Chapter 4: A Sense of Danger

The cool breeze blew against Ciara's face in waves. She even caught a glimpse of a few birds darting past her and Enda.

Ciara bowed her head and looked down at the glittering city, which now seemed so small. The towering skyscrapers, where she never thought she could reach the top floor, were now even more out of her reach than before.

Yes, Ciara was being carried in mid-air, held by none other than Enda.

The wind kept blowing against her face, making it difficult for Ciara to speak.

"Where are you taking me now?"

"To a safe place for you." Enda replied.

Ciara didn't say anything else upon hearing this, she remained silent and tightly held the backpack in her arms. She didn't know if trusting Enda and following him was the right choice or not. But Ciara knew that she had no other option but to go with Enda.

If she had stayed at her old house, the first thing Ciara would have to face is the interrogation from Harris' police comrades about the disappearance of that man. Not to mention that no one can be sure that tonight's incident will not happen again.

Perhaps sensing Ciara's silence, Enda took the initiative to start a conversation to break the silence in the air.

"Tonight's incident must have scared you." Enda said.

"Not really," Ciara replied.

She wasn't trying to act strong, the truth was she wasn't really scared. The earlier incident was something that would have terrified others, but not Ciara.

Even when facing death, what Ciara felt wasn't fear of the grim reaper's scythe but an unusual calmness.

This wasn't the first time she felt this way.

When she was younger, she often got into trouble with strangers. Once, a woman broke into Ciara's house with the intention of kidnapping her, but luckily her mother discovered it in time.

For that reason, Ciara and her mother had to move many times. It wasn't until she turned ten years old that she stopped encountering such incidents, and her mother could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Their life went peacefully until her mother passed away.

Every time she faced death, Ciara felt an inexplicable sense of tranquility. Her chest felt as if the shackles that bound it were removed, but Ciara never intended to seek out death. Her rationality always prevented her from doing so and that's why she had stood before death multiple times but every time she managed to escape and succeed.

It could be due to luck, perhaps?

"Do you have any questions for me?"

Enda interrupted Ciara's train of thought and spoke up.

"Yes." she pondered for a while before finally asking, "Why did Harris' police attack me?"

"Hmm...I think you've already guessed it, haven't you?" Enda replied.

Upon hearing Enda's response, Ciara only responded with a casual "Perhaps. But I want to hear the exact reason instead of guessing."

"Ha ha. Of course, I'm more than happy to answer all of your questions. However..."

Suddenly, Enda hugged Ciara tightly and at an incredible speed, they dashed downwards. The sudden movement caught Ciara off guard and she instinctively grabbed onto Enda's shirt to keep herself from falling.

"However, first of all, we have arrived at the destination."

As Enda finished his sentence, his feet touched the ground.

Ciara escaped from Enda's embrace and stood on her own. After regaining her balance, she couldn't help but let out a phrase:

"You really are crazy."

Enda heard those words as if they had touched a nerve in his brain and couldn't help but burst out laughing uncontrollably. He hugged his stomach and laughed continuously, to the point where he had to lean on the nearby tree to stand still.

Ciara looked at the man in front of her as if she was looking at a stranger who was crazy. She was wondering if her decision to follow this unusual person was the right one.

But suddenly, the whole space fell silent. Enda stopped laughing abruptly.

Enda stood up straight, running his fingers through his disheveled hair after laughing for so long. He looked over at Ciara, and in an instant, she suddenly felt a sense of danger even greater than when he had killed Harris with his bare hands.

Enda at this moment is giving Ciara a strange feeling, unlike someone she was familiar with.

"What you said is causing me pain."

A sentence has dispelled the tense atmosphere at the moment. Enda has returned to normal, as a gentle person just like before. It's as if Ciara had a hallucination earlier.

But she knows that what happened earlier is the truth.

The person in front of Ciara is definitely not simple, even somewhat dangerous.

"Standing here for too long is not good, let's go inside."

Now Ciara notices that she is standing in front of a very large iron door.

From her perspective inside, what catches Ciara's eye is a large garden surrounded by various trees and plants. In the center is a big lake, and of course, there is an equally grand mansion that cannot be ignored.

However, there are no lights on inside, making it look like a haunted house scene from a movie.

"What place is this?" Ciara asked.

"Your new home."

After Enda finished speaking, the iron door in front of them slowly opened, as if welcoming Ciara as a guest.

"Let's go."

After encountering so many things tonight, Ciara was feeling exhausted. So when she saw Enda walk in, she did not hesitate to pick up her backpack and follow him.

Wherever Enda went, the lights would turn on accordingly. In no time, the abandoned mansion from earlier was now adorned with magnificent decorations in the middle of the night.

Upon entering, Ciara noticed a small fountain in the middle of the mansion. As she walked by it, she saw many silver coins inside, but could not identify their origin.

