Black Monocle

“Do you think I should use my pow—”

Voidborn looked at Jimin and shook his head.

“You can remove her grief now,” he whispered, “but what happens after you leave?”

Jimin bit her lower lip and looked at Chaewon who was crumpled onto the ground, crying and sobbing uncontrollably.

“Then what should we do?”

“Maybe she needs a hug,” Rei said, looking at Voidborn.

“Yes. I can hug her.”

“What? N-No!” Jimin stuttered in a haste. “Y-You can only choose one person to hug in your entire life. You've already hugged me so you can hug me only.”

“The woman who took care of me didn't tell me this rule,” Voidborn frowned. “Is that true, Rei?”

“It’s true! I'm not lying, right, Rei?!”

Voidborn focused and looked at the both of them.

Yellow.

Why would they lie?

Voidborn frowned and wondered if Jimin did not like him hugging other people other than her. He pondered for a moment before coming to the conclusion that maybe it was what Rei said earlier about Jimin liking him.

If hugging Chaewon or other people would make Jimin unhappy, Voidborn thought that maybe he should not do it.

He turned to Robert.

“Robert.”

“Yes?”

“Have you hugged someone before?”

“Uhh… No?”

Robert leaned in and whispered.

“Didn't I tell you I didn't want to die a virgin?”

Voidborn nodded and pointed at Chaewon.

“A sad woman needs hugs.”

Robert looked at Chaewon.

“Me?”

Voidborn nodded.

“I saved your life twice. So you owe me.”

Robert muttered under his breath, as if weighing the pros and cons, deciding what moves he should make.

Then he stopped.

With resolute eyes, he walked over.

He kneeled down beside Chaewon and stretched his arms out.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“Hugs?”

Robert tried to inch forward awkwardly.

“Fuck off! Why would I hug you?

Chaewon raised her leg and pushed against Robert’s chest, trying to press him away.

The black grief within Chaewon was slowly replaced with a red irritance and annoyance.

Looking at the spectacle, Voidborn nodded internally. It seemed like hugging really did help with sadness.

Voidborn looked around.

Corpses were strewn everywhere. Goblin huts were destroyed all around. Scorch marks and burnt vine remains were scattered all over the ground, a proof of the brutal fight that happened just a few heartbeats ago.

Derrick and Joy were discussing right by the shaman’s corpse.
Senia and Dylan were bandaging each other’s injuries.
Jimin was squeezing Rei’s cheeks, growling at her for saying unnecessary things.
Robert was tangled with Chaewon as she pinned him down with an arm bar.

Voidborn reached into his pocket and took out the pendant.

He had asked seven questions.

He had gotten seven answers.

But now he had more questions that he needed answers to.

His mind wandered off.

Then something squeezed his hand.

He looked to the side.

“Hey.”

It was Jimin.

“Try not to think too much, okay? Let's talk and discuss about it later.”

She squeezed his hand firmly, giving him a soft, gentle smile.

Voidborn nodded.

“Alright, gather up!” Derrick shouted. “We’ll do a short debrief.”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and crowded around the two leaders.

“Firstly, I would like to thank you all for your efforts in this raid.” Joy gave a small bow to everyone in the raid team. “Although we have lost all the Rebirth stones to an unindentified unknown entity—”

Voidborn looked to the side.

Chaewon’s fists were gripped tight, but she remained silent.

“—we managed to eradicate the enemy threatening the village as per the request.”

Derrick coughed and pointed to the two corpses.

“Stand proud. Those were two high ranking monsters which have consumed tier 3 Rebirth stones. If they had not been dealt with, many villages, towns, and travellers would have been in trouble.”

Joy raised her communication device.

“I have sent for a cleanup team to Spellbound. They will be handling everything else from here forward. Since the success of this mission was made possible by three different factions, the reward will be split evenly.”

Chaewon raised her hand.

“I have also made a report to the Empire. They will be sending support as well, along with an investigation unit.”

Joy nodded.

“Until then, let’s just rest up here and wait for their arrival.”

Right as she said that, a large shadow loomed over camp.

Voidborn looked up.

Something impossible hovered above them.

A giant black cube.
Perfectly smooth.
Perfectly still.

There was not a single rune glowing across its surface.
There were no wings.
No propellers.
No engines.
No sound.

It simply appeared and existed above the battlefield as though gravity had forgotten it.

Eerie, yet overflowing with grandeur.

“T-They sent them?” Chaewon exclaimed. “It's not even twenty minutes since I sent the report!”

“Who?” Jimin asked, watching the large cube slowly descend onto the ground.

It was about fifty metres in dimensions with the symbol of the Empire plastered exaggeratedly on all sides.

“That's the one and only Black Monocle,” Chaewon explained. “They’re the empire’s investigation unit that handles all highly dangerous cases.”

