---
The words still hung between them like smoke:
A weapon that pretends to be death.
Kael said nothing, his gaze locked on the carved glyph above the fireplace. Rin turned the idea over and over in her mind as she packed the last of the tissue samples and notes into her satchel. The scent of lavender still lingered, fainter now but somehow sharper—as if the fog outside was steeped in it.
Then they heard the sound again.
Not a whisper this time.
Footsteps.
Deliberate. Just beyond the eastern window.
Kael moved before Rin could speak, blade drawn in a swift motion. He ducked beneath the cracked frame, eyes scanning the fog-drenched grounds below. Nothing but grey mist and the swaying shadows of skeletal trees.
"Did you see someone?" Rin asked, stepping up beside him.
"No," Kael muttered, "but I felt it. We're being watched."
Rin tensed. "Same presence as before?"
"Worse. Closer."
She instinctively reached for the small charm she wore around her neck—Shion's old ward, made of wood and silver thread. It had never glowed. Until now.
A faint flicker of blue shimmered beneath her fingertips.
"Kael…" she whispered, showing him the charm.
His jaw clenched. "Let's move. We need to get out of this estate. Now."
They descended the stairs carefully, each step echoing through the halls like a warning. The air had changed—thicker, heavier. The lavender was no longer just a scent. It was in their lungs, clinging to their skin. The fog had crept inside.
Kael pushed open the heavy door to the front courtyard.
The world beyond had vanished.
The ruins of the estate grounds were now submerged in a wall of pale fog so dense it felt alive. The moon had disappeared entirely. Only the closest trees were still visible—ghostly silhouettes in the haze.
"This wasn't here before," Rin said, clutching her satchel tighter. "This much fog… it rolled in too fast."
Kael nodded slowly. "It's not natural."
He stepped ahead, sword still unsheathed, motioning for her to follow. The courtyard, once familiar, now felt like foreign territory. The stone path beneath their boots was slick with moisture. Every step away from the estate felt like walking into a dream they couldn't wake from.
Or a trap.
Rin's fingers itched with unease. "Kael, what if the fog is the trap?"
He didn't answer.
Because he was already thinking the same thing.
---
They moved quickly but cautiously, following the crumbling garden path toward the southern gate. The fog muffled every sound, even their own breathing. Then came a whisper—barely audible, but distinctly human.
Rin froze.
"Did you hear—"
Kael held up a hand, motioning for silence.
There it was again.
"Two more. Watching…"
"…Behind them…"
A whisper, but without a speaker.
Rin's blood turned to ice.
Kael stepped in front of her just as something shifted in the mist. A figure—a silhouette, tall and unmoving—stood a few paces ahead.
"It didn't move."
"It didn't speak."
"It simply watched."
Kael took a step forward.
"Don't," Rin whispered. "It's not real."
Kael frowned, eyes locked on the figure. "No… it's too real."
Then, with a sudden lurch, the shadow vanished into the mist. No sound. No footsteps.
Just Gone...
They stood frozen for a heartbeat.
But after a moment keal felt something...
Then he turned sharply and said, "Run."
They broke into a sprint, the fog whipping around them like silk threads trying to pull them back. The path twisted unexpectedly—old roots and cracked stones making every step dangerous. Twice Rin stumbled. Twice Kael caught her.
They reached the edge of the property where the outer walls had crumbled from years of neglect. Kael shoved aside a fallen iron gate, motioning for her to duck through.
Only when they were outside the estate did they stop, hearts racing, lungs burning.
Behind them, the fog didn't retreat.
It hovered.
Watching.
---
Kael finally sheathed his blade. "They didn't want to kill us. Not yet."
"They wanted us to see," Rin said softly. "The glyphs. The second body. The plant."
Kael looked back at the estate. "A message."
Rin nodded. "Someone is leading us step by step. Showing us just enough."
"But why?" Kael asked. "If they wanted to warn us, they wouldn't be hiding."
Rin stared into the mist. "Because this isn't a warning."
Kael turned to her, brows furrowed.
She looked back at him, her voice steady. "It's a game. And we've just been moved to the next square."
---
Later that night, as they returned to the city's outer edge, Rin couldn't stop turning it over in her mind. The blood that wouldn't dry. The glyphs burned into stone. The reappearance of Noctis Bloom.
Whoever was behind this was using the laws of alchemy—but rewriting the rules.
Back in her workshop, she laid out the blood sample from the second body, placing it under the same prism lens she'd used on Lord Isamu. The glow was identical.
But the molecular structure was worse.
It was evolving.
Kael sat across the room, silent, eyes on the half burned letter still spread on her desk. He'd been quiet since they left the estate.
Then he said softly, "We're not dealing with a single killer anymore, are we?"
Rin looked up.
"No," she said. "This is bigger. Coordinated. Ritualistic."
Kael rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Which means more bodies. More symbols. More fog."
Rin nodded slowly. "And we're still blind."
Kael looked toward the darkened window. "Not for long."
She tilted her head.
"We go deeper," he said, standing. "Whoever is doing this isn't hiding in alleys or shadows. They're buried in names, estates, bloodlines."
"You're talking about the noble families."
Kael nodded grimly. "And one of them knows exactly who's next."
---