"Did it begin after touching water?"Alfred's question lingered heavily inside the hidden room while the distant sound of thunder rolled somewhere beyond the mansion walls.Ethan remained silent for several moments as memories from earlier that afternoon resurfaced inside his mind with startling clarity.The kitchen sink…. The cold water running over his fingers…. The sudden vision.His grandfather was standing beside the old man, and the shadowed figure whose face had been scratched away both in the photograph and in the memory itself.Finally, he drew a slow breath."Yes," he replied quietly. "As far as I remember, the first vision happened during the time I washed my hands, I thought it's a random hallucination after a long day." The old butler closed his eyes briefly, there's no surprise or panic in his face, only recognition of something he was already aware of.Scarlett noticed the subtle shift in his expression immediately."You expected that answer, didn't you?" Her voice car

"Yes... someone looked back at me."The words settled over the hidden study like a heavy fog, draining every trace of warmth from the room.The ticking of the old clock suddenly became louder than before, each swing of its pendulum echoing against the stone walls while rain continued to beat relentlessly against the windows outside. Ethan remained where he was, his gaze fixed on the Dragon Ring circling his finger as if it had suddenly become something unfamiliar.Alfred did not respond immediately.His weathered face revealed almost nothing, yet the slight tightening of his grip around the polished wooden cane betrayed what years of discipline could not completely conceal.Scarlett noticed it at once."You knew there was a chance this could happen, didn't you?" Her voice remained steady, though concern had quietly replaced the irritation from moments earlier.Alfred drew a slow breath before answering."I knew there was a possibility…. I simply prayed the possibility would never beco