“Were those two people considered that dangerous?” Robert asked.

“Yes.”

A mechanical voice came floating out of the cube as it descended, stopping shy a few centimetres above the ground, hovering there.

“Who—”

Robert was cut off by a silent whirr.

The cube began to shake. The outer layer began shifting, sliding apart in jagged zig zags until a small opening appeared.

Then, as if to make way for someone, the shifted black layers dislodged from the cube itself, floated to the bottom of the opening, forming a ramp the connected the cube to the ground.

“It would be the best if you could give me every single detail about what has happened.”

A woman emerged from the cube.

In her hands was a thick notebook, dog-eared on numerous pages, multiple bookmarks sticking out from many angles.

Her stature was not tall, but she was not short either. Donning a pale brown trench coat that covered a simple checkered blouse, a large sling bag too big for her size was crossed over her body.

“Hello. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Gaeul, the King’s direct detective.”

She hopped down the ramp, skipping towards the group. A group of four other people emerged from behind her, two male, two female. Each one wore the same trench coat as Gaeul.

Strong.

That was the only thing that came to mind when Voidborn laid his eyes upon them.

Every single one of the four exuded an aura almost as strong as the Derrick and Joy.

He focused his eyes and gazed at them.

A vibrant, steady orange of confidence.

They were strong, and they were proud of it.

Joy and Derrick stepped forward to welcome the detective and her team.

“Hi, I am Joy, leader of Spellbound’s Wordwraiths.”
“Derrick Yoo, Machinist Union.”

“Nice to meet you two,” Gaeul said, nudging her glasses with her knuckles. “We're the Black Monocle. These are my fellow members.”

She pointed to the two males.

“Xerxes, Savage Rebirth 4, Juggernaut.”

A tanned, burly man saluted, pressing a fist to his chest.

“Bob, Architect Rebirth 3, Warden.”

A weathered, middle-aged man with greyed hair did the same.

She gestured to the two females.

“Mina, Scholar Rebirth 3, Archivist.”

An elegant woman with an ice cold expression saluted.

“Asa, Shadow Rebirth 3, Assassin.”

A sharp-eyed woman with a hood pulled over her head gave a small nod.

“We have a Mechanist as well, but he's inside maintaining the Abyss Cube.”

“Now that the formalities are out of the way? Shall we begin?”

“Begin?” Derrick asked.

Right then, the group began to feel drowsy.

The next thing they knew, every single one of them had dropped to the ground, blacking out.

Voidborn opened his eyes.

He was laying flat on the ground, eyes staring up into the sky.

He sat up.

Taking a look around, he realised he was still in the goblin camp.

Except that there was no one around.

No Joy.
No Derrick.
No one from Black Monocle.
No Jimin.

He frowned.

“You're awake.”

His head snapped upwards.

Hand flashing to his sword, he unsheathed it and pointed it at the direction where the voice came from.

“Relax. It's me.”

Then he realised.

It was Gaeul, the detective from earlier.

However, he held his sword in place, pointing it at her in wariness.

“You have a good reaction.”

He glared at the woman in the sky who was sitting atop a floating notebook.

“Is this an illusion?”

Gaeul swung her legs and hummed.

“Yes and no. Let's just say that this is a dream.”

Voidborn focused his eyes and gazed at her.

A deep blue aura was spreading out from within her body, encasing the entire goblin camp with a blue dome.

“Allow me to reintroduce myself.”

The notebook floated downwards, carrying her along until her feet touched the ground.

She hopped off in front of him and placed a fist on her chest, saluting.

“Dreamer Rebirth 3, Sandman.”

“Dreamer?”

“Ah yes. You may not know us. Reborns of our type are quite rare, so we're not publicly known.”

Voidborn nodded hesitantly.

“Now. I'm just going to ask you a few questions. Just imagine and think of an answer and your memories will appear.”

Voidborn frowned.

“Don't worry. I am a detective. I will only ask relevant questions. So unless you have done something crime worthy, your personal secrets are safe.”

Voidborn kept silent, the frown still wrinkled all over his brows.

Gaeul looked at him and smiled.

“I like you. You don't let your guard down.”

She raised her finger and placed it on her lips, giving a small hum as she thought.

“How about this. You can keep your blade on my neck. If you're unhappy with any question that infringes your privacy, you are free to cut off my head.”

She tip her toes and looked into his eyes.

“I’ll feel the exact pain when you damage my dream apparition, so this is a risk to me as well.”

A pure white honesty and deep blue sincerity.

The same colours exhibited by Yuri who called herself the Seventh Thread.

He wavered a little, but he still decided to trust his instincts.

Seeing that his frown dissolved, Gaeul smiled warmly.

“Then let's begin. When was the first encounter with goblins that you think was problematic?”

Voidborn thought of the first bugbear they fought.

The blue dome flashed and rippled.

