Chapter 1432 (2/2)

Sydney knocked with more force, almost wishing these strange crows would attack her. Yet within the house, the only response that Sydney sensed was silence.

All in all, she was in a very bad mood. On the one hand, she somehow felt that maintaining this general state of irritation would fare her very well in the near future; the momentum of her emotions would make the hard acts she planned on undertaking tonight much easier. But on the other hand…

My underwear is soaked. A very sour Sydney reflected. My elemental means I’m basically immune to the cold but in the face of precipitation…

She was irrevocably damp. The sort of damp that seems impossible to escape, when you are in the thick of it. Sydney knocked again on the door, with enough force that the wood groaned. “Is anyone home? I’m going to come in if I don’t receive an answer…”

There was no forthcoming answer, which was exactly the sort of ambiguous answer that a woman with cold and wet clothes did not appreciate. Sydney’s eyes sharpened at the quaint wooden door in front of her, as though she could will her eyes to penetrate through the material in front of her and reveal the innards of this place. But her determined attempt was for naught.

This house had been built by someone capable. Not only were the materials solid enough to withstand the casual use of a System-empowered human, but there was a hint of an image at the edges of this construction. Not enough that Sydney could sense who made it, but enough that her senses couldn’t easily reach the interior of the house.

How is it even possible? Do images really work like this…? Sydney bit the soft flesh on the inside of her cheeks to expend some of her mounting fury. Her emotions were like a train slated for decommissioning, rushing for the end of their tracks. Too late to turn back now. She knocked again and waited a few seconds. There was no answer.

Sydney considered simply using her image to rip the faint presence on these walls to shreds, but the train wasn’t off the tracks quite yet. On the off chance that this was the wrong house, she didn’t wish to have an awkward conversation with the owner after she had eradicated that defensive image. Sydney imagined it would be very useful against monsters.

But would a person powerful enough to do this with an image need to worry about monsters…?

So instead she gritted her teeth, pushed her dripping hair out of her eyes, and seized the heavy copper handle of the door. When she twisted, the door opened easily and Sydney was able to step into the small hut.

The door closed behind her and immediately the ceaseless rustle of raindrops bursting on the ground was muted by that same image that had stymied her. This place was isolated from the outside world. The weight of the water that she carried in with her slowly dripped down Sydney’s limbs and off her onto the floor. Her eyes were sharp as they landed at the figure sitting at the table, regarding her with a small smile.

“You were inside the entire time,” Sydney said. “Why didn’t you answer?”

Neveah shook her head. “I was very afraid of this conversation. I couldn’t muster up the strength to answer. It turns out… I’m something of a coward.”

Sydney flicked her hand and unleashed a wave of cold across her body. The moisture on her turned to frost and her elemental pulled it off her person and pressed it into a human-head sized chunk of ice. Then Sydney flexed her hand and destroyed the ice, sending frozen chips across the interior of the cabin. “You also didn’t lock the door.”

To this, Neveah inclined her head. “I don’t think I could bear to support this secret on my own any longer. I was torn.”

Neveah’s response confused Sydney, but she quickly pulled her attention away from that so she didn’t get distracted. The train tracks were ending soon. The conductor on her emotion-train was throwing the last of his coal into the engine, causing the overstrained behemoth to accelerate toward its demise. Her shoulders trembled as she considered the individual in front of her.

Sydney cleared her throat. It was very loud, compared to the silence of the room and the pattering of rain outside. “Where is he?”

Neveah pointed to a chair opposite her at the table. “Take a seat.”

Almost subconsciously, Sydney chilled the interior of the cabin with a flash of hatred. Drake’s unconscious face flashed before her mind’s eye. She recognized the folded clothes in a corner next to a desk as Roy’s. “I’m very surprised that you, of all people, would protect him. Is Randidly behind this? If you think I won’t fight you two-”

Neveah rolled her eyes. She didn’t speak, however, just pointed.

Sydney forcefully reigned in her irritation, although she couldn’t prevent the tightening of the muscles along her jaw. But she followed Neveah’s finger and saw a piece of paper. With slow steps, Sydney walked up to the table. It was a letter. She immediately recognized the handwriting as Roy’s.

“What is this?” Sydney asked. Despite herself, her fingers reached out and brushed against the worn material. Someone had crumpled this piece of paper several times before painstakingly smoothing it out.

When she looked over at Neveah, the woman was crying. “I suppose it’s what you humans call a suicide note.”