Then it happened again.
Henrik’s head turned toward them with that sa unnatural, liquid movent. The white eyes found them. The too-wide smile spread across his face, revealing teeth that seed sharper than they should be.
And again after few seconds, his face returned to the original position.
Then again. Turn. Smile. Return.
Turn. Smile. Return.
Kael watched this horrifying cycle repeat four more tis before he let out a long, shuddering sigh.
"It... it follows a rhythm," he whispered, his mind trying to make sense of the terror before him. "Like a puppet. Or a broken music box."
Aren was breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on the window. "What does that an?"
"I don’t know," Kael admitted, but so of the paralyzing fear had lessened now that he could see the pattern. "But whatever’s controlling him, it’s not... smart. Not creative. It’s just repeating the sa action."
They watched the cycle continue. Every twelve seconds, Henrik would turn, smile, then return to staring ahead.
"We need to get closer," Kael said quietly.
"Are you insane?" Aren hissed. "Did you see those teeth?"
"If it’s just repeating, then maybe..." Kael took a careful step forward. Henrik was currently facing forward. "Maybe we can ti it. Move between the cycles."
Aren grabbed his arm. "Kael, no. This is exactly how people die in stories."
But Kael was already counting. "Watch. When he turns away, we move. When he’s about to turn toward us, we freeze."
Henrik’s head began its slow turn toward them.
"Now we wait," Kael breathed.
The pale face smiled at them, those too-many teeth glinting in the moonlight. Aren whimpered quietly.
Then Henrik’s face returned to the forward position.
"Now," Kael whispered, and took three quick steps closer to the shop.
Aren reluctantly followed, his legs feeling like jelly.
They were now only ten paces away. From here, they could see that Henrik’s skin wasn’t just pale—it was beginning to decay. Dark veins were visible beneath the flesh, and his fingertips had turned completely black.
The door stood open wider now, though neither of them had seen it move.
Henrik’s head began to turn again.
They froze.
The smile. The teeth.
But this ti, Henrik’s mouth moved. No sound ca out, but his lips were clearly forming words.
Co... in...
The head returned to its original position.
"Did you see that?" Aren whispered, his voice barely audible.
Kael nodded grimly. "It knows we’re here. The puppet act... it was just waiting for us to get close enough."
The shop door creaked open another few inches, revealing more of that impenetrable darkness within.
And from sowhere in that darkness, they heard it.
A soft clicking sound.
The sa sound they had heard deep in the ruins.
Kael’s heart thudded painfully in his chest. Nyx’s warning replayed in his head—necromancy, the enslavent of souls, especially dangerous for young swordsn. But this wasn’t so wild magical beast they could simply avoid. This was intentional. Calculated. Soone was behind this.
And with his recent breakthrough to apprentice swordsman level, he felt the mana flowing through his body with new strength. His reflexes were sharper, his speed enhanced. If nothing else, he was confident he could flee if things went wrong.
He turned to look at Aren, who was still trembling beside him. Aren had only just awakened his mana sensitivity—he was barely in the initialization stage and only able to sense magical energy, not manipulate it. Against whatever was lurking in that shop, he would be helpless.
Henrik’s head completed another cycle. Turn, smile, return.
The door creaked open another inch.
"Aren," Kael whispered, his voice steady despite the terror clawing at his chest. "You stay here."
"What?" Aren’s eyes widened in panic. "Kael, no—"
"Listen to ," Kael cut him off quietly but firmly. "You can sense the energy, right? If anything changes—if more energy appears, if sothing else shows up—you’ll know before I do."
Aren shook his head frantically. "I’m not letting you go in there alone. We stick together, rember? That’s what we always—"
"You’re in initialization stage," Kael interrupted, grabbing Aren’s shoulders. "You can sense mana, but you can’t fight with it yet. I can. I just broke through to apprentice knight realm. My body is enhanced now—I can run faster than anything in there can follow."
Aren’s face crumpled. "Kael—"
"I’ll go ahead and scout. Just the entrance, nothing more. If I don’t return in half an hour..." Kael’s voice dropped to barely a whisper. "Go back to the celebration. Tell the adults. Tell my father, tell Arthur, tell everyone. They’ll know what to do."
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