In an instant, the goblin camp around him faded and changed into the town.

Gaeul and Voidborn watched the entire fight scene played back through his point of view, right from when Voidborn rushed out of the noodle restaurant to when they fought the bugbear and killed it, to when they got the cart from the fat man’s dead wife.

“I see…” Gaeul mumbled to herself, scribbling into her notebook. “Very interesting. It seems that this bugbear had consumed a Rebirth stone. Judging based on its strength and characteristics, it’s most likely a tier 2 Savage stone.”

Voidborn’s sword remained on her neck.

“What’s the next suspicious incident?”

Just like that, scenes from before kept playing back, showing Gaeul when they had their first encounter with the Seventh Thread in the village, then the goblin ambush, followed by the meet up with the Wordwraiths in the village, and finally the entire goblin camp raid.

Gaeul continued scribbling into her notebook, taking down notes, making drawings of the woman’s face.

When she's done, she tucked the book under her arm and looked at Voidborn.

“Alright, that's all I need to know. But I have to say, you are a very interesting man. You are extremely observant and wary of everything. The other dreams I have visited are all quite shallow in detail.”

She pushed her glasses up with her knuckle again.

Voidborn thought that perhaps this was a habit of hers.

“And for a Savage at only Rebirth 1, you're quite good at fighting. Your instincts and ability to read attacks are very good.”

Voidborn was worried about her finding out about his Emotion Sight, but with what she said, he confirmed that she couldn't see the colours that he could see.

“Clear and level headed, good battle awareness and combat skills.”

Voidborn sheathed his sword.

“Thank you for the praise.”

“Before I release you from the dream, mind if I shamelessly ask you another question?”

“No.”

“Do you have any intention of joining the Empire? I am very interested in taking you under my wing.”

“No.”

Gaeul looked at Voidborn with dumbfounded eyes, shocked at his immediate rejection.

“Wow,” she chuckled. “I’ve never gone out of my way to recruit someone before, and yet I've been rejected in less than a heartbeat. I guess there's always a first for everything.”

Voidborn gave a small bow.

“I apologise for my rudeness.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll release you from the dream now.”

With a snap of her fingers, the blue dome faded and soon after, Voidborn found his consciousness fading to black again.

“I apologise for my rudeness.”

Voidborn watched as Gaeul bowed apologetically to everyone.

“However, please be assured that I did not invade your privacy unnecessarily unless your actions were suspicious.”

Derrick took a drink from his bottle and nodded.

“So did you find out anything?”

“Just a few suspicious points. The main thing would be the issue of the missing stone.”

Derrick frowned with puzzlement.

“Haven’t the stones been all stolen by this Seventh Thread or whoever?”

“Ah Mr Derrick, I said stone. Not stones.” Gaeul took out her notebook and flipped to a page. “The seven stolen stones have been accounted for. However, what I am interested in is the stone from the mutated bugbear. The one where your team fought with at the town.”

“Stone? We didn't see any stone though?”

“Correct. You didn’t see. But you also did not confirm.”

Gaeul pushed her glasses up and corrected Derrick.

“With that level of strength and endurance, it is simply not possible for it to be a regular bugbear unless it is being enhanced by a stone.”

Gaeul continued to speak.

“Another suspicious point would be the missing memories of the village folk regarding the Seventh Thread.”

“So, what now?” Jimin asked.

“I’ll continue conducting investigations. Based off your memories, I have managed to get exact drawings of the appearances of this Yuri you speak of, as well as the shadowy man. I will have the Empire be on the look out for them.”

“You guys can leave the clean up to Spellbound and head off towards your own agendas. Miss Chaewon can come back with us to Kandar.”

The rest nodded.

“Err… Detective Gaeul?” Chaewon spoke.

“Yes?”

“Would you be able to give Derrick’s team a ride to Kandar? I promised them some help to get to their destination in exchange for their assistance regarding this request.”

“Absolutely! That's the least I can do for those who have contributed to the Empire’s peace and safety.”

Chaewon looked at Derrick and gave a smile.

“I've kept my promise!”

“Thank you,” Derrick bowed.

“Although, before we head for Kandar, I would like to make a stop at the village and the town.”

“Will the detour take long?”

“Nope. It will at most be a day for each location. I would like to conduct some investigations before we head back. Will it be a problem for you?”

“We need to be at Kandar in about…” Derrick looked at his communication device. “One and a half week’s time.”

“Oh don't worry. Going from Zylos to Kandar will only need half a day if you take the Abyss Cube. We came here in less than half an hour after all.”

“That's really fast,” Derrick said, visibly impressed.

“You guys can head in first. I’ll investigate the surroundings.”

Gaeul turned to Asa.

“Asa, would you kindly bring our guests in and introduce them to the facilities?”

Asa nodded, before turning towards Derrick and his group.

“This way.”

