Beyond the Eternity

[Would you like to examine the memory within the shattered fragment?]

[Yes (Selected) / No]

[Memory Examination Initiated.]

With a sharp crack, the fragmented memory trembled violently. The scenery dissolved, fracturing into countless shards of translucent glass.

The fragments spiraled around, converging into a kaleidoscopic vortex before collapsing into a single point. With a blinding flash, the stage transformed.

There was no time to be mesmerized by the familiar phenomenon.

The stage gradually took shape, revealing a scene that became clearer with every passing moment. The setting of this memory unfolded in the aftermath of Reginald's death.

His loss hit the family like a devastating tsunami, drowning them in despair.

The killer was nowhere to be found.

Only those trapped inside the house remained, their suspicions spiraling into paranoia. Accusations flew freely, yet proving anyone's guilt seemed impossible. Some even turned their blame toward the servants, but it was nothing more than a desperate attempt to shift responsibility onto someone else.

Realizing that the accusations were getting them nowhere, the family decided to take a brief break to clear their minds.

The scene shifted to Victoria heading somewhere.

Her husband had summoned her to a door she seemed unfamiliar with. Her discomfort was evident in her expression and posture. Perhaps she had never entered that room before.

The door, in question, was locked with a heavy looking padlock. It was different from the VIP room on the third floor.

How did we miss that room? Was it hidden by the House?

After a brief moment of the awkward elevator-like silence, Victoria opened her mouth and addressed Julian.

"What are we doing here? Shouldn't we be focused on leaving the house?"

"All the exits are locked, and the keys are missing. Isn't this a crisis?" Your journey continues with empire

Her tone sharpened, with her words falling rapidly. "The killer hasn't been caught. I'm sure the servants were bribed. Someone wanted this to happen."

She hesitated before continuing. Her concern was becoming more evident. "And what about the children? What happens if they sense something is wrong?"

Her voice grew more desperate as she stared at her husband, who remained silent.

"Honey, why aren't you saying anything? How can you stay quiet in a situation like this? We're trapped, cut off from help. You must have something to say!"

Still, there was no response.

Julian's expression remained cold, inscrutable. Without a word, he reached for the padlock on the door. The click of it unlocking echoed through the tense air.

He stepped back and gestured toward the door. "Go inside."

Victoria froze with evident confusion. "...Wh-What is this?"

"There's something you need to see,"

It was a flat voice that seemed almost detached from the world.

A voice carrying secrets and mysteries.

Unease flickered in her eyes, but after a hesitant moment, she grasped the door handle. It groaned on its hinges as she pushed it open.

Julian followed close behind as they both stepped into the dimly lit room.

It was pitch black.

How could one see anything in the dark without a source of light?

Victoria squinted into the darkness, her hands fumbling along the wall for a light switch. It was her first time in this room, and she had no idea where to find it.

Have you ever seen a child trying to reach for something they couldn't see? That's how she looked right now.

Julian gave her a firm push, guiding her inside before shutting the door behind them. The click of the latch was sharp, followed by the faint scratch of a match as he lit a candle he had brought along.

The two were swallowed up by the consuming darkness.

Thud... creaaak... click.

The sound of the door closing seemed to reverberate endlessly like a ghostly echo.

Seeing this, Victoria's panicked voice emerged

"W-what are you doing? Why did you bring me here? I didn't even know a room like this existed in the house!"

"Calm down. No one else knows about this room, not even the servants. It's old — so old that lights were never installed. I prefer it this way. It keeps people from wandering in, even if they manage to open the door."

"A room with no lights? Then… what is this room for?"

"You'll see. Follow me."

With that, Julian took Victoria's hand and guided her through the darkness, the flickering candlelight casting faint, shifting shadows around them.

I followed behind them as well.

How couldn't I?

It was an interesting development. I had always suspected that Julian was a man hiding more secrets than he let on.

What was he hiding in there, I wonder?

At that moment, I realised something... strange.

He had said no one knew about this room, but wasn't it visible? If it were, wouldn't it have sparked curiosity?

Someone surely would have tried to explore, drawn in by that curiosity. Or perhaps... no one could enter because they didn't have the key.

How interesting.

As I followed behind Julian and Victoria, I took the opportunity to survey the surrounding space.

The room was shrouded in darkness, making it hard to discern much clearly. However, from the vague outlines, it didn't appear very large, nor did it seem to have any windows.

If there had been any windows, it wouldn't be this dark, or this poorly ventilated.

Wait... can I really smell inside a memory?

"We're here," Julian said abruptly, halting in his tracks. Victoria came to a stop just behind him.

I swept my gaze forward, immediately understanding why they had stopped.

In the center of the room stood a small, round table, its presence illuminated by the dim, flickering candlelight. The faint glow revealed a tablecloth of elegant design, draped over it and thick with dust. It was as though untouched for years — perhaps even longer.

And atop the table...

Something lay there, about the size of a grown man's arm.

Whatever it was, it had stolen Victoria's voice, leaving her frozen in shock.

'Wait, isn't that…'

My eyes opened wide.

