Third Person's POV
Silent Hill Mansion
The study remained unusually quiet.
Alexander sat behind his desk while the afternoon sunlight filtered through the tall windows. His phone rested in his hand, and his eyes remained fixed on the photograph displayed on the screen.
Across from him, Sebastian stood waiting.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
Then Alexander suddenly extended the phone toward him.
"Do you remember this face?"
Sebastian frowned slightly before taking the device.
The photograph showed the man in the beige suit.
The same man who had sat at the head of the table during the meeting of the Five Foes.
Sebastian studied the image carefully.
At first, nothing came to his mind.
He narrowed his eyes and zoomed in slightly, but he still remembered nothing.
Alexander closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Think deeper."
Sebastian glanced up briefly before lowering his eyes to the photograph once more.
A few more seconds passed.
Then his eyebrows slowly drew together and his grip on the phone tightened.
Suddenly, his breathing stopped and his eyes widened.
"No way..."
Alexander remained silent.
Sebastian looked closer at the photo and then he looked up at his master with visibly shaken eyes.
"Master...", Sebastian swallowed, "Isn't this…?"
"Raziel", Alexander finished.
Alexander leaned back against his chair while his gaze drifted toward the ceiling.
For a moment, he looked less like the Puppet Master and more like someone remembering a distant life.
"We met in elementary school."
Sebastian listened quietly.
Alexander's expression softened slightly.
"Raziel was always alone."
His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.
"The other children bullied him constantly because he barely spoke. He wasn't good at defending himself and he spent most of his time reading instead of playing."
A faint memory flashed across his mind.
A small boy sitting beneath a tree while several children mocked him.
Alexander stood between them and protected Raziel.
Alexander exhaled slowly.
"I got into a fight because of him."
Sebastian almost smiled.
That sounded exactly like something a younger Alexander would do.
"After that," Alexander continued, "we became friends. Best friends."
His voice grew quieter.
"We were together almost every day."
The study fell silent again.
Sebastian had never heard Alexander speak this much about his childhood before.
"What happened?" he finally asked.
Alexander lowered his eyes toward the photograph again.
"His family left."
Sebastian frowned.
"Just like that?"
Alexander nodded.
"There was no goodbye."
His jaw tightened slightly.
"One day we were in school talking about our lives and future. The next day, I didn't see him at school."
He stared at the screen.
"His family left Thide Country quietly."
Sebastian folded his arms.
"Did he ever tell you where he came from?"
"No."
Alexander shook his head.
"We were children. I never thought to ask."
The room became quiet once more.
The more Alexander looked at the photograph, the less sense it made.
The boy he remembered and the man seated among the Five Foes felt like two completely different people.
Yet they were the same. The same eyes, the same face and the same hair. It was indeed Raziel.
Sebastian studied Alexander carefully.
The worry in his master's expression was impossible to miss.
"What do we do now?"
Alexander didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he continued staring at the photograph.
Questions kept circling through his mind.
How had Raziel become connected to the Five Foes?
Why had he returned now?
And most importantly, what role did he play in everything happening around Elena?
Alexander slowly rubbed a hand across his face.
Then his gaze shifted toward Sebastian.
"What do you think we should do?"
Sebastian blinked.
It wasn't often Alexander asked for his opinion.
He thought for several seconds, then an idea struck him.
His eyes brightened.
"We call your old man."
Alexander stared at him.
Then slowly, he nodded.
"You're right."
If anyone knew something about Raziel's family, it would be Alexander's old man.
Sebastian immediately pulled out his phone and began dialing.
Meanwhile, Alexander remained seated.
The photograph still filled his screen.
The man in the beige suit stared back at him. He felt like a stranger to Alexander, yet he was no stranger at all.
The call connected.
Sebastian exchanged a few words before handing the phone over.
Alexander lifted it to his ear.
"Old man."
A deep voice answered from the other side.
"Alexander."
Without wasting time, Alexander opened the photograph and sent it.
"I need you to look at something."
A few seconds passed, followed by a long silence.
Alexander frowned.
"Old man?"
Still nothing. Just silence.
Slowly, Alexander sat upright. Something was wrong.
Then finally, the old man spoke.
"How do you know this boy?", he asked. His voice shook from the other end of the line.
Alexander's eyes narrowed instantly.
"You recognize him?"
Another pause followed.
When the old man spoke again, the tension in his voice had become unmistakable.
"Alexander..."
His grip tightened around the phone.
"What is it?"
The old man exhaled heavily.
Then he whispered words that made Alexander's blood go cold.
"Raziel should be dead."