After bidding Joy and her team goodbye, they followed Asa up into the black cube.

Right as Voidborn entered the cube, Gaeul pulled him aside.

“Mr Voidborn. Please take this.”

Gaeul handed him a medallion engraved with the symbol of a black monocle.

“If you ever change your mind and want to join us, please approach any detective branch in Kandar and show them this, telling them you're on Detective Gaeul’s recommendation.”

Voidborn nodded, slipping the medallion into his pocket.

Satisfied, Gaeul gave Voidborn a wink and turned, calling out to the rest of her team.

“Xerxes! Get Mina and Bob. Come. Let's scout the place for clues.”

Voidborn looked at her.

Dreamer.

Another Reborn type that he didn't know of. How many things did he not know about the world?

Voidborn frowned.

“Voidborn!” Rei called out. “Are you not coming? Unnie is sad because you're flirting with other girls.”

Voidborn turned and quickly ran towards Rei, catching up with the group.

He began to panic.

He promised Rei not to make Jimin cry.

But when he entered the cube, he was met with a pouty Jimin.

He didn't need to see her emotions to know how she felt.

Voidborn stretched his arms out.

“Come, I’m the only one who can hug you when you are sad.”

Rei looked at them and giggled.

“Dumb and dumber,” she mumbled watching as Jimin walked into Voidborn’s embrace.

“Are you guys done?”

Asa asked, tapping her foot impatiently.

“I want to get this over and done with so I can be alone in my room.”

“Ah yes, the Flaw of a Shadow,” Rei remarked.

Derrick bowed and apologised.

“Please don't mind the lovebirds—”

“We're not in love!” Jimin exclaimed, pushing herself off Voidborn in a fluster. Her cheeks were bright red, perhaps from both embarrassment and the fact that she got to hug Voidborn.

“Yet,” Rei said.

“Sorry Miss Asa. Please continue.”

“Asa will do.”

She guided them down a corridor, opening a door and led them inside.

“There's a sign board that shows a map of the cube’s layout. You can refer to it to get wherever you want.”

She walked towards a diagram of a directory in a corner and pointed towards a few rooms.

“These are the guest rooms, you can stay there. You are free to wander around, but areas that are labelled “Restricted” are not open to you.”

“Got it.”

“Take these.” Asa handed a black circular device to each of them. “They will give you access to your rooms. Any announcements will also be disseminated through the speaker on it.”

Voidborn looked at the sphere that was about the size of a tennis ball. There was nothing but the code G1728 printed on it, as well a few small holes on the other side. Maybe it would be where the sounds would come out from. A button was located below the speaker holes.

“I’ll be off then. If you guys need anything, just press the button on it and speak to the device.”

The group gave their thanks and watched as Asa left.

Voidborn took a look at the map.

There were five floors, and they were currently on the first floor. Their rooms were located on the second floor, and there were a myriad of facilities — canteen, gym, arcade room, training room, and even a public sauna and onsen.

“Wow…” Jimin marvelled. “This is basically a mini hotel!”

“Yes,” Voidborn agreed.

“Hey, Derrick.”

Derrick looked at Jimin and narrowed his eyes.

“What?”

“Compared to this, Gunrage feels like nothing.”

“…”

Derrick clicked his tongue.

“I’m not allowing you inside Gunrage any more.”

“Hey, wait! I'm sorry! That's not what I meant!”

“No.”

“Pleaseeeee???” Jimin whined, clinging on to his arm in desperation.

“If anything, please take it as a praise because I think you can build something better than this. It was a goal—yes, a goal that I am setting for you!”

“That sounds sarcastic as fuck, but I'm going to take up the challenge. I'm going to build a whole ass flying ship that's capable of blasting a mountain into nothing but dust.”

His eyes blazed a fire of passion as he began mumbling to himself, drafting out ideas and blueprints in his mind.

Jimin heaved a sigh of relief.

“So…” Rei muttered. “Unnie, want to take a dip in the onsen later on?”

“Yeah, I need to take a good, hot bath.”

“Voidborn, you wanna join us?”

“Rei! What are you asking? He's male!”

“And the onsen is a unisex one. Don’t you want to soak in one?”

Voidborn nodded.

“I've never tried it before.”

“Then it’s settled. I’ll meet you guys at the onsen in five.”

Rei scuttled off to find her room.

“Please forgive her. She's a bit obnoxious at times.”

“Okay. See you.”

Voidborn turned and headed for his room.

When he reached the onsen five minutes later, he found Jimin already there.

“Where's Rei?” Voidborn asked.,

“Oh… she said she had something else to do and asked us to head in first.”

Jimin looked down at the ground, suddenly finding her feet very interesting.

“We can head back and meet again when she's done if you don't mind,” she said.

“It's okay. Let's head in.”

Jimin smiled and pulled him into the onsen.

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