Standing in front of the main door, Enda said something that made Ciara confused.

"Don't be surprised." said Enda.

After saying that, Enda pushed open the heavy door.

A dazzling beam of light shone straight into Ciara's eyes, causing her to squint.

How surprising!

In front of her lay an endless expanse of field with no visible stopping point. Apart from trees and grass, there were no signs of human habitation around here.

Not to mention that it was nighttime just a moment ago, and now it has turned into morning.

Not to mention that earlier it was evening, and now it has turned into morning. The sky cannot brighten up that fast.

"What is happening?" Ciara couldn't contain her astonishment and asked.

"Space shifting." Enda replied, seeming accustomed to the astonishment of every guest who set foot here for the first time. He continued speaking: "This is a type of ability that only the leader here can perform."

Then Enda turned around and signaled to Ciara: "Let's go."

Ciara followed him. Along the way, Enda explained to her the reason behind this phenomenon.

Currently, there is conflict within the non-human species community. One side believes that living in peace with humans is something abhorrent and inappropriate, and they intend to overthrow the current regime and re-establish a period where non-human species reign supreme on Earth.

The other half disagrees with that belief. They feel that living in peace like this is beneficial. Moreover, they believe that it was the non-human species who were defeated by the weaker human race. If a war were to break out, it's not certain that they would win and history would repeat itself.

So both sides constantly provoke each other. Many meetings end up being unpleasant.

"So which side are you on?" Ciara asked.

"We don't follow either side. We are neutral, and only provide support to whoever needs it at a reasonable price. That way, we don't offend anyone. However, to avoid revealing the base's location and unnecessary inconvenience, we constantly shift space for each base." Enda replied.

Enda led her to a large rock over 10 meters tall, with a crevice in the middle that was wide enough for two people to pass through, but it was so dark inside that nothing could be seen. Enda went in first, and Ciara followed him.

After a while, Ciara realized that she was walking on a very long corridor.

Enda led her through many twists and turns, then down to a deep underground level, before finally stopping in front of a large door. The top of the door was carved with many strange shapes, among which Ciara noticed an image depicting the battle between humans and non-human species thousands of years ago.

"I only have the task of bringing you here. If you want to know the answers to the questions in your heart, the only way is to step inside and discover for yourself."

After saying that, Enda turned decisively and left, leaving Ciara standing there alone.

She remained silent for a while, but at last she decided to knock on the door.

Ciara knocked the first time, but there was no response. She knocked for a second time, and again, nothing happened. However, on the third knock, the heavy door finally shifted, revealing a narrow gap just enough for Ciara to enter alone.

Ciara looked at the pitch-black space in front of her, and without feeling any fear, she stepped inside. Here, she was met with a dense darkness, when she held her hand up in front of her face, she still couldn't see anything.

As Ciara was about to take out her phone and turn on the flashlight to see the way, the lights in the room suddenly turned on at once.

There was no one in the room.

Ciara looked around at the layout of the room.

It's like a very spacious office. Right at the entrance are two statues of a pair of swans. But they are separated, their eyes always looking towards each other. Ciara was not sure whether it was because they were carved so delicately or not, but she could see the agony of separation in them.

Right in the middle, against the wall, is a long table with many stacks of paper on it, some of which have fallen to the ground. If you get closer, you will see an inkwell that has spilled and stained all the nearby white papers.

Surrounding the walls are tall bookshelves that reach up to the ceiling. Besides books, there are many other miscellaneous items placed on them.

In the middle of the room, there is a set of black leather chairs and a table. Since Ciara used to work at a furniture store, she can tell that they are definitely not cheap. However, the owner of this room does not seem to care much about them, as there are clothes thrown haphazardly all over them, there are also books that have been read and are lying on the ground.

The owner of this room is a very messy person.

On the ceiling is a sparkling crystal chandelier, and around the walls are flickering blue candles. They seem to be made of mermaid fat according to legend. This is something that Ciara had only read about in books, as it is extremely rare and difficult to create. Finding a stranded dead mermaid on the shore is nearly impossible. Hunting mermaids for their fat would be like committing a crime against the entire mermaid race.

The entire room would emit an aura of wealth and luxury if it weren't for the pile of clothes that spoils its aesthetic appeal.

However, what caught Ciara's attention was a seemingly ordinary-looking mirror hanging next to the desk.

Standing at a distance, Ciara could see the faint outline of herself reflected inside it.

The shadow slowly transformed into a strange woman, who waved her hand to signal for Ciara to come closer.

Usually, Ciara's curiosity was not very strong, but now there was something urging her to approach it.

Ciara seemed to lose control, her eyes slowly losing focus. She was like a puppet being manipulated as she took slow steps towards the mirror. Just as her hand was about to touch the surface, a voice snapped her back to reality.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be crazy enough to touch it."