"Kyne, sweetie, we have some bad news," My mother says, holding my hand.

"Where's Kilsea?" I ask, looking between my parents.

They exchange looks and shake their heads. No, it can't be...not Kilsea, she can't be dead.

"Kyne..." I hear a voice behind me.

I whip around to see Kilsea, my eyes wide in fear. Her body is mangled, bones sticking out, and flesh melting from her face. Her eyes are red like fire. She reaches towards me, as her arm catches on fire.

"Kyne...do you know what I've become...deep down you must," She grins, all the skin on her face now fully melted off, her jaw hanging onto her face with only a few strands of muscle and flesh.

"No!" I cry out.

I jolt awake with a scream, Mr. Giles and Nis both rushing to my side, my waist is wrapped in bandages on my bed. They stare down at me with concern etched all over their faces.

"Kyne...what happened?" Nis says, glancing over the bandages.

"Not what you think, just cut my side on some glass," I respond, holding the wound.

"Yeah, it was pretty deep. You should've let me come with you," Mr. Giles says.

"It's something I have to do by myself. I have to get going again. I don't have much time left," I groan as I stand up.

"Kyne...what if you get hurt more?" Nis asks, her voice slightly cracking.

"I'll be okay, Nis. This was an accident, I swear," I pat her head, and she nods.

Today is the twenty-eighth of December, and I still owe ten million and five hundred thousand. The pain in my side is manageable; I've experienced far worse over the past few weeks. Mr. Giles and Nis don't press the issue any further as I head down the stairs.

I look back at them and give them a small nod as they frown and watch me leave. I step into the freezing air and slip my coat on. Today, I'll head over to my old house in hopes of finding the money the Patron left there. The tricky part is getting to that side of the town.

As I start walking, I notice a lady with silky black hair and bright violet eyes dressed in a sharp-looking coat. She's talking to an elderly couple and writing in a notepad. She must've seen me staring because she turns her head to me and smiles. She nods to the couple and walks right to me.

"Hey there!" She says, smiling.

"Oh, hey," I responded nervously, not expecting her to come up and greet me.

"I'm here on an investigation. My name is Mikari. Do you mind if I take a moment of your time?" She extends her hand for me to shake.

"Yeah, sure, my name is Kyne, nice to meet you. What are you investigating?" I ask her, shaking her hand.

"Well, it's about the killings and suicide of Anshi Mikimoh. Did you know her?" She asks, clicking her pen and starting to write in her notepad.

Anshi? I thought Coy covered this all up; she must be a private investigator. I might end up contradicting myself if I lie to her. I'll have to handle this carefully.

"Yeah, I knew her but only briefly," I respond.

"Really? From what I understand, she's pretty shut in, not many people around here even knew she existed," She taps her pen against the notepad, looking up at me, shocked.

"I had the unfortunate opportunity to meet her. We just had a brief conversation, nothing too crazy. I only found out who she really was once I saw the news about her death in the paper," I respond.

Mikari nods and writes in her notepad. Her eyes seem interested in my story. I might be one of the few people in the entire town who knew her. One of the few still alive, anyway. She writes a final note and closes her notepad, putting it away.

"Right. That's everything for now. I'll come see you here if I have any more questions," She glances at my place and smiles.

"Okay, I'll be around, hope you find whatever you're looking for, Mikari," I say.

"Oh, I'm not looking for anything specific, just bringing some closure to her family is all," She giggles and smiles, before walking away.

I sigh and continue the walk to the old part of town with my childhood home. Anshi's family, I hadn't even considered them. I mean, ultimately what happened wasn't my fault, not to mention she deserved what happened to her. But for her family to lose their child like that. I think I can understand that now, since I've met Nis, I couldn't imagine ever losing a child.

Before I know it, I arrive in front of my old home. It's crooked and decrepit, the wood is rotten, and the walls are crumbled away, but its charm remains. I've always felt safe here. I take a deep breath and walk into the house, slowly taking in the time-ravaged home.

I look around for any clues the Patron might've left behind. It takes me a few moments to notice it, but on the wall, there's a dark patch right by the staircase. The color is a deep crimson. If I had to take a guess, I would say dried blood.

I walk to the staircase and run my hand against the patch. Looking up the stairs, I can see the trail resumes. I step up as the floorboards creak under my weight, the mold and rot slightly giving way. As I reach the top step, the trail leads into what used to be my parents bedroom. It feels strange being back after all this time.

