Chapter 14: The Medium

A true medium... Klein repeated this description inwardly, and

did not speak again. He followed Dunn Smith down the carriage.

Welch's place in Tingen was a detached house with a garden. The road

outside the hollowed metal gates allowed four carriages to pass through

at once. Street lamps lined the sides of the road every fifty meters.

They looked different from the ones Klein had seen in his previous life.

They were gas lamps and the height of every lamp was about that of an

adult male so that it was convenient to light the lamps.

The black metal was closely appressed to the glass, forming a checkered

pattern, casting out classical paper lantern-like 'artworks.' Coldness

and warmth were intertwined while darkness and light coexisted.

Walking along the pathway blanketed by rays from the sunset, Klein and

Dunn Smith entered Welch's rented place through the ajar metal gate.

Facing the main entrance was a cemented road that led straight to a

two-floored bungalow. Two carriages could go at once.

There was a garden on the left and a lawn to the right. The pleasantly

faint fragrance from the flowers mixed with the cool scent of the fresh

grass made one feel happy and relaxed.

As soon as he stepped in, Klein shivered and peered around.

He felt that in the garden, somewhere in the lawn, on the roof, behind

the swing, somewhere in a dark corner, pairs of eyes were observing him!

There was clearly no one here; yet, Klein felt as if he was on a crowded

street.

This strange contrast---this peculiar feeling---tensed him up. A chill

ran up his spine.

"Something's wrong!" he couldn't help but exclaim to Dunn.

Dunn's expression remained unchanged as he walked beside him and replied

calmly, "Just ignore them."

Since the "Nighthawk" had said so, Klein tolerated the chilling feeling

of not being able to notice the perpetrator despite being followed,

spied, and observed. Step by step, he arrived at the main entrance of

the bungalow.

If this goes on any longer, I will go crazy... As Dunn reached

out his hand to knock on the door, Klein quickly turned around. Flowers

swayed in the wind, without a person in sight.

"Come in, gentlemen." A seemingly ethereal voice came from inside the

house.

Dunn turned the doorknob, pushed the door open and said to a woman on

the sofa, "Daly, any results?"

The chandelier in the living room was unlit. A set of two leather

couches surrounded a marble coffee table.

On the table was a lit candle, but the light emitted a cobalt blue glow.

It covered the half-enclosed living room, dining room, and kitchen in a

strange, eerie hue.

On the middle of the sofa sat a lady in a hooded black robe who wore

blue eyeshadow and blush. An exposed silver bracelet with a hanging

white crystal pendant was worn around her wrist.

At the first sight of her, Klein had an inexplicable feeling. She was

dressed just like a real medium...

Was she stereotyping herself?

Daly, the "medium" with uncanny beauty, took a quick glance at Klein

with her twinkling emerald eyes. She looked at Dunn Smith and said, "The

original spirits have all disappeared, including that of Welch's and

Naya's. Right now, all these little rascals know nothing at all."

*Spirits? Spirit Medium... All the invisible things that were spying on

him previously were spirits? There were so many of them?* Klein

removed his hat and placed it across his chest, bowing slightly as he

said, "Good evening, Madam."

Dunn Smith sighed. "That's tricky..."

"Daly, this is Klein Moretti. See if you can get anything out of him."

The medium, Daly, shifted her gaze onto Klein immediately. She pointed

at a single armchair and said, "Please, take a seat."

"Thank you." Klein nodded, took a few steps over, and sat down

obediently. His heart raced uncontrollably.

*Whether I survive, whether I get through this successfully or have my

secrets exposed will all depend on whatever happens next!*

And the thing that made him feel the most helpless was that he had

nothing to rely on. He could only place his hopes on his inherent

specialness...

This feeling really sucks... Klein thought bitterly.

Next, Dunn sat on the two-seater sofa opposite of Klein. Daly took out

two thumb-sized glass bottles from her waist pouch.

Her emerald eyes smiled at Klein as she said, "I need a bit of help

here. After all, you are not an enemy, I can't treat you harshly. That

might make you uncomfortable or put you in pain. It might even leave

some serious after-effects on you. I will give you some fragrances,

making you feel tender and smooth, which will allow you to let loose bit

by bit so that you can truly indulge in those feelings."

