In a town bathed in moonlight and lashed by cold, swift winds, a young man lay on the floor of a two-story apartment, three bullet holes torn through his abdomen.
His once-shiny black hair was now dry, his handsome face pale, and his slender body, with fingers as thin as string, motionless.
Dried blood had spread across the floor, the scent of gunpowder long gone, leaving only rot and disgust in its wake.
The room was a wreck—splintered wood littered the space, some pieces stained with blood. A cracked mirror lay on the ground, reflecting an unfathomable void.
Colored powder was scattered about, broken dolls with cracked heads, half-melted candles.
Tack!
With a snap, a shadow cloaked in black appeared in the corner of the room. It moved slowly, scanning the area, and sighed before making a circular motion with its hand.
Wind stirred inside the room, spiraling into a small vortex that exploded into tiny blue particles.
The shadow strolled forward without urgency, crouched, and picked up a shard of green stone from the floor.
Taat!
With a snap of its fingers, the figure vanished.
For a moment, the room was completely silent.
Toc!—Toc!—Toc!
Hurried footsteps echoed on the stairs as three people burst through the door in a frenzy.
The man in the center was of average height, with short brown hair and gray eyes. He wore a black overcoat with a cape, marked with two blue stars on his chest.
To his right, a tall and mature woman's black hair swayed gently. Her black dress flowed like the night itself, and her icy blue eyes scanned the room with a hidden delight.
To his left, a young man in a navy blue hat and black suit with blue trousers surveyed the room with solemn fear. His short black hair shimmered in the sunlight that quietly began replacing the moonlight through the window. His uniform bore only a single star.
Lener, the man in the center, was the first to step forward. His boot made no sound upon entering the room, as if he were floating.
He glanced briefly at the floor before fixing his eyes on the perforated body. His gaze swept over the wounds before he crouched and touched the blood with his finger.
—Fenna, see if you can recreate what happened here. — His voice was deep and clear, almost as if it echoed directly in the listener's mind.
The woman followed with the young man and nodded, raising her hands.
She lowered them slowly, until they touched the floor. Her eyes darkened, and she said solemnly in a voice far too deep to be feminine:
—Reconstruct.
Her forehead touched the floor as her eyes closed.
After a few seconds, she rose like a machine and shook her head.
—There's interference, Chief. I only saw a deep shadow. — she said, rubbing her temple.
The young man in the hat grinned and spoke in a voice caught between boyish and mature:
—So, do we take him to the morgue now?
—No. He may still carry traces of Psyco. We're taking him to headquarters for observation. — Lener stood, giving the room one last sweep with his eyes before lifting the corpse. — Arnil, inform the landlord to call the police. Tell him the city's department will pay—because the Fortress demands it.
The young man nodded eagerly and ran down the stairs, nearly tripping.
Fenna clicked her tongue.
—It's always like this during the first missions.
—Fenna, you were the same, hehe. It's hard to stay serious on a recruit's first case. Go easy on him—Arnil came from the Church of the God of Wisdom. In a few weeks, he'll settle down… I think.
Fenna huffed and nodded, then followed Lener as they carried the body to the Headquarters carriage.
Inside the carriage, Lener laid the body on the floor and assumed a falsely stern expression, leaning against the wall while Fenna stared at the corpse with near-maniacal devotion, and Arnil looked out the window at the rain-washed streets.
As the carriage moved, Lener held back a chuckle at the admiration in Arnil's eyes as he watched Lener stand steady even as the carriage sped along.
Then, a gust of wind blew inside the enclosed carriage. Lener's eyes opened as he stepped back, stomping his foot twice on the floor.
The carriage slowed to a halt. The wind blew once more.
—Fenna, be ready... Kid, be careful. — Lener said, facing the corpse.
A suffocating sense of death and decay filled the carriage. A small white crumb appeared on the floor, and ghostly little bones seemed to rise from the floorboards.
A skeletal hand reached into the air. All three clutched their heads in pain.
Lener leapt aside and lowered his hand. A barrier of black words written on transparent paper shimmered into existence, forming a wall.
Clang!—Clang!—Clang!
The bone hands transformed into drills, ramming against the barrier of forgotten words.
—Arnil, copy this and protect Fenna! — Lener roared as he stepped forward, preparing to kick the corpse.
—Right, Chief...
At that moment, Fenna and Arnil gasped as the once-dead corpse lifted its head, rubbed its temples, and spoke in a hoarse voice:
—Where... am I?
Boom!
Lener's kick connected with the now-alive corpse, launching it through the carriage door, slamming into a brick wall, and crumpling to the ground.
—Shit... you bastard... what did I do?
Leonard looked up to find a pair of graphite-gray eyes staring down at him, a cold revolver barrel pressed to his head.
A strong male voice barked:
—Who are you? How did you come back?
Leonard stared at the man in shock.
"I was just playing video games in my apartment a moment ago."
"Don't tell me I transmigrated to another world... I need to get out of this."
—Sir officer, I really don't know... I was asleep and suddenly woke up here.
Lener looked at the young man's frightened amber eyes and sighed.
—Follow me... — He brushed dust off his coat and muttered —I need to inform the Cathedral and ask Iris to perform some divinations on this.
Leonard stood, his body weak, and sighed in relief.
"My God... okay, looks like I really transmigrated—to a world with crazy powers apparently, since I saw some weird white spikes floating and a wall appear out of nowhere."
Following Lener, Leonard began to monologue internally.
"So it seems I transmigrated at a very delicate moment. To return, I need to figure out how to gain those powers. That's definitely my top priority."
Looking up at the sky, he exhaled slowly, letting the cold air envelope him.