In a more secular environment within the underground cathedral was a dark, ambient room only illuminated by a singular lamp. The desks were a mahogany shade, filled to the brim with countless tubes, potions, and concoctions that did a myriad of things. Padre pulled a pair of bulky goggles down over his relaxed, light-blue eyes and began to work, his tongue poking out between his chapped lips in focus.

  He splayed the limbs of the Tremebrus—which floated in jars with semi-transparent yellowish liquid along the counter. Padre leaned in close, his expression slowly turning more and more analytical as he admired and gauged the anatomical features of the organism. For the most part, they had all remained intact. But the one thing that snagged his attention was the slowly disintegrating mass of its heart.

  The organism—pulsing and fibrous in nature—constantly fluctuated and pumped within the jar. Even after it had been removed from the organism, its vital—habitual—functions still seemed to remain intact. This made Padre question if this was a genetic resistance or adaptation of a Tremebrus, an ability to remain semi-conscious after perishing.

  Feeling a pang of curiosity, Padre opened the lid of the jar and carefully removed the jar with gloved hands, placing it on a metallic operative tray. The grotesque, revolting sounds of its heart beating continued to sound. With every pump, the nooks and crevices of the heart would ooze out a viscous, dark-colored pus. His hands dove to the nearest drawer, shuffling through a few items before taking out a scalpel and a syringe.

  He had a plan to work with.

  Before he could do anything, the door opened before him. Humphrey, clad in usual Pollinator attire, strode into the room with something in hand. In the dim light of the singular lamp, Padre could faintly see the inscrutable small object in between his fingers—a singular strand of hair. The white-haired boy raised his goggles, parting the locks that obscured his eyes and observed the man as he approached him.

  Padre instinctively sat up, adjusting his posture as he leaned on the wooden workbench. "What do you have for me?"

  Humphrey held out the strand of hair for a moment, showing it to Padre. His tongue dove to lick his lips as he explained in a low, collected voice. "This hair was found at the scene of your mothers murder. If you can run analytical tests, we can deduce who it belongs to and bring them to justice."

  "Ah, a good hair analysis." Padre rolled his eyes and plucked the singular follicle, gazing at it with as much interest as a student would an essay.

  It was thin and brown in color—ordinary looking. After a brief moment and mumbling under his breath, he looked back up at Humphrey with a perplexed expression.

  "Don't you and the high-ranking Pollinators have access to relics? Why can't you deduce this identity in a quicker way?"

  Humphrey clasped his hands behind his back, a small smile forming on his face. "You're the archbishop's son; you have a natural talent for alchemy and other fields. The last thing we'd want is for you to have no use for us."

  "So I'm a tool of sorts?" Padre folded his arms over his chest, prompting his feet onto the table.

  "Not a tool, but a necessity. Isn't your little philosophy all about that kind of thing?"

  Hearing his ironic words, Padre audibly sighed, grumbling to himself as he turned on his workbench, glancing in the direction of countless tubes and chemicals.

  "By the way..." Humphrey called out again as he made his way to the door.

  "Yes?" Padre perked up slightly, a slight look of interest crossing his expression.

  The man's expression darkened as he spoke in a more warning voice. "Don't disappoint us. Finding this murderer is an utmost priority."

  "It took you forever to find that one couple, why should I have faith now?" Padre chuckled self-deprecatingly, turning back to his desk as he furrowed his brows.

  ...

  The small bell over the apartment's front door rang quietly as I opened it. I slowly took a step in, wiping the soles of my boots on the carpet in front of the door. My eyes scanned through the dimly lit apartment lobby, surveying the environment. Everything was in its usual state of cleanliness and polish, but most of the flowers scattered in the lobby had grown old and wilted away.

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  I snorted softly, tucking my hands into my pockets as I made my way down the first hallway, ascending the flight of stairs and looking down both ends of the hallway. It was silent.

  Crash!

  A sudden noise caught my attention. My eyes widened, hair standing on end as I habitually flinched. The sound was muffled, coming from behind one of the many doors lining the hallway. I fell silent, listening carefully if this sound would appear again. Behind the countless doors in the lobby, I only heard sounds of slumber for the most part—or the occasional grunting of a patron having a restless nightmare.

  Unfortunately the potion didn't give its users night vision or anything really useful. All I could do for now was cause very small calamities and aggravate people using Chaos Instinct. Sighing with some self-pity, I made my way back to my room.

  Crash!

  The sound rang out again.

  I reacted instantly, darting to the very spot where I had originally heard it. The door led to Ayumi's room.

  "Damn it, you're gonna break something!" Shinso cried out.

  Without wasting any time I burst into the room, surveying the chaos. The usually pristine and clean walls were scarred and stained with burn marks and countless dark spots. Shinso was ducked behind a chair, while the Umbridge-cat was curled up under Ayumi's bed.

  Ayumi's fists were glowing with a radiant light. Whenever she moved her hands, a beam of light emanated from her palms, bouncing off the walls and disintegrating when it hit another surface.

  "Sorry!" she turned to me, wincing slightly.

  "What's all this?" I hesitantly stepped into the room. "Did you consume your potion?"

