"What's the case, sir?" Adrian says to the superintendent.

"As you've probably heard, the Reaper claimed another victim. It's his tenth now. The victim was Harriet Miller, a carriage driver who was suspected of the murder of his wife. The trial found him not guilty, but he was found dead in his living room a day later, his cause of death being a stab to the heart from behind. As you should know, killing people found not guilty and one stab to the heart from behind is the Reaper's signature, making this case a part of the Reaper killings. Nobody witnessed the crime, and no murder weapon has been found. This case is essentially impossible, but maybe you can work your magic. The same rookie as last time will be assisting you. With the danger of the Reaper, although you're not exactly stable, I'll have to give you your gun back."

The superintendent puts something on the table. A long barrel, a chamber with six rounds inside, and a wooden handle. It's a metal revolver, a weapon that Adrian's only seen in Western movies.

Adrian picks up the gun. Although Adrian's not familiar with it, his body feels like it's reunited with its partner. Adrian puts the gun into the holster of his police uniform by his waist.

"Oh, and the bullets." The superintendent hands Adrian 12 bullets. Adrian stashes them in his pockets.

"The body is at Pincer Street, 13th, second floor, room 2. Get to work."

Adrian leaves the superintendent's office.

A man in a black suit and top hat stumbles up to him. "It's nice to work with you again, sir." Klint extends his hand.

"Let's get to work, lad." Adrian shakes his hand. The two leave the police station.

"Hail down a carriage, lad. Pincer Street, 13th."

The carriage stops in front of them. Klint and Adrian get on.

...

They arrive at 13th Pincer Street. It's a five-story tall apartment building; the bricks look weathered and old.

Adrian and Klint walk into the dimly lit hallway. A narrow staircase leads upwards, and three doors line the soot-stained walls. Everything inside the building looks grimy.

Adrian leads the way up the stairs to another set of doors. They open the door with the number 2 on it.

The room smells terrible. Adrian starts stepping inside the room. The smell worsens with each step on the wood floor. Each step makes creaky noises that would alert anybody of your presence.

How did the Reaper manage to sneak up behind the guy? Anybody could hear these loud creaks.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

In the middle of the living room, there is a body lying dead, facing up. The room is too dim to see the blood splatter clearly.

Let's try out John's powers again.

Adrian steps closer and touches the body. His vision blurs, everything goes dark, and he feels some sort of energy pulsating into his eyes.

His vision goes back to normal. He looks around the room. It is incredibly dark; the only source of light is the candle on the table. Adrian can barely make out the victim walking in his living room, a creak being heard with every step before the darkness itself stabs him from the back.

Adrian steps closer to get a better look at the scene. He sees the victim getting stabbed in the back by a person wearing all black. The person has a mask depicting a skull on; Adrian can't see their face.

Why was there no noise when this skull guy walked? Also, this guy blends into the darkness—even now I can barely see him. This isn't normal. Wait, if John has powers, why can't others also have them? This guy is a living fucking shadow.

Adrian wants to rewind the scene to get a better inspection of the shadow person. Adrian thinks the word Rewind in his mind, and the scene slowly starts to go back in time. The blade gets pulled out of the victim, and the shadow disappears into the darkness. Adrian follows the shadow person. He ends up right in front of the door.

Adrian thinks of the word Forward, and the scene starts playing again. Adrian can see the shadow waiting in front of the door for a chance to strike. The shadow suddenly jolts into action, moving as fast as the wind and as quiet as a whisper in the night. It closes the distance and kills the victim.

Now I know for sure. That type of speed isn't normal. This guy has powers.

Adrian is finished inspecting the vision. He touches the victim's body, and his eyes go blurry again. Then everything turns back to normal.

Adrian looks at Klint, who has a notebook in his hand, ready to write down whatever Adrian says.

"Victim was stabbed from the back, in the heart. Death was instant. No sign of struggle can be seen," Adrian says while looking at the victim's body.

Thud.

Adrian hears a noise and looks behind him. Klint is lying on the ground.

"Did you trip, lad?"

Adrian grabs Klint's hand to help him up.

Adrian's vision blurs. Everything goes dark. He knows what this means.

Fear rises up from Adrian's body.

Adrian breathes rapidly, his body shivering, yet he sees the scene of his partner taking notes before being taken by the shadows.

A stab to the heart from the back by a masked killer.

Adrian tosses and turns before finally composing himself enough to think about what comes next.

I'm in danger. That bastard killed Klint, and now he's probably standing right behind me, ready to stick a dagger in my heart. There's only one way to get out of this—draw the gun and shoot him the second I get out of this vision. But I have no experience shooting revolvers. All I can do is hope that John was good at using his gun.

Adrian steadies his breathing, readying himself for what's about to come next. He touches Klint's body.

The darkness consumes him yet again. His arm is ready to reach for his firearm.

Adrian's vision returns to normal.

Without hesitation, he reaches for his gun as if he's done this a thousand times before. He gets it, turns around, and—

BANG

A plume of smoke and fire erupts from the gun. Recoil jolts through Adrian's arm, but his gaze remains fixed on the bullet.

The bullet hits its mark.

Thud.

The body of the shadow falls down on the ground. A bullet wound can be seen in its chest.

His breath comes in sharp, uneven bursts, his hand trembling despite being on the revolver. He remains frozen.

A thousand whispers forcefully invade Adrian's mind. He feels a sharp pain like someone is drilling into his brain—the worst pain he's ever felt before.

Adrian's vision darkens. He falls unconscious.