[Continuation of Chapter 55: Present]
"An unmistakable sign will reveal itself... ah?" Dryzza muttered as she watched the thunderous crack of lightning illuminated the darkened skies, splitting the heavens like fractured glass.
Tomoya's cryptic parting warning replayed in her mind, pulling at her resolve. She had been so certain that Samantha’s house was the epicenter of the unfolding events, yet Tomoya's influence had sown seeds of doubt.
Her hesitance now felt like a betrayal of her instincts, and she couldn’t shake the regret that perhaps she had miscalculated the significance of this moment.
As the storm escalated, an eerie rumbling began to emanate from beneath the earth, growing in intensity with each passing second. The ground trembled violently, as though some ancient force sought to tear through the confines of its subterranean prison.
Walls quaked and debris cascaded from their perches, plunging the area into a chaotic darkness. The air was thick with an unnatural stillness, broken only by the roar of shifting earth and the sound of Dryzza’s frantic breathing.
Each tremor seemed to carry with it a message, a prelude to something vast and malevolent—something she somehow expected, but didn't really expect that will really happen.
In the midst of this upheaval, Sai’s voice cut through the cacophony like a lifeline. “Dryzza!! Dryzza!!” His figure emerged from the chaos, sprinting toward her with reckless abandon.
“Snap out of it!” he implored, his voice sharp but laced with concern. His presence pulled her from the edge of paralysis, jolting her back to the present.
The booming voice of Zach reverberated through the station’s walls as he yelled, "Get your asses outside!" His urgency prompted the team to exit swiftly, adhering to their earthquake evacuation protocols.
Though their actions followed the rhythm of routine, the gravity of the third day—foretold by the phantom caller—pressed heavily upon Dryzza's thoughts. While others dismissed the warning as a mere harbinger of a natural disaster, Dryzza alone sensed that it carried a far deeper, more ominous significance, otherwise, Tomoya's revelation the last time they met won't make sense.
Dryzza followed closely, her thoughts swirling in a storm of unease as she fought to suppress the tension building in her chest. Her usually sharp mind felt dulled, unsure of how to process the mounting uncertainty.
The cases they were handling had taken such a toll on everyone that they’d collectively dismissed the Phantom Caller as nothing more than a tasteless prank. After all, aside from the burner phone recovered from Samantha’s house, there hadn’t been a shred of evidence to substantiate its existence.
As they gathered in the open space behind the station, the darkened skies seemed to mirror the grim atmosphere. Dryzza stood amidst her colleagues, her eyes scanning the horizon, where ominous rumblings echoed from the direction of Samantha’s house.
Memories of Tomoya’s cryptic warnings gnawed at her resolve, and the sensation of standing on the precipice of something monumental made her fingers twitch with impatience. The drills and orders were necessary, but she couldn’t help but feel they were simply going through the motions, oblivious to the deeper implications of this event.
The rumblings grew louder, drawing Dryzza’s attention to the churning dark clouds looming ominously above Samantha’s house. Though it was some distance away, the sight was unmistakable even from where they stood. Strangely, it seemed she was the only one who noticed it.
Her breath hitched as realization dawned—this wasn’t just an earthquake or a storm; it was the manifestation of everything they’d been warned about. Despite the gnawing certainty in her gut, she needed to be sure before pulling everyone into the chaos of what appeared to be a 'natural disaster.'
The thought alone made her restless, and she began calculating an escape plan. Amid the gathering chaos, the opportunity to act presented itself as the ground trembled once more. A distraction—a chance to slip away unnoticed—was exactly what she needed.
Seizing the moment, Dryzza moved with calculated precision, blending into the commotion as her team scrambled to regroup. With every step away from the station, her heart pounded, not from fear but from determination.
She knew she couldn’t ignore the pull toward Samantha’s house, where the source of this disturbance likely lay. Her instincts overrode protocol, and she found herself sprinting through the tumultuous streets, the haunting resonance of Tomoya’s words guiding her path.
As she neared Samantha’s house, Dryzza could feel the air grow colder, thicker, almost oppressive. The structure loomed ahead, its silhouette shrouded by the swirling tempest above.
Dryzza paused, chest heaving, as she fought to steady her breath. The pulse pounding in her ears seemed almost louder than the rumblings in the distance. Anticipation coursed through her veins, amplifying her every sensation. Her instincts were screaming at her, though she couldn’t yet piece together why.
