Obsidian gallery secondary room
The secondary room of the Obsidian Gallery felt colder than before.
Lian Ye stood still, his gaze fixed on Hei Zhen.
The bow lingered in his mind.
Puppet Master.
The name meant nothing to him. It didn't connect to anything he had learned, any faction he had observed, or any pattern he had studied.
Which meant one thing.
Either it was another identity of Hei Zhen…
—or someone above him.
Neither option was comforting.
Lian Ye's eyes shifted back to the statue Hei Zhen had acknowledged earlier. Something about it felt… familiar.
But incomplete.
Like a memory he couldn't fully reach.
He spoke, tone casual—almost dismissive.
"Could you tell me who this is?". His gaze moved from the statue… back to Hei Zhen.
Hei Zhen had already stepped away. He now stood before another statue.
This one was different.
Large wings extended from its back—angelic in shape, but unnatural in detail. Symbols and sigils were carved across its surface, some embedded deep enough to resemble fractures. From its eyes, lines of Wierd symbols ran downward—like carved tears.
Despite all of that…
It wore something simple.
A dress shirt.
Trousers.
Ordinary.
Too ordinary.
Hei Zhen didn't turn immediately.
"That," he said calmly, "is the God Order member known as Poet."
Silence followed.
Lian Ye's expression didn't change—but his thoughts shifted sharply.
Poet.
So that was why.
The lack of information. The gaps. The inconsistencies.
It wasn't absence.
It was disruption.
Before he could dig deeper, Hei Zhen continued. "He was killed by his follower two years ago."
A pause.
His voice lowered slightly. "His follower is the new Poet… our target." The room seemed to tighten around them.
Hei Zhen turned, his gaze now direct. Serious. "Do you understand the situation?"
Lian Ye stood still.
Then something clicked.
A detail. A pattern. Something buried in the way Hei Zhen described it.
His expression hardened.
"…I understand."
Hei Zhen gave a slight nod and began to walk past him.
Conversation over.
Or so it seemed.
Lian Ye exhaled quietly.
Then turned.
"Then," he said, voice steady, "due to a mutual partnership… I expect you to help me too. Right?"
Hei Zhen paused.
A brief glance.
He already understood.
"You want information," Hei Zhen said, "on those seeking information about you."
Lian Ye nodded.
Then added—
"And…"
A small pause. "I want an important position."
That made Hei Zhen stop.
For real this time.
He turned slightly, eyes narrowing—not in hostility, but in calculation.
Lian Ye met his gaze. No hesitation.
"Vice Captain."
Silence.
For the first time since entering the Obsidian Gallery…, Hei Zhen was caught off guard.Got you—reset, clean start, same tone, tighter flow.
---
Informants faction.
Tel suyin walked into the informant faction like it was nothing unusual.
The moment Tel Suyin stepped into the Informant headquarters, the air shifted.
Not visibly.
But noticeably. Conversations slowed. Eyes turned. Then quickly turned away.
He didn't stop walking.
Didn't acknowledge anyone.
His steps were calm, measured, almost indifferent—as if he already knew why he was here… and didn't care who noticed.
The study doors stood ahead.
Tall.
Quiet.
Closed.
He pushed them open.
The room revealed itself slowly: A wide, circular structure. Books lined the walls from floor to ceiling, layered so seamlessly they were the walls. Above, a glass dome allowed golden light to pour in, casting a soft glow across the room.
Peaceful.
Too peaceful.
At the center—
A chair.
And on it…
A boy: White hair. But not purely so. It was stained—faint streaks of yellow threading through it unnaturally. His pupils mirrored that same color, dull yet piercing.
He wore black nightwear, loose and simple.
And in his hands…
A book.
The captain of the Informant faction.
The follower of God Eye
He didn't look up immediately.
Just turned a page. Calm. Unbothered.
Tel Suyin stopped a few steps away.
Waited.
Then finally—
God eye sighed. Closed the book. And stood up. That alone was enough to irritate him.
A small thing.
But deliberate.
Before Tel Suyin could speak—
God eye spoke first. "October 15th."
A pause.
Tel Suyin frowned slightly.
"…What?"
God eye didn't face him yet.
Just adjusted the book in his hand.
"October 15th."
He repeated, tone unchanged.
Tel Suyin thought for a moment.
Then responded flatly,
"That's two months away."
Silence. Then God eye turned. Slowly.
"My information is never wrong."
His voice wasn't arrogant.
It was… certain.
Absolute.
"That," he continued, "is the only time you'll have a chance to fight it."
It.
The word lingered.
Tel Suyin's eyes narrowed slightly.
But before he could question further—
God eye had already turned away.
He walked back toward the chair.
Reached beside him.
A letter.
"I don't know why they'd send something addressed to you… here."
He extended it without looking up.
Tel Suyin took it.
No hesitation.
But his eyes stayed on God eye for a moment longer.
Searching.
Measuring.
Nothing.
God eye had already returned his book and started to walk away.
As if the conversation was over.
So he left.
Just like that.
The door closed behind him.
Silence returned.
Tel Suyin stared at the letter.
Plain.
Unmarked.
No seal.
No signature.
He opened it.
Inside—
A vial.
Small. Clear. And moving.
Something inside it twitched.
Pressed.
Shifted.
It hit the glass.
Once.
Then again. Desperately.
Tel Suyin froze.
The thing inside wasn't fully formed.
Not a creature.
Not yet.
It stretched against the glass like it was searching for something—anything—to attach to.
To complete itself. For a split second—
His hand tensed. The urge came fast.
Violent.
Instinctive.
Throw it.
End it now.
But something stopped him.
Not fear.
Not logic.
Recognition. Breaking it would do something.
He lowered his hand slightly. Eyes locked on the vial.
Then slowly… He unfolded the letter.
Only one line.
"Break in front of someone about to die — a second life."
The words sat there. Simple. But wrong.
"…A second life…"
He muttered.
The thing inside reacted again.
Harder this time.
It slammed into the glass, its shape distorting—stretching as if trying to form limbs… or latch onto something unseen.
Alive. But incomplete.
Tel Suyin's expression darkened.
"If this works…" He said quietly. "…then this isn't help." His grip tightened slightly around the vial.