Juson drove through the dark streets, his hands resting stiffly on the steering wheel. The headlights cut a narrow path ahead, but everything beyond it felt swallowed by darkness.
His thoughts refused to settle.
Herik… unconscious.
The flickering lights.
And now Hakiten missing.
None of it felt separate anymore. It felt connected. Tightly. Like pieces of something he couldn't fully see yet.
The road stretched on, empty and silent.
When Wanna's house finally came into view, Juson slowed down without realizing it. The car rolled to a stop a few feet away.
The front door was slightly open.
He didn't move.
His fingers tightened around the wheel as he stared at the house.
That's not normal.
Wanna wasn't careless. She wouldn't leave the door open. Not at night. Not when she was alone with her daughter.
Something's wrong.
Juson stepped out of the car, closing the door quietly behind him. The night air felt colder than it should have.
He walked toward the entrance, each step slower than the last.
Before he could reach the door, it shifted.
It slid open on its own.
Juson stopped.
Wanna stood there.
"Took you long enough," she said.
Her voice was steady. Too steady.
Juson stepped inside. The moment he crossed the doorway, the air changed.
The house felt still.
Not calm.
Not peaceful.
Still, like something was holding it in place.
"Where's Hakiten?" Juson asked, his voice sharper than he intended.
Wanna hesitated. Just for a second.
"He left last night."
Juson frowned. "What?"
"I tried calling him," she said. "No signal. I've been looking for him all day."
That didn't make sense.
Hakiten wouldn't just disappear. Not without a reason.
Unless he already knew something.
Wanna moved toward the table and picked up a few torn pieces of paper. She handed them to Juson.
"I found these in the trash."
Juson took them.
The moment he saw the writing, something inside him tightened.
It's the same.
The same strange, uneven script he had seen before.
Why would Hakiten write something like this… and throw it away?
Unless he didn't want anyone to see it.
Or… he changed his mind too late.
"I need to see his room," Juson said.
Wanna nodded and unlocked the door, but stopped as a soft cry came from another room.
"My daughter—"
"Go," Juson said. "I'll check."
He stepped inside.
The room felt… off.
He couldn't explain it properly.
It wasn't empty.
It wasn't full.
It just felt wrong.
Like the air itself didn't belong there.
His eyes moved slowly across the room.
A bed. A table.
And in the corner, two sealed boxes.
Juson walked toward them and knocked lightly.
A dull, heavy sound echoed back.
Something dense was inside.
Not hollow.
Not light.
Whatever was in there… wasn't normal storage.
He stepped back.
Why would Hakiten keep something like this hidden?
Juson turned, scanning the room again.
Then he saw it.
A paper lying on the floor, half-shadowed under the table.
He crouched down and picked it up.
Unlike the torn pieces outside, this one was clear.
Neat.
Intentional.
"Lost a healer and stable."
Juson read it again.
And again.
Lost a healer…
His mind immediately jumped to Herik.
No.
That doesn't make sense.
Herik isn't a healer.
Is he ?
Stable.
The word lingered.
A quiet unease settled in his chest.
Hakiten knew something.
Something he didn't explain.
Something he couldn't control.
Juson looked around the room again, slower this time.
There had to be more.
He moved to the table and pulled open the drawer.
Empty.
Just a pen.
For a second, he almost closed it.
Then he noticed it.
At the back.
Something faintly glowing.
Juson leaned in.
A glass cube.
Not perfectly shaped. Its edges looked uneven, like it hadn't been properly formed.
Inside it, red sand moved.
Slowly.
Not falling.
Not settling.
Moving.
Like it had a will of its own.
Juson stared at it, his breath slowing.
That's not possible.
Sand doesn't move like that.
Unless… this isn't sand.
A strange thought crossed his mind.
Is this what Hakiten was hiding?
Is this connected to Herik?
The glow reflected faintly in his eyes.
For a moment, he felt like the cube was… responding.
Watching.
He pulled the drawer shut.
Too fast.
The sound echoed in the quiet room.
Juson stood still.
Something about that cube felt wrong.
Not dangerous.
Not yet.
But not safe either.
The doorbell rang.
Sharp. Sudden.
Juson turned immediately and walked out of the room.
Wanna was already at the door.
She opened it.
A man stood outside.
"You're here, Juson."
Juson froze.
The voice felt familiar.
But the face—
He couldn't see it.
The light from outside was too strong, wrapping around the figure and turning him into a dark silhouette.
No features.
No expression.
Just a shape.
Juson's chest tightened.
Something about the way the man stood… wasn't right.
Like he was there—
but not completely.
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