Something about the air felt wrong—too still, too heavy, like the calm before an unimaginable storm. Her eyes remained fixed on Samantha's house, the epicenter of her dread, as the swirling darkness above seemed to pulse with an unnatural rhythm.
"What in the world is that?" she gasped, her voice barely audible against the eerie silence. The dark clouds forming above Samantha's house defied all logic, moving not with the wind but toward the house itself, as though being consumed by it.
The sight was mesmerizing and terrifying, a grotesque dance of nature bending to some unseen force. Her legs felt leaden, but she couldn’t tear her gaze away. It was as though the house itself had become a living, breathing entity, greedily swallowing the chaos above.
Dryzza’s knees wobbled, threatening to give way, as a primal instinct screamed at her to stop. She took a shaky step back, her body urging her to retreat, but her mind remained locked in place.
Turning away at last, she glanced back toward their station, her breath catching as realization dawned. She had run the entire stretch of streets leading here, a distance that should have taken far longer, yet she had arrived in less than five minutes. The adrenaline coursing through her body had propelled her with an urgency she hadn’t even registered. The impossible speed of her arrival added another layer to the growing unease.
"Something’s wrong," she muttered under her breath, her voice laced with a mix of confusion and fear.
Scanning the area, she expected to see panicked residents spilling out of their homes, fleeing the tremors or seeking safety. But the streets were eerily empty, devoid of life. The absence of any signs of movement sent a chill down her spine. It was as if the earthquake and the strange phenomenon above had gone unnoticed by everyone except her.
Dryzza’s unease deepened as her gaze fell on the houses lining the street. She knew for a fact that this area wasn’t abandoned—families, couples, and solitary residents all lived here, their routines familiar to her from countless patrols.
But now, not a single light flickered in the windows, nor could she hear the faint murmur of voices or the rustling of movement. It was as though the neighborhood had been silently erased, leaving behind only a hollow shell. Samantha’s house stood at the heart of it all, an ominous beacon of mystery and forewarning.
"Well done, Victor."
"Well done, Victor."
Dryzza's breath hitched as a familiar voice echoed behind her. Turning swiftly, she was startled to find not only Kim but also Kaiser, flanked by several unfamiliar faces. A chill crept down her spine as she took in the peculiar scene before her. Her stomach churned as she realized she was standing at the center of this strange gathering, surrounded by people who had appeared seemingly out of thin air.
She almost recoiled, feeling acutely out of place. The strangest part, however, was the eerie sense that she didn’t exist to them at all. None of the individuals—Kim, Kaiser, or even the others—acknowledged her presence. It was as though she were a mere ghost, unseen and unheard, despite standing right among them.
"Did everything go as planned?" a man asked from the far end of the group. His voice was calm, composed, yet carried an unsettling authority.
Dryzza’s eyes widened as her attention was drawn to the figure beside him. From the shadows at his side emerged an enigmatic creature, its form shapeless yet deliberate.
Its body twisted and coiled like an hourglass-shaped shadow, with a texture that shimmered intermittently in ominous crimson hues. It moved with an unsettling fluidity, as though it existed outside the confines of physical laws. What stood out most was its hair—a mass of flowing, weightless strands that drifted unnaturally, suspended as if caught in an invisible current.
The creature reclined casually against the man’s shoulder, its slender fingers tracing the lines of his face and body with an intimacy that felt both possessive and unnatural.
But what sent a jolt of fear through Dryzza was not just the creature’s form—it was its eyes. Unlike the others, who seemed oblivious to her, this being was unmistakably aware of her presence. Its gaze was locked onto her with an intensity that made her blood run cold.
Its lips curled into a sinister smile, slow and deliberate, revealing jagged, uneven teeth that glistened like shards of blackened glass. The corners of its mouth stretched unnaturally, creating a grotesque expression that dripped with malice and hunger.
The smile seemed to pierce through Dryzza, as if the creature could see into her very soul. It exuded an aura of malevolence so potent that her legs threatened to give out beneath her. There was no doubt in her mind—this creature saw her, and it delighted in her fear.
Dryzza remained frozen, every muscle in her body tense as though the creature before her were a predator poised to strike. She knew better than to move, to draw any attention to herself, but her curiosity simmered beneath the surface. Did it truly notice her? Was it aware of her presence? The question clawed at her mind, despite the icy fear coursing through her veins.
She swallowed hard, her breath uneven, and shifted ever so slightly to the right. To her horror, the creature's eyes followed her movement with unnerving precision, gleaming with something both ancient and malevolent.
