Beyonder

Captain can't you say her name. He followed Dunn Smith and got off the horse carriage.

Welch's home in Tengon was a bungalow house with a garden. Outside the vertical iron bars gate was a road wide enough for four wagons to drive through at the same time. There were street lamps every 50 meters on both sides of the road. The height of the posts was approximately that of an adult man. It was designed for ignition convenience.

Black metal strips clanged to the glass and enclosed the grids into classical lantern "artworks". The lamps burnt in the dark like a dance of the cold and the warm, mixing both shadows and lights.

Stepping on the dimly-lit road, Klein and Dunn Smith entered via a semi-opened iron gate into Welch's rented residence.

Right behind the gate was a path for two carriages, it was paved with concrete and connected to the two-floor bungalow.

There was a garden on the left, a lawn on the right. The mild scent of floral, mixed with a touch of freshness, produced a pleasing ambiance.

As soon as he stepped in, Klein could suddenly feel something wrong. He glanced around nervously.

He felt that in the garden, in the shadow of the lawn, on the top of the house, behind the swing, in the dim corners, there were many pairs of eyes watching him!

I can feel spirit but I can't see them. He knew they are here because of an spirit medium he can't settle his mind. This was a strange contrast. The bizarre feeling caused him to tighten his body with a chill running down his spine.

"There's a problem!" He couldn't help but remind Dunn.

Dunn walked beside him with an undisturbed expression. He answered calmly.

"Don't worry about it."

As Dunn reached out and knocked on the door, Klein quickly looked back. The flowers swayed in the wind but there was no one.

"Come in, gentlemen." A slightly ethereal voice came from inside the house.

Dunn twisted the doorknob, pushed opened the door, and asked.

"Daley, what is the result?"

The chandelier in the living room was not lit. A main and two auxiliary leather couches surrounded a marble coffee table.

On the coffee table, a single candle burnt with a bright blue flame. It shaded the semi-open layout of the living room, dining room, and kitchen in a quivering and treacherous hue.

A woman was sitting on the middle couch. She wore a hooded black robe, smeared her face with blue eyeshadows, and had light red paints on her cheeks. She wore a silver bracelet with a silver chain hanging from the wrist.

At the first sight of her, Klein had an inexplicable feeling. She was dressed just like a spirit medium…

Daley, the "Spirit medium" who was beautiful in an uncanny way, glanced at Klein with twinkling green eyes and then turned her head towards Dunn Smith.

"The original spirits have disappeared, including Welch's and Naya's. The little ones here are not aware of anything."

Klein took off his hat and put it on his chest. He greeted in a mild voice.

"Good evening, Ma'am."

Dunn Smith sighed.

"It's really tricky…"

"Daley, this is Klein Moretti. Please try to see if you can discover anything with his help."

Daley turned her eyes back to Klein. She pointed to the auxiliary couch.

"Please sit down."

"Thank you." Klein nodded, he moved across and sat down honestly. At the moment, he couldn't help but felt a tense emotion after seeing both of them in front of him eyes.

As Dunn took a seat on the couch opposite him, the "Soul Whisperer" Daley took out two thumb-sized glass bottles from the pockets around her waist.

Her green eyes smiled and looked at Klein.

"I need a little help. After all, you are not an enemy. I can't treat you bluntly and violently. It will make you feel uncomfortable, painful, and may even leave severe wounds behind. Therefore, I will give you a little fragrance, a little gentleness, and sufficient lubrication, so that you can relax yourself a bit and immerse in that feeling."

It doesn't sound quite right… Klein was astounded.

Dunn, who was sitting at opposite looked amused.

"Don't be surprised, unlike the fellows from the Church of the Lord of the Storms, ladies here can also verbally make fun of men. In this regard, you should be able to understand. After all, your mother was a devout believer in the goddess. Both you and your brother had also studied at the church's Sunday school. Dunn's mouth curved upwards.

"Rest assured, Daley actually rarely does this. She just wants to calm you and help you relax. In fact, she likes corpses more than men."

"You make me sound like a pervert." The "Spirit medium" Daley smiled and interrupted.

She opened one of the small bottles and sprinkled a few drops onto the brilliant blue candle flame.

