Chapter two: Echoes of the forgotten (part one)
793 Words
The city awoke beneath a blanket of gray clouds.
To everyone else, it was just another Tuesday.
To Emily Carter, nothing felt ordinary anymore.
She stood in front of her bathroom mirror, staring at her reflection. Dark circles framed her hazel eyes, and sleep had done little to ease the exhaustion etched across her face.
She splashed cold water over her skin.
"It was real," she whispered.
The alley.
The creature.
The silver light.
Paul.
Every time she tried to convince herself it had been a nightmare, another memory surfaced with painful clarity.
She glanced toward her bedroom window.
Locked.
This time she had checked it three times before going to bed.
Still, an uneasy feeling lingered, as though unseen eyes watched from somewhere beyond the glass.
Graystone Publishing was unusually busy that morning.
Emily had barely settled into her chair when her manager appeared.
"Emily."
She looked up.
"Yes, Mr. Harrison?"
"I need you to deliver these contracts to Blackwood Securities."
He handed her a neatly organized folder.
"It's important they receive them before noon."
Emily accepted the documents.
"No problem."
As she glanced at the company logo on the folder, her heart skipped a beat.
BLACKWOOD SECURITIES
The surname couldn't be a coincidence.
Could it?
Sophia noticed the sudden change in Emily's expression.
"You okay?"
Emily hesitated.
"I... think I might know someone who works there."
Sophia smiled knowingly.
"The mysterious man?"
Emily sighed.
"I don't even know if it's the same Blackwood."
"Only one way to find out."
Across town...
Paul stood inside a spacious conference room overlooking the skyline.
To the outside world, Blackwood Securities was a prestigious private security company.
Its employees wore tailored suits.
Clients trusted them with valuable assets.
Governments consulted them on sensitive matters.
It was the perfect disguise.
Hidden beneath the building, however, lay the headquarters of the Order of Noctis—a centuries-old organization that trafficked in magical relics, suppressed supernatural threats, and guarded secrets too dangerous for the world to know.
Paul listened as Victor addressed a room full of senior operatives.
"The Shades are becoming more active."
A large map illuminated the wall behind him.
Several red symbols blinked across the city.
"They've appeared in six separate locations within forty-eight hours."
Damien folded his arms.
"Someone's summoning them."
Victor nodded.
"We believe so."
Another operative spoke.
"Could it be connected to the girl?"
Silence settled over the room.
Victor answered carefully.
"Everything points in that direction."
Paul's jaw tightened.
Emily hadn't asked for any of this.
Yet somehow, she had become the center of it.
By late morning, Emily arrived outside Blackwood Securities.
The building towered above the surrounding streets, its sleek glass exterior reflecting the cloudy sky.
It looked expensive.
Important.
Far beyond anything she'd imagined.
She took a deep breath and stepped inside.
The lobby was elegant, with polished marble floors and a massive crystal chandelier hanging overhead.
A receptionist greeted her warmly.
"Good morning."
"I'm here to deliver contracts from Graystone Publishing."
"Of course."
The receptionist smiled.
"If you'll wait just a moment."
Emily nodded and took a seat.
She tried to distract herself by scrolling through her phone.
Instead, her eyes wandered toward the elevators.
The doors slid open.
Paul stepped out.
He wore a perfectly tailored black suit instead of the dark combat attire she'd seen before.
His expression remained calm, though surprise flickered across his face the instant he saw her.
For a brief second, time seemed to stop.
Emily stood.
"So... your name really is Paul."
He approached slowly.
"What are you doing here?"
"I work for Graystone Publishing."
She held up the folder.
"I was asked to deliver these."
Paul glanced at the company logo.
Of all the buildings in the city...
Of all the days...
She had walked into the one place he desperately wanted to keep her away from.
Before he could speak again—
Every light in the lobby flickered.
The crystal chandelier above them trembled.
A cold wind swept through the building, though every door remained closed.
Paul's instincts screamed.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The receptionist frowned.
"Did the air conditioning just—"
Her sentence ended abruptly.
The lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the lobby.
A terrified scream echoed from somewhere upstairs.
Then came another.
And another.
Paul grabbed Emily's wrist.
"Stay behind me."
The emergency lights flickered on, bathing the lobby in an eerie red glow.
From the far end of the room, a trail of black smoke seeped beneath a locked security door.
Emily watched in horror as the smoke slowly began to take the shape of a human figure.
Its crimson eyes opened.
It smiled.
Then, in a voice like cracking ice, it whispered one chilling sentence:
"We have finally found the Light Bearer."
- Writer
