Inside the Detroit Police Department, the police chief stared at the psychological evaluation Harleen had handed him. He read the final conclusion again before slowly lowering the report.
Subject is mentally sound. No evidence of hallucinations, delusions, or fabricated memories. Witness testimony is considered credible.
The chief looked up at Harleen. "So... you're telling me a human being vomited up every bone and internal organ in his body... and what was left was nothing but skin?"
His voice carried more disbelief than skepticism.
He had already received identical evaluations from two local psychiatrists — that was precisely why he had requested a specialist from Arkham Asylum.
If anyone could tell him the witness had simply lost his mind, it would have been Harleen.
Instead, her report matched theirs.
"The witness is telling the truth," Harleen said.
The chief leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh. "Great." He rubbed his forehead. "The mayor's going to laugh me out of the office."
Daniel finally spoke from behind Harleen. "I mean, Chief..." He shrugged casually.
"Considering everything that's happened on Earth recently, one more impossible case isn't exactly unbelievable anymore."
"A few months ago, people would've laughed if someone said aliens invaded Metropolis. Now we've got Kryptonians, metahumans, and cities quarantined because of a virus created by a clown." He spread his hands.
"Compared to that, a guy vomiting up his entire skeleton and organs is just another weird Tuesday."
The chief couldn't even argue with that. He looked at Daniel for a moment before narrowing his eyes. "...Have we met before?"
Daniel smiled faintly. "I don't think so."
The Veil covering him subtly distorted how others perceived his appearance — unless someone already knew exactly who he was, their minds simply failed to make the connection.
The chief scratched his chin. "You look familiar."
"I get that a lot."
The chief eventually gave up. "Alright." He placed Harleen's report into the case file.
"Thank you for your help, Doctor Quinzel." He nodded toward the door. "You two are free to go."
As Daniel and Harleen turned to leave, the chief looked once more at the photograph of the victim lying on his desk.
After more than twenty years as a police officer, he had never encountered a murder case that disturbed him quite like this one.
Daniel and Harleen stepped out of the chief's office and walked down the hallway in silence. After a while, Harleen glanced at him with an intrigued smile. "So... want to take a look at the body?"
Daniel shook his head with a helpless smile. "You know, your hobbies can be seriously disturbing sometimes."
Harleen simply shrugged. "Occupational hazard. I don't get many cases where a victim supposedly vomits out every bone and organ in their body." She pushed open the heavy door leading to the morgue.
"And honestly... I'm curious."
Daniel couldn't argue with that. So was he.
A medical examiner greeted them and led them to one of the refrigerated storage units. He unlocked the compartment, grabbed the metal tray, and slowly pulled it out.
The moment the body came into view, Harleen stopped walking. "...Holy..."
Even after everything she had witnessed at Arkham, the sight in front of her was deeply unsettling.
The corpse had collapsed in on itself — no muscle, no skeleton supporting the body, no visible internal organs. It resembled an empty human-shaped shell laid across the metal table.
"Our autopsy confirmed it," the medical examiner said quietly. "There wasn't a single bone or organ left inside. We've never seen anything like it."
Daniel stepped closer, his expression gradually becoming serious. Then his eyes turned completely black.
Harleen had seen those eyes before — whenever Daniel used them, he was looking at something no one else could perceive.
For nearly half a minute, he silently examined the corpse. Finally, he exhaled. "...It's magic."
Harleen folded her arms. "You can tell just by looking?"
"There's still magical residue attached to the body." His gaze remained fixed on the corpse.
"But something about it is wrong. I've encountered divine magic. I've encountered human magic. This doesn't resemble either of them."
The lingering energy felt twisted. It wasn't merely dark — it carried an unnatural hunger, as though the spell itself had been alive when it consumed the victim from the inside.
Daniel slowly withdrew his gaze and his eyes returned to normal. "This wasn't cast by a god."
He gently touched the edge of the examination table. "And I don't believe any ordinary human magician is capable of this."
Harleen looked back at the shriveled corpse. "Then what are we dealing with?"
Daniel's eyes narrowed. "Something inhuman."
***
Night had fallen over Detroit. Rain poured into the narrow alley, water splashing across the cracked pavement as thunder rolled overhead.
Rachel stood with her back against the wall. Two men blocked the only exit.
One of them took a slow step forward. "Rachel... be a good girl and come with us. Your father has been waiting for you."
Rachel's breathing grew heavier. "I don't have a father."
"Oh... you do. And he's been looking for you for a very long time."
Inside Rachel's mind, the familiar voice returned.
See? Didn't I tell you not to trust strangers? Now look where it got us.
Rachel lowered her head. The darkness around her feet began spreading across the wet ground like living ink. Her eyes slowly turned black.
Before either of the men could move, a calm voice echoed through the alley. "So... this is where the darkness has been hiding."
Rachel immediately turned around.
A man stood at the entrance of the alley. Daniel. The rain should have been pouring over him — instead, every raindrop curved around his body, leaving him completely untouched. His expression remained calm as he looked directly at Rachel.
Then her eyes widened.
Behind Daniel, his shadow wasn't normal. It stretched unnaturally across the flooded alley, far longer than any shadow should.
Within that endless darkness, countless human figures struggled in silence — some clawed desperately at the black surface as though trapped beneath it forever, others reached upward begging for release, others screamed in absolute despair.
Pale flashes of lightning illuminated the shadow every few seconds, revealing thousands upon thousands of tormented souls before darkness swallowed them once again.
Rachel instinctively took a step back.
*****
A/N: If you'd like to read ahead of the Webnovel release schedule, you can join my Patreon!
The Patreon version is 30 chapters ahead.
👉 patreon.com/Universal_Peace