Nadia opened her eyes to find herself in an unfamiliar place.
Looking left and right, it looked like a noble’s living quarters but how and when she got here was lost to her.
She blinked a few times before sitting up in bed, her right palm placed on her temple to deal with the sudden headache she felt.
Letting out a stifled groan, memories of what happened before she passed out came flooding in, leaving her in pain for a brief moment.
Just as she was trying to recover from the pain, she heard a familiar voice.
She glanced toward the foot of the bed to find Alex seated on a wooden chair with a book in one hand and a smile on his lips that didn’t seem to reach his eyes.
"How do you feel?" Alex inquired after a few seconds of silence.
Nadia’s lips moved as she intoned softly. "Light-headed."
"... I know I didn’t ask when we first got here but where are we?"
"In the residence of an acquaintance."
Nadia pursed her lips as she looked around. "Is this where you were last night?"
Silence reigned yet again as Nadia turned to meet Alex’s gaze.
An unknown emotion could be deciphered from his deep dark eyes.
A whole minute passed before Nadia broke the ice, asking the question gnawing at her.
"...Would you believe me if I said I don’t know?"
"Are Devil Wheel Mystics capable of learning about the future through dreams?" Alex asked before adding. "Especially when it relates to a person’s death?"
Nadia furrowed her brows, pondering for a moment before she replied. "It is possible to perform fortune-telling with the right materials but what you speak of is not in any of the domains exclusive to the Devil Wheel."
"I see." Alex was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when Nadia continued.
"But the phenomenon is a staple for Banshees."
"Banshee?" Alex raised a brow.
"Mn, the Night Kindred consists of four species of Cryptids; Vampires, Hyenas, Werewolves, and Banshees. Banshees are said to have connections to the domain of death, with them serving as forerunners when a person’s death is near."
"That means..." Alex trailed off as he thought of a certain possibility.
His eyes flashed with a strange emotion as he found himself sinking deeper into the helplessness he felt.
Nadia felt her heart palpitate as she watched him silently.
It was the first time she sensed such an emotion from him.
Was the situation that bad?
Taking a deep breath, she inquired. "Is something wrong?"
"... Maybe..." Alex replied before adding in a softer tone. "...Maybe not."
Worry washed over his expression as he dropped the book in his hands.
"It’s a situation where I regret being so good at reading people," Alex remarked with a self-deprecating smile. "If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be so shaken by the words of a young girl."
Nadia watched Alex, a complicated expression on her visage.
Pursing her lips, she slowly made her way out of the bed and sauntered over to Alex’s side.
She knelt before him and reached out her hand.
Alex looked at the outstretched hand and then met her gaze.
"But I made a decision when I took your hand that night."
"That no matter what... I will break out of the shadows of my mother."
"And yes, even though it seems now like we could die... I don’t believe we have lost yet. You said it yourself, didn’t you?... Don’t focus on the uncertainty of the future and instead, pursue the now."
"... I never said that."
Nadia furrowed her brows at the sudden response.
Letting out a sigh, she remarked. "I paraphrased what you said."
"..." Alex returned to silence yet again.
His dark eyes seemed to glow for a moment as though he had realized something.
The worry on his face disappeared with shock taking its place.
"Crow Mask. He is utilizing the fear in our hearts, weaponizing it against us." Alex said before clicking his tongue in annoyance. "Damn it, I can’t believe I was affected without even knowing it."
"Huh?... What are you talking about?"
"Why didn’t I realize this sooner?... Just like in BoneHaven, the same curtain of fear he used is active here."
"Nadia!" Alex called out as he grabbed Nadia’s shoulders, his previous dreariness completely gone, instead replaced by a blazing fire.
"..." Nadia was left unsure of what to say.
Then Alex spoke. "Thank you."
"Ah..." Nadia blinked repeatedly, clearly flustered by what was happening while expecting answers, unfortunately, Alex didn’t explain further as he rose to his feet and rushed out of the room, leaving the former to her thoughts.
As the door slammed with a thud, Nadia was forced to ask.
"What just happened?"
Alex walked down the hallway, a complicated expression on his face as he moved.
"What is he after?" Alex couldn’t help but question as he recalled the man in the crow mask.
His actions were quite confusing and didn’t seem to have any pattern at all.
Even more confusing was his skill set which seemed to inculcate different domains.
Was it right to guess that maybe the Third-party wasn’t alone?
It was a possibility but Alex had no evidence to back up that thought.
Letting out a sigh, he placed it on the back burner as he paused halfway down the hallway and taking a deep breath, closed his eyes.
Out of fear of dying, Alex ended up doing things that were unlike him.
Allowing his emotions to cloud his judgment, and taking unnecessary risks... thankfully he caught himself before it was too late.
Now he had to figure out what Crow Mask was after.
Immediately, the distorted memories Claudia had told him about came to mind.
With it, the realization that maybe the train attack wasn’t as random as he thought it to be.
He opened his eyes as he muttered. "I know something..."
No... Alex shook his head as he corrected himself.
"Alex knows something."
That was the only way to explain it and if he was correct, the person Crow Mask was after during the attack was ’Alex’ but upon realizing that he wasn’t powerless, he decided on another method to take care of him.
"But why is he using such a convoluted method?... Why not just come for me directly?"
Alex could still recall his fight with the Crow Mask.
He was led along throughout the clash so he knew for certain that whoever was behind the Crow Mask was definitely no weaker than Basar and more than that, he was clearly of a sound mind.
Alex shook his head to get rid of unnecessary thoughts.
For now, he had only one goal in mind.
Accessing the distorted memories residing in his memory space.
He resumed walking and soon arrived at Arwen’s room.
Taking a deep breath to regain his composure, he knocked gently on the door.
A moment later, Arwen’s voice was heard. "Come in."
Alex turned the doorknob and entered to discover that she was alone in the room.
Out of curiosity, he asked. "Where’s Claudia?"
"She left for home to see her father."
"I see." Alex nodded thoughtfully before quickly broaching up the reason he came. "How are you feeling?"
"Better, why?" Arwen replied.
After sharing the nightmare she had with Alex, she no longer treated him as a stranger nor did she consider him the Dark Lord.
Especially considering he already made it clear he wasn’t who they thought he was.
If anything, he was merely an acquaintance with a strange power set, and for Alex, he could wish for nothing more than such an evaluation.