"Night vanilla, sleeping flower, and chamomile. These were mixed and distilled into an essence. I called it 'Amandi'. It means 'serenity' in Hellenese. It has a very pleasing scent."

During the conversation, the candlelight flickered a few times, and a few drops of pure liquid evaporated quickly and permeated the room.

A calming and charming scent plunged into Klein's nose. He no longer felt tense and he quickly found his composure. He felt as if he was gazing into the darkness in the middle of the night.

"This bottle is called the 'Eye of the Spirit'. It used the barks and the leaves of dragongrass trees and poplars, which were dried for seven days and boiled three times. It was soaked in Langi wine. Of course, there would be several incantations during the synthesis …" As Daley described it, she dripped the amber color liquid onto the brilliant blue candle flame.

Klein smelled the scent of wine, it had an ethereal fragrance. He saw the candlelight shaking badly and the blue eyeshadows of Daley flashing with a strange luster. Double images had started appearing in his eyes.

"It is a good helper for soul whispering, and at the same time a charming enough flower essence…"

As Daley continued to relate, Klein could only hear her voice coming from all directions.

As he looked around in bewilderment, Klein noticed that everything in sight was shaking and blurring, as if layers after layers of fogs were building before him. Even his own body appeared to be trembling, becoming blurred, starting to float weightlessly.

The reds were redder, the blues were bluer, and the blacks were darker. The colors were mixed like an impressionist oil painting. They were blurred and dreamy. Soft overlapping whispers rose from the surrounding as if there were numerous people debating.

At this moment, he was attracted by a pair of sparkling emerald-like eyes. He saw the image of Daley wearing a black robe sitting on a vague "sofa" and her eyes were very strangely focused on his forehead. She smiled gently.

"Formally introducing myself, Daley, the 'Spirit medium."

"Hello…"

"The mental worlds of humans are very vast and there are many hidden secrets. Look at the sea before you. We can only observe the islands that are exposed on the surface. However, under the surface, the islands have large hidden areas. In fact, apart from the islands, there is the entire sea and the boundless sky that symbolizes the spiritual world…"

"You are the spirit of the body. You not only know the islands that are exposed on the sea but also know the parts of the islands underneath the surface. You know the entire sea…"

"What exists, will leave a trace. While the memories of the surface of the islands can be erased, the parts under the sea and the entire sea must have retained some corresponding residual projections…"

Daley guided him again and again. The vague winds and shadows around him also changed in her described shapes, as if Klein's mental sea was fully exposed, waiting for him to search and discover.

Klein watched calmly, the waves "crashed" onto the sea from time to time, and he finally replied.

"No… I can't remember… I've forgotten…"

He demonstrated a little pain at the right time.

Daley tried to induce him one more time, but the clear-headed Klein was not affected.

"Well, let's end it here and go back."

"Go back."

Amidst an ethereal noise, Daley disappeared. The winds and shadows began to subside. The scent of tranquility and subtle scent of wine reappeared.

All the colors returned to normal and the fuzziness feelings eased. Klein's body trembled and recovered the feeling of gravity.

He opened his eyes and noticed that the lighted blue candle was still in front of him. Dunn Smith was still sitting comfortably on the couch and Daley the "Spirit medium" was in the black robe with a hood.

"Why did you use the theory of the Psychic Alchemists? They are a bunch of evil and insane fellows." Dunn frowned slightly and looked at Daley.

Daley kept the two small bottles and calmly answered.

"I think it's quite correct, at least they are in line with the things I've seen and contacted…"

Not waiting for Dunn to speak again, she spread out her hands.

"It's tricky, there are no traces left."

"What happened? What happened just now? I felt like I had fallen asleep…"

"Just take it as such." Dunn interrupted his words and looked at the 'Soul Whisperer' Daley. "Have you checked Welch and Naya's bodies?"

"The bodies can tell us much more than you think. Unfortunately, Welch and Naya had really committed suicide. Or rather, we can say that the power that affected them was really daunting. It left no traces behind." Daley stood up and reached to the candle. "I'm going to rest."

The brilliant blue flame disappeared and the house was instantly filled with a blurred layer of crimson blush.

"Congratulations, you can go home, but you must remember that you can't disclose this experience to your family and friends. Please guarantee this." Dunn led Klein all the way to the door.

Klein asked curiously. "Don't you need to check for curses or the marks of evil spirits?"

