It looked like this matter was much deeper than what Riku had expected it to be. Someone was planning something big, and this basement was an important piece of the puzzle.
However, before Riku could process the full extent of this hidden hoard, a figure emerged from the deeper shadows at the far end of the storage chamber.
The man was gaunt, his clothes tattered, his skin almost entirely covered in the dark, pulsating crimson marks of the Creep. Yet, he moved with an unnerving steadiness, his eyes, though bloodshot, holding a spark of sharp awareness.
Elara stared at the silhouette stepping out from the deeper shadows with her breath hitched.
The way he moved, the set of his shoulders even beneath the tattered clothes… it was so familiar.
"Is that…?" she whispered, her voice trembling, half in fear, half in a wild, burgeoning hope.
