John frowned as he stared at the space before him that had been opened up by his actions. Touching the square button on the wall had revealed a false wall, which had moved to reveal a room just behind it. The room was ten feet wide, deep, and tall, and contained only a singular object within.
In the very center of the room was a pedestal, made of some marble-like stone. On the pedestal sat a bizarre object. It was about two feet tall, made of some unknown metallic material pitch black in color, and depicted a human, seemingly a woman due to the curves of the body, shrouded in a black robe, head bowed in shadows. The carving was incredibly intricate, and almost appeared as if the figure was alive due to its details.
The right arm of the figure was held out to the side, and atop the upturned palm rested a strange object. The object appeared to be some sort of rune, carved or sculpted directly from a block of that lustrous, metallic material. The rune glowed at the edges, giving off a blood-red light, bathing both that figure and the room in the red glow. Most important of all, the rune was no-doubt the source of the killing intent, still nearly undetectable even standing this close to it.
John had expedited the source to be from a cultivator or some creature, but never from what appeared to be some sort of artifact.
John almost recognized the rune, but it was different from the one he compared it to. The Dao Rune of Death. It had many similarities, but seemed to diverge in a few sections of the rune, making it almost appear like the Rune for Death, but not quite.
John glanced about the room, seeing if there was anything else of note, but saw nothing. His gaze returned to the statue before him, and after a moment of consideration, he reached out towards it.
His hand stopped several inches short of the statue, blocked by an invisible formation barrier. John frowned and pressed harder, but his hand was unable to move forward despite the strength he used.
'I might be able to break this formation if I used my full strength, but my aura alone would cause a commotion.'
John withdrew his hand and inspected the artifact for a while longer, an uneasy feeling growing stronger by the second.
'I feel as though I'm being watched…by this statue.'
The feeling was almost imperceptible, and almost nonsensical, but John felt as though a pair of eyes were set on him, studying him. It made him feel uneasy, feeling the gaze but not seeing anyone nearby to stare at him. He was sure no one was hiding nearby, or else he would have detected their presence.
'Only a Holy Manifestation cultivator would be able to hide from my detection this close, and I highly doubt someone that strong is just sitting nearby,' John assessed the situation.
He took one last glance at the strange statue, and then shrugged.
'Well, I can't touch it, and I don't see anything else of note, so I guess I can only leave.'
He wanted to know more about the strange statue and the reason for its existence, but knew standing around would not only get him no answers, but would only increase the chance of trouble finding him.
John stepped back into the alleyway and after confirming both sides were clear, pressed the button on the wall again. The building wall reformed, hiding the room once more. John stepped back out into the street he had come from and blended into the crowd, moving back towards his hotel.
…
Within a dimly lit room, a man sat cross legged, eyes closed as if in meditation. On the man's lap sat a statue, one exactly the same as the statue John had seen. The man's right hand was resting on the small head of the statue, a slight aura of his Qi infused into it.
The man opened his eyes a moment later, a frown appearing on his face. He stood up and carried the statue with him, and then stepped out of the dimly lit room. A large chamber appeared before him, one lit with glowing red formation lights, basking the chamber in an ominous glow.
Within the chamber were dozens of other people, many shrouded in pitch-black robes, their features completely obscured. The man moved through the chamber to the other side, and knocked on a closed door.
He waited patiently until he heard a voice from the other side of the door.
"What is it?" a feminine voice asked.
"Someone just arrived at the entranceway," the man said.
"Someone? Who is it? Is Asha back? Or is it Shadow Four?" the woman asked.
"Neither," the man said after a moment of hesitation, as if his answer was absurd to speak.
"Neither?" the woman asked, slight confusion in her voice. "Only Asha and Shadow Four are out on a mission. Is it someone from another division?"
"No," the man said, shaking his head. "It is someone I do not recognize."
Silence answered the man, followed by the door opening a moment later. A woman appeared in the doorway, frowning at the man. She wore the same black robes as the others, but had the hood down, revealing her features.
She appeared to be in her late twenties, and had long black hair, tied in a ponytail, that fell down to the middle of her waist. Her bright-green eyes stared at the man before her, who had his head slightly bowed in respect.
"Show me," she said.
The man nodded and moved the statue in his hands towards her. The woman placed her hand on the statue's head and closed her eyes. Her frown deepened a moment later, her eyes opening once more.
"Do you recognize him?" the man asked curiously. The woman shook her head.
"No," she said, falling silent for a moment. She turned her gaze towards a nearby area with sofas and tables, where two people sat, both shrouded in their pitch-black robes.
"Shadow Six, Shadow Ten," she said to them. The two suddenly appeared before her like ghosts. She instructed them to touch the statue, to which the two did.
"Find this boy," she instructed, "and learn what you can about him. Report to me when you have learned something of note."
The two nodded.
"Do you want us to take action when we find him?" one of the shrouded figures asked, the voice light yet deep, most likely coming from a youthful male.
"No," the woman shook her head. "Report back to me when you have what I want, at which point I will take action. We do not know what we are dealing with here."
The two shrouded figures nodded and then vanished.
"Has our location been leaked?" the man asked. "Could it be the Phantoms of Death?"
"It's impossible for one to stumble upon the Mark of Shadowed Death by their own," the woman replied, frowning. "So that is the only plausible explanation, but I cannot confirm if the Phantoms are behind it or not. It's far too sloppy to be the work of the Phantoms. Once I learn what this boy knows, we will dispose of him, and then move our operations to another location. Start the preparations."
The man nodded and walked away, leaving the woman alone. A thoughtful frown lingered on her face before she walked back into her room, the door closing behind her.