"Since Daley didn't mention, it means that there are no such traces," Dunn answered briefly.

Klein calmed down and recalled his previous worries. He asked again.

"How can I confirm that there are no troubles left behind?"

"Don't worry too much." Dunn curved the corner of his mouth as he replied. "According to statistics, 80 percent of the living parties did not encounter any terrible follow-ups. Uh, this statistics is based on my rough impression."

"There's 20 percent of unlucky people…" Klein wouldn't dare to take a gamble.

"You can consider joining us in a civilian position. In this way, even if there are any precursor signs, we can discover it in time." Dunn said as he approached the carriage, "Or you can directly become an Beyonder. After all, we are not your nanny, You can't expect us to watch over you all day and night, even when you are doing things with women."

"Can I?" Klein asked along the way.

"…it is not impossible, it depends…"

What? This transition surprised Klein. He stopped beside the carriage.

"Really?"

Dunn chuckled and his gray eyes were covered by the shadow of the carriage.

"You don't believe me? In fact, if you become a Nighthawk, you will lose many things, such as freedom. Apart from this, there are other problems. Firstly, you are not a clergyman who made a contribution nor a staunch believer. You won't have many options and you can't choose the safest path."

"Secondly…" Dunn grabbed the handrail and boarded the carriage. "for us, the Tribunal Representatives, the Heart of the Machines, and other similar judicial departments, a quarter of the cases that we handled annually are Beyonders. who have lost control. At this moment… Dunn half turned his body. His pupils were dark and gray pupil, and he spoke emotionlessly.

"In this quarter, a large number of them used to be our teammates."

Dunn Smith took out his pipe again. He put it closed to his nose and took a light sniff.

"You probably misunderstood what I meant. One of us includes civilian positions."

"What you meant is that as long as I become a civilian staff member, I will be exposed to the relevant secrets, and understand the hidden risks of becoming beyonder as well as the dangers that the Night Watchers may encounter. After that, I can consider whether I want to become an beyonder or not?" Klein sorted out the idea and rephrased it in his own words.

"That's right, except for one point. Even if you want to become an beyonder, it doesn't mean that you will definitely be able to become one. In this aspect, the major Churches are equally strict in their selection requirements."

That's expected… Klein muttered. He used hand gestures to emphasize as he continued to probe for more information.

Let's first become an civilian.

"Would you like to join us as a civilian staff?"

"Yes". Klein said softly.

Dunn nodded. "Of course, remember to maintain confidentiality. You can't tell others about Welch's incident, including your brother and sister. It will bring them troubles and you may be summoned you to a special court."

"I understand." Klein solemnly agreed.

The carriage fell back to silence.

Seeing that Iron Cross Street was approaching and the home was near, Klein suddenly thought of a question. He hesitated for a few seconds and asked.

"Mr. Smith, what about the salary and benefits of the civilian staffs?"

This is a very serious question…

Dunn paused for a moment and he smiled.

"Don't worry about this problem, our funds are jointly guaranteed by the Church and the police department. The civilian staffs who have just entered can receive a weekly salary of 2 pounds and 10 sules. There is also 10 sule as confidentiality and risk subsidies. The total is 3 pounds. This is not much less than a formal university lecturer.

After Dunn finished, the carriage stopped and Klein's apartment appeared on the side of the road.

"I got it." Klein turned and got off the carriage. He stopped beside the carriage. "By the way, Mr. Smith, where should I go and find you?"

Dunn smiled and replied in a low voice.

"Go to the 'Hounds Tavern' on Besiki Street and look for the owner, Mr. Wright. Inform him that you are hiring a mercenary squad for a mission."

"Our address is also confidential. I cannot tell you befor you join us. Well, Mr. Klein Moretti, I wish you good dreams tonight." Dunn smiled and bade farewell.

Klein took off his hat and watched the carriage picked up speed and disappeared from sight.

He took out his pocket watch and flicked it open. It was only four in the morning. The cold breeze on the street was refreshing and the street lights were dim.

Klein took a deep breath and embraced the quietness of the night.

The noisiest and most crowded neighborhood during the day was totally silent and empty in the middle of the night. It felt very different from the unseen pairs of eyes in Welch's residence and the hallucinations during the spirit medium.