"You think he is going to turn?"

Rusty's brows knitted with worry as he gazed at Glenn, who was seated in a dimly lit room with chainlinks around his wrists. "He probably will. Everyone does. Who the hell is that kid anyway to get his hand on this shit?"

Kane, the experienced Cleaner by Rusty's side, shook his head. "No idea. I heard he kicked ass in the power test he took a few days ago to become a Fixer. He's a complete newbie that no one knows and to top it off is going around with a Black Heir."

Rusty sighed. "A Black Heir? Well, at least that removes the possibility that it's a mole. Never would these bastards associate themselves with the Thorns Church."

"Well, I guessed that much, since he helped to destroy that Corrupted the Church somehow created, with that Auberge thing. How much time does he have left anyway?"

"...Give me a second and let me check."

A mechanical sound was produced as a pocket watch was opened.

"Around... five minutes?"

Glenn shifted uncomfortably on the wooden chair, surrounded by five imposing Cleaners, all dressed in their signature white clothes with a red cross emblazoned on them. Weapons of various sizes and shapes were in their hands: short swords, a massive steel hammer, a flanged mace, and even a... book? The last Cleaner, with fists as large as Glenn's head, looked ready to use them at any time.

He was currently enclosed in a room completely made out of steel, with three men and two women, none of whom he could recognize by the way, sweating and aiming their weapons at him. A small mechanical eyeball, looking really neat, was floating beside him, probably maintained in the air with magic. It was probably the magical replacement for a camera, he supposed. He couldn’t help but frown at it, wondering how it worked. It probably was some nonsensical combination of magic and technology.

‘...I kind of want to have one,’ Glenn thought, before scoffing wryly. With the situation he was in, no way they would give him something like that, right? And it was surely worth a fortune anyway.

Diamanes, the sentient entity in Glenn's mind, couldn't help but remark, 'You are so lucky to have me. You should be so dead right now.'

Glenn responded, 'Why the hell do you sound disappointed?'

'Because you deserve it, you imbecile. Never heard of the saying that when you look into the abyss, the abyss stares back?' Diamanes exclaimed in incredulity.

Glenn moistened his lips, 'Huh yeah, I do, after all, you found it in my memories.'

Diamanes sighed, 'So why did you look inside this... thing, anyway?'

Glenn paused, taking a second to consider the question, '...I don't know, I just felt like...like I could find something of importance in there...'

Diamanes snorted before laughing mockingly, 'Well, you were this close to finding what being dead feels like, so you're technically not wrong, hah!'

Glenn sighed, shifting his position once again, causing the anxious Cleaners around him to tense up. He raised his hand in a peaceful gesture, looking more annoyed than distressed.

“Don’t worry, my ass is just itchy.” He turned to the floating, mechanical eyeball with a scowl, “When the hell is this joke over, Mr. Stoneheart?" he inquired aloud, though he knew there was no way for the tiny shopkeeper to answer him.

The Cleaners remained silent, their attention divided between Glenn and the mechanical eye that watched their captive closely. "...Damn it." Glenn decided that if he had to wait forever, he would at least spend that forever on something useful instead of just waiting like an idiot. He sat in the lotus position on his chair, going into Meditation, his face instantly gaining a calm feel to it.

As Glenn contemplated his situation and life as a whole, Kane couldn't help but be astonished by what he saw. The projection of Glenn on the screen showed the telltale signs of the cursed item's influence. A white lock of hair had appeared in the middle of Glenn's otherwise dark chestnut hair, his once-blue eyes now bearing a mix of green and purple hues.

He could only trust Rusty's description from before he took a peek at the thing. The young man also had his cheeks hollowed, and dark circles had appeared under his eyes. The whole thing was completed by the slightly gray tone that his skin had taken. If he ignored those changes, Glenn could have been considered slightly handsome, with well-defined features and an air of charisma. His tattered black coat and white shirt, stained with blood, brains, and bits of flesh from a recent fight, added a grim contrast to his otherwise appealing appearance.

