In the deepest reaches of absolute darkness, at the end of a pitch-black, desolate street. In the narrow depths of Charnoz, beyond that towering gate, everything here was cold and silent, as if even time itself had been frozen. Nothing flowed; everything simply existed quietly beneath the shroud of darkness. Whether for decades, centuries, millennia, or tens of thousands of years, it had always been this way.
But today was different.
Someone was speaking.
One voice was that of a calm, indifferent man.
The other was a woman's voice, filled with sorrow and unease.
"This is the Gate of Tartarus. Therefore, I appear here, before the one who has reached the gate. It was you who summoned me."
The man declared this coldly, without the slightest hesitation.
"…Me?"
The woman's voice carried a hint of confusion.
"That's right. Not Joseph Čapek's séance, nor the Green Stone he gave you. It was you—you who summoned me. Tremble. Fear. But you must make a choice."
"A choice… of what?"
"Whether or not to obey me. You are free to choose."
"If I obey you… what will I become?"
"If you do not give up until the very end, then your wish will be fulfilled."
The man's voice was cold, utterly devoid of emotion, like a machine speaking.
"…I see."
The woman paused briefly before continuing.
"There is someone I love. A very important friend. I joined the séance for her sake. I am very afraid, because I love her deeply—she is the most important person to me. If, in the future, something terrible were to happen to her… even if she survives, what about the next day? And the day after that?"
"I cannot accept such a future—the possibility that it might happen. I fear tomorrow. Even when I am with her, spending happy moments together, after we part, I still worry… I fear that one day, while I am at home, I might suddenly receive a call… bringing terrible news…"
"She is so brave, so strong… but that only makes her more worrying. Just like that day, when I almost watched her slip away from me forever… that fear, that anxiety—I don't want to keep enduring it. I don't want to face an uncertain tomorrow anymore. I only want to live in today… together with her… forever…"
"Is that so?"
The man's voice did not change in the slightest in response to her plea. Like eternal ice, like a statue, like a machine. Unchanging in the past, unchanging in the present, and unchanging in the future. The world—and he himself—seemed incapable of the slightest alteration, existing only as they were, like darkness itself, never fading.
"Then you can only make a contract with me."
"…A contract?"
"Yes."
The woman fell silent for a moment upon hearing his reply.
"I only want to escape this fear. If this is the only way… then I will choose to make a contract with you."
At that moment, she made her decision.
"Then your wish shall be fulfilled—as long as you do not give up."
And then, darkness swallowed everything.
Duanmu Huai opened his eyes.
"Extreme obsession always leads to disaster. Love is no exception."
Looking at the sleeping blonde girl before him, Duanmu Huai spoke calmly. Just as he had told Mary, the kind of love Romeo and Juliet shared—so intense it carved itself into the bones—was unnecessary, and certainly not worthy of praise. It was nothing more than something to be exploited, twisted, and ultimately discarded.
All extreme emotions were unnecessary—love, hatred, hope, despair alike. This was the source of the power of obsessive sin: those who went mad for love, who fell, who chose a twisted path. This girl would not be the first, nor the last.
After all, this was simply how the world worked. Humans were no different—only when burning with intense emotion could they produce the brightest flames. But conversely, at the very moment that flame erupted, the surrounding shadows became the darkest.
That said…
"So it finally worked?"
This was the ability Duanmu Huai had awakened during the airship incident. By touching an object, he could, to some extent, glimpse its past. Back on the airship, he had touched the ash on a corpse's collar and seen the killer standing beside the victim after their death. However, this ability was unreliable—working at times and failing at others, like Duan Yu's Six Meridian Divine Sword, seemingly not under his conscious control.
After arriving here, Duanmu Huai had naturally tried to use this ability again. Shirley's coma—after learning that she was also a guest of the Silver Twilight Lodge and had reached the Gate of Tartarus, he attempted to use this method to uncover the origin of everything.
So every day, he would set aside time to secretly come to Shirley's room, reaching out to touch her hair and face, attempting to "read" her past.
Of course, it hadn't worked at first. But Duanmu Huai didn't give up. One reason, naturally, was that Shirley was at least a beautiful girl—if it were a man, he wouldn't have had such persistence. After all, constantly hovering around another man wasn't exactly a great hobby… and Duanmu Huai had no such inclinations.
If one or two attempts failed, then he would overwhelm it with quantity. As long as he tried enough times, eventually he would trigger that mysterious ability and glimpse Shirley's past. Once he could directly read her past, what she had experienced would no longer be a mystery.
Still, that rabbit of mine really is reliable.
Until today—"luck" had finally arrived.
The dice had been cast, the number had passed the check, and Duanmu Huai had finally seen the past of the sleeping girl.
However…
"This one is really… hard to describe."
Looking at Shirley, Duanmu Huai felt speechless. He had seen similar emotions in Anne and Guleya before, but unlike them, this girl carried a deeper sorrow and grief.
This girl… loved Mary.
