Two souls glowed, dimly lighting up the dark stone room. One of the souls floated in the centre of the room, above an old open book atop a wooden altar. The other, bound in chains, floated off to the side.

A hooded figure raised his hand, clutching out at the soul atop the altar. A dull mist formed in his hands, slowly curling around and latching onto the soul. The soul dimmed and flickered as the mist, now with a faint blue hue, swirled down to the pages of the book.

As the mist touched the pages, words formed, quickly filling up the book as it flicked rapidly from one page to the next.

The figure hunched over, staring at the book. The information was quickly filtered through, and anything deemed unnecessary was struck from the pages, turning back into mist that floated back up to the soul. The soul brightened slightly as parts were returned to it.

“No, no. We already know that.” An aged, scratchy voice echoed around the hall, as the man muttered to the surrounding shadows.

The light and shadows danced as the mist formed a constant cycle. The mist scoured the soul, ripping it apart piece by piece, draining it into the book before feeding back up to the soul, not allowing it to die.

“There’s nothing useful.” The man muttered as the book snapped shut and the mist drew back into his body.

The room fell silent as the man rested, quietly restoring his strength. The soul swayed atop the altar, any signs of intelligence or will long since washed away.

“Send it away.” The man called out.

The shadows swayed, as a giant, toothy maw appeared from the depths. A beast formed from shadows walked to the altar and chomped down on the soul. A faint glow broke out between the gaps in the teeth, like light shining through jail bars. The shadow creature dove back into the depths of the shadows, disappearing from the room.

The man opened his eyes once more, turning his attention to the remaining soul. Interesting. Under his guiding hand, the soul floated over to the altar. It pulsed as the chains tore into it.

Whoever did this knows what they’re doing. He observed the chains, his mist swirling around the soul, diving in to study the points where the soul and the chain met.

The mist cycled through again, pulling scraps of information into the book. Most if which was fine, but the parts taken from the chained sections came back fragmented and nonsensical. Damnation. This is more work I have to do.

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Throughout the night, the man tirelessly studied the chains. His mist slowly chipped away at it, breaking apart the chain while fighting to keep the information intact.

Midnight struck, as the chain fell, fading away into nothingness.

The man wheezed, mist exploding out from the hood before looping back inside. He took a break to steady himself before flinging his hand back out once more. The mist drove into the soul, searching for the information the princess wanted.

“Found you.” The mist stopped pouring in as the man’s gaze latched onto one of the pages. Confirming that it was what he was after, he placed his palm down on the page, while a piece of parchment appeared in his other hand.

The words disappeared from the book, turning into mist that passed through his body and onto the piece of parchment before rolling it up. “Find this person.”

Another shadow creature appeared from the depths to snatch the scroll from his hand before diving back into the shadows.

The man turned his gaze back to the frail soul above the altar. The princess never said what she wanted me to do with this one. She should be fine with me disposing of it.

The mist poured out of every gap in the cloak, flooding the room in a frenzy. It hounded down on the soul, tearing it apart. The soul trembled as it was ripped apart. The mist flooded back into the cloak as the man sat against the wall.

~

The shadow beast dove through the shadows, reappearing outside the room and inside one of the cells in the dungeon, scaring the criminal inside. Keeping to the shadows, it bounded down the dungeon hallway, teleporting through the shadows until it eventually reached an exit. It raced across the open field of the estate before diving through a wall and appearing in an alley outside.

It sat down at the feet of a man who was leaning against the opposite wall. Its tail wagged as the man scratched behind its ears.

“What have you got for me buddy?” The man asked gently as he scratched behind the beast's ears.

The beast dropped the scroll into the man’s waiting hand.

Unfurling the scroll, he read through the information, quickly memorising all the info about the target’s physical appearance that was gathered onto the scroll.

“Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me. At least I’ll get to take a trip around Envy this time.” He rolled the scroll back up and held it in front of the beast who was waiting patiently at his feet. “Send this back to Wilfred. I’ll send information back when I find the target.”

The beast latched onto the scroll once more and leapt back into the estate, as the man also stepped through the shadows.

~

Wilfred sat quietly in his study beside the princess’ room, leaving the couple to spend the night together while he waited to be called on should the need arise. He turned around and stared into the corner the moment before the shadow beast stepped into his room.

“It’s finally here.” He reached out his hand as the scroll fell from the creature’s maw. He sat the opened scroll on his desk as the creature left the room.

Hmmm, Christophe Mercier. The name doesn’t ring a bell. It’s nothing I have to bother the princess with. She can rest easy for the night. Hopefully, we’ll have more information so we can quickly root out this problem.

He set the scroll aside and continued working on the forms he was filling out earlier, as he waited for the day to begin.