His bandaged left arm was slightly concerning, but it was probably a wound from the fight that left him covered in gore. Kane checked his watch again, struggling to comprehend the situation. The needle kept advancing, but Glenn didn't exhibit any signs of transformation. He slumped back in his chair, staring at the projection in disbelief.

Finally, he blurted out, raising his head and hands toward the sky in incomprehension, "Where the hell did he even get a Seed of Darkness? Those things are not supposed to exist anymore!"

Rusty Stoneheart, standing beside Kane, rubbed his ginger beard thoughtfully as he gazed at the projection.

"Again, I have no idea. Let's keep him there for another hour, just to be sure, then we'll proceed to interrogate him. Try to be nice to him; until now, he did nothing wrong. Alright, Kane?"

Kane sighed, neither saying yes nor no.

Another hour passed, which Glenn tried to spend entirely meditating, but the smell of his own body started to bother him. After all, he was still covered in dried blood, and he didn't want to think of the bits of brains or flesh that he might have missed. He chuckled, thinking that his appearance might make him look like a complete lunatic.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

‘Laugh all you want, in the meanwhile it is I who’s bound to suffer from the smell…’ Diamanes grunted. Glenn paused and raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

‘...Do you even have a nose?’ He questioned dubiously. Diamanes snorted, not even bothering to reply. Glenn leaned back in his chair and looked at his chained hands, his lips twitching slightly. Thankfully, they weren’t too tightly bound. The Cleaners around him tensed up, their faces hardening and their knuckles whitening around the hilt of their weapons.

'What do you think Sahro is doing?' Glenn wondered.

Diamanes replied with a mocking tone, 'He's probably enjoying his time not looking at things he shouldn't look at.'

Glenn sighed, rubbing his temples. All he wanted now was a bath and clean clothes. And a good night’s sleep too. Was that too much to ask?

A heavy door made out of some tough-looking alloy opened behind him, the creaking sound particularly rattling his eardrums. The Cleaners turned hopeful faces toward the entry of the room, sighing in relief when whoever opened it signaled them to get out. They hurried themselves, throwing a last puzzled and worried look at Glenn.

Two men entered the room, standing right in front of him. Glenn recognized Rusty Stoneheart, of course, but the second one was not one he was familiar with. He was a tall man, probably over two meters, and wore white pants and vests, all adorned with the classic red cross of the Cleaners. He probably was highly ranked, seeing the golden tint on his shoulder.

Uh, he doesn't have a tag.' noticed Glenn.

The man in question had brought a stool with him, and used it to sit in front of Glenn, crossing his fingers together in front of his face. Rusty Stoneheart stood beside him, a worried expression on his face.

The man took a breath, before rubbing his eyes.

Kane introduced himself, "Glenn, is that right? I'm Kane, and I'm the Manager of the Northern Cleaner's Workshop."

Glenn nodded, carefully observing Kane. He had blond, straight hair, with brown eyes filled with more tiredness than annoyance. He had a start of black circles under his eyes, and wrinkles appeared on his forehead. He didn't have a beard, letting everyone enjoy his ass-shaped chin.

"My pleasure...I think?"

Glenn looked dubiously at the duo in front of him.

"Can I ask what's going on, or...?"

The two looked at each other, and Kane crossed his arms, reluctantly answering, "That thing you looked at... It's a Seed of Darkness." He grimaced spitefully. Glenn blinked for a moment.

“A Seed of Darkness?” He passed his tongue over his teeth confusedly, “...Sounds ominous, I suppose.”

Kane’s eyelids twitched but he continued, “...Right. Normally, those things should have been destroyed down to the last one. They are the source of absolute calamity."

"Normally, after an hour or so, the one who peers into the Seed of Darkness becomes a Tree of Chaos."

Glenn's eyes widened in puzzlement. "I would have transformed into a... a tree? What?"

Rusty Stoneheart explained, "It's named like that because, after becoming a Tree, monsters start coming out of you, like a tree giving off fruit. The one who looks becomes a monster source, a moving Rift with immense power."

