Mystery: Gray Walker

Chapter 5 Good idea, you go first.

"What is the Spirit World Tide? And what's with that red moon in the sky?"

A person and a cat darted quickly through the thick fog.

"The spirit world is a sea of ​​projections of the spirits of all things, and its fluctuations directly affect reality, especially the mystical realm. These thick fogs are manifestations of the 'shadow' and 'hidden' forces of the spirit world seeping into reality when the tides are high."

The white cat looked up at the blood moon in the sky and lowered its voice.

"As for that... don't look at it, don't think about it, and definitely don't stare at it for too long. It's not a natural celestial body; it's... a projection of some kind of 'symbol' or 'influence' into the real world. Knowing too much won't do you any good."

Although Green still didn't quite understand, he didn't ask any more questions, because asking might only make him more confused.

He instinctively felt that the red moon exuded an aura of ominousness and madness.

"Turn left and go through that archway."

"Go straight, then turn right and enter the next alley."

About twenty minutes later, following the white cat's guidance, Green left the area of ​​Oak Street and stepped into a quiet street called Sage Lane.

This area is part of the old town, so the buildings are older and the fog seems thicker.

"Stop." The white cat's voice suddenly rang in his ears.

Green immediately stopped in his tracks, his body tensing up, and instinctively turned to the side, pressing himself against the shadows of the wall.

"Can you feel it?" the white cat asked softly.

Green didn't speak; indeed, he sensed something was amiss.

It wasn't a direct visual or auditory signal, but rather an... indescribable feeling, as if the surrounding air was beginning to thicken.

He was enveloped by a feeling of being watched, but he couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from.

"That house about twenty meters to your left front." The white cat squinted at the distance.

Green looked in the direction it pointed. In the thick fog, a three-story row house was faintly visible.

The roof is a typical steep slope, and the exterior walls are made of dark red brick, but they look mottled from long-term erosion by moisture and coal smoke. Small porches with carved railings stand on both sides of the stone steps at the entrance.

However, what attracted Green's attention was not the style of the building itself, but the discordant stillness it exuded.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the flowerpots that should have been filled with fresh flowers on both sides of the entrance now contained only a few clusters of completely withered, blackened, and curled-up plant remains, as if all their vitality had been instantly drained.

"The spirituality of life has been drained, and even plants are not spared... This is a typical characteristic of 'that being,' which draws all the 'nutrients' around it toward its core."

The white cat's voice was filled with disgust, "Hmm... We can't go straight ahead, let's go around and try from the back garden."

Green nodded, suppressing his unease, and moved silently along the shadows of the street.

Behind the house is a small garden enclosed by a low wrought iron fence, but just like the courtyard in front of the house, both the shrubs and the grass inside have completely withered and turned grayish-black.

"Will we... alert him?" Green asked in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the back door.

"Probably not."

The white cat said softly, "He is currently in the most critical stage of 'digestion' and 'integration,' and his spirituality and physical body are undergoing drastic changes, which will distort and dull his perception of the outside world."

"But... his domain itself has an active and defensive instinct; excessive noise or strong hostility can still stimulate it."

Green frowned; this uncertainty made him uneasy. This was the first time he was about to face a man-eating 'monster'.

Without further hesitation, he reached down to his lower back with his right hand and pulled out the strangely shaped "Silent Messenger".

The white cat merely glanced at the revolver out of the corner of its eye before quickly averting its gaze.

"I know you want to rely on it," the white cat warned.

"The 'Silencer' can indeed cause immense psychological trauma, and may even drive the target to madness. But I advise you not to do that, at least not to try to use it as your primary means of attack."

"Why?" Green asked, puzzled. A weapon that could directly attack the mind sounded like the perfect tool to deal with this kind of monster.

"For a monster whose body is experiencing a conflict between 'curse backlash' and 'fusion',"

The white cat explained in a serious tone, "An external, intense spiritual shock is like throwing sparks into a barrel full of 'living explosives'."

"This will instantly destabilize the extremely unstable balance within his body, causing him to undergo a complete mutation in a very short period of time, thus turning him into a flesh and blood monster that acts solely on the instinct to devour and multiply."

"At that time, he will completely lose his humanity and become an unpredictable and wildly spreading 'source of pollution.' Remember, in his current state, 'flesh and blood' themselves are the most terrifying weapon and breeding ground."

Green nodded thoughtfully.

Strengths and weaknesses are often not inherent properties of things, but rather depend on how and when you confront them. Attacking weaknesses at the wrong time may awaken a more terrifying beast.

