The evening air was much more pleasant compared to the midday one. Rambled the history lecturer Azik in his mind.
Standing by the grand double metal gates, he patiently waited for Evelyn, who said she would return in the evening.
Soon enough, his instinct told him she was already nearby, even if he could not see the lady.
"Good evening, Mr Azik." She greeted him in a short bow by bending her back and lifting the corners of her black skirt.
"Good evening to you too, my lady." Azik reciprocated the gesture easily, taking out the hand-drawn portrait and looking at it one more time.
"Are you sure we will be able to find clues about Lamud there?"
"Actually, not at all. I'm merely basing myself on luck." She jested with a small chuckle, signaling for Azik to follow her.
"I came here by carriage, it will take us to the place in no less than two hours. I hope you're not hungry or need to take bathroom breaks on the way." She made sure to notify the man in advance, to not be caught in surprise.
"I'm alright. No need to worry." He followed her in the private carriage, and sat face-to-face with Evelyn, offering a light smile.
Amanises knocked on the window to the driver, "To Lamud Town."
To which, the driver only nodded and flipped the rains, the carriage gradually increasing in speed.
In normal cases, Amanises wouldn't be so calm when facing another person, especially if said person is rumored to be a powerful, and perhaps immortal, Beyonder.
However, the driver to the carriage was another member of The Arcanists, Kenley.
She requested he'd drive them when he got off work, that's why Amanises didn't call upon Azik the moment the Tarot Gathering was over. She was waiting for Kenley to be done.
Relaxed, she eased in her own seat, patting down on her dress.
"Mr Azik, how have the students been lately?"
She engaged him in idle chatter to pass the time.
Azik seemed quite fond of his students, often bringing remarks about a few outstanding ones.
But soon his voice trailed off, he turned into a sorrowful mood.
Must be thinking about Klein Moretti...
I would be the same if the student I pushed for an interview ended up killing himself.
She couldn't help but pity the poor guilt-ridden teacher. He really wasn't at fault.
Soon enough the carriage stopped and they both got off. Amanises whispered for Kenley to wait for them there, and not follow any further, to which he agreed.
…
Lamud wasn't all that special.
And old town, with even older houses, one more weathered than the other. But it was still populated somehow.
"I don't think we will find anything in the town itself, how about we check the ruins of the castle?" Amanises offered her idea.
"I was thinking of that too. This town and houses don't jog my memory at all. Not even from the nightmare."
They continued their march up the small hill, where the dark ruins of the former Lamud Castle sat in solitude, untainted by the foot of man.
It was the origin of many horror stories around. There was even a legend of a ghost knight.
At least, this was what she was able to gather from the Archives.
The passed a dry well, and Azik started holding his head tightly, being hit with a heavy migraine.
She stopped in her tracks to tend to the man, who waved her off after only a little bit. "I'm okay, let's continue." She nodded and resumed her pace.
Although thousands of years have passed, I can still recognize some rooms that I've seen in the memory. The flooring is still the same, but sadly the portraits were stolen...
The ruins were peaceful, only the slight, turbid wind gave a while from time to time.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The air grew colder, giving Amanises chills down her arms and back.
She heard mumbling coming from the man behind her.
"You're...still here—" Azik stuttered, clutching his head, high enough for Amanises to hear from before him.
What—
Slash!
Suddenly, a heavy sword came down from above, nearly slashing Amanises into two!
A headless black armor with a long flowing cape appeared in her vision, holding said sword.
But when it was about to reach her—
"Stop!" Azik raised his voice.
This startled Amanises more than the ghost possessing the armor.
It's even scarier when calm people shout!
She felt goosebumps all over, she was a hair's breath from being a Kit Kat!
The sword was still held near her face, but the armor ghost was trembling all over.
As if a child who was yelled at by their father for the first time in a while, only—
This isn't just an analogy.
She recognized the armor, it was the one Baron Lamud wore along the river, and the one he gave his son before his ultimate departure!
Don't tell me...
The image of a cheeky child played in her mind, one sunkissed by the rays of the morning dawn.
One that cried for his mother's embrace.
It was him!
The child from the memories!
She glanced at Azik, who was looking at the spirit with a complicated expression.
Behind that frown, stood immeasurable sadness.
That—child... That child! He wanted to shout.
He wanted to run to that armor.
He wanted to embrace it tightly.
But when he made a singular move, the spirit cowered back, afraid of his own father.
Its reasoning had already disappeared after countless years of being locked up, with only a slither of imagery remaining from his memories.
His mother and—
His father.
The spirit fully stepped back, dropped the sword and fell to the ground.
It dissipated, becoming one with the Spirit World, as if it had never even existed.