Glenn paled, imagining his existence if such a thing had happened and Diamanes hadn't pulled him out of his trance.

'Damn, thanks Diamanes.'

'It's about time you noticed, moron!' spat the talking hand in Glenn's mind.

"So that's why you locked me in there with five Cleaners to... well, clean me if I lost control, I suppose," he guessed, letting out a snicker.

"I can't believe I almost became..." He trailed off, realizing the grim fate he almost succumbed to. Once more, the claws of death came closer and narrowly missed.

Kane leaned forward, scrutinizing Glenn. "You're sure you don't want to kill anyone or start summoning monsters?"

Glenn shook his head and snorted, “I’m pretty sure I don’t want to kill anyone I didn’t want to before looking into that thing…” He muttered through clenched teeth as he thought back to the Thorn’s Church. He then proceeded to take out the Seed of Darkness, enveloping it into a piece of tissue torn from his black coat. Since it was already half-destroyed, he didn't mind making pieces out of it.

"I'm sure you'll know how to handle it better than me..." He said as he held it toward Kane. The latter carefully picked up the cursed pearl and a visible sense of relief washed over him as he secured it in a pouch on his hip. He turned to Glenn and said, "Well, bringing such an item to us is an immense contribution. Which leaves us with just one question.”

Glenn raised a puzzled eyebrow. Kane clasped his hands together and his expression hardened, “...Where the hell did you get that thing?”

Glenn’s face beamed with a wide, happy grin, “Oh, that was in the Thorn’s Church prison. Yeah, I escaped that place a week ago or so.” He paused and his eyes widened, “Wait, it only has been a week…? Damn, it feels like it was ages ago.”

Rusty sighed deeply, while Kane’s knuckles whitened from how tight he was clenching his fists.“...I see. You’re free to. Taking care of this is above even my pay grade. Right now, the priority is to put this—” He tapped the pouch hanging at his waist, “—In capable hands.”

Glenn’s eyes went from Rusty to Kane, before eventually settling on the door they used to enter the room, “So…can I go now? I might go insane if I don’t take a bath and some new clothes soon.”

Rusty chuckled nervously, “Please don’t joke about this, Glenn. Insanity is very, very scary, and way too common in that field.”

Kane cleared his throat and shooed him away. Glenn didn’t waste a second and hurriedly stepped out, closely followed by Rusty Stoneheart. Kane remained in the room, seemingly thinking about something. The little man turned toward Glenn, smiling under his beard.

"Listen, you'll be able to get your armor tomorrow at dawn. I'll make some expensive additions to it as well. Oh, and don't worry about the payment. You might not understand now, but later you'll probably get how big the contribution you just made is."

Glenn hesitantly nodded, bidding his goodbye to the tiny man. He then headed toward the Dormitories. He walked while thinking of the recent events, noticing that he was often in more danger than he should be. Perhaps he had to try and be a bit more careful.

'Of course, you have to! Do you want to get yourself killed? Because if that's so, don't worry, I know 101 ways to get the job done.' mocked Diamanes in Glenn's mind, annoyed about the recent events. It did make a little sense for him to be angry, knowing that his survival depended on Glenn's.

‘It’s still cute to see you worry for my safety,’ Glenn’s lips curved upward as he climbed up the Dormitory’s floors. Diamanes groaned and fled in the comfort of his host’s memories, choosing to go watch more of his embarrassing memories. Glenn eventually arrived at the Silver floor, and directly headed for the communal hot spring, one of the perks of being a Silver Fixer.

Steam clouded his vision as he unclothed and immersed himself in the purifying hot water. He sighed contentedly, savoring the warmth of the hot water as he stood motionless for half an hour. Suddenly, he felt something brush against him on his right. When he turned his head, he discovered an incredibly attractive woman with long, raven-black hair and flawless fair skin, a hint of mint perfume wafting from her as she too enjoyed the bath. Her magnificent, marine-blue eyes widened in shock when she also turned her head and discovered him in turn.

Well, those were details he noticed only after, as he couldn't stop himself from obviously looking down and finding two huge— "

Slap!