— The Tracing Ritual —
In the early morning, Kane arrived and handed a single strand of hair to Eren.
"Darius had this delivered. It's Lyra's."
Eren's eyes lit up. He immediately sat cross-legged, regulating his breath and gathering his energy to perform the tracking ritual for Lucien Veyne's whereabouts.
Using his fingertip, he traced a Bloodline Tracking Array on the ground, gently placing the hair at its center.
Then, awakening the Obsidian Sigil in his mind, he uttered in a low voice—
"Array, rise! Trace the Shadow!"
Hum—
A spiritual light flared, the array patterns swirling and shimmering as if alive. Pale golden energy pulsed in the air. The strand of hair slowly levitated, seemingly sensing a distant direction.
Yet, in the very next instant—
The hair abruptly ignited, turning to ash!
Eren froze, a twitch pulling at the corner of his eye.
"Damn it... What's going on?" he muttered.
His formation was flawless; the problem could only lie in the connection itself.
He pondered for a moment, arriving at two possibilities:
First, Lucien Veyne was already dead.
Second, Lyra and Lucien Veyne were not blood-related.
But the second possibility was almost unthinkable. Lyra was Lucien's biological daughter; that was beyond doubt.
That left only one answer—Lucien Veyne was truly dead.
The thought sent a chill down Eren's spine, as if all clues had turned to ash in his hands.
But—
If Lucien was really killed, why not dispose of him directly at the scene instead of leaving a disguised corpse?
"This isn't just a simple frame-up," Eren's gaze darkened. "There might be a larger conspiracy behind this."
He resolved to investigate the crime scene himself, hoping to glean new clues from the officers who were first on the scene.
With that, he left the prison with Kane, heading straight for the Veyne family estate.
The car sped along the road toward the outskirts.
Leaning back in his seat, Eren pulled out his phone and dialed Arden, his tone direct.
"Director Arden, I need to visit the Veyne estate crime scene and ask some questions to the officers who responded that day."
"No problem," Arden replied almost without hesitation. "I'll arrange for someone to meet you right away."
Eren nodded, then added, "One more thing. Can you help me investigate—who was the man impersonating Lucien Veyne's corpse?"
Since it was a disguise, it had to come from somewhere. Perhaps this fake corpse was the real breakthrough. Anyone capable of impersonating Lucien was no ordinary pawn.
Arden pondered for a moment. "Possible, but the man's face was utterly destroyed. His identity... might be hard to trace."
"Do your best," Eren said, pausing briefly before continuing, "If you really can't identify him, could you get me one of his hairs? You must have samples archived."
He planned to use the Bloodline Tracking Array again to find this man's relatives, hoping to unearth the truth behind it all.
"That shouldn't be too difficult," Arden agreed. "Anything else, Mr. Eren?"
Eren smiled slightly. "I wouldn't dare presume. Your help is more than enough. Thank you."
Hanging up, he absently spun the Power Ranger mask between his fingers.
Its reflective surface glinted in his eyes, like a silent omen.
---
— Echoes of a Cold Case —
In the study of Kairos Manor.
Arden addressed his father, Damian, who sat on the sofa.
That kid's instincts are sharp," Arden remarked, impressed.
"He only reviewed the case files for a day and already spotted so many inconsistencies."
Damian snorted, his expression confident. "Hmph! Would the GVA misjudge its candidate? That boy Eren is far from ordinary."
Arden smiled, then his expression turned serious, as if remembering something. "Father, do you recall the Caelthorn family massacre twenty-three years ago?"
The old man's face instantly darkened. "Of course I remember. I was still the Head of the Security Hub at GVA then. The Caelthorns were the premier family of the Novalis Sector back then—wealth, connections, influence, all top-tier. Yet, in one night, over a hundred members of the entire clan were wiped out—it even shook the GVA upper echelons. But to this day, that case remains unsolved."
Arden lowered his voice. "I suspect a connection... between this Veyne case and the Caelthorn massacre from back then."
"Oh?" Damian narrowed his eyes, the light within them seeming to weigh a long-held secret. "You mean—their cause of death?"
"Exactly," Arden said gravely. "The residual toxins at the scene are remarkably similar. It seems both sets of victims were first paralyzed, rendered unconscious, before being killed."
"Tsk... If that's truly the case," Damian murmured, "this is far from simple!"
He paused, a meaningful smile touching his lips. "I'm afraid we'll have to rely on that boy Eren to unravel this case. That bunch of incompetents you work with can't be counted on."
