Backlund.
It was a rainy night, with a blood-red moon hanging in the sky.
Somewhere in the city, a man sat alone in his office — Captain Christin, of the Machinery Hivemind. Two weeks ago, he had given an order: Investigate Arthur.
Now, he sat in his chair, frowning as he read through a thick stack of documents.
Knock knock.
A knock came from the door.
"Come in," he said.
The door opened, and three members of the Machinery Hivemind walked in.
"Captain, did you want to see us?" one of them asked.
"Yes," Christin said. "You three were responsible for investigating that man, Arthur. The information you gathered looks fine... but I have a gut feeling that a lot of it isn't true. And my gut has saved my life — more times than I can count."
Surprise appeared on their faces.
"But Captain," one of them said, "the divination confirmed that everything is correct. We even asked Great Arrodes to verify it."
Christin closed the file, exhaled, and leaned back in his chair.
"First of all," he said slowly, "divination can be interfered with. And second — there are times I'd rather trust my gut than a living sealed artifact."
The three exchanged uneasy glances.
"But Captain, that doesn't make sense," another protested. "How could a Sequence 9 possibly interfere with Great Arrodes? And why would Great Arrodes ever lie? There are no cases of Great Arrodes lying not that we know of."
Christin stood up, his expression unreadable.
"You're right about some of that," he admitted. "But there's still a chance Arthur has some organization backing him. Even so, I doubt they'd be powerful enough to interfere with Great Arrodes. If they were, secret organizations like the Aurora Order would've done it long ago — and if he has a organization behind him they wouldn't waste their efforts on a mere Sequence 9."
He paused, rubbing his temple.
"As for Great Arrodes lying... it's possible. It is a living sealed artifact, after all. The real question is — why would it lie for a Sequence 9? What does it gain?"
He shook his head and sighed.
"Or maybe I'm overthinking this," he muttered. "Maybe everything we know about Arthur is true after all."
Silence filled the office for several seconds before one of the members finally asked,
"Captain, should we report this information to the Church?"
Christin thought for a moment before replying, "If the Church isn't doing anything, that means they see no problem with Arthur. Either way, we can't be sure."
"So, Captain," another asked, "what should we do next?"
Christin looked out the window at the rain.
"I want you three to go into his house," he said calmly. "When he's out — search everything."
The three members exchanged nervous glances, then nodded.
"Yes, Captain."
The next day.
As Lukas entered his house, he paused. Something felt... off.
He looked around and frowned.
Hm. Something's different, he thought. Then, out loud, he said:
"Hey, Quill. You here?"
Words shimmered into the air in front of him, glowing faintly:
Master, I am here. Do you need anything?
"Quill," Lukas said, "I want to know — has anyone been in my house?"
The words shifted.
Yes, Master. Three members of the Machinery Hivemind broke in and searched your house. They were sent by the captain — the one from two weeks ago.
Lukas narrowed his eyes.
"Quill," he said after a moment, "tell me about that captain."
The air rippled again as words formed.
His name is Christin. He is thirty-two years old, a Beyonder of the Paragon Pathway. He is not married, but owns a four-year-old golden retriever. He enjoys gambling and beautiful women. However, due to his gambling addiction, he is currently being hunted by loan sharks.
Lukas raised an eyebrow.
Gambling addiction and a weakness for beautiful women... he thought. A slow smile crept across his face.
"I see," he murmured. "I can arrange something for him. Especially... when it comes to beautiful women."
He sat down at his desk, picked up the quill, and began to write.
Hey guys, author here! Sorry for my absence — I had a lot of schoolwork and projects to take care of. But now I've got more time, and I'll be able to upload a chapter almost every single day. See you all tomorrow, everybody!