As the early morning sun filtered in, Carter, dressed casually, made himself black coffee and prepared toast with butter and jam, bacon, and fruit juice. He moved through the kitchen with a relaxed, almost leisurely attitude.

  It had been a few hours since Catherine left to investigate the underground ruins, but Carter remained calm; he knew that if something had happened, the Pollinators would have come knocking by now.

  Carter put on wool loafers and stepped outside into the cold, eagerly eyeing the porch for the Sunday newspaper, the kingdom’s source for local events.

  “Sorry for the delay, sir!” A boy wearing a loose hat and clothing passed by on a bike, tossing the newspaper to Carter with precise accuracy.

  “No, it’s alright!” Carter caught the newspaper with his hand that wasn’t holding a cup of steaming coffee and made his way back into the house.

  As he shut the door behind him, footsteps could be heard in the foyer in front of him. Carter felt his heart leap for a moment as Ayumi’s figure came into view. Her expression seemed much more relaxed than it had been during her distressed episode the night before.

  She rubbed her eyes tiredly as she approached Carter, looking around the house. “Is Catherine safe?”

  Carter forced a smile. “I’m sure she is. If anything happened, the Pollinators would have come knocking on my door by now.”

  Ayumi’s stomach suddenly rumbled, catching Carter’s attention in an instant. Without a second thought, he practically dragged her to the small kitchen and sat her down at the table. He quickly prepared her breakfast, similar to his, and handed it over on a plate with a glass of juice.

  “Thank you.” Ayumi’s half-lidded eyes shimmered with thankfulness as she smiled, grabbing the plate in front of her and her utensils.

  As he watched Ayumi eat, he suddenly caught sight of something that made his heart ache to an extent—eyebags had formed under Ayumi’s eyes, dark-colored, almost like that of a raccoon.

  “Did you sleep well last night?” Carter asked intuitively.

  The black-haired girl nodded. “I did, the best in a while, actually. Though the dream I had wasn’t as pleasant as I hoped it’d be.”

  “A nightmare? My wife always has those... I see a lot of her in you.”

  “You do now?” Ayumi forced a chuckle, though her expression still seemed to carry that heavy sense of unease within it.

  “Yes. But if you don’t mind me asking, what was his nightmare about?”

  Ayumi fell silent for a moment before speaking up, her voice carrying a faint tremor. “I don’t know why, but... it was about Isaac.”

  “Isaac...” Carter didn’t have any trouble recalling the name. It made his chest marginally tighten.

  “What was this dream about? What about it made your dream a nightmare?”

  “Isaac... he was with me,” Ayumi began, her fists tightening at her sides.

  “All I remember was darkness, a deep, black darkness like the night sky, except there weren’t any stars. I remember my breathing—I struggled to breathe because I felt his foot digging into my chest. He looked down at me in that terrifying void, belittling me, telling me how I was worthless... a loser... that wasn’t the Isaac that I knew.”

  After hearing the detailed description, Carter fell silent, analyzing Ayumi’s words. He had never had or experienced anyone having such a violent dream. The only thing that came somewhat close was Catherine’s night terrors about her daughter, but those could be alleviated with the Night Vanilla.

  His lips parted, taking in a slow, small breath before replying. “Fear is the killer of the mind. You’re dreaming that way because...”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “I know I’m afraid,” Ayumi replied, her voice filled with disdain. The corners of her eyes filled with tears that threatened to trickle down her cheeks.

  “One of my friends could be dead out in the cold, god knows what happened to Catherine, and I don’t know what the hell I’m gonna do anymore! I’ve tried to use all of my powers for good; I can create flashy lights and shields and whatnot, but I’ve only harmed more and more—one of my friends is dead because of me!

  “Sometimes I wish you never gave me the potion; I wish I never came to this godforsaken place, and I wish I could go back home and curl up in bed—that way I’ll look less like a charity case to everyone else because they won’t even know I came back home!”

  After Ayumi finished her rant, the girl lowered her head into her arms, slow, stifled sobs and moans passing through her lips. Carter felt his heart tighten, and he felt as if a ghastly phantom had covered his mouth, rendering him unable to respond.

