I stared at the now pristine floor. There wasn't a trace of blood or gore anywhere. I had made sure of that.

Not a single shred of evidence could be left.

It was the whole reason why I waited until he sat down before I took my shot. I wanted to make sure he didn't fall and break something. I didn't want to leave even the slightest trace of struggle.

Thankfully modern bullets could be programmed to disintegrate after hitting their intended target. So the only bullet hole I'd had to worry about was the one in the window.

That was the only shred of evidence that was leftover in the house. But it wouldn't lead back to me. Switzerland was a country in which nearly all men had guns of some sort. Military service was mandatory, and that meant that generally, everybody knew how to handle one.

The number of people with guns had increased over the years due to the recent upsurge of terrorist attacks.

The only illegal thing was carrying a gun with bullets in it. Narrowing down the suspect would not be an easy task based on a bullet hole in a window. That wasn't taken into account that I was an injured man who had just gotten stabbed. Where would I find the strength to drive all the way to the mountains and wait hours in freezing cold to shoot someone I had literally no recorded history with?

I was probably one of the least likely people to be considered. If they managed to figure that out, then those men and women at the investigation department were goddamn geniuses. They deserved to catch me.

However, my paranoia was too great. Regardless of how insignificant it looked, I wouldn't leave it there. If I could hide the evidence, I would. While my plan for murder was abrupt, it wasn't flawed.

The glass used in his window was a new flexible insulation glass that was now typically used in all snow resorts and cold areas. It was bendable glass that could be folded until it was hardened into actual glass. They were mass-produced, and practically everyone could use them.

Having done my research, I had gotten the spare that I had.

I had managed to fit it in a small compartment inside my sniper case.

I cleared out the shattered glass and replaced it with the new one. Once I was done with that, the only proof left was my footsteps. I couldn't do anything about those, but that didn't matter. I would be long gone before anyone came to check up on the bastard. Plus, the snow would cover them in only a couple of hours.

Cleaning up was the easy part. The hard part was disposing of the body without getting noticed or seen by anyone. Leaving it in the snow was a bad idea. It would be preserved, and I didn't want to risk the body being discovered. Even though all that would found was a headless corpse. I didn't feel comfortable with such a bare minimum disposal method.

In the end, I put it in a trash bag. I would dispose of it more thoroughly later. For now, I'd just bring it along and put it in my car. If anyone found my car suspicious, a simple flash of my service record would be enough to get them to cool down.

With all the evidence removed, I headed towards the door.

Clap....clap....clap.

"I've rarely ever seen a man as thorough as you were. I'm impressed, truly I am. I don't think I would have been able to cover all my traces like that. Knowing me, I would have left one crucial thing."

My heart sunk as I heard the voice. Turning around, I was horrified to see the visage of the man I had supposedly just killed.

"Why do you seem so shocked, old man? Did you really think that it would be that easy?" He chuckled to himself as if recalling an inside joke.

"You think I didn't take into account that one of you fucks would come and try to kill me." His voice dripped with mockery and sarcasm.

He looked at me as if I was a little child that had been caught with their hand in the candy jar.

This entire thing was amusing to him.

"I'm many things, but stupid is not one of them. Now Arnaud, how do you want to die?"

Without hesitation, I pulled out my pistol and started shooting.

Bang!

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Bang!

Bang!

I continued to fire without mercy. Every bullet shot was aimed at a vital organ, and every single one struck true. I paused only to reload my gun before I continued to shoot.

Click-click.

As I finished my final round of bullets, I stared at his now prone body. Blood was spattered everywhere, and once more, he seemed to be dead. Slowly I approached him before checking his heartbeat.

There was none.

I heaved out a sigh of relief.

"Don't celebrate too early."

I jumped in surprise, gun at the ready. That was until I realized that I'd emptied all my clips. The only ones left were in the case.

How was this bastard still alive?

I didn't need to wait for an answer. I watched in horror as flesh began to heal itself.

The bullets that had been stuck in him were pushed out one after the other. In only a couple seconds, he was back to normal.

How was this possible?

The original body was still in the bag. It seemed to me as if the world was mocking me.

How was he still alive? I'd riddled his body with bullets! A couple had even gone through his skull and heart. Even in my prime with qi, I wouldn't be able to survive that. Was this guy immortal?

"Come on, you should know by now that shooting me doesn't work. Poor Arnaud can't do anything correctly. You get a chance to live, and you end up dying immediately."

