Humanity—regardless of skin color, name, origin, or even birthplace.
At some point, every person has acted with humanity for the good of someone else. Feeling compassion and a desire to survive no matter what happens is something that defines us as a species.
Scientific studies have shown that a person with suicidal thoughts, when throwing themselves into the sea and sinking into the water, will swim back to the surface just to breathe—proving two things: their desire to live and their intent to kill only a stage of their life.
Everyone wants to live a peaceful and happy life, to find happiness in marriage, joining their life with another person regardless of what a piece of paper says, or to prove they are someone in the world through their success.
Throughout history, there have always been conflicts and wars, life-or-death struggles, and even immoral acts committed just to survive.
Dark entities have once again emerged, threatening every plan for the future of humankind. With the discovery that such entities had existed even since ancient times, great concern arose—knowing they are becoming more dangerous by the day.
Many people ignore the fact that their own safety and happiness are created by others. No one would imagine that many people suffer, cry, die, and kill to ensure a peaceful day for civilians.
"Is that their job?"
That's the first thing many say when trying to receive praise just for doing their work. But is public safety just a job? Dying in wars and confrontations with dark entities is not a job. Many of the agents who fight and die every day agree that dark entities should be revealed to the public.
"They must know the truth about the end of their world." However, it is still too soon to reveal something that would replace that peaceful, happy life with fear and unpredictable terror.
The first thing that must be secured is public trust in the government. Those who defend that safety must have the confidence to eliminate 99.99% of dark entities.
However, even now, dark entities are something that many people who know of their existence choose to overlook. As soon as they learn about their abilities, fear overtakes them—the fear of becoming prey.
A human, considered the most intelligent being, naturally fit to survive and lead on Earth. But suddenly, all that power and authority are slowly stripped away by strange things that emerge from nowhere.
"If even in my dreams I can't be safe, I should work during my days to create a happy world." Many had ambitions, crazy ideas, and personal feelings.
…
A few days later, in a quiet town in Virginia.
Jonathan, accompanied by Wednesday, quickly joined the case that had been assigned to him—one in which many other agents had already failed.
"[…
Mission in Progress: Special Case of Investigation and Elimination.
Incident Number: 192
Affected Entity: Male, 35 years old
Occupation: Company Employee
Family Relations: Married, one daughter
Contact Address: X293-8003-Y083
Case Type: Possible hidden supernatural entity; no traces of negative energy have been found so far.]"
Now looking at the information on his computer, Jonathan focused on the files and found one audio recording that seemed particularly intriguing.
"Let's see what this is about…" Wednesday pressed the audio file, and it began to play.
"[I… I mean… Things, things have been very strange during the time we've been in that house… Everything should have happened three months ago. I mean, it should have started back then.]"
Jonathan listened to the recordings Wednesday was playing. Like a detective, he needed to conduct a detailed investigation to determine whether this was a supernatural incident that required direct intervention.
Unlike the non-corporeal dark entities, which were relatively easy to locate with the new tracking technology, incorporeal entities had become increasingly intelligent to avoid detection—and that's why agents of the light existed.
But Jonathan wasn't part of the Order's elite group, so he had to solve his own cases just like everyone else.
"I'll check the previous owners of the house," said Wednesday, clearly intrigued.
Looking at the screen again after making some notes, Jonathan pressed the button to continue the playback.
"[The weekend three months ago, I bought a pretty old house. We moved to a new community, so I decided to take my family to the park to help them get familiar with the area. The park near our house is really amazing. When my daughter found out she could row a boat on the artificial lake, she insisted I take her, so I agreed—just like any father would in my situation.]"
"[Everything was normal. Rowing a boat can be tiring, but this one had an electric motor for people with little endurance, like me. We went out to the middle of the lake; at that point, she wanted to row with the oars, so I turned off the motor to give her a more rustic experience. She rowed, singing happily—but then something hit us… I swear I didn't do anything, everything is so confusing… I don't even understand why I have to tell all this…]"
Jonathan listened without showing any expression. Investigation cases were like this—since it was often impossible to determine right away whether it was a dark entity or an accident. Field agents gathered the data and sent it to those who would contain the threat, as well as determine if it truly involved a dark entity.
"Mr. Mohammed, please tell us sincerely and without fear—what did you find?"
"[Well, at first, I thought it was trash floating in the lake… I'd read online about people throwing garbage into the park, so that's what I assumed. Who wouldn't? There's all kinds of trash, some big and strange… At that moment, I really thought it was garbage, so I went closer to look.]"
Jonathan noticed the man's voice trembling. He didn't know what had happened yet, as the investigation had just begun, but the deeper the story went, the more data he gathered.
"Mr. Mohammed, please continue."
"[Oh… Let me think. Yes, the trash… I thought it was trash, so I looked closer to see if I could remove it from the lake, and then I saw that right next to that floating trash was a human head. At first, I didn't realize it was a human head—its long hair was floating, and the face was so pale it barely looked human. I could see it shining under the sun from the reflection of the light. I used the oar to move the head. I honestly didn't think it was really a human head…]"
"Mr. Mohammed, drink some water, relax, and speak slowly so we can understand."
