that, the police officers and the young man left the house.
Zhou Mingriu finally felt all the weight on his shoulders disappear along with the terrifying tension.
As he returned to his room and picked up the revolver again from the laundry basket, he looked at the letter in his hands.
Turning it over, he saw a deity in the middle of a garland of flowers holding a staff beneath a starry night sky.
"The World."
He didn't know the tarot cards very well, but he remembered that The World meant the end of a new cycle, the opposite of the Fool card.
He put it away in the drawer as he considered some of the things that had happened.
What was that shadow superimposed on that inspector? Am I starting to hallucinate again because of the gunshot, or was that shadow even on that man?
And what kind of questions were those? Coming into contact with strange things or abnormalities... Could they be trying to investigate something related to the suicide? They know something...
Thinking about it... Those police officers were of much higher rank, there was no way the one with two hexagons could be an inspector... How strange...
I must go to the library...
I should try that ritual soon so I can go back home...
...
Saint Selena Cathedral.
With a strange look, Leonard Mitchell narrowed his eyes slightly as he saw the image on the tarot card.
It was a goddess pouring holy water, with stars scattered across the background.
"The Star."
There seemed to be a second card completely hidden behind it.
There was an image of two people dancing under a sky filled with stars.
"The Lovers."
Leonard turned to Dunn Smith with a frown on his face, he seemed a little curious.
— Captain, Klein Moretti looked very strange as he held the letter. His eyes became very dark, even though they were yellowish brown.
— Could it be...
Pa!
The door to the holy cathedral was opened abruptly.
It was a young woman of no more than twenty years old, wearing a dress in a deep dark blue tone almost completely dirty with some dark liquid. Her short brown hair, which seemed a little disheveled, was loosely hanging slightly and her head was lowered.
She looked at the stained glass windows of the cathedral without saying a word, exuding an air of chilling calm like that of a doll.
She looked just like a normal young woman, the only difference was that her bloodshot eyes no longer had any trace of life.After suddenly 'passing out' and falling into a sea of imaginable dreams, he woke up confused with so many random visions filling his consciousness.
— I can't sleep straight anymore... — Zhou Mingriu muttered as he stood up.
At that moment, someone abruptly entered his room with a calm look on his face.
It was Melissa who was narrowing her eyes with some random and strange doubt emerging in her gaze that seemed to be examining him from head to toe.
After a moment, she asked with a raised eyebrow:
— Klein, are you okay?
What a terrifying intuition. — Zhou Mingriu gave her a slight smile, without a trace of abnormality in his expression.
He placed the book on the desk and simply replied with interest:
— Yes, why wouldn't I be? I slept very well after reading some books of stories from times past.
Melissa leaned against the door frame with a slight frown and said in a disbelieving tone:
— I had a very strange dream last night. In it, there was a man with receding hair and gray eyes, with the rest of his face completely blurred and distorted. I couldn't even tell if he really had a face. Anyway, I also heard the voice of another, younger person with the air of a poet. Goddess, that was very strange. Ah, he was asking someone something... It seemed to be his voice.
— At the end of everything I can remember, there was someone else's voice. He said things in an ancient language that seemed incomprehensible... I think it was Jottun? The stranger left with the other two as the sound of footsteps faded away.
Did she hear everything from last night? But she didn't wake up?
How strange... And all she could see was Officer Dunn Smith, very distorted...
Why did this happen?
And she couldn't make out the voice of the strange boy... There really was something very wrong with this whole story. That shadow superimposed on the poet inspector was also very bizarre...
With some questions running through his mind, Zhou Mingriu looked at Melissa with confusion overflowing in his eyes.
Even though he tried to think of an answer, nothing seemed to make sense.
— Don't worry, it must have just been a meaningless nightmare. — He reassured her even though he knew she was completely calm about the situation.
According to Klein's memories, Melissa is a mature person for her age and even very calm. She likes to study mainly because of her interest in machines and steam-powered inventions that she has always admired since she was still very young.
Actually, I only had one "brother"?
I don't know... My memories are confused. Uh... He was adopted if I'm not mistaken... A foreigner? Or was he a friend? He was very quiet most of the time with other people, but he loved playing games with me... Especially Bloodborne... How can I not remember my own brother's face? Or friend? I even forgot his voice or existence... Yesterday I mistook him for a foreigner...
He was the last person I spoke to...? Speaking of which, I don't remember my father's face either...
What was he like?
Brother... What was his name?
How could I have forgotten this?
Maybe the transmigration affected some of my memories from when I was at home...
Zhou Mingriu looked away imperceptibly, tapping his index finger on his leg, and then looked at the book above his desk.
Melissa looked at him suspiciously and said:
— Klein, can you go buy some bread?
He nodded slightly at the same time.
...
Howes Street, Deweyville Library.
Zhou Mingriu quickly passed through the first row of bookshelves that were filled with hundreds of books, intently searching for any clues about Emperor Roselle or anything related to tarot cards. Any information, no matter how small, would be helpful in a situation like this.
His gaze passed over a few books that had a more worn cover, gracefully engraved with titles related to some mythical tales from ancient history. Others looked newer, as if they had been recently made.
He sighed silently and continued to search through the titles.
"Ancient Arts of Feysac"...
"Dictionary of Study of Poisonous Flowers of the Sea Sonia"...
He even flipped through a few specific pages to see if he could find anything, but there was nothing relevant.
I probably won't find much when the creator of the tarot cards is from so long ago, a fossil of history.
A voice came from beside him in a calm tone:
— Good morning, Klein. What are you looking for?
