Time seemed to slow down for a moment. Olivier glanced over his shoulder and saw the murderer pop like a bubble, disappearing like a dream. Only a faint green fog remained in his vision which gradually dissipated.
At that moment an incredible feeling overcame Olivier. A strange force drove into his body. Every single cell erupted in jubilation, greedily absorbing the force, extremely comfortable. Olivier's brain was doused in pleasure but there was also a hint of a conflict.
Olivier naturally recognized this familiar force. It was the feeling of his lifespan increasing, his body returning to youth brimming with vitality. However, where did this lifespan come from? Was it a reward from the black cat or was it taken from the murderer? Olivier tended towards the latter being the case.
However, the barista's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as the gendarmes were rushing towards him, shouting loudly.
"You there! On the floor! On the floor!"
"Where did the other man go?!"
"Check around the house!"
Olivier saw the armed men and women coming for him and his chest tightened. He waved his arms, trying to explain:
"Wait, I'm not…"
"Shut it!"
Olivier's thoughts raced. Before these guards could enter the narrow study, he tried to escape first. He rushed out of the door and… was overwhelmed by two gendarmes and thrown to the ground. His arms were held behind his back and locked in cuffs.
"Ah! F*ck, it hurts!"
The painful cries did do nothing to stop the gendarmes. Only as they noticed the blood coming from Olivier's waist did they use some gentler methods. They helped him up and placed him against the wall. Olivier was dazed. He looked around and saw the gendarmes searching the house. Meanwhile a familiar person walked towards him. It was the woman whom he spoke to earlier that day.
"It's you?"
Dalia was surprised to see Olivier here. They originally came because one of the neighbours looked out of their window and witnessed a thief sneaking into this villa. The neighbour was greatly concerned. Since a few days ago he felt something strange was going on in the villa as he met neither the owner nor any of the staff. Thus, he immediately sent someone to inform the gendarmes upon sighting a thief. But Dalia never thought that the thief would be the civilian from earlier.
"Sir, you are accused of burglary and possibly the kidnapping or murder of Baron Maiflow and his staff. Do you have anything to say for your defence?"
Olivier felt his blood freezing. Where did these heavy accusations come from? Kidnapping? Murder? At home this would be a sin grave enough to warrant death. It couldn't be that he eliminated the murderer only to be killed by local authorities, right?!
"Nonono, I have nothing to do with any kidnappings! Don't you remember? I told you my friend Sam was in danger! I followed the murderer to this place! But there was no one else here but him! That murderer must have disposed of the people living here early!"
"Hm. And where is this murderer now?"
Olivier opened his mouth, but no words came out. What was he supposed to say? Eventually he answered with a feeble 'I don't know'. Olivier felt a weakness overcome his body. From that point on everything moved in a blur. The gendarmes searched the villa and found a few signs of fights but there was no other person but Olivier.
Not able to solve all their doubts on the spot they took Olivier back to the gendarmery. After treating his wounds and another round of questioning they threw him into a cold cell.
As silence engulfed him, Olivier slowly managed to calm down and sort out his thoughts. He stared at the metal bars before him and smiled wryly. How could it come to this? The cuffs were feeling uncomfortably on his wrists. The bed he was sitting on was cold and stiff. Although the guards told him that they would come back in a while, Olivier was still rather afraid. He didn't know what to say to convince these people of his innocence.
Otherwise, could he escape somehow? Perhaps the black cat might come to his rescue? Anyways, why was he even still in this world?! His purpose had been fulfilled! Shouldn't he be brought back to the café? When the black cat kidnapped him the first time, she could silently move him between worlds. Why couldn't she do the same again now?
When his thoughts reached this point Olivier suddenly remembered something else. He had asked doubted before how he was supposed to go back. Didn't he receive something back then? It was the ancient key. Olivier's eyes lit up. He moved his leg around and felt the heavy object in his pocket. The gendarmes didn't search him before! The key was still there!
However, with the cuffs on his arms it would be difficult to reach for the key. Olivier cursed inwardly as he twisted his body, feeling as if his shoulder was about to pop out. And just as he managed to get the key out of his pocket it slipped and fell to the floor. Olivier took a deep breath. He was just about to crouch and pick up the key when he felt something in his hand. Judging from the weight and metallic feeling it resembled the ancient key!
