"Tim vanished?"
Byrne's eyes sharpened instantly at the old man's words. Being in the world of Warhammer, his first thought wasn't ghosts—it was Chaos.
He instinctively took a half-step forward, his gaze scanning every corner of the storage room once more, trying to find any trace within the empty space.
Old Anton's voice trembled slightly; clearly, the memory still haunted him.
"Yes, a grown man, just vanished into thin air. I was so scared my legs turned to jelly. I watched him stand right there at the door, and then it was like he was sucked into something. Not even an afterimage was left.
"I didn't sleep a wink that night. Once the sun came up, I worked up the courage to check the room, but it was just as empty as always. Not a soul in sight."
He wiped his face, the deep wrinkles in his skin seeming to carve even deeper.
"Later, I reported it to the authorities. The patrol team came and flipped the place upside down for half a day, but they found absolutely nothing. When they asked where Tim went and I told them he disappeared into the storage room, they just called me a senile old fool and left."
Selena spoke softly, "So, after that, you set the rule about never opening the door at night?"
Old Anton nodded, his eyes full of lingering dread.
"Yes. Since Tim vanished, the house sat empty for months. I didn't dare rent it out. But lately, I've grown old and money is getting tight, so I thought I'd try again. But that rule has to stay. I don't want another tenant ending up like Tim."
Old Anton sighed and turned to Byrne.
"I've said my piece. Now that you know why the rule exists, do you still want to rent the place?"
He waited quietly for an answer. Byrne didn't make him wait long. Almost without thinking, he replied, "I'm sorry, but that storage room business is just too eerie. I'll have to pass."
Byrne wasn't being a coward; he simply didn't want to embroil himself in potential trouble right now. After all, his current status was merely an Apprentice Investigator.
Old Anton didn't look surprised. If anything, he looked relieved.
"Fair enough. It's a wise choice. The strangeness of that room is indeed more than an ordinary person should have to bear."
The three of them stepped out of the storage area. Old Anton shut the door immediately with a speed that suggested the room held an all-consuming abyss.
A few minutes later, Byrne and Selena walked out of the house. Selena looked back at the courtyard wall and shook her head. "A shame. The house really was nice, and the rent was a steal. You were right to turn it down, though."
Byrne didn't respond, continuing to walk in silence. It wasn't just that the house was "dangerous." The "vanishing" tenant and the forbidden door had triggered his keenest senses. This wasn't a haunting; it felt like an unknown anomaly caused by Warp encroachment.
As an apprentice, Byrne had no reason to go "mucking about" in these waters before he even officially started his job.
"That was the last house on the list," Selena said. "What do you plan to do next?"
"I think..."
Byrne started to answer but suddenly stopped in his tracks. He instinctively pressed his hand to his temple. In that moment, a flash of insight crossed his mind.
It was a trace of energy residue he had caught back in that storage room. To Byrne, the faint fluctuation was bizarre: it lacked the foul, corruptive feel of Chaos, nor did it match a standard psyker's signature. It felt more like the afterglow of a spatial transition.
Thinking back to the eerie teleportation in the reception room, there was a slight similarity. If not for his NZT-48 enhanced brain, he never would have detected it.
Seeing him stop, Selena asked, "What is it? Did you change your mind?"
Byrne shook his head. "No, I haven't changed my mind."
He paused, then asked, "Selena, don't you think the way Tim vanished sounds a lot like the spatial transfer we experienced in the reception room?"
Selena stopped and thought carefully. "Now that you mention it, it does. But the situation at Old Anton's feels more complicated. Did you find something? I thought you looked a bit off back in the room."
Byrne gave a small grin and explained his theory.
Selena pondered this. "So you mean Tim didn't just vanish—he was teleported?"
Byrne looked back toward Old Anton's house.
"The probability is high. Think about it: the reception room transfer was controlled by Director Meow. Could the one in that storage room also be the work of someone specific? Old Anton said the patrol found nothing because they don't understand energy fluctuations. But we're different. This kind of anomaly falls exactly under the Bureau's jurisdiction."
Selena gave him a "told you so" look. "See? I knew you were changing your mind."
Byrne shook his head again, stretching his arms behind his back.
"Of course not. We're meeting the Captain tomorrow, right? We'll just tell him about it and let the old man worry about it instead."
Selena couldn't help but let out a laugh.
"You're quite good at passing the buck. But you're right; it should be reported. We're just apprentices; there's no need to go investigating on our own and taking unnecessary risks."
The next day arrived in a flash. Byrne put on his brand-new Tax Collector uniform and arrived at the Tax Bureau fifteen minutes early. Selena was already waiting in the lobby, her hair pulled back into her usual efficient ponytail.
"Morning," she greeted him. "I just asked Hall. He said the Captain is waiting for us in the fourth-floor conference room."
"Let's go meet him, then."
Byrne followed Selena up to the fourth floor. The conference room was not far from the Tax Collection office. Its door was made of heavy metal, far sturdier than a standard office door.
Selena knocked. A deep, powerful voice came from within:
"Enter."