Azik's eyes widened, he ran towards the armor, only catching a few falling pieces, which turned to dust the moment they came into contact with his hands.
Azik grasped the rust tightly in his hands, bringing it to his heart.
"My child..." A sob. One singular sob escaped him.
That was it.
This nightmare was over.
So it was really him. Thousands of years ago...
Seeing this melancholic sight made Amanises want to shed a tear herself, however she willed to be strong, and to not cry over such matters.
This wasn't even her own sadness.
She made a move to approach him, intending to grasp his shoulder but suddenly, his firm voice shocked her.
"How long are you going to keep on watching?"
For a moment, she thought he was referring to herself, but her spiritual intuition told her otherwise.
Behind her, three sets of footsteps were heard and belonging to those footsteps were three men dressed in brown suits and overalls underneath.
The Machinery Hivemind.
"What's going on here?" Asked one of them in an indifferent tone. He seemed to be the captain of the bunch.
"I'd like to ask that too." Responded back Azik, mirroring the same indifference.
"We are here from a report of a spirit that haunts dreams, our job is to eliminate it. But it seems you've done the work for us. Who are you?"
Azik Eggers got up from the ground, letting the rust scatter in the air. "Lamud."
"What?"
"Baron Lamud."
"That's impossible." The same man spoke, not letting the other two let a word in. "Whoever lived in this castle has been dead for more than a thousand years."
"That's true." He turned around and faced them, black eyes catching the faces of the three. "I don't remember ever living."
In the flash of a millisecond, he was already in front of the man, who opened his mouth but froze instantly, not getting a sound out.
He looked straight into the eyes of the bronze-skinned man, finding no trace of a living being there.
Or perhaps there was the echo of a few.
A few souls that he had killed.
The captain fainted on the ground, the other two watching the scene with wide eyes.
Even Amanises on the side was incredibly surprised, she had a small fear in her heart.
He's not going to kill me too now, is he? Hehe...?
Azik waved his hand and the other two Machinery Hivemind teammates fell to the ground still.
Thud! Thud!
Just like that, all three laid down on the ruined floor.
Azik turned back to Amanises, who flinched slightly.
He pursed his lips and said. "They're only asleep. I erased their memories of seeing us. We should be fine."
Well if you say so! She wasn't about to retaliate.
"Thank you for the provided help, my lady. I am eternally grateful." He bent his back to show utmost gratitude.
She waved her hands in dismissal. "All in a day's work, Mr! I'm just happy I could help jog your mind a little! Hehe..."
She gave an awkward laugh, still in shock from the events.
"I'm also happy. I was able to remember all those beautiful memories that have been ripped from me. I wonder...could the rest of my dreams also connect this way?
"I've had a lot of them over the years..."
He was lost in thought again.
"I'm sure they would gradually resurface, with time given, of course." She gave her thoughts on the matter.
"Yes yes. You're right."
Azik suddenly stopped talking, then—he looked at her and addressed her concerns.
"You've spoken about Klein Moretti a lot since we've met."
Amanises let out a relieved sigh.
"Yes, that's correct. Actually, it's my mission to find out what happened to him."
Her expression turned serious as she continued.
"Mr Azik, I don't think that Klein Moretti committed suicide for no reason, or not for the reason you think."
Azik was surprised. "Really?"
"There are mystical elements to his death, ones that connect him to a more spread out chain. He may not be just collateral damage, but a key victim!"
He digested her words slowly, before nodding.
"Now that I think about it, that might be true. His friends, Welch and Naya, also died the same way, around the same time..." His voice trailed off.
After a few moments of thinking some more, he lifted his head up again.
"Some days before his death, Klein came to me, claiming that Welch had found an ancient notebook written in strange symbols.
"He, Welch and Naya have been trying to decipher it, finding no leads as to who it might've belonged to.
"Naya suspected that it was from the Fourth Epoch, but Klein suspected it was from an even older time period."
This!
Amanises widened her eyes. This is just what I have been looking for!
"This is incredibly useful, Mr Azik. Anything else?"
He shook his head. "I'm afraid not."
"If you would be able to find the actual cause for his death, please inform this poor teacher too."
She nodded twice in a fast manner. "Of course!"
Before leaving the ruins, Amanises glanced back at the three men, sound asleep on the ground.
Can I loot them?
She had a silent question which was somewhat answered by Azik.
"One of them holds an item which will change them if left unattended."
He moved towards the captain of the team and took out a golden brooch from his inner pocket.
"Here. Don't hold it, or stay near it for more than three hours. Give it to the ones you work for when we arrive back." He instructed while handing it to her.
"Yes, I will." Said Amanises with a smile.