"But this sealed artifact isn't just for attacking," the white cat said, changing the subject.

"What other uses does it have?"

"When you possess it, your sense of 'presence' will be greatly diminished on a spiritual level."

"It's like an invisible veil enveloping you, making it easy for ordinary means of perception, whether it's sight, hearing, or even more mysterious spiritual intuition, to overlook your existence. It makes you walk in the 'gap' between reality and the spiritual realm."

Green immediately recalled his previous experience at the police station and blurted out, "Like... how neither the officer nor I could 'see' William's missing person file? Is it some kind of 'hidden' or 'cognitive interference' force?"

"Similar in essence, but different on different levels."

The white cat asserted, "The police station's files temporarily obscure the concept of 'existence' through ritualistic 'hidden' forces. The 'Silent Messenger,' on the other hand, directly affects your own spiritual state, making you 'inconspicuous.'"

"The literature records it like this: '[Walking through the gaps between light and shadow, difficult to detect by ordinary means.]' Sounds wonderful, right? It allows you to move through the gaps between shadow and light, making you difficult to be detected by conventional means."

"But what the record doesn't include is the following sentence: 'Anyone who wields this power will inevitably be devoured by light and shadow.'"

"Legend has it that this is a powerful offensive sealing artifact created by a great being. Its 'concealment' effect requires extremely high spirituality to actively activate and maintain stability. With your current spiritual strength, forcibly using it will either result in being overwhelmed by it or being assimilated."

Green frowned deeply. According to the white cat, this weapon was indeed a treasure, but it was not something he could use right now. Fortunately, he had only kept it as a collection.

"Not enough inspiration?" Green asked.

"Yes. You are not extraordinary; your spirituality simply overflows naturally, and you cannot effectively control the properties of this item."

"What should we do then?"

"You can use its basic 'presence weakening' effect to carefully approach him and avoid getting into a direct confrontation. This is our only chance."

A sneak attack...?

"Good idea, I agree, you go in first."

"what?"

Green wasn't stupid. He was just an ordinary person, and the other party knew so much; they must have ways to protect themselves. There was no need for him to be foolish.

The man and the cat just stared at each other. Seeing that he had no intention of going in, the white cat finally jumped down and gently placed its paws on the door.

Unlike the front door, which was tightly closed, the back door was half-open, as if someone had just rushed in and out not long ago, or... something had been dragged inside.

As soon as you get close, a strong, suffocating smell of blood suddenly fills your nostrils.

Green suppressed the churning in his stomach and exchanged a glance with the white cat on his shoulder. Neither of them spoke; at this moment, any sound would be a risk.

He stretched out his free left hand, pressed his fingertips against the door panel very lightly, and then slowly applied force.

"Squeak—"

The door hinges made a slight scraping sound until they were pushed open, creating a gap large enough for a person to squeeze through sideways.

The room was pitch black.

Green held his breath, slipped sideways through the crack in the door and into the room, while the white cat lightly leaped off his shoulder and landed silently at his feet.

The moment I stepped inside, the stench of blood that I had smelled outside suddenly became even stronger. At the same time, I felt a sticky, unpleasant sensation under my feet.

Green looked down and saw a thin layer of dark red, almost black liquid covering the floor, his boots leaving clear footprints on it.

It was blood, already partially congealed, but in astonishing quantities, seemingly mixed with tiny, unidentifiable fragments of soft tissue.

This place looks like a place where a massacre once took place.

"Wait..." the white cat suddenly spoke up.

Green looked at it with a puzzled expression.

Have you discovered something?

"No... this aura... it's not just 'digestion'..."

The white cat looked at the scene inside the house, its tone more solemn than ever before, even carrying a hint of surprise.

"What he is doing may not be a conventional demonic path to ascension... but rather an ancient and more sinister 'flesh sacrifice,' an attempt to communicate directly with... that being."

"What do you mean?" Green asked in a low voice, sensing the white cat's unease.

Just then, a muffled, intermittent sound came from upstairs.

Green froze immediately and listened intently.

That seemed to be... rambling?

The sounds were mixed and distorted, not a single tone, but layers upon layers, as if the voices of men, women, and children were forcibly blended together.

Sometimes it was a low sob, sometimes a sharp shrill sound, completely unlike a normal person speaking.

Interspersed among these sounds were the sloshing of viscous liquid and a faint, creaking sound, like bones rubbing together.