That sounded wrong... Klein gaped as his eyes were filled with

shock.

Seated across him, Dunn laughed and said, "Don't be weirded out. We are

different from the fellows from the Church of Storms. Here, the ladies

can also verbally tease men. In this regard, you should be able to

understand. Your mother was a devout believer of the Goddess. You and

your brother used to attend Sunday school at Church."

"I understand. It's just that I never thought that she would be such

a... such a..." Klein gestured, as he could not find the right words. He

almost blurted out the direct translation for "veteran driver"^{[Veteran driver is an Internet slang phrase describing people who are very experienced in particular domains, especially sexually-related things such as posting pornographic resources.]}.

Dunn curved the corners of his mouth up and said, "Don't worry.

Actually, Daly seldom does this. She just wants to use these methods to

calm you down. She prefers corpses over men."

"You make me sound perverted," Daly interjected with a smile.

She opened one of the little bottles and dripped a few drops onto the

bright blue candle flame.

"Night vanilla, slumber flower, and chamomile, all distilled and

extracted to form this aromatic floral essence. I call it 'Amantha;' it

means tranquility in the Hermes language. It smells really amazing."

As they chatted, the candle flame flickered, evaporating the floral

essence and filling the room with its aroma.

A beautifully enchanting aroma found its way into Klein's nostrils. He

no longer felt tensed up. He was instantly calm as if he was gazing into

the darkness of the silent night.

"This bottle is called the Eye of the Spirit. Barks and leaves of drago

and poplar trees are sun-dried for seven days and decocted thrice. Then,

they are immersed in Lanti Wine. Of course, there would be several

incantations while we're at it..." As Daly described the liquid, the

amber substance dripped onto the cobalt blue candle flame.

Upon smelling the ethereal scent of the aromatic wine, Klein noticed

that the candle flame was dancing wildly. The luster of Daly's blue

eyeshadow and blush shone oddly, to the extent of him seeing double.

"It is a great helping hand for mediumship. It is also a floral essence

that is sufficiently enchanting..."

As Daly explained continuously, Klein felt as if her voice was coming

from all around.

Bewildered, Klein looked around and realized that everything was swaying

and in a blur. He felt like he was shrouded by layers and layers of fog.

Even his body was swaying as it phased away before he began floating and

then losing his balance.

Colors blended like an impressionist painting---the reds were redder,

the blues were bluer, and the blacks were blacker---appearing more

defined than usual. It was dreamy and hazy. Distinct murmurs from the

surroundings came through as if hundreds and thousands of people who

could not be seen were debating.

"This feels similar to the luck enhancement ritual I did before, but

without the kind of madness that makes your head feel like exploding..."

Klein looked around and thought questioningly.

At this moment, his vision was locked onto a pair of eyes that were

crystal clear like emerald. On a blurry "sofa" sat Daly in a black robe.

Eccentrically, her gaze concentrated on the tip of Klein's head. She

smiled and in a gentle voice, said, "Let me properly introduce myself. I

am the Spirit Medium, Daly."

*I can still... have rational thoughts... It's like when I was at that

luck enhancement ritual and that gathering...* The thought

crossed Klein's mind as he intentionally behaved muddled and said,

"Hello there..."

"The mental worlds of humans are extremely vast. Many secrets are hidden

within the mind. Look at the ocean---what we know about it is all on the

superficial level. But in reality, deep in the ocean, there is a larger

unseen portion. Other than islands, there is the entire ocean. There is

the boundless sky that symbolizes the spiritual world...

"You are the spirit of your body. Not only do you know of the islands

above, but you also know of the things hidden beneath the sea, as well

as the entire ocean...

"Anything that exists leaves some traces behind. The superficial

memories of the islands may be wiped out, but what is left under the sea

and the entire ocean will definitely have a corresponding projection

left in it..."

Daly went on and on, bewitching Klein. The vague surrounding winds and

shadows took on similar forms. It was as though Klein's spirit was fully

exposed in the form of an ocean, waiting for him to search and discover.

Klein watched patiently, as he 'churned' the ocean occasionally. Then,

in an airy voice, he replied, "No... I can't remember... I have

forgotten..."