That voice... — Zhou Mingriu could recognize that voice even when he hadn't yet searched through Klein's memories. It belonged to the professor at Khoy University who was always in the university library reading Balam books, Mr. Azik.
It was impossible that he couldn't recognize it.
Zhou Mingriu quickly came up with an excuse to avoid saying that he was looking for a book of ancient divinations. That would be too strange and random even for a history student and might even raise doubts among the strange investigators if they discovered this conversation at some point.
Before picking up the book of divinations, he would carefully read another study about the early Iron Age to pretend that he had only come because of that and soon after that he only had a mild interest in divinations. That way, if there really was someone watching him, he wouldn't suspect anything.
He suspected that the police officers who knocked on his door yesterday were there precisely because of the strange delusions he was having or some other reason related to that. Any discovery of the visions by the police could lead to his death or worse, madness.
Zhou Mingriu turned around with a smile on his face and greeted politely:
— Good morning, Mr. Azik.
— I was just looking for a book about the new laws of the Iron Age. Uh... About the "Grain Law." I imagine you're looking for something about the Beginning of the Age of Steam and Machinery.
Zhou Mingriu could only remember a few things because of Klein's memory. He only remembered the part where this law protected the domestic price of agricultural products.
After some time, there were several riots and protests because of this law.
Furthermore, he only said the last sentence because Mr. Azik was almost always looking for some study related to past eras even on his days off. Maybe it was some kind of great interest or love for his work as a teacher.
Azik looked at him kindly with his seemingly tired face and said: — This time I came to look for a specific book with ancient divinations that were famous in ancient times, but I see that there may not be anything related to that here. .
Mr. Azik is also looking for studies related to divinations? What a coincidence. Does Mr. Azik know anything? — Zhou Mingriu wondered inwardly with interest.
Since Azik had been a teacher for so long, it was not impossible that he knew at least the minimum about the subject.
— Ancient divinations? Like tarot cards and astrological reading? I heard that the tarot divination system is very old, with vague records in the Solomon Empire and the Trunsoest Empire. — he said without hiding his curiosity.
Azik had a doubtful expression as he nodded:
— Their origin was swept away by the veil of mysteries of history long ago, as was the identity of their creator. Perhaps it is as old as the creator of the language Hermes.
As old as Ancient Hermes... I will never find anything about it even if I search tirelessly for my entire life! — Zhou Mingriu complained in his heart.
Without waiting for Zhou Mingriu to say anything, Azik asked, his golden eyes visibly filled with life gaining a trace of nostalgia:
— Did you see that gray mist covering Tingen yesterday? It was only for a moment, but it was thick and strange... It was familiar in a way
Gray mist... Like the one in the castle I saw? Mr. Azik saw it and even finds it familiar... How? — Zhou Mingriu suppressed his shocked expression in an instant.
He sighed silently in his mind. He was not crazy or delirious!
— Yes, that was very strange... What was that? — he asked confused, even though it was for another reason he wouldn't talk about.
Even though he had never seen Azik in his memories, he had shown himself to be a bad person, but he could not trust him completely when he saw that he might be involved with some strange things that no one had noticed.
It could be dangerous.
Zhou Mingriu felt a terrifying air spread before his eyes as if death itself was in front of him.
As he looked more closely, he could hear some kind of illusory scream that seemed to come from the depths of the underworld.
After a moment, everything returned to normal.
What was that? — Zhou Mingriu felt dazed by the sight he had seen.
Perhaps he could have been scared, but after going through that bout of delusions that almost tore his sanity apart a day ago and falling into horrifying and dazzling dreams right after, he could no longer feel much fear.
Azik stared at him solemnly with some doubt.
— Is everything okay?
Zhou Mingriu nodded quickly as he looked at Azik and hid his doubts and questions deep in his mind.
— Yes, I was just thinking about some things. — he hurriedly made up an excuse.
After a few minutes of talking, Zhou Mingriu said goodbye and left to buy bread.
...
After some time thinking about what had happened, Zhou Mingriu came to a part of his conclusion.
Mr. Azik is certainly not a normal person...
He has the characteristics of being from Balam and yet he has never mentioned anything about himself in all these years. Furthermore, in the Southern Continent they worship the God of the Dead with many rituals and sacrifices to Him to this day...
That feeling was like feeling death in the flesh... Does Mr. Azik have connections to extraordinary things and is there something specifically related to the Southern Continent? Even so, he didn't seem to notice that I had felt something strange. Maybe he really doesn't or maybe he does...
Zhou Mingriu suddenly glanced to his side.
In the shadows, there was a woman silently staring at him in the darkness.
She had grayish-blue eyes with a faint, serene glow. Her long hair was a shade of black.
Suddenly, the corners of her mouth curved into an exaggerated smile!
That's it...
Zhou Mingriu quickened his pace towards Miss Symrin's fresh bread shop.
Zhou Mingriu's thoughts were interrupted when he felt someone lightly poke his arm.
When he looked down, he saw a small child with short, pure white hair. He had large, bright red eyes that looked sharp.
His expression seemed to be frowning as he thoughtfully stuffed a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.
— You...
— Hey... Could you play tarot cards with me for a moment? — the boy asked, staring straight into his eyes. It was as if Zhou Mingriu was some kind of four-headed animal.
The boy took out the Major Arcana from his brown backpack without waiting for an answer.
When Zhou Mingriu looked over to where the woman was standing, he couldn't see her anywhere.
He let out a sigh of relief and finally turned to the strange boy.
Tarot cards? This again? — Zhou Mingriu refrained from frowning slightly as a few thoughts flashed through his mind.
— Okay, but where are your parents? They must be worried about you.
The boy glanced at him from the corner of his eye.
— That doesn't matter now.