It had been that way since childhood. Mary had always protected her, watched over her. Perhaps because of that, she had developed deep feelings for Mary. On the surface, she was the one taking care of Mary, but in truth, Mary was her only emotional pillar.
Without realizing it, she began to fear—fear losing her most important friend.
From Duanmu Huai's perspective, however, this fear…
Well, it actually made sense.
He still remembered their first meeting—Mary had jumped without hesitation into a freezing, polluted river just to save a drowning kitten. If he hadn't intervened, she might have been swept away. And in fact, Mary had done many similar things—brave, proactive, unwaveringly determined.
All admirable qualities.
But for those around her, it was a different story.
This was what Shirley feared.
One day, Mary might drown in a river like that. Or interfere in something dangerous and get kidnapped—or even killed. That was simply her nature. Even if Shirley tried to stop her, she wouldn't listen.
It was similar to Anne and Guleya, yet also different.
Anne loved causing trouble, but Guleya didn't worry too much. One reason was Anne's strength, and another was Guleya's own strength. If Anne encountered danger, Guleya could step in to help.
But Shirley clearly didn't have that kind of power. And Mary wasn't as strong as Anne either—she was just an ordinary girl. So if something happened to her…
The consequences were obvious.
How should I put it… women really do tend to overthink these things more than men.
If it were Duanmu Huai, he'd just say fate decides life and death. Some people spend thirty years living cautiously, only to get killed by a flowerpot falling from above. Worrying about such uncertainties was meaningless.
But clearly, Shirley didn't think that way.
So she made a contract—to escape a future where tomorrow would even come…
"Women… truly incomprehensible."
Duanmu Huai shook his head. Maybe Lorna or Anne could understand?
Maybe.
In any case, he couldn't.
But that didn't matter.
What mattered was that through this investigation, Duanmu Huai had finally identified the mastermind.
Royal Academy, First Professor's Office.
"Click… click… click…"
In the silent, smoke-filled room, only the ticking of a clock could be heard. An elderly man in a black coat sat in his chair, quietly smoking from his pipe. His hair was completely white, and his aged face looked weary. After a long while, he slowly turned his head toward the door.
"I never expected to receive a visitor."
"Hello, Professor."
Duanmu Huai stood at the doorway, looking at him calmly.
"To be honest, it seems my initial deduction wasn't wrong after all."
"Oh?"
"How did Shirley Brontë learn about Čapek's research society? And why were the first victims all students of the Academy? Back then, I already suspected a faculty member. Now it seems I wasn't mistaken."
At this point, Duanmu Huai narrowed his eyes, a terrifying aura of killing intent beginning to emanate.
"Am I right? Master of the Silver Twilight Lodge—Professor James Moriarty?"
"Heh heh heh…"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's question, the old man chuckled.
"And how did you find out?"
"From Miss Shirley."
"That surprises me. If I recall correctly, Miss Shirley Brontë is still in a coma."
"That's right. But I have my own methods."
Duanmu Huai stared coldly at the old man.
"You noticed Shirley's distress and guided her to Professor Čapek's research society… all of this was orchestrated by you. I'm just curious—why?"
"Heh…"
At Duanmu Huai's question, the old man lifted his head and looked out the window.
"I once opened the Gate of Tartarus. That was long ago. There, I encountered a being—one that existed before human civilization. So I decided to offer my body to it—to that great existence who ruled this world before humanity—the final King of Darkness, one of the Old Ones."
"… "
Duanmu Huai raised an eyebrow, while the old man continued.
"But that is not all I wish to do. The reason I've done this is to conduct an experiment—between humanity and the Old Ones, who will ultimately prevail? Can humanity defeat them? Or are we even worthy of inheriting the legacy left behind by that great existence and becoming the rulers of this world? Or will that being return, reclaiming the world and merging it once more with itself?"
"How utterly boring."
Duanmu Huai snorted coldly.
"This is your reason for colluding with evil gods and bringing disaster upon the world? Humanity already has enough problems—we don't need you adding your pointless little pranks."
"But isn't this a grand, magnificent, radiant prank? One that wagers countless thoughts, desires, and lives?"
"In the end, it's still just a prank."
Duanmu Huai tightened his grip on his cane, raising an eyebrow as he stared coldly at the old man without a trace of emotion.
"Heh heh heh… Unfortunately, you're too late. They have already reached Antarctica. Who will ultimately open that gate—"
The old man never finished his sentence.
Because at that moment, Duanmu Huai raised his right hand. The cane in his grasp suddenly extended, hooking around the old man's neck, yanking him across the desk and slamming him to the ground at Duanmu Huai's feet. Then Duanmu Huai lifted his foot and stomped down hard onto the old man's face!
Puchi!
With a wet crack, the old man's head burst like a watermelon. His body twitched briefly, then began to fracture like porcelain, breaking apart and dissolving into the air.
"How foolish."
Duanmu Huai stared coldly at the crumbling remains beneath his feet, a look of disgust crossing his face.
Humanity was already struggling enough—why were there always idiots trying to drag their own species down?
But with that, the mastermind had finally been dealt with.
Next…
Antarctica would be the battlefield.