Chapter 25: The Empty Number

The laughter faded.

Not slowly. Instantly. As though it had never existed. No one in the room spoke.

Every soldier stood perfectly still, staring into the empty corridor beyond Rin’s room.

Vorak was the first to move.

He marched into the hallway, axe resting on his shoulder.

"Who’s there?"

His voice thundered through the stone corridor. Only silence answered.

Selara followed close behind, a small orb of light floating above her hand. Its warm glow chased away the darkness, revealing nothing except cold stone walls and ancient tapestries.

"No magic."

She frowned.

"Not even a trace."

Lucien slowly adjusted his glasses.

"That should be impossible."

"It stopped being impossible several Chapters ago," Rin muttered.

A few nearby soldiers laughed. The sound died almost immediately.

Even humor struggled to survive inside the fortress now. Kaelith looked toward the gathered guards.

"Triple the night patrols."

One soldier hesitated.

"General..."

Kaelith met his eyes.

"No one walks alone."

The soldier nodded.

"Yes, General."

"Wake every captain."

"The fortress remains sealed."

Nobody argued. The room slowly emptied. Soldiers returned to their posts. Lucien and Selara quietly discussed theories as they walked away.

Vorak insisted on checking every hallway personally. Within minutes... Only Kaelith and Rin remained.

The General looked toward the mirror one last time. His reflection looked exactly as it should.

Cold. Still. Ordinary.

"...Do you wish to move to another room?"

Rin considered it.

"...Would it help?"

"No."

"...Then I’d rather sleep in my own bed."

Kaelith nodded.

"I’ll station guards outside."

"You don’t have to."

"I know."

"...You’re going to anyway."

"Yes."

Rin smiled tiredly.

"I really need to stop predicting you."

Kaelith almost answered. Instead... He quietly opened the door.

"If anything happens..."

"I know."

"Call."

"...I will."

For a brief moment...

Neither moved. Then Kaelith left. The heavy wooden door closed behind him.

The lock clicked. Silence returned. Rin stared at the ceiling. Sleep refused to come.

Every time he closed his eyes... He saw the smiling reflection. Or the figure in the snow.

Or the black feather. Or Ji-ho whispering—

"People who shouldn’t exist."

He rolled onto his side.

"This is getting ridiculous."

Blue light flickered. The System appeared.

Notice

Host has slept approximately...

...

Calculating...

...

Not enough.

Rin sighed.

"I gathered that."

Sleep remains highly recommended.

"I tried."

Attempt unsuccessful.

"...Thank you for the detailed analysis."

No response.

Rin looked at the floating screen.

"...System."

Processing...

"...Can I ask you something?"

Affirmative.

"...Are you afraid?"

Silence.

Long enough that Rin wondered if it had disappeared.

Finally—

Question rejected.

"...That’s not a no."

No answer. The screen flickered once. Then vanished.

Leaving behind only darkness. Rin closed his eyes again. A soft sound reached him.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

His eyes opened instantly.

"..."

Another tap. This time...

From outside his door. Not knocking. Almost...

Scratching. He slowly sat up.

"Kaelith?"

No response. The scratching continued.

Soft. Patient.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Rin climbed out of bed. Every instinct told him not to open the door.

Instead... He walked closer.

"Who’s there?"

Silence. The scratching stopped. He waited. Nothing.

"...I’m definitely hallucinating."

He reached for the handle. Then stopped.

No. Kaelith had ordered him not to open the door for anyone unless they answered.

He stepped back.

"...Nice try."

Nothing happened. A full minute passed. Eventually...

He returned to bed. The scratching resumed. Not at the door. At the window.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Rin froze.

His room was on the fourth floor. There was no balcony. Nothing outside except open air.

Very slowly...

He turned toward the window. Moonlight spilled across the glass.

Snow drifted peacefully beyond it. No one stood outside.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The sound came again. This time...

From inside the room. His heartbeat stopped. He spun around. Nothing.

The room remained exactly as before.

Bed.

Desk.

Chair.

Mirror.

His eyes locked onto it.

His reflection looked back.

Perfectly normal.

Then—

The reflection slowly looked toward the door.

While Rin remained perfectly still.

His breath caught. The reflection smiled.

Not the unsettling smile from before.

A different one.

Gentle. Almost... Relieved.

Then it quietly mouthed two words.

Don’t move.

The candle flames went out. Darkness swallowed the room.

Rin couldn’t see his own hands. The air suddenly became colder.

Much colder. He heard breathing. Not his own. Someone else’s.

Close. Very close. A calm voice broke the silence.

"So..."

It sounded young.

Soft.

Almost musical.

"...you still listen to mirrors."

Rin’s blood turned to ice.

That voice... He had never heard it before. Yet...

Something deep inside him ached. As though he should have recognized it.

A pale blue light appeared near the window. Not from the System.

It was moonlight. Or something pretending to be moonlight.

A figure stood there. Tall.

Wrapped in black robes that seemed to drink in the darkness around them.

Its hood concealed most of its face.

Only strands of silver-white hair escaped into the light.

Its hands were folded politely in front of it.

It made no move toward Rin.

Instead... It bowed.

A slow. Respectful.

Almost heartbreaking bow. When it finally spoke again...

Its voice trembled. Not with fear. With emotion.

"...Hello, Rin."

A long silence followed. Rin couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak.

The figure looked at him for several seconds.

Then... Very quietly...

It smiled.

"...You’ve grown your hair again."

Rin frowned.

"What...?"

"I liked it this length."

The words were spoken so naturally... As if they were continuing a conversation interrupted only yesterday.

Not one that had never happened. Rin took a cautious step backward. His hand instinctively reached toward the dagger on the bedside table.

The hooded figure immediately noticed. And...

To Rin’s surprise... It took one step back. Not forward.

Back.

"I’m sorry."

Its voice was almost apologetic.

"I frightened you."

"...Who are you?"

The figure became very still.

For a moment... It simply looked at him. Then it let out a quiet, sorrowful laugh.

"...Of course."

Another pause.

"...You don’t remember."

Rin’s grip tightened around the dagger.

"Remember what?"

The figure lowered its head. When it spoke again...

Its voice carried centuries of exhaustion.

"...Me."

The room fell silent.

Outside... Snow continued to fall.

Inside...

For the first time...

The Witness and Rin stood face to face.

And the Witness looked less like a monster...

Than someone whose heart had been broken...

A very long time ago.