The full moon shone brightly over Hope City, illuminating the streets with its beautiful rays of light where nearly every citizen is currently fast asleep in their comfortable homes, safe and secure as a lone figure walks in the empty streets.
Hands in his pockets, Adam had a bright smile plastered over his face as he could not stop thinking about the wonderful moment he shared with his lover earlier. He never knew it would be that easy, but it wasn't a problem; he was grateful and glad that he was able to get engaged with such an amazing woman.
Almost as kind and sweet as his dead wife, but even greater than that, and the idea of finally starting a new life with her is nothing but a pleasant dream. There was something else weighing heavily on his mind, however. His steps echoed in the quiet streets while walking to Miller's house. There's something about being alone at night that brings peace to his mind and soul.
The tranquility that comes with it and the gentle breeze that blows make him feel at ease, as if the world around him has slowed down and come to a standstill while he is moving forward in repeating patterns of living day by day.
Looking up in the starry night sky, Adam smiled widely. "Even if they're gone, I can still see them, those stars," he whispered softly. "They shine brightly tonight, just like the love and happiness I have for each of you." Even though his previous loved ones are dead, they still hold a special place in his heart no matter what, and now he has someone new to cherish.
He came to a halt when he arrived at Miller's house, where his boss was casually leaning on the back of the door with arms crossed, waiting for the young man to return to set up the ritual needed to find The Deviler and put an end to him once and for all.
Approaching the boss man, Miller quickly noticed his partner's presence as he grinned, "Ah, you came just in time!" The chief enforcer said as he walked towards him before stepping down the set of stairs, patting Adam's shoulder with a sign of reassurance, "If you don't mind me asking, where did you go?" Asking the younger male out of curiosity.
Adam scratched his cheek sheepishly, "I was proposing to someone," not holding any shame from saying it out loud, "person I fell in love with if you put it that way," reddening from embarrassment of talking about his private life much to the other person's bewilderment.
"Wait, are you serious?" He exclaimed in surprise, as he didn't expect to hear something so personal: "What? When did you start dating a woman?" Miller questioned in bewilderment, "Who is she then? Why didn't you tell me?" Eager to know what kind of girl could have caught Adam's interest.
The young man swung his raised hands in a repeating, frantic gesture, flustered at his friend's assumption of what happened: "No, no, no, no! I mean, uh?!" Exclaiming desperately while stuttering before sighing heavily, "fine, I'm engaged with Meridiana," the revelation caused his boss to be taken aback by the mention of a well-known and popular sex worker.
"You are engaged with that escort?" Miller was a little lost for words from hearing her name: "Well, congratulations," giving him a thumbs up in response to such news; "usually, I condemn sex services, but since their environment is known to be safe, professional, and filled with consensual adults, then it's all good," saying such things as he began to understand the situation more clearly: "Well, are you happy with this relationship?"
Other than her being a sex worker, he could say that he's quite content with their relationship because she makes him feel at ease, safe, and comfortable, especially in a place like Hope City. Her beauty and kindness are like an angel descending from heaven, and he feels blessed to have her in his life. "I suppose so, he said, scratching the side of his head, that it doesn't matter what or who she is to me; if she is good and kind, then that is all that matters," smiling slightly.
Miller nodded in agreement, "That is good to hear, man." He gave him one last smile and patted him on the shoulder, "Now come on, let's get back to work, alright?" Causing his partner to nod in understanding before heading back inside with the boss leading him.
Once inside, they moved through the back end of this house, leading to the door where the spacious backyard is located. Opening it, Adam noticed a fresh corpse in the middle of the ground where fences surrounded the yard to prevent intruders from getting inside or out.
The concrete floor is cold and solid, while the pack of unlit candles is neatly arranged in a wrapped band near the said fresh corpse. The young man took a couple of steps forward before kneeling down in expectation of the body of a naked man; it has bruises around the neck area, while its skin is pale and lifeless, as if there is no longer life inside him.
Adam observed the corpse carefully as he looked around the body for any signs or evidence of how it ended up this way. But within mere seconds, he already knew the answer after a short observation of the corpse laying in front of him.
"Suicide by hanging himself with a noose," was the obvious answer from the glance of his neck, where, as mentioned before, bruises surrounded it, indicating such a possible scenario to the poor guy. Looking at the corpse once more, he couldn't help but find it odd. Then his boss came up to him, standing next to the kneeling younger man.
"He died about two hours ago from hanging himself," the chief enforcer pointed at the body before them. "He was a talented musician who recently decided to leave his career because of the lack of getting recognized by anyone, thus making him unable to get a decent job to pay for his family expenses," he continued as Adam listened to him.