"Alright, alright, you're right, old man," Arden said, shaking his head helplessly as he stood up. "I'll go handle other matters. It's truly been a season of troubles lately. Several desiccated corpse cases have turned up in succession across the Novalis Sector—each one reeks of strangeness."
The old man's gaze lingered on the gloomy clouds outside the window, his tone somber.
"Dark clouds gather again... the storm approaches."
---
— The Blood-Soaked Domain —
The Veyne estate was located on the city's outskirts. Traces of its former opulence were still visible in the remaining outlines—
But now, it had become synonymous with a "haunted domain."
Over thirty lives, erased in a single night of slaughter.
The air seemed to still carry the oppressive stench of blood.
The estate's main gate was sealed, and wild grass grew thick at the entrance.
Arden's efficiency was commendable.
When Eren arrived, several police officers were already waiting at the gate—
the very ones who had first stormed the estate and personally arrested him.
They had received orders from above to fully cooperate with a "special investigator" reviewing the case.
But when they saw the man stepping out of the car, their faces paled.
"Eren?!"
"How did he get out—?"
After a brief moment of stunned silence, they all drew their weapons almost instinctively.
"Freeze! Hands in the air! Make one move, and we'll shoot!"
Their voices were filled with fear and tension—after all, in their eyes, he was a murderous demon.
Eren raised his hands, a hint of resignation in his expression.
"Easy, everyone... I'd rather not make headlines again because of a negligent discharge. Didn't Director Arden inform you? The person coming—was me."
"Don't spout nonsense!" Captain Bernard, the leader, snapped coldly. "A death row inmate knowing Director Arden? Trying to scare us with his name?"
Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control—
Kane stepped out of the car, produced his credentials, and spoke in a firm, steady tone.
"I am Warden Kane of the Novalis Sector Maximum Security Penitentiary. Mr. Eren has been formally authorized by Director Arden to reinvestigate this case. Please lower your weapons."
"What?!"
Bernard was utterly dumbfounded.
He repeatedly checked the credentials and the orders, the shock in his mind nearly overwhelming reason.
—A death row inmate, personally authorized by Director Arden?
He looked at Eren again, standing there quietly, yet exuding an inexplicable aura of authority.
Kane's attitude was respectful, almost deferential.
All signs indicated—this man was not the "criminal" they had imagined.
Bernard took a deep breath, his tone softening instantly. "Mr. Eren, our superiors have instructed us to provide our full cooperation. Please feel free to ask anything. We'll tell you all we know."
Eren nodded. "Good. Let's walk and talk."
The seal was torn off, the heavy iron gate slowly creaking open.
The fear-filled, blood-soaked domain lay before them—
Even after more than ten days, the bloodstains on the floor had dried but remained a deep, rusty red.
The chalk outlines of bodies still marked the floors of the living room and corridors—
the madness of that night seemed to still echo in the air.
Eren meticulously examined every corner of each room, questioning Bernard and the other officers, but still found nothing.
"What a pity..." Eren sighed under his breath. "If my cultivation were higher, I could cast the Time Retrospection Art. Then the whole truth would be revealed."
Returning to the main hall, he asked casually, "Captain Bernard, when you first entered the estate, did you notice anything unusual?"
Bernard shook his head. "Nothing specific, just remember the smell of blood was so thick it was nauseating. We rushed deeper inside as soon as we entered—it was chaos."
Just then, a young officer spoke up hesitantly. "Sir... actually, I think I might have seen something back then."
Eren's expression shifted, and he immediately looked at him. "Speak."
The man frowned, his voice trembling slightly. "I'm not sure if it was a hallucination. I was in an upstairs room, and through the window, I saw... a black shadow leap right over the estate's outer wall."
He offered a bitter smile. "It was still dark, and that wall is so high... I thought I was just seeing things from the stress."
Eren's brow furrowed tightly.
A black shadow.
He was certain it wasn't an illusion.
Anyone capable of leaping over the estate's high wall was no ordinary person—
Perhaps that was the real killer.
He carefully inspected the estate once more, but unfortunately, still found no new clues.
As night deepened, Eren and Kane had no choice but to leave for now.
Just as they reached the gate, Eren's phone rang.
Arden's name flashed on the screen.
"Mr. Eren," the voice on the other end held a note of barely suppressed excitement, "Good news—we've identified the man who impersonated Lucien Veyne's corpse..."