He walked down the sidewalk, his clothes charred, his skin burned. In his open palm, the crimson stone rested, the chain wrapped around his hand and fingers.
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One question kept repeating in his mind: Where was Jeena? Why did she leave the stone behind, hidden under a few floorboards?
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None of it made sense. Who would want to burn down a regular bookstore? His thoughts immediately went to the shadowy figures he'd seen outside the store. There was no doubt in his mind—they were the ones responsible for the fire.
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The sun was starting to rise, its warmth brushing against his skin. Kaden must've been walking for hours, aimlessly, without finding any answers.
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"Dammit," he muttered under his breath, picking up his pace and breaking into a run. He didn't have a plan, didn't know where to start. The best he could do was run around town, hoping to spot the figures he'd seen.
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But there was one problem—he didn't know who those people were. He hadn't gotten a clear look at them through the smoke and fire. In the end, he was searching for a needle in a haystack.
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Kaden sat down, leaning against the side of a small store, his legs heavy with exhaustion. His breath came out in short, frustrated bursts as he ran his hands through his singed hair. No matter how far he ran, he found no answers, no clues, and no sign of Jeena.
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He glanced down at the crimson stone still resting in his hand, the chain draped loosely around his fingers. Lifting it up to his face, the stone gleamed in the sunlight, casting a faint red glow.
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"Beautiful," he muttered to himself, though his voice lacked the usual awe. He was too tired, too drained. His eyelids grew heavy as the day's events caught up to him. Slowly, he slipped the stone into his pocket, and without realizing it, sleep took hold.
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***
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In his dream, the world around him faded away, replaced by the image of a man standing on a distant cliff. His long black hair flowed gently in the wind, though he remained still, his back turned to Kaden.
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Kaden felt an invisible pull, his feet moving forward, his gaze locked on the man ahead. Something about him seemed familiar, though Kaden couldn't place it. As he stepped closer, he began to feel the strange sensation of his feet sinking into something wet and sticky.
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He looked down, his heart skipping a beat. Red puddles had formed around him, spreading across the ground. Blood.
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Panic gripped him as he quickly looked back up, only to find the cliff was gone, replaced by a void of pure white stretching endlessly in all directions. The ground beneath him had become nothing but the thick red liquid, swirling slowly around his feet.
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But the man remained, standing in the distance, still with his back turned.
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"Choose..." the man's voice was quiet, almost a whisper.
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"Choose what?" Kaden called out, his voice echoing into the void.
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The man in Kaden's dream never answered. Instead, he slowly began to turn his head, his long dark hair shifting to reveal only a small portion of his mouth. Kaden strained to see the man's face, but his eyes remained hidden beneath the shadow of his hair. The atmosphere grew heavier, the silence thick with tension. Kaden took a hesitant step forward, desperate for answers.
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Before he could speak again, the dream shattered.
***
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Kaden was shaken awake, his body jerking as he gasped for air. Blinking in confusion, he looked up to see an angry man standing over him, glaring down with a scowl etched on his face.
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"You can't sleep here," the man growled, his arms crossed. "Not by my store, stinking it up with your smell."
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Kaden exhaled sharply, frustration bubbling up inside him. He was used to this kind of treatment, the disdain and hate people showed him for being what he was. It had become a routine part of his life.
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"Okay, okay... I'm going," Kaden muttered, pushing himself up from the ground. He brushed off his clothes, still charred from the fire, and began to walk away under the store owner's hateful gaze.
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As he wandered through the town, his eyes scanned his surroundings for anything strange, anything that might give him a clue about Jeena or the shadowy figures he had seen before. But everywhere he looked, there was nothing. The streets bustled with the usual noise of the town, nothing out of place.
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The frustration inside him continued to build until he found himself in a narrow alleyway. He clenched his fists and punched the nearest wall, the force of the blow sending a sharp pain through his knuckles. Blood began to trickle down his hand, but he didn't care.
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"Dammit, dammit!!!" Kaden shouted, his voice echoing in the empty alley as he slammed his fist against the wall again.
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As the pain throbbed through his hand, something shifted in the shadows behind him. A dark figure loomed over Kaden, casting a long shadow across the ground.
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Kaden's breath caught in his throat as he slowly turned around. Standing before him was a man in a long trench coat, his face obscured by the brim of his wide hat. The figure stepped forward, his movements slow and deliberate.
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"Give it to me..." the man rasped, his voice low and menacing. "The red stone."
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Kaden faced the man, his body tense but a smirk creeping onto his face as his fists clenched tighter. The pain in his knuckles was nothing compared to the rush of adrenaline now flooding his veins.
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"Finally," he muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing. "Finally, I've found you."
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The man in the trench coat remained silent, his hat still casting a shadow over his face, obscuring his features. Kaden took a few steps forward, his heart pounding with each footfall. His anger, simmering since the fire, began to boil over.
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"You're going to tell me everything you know about that fire," Kaden growled, his voice filled with barely restrained rage. "Tell me everything."
***
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Author notes: Please support my work on Patreon for early access to new chapters. https://patreon.com/DarkMatteromniverse
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