Chapter 1

...꓄ꁝꏂ ꃳꄲꄲꍌꏂꌦꂵꋬꋊ ...

Verless stifled a cry, unable to hold in her grief any longer. She slowly rose a hand over her mouth, as another muffled cry erupted seconds after a break of silence. The best she could do was to not wake up her kids. Little did she know that they were wide awake, as orbs of ink stared up at the woman who was on the verge of taking her own life. The innocent girls had no idea what Verless had been planning ever since she lost Kynu.

The sound of his voice, she could still hear it. Her hand slipped off her mouth, and worked up to wipe the tears off her face. The widow drew her breath, heavily distraught by the thoughts of the consequences which await for her girls, especially for her. Verless' fate was now inevitable... IT HEARD HER.

Talishma's eyes fluttered open, as she was about to call out for her dearest mother, but was immediately silenced by a soft palm working up to cover her mouth. Of course Marishka was wide awake, the older, meaner version of her. She gestured Talishma to keep it quiet, and gently slipped her hand free from her little sister's mouth. Talishma, the naive one, was about to lose her innocence that horrible night...

*Clank!*

A sharp noise came from outside. Verless' pitch black orbs turned to face the front door. Is it the burglars? No... The locks that she had put up with so much effort from the inside often took ages for thieves to break down. A simple swift movement told enough to the poor woman about how powerful the perpetrator might be. The girls quickly slid out of bed and hid under it, to provide them enough protection. They knew their drill, hell... They've experienced this so many times. Yet, this felt... Different.

*Clank!* *Clunk!* *Clank!* *Clunk!*

The sound of the locks breaking even more quickly than the first one sparked panic into Verless. She turned to see the left corner of the uncomfortably compacted room. The girls weren't there. Realization and regret flooded her systems, sparking an even greater degree of the panic attack she was having. It was too late...

*Clatter!* *Clatter!* *Clatter!* *Clatter!* *Clatter!*

The locks that Verless had ton of effort into putting up came clattering down onto the hardwood floor outside. Tears were forming in her eyes, her legs were trembling, her lips were quivering. The stench coming from outside was enough to determine who exactly was outside that door.

*Creeeaaaak*

The door slowly opened, revealing a hulking behemoth of a man just standing there, the doorway was not tall enough to show his face, let alone his chest. She could tell who he was, everyone knows who he is. The evidences of him is terrifyingly apparent. The so-called "Justice" of Nostramo was now at her doorstep, since he had already heard her cry earlier from MILES away.

The Night Haunter's monstrous frame entered, as he bent down and walked in. His face, his attire, his appearance in a whole sparked terror into Verless' heart.

Her fear, he could smell it. The fear in her eyes, the sight of her face covered in sweat, the gentle quivering of her lips, it all came together to form a delicious concoction to his senses. He inched closer to her, just close enough for her to start backing away.

"N-Night Haunter."

Verless said, right before her back met the wall.

"I have come for you."

The Night Haunter eerily replied to her calling him by his favored nickname. It was considered a profanity to mention his name anywhere. It strikes F̷E̷A̷R̷ into mortal hearts. Children call him...

꓄ꁝꏂ ꃳꄲꄲꍌꏂꌦꂵꋬꋊ, a fitting name for such a monster.

"Why are you here?"

"..."

Silence. Verless was met with silence. Her back pressed against the cold wall, causing her to flinch in an instant. The monster's grin grew wider.

"W-why are you here?"

She asked again, this time her voice was raised just enough to be audible from the other side of the room, but it didn't matter. The Night Haunter had taken up the very center. He had cornered Verless, trapped her as if she was nothing more than a little mouse.

"The manner of death you have chosen is a crime."

He simply stated, before his grin slowly fell off his face to show his newest victim the comical emotions that were hiding there moments before, just simmering behind that fake smile he held. The Night Haunter's head brushed against the ceiling, but he didn't mind that, his eyes were on HER.

"Wait!"

Verless protested, whilst she gave a quick glance towards the bed mere feet away from her. The kids were huddled together in absolute fear, clutching onto each other, frozen. The monster's eyes immediately followed her's. The monster must not come to know about her daughter’s presence.

“Are you alone?”

He asked, as a grimace slowly rose on his face. The room fell silent for a moment, and Verless was in a chokehold. Must she tell him the truth? Is it worth her children’s promised safety?

The tension rose in the air, quickly and mercilessly. Talishma and Marishka could barely compose themselves in their hiding place, a single mistake might lead them to their death. They were smarter than they looked.

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes.”

The Night Haunter rose his head high and tilted it towards the ceiling, the tip of his nose brushing against the ceramic ceiling that was poorly smoothed out and had been painted, layer over layers so many times. He looked back down at the poor woman, his eyes glinting down at her prone and vulnerable form with an unfounded feeling lingering in his festering mind.

“Hmm…I see.”

His deep, booming voice gurgled out in a chuckle, maniacal yet soothing enough to reduce the tensity being faced by Verlessa. The Night Haunter looked down at her again.

“Please…I’ve lived my life as best as I could.”

Tears fell from her eyes, and it was obvious how useless it had become in that specific moment. Regret was all she felt at that moment.

The Night Haunter pulled out his blade, covered in blood and grime. The handle was carved by himself, an unlovely image to behold. His thin, bony fingers playing around with the blade in a fluid motion, almost as if he’d been practicing that. The blade hissed through the air, but he made no move on her yet. Instead, The Night Haunter had begun to take small strides around the room, eating up the distance with only very few footsteps.

“Just…kill me…”

Verless’ face was covered in tears, that she had smudged on her own face. She never looked beautiful when she cried. Her eyes bore into the monster’s back. He stopped. The Night Haunter’s face peaked past his shoulders, looking down at her huddled form against the wall.

“No.”

Verless’ heart felt light after what he said. A shaky breath gently left her mouth. The Night Haunter was slowly striding back towards her, his eyes locked onto hers with a predatory gaze. Her lips were twitching, the senses overwhelmed by what she might’ve heard.

“Not like this.”

Verless' heart had almost hammered against her chest a mere second before disaster struck.

In an instant, the Night Haunter’s lanky yet powerful arm swept through the corner of the room. His hand landed on the lower right edge of the bed, and with a flick of his wrist, sent it flying over the girl’s heads. Chaos broke out, when The Night Haunter’s blade cut through Verless’ arm, that resulted in blood splattering onto the floor. He must cut into her as precisely as possible, as she should save her breath for screaming when he’ll be ripping her skin off her flesh. She let out an audible gasp of pain, sparking wails of panic, fear and dread from Talishma and Marishka.

“Witnesses must be present during your execution, including your loved ones.”

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