𝒲𝒾𝓃𝓉ℯ𝓇 𝒲ℴ𝓃𝒹ℯ𝓇𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹： 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓌 ℴ𝒻 𝓉𝒽ℯ ℱ𝓇ℴ𝓏ℯ𝓃 ℋℯ𝒶𝓇𝓉

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ𝑠： 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 69

*
"Gotta be as quiet as a mouse, or else you'll call the police. And I'll get done for somethin' stupid like disturbance of the peace. And piece by piece, I am collecting all the things you leave behind. And when you don't, I rummage through your bins to see what I can find."

**
Ramshackle Dorm - Y/n's Room

The sound of quill against parchment filled the quiet room, sheets flowing neatly across Y/n's desk as if guided by an invisible hand. Ink bloomed swiftly into words, crisp and elegant, while outside the window, a white phoenix circled before silently phasing through the locked glass.

The bird alighted upon the desk, golden eyes glowing faintly. Then, like a shift in the air itself, its gaze flickered—gold melting into crystalline lavender, a cold brilliance that carried no warmth.

-𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙻𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝙽𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚁𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝙲𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚐𝚎,𝚜 𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎 𝙳𝚘𝚛𝚖: 𝙰𝚣𝚞𝚕 𝙰𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚘.
𝙰 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕-𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚎𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚛, 𝚊 𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝.
𝙾𝚠𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘 𝙻𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚎, 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚕.
𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝙹𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙵𝚕𝚘𝚢𝚍 𝙻𝚎𝚎𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜, 𝙰𝚣𝚞𝚕 𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜.
𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙻𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚊 𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜, 𝙰𝚣𝚞𝚕'𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚌̧𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍.
𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚜 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎—𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚔.
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚞𝚗 𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚜𝚎𝚊-

After the final word was written, the quill returned to its place as if it had never been touched. The parchment folded itself with precise care, crisp edges aligned like a sealed vow. A pale, icy hand emerged from the shadows, lingering a moment over the letter as though it were something precious, before slipping it gently into the phoenix's pouch.

Then came a voice. Deep, deliberate—its tone wrapped in a chilling calm that dripped with possessive devotion:

"This third report... Deliver this to the Master of the Winter Moon Tower. And... tell them to prepare for my awakening."

The hand tightened slightly on the parchment, knuckles pale, the voice lowering to something intimate, almost reverent.

"I have waited long enough. I crave to bury myself once more in my beloved wife's embrace, to remind her she belongs to no one but me. And then..." His voice curled into a low, suffocating chuckle, dripping with cold obsession. "And after... I shall make my way to Night Raven College to enjoy a winter break with our sweet, naive daughter. So fragile, so innocent..."