His face held a mocking smile that made me seethe. What was I going to do now?

"Not gonna say anything?" As he continued to stare at me, I felt chills travel down my spine. He was unbothered. It was as if this was just something normal.

Like he'd known.

Suddenly, a searing pain erupted from my forehead.

I screamed and collapsed to the ground, holding my head in pain. I tried to keep consciousness, but my vision kept fading in and out. And every time it faded in, he was closer.

His mouth moved as if he was speaking, but I couldn't process the words through the pain.

As I writhed on the floor, I could do nothing but watch as he picked up a knife from the kitchen counter and walked towards me.

When he arrived at my body, he kneeled down. At that moment, when I looked into his eyes, I saw only curiosity and pity.

I watched helplessly as he slowly and meticulously plunged the dagger into my eye. It slid in with ease. In the next instant, my screams turned to howls.

In his hand was my eye, looking back at me.

"Scream all you want. No one can hear you from all the way up here. Now for the other one."

Aaaaaaaarrghh!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

My eyes open in panic in panic. I immediately sat up and looked around. I was covered in sweat, and my body was shaking in fear.

Where was I?

Looking around in the dark room, I turned my attention to the only source of light. A door left slightly ajar.

As I saw a shadow walk towards me from the other side, my heartbeat started to rise.

Relief flooded over me as I noticed the face of Alice peaking out from the other side.

" Arny?" Her voice was muffled due to the toothbrush in her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Her voice was filled with concern.

I turned on the night lamp and tried to calm my breathing. I heard the pitter-patter of feet before cold hands slid unto my cheeks and gently caressed my head.

"This is the third night in a row that you've had these nightmares." Her voice was soft and soothing as she spoke.

" I really think you should see your therapist." My breath returned to normal before I looked at her.

" I don't think he knows how to help someone who has died."My voice was hoarse and shaky.

She paused for a second before pulling my head into her chest.

"I know, but he helped with your PTSD. Maybe he can help you now." As she continued to caress my head, I started to relax.

"Maybe."

..............................

The sun's beams streamed in, all the while the birds sang songs. It was a beautiful day outside, but I couldn't help but feel like a mess on the inside. For three days after I'd killed that man, Benjamin, I had awoken constantly in fear.

It was the same nightmare all the time. It didn't help that my past traumas had decided to pick this time to resurface.

That was why my bags resembled that of a raccoon. It took effort to keep my tired eyes open.

I was exhausted by the lack of proper sleep, and I felt like death. Combined with the scraggly beard and messed up hair and I looked like a homeless man.

I sighed lightly before beginning to channel qi throughout my body. Despite it being immensely weaker than in Malum, it was able to be applied more freely here. It was one of the reasons I didn't feel worse from the lack of sleep.

Usually, by now, I would be seeing shadow people out the corner of my eyes.

As the qi was gently pushed throughout my body, and I begin to feel better, the mark started to appear on my forehead.

It was the mark that I had been branded with before being sent back. I didn't know its exact purpose, but I was less than pleased about its existence.

It was a reminder of the past that popped up whenever I used qi.

Walking away from the mirror, I went looking for Alice. She had also been a factor in keeping me sane.

While I didn't feel the love that I once did, I could still appreciate what she was doing. Her dedication was appreciated.

It didn't take me long before I found her. The tapping of fingers against a keyboard had made it easy.

As I entered the living room, I spoke the moment I saw her. "I think we need to leave Switzerland." She paused in her typing and turned to me, confusion written on her face.

"Leave?"

"Yes, leave."

"But why?" Her attention was now squarely on me.

"I don't think I'll be able to get better here in Switzerland. It has too much of a negative effect on me."

"Oh."Her confusion turned to understand.

"I mean, I understand, but we can't just leave. We would have to look for new jobs and look for a new place and move everything out. Plus, where would we even be going? Because depending on that, we would have to get our documents to travel..." She continued to list things that needed to be done.

"We can do all of that. I just don't want to live in this country."

There was a pause as she contemplated her answer.

"Well, can we sort out the details at dinner?"

"Yeah, sure, no problem."

Immediately after, her focus shifted away from me, and she seemed to gaze intently into space. Her brows scrunched up as she continued to think about what was happening.

To be honest, I was surprised she had agreed. This was where she had lived for the entirety of her life, but I wasn't complaining.

I just had to hold out for a little.

Then I could leave and start anew.