It made him think about his previous life as a psychiatrist who had tried to help many people with their problems. From reforming criminals to normal individuals who wanted to live a better life. Even though Adam succeeded in sorting out their problems, he wasn't actively trying to brainwash them.
More so of giving them alternative and safer paths to give them a new perspective on the world around them, rather than forcing them to do something they don't want or wish to do. Something he is good at, "alright," releasing a heavy sigh as he stood up and began unwrapping the band of the set of candles that is present there, "move away from here, I'm going to perform the ritual that is needed for this investigation to finally end." With that in mind, he immediately began lighting up the candles before arranging them in a circle around the corpse.
Drawing the pentagram around the corpse, making sure that it is perfect and precise. Once he finished, Adam began to rearrange the candles around the pentagram in its proper order, making sure that they were aligned with the five points of the star.
"Do you have a knife or something sharp?" Adam asked, turning around to face him with anticipation of getting an answer to his question, "because I need my blood to have it for this ritual to work." His boss then sighed in understanding as he turned to look at the direction of his home. "Just wait a moment, I'll be right back," he said, leaving the backyard immediately to get what the young man required.
Adam sat on the floor, facing directly at the middle bottom of this drawn pentagram he committed, closing his eyes to rethink the necessary preparations needed for this ritual to commence. Feeling some doubt that there is a chance things might go wrong.
However, he knows nothing would go wrong because he has the power to control his story, and he can now do whatever he wants. Even if there are risks, he needs to take them. It may seem silly to some, but he has to try to get answers from the dead man.
But this gift is still new to him; there is still some time needed for him to adjust himself and learn to control this power, even if it means making mistakes or failing; he will continue to try again in order to succeed in bringing the serial mutilator to justice. "There's a lot to be done," he said, opening his eyes to see the corpse before him.
It wasn't long until Miller suddenly came back with what he had requested, holding the box cutter in his hand and saying, I got it," offering him the blade with an extended arm near his face, causing Adam to grab it and stand up with a determined look in his eyes.
Slicing his left hand, he let the blood drip onto the drawn pentagram in a slow manner, drawing his blade in the air for a moment as he stared intently at the corpse, speaking in Latin with a mix of unintelligible words with the intent of gaining the vision needed to find where their perpetrator was.
The boss man could only watch at his side as the sigil began to glow in a bright crimson color; he was seeing the very first moment of magic happening before him, for he had always been a person of reason and doubted the capabilities of this sort of stuff.
But now, seeing all of this made him realize that maybe these things are the real deal; it might be a farfetched theory, but he cannot deny that such things like this already exist, and this is probably what makes the world go around and not just science and reason.
The supernatural and the paranormal are seemingly more dangerous than what he had assumed in the first place, and he views them as something that is difficult to fathom because of how unusual they are from his perspective. Although he also thinks that it is time to stop viewing the world through a single lens and be open-minded to things that are outside the boundaries of reason and science,
Meanwhile, the fresh corpse slowly dissolves into ashes while flashing images play in Adam's head, giving him the exact location and their plans, making him feel like he's going insane from the constant overflow of information. It was overwhelming, but he knows that it is a necessary process in order for him to find the killer and bring him to justice for the safety of his daughter and those he loved.
Once the vision ended, Adam fell on his knees as he heavily breathed, staring at the ground while the pentagram slowly vanished along with the corpse, which had already turned into nothing more than ash. His boss approached him at a quick pace, helping him get back on his feet to balance himself. "What did you see, man?" Miller asked with worry in his eyes, seeing his colleague with a dazed and tired look as blood dripped down from his bloody hand.
Adam couldn't believe what he saw, for this was worse than he thought, as his panicked heart beat violently from the truth he had learned. A river of sweat fell from his entire panicked face, having learned the location of the person as well as their plans for tonight, but it wasn't what scared him.
"I need to go," he muttered with haste as he hurriedly stood up and began to walk away from his boss, who quickly followed him. "Adam, wait! Tell me what happened?!" Miller shouted, trying to keep up with him but being ignored.
Lilim, that is all it matters to him right now after exiting the house entirely, ignoring the fact that Miller is still chasing him from behind, confused but still wanting to get a proper answer from this sudden change of events causing the young man to act in this manner.
But it doesn't matter to him; he knows where this person is and what the plans are for tonight; all that matters to him right now is the safety of his daughter. No, it is more than that. The life of his daughter is on the line, and the very idea of having her tortured again by someone else is something he won't tolerate, let alone the thought of her being mutilated by that freak of nature.
He promised to himself that he wouldn't lose another family member or loved one ever again.