Olivier blinked his eyes and realized that the key had indeed disappeared from the floor.
"At least there is this much convenience…"
In his situation, every bit of help was a great relief to Olivier. Now that he had the key in hand, he only needed to figure out how to use it. For the next few minutes Olivier tried everything he could think of. Imagining a door in the air. Turning the key as if there was an invisible keyhole. Calling out to the black cat. But nothing worked.
Olivier was gradually running out of ideas. He looked at the only keyhole in his surroundings, which belonged to the cell door. With the idea of giving it a try Olivier approached the door and stopped with his back towards it. He felt the keyhole with one hand and brought the key closer with the other. Immediately he perceived something miraculous as the key changed its form in his hands. When it reached the keyhole, it fitted perfectly!
Olivier's eyes lit up. He inserted the key and turned it. A mysterious energy washed over him. When Olivier turned around the cell door was replaced with a black vortex. Olivier felt only joy instead of fear. Without caring for anything else he stepped through the vortex and disappeared from this world.
***
Dalia was working on her desk, brooding over the resent cases, one more mysterious than the other. Did Olivier really have nothing to do with the kidnappings? Her instincts told her that this was the truth. But if his story was true, then what about the murderer? Did they really manage to escape?
"Officer Dalia!"
"Yes?"
Dalia looked towards one of her men who just rushed into the building.
"It's about Sam! Sam Hugh! We just received news that poison had been found in his room. Luckily the man remained cautious since he found that his door had been damaged. He escaped with minor irritations. The building has been evacuated."
Dalia didn't hide her surprise. She gave out a few orders and the gendarmery got moving. Meanwhile, Dalia went towards the cells to confront Olivier with the news. Perhaps the man might know something. But when Dalia opened the door towards the cells she was stunned into silence.
***
Meanwhile somewhere in the mirror district. A middle-aged man in fine clothes was sitting on a comfortable armchair, a thick book in his hand. If Olivier were here, he would recognize the man who mistook him for a beggar this morning.
"Finally, silence…"
The man shut the book and the shadows behind him seemed to flicker.
"Such a busy day. The gendarmery almost appeared in full force. Gave me quite the scare."
The man shook his head with a self-depreciating smile on his face. He stood up and put the book away before approaching the wall not far away. It was simply a blank wall, but the man's eyes were fixated on it. He came to a stop in front of the wall and reached out with his finger. He traced an invisible pattern, painting a strange symbol looking like three half-circles leaning against each other. Suddenly there was a rumble and gaps appeared on the wall. A hidden door opened.
A wave of cold air hit the man's face, but he was already used to it. He passed the hidden door, walking down some steps, reaching a hidden basement room. A common person might faint from terror just looking at the room. There were shelves to the left and right sparsely filled with chars holding various body parts. There were blood, fingers, and eyeballs.
The man wasn't faced at all. Instead, his gaze even held some appreciation. He walked towards the shelf and grabbed a jar of blood.
"A small ritual shood be enough today…"
With a smile on his face the man opened the jar and used his finger to paint the same symbol as earlier on the floor. He lit a few candles before kneeling down on the centre of the symbol. Incomprehensible words came out of his mouth. Demonic, eerie. The shadows danced and the blood pulsed with mysterious energy. Finally, his voice ended in a crescendo:
"Untrach'efr! I implore you. By the bounds of karma, grant me life!"
As those words sounded out, time seemed to stand still. Something moved in the air in front of the man's face. Something only he could see. A demonic claw materialized out of nowhere, black and with long, sharp nails. In its palm was an inconspicuous silver coin. The coin suddenly exploded. A column of green fog appeared, attempting to connect to a place somewhere far away.
The man slowly closed his eyes. He was prepared to welcome the divine baptism. But suddenly there was an unexpected situation. Instead of the usual pleasurably infusion of life the man suddenly felt a painful stab in his heart. It was as if something was flowing out of his body.
"What? NO! No! Why?"
Terrified screams rang through the room. The man opened his eyes and saw his body visibly aging.
"No! Untrach'efr!!"
He stared at the demonic claw with resentment but to his shock even the mighty demon was aging. The claw was turning grey, looking incredibly frail.
The man was filled with despair. His hair turned grey. His skin wrinkled. An unbelievable weakness swapped over his body. The man slowly closed his eyes never to open them again…