"What?" Remy frowned.
"Remy, I want you to be very careful now… Put that down on the ground and come here," Tear commanded, his usual charm fading, his brow furrowed in concern.
Remy's eyes narrowed at the blade, puzzled, but he obeyed. He dropped the dagger and walked toward the other children.
"What is it…?" Charles asked, his voice laced with fear.
"Well… hmm… it's… it's a dagger that captures souls. Hel—Devourer of light," Tear said, striding toward Remy. "Though truthfully I know nothing of it." Tear frowned.
"Remy, boy, I need you to be completely honest with me… Who told you your affinity?" Tear's eyes locked on Remy, unblinking, waiting for the answer.
"Hmmm… it was…" Remy tried to grasp at the name, but none came.
Did he even tell me his name?
The thought slipped like smoke through his fingers, his memories scattering and dissolving no matter how hard he tried to catch them.
"How strange…" he murmured. "I can't recall the name, but it was… it was a raven. And it could talk."
"A talking raven, you say?" Tear repeated,
Tapping his temple thoughtfully as though searching the depths of some buried knowledge.
"Kat, sweetheart—do me a favor," Tear said, his voice softening for her. "Go to the third bookcase and bring me the Codex of Mythos."
His tone then sharpened as he turned to the others. "The rest of you—leave me with Remy."
"No, but Tea—" Charles began, his protest cut short when Tear's gaze snapped to him. A cold, piercing glare.
Charles froze, the words dying in his throat. He lowered his head in silence.
"Let's go, Charles—stop the fuss. Can't you see the situation?" Chad snapped, dragging Charles by his helm as they exited the training room.
This time, they left without protest.
Kat followed at first but soon broke away, her steps carrying her toward the library. The boys vanished into the sitting hall, while she wandered into the quiet sanctum of dust and parchment.
In the dim glow of candlelight, the tome revealed itself—a relic of centuries past. Its dark leather cover was worn smooth by countless hands, each folio delicately folded and sewn with painstaking care. The title shimmered faintly in golden ink: Codex of Mythos.
"Yes… found it!" Kat exclaimed.
She hurried back to the training chamber, clutching the book tightly.
"Look, Tear! Kat found it!" She called, smiling with a strange, brooding pride.
"Well done, Kat," Tear said, patting her head before gently taking the book from her. "Go make tea. We'll join you soon."
Kat left obediently, her footsteps fading into silence.
An uncanny stillness lingered as Tear began leafing through the codex.
"Mmm… not this," he muttered, flipping through brittle, brown-stained pages.
Finally, his hand stilled. His eyes widened at the words before him.
Oh no… we might have f*cked ourselves here. Tear thought, his mind racing.
"Remy," Tear said.
Remy looked up, his eyes locking with Tear's.
"I said drop it."
Remy's gaze darted around, clearly confused by the command.
"But I—" He froze as he glanced at his hands. The dagger had returned.
"Oh, shit!" Remy yelped, hurling it to the ground—only for the blade to melt away and reappear instantly in his grip. The dagger began to vibrate violently, jerking him forward as if it had a will of its own.
"Hey… hey… focus, Remy!" Tear's voice thundered through the room. "Control it—don't let it control you!"
"Ahh—stop! Stop!" Remy cried as the dagger dragged him toward the wall.
Bang!
He slammed against the stone, still clutching the weapon, refusing to let go.
It tugged at his veins, pulsing and writhing as though alive.
Whispers surged through his skull, a chorus of jagged teeth gnawing at his thoughts, slicing and grinding:
Kill. Kill. Kill.
"NO!" Remy barked, forcing the chorus back.
The cadaver's twisted face clawed its way into his mind, dragging him toward that nightmare once more.
The blade wrenched him forward—straight at Tear—its edge angled away from Remy, aimed at Tear, who stood there worried.
The chamber's candles flared, shadows convulsing across the walls as if stirred by some unseen breath. In the blur of that charge, Remy dissolved into the darkness, his form melting into the shadows themselves.
A heartbeat later, he burst from behind Tear.
"Watch out!"
With swift, instinctive grace, Tear shifted aside, raising his arm just enough for Remy's strike to slice harmlessly past.
Tear pounced, landing atop a counter, rising onto his tiptoes like a practiced ballerina.
"Damn it, boy! I told you—focus your thoughts!" Tear shouted, evading another thrust from Remy with fluid precision.
Remy finally relaxed. He closed his eyes, centering every ounce of his being on listening. At first, the whispering voices clawed at his concentration, fracturing his focus.
"Come now, Remy… Is this all your will amounts to?" Tear's voice pierced deep within him, steadying his racing mind.
Listen… let me listen…
Remy tried again. The whispers surged, trying to pull at his mind, but he pushed through. Gradually, the chaos faded, and his mind cleared. Then he heard it—like a thunderous drum:
Dam… daa… dam…
Remy sank into the rhythm, letting it consume him, steadying his heartbeat to its relentless pulse.
"Lorena… I am coming to save you!" Tear's voice cut through the soft rhythm, sharp and commanding.
"Lorena! Lorena!" He called again, each word trembling with urgency.
Remy's eyes snapped open. Tear had stopped moving entirely, frozen mid-step, as if caught in some invisible grip. A chill ran down Remy's spine as he felt an irresistible force pulling him toward Tear's chest.
"Tear! Tear, wake up!" Remy shouted, straining against the pull, panic clawing at him.
But Tear did not respond. His gaze was distant and vacant, and yet his voice came again, faint, like a whisper carried on the wind:
"I've come… you see… to save you."
The pull intensified. Remy's body threatened to betray him, moving faster toward Tear than his will could command. Shadows danced around them, flickering and curling as if they were mocking them, and every heartbeat thundered in Remy's ears, making him disoriented.
Time itself seemed to stretch thin, and the weight of the moment pressed down like a living thing.