Ethan sat in one of the local cafés.
He kept glancing at his watch. Ethan was wearing a white shirt, jeans, and sneakers.
When he looked at his watch, he frowned. "He's late."
What Ethan was waiting for was the man who had taken responsibility for him after his parents' death: Argar. Ethan didn't know his surname, nor had he ever heard Argar mention it.
While Ethan was lost in thought, someone sat across from him. It was a man who looked to be in his late forties, with black and gray hair, a short beard, wearing a business suit and an overcoat.
The man was Argar. He looked at Ethan with calm black eyes. "Sorry for being late, I…" Argar hesitated for a moment before continuing, "The road was crowded."
Ethan noticed Argar's hesitation but didn't comment. He was used to Argar being late. "Anyway, I called you to tell you that I'll be moving to Paris next week."
Argar looked at him in surprise. "What? Why? How come? Does John know about this?"
"Well, I didn't tell John, but it doesn't matter. I found a job at a magazine that liked my photos, and they want me in Paris. I think it'll be good for me… a change of atmosphere. You know what I mean." Ethan spoke with slight hesitation in his voice.
Argar looked at him. "I see. John told me your nightmares about your parents have been happening more than once a week. That's troubling."
Ethan looked at Argar for a while. "It seems John tells you everything, especially about those dreams."
"You know we're just worried about you, Ethan," Argar replied calmly.
Ethan stayed silent for a while, staring at the table before raising his head. His brown eyes, now flickering faintly with a red spark, met Argar's black ones, which caught the glow. "Tell me the truth. Is there something I don't know about my father's death?"
Argar looked at Ethan uneasily. "Stop asking questions, Ethan. You know well your parents died because of a gas leak."
Ethan slammed the table, making everyone look at him. Argar grabbed his wrist, but Ethan spoke in quiet anger, his eyes hardening. "Then how do you explain that I didn't suffocate, that I was able to escape and call for help? How do you explain that?"
"Ethan, you're making a scene for no reason. I think you need to see a doctor. Maybe he can prescribe you some sedatives." Argar spoke while tightening his grip on Ethan's wrist, making him feel pain. The pain pushed away Ethan's anger, calming him down.
When Argar noticed Ethan's calm, he eased his grip and released him. Ethan grabbed his wrist, sweating and grimacing in pain.
Ethan stood up from the table and left quickly before Argar could say a word.
As Ethan walked away, Argar looked at his hand and found his palm had turned red—it was burned.
Argar clenched his teeth, thinking, No… it can't be. She's awakening. This is not the right time.
He pulled out his phone, dialed a few numbers, and as soon as the line connected, he said, "It's awakening."
The call ended. Lowering the phone, Argar suddenly vanished from the café and reappeared in an empty warehouse.
Looking around, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. When he turned, he saw a hand made of shadow. Following it, he revealed a full figure of darkness staring at him with glowing white eyes.
The moment Argar saw it, he knew what was coming. He shouted, unable to move, "Damn it! We had a deal, we had a deal!"
The shadow grabbed Argar's face, shifting into a ghostly form, and began to enter his body. Argar's face twisted in agony, his black eyes bulging, tears of blood spilling down.
When the shadow fully entered through his mouth, Argar's body collapsed, convulsing. After a moment, it stood again.
His eyes now glowed white, just like the shadow's earlier ones, which seemed to possess him.
Argar cracked his neck and body, bones snapping unnaturally.
Suddenly, the burn on his hand healed, and the gray in his hair and beard turned black again.
Looking at his body, Argar spoke in a voice far darker than the one Ethan knew. "An old body, but it will serve. Let's report to the Lady."
He began sinking slowly into the ground, merging with the shadows until he was gone.
…
Argar emerged from the shadows in another location. This time, he was kneeling on one knee, his head lowered.
The new location was a room with a Japanese design. He never raised his head. As soon as he fully emerged, he spoke two words: "Greetings, Lady."
Before him sat an old Japanese woman with white hair, cross-legged with her eyes closed, wearing a kimono decorated with cherry blossoms.
Her heavy, calm words left her lips without opening her eyes, spoken in Japanese:
"あなたは彼の体をコントロールしているようですね. / You seem to have control over his body."
"その少年は目覚め始めていると聞きました. / I've been told the boy is starting to wake up."
Upon hearing her words, Argar replied without ever lifting his head. "That's why I took control of his body. The man was no longer reliable for monitoring the boy. He couldn't handle the situation, especially with the nature of the boy's power."
The old woman remained silent, eyes still closed, even as the shadow spoke.
"今は問題ありません.計画はそのままにしておきますが,早く進むでしょう. / It doesn't matter now. The plan will remain the same, but it will move faster."
The shadow nodded, still keeping his head lowered, then sank back into the candlelit shadows of the room.
As soon as he vanished completely, the old woman opened her eyes.
They were white and empty, staring at nothing. If Ethan had been in this room, he would have noticed the terrifying resemblance between these eyes and his father's eyes in his nightmares.
Suddenly, the white, hollow eyes began to glow inside her sockets.
"道はすぐに開けるだろう / The way will be clear soon."
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CHAPTER TWO END