"[Some water? No… that thing will find me. I'd better not have water nearby…]"
"Mr. Mohammed, please calm down. Take a deep breath and relax."
"[Hmm, yes… that's what I'll do…]"
"Can you continue?"
"[Yes, I feel much better now… At that moment, as I said, I wanted to look closer, but then I noticed more boats approaching. Their motors were stirring the water a lot, the sound was very loud, and when I heard a strange noise, I looked up. When I looked back down, the human head was gone. It really disappeared as if it had never been there. I remember rowing frantically, thinking the movement of the water had pushed it away, but I found nothing. I was worried, so I called the police. Am I in trouble for that?]"
"[Not at all, Mr. Mohammed. You did the right thing. When you looked at the water, you clearly remembered that familiar scene—the water moved strangely, as if something was swimming, but it's impossible for it to move when it's still. Days went by, and then things started to change. In my home pool, animal bodies began to appear. Everyone said they heard the water moving, as if someone was swimming in the middle of the night, which was impossible.]"
"Yes, we understand everything…"
"[But then I saw it again…]"
"Mr. Mohammed, what did you clearly see?"
"Can you say it?"
"[I could see the head again… This time it was upside down, as if looking into the pool from within…]"
"Can't you describe the facial features of that human head?"
"[Eh… It's too hard to do, I don't think I can remember. I saw that face in the pool and thought I'd gone insane—but I want to make it clear, I don't use any kind of drugs.]"
"What happened after this incident?"
"[I saw that head in the sewer…]"
"That was after you saw it in the pool?"
"[Yes, it appeared in many places, like a ghost… Once or twice a week without fail. Sometimes when I was showering, other times in places like fish tanks.]"
"And still, you don't remember its facial features?"
"[No…]"
"Has the head always been in the water?"
"[Yes, once it even appeared in the toilet. When I flushed it, I thought the drain was clogged, but I saw that head blocking the water. I was so scared I honestly wanted to end my life…]"
"Do you only see it in your house?"
"[At first, only at home—but later, no! I was washing my hands at work, and something came out of the water pipe…]"
"The head?"
"[No… black hair…]"
Jonathan frowned as the field agents' interview progressed. He knew they had to be absolutely sure it was a valid suspicion before confirming the involvement of a dark entity.
"[Water began appearing all over my body. My wife thought I was wetting my pants in my sleep, but it's not true. It must be that head coming to my room at night.]"
"All right, Mr. Mohammed. Do you have any history of mental illness? Or have you consulted a psychiatrist or sought help from others after these events?"
"[No! I'm not crazy! I really saw it! I even wondered if I was crazy—but I really saw it! And I saw it more and more often! I even touched it! That hair… slimy, wet… disgusting!]"
"Please calm down. This is a routine matter. Many times, supernatural events that people believe are caused by illusions or other reasons turn out to be due to drugs, mental illness, or simply false stories to cover up a crime. Certainly, your story makes sense. You don't seem to be covering up a murder, so we considered mental illness—but it doesn't seem to be the case either."
"[Oh… I understand. I really am not crazy. I've been to a psychiatrist, but they haven't given me any solution to my problem.]"
"So, have you ever been to a temple or another place to seek help?"
"[Yes, I went with my wife to a temple where monks burn incense…]"
"What was the result?"
"[That day… that day nothing happened, but then it started again. We asked for consecrated talismans, but…]"
"But what?"
"[My daughter cut those talismans with scissors…]"
"Have you never gone back to the temple to worship?"
"[My wife went there on my behalf and asked for Buddhist protective talismans, but it was useless. I went back later and asked a monk to perform rituals. I felt better for a few days, and then I started seeing it again. I really couldn't stand it anymore… I kept seeing it all the time… I told my wife, and we even went to the park to burn incense and ask for forgiveness by the lake, but nothing changed…]"
"I see. We'll first investigate the lake where you first found the head, but for now, you'll wear this silver cross and must not remove it for any reason."
"[Ah? Ah! Thank you! Thank you so much!]"
"There's no need to thank us. Just to confirm—the head you saw appeared in Lake Taal, right?"
"[Yes! It started from that moment!]"
"The human head you see only has black hair and a pale face? From what you say, there are no facial features, so its appearance and gender can't be determined, correct?"
"[That's correct!]"
"Other than you, has your family experienced the same thing?"
"[They've never seen the head…]"
"All right, we'll investigate as soon as possible and stay in contact with you. Please contact us immediately if anything unexpected happens."
"[Yes, thank you very much.]"
Jonathan closed the computer, now having all the information he needed to begin a local investigation. He started recalling the details.
"An aquatic ghost… could it be related to a Yurei? Looking at the previous owners, it says they were Japanese. One of them was a single mother interested in buying the house."
Jonathan wasn't familiar with Japanese ghosts—this was something truly new in this part of the world.
"Anything but Japan…"