"So, you do see me, human," the creature purred, its voice light and mocking, as though amused by her fear. The sound made her recoil instinctively, her heart pounding against her ribs.
The man she clung to furrowed his brow and turned toward her, his confusion evident. "Who?" he whispered, his voice barely audible. "Who's seeing you?"
"He sees her too..." Dryzza murmured under her breath, more to herself than to him. Her words hung in the air, fragile and trembling. Her breath hitched as the realization set in—this was no ordinary encounter.
The creature's grin widened, stretching impossibly, its gaze drilling into hers as though peeling back the layers of her soul. Dryzza stood frozen, teetering on the edge of panic, desperate for it to speak, to explain, to do anything but stare at her with that haunting expression.
The creature remained silent, yet its expression spoke volumes. It was a predator not of flesh but of spirit, a being that thrived on fear and shadows. In its eyes, Dryzza saw something she wished she hadn’t—a void so deep and all-consuming that it felt as though it could pull her in at any moment. And she couldn’t look away.
The man’s brows furrowed as he scanned the area, his gaze sweeping over their surroundings in a futile attempt to locate whoever—or whatever—the creature clinging on him was reacting to. When his search yielded nothing but empty space, he turned back toward the creature, the confusion etched on his face giving way to determination.
“Stay still in there,” he whispered, his voice low and firm, before shifting his attention back to Samantha’s house, which now appeared on the verge of collapse.
Dryzza, however, could do nothing but remain rooted to the spot. Her limbs felt as though they’d turned to stone, her mind grappling with the impossibility of the situation.
She had seen the unimaginable before—she had traveled back through time and walked among the living residents of the Takahashi manor, witnessing a world long buried beneath the sands of history. But this—this was something else entirely. This wasn’t the past. This was the present. A present in which she found herself adrift once more, lost in a realm she couldn’t fully comprehend.
Her gaze locked with the creature’s, and an unbidden thought rose to the surface of her mind: Let this be a dream. Please, let this all be a dream.
“Calm thyself, mortal,” the creature spoke again, its tone softer now, yet still laced with an otherworldly resonance. Dryzza glanced at the man beside her, her heart racing. He showed no reaction. Had he not heard it?
Her eyes darted back to the creature, whose grin had softened into something almost kind—a disconcerting contrast to its earlier malice.
“Fret not,” it said, its voice slipping into a cadence that felt ancient, as though the words themselves carried the weight of centuries. “No harm shall befall thee in this place. And should thou seek to return whence thou camest, merely close thine eyes, and thou shalt awaken in thy rightful form.”
"What is she speaking of?" Dryzza murmured to herself, only to realize the futility of her question. The events unraveling before her left no room for idle speculation; there was no time to comprehend the absurdity of her situation.
Her lips quivered as she struggled to form coherent words. When she finally spoke, her voice was frail, trembling under the weight of her fear. "W-What is happening?" she stammered, her question barely audible.
The creature's grin widened once more, a slow, deliberate curve that sent chills down her spine.
“I believe thou wast forewarned to stray not near the cursed—most especially the mortal who doth dwell within this house,” the creature intoned, its hollow eyes drifting toward Samantha’s crumbling home. Its voice carried a deep, resonant weight, as though each syllable echoed from the depths of eternity. “Heed the warning that was uttered unto thee…”
As its words trailed off, the creature's form began to distort. Its edges shimmered and blurred, as though it were dissolving into the very air itself. Yet it did not vanish entirely. Its body hovered, unnaturally suspended, stretching and twisting like a living shadow still tethered to the man. The connection was grotesque—dark tendrils of shadow clung to his frame, pulsing faintly, as though feeding off his presence.
The creature's warped form drew closer to Dryzza, its movements eerily fluid, as though it were not bound by the laws of the physical world. The space between them seemed to collapse as it hovered toward her, a spectralforce both surreal and menacing. Yet even as it neared, that shadowy tether to the man remained intact, a sinister reminder of their connection.
Dryzza found herself locked in an unblinking gaze with the creature, an uncanny meeting of presences that defied explanation. Strangely, there was no fear coursing through her veins—no instinctive terror clawing at her mind. The creature lacked eyes, yet its hollow stare seemed to pierce through her very essence. Even so, there was an absence of malice, an inexplicable calm in its presence that defied its ominous form.
"Awaken, mortal," it intoned, its voice a whisper that reverberated with the weight of eternity.
And in that instant, the world around her fractured, dissolving into a blur of shadows before plunging her into an all-encompassing darkness.