The space where Claus stood was pure white.
His feet were suspended in the void — a void that resembled a calm sea.
Above him, a bright blue sky, scattered with cottony clouds.
The tears of blood kept flowing.
One of them dropped into that peaceful water…
…which suddenly raged, like a storming sea — a sea the color of blood.
Claus dropped to his knees.
That furious sea was like millions of agonizing voices inside his head.
— Enough, said Claus, out of breath.
He couldn't take it anymore.
This torment… all of it…
He should have been dead, he thought.
Why him? Why here? Who was he, really?
Was he the transmigrated exorcist he believed he was?
Or just a dying madman, imagining everything?
Did Sandra even exist? Her world?
— I can't take it anymore…, he kept repeating.
Silence.
Silence… That's all he wanted.
All those sounds, all those sensations attacking him as if the world itself was being pulled toward him.
He just wanted it all to stop.
---
Elizabeth watched the creature approach.
A monstrous, deformed giant, body covered in chains, rotting flesh.
Dozens of arms sprouted from its chest.
Behind it, a swarm of the damned — maybe twenty or more.
Elizabeth glanced behind her, then faced the creatures again.
She was ready to end this.
She reactivated the runes on her body — they were nearly depleted.
She was confident about this battle, but she knew what came after wouldn't be in her favor.
> "I regret nothing. Once again, my life is on the line,
not because I was forced… but because I chose it,"
she thought, forming a spiral of glowing runic letters.
Suddenly, her soul tightened.
A threat was watching her.
But it wasn't coming from the front… or outside.
It came from behind.
A threatening energy.
One she knew too well — it brought back bad memories.
Slowly, she turned her head, a cold sweat trickling down her spine.
And there… she saw Claus.
On his knees. Bleeding eyes.
His pupils split — two blue spheres in each eye.
His aura was terrifyingly intense.
Claus… was no longer there.
That's how Elizabeth felt.
— I want it to stop. I can't take it anymore…
— Silence… silence…, he murmured on his knees.
He wanted peace.
And then, driven by anger and despair, Claus made one final request —
a cry from the depths of his being:
— SILEEEEEENCE!
At that scream, the air itself seemed to rip apart.
Everything was pulled toward him:
light, the damned shadows, Elizabeth's runic spiral.
Then…
Everything exploded out of him.
By sheer reflex, Elizabeth raised a protective dome.
The blast swept away everything:
the church furniture, the monsters, the celestial stained glass, the statues… even the grand door.
The force of the blast made the entire cathedral tremble.
---
— I see… this was not planned at all,
murmured the mysterious man outside, in the darkness.
His face remained indescribable.
— I shall postpone this meeting for another time. And with that…
He tipped his hat in farewell, then turned away.
His silhouette slowly vanished into the shadows.
---
The church was in ruins.
It looked like a tornado had struck.
Elizabeth, exhausted, felt the aftershocks.
Her vision was blurry, her senses numb.
But what worried her most… was Claus.
What had just happened?
No Awakened had ever shown such power.
The dust gradually cleared, revealing Claus, unconscious on the floor.
His veins were black… like those of the damned.
Elizabeth rushed to him.
— Claus, calm down. Focus on the sound of my voice.
Don't let yourself be carried away.
Make your energy flow. Focus… on me.
She knelt beside him.
She tried to activate her runes — nothing. No more energy.
— Once again, here I am sacrificing myself for a noble…
she said with a smile.
She focused the little energy she had left into two fingers.
Like a needle, she pierced his chest and let her whitish energy flow into his transforming body.
The energy spread through his veins like pure water.
The darkness withdrew, driven out by Elizabeth's strength.
A few minutes later, she fainted.
---
The night was very long.
— Claus… John… Claus… John…
— CLAUS!
He woke up with a start.
He was lying in a room.
His chest covered in runic parchments.
The sun was already high in the sky.
And that headache… had become familiar.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A soft knock at the door.
— Come in, he said.
Elizabeth entered, in better shape than him.
She smiled warmly, holding a steaming cup of black coffee.
Her scent filled the room.
She was as elegant as ever, thought Claus.
— How do you feel? she asked.
— Like I got hit by a train… but I'll live. And you?
— I'm fine, don't worry.
Do you remember what happened last night?
— I'm sorry I put you in danger. I couldn't control it.
What I was feeling… was too intense.
Like I was hearing and sensing everything at once.
It pushed me to the edge of madness.
— Honestly…
she said, sitting down,
this is the first time I've seen a power like yours.
You need to tell me more, because that had nothing to do with runes or alchemy.
> It wasn't magic…
It was more powerful. And more dangerous, thought Claus.
The problems were getting stranger and stranger.
— And Jack the Ripper?
According to his words, you stole something that belonged to him… or to his employers.
— I don't even know who this Jack is.
I don't know what he's talking about. And those monsters — what were they?
— The damned.
The things we fight every day, risking our lives.
They come from the Soul Pit — a kind of dumping ground for corrupted souls.
— That's almost what happened to me…
I felt my soul being consumed by that power…
— And you…
I heard you say you were sacrificing yourself again for a noble.
What did that mean?
— That's in the past…
Thank you for saving me, Sir Claus.
Get up.
We have a report to make… and it's time to go home.
Your mother is waiting for you at the manor.