Several disappearances and unexplained events have been registered shorty after the commercialization of an ancient statue linked to some legends from a mysterious place called "Reich der Finsternis" in eastern Germany, there is no know route leadin...
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The main hall
With the sentence the Duchess had issued for Max, the image of the court of Reich der Finsternis dissolved in a whirlwind of lights, allowing Liz to slowly return to her tangible reality. She opened her eyes cautiously, finding herself in a place that resembled other parts of the palace but lacked the disturbing frescoes that had triggered her earlier reaction. She was lying on an elegant wooden table in a room illuminated by golden chandeliers that hung along the walls. Surrounding her were oak bookshelves filled with ancient tomes.
Still disoriented and slightly dizzy, she blinked a few times, convinced that what she was seeing couldn't be real—until Bernard's calm voice pulled her out of her confusion.
"Liz..." Bernard murmured softly, his voice echoing faintly before it grew clearer. "I'm glad you're back. You really scared me there."
She turned her head towards him, heart still racing as she tried to grasp what had happened. "Bernard?" she muttered, as if doubting that he was really there. "What... what happened? Where am I?" she asked, frowning slightly.
"You fainted while looking at the frescoes, so I brought you here, away from them," Bernard explained, helping her sit up. "You've been acting strangely ever since we encountered Florian, and what just happened really worries me—especially since you were about to tell me something important."
Liz wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand and took a deep breath, trying to contain the overwhelm that threatened to consume her. She thought briefly about the future; there was no turning back now—only the library left to find. The recent events made it painfully clear that her situation was deteriorating. Her soul felt doomed, and there was no point in hiding her condition any longer. Maybe there was still a small chance of escaping her fate.
Disguising the sadness that weighed heavily on her, she lifted her shirt slightly to reveal the pentagram mark etched into her abdomen, then quickly covered it again.
Bernard's reaction was immediate; he recoiled as if he'd sensed imminent danger. Liz, unsure of what to expect, feared that her partner would reject what he had seen and start pulling away from her. Since joining the agency, disappointing those who trusted her had been one of her greatest fears—especially when it involved people close to her, like her best friend.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Bernard asked, his voice laced with concern. "I've been your partner since almost the day you joined the DPFD. We've faced some of the worst cases together—like the massacre in Arkansas. Something like this... it's not the sort of thing you keep secret."
"I didn't want to make things even more complicated," Liz replied quietly, blinking slowly as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Together, they practiced the breathing exercises Liz had learned during her training. Once she felt more in control, she began to recount, in detail, her first encounter with the villagers and her experience in the chapel. Every word she uttered felt like she was shedding a heavy weight off her chest, just as she used to do during those long conversations with her mother. Bernard, though puzzled, didn't get upset—not even when he learned that Steffi Lenz, the German anti-terrorism medic, had seen the unholy mark before him. Despite knowing him so well, Liz still found herself surprised by her partner's unwavering nobility. She wasn't sure she would have reacted the same way if their roles were reversed.