  Without saying a word, he grabbed Ayumi’s half-eaten plate of food and set it on the counter. It was good food, and considering the current economic circumstances, he couldn’t let it go to waste.

  Knock, knock, knock.

  The door was knocked on three times in succession. Ayumi slowly raised her head from her arms, her reddened eyes darting to the door. She then looked in Carter’s direction, her anticipation palpable for him to open it. Carter steeled himself, taking a deep breath as he approached the door.

  His mind raced with many thoughts and scenarios—what if it was someone telling him that Catherine was dead? What if it were some other terrible news?

  His hands quivered slightly as he opened the door, seeing a single individual standing on his porch. It was a man, wearing a green striped vest, a white cravat, and a charcoal gray overcoat and matching trousers. His expression was neutral, his lips forming a straight line, and he stood about Carter’s height.

  “Are you Carter Stone?” They asked.

  “I am... why are you here exactly?” Carter raised an eyebrow, stepping back from the door.

  The man tamed his hair with a pocket comb before replying in an almost professional manner.

  “Your wife, Catherine... she was sent into underground ruins alongside a Pollinator for a task—analyzing underground ruins?”

  Carter nodded, but he felt an all-familiar sensation of his chest growing tight and beginning to burn. “Did something happen to her?”

  He shook his head. “She made it out safely, but her partner we assigned didn’t. Apparently, the ancient underground ruins under Madame Fitzgerald's house are a breeding ground for deadly creatures, so we’re currently setting up a way to demolish the underground structure and ensure nobody else gets injured.”

  “So... the creatures under her house killed Catherine’s partner?”

  “Yes. At first, we suspected it was she who murdered him, but she made it apparently clear. And our captain lost control after he had ventured down there too, turning... into a tree that sprouted in the cathedral.”

  At the table, Ayumi listened with palpable intrigue. She had been relieved that Catherine had faced no injuries, but she, too, felt a little queasy at the descriptions of past events. She had been there when Captain Silas and the group ventured underground following Madame Fitzgerald's loss of control, but she had been asleep for the latter half of the night when Captain Silas had apparently turned into a tree.

  She stood up, brushing herself off to look presentable. “Anything I can do to help?”

  The man held his gaze with Ayumi for quite some time before replying. “We’re keeping the cathedral and underground territory as both confederal material and an anti-citizen zone. If you were deeper in our ranks, we would let you in to analyze this issue. But for now, I’d advise you to stay away from the cathedral and not visit us until we tell you it’s safe.

  “Anyone inside the cathedral—including Catherine—and except for those among the Pollinators—will be kept there until this issue is dealt with. You may not get to see her, but we arranged communication via letter.”

  “A-alright,” Carter stepped back from the door. He then glanced at Ayumi, but still addressed the Pollinator standing at the door.

  “What will Ayumi do now?”

  “Her duties will remain the same—keeping peace and sanctity in Seraphis Kingdom—but we do have a task for her to perform later today. Recently, individuals originating from the Katshin Empire have been sent here to assist us with the crop issue. Among them—a pair of twins—have begun development of a miraculous serum that can enhance and speed up crop development.

  “She will go around town with them and use the serum in small batches on nearby crops in the hopes of changing things. The Agricultural District has already done lots of testing for this project, so we can ensure it’s safe for her to do.”

  “Really? A magical food-making serum?” Ayumi’s eyes widened at the prospect of this.

  “Yes. Now, the hour is early, and I must be on my way...”

  As the door closed behind him, the Pollinator stepped away from Carter’s front door, making his way down the stairs before smirking. A small smirk formed on his face as his eyes flickered with a tinge of blood-red hue.

  “And... it’ll provide an excellent distraction from your friend.” Kael’s voice appeared dual-tone atop the Pollinators as he walked away.

  He walked into a dark alley secluded from most of the kingdom's industrial area, black smoke emanating from his body as he began to shrink. Soon enough, an ink-black raven appeared from the smoke, cawing loudly as it disappeared into the horizon.