  "Y-yeah, but it's not going too well..." Ayumi sighed self-deprecatingly, rubbing the back of her neck.

  This movement sent another burst of radiant light outwards, the chaotic force bouncing off the walls before hitting me directly in the forehead. I stumbled back, crying out as the light ebbed and pulsed, illuminating my veins with its golden coloring. Suddenly, the Apocalypse sigil on my left hand expanded with its own crimson glow, gradually corrupting and nullifying the divine light.

  The golden light shifted to a murky black and crimson hue, turning more viscous as it seeped into my body. At this moment, Ayumi cried out in pain as she fell back, gripping her forehead as she winced with pain. The light emanating from her hands quickly diffused, becoming a deep vermillion color. Her veins, previously unseen, turned an ink-black as she suddenly coughed up some blood.

  "What are you doing?..." Shinso peeked from behind the chair, watching the scene with ragged breaths.

  I didn't immediately respond, my face paling as I watched this. I didn't waste any time, kneeling down and taking a hold of her shoulder.

  "Ayumi! Ayumi!" I cried out desperately, shaking the girl as she continued to writhe and convulse.

  The Umbridge slowly crawled out from under her bed, their yellowish-red eyes flickering with an unreadable emotion.

  "I'm sorry," They said deeply, their illusory voice echoing in my mind.

  With a leap of agility, the Umbridge's cat body suddenly illuminated with corrupting black and red energy. Their form gradually began to grow, their small arms and paws taking a more skeleton-like appearance. Their yellowish-red eyes shrank back into their head, worm-hole-like eyes taking their place. Their mouth dissipated, and an illusory cloak of dark matter phased around them.

  "I mean no harm with this." The enigmatic figure, now standing seven feet in height, placed their boney finger directly onto my forehead. The Apocalypse sigil suddenly illuminated with a painful, burning sensation, sending me hurling to the floor. The wraith wings on my back habitually extended, furling and pulsing with uncontrollable malice.

  The edges of my vision turned a hazy red color, blurring and phasing into the real world before my eyes. The Umbridge watched me with an impassive expression, an unchanging one as I lost consciousness, falling limp on the floor. The wings on my back shrank into my skin, discussing. My horns, previously radiating with crimson energy, faded back to their regular black hue.

  Ayumi's body fell limp, the corruptive sensations quickly diffusing and disintegrating. Her eyes opened, and she scanned the room. The Umbridge, now back in their cat form, purred softly as their small feline body brushed against hers, purring softly.

  "What... was that?" She grumbled, her gaze shifting to my form curled on the floor.

  The Umbridge answered in their layered, illusory voice. "Your pathway reacted with his. When radiance and benevolence meets malice and corruption, it doesn't end well."

  "Malice... corruption?" Ayumi repeated the terms under her breath.

  Shinso darted over to my unconscious body on the ground, holding it in his arms. He looked at the small black cat, speaking with a mixed expression.

  "What power does Isaac have? If we can know, we can learn about it and prevent accidents like that."

  "I'm sorry; I can't tell you." The Umbridge replied, a hint of genuine remorse in their voice.

  "Why?!" Shinso snapped.

  The black cat fell silent, turning away from Shinso as they meowed deeply. Seeing this, Shinso habitually clenched his fists.

  "I don't care if I get corrupted or whatever's gonna happen! Tell us, now!"

  "Do you really want to know?" The Umbridge turned around, their cat-like body pulsing slightly with crimson and black energy.

  "If I am to do me and my friends justice by knowing such things, I'll take that risk." Shinso looked down at me, my soft expression prompting him to give the smallest smile.

  Seeing this, the Umbridge sighed softly and began to change. They spoke softly with an illusory voice. "Isaac is a Seeker of the Apocalypse pathway. It embodies the malevolence, depravity, and wickedness of the universe."

  As the figure continued to speak, Shinso felt a burning sensation gradually fill his body. He cried out softly, holding his forehead. The room around him darkened as dark-colored pillars shot up from the floor. An endless expanse of dark fog stretched above him. On the far end of the room was a throne, iron-black in hue. Behind the chair was a window, giving Shinso a look into a swirling vortex of energy and chaotic matter.

  "W-what is this?" Shinso looked around in a panic.

  At this moment, a figure emerged from the fog above, their form incomprehensibly large. They were clad in a dark cloak, had red swirling eyes, and almost skeletal hands.

  A sudden, booming voice echoed in this space. "If you wish to keep your friend safe, you must tame and restrain the thoughts within him. He's a being of mixed consciousness, suspended between the links of good and evil. I want you to help him—to ground him."

  Shinso gazed up at the figure, his eyes widening. He felt an instinctual urge to submit and bow to this almighty force before him.

  "A-are you the Spiritual Creature who talks with Isaac?"

  The Umbridge nodded their head. "I am."

  Before he could say anything more, the area around him shifted once again, reverberating back to Ayumi's apartment room.

  "What the hell..." Shinso looked at the black cat sitting on the floor, watching as it rolled onto its stomach, meowing softly as it demanded a belly rub.

  After learning all of that information, Shinso was too stunned to speak.