He expressed his agony at just the right level.

Daly tried to guide him once again, but the clear-headed Klein was

unaffected.

"Okay. We shall end here. You may leave."

"Leave."

"Leave..."

The airy voice lingered and Daly disappeared. The wind and shadows began

calming as the ethereal smell and subtle scent of the aromatic wine

became more distinct again.

The colors returned to their normal state and the fuzzy feeling was no

longer around. Klein's body quivered, and he found his balance again.

He opened his eyes, which he had no memory of closing, and noticed that

the candle with the bright blue flame was still before him. Dunn Smith

was still resting comfortably on the couch. Same for Daly with the

black-hooded robe.

"Why did you use the theory that belongs to that bunch of evil madmen,

the Psychology Alchemists?" Dunn furrowed his eyebrows and stared at

Daly.

As Daly put away the two little bottles, she replied calmly, "I think

it's pretty accurate. At least, it corresponds with some of the things

I've made contact with before..."

Without waiting for Dunn's reply, Daly shrugged and said, "This tricky

fellow did not leave a single trace behind."

Upon hearing this, Klein heaved a huge sigh of relief. Pretentiously, he

asked, "Oh, it's over? What happened? It felt like I just took a nap..."

That was a pass, right?

*Thankfully, I had the 'luck enhancement ritual' as a

rehearsal!*

"Just take it as such." Dunn interrupted him and looked at Daly. "Have

you examined Welch's and Naya's bodies?"

"The corpses can tell us a lot more than you can imagine. It's such a

pity that Welch and Naya had indeed committed suicide. So, the force

that drove them to it is to be feared. Not a single trace was left

behind." Daly stood up and pointed at the candle. "I need some rest."

The cobalt blue glow vanished, and the house was instantly inundated

with a blurry shade of crimson.

"Congratulations. You can return home now. But do remember, do not

reveal this incident to your loved ones. You have to promise this." Dunn

said as he led Klein to the door.

Surprised, Klein asked, "Is there no need to examine the curses or the

trails left behind by the evil spirits?"

"Daly didn't mention anything about it, so there's no need for it," Dunn

answered simply.

Klein calmed down. As the thought of his previous worries came to mind,

he asked hurriedly, "How can I be sure that I will be free from trouble

from now on?"

"No worries." Dunn twitched his lips and said, "Based on statistics of

similar incidents in the past, eighty percent of the survivors of the

incident do not experience any horrifying after-effects. Yeah... This is

based on what I know... roughly... more or less..."

"Then... there's still one fifth of those poor souls..." Klein did not

dare to try his luck.

"Then you can consider joining us as a civilian staff. This way, even if

there are any precursors, we can discover it in time," Dunn said

casually as he approached the carriage. "Or simply become a Beyonder.

After all, we are not nannies. We can't babysit you all day long and

even watch what you do with women."

"Can I?" Klein questioned the statement.

Of course, he did not expect much. After all, how was it even possible

to be a part of the Nighthawks so easily and obtain the power of the

Beyonders?

That was the power of the Beyonders!

Dunn paused, and turned his head sideways to look at him.

"It's not that you can't... It depends..."

What? The transition in his words shocked Klein. Klein stared

blankly beside the carriage before answering, "Really?"

Who are you kidding? Is it so easy to become a Beyonder?

Dunn laughed lightly; his gray eyes were hidden in the shadow of the

carriage.

"You don't believe me, huh? Actually, when you become a Nighthawk you

lose a lot. For instance, freedom.

"Even if we don't talk about this now, there is another issue. Firstly,

you are not a member of the clergy, nor a devotee. You can't pick

whatever you want or choose the safest approach."

"And secondly..." Dunn held onto the handle and hopped onto the carriage

as he went on. "Among the cases that we---us, the Mandated Punishers,

the Machinery Hivemind and other Judiciaries---have to deal with

annually, a quarter of them were a result of Beyonders who lost

control."

A quarter... Beyonders who lost control... Klein was

dumbfounded.

Just then, Dunn turned slightly. His gray eyes were deep. With no sign

of a smile, he continued, "And among the quarter of cases, a large

number of them are our teammates."