Shadow's Hand-Chapter 15: The Unraveling

Shortly after Sheila made her exit, Jasmine patiently waited for a command.

"Jasmine, get Lucas over here," Damien demanded. "You can also tell him to forget about Kyle. Since he still hadn't appeared, then he could forget about showing up anymore."

Nodding, Jasmine received the command and was about to contact him through the tablet.

However, she was quickly halted by Damien.

"I said get him, not contact him." Damien said and continued, "Besides getting him, I also want you to question Coachman Karl about the road within the vicinity. He should know a lot about it as a Coachman."

"Y-Yes," Anxious, Jasmine failed to realize the intent of Damien and subtly regretted her previous action.

'Ugh, his impression of me is definitely lowered now.' Frustrated, Jasmine was positive she did well piecing the clues together and relaying the story to him.

However, that small mistake of hers could have just caused all the favorable impressions to vanish into thin air.

As Jasmine swiftly exited the scene, the only one remaining was Damien.

After he confirmed there were no more presences, Damien turned his gaze to Olivia.

He breathed a soft sigh and said, "You're dead, but I'm sure you can still perceive us and our conversation."

Silence took over the atmosphere. At a glance, it appeared as if Damien went nuts and was attempting to talk to a dead corpse.

However, Damien was certain that the corpse was conscious.

Similar to how the people in this world could conjure magic, any supernatural stuff was positive. Additionally, the constant linking and clues in his investigation were definitely not a coincidence.

Another few seconds later, there was still no reaction.

"You can keep pretending, but I supposed I should request an autopsy on your daughter's corpse. After all, it's the perfect way to get a clearer idea of what happened, right?" Damien calmly said.

Autopsy should have been the first thing done whenever there was a corpse in a murder. But because there had been a delay in his arrival, the corpse remained as it was to allow the TIs to spot anything unusual first.

And now that the investigation part of the corpse was completed. If Damien didn't intervene further, then the Skyler Division would transfer the corpse to the forensics department for autopsy.

An autopsy usually involves the dissection of a corpse for a thorough examination to determine the cause and manner of death.

Sure enough, Olivia's corpse started to show signs of responding. But rather than the body being resurrected as if it were a zombie, a transparent-like figure appeared instead.

The transparent-like figure held the same facial appearance and body measurement as Olivia.

'Is this what they called a soul?' Damien thought. Soul was a concept that he had heard about back in his original world, but it had never been confirmed or verified.

After all, who could see the soul of a person? And even if someone did, they would find it difficult to prove much.

"As expected of a Seventh Order TI. Your reputation precedes you." The soul, Olivia, said in a bittersweet tone.

While completely startled by the sight, Damien remained unfazed on the surface.

"You're the one who's been giving me clues secretly, right?" He questioned, completely ignoring her statement.

Olivia took a moment before responding. "You're half correct and half wrong. I'm merely a lingering soul who has anger and regret. That will is what allowed me to remain here for the time being. I do not have the power to direct you, but the laws of the world seemed to have permitted me."

"The laws of the world?"

"Mhm, as a Transcendent, you receive your power from the laws of the world. You should be aware of this, but somehow, I cannot communicate nor direct any hints to the fellow detectives or TIs except you."

'So the laws of the world were what permitted to see the flashing Diamond 3 card.' Damien was alarmed.

Did this mean that the laws of the world had already noticed his presence and were watching him constantly?

Although such information should have been confusing and hard to accept, he didn't feel such emotion. Rather, he felt as if it was common knowledge that he had long known but forgotten.

Such a phenomenon was usually equivalent to a comatose patient who woke up with some loss of memory and time may or may cause their lost memory to resurface.

Shaking his head, Damien decided to not stray off too much.

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"Since you're capable of communicating with me now, can you direct me to the culprit? Such as showing me his face or describing him?" He asked.

Unfortunately, Damien thought too much. A deceased victim capable of pointing out to you who the culprit was?

Maybe in the form of a dying message, but definitely not in this type.

"I cannot reveal anything related to the culprit," Olivia said with much regret. "The laws of the world would restrain me if I tried to reveal any detail of them. I can only pinpoint a thing out to you as a hint."

"Is that the case with the Diamond 3 card as well?" Damien pressed on.

Yet contrary to his expectation, Olivia showed a dumbfounded expression.

"Sorry?" She tilted her head. "The only clue I informed you was the lighting. That bastard transformed—"

Before Olivia could complete her words, her soul started fluctuating heavily and turning more transparent. It appeared as if she dared to say another word, then she would vanish.

Meanwhile, Damien was utterly confused.

"Are you telling me the only hint you gave me was the lighting? You didn't link your memories with me or bring me over here through the hints?" He asked for confirmation.

Olivia nodded. "I'm only a soul and completely powerless. I couldn't even manifest to communicate with you but for some reason. After your threat, there was a mysterious power surging from me, allowing me to manifest."

Hearing that, Damien regretted asking questions. The more he asked, the more confused and mysterious it became.

Nevertheless, he still had to question further, but it was just a pity. Olivia's soul began to fade.

"I guess this is the limit of my sinful fate. Seventh Order, I know this is shameless of me, but please avenge my deceased daughter. She is innocent." As Olivia said her final piece.

Fragments of lights scattered from within her body. These fragments of light that were scattering seemed to be dissipating like dust until an unknown phenomenon occurred.

From within his shadow, a powerful suction force started absorbing all the fragments, startling Damien in the process.