I walk into the bedroom and freeze. The entire room looks like a tornado came through, furniture thrown around, and pieces of the wall smashed and thrown about over the floor. The trail leads to a cassette player with a cassette next to it labeled "Kyne".

I pick up the cassette and gently place it inside the player. After a moment of silence, a voice cracks to life, it's familiar, and immediately brings me to tears. It's my mother's voice, clear and soft, just as beautiful as I remember.

"I don't like that we have to lie to him," Her voice crackles through the speaker.

"It's necessary," Another familiar voice, this one I recognize as my father.

"I know, still. Why are you even recording this, Juuiek?" She asks.

Juuiek. The Patron. Why is he there with my parents? What's this about? I lean in closer to the player, fully engrossed.

"To have a record of this conversation. Listen, Sylna, we have to keep Kyne safe. The Organization is getting bolder; they doubled my debt again," Juuiek says.

"Why don't you just pay the debt? You have the money, don't you?" My father asks.

"I tried, Zirk. They almost killed me when I tried to pay it all off. Mary is relentless; she wants us all gone," He responds.

"By this rate, she'll succeed," Sylna says.

There's a brief pause, as all three go quiet. I can feel the tension in the room even through the cassette player.

"She will. We need to protect Kyne," Zirk says.

"Will Hazel help us?" Juuiek asks.

"Definitely not, she's the last person I'd trust to look after a child," Sylna snaps back.

"What about Gwune? What's happening there?" Zirk asks.

"In hiding, after she gave birth to Mary, she fled; they're still looking for her, but I hid her well," Juuiek responds.

"They're trying to kill her...Mary is trying to kill her own mother," Sylna spits out, disgusted.

"We don't have long. There's everything you requested in the hiding spot. Under the false bottom of the fireplace. I think we should give Kyne to the Caretaker. He's the only one I truly trust," Zirk says.

"I wish I could help you both," Juuiek says, his voice cracking slightly.

"It's too late for us. They know where we are. Juuiek, go far away, look over Gwune. Just keep running," Sylna says.

"Of course, I won't let them catch up," Juuiek responds.

"I'm going ahead. Bye, Juuiek," Zirk says as his footsteps can be heard walking out of the room.

"One more thing, brother," Sylna says.

"Yes? What is it?" Juuiek asks.

"If you put Kyne through whatever you put Maurice through, I will never forgive you, do you understand me? I know what you are, so I'll say this once. I hope you rot in hell," Sylna says, and the tape ends with a click.

I take a deep breath and pocket the tape. There's a lot to unpack in a single conversation. Will Mary be satisfied with this debt? Or will she just decide to kill me anyway? Why am I so important to her?

Most importantly, the hiding spot they spoke of. In the fireplace, that's where the money will be. As I stare down at the cassette player, my thoughts are instantly interrupted. The shattering of glass downstairs, followed by rapid footsteps up the stairs, breaks my trance. I run to the door and slam it shut. Briefly catching the glimpse of a figure sprinting towards me.

I scramble to lock the door and look for something to barricade it. The figure reaches the door and aggressively turns the knob and pounds on the door, trying to get in. I back up from the door and look at the wood; by some miracle, this wood hasn't rotted as badly as the rest of the house; it seems like it will remain intact.

I look towards the window, contemplating my choices of escape, when I hear another noise, similar to clicking on the doorknob. Although I have never witnessed someone do such a thing, I know instantly what's happening. The intruder is picking the lock. This isn't some random crackhead gone mad.

I look around for a place to hide and settle on the closet closest to the window, yes not the most original spot, but the options are scarce. I settle into the closet and throw some old rags and clothes over me to hide.

I hear the clicking stop, and the door creaks open; the footsteps enter the room. Floorboards creak as the intruder moves furniture around, searching the room. I hear them approach the closet door and stop. My heart demanding release from my chest, I cover my mouth and close my eyes.

The closet door creaks open, and I hear them rummage around next to me, moving clothes aside and throwing boxes out. They move closer to the pile I'm hiding under, their hand resting on top of the pile in a way I can feel the pressure. To my horror, they start moving the clothes off my pile. As more is removed, I see a hand wrap around the last layer concealing me, a feminine hand with long pointed nails, a strong odor of perfume fills my nostrils, a perfume that's sickeningly familiar to me.

It's impossible. It can't be her. At the same time, I know my sense of smell isn't lying to me; there's only one person it can be, only one person who used this perfume.

Anshi Mikimoh.