Klein Moretti

Frey took Eren to Dunn's office. "Eren there is one way to cure your contamination, become a beyonder like us" Dunn said while smiling. "Beyonder" Eren repeated. Before he could say something Klein entered the room. Klein was the real main character of novel he was stuck in, the lord of the mysteries. He had short black hair and brown eyes, and was wearing a black hunting suit.

Dunn nodded. "Eren. This is Klein Moretti. He's one of ours. You're in good hands." Klein's eyes, the same warm brown Eren had read about, met his. There was no pity in them, only a calm, assessing curiosity. "Dunn says you have a peculiar case," Klein said, his voice a smooth baritone. He gestured to a chair opposite Dunn's large oak desk. "Please, sit."

Eren sat, the worn leather creaking under him. The office was lined with bookshelves, but not the kind of novels Eren was used to. These were heavy, leather-bound tomes with titles like *Analysis of Deities and Sealed Artifacts* and *A Study of Historical Heresies*. The symbol of the serpent was embossed on their spines.

"Beyonder is the term we use for individuals who have been… touched," Dunn began, leaning forward on his elbows. "Touched by powers that exist outside the rational world. Powers that grant abilities, but at a cost. You've seen this power, felt it. The shimmer Frey and I saw is a manifestation of it. A sign that you are no longer entirely of this world."

Eren's mind raced. This was it. The core mythology of the novel. The 22 pathways of divinity, the Sequences of the Beyonder. He knew the theory better than anyone, but theory was a poor shield against the reality of a man offering him a sip of cosmic horror.

"What kind of cost?" Eren asked, his voice barely a whisper.

"Sanity," Klein said simply. He had taken off his gloves, revealing a silver ring shaped like a coiled serpent. "Every power comes from a pathway. Following a pathway grants access to a sequence of powers, but each step you take pulls you further away from what it means to be human. You risk losing control to 'madness'—a state of being subsumed by the very nature of your power."

Dunn opened a desk drawer and pulled out a small, velvet-lined box. Inside, nestled on black silk, was a vial of liquid. It was the colour of deep midnight, and it seemed to absorb the light in the room.

"This is a Sequence 9 Potion," Dunn said, his voice low and reverent. "The potion of a Seer. It's the lowest, safest step we can offer. With it, you gain a measure of control. You'll learn to see things others can't, to interpret dreams, to divine the future in small ways. More importantly, it will anchor your… foreignness. It will give your 'contamination' a container, a set of rules to follow. Without it, you are a loose thread, and things in the fog are drawn to loose threads."

Eren stared at the potion. A Seer. The pathway Klein himself was on. It was the pathway of knowledge, of foresight. It was perfect. But was it real? Was this a liquid ticket to power, or a slow-acting poison?

"Think of it this way, Eren," Klein added, sensing his hesitation. "You are already a traveler between worlds. You've already paid a price you don't understand. This isn't a new journey. It's a map. A compass. A way to navigate the place you've been stranded."

The words struck a chord. He was a traveler. The term he'd given himself in the privacy of his own mind, now echoed back by the story's protagonist. The City of Silver wasn't just a cage; it was a destination. He could either be a prisoner or an explorer.

"What do I have to do?" Eren asked, the decision crystallizing in his mind with a sudden, cold clarity.

"You listen," Dunn said. "And you drink. But you must be prepared. A potion requires a corresponding 'Beyonder characteristic' to be digested. Without it, it's poison. You will need to find a way to earn it. More importantly, you will need to join us. The Nighthawks. We police the supernatural. We handle the fallout when people like you lose control. In exchange for the potion and our protection, you will serve. You will work. You will obey."

The choice was a noose, but it was a noose with a ladder attached. He could stay on the streets, a walking anomaly, until something far worse than Dunn Smith found him. Or he could step into their world, learn its rules, and use those rules to find a way back.

"I understand," Eren said. "I'll do it."

A faint smile touched Klein's lips. "Good. The first step of a Seer is to learn how to see. Your test is simple. There's a pawn shop three blocks from here, on Weaver Street. The owner is a man named Old Neil. Inside, he has an item that shouldn't exist. A locket. It's plain, silver, with a single, scratched star on its front. I want you to go in there and tell me what's engraved on the back, without ever touching it."

It was a test. A classic Beyonder test. A Seer wasn't supposed to read minds, but to see information through omens and observation. But Eren had an advantage they couldn't possibly understand.

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