Julian spoke with unrestrained enthusiasm, as if he had plucked the thought from my mind. "It's a gold ingot of exceptional purity. Without this, Father could never have elevated the Valoment family to its current stature."

The object was, indeed, a solid gold ingot.

Even in the dim, flickering candlelight, it sparkled with a noble, almost regal brilliance.

Its 'presence' was undeniable.

Julian's tone shifted, disappointment creeping in as he explained with a casual hand gesture.

"Unfortunately, this isn't a proper ingot. Crafting the purest solid gold ingot requires exceptional skill. To confirm its purity, it's standard practice to imprint the name of the original foundry and the bank that guaranteed it onto the gold. As you can see, this one lacks both."

He turned to his wife, who was still frozen in shock, her wide eyes locked on the gold.

A quiet chuckle escaped him, as if her reaction amused him.

"Why the expression?" he teased. "Come closer. It won't bite, you know."

Victoria hesitated, but hearing Julian's words, she cautiously stepped closer to the gold ingot.

Once she stood in front of it, Julian pointed at its surface. Something was etched into the gold, faintly visible in the flickering candlelight.

Victoria leaned in, focusing intently on the spot. And then—

"...!!"

She gasped sharply.

Etched near the bottom of the gold ingot was the Raven crest of the Valoment family.

There could only be one explanation for its presence.

Julian's voice carried a note of pride as he spoke.

"That's right. This is the legendary gold ingot Father claimed to have received from Mother—the one he used to gain the trust of all the fixers in the business world. Back then, the manager of the local bank was permitted to take one piece at random. Even so, it took everything I had to secure this single ingot. Truly, finding even one piece of this gold is no easy feat."

"…How could this be…? Then… does this mean the legend of the Darkness Witch is true?"

"I wouldn't say it's completely true, per se. I don't believe Mother was the Darkness Witch —or a witch at all, for that matter. But it is true that Father received a significant amount of gold from her."

"Impossible...! So, It really.... does exist."

Victoria was utterly dumbstruck. She seemed like she was about to collapse at any second.

Julian had always dismissed the legend of Reginald's gold as mere fabrication, and as his wife, she had believed him without question.

However, reality was different.

The gold was real. With this tangible proof in front of him, Julian was more certain than any of his siblings that the legend of the gold was true.

Yet, that certainty came with fear. He was terrified of being confronted about the legend of the gold by his siblings and lied, deeming it as mere fabrication.

Because If they had found out, he would have lost everything, especially when there was no inheritance.

"Wait...."

Victoria's trembling voice emerged. Her eyes widened as a wave of frightening realization washed over her.

"If the gold exists, doesn't that mean the Darkness Witch exists too? If she doesn't, then how did Father die? And what about that strange letter?"

Julian did not respond. Indeed, he frowned and remained silent.

But that silence only fueled Victoria's fury.

It was clear he was hiding something.

She had believed, as his wife, that she was his closest confidant—the one person he could trust above all else. It was why she had supported him selflessly, without question.

But now, that trust felt misplaced.

It was painfully clear he did not feel the same way.

Her voice, trembling with a mix of anger and despair, filled the space. "Is this all I mean to you? Am I so undeserving of your trust?"

Julian remained still, his gaze fixed on the gold ingot as if it held answers he couldn't give.

"Say something!" Victoria's breath hitched, her emotions boiling over as she stepped back, her fists clenched. "You brought me here, showed me this... thing, and now you won't even explain? Do you think so little of me? Am I that unimportant to you?"

"Calm down. It's not that simple."

"Not that simple?!" Victoria's voice cracked, her frustration spilling out like a dam breaking. "You're the one making it like this! I have stood by you as your wife, through everything! For your sake, I abandoned my family, gave up my father's name, and devoted myself to this household! For your sake, I endured your siblings' scorn, their insults, their constant attempts to undermine me! For your sake, I have managed this house and supported this family even when you've shown no interest!"

Julian's lips pressed into a thin line, but he didn't interrupt her.

It was as though the dam holding back her feelings had shattered, releasing a torrent that surged forth, unstoppable and unrelenting.

It was the bubbled up emotions she had contained this entire time.

"For your sake, I've sacrificed my heart, my body, and my life! Everything I've done has been because of you! And yet, here I am, learning more from this gold ingot than I ever have from you! You brought me here, showed me this secret, but you still won't open up to me. Am I truly so meaningless to you?"

Julian hesitated for a long moment, as if weighing whether to speak. Finally, he said, "You're not meaningless to me. You've never been meaningless to me. But there are things you don't understand — things I can't explain yet."

"Can't or won't?"

Julian didn't answer.

"That's what I thought," she said bitterly, shaking her head. "You'll never change, will you? Always keeping your secrets, always shutting me out. I should have known better than to expect anything else."

She turned away, her shoulders tense with the effort to hold back the tears threatening to spill.

"Victoria," Julian called after her, but she didn't stop.

She walked toward the door, her steps steady despite the darkness. Julian watched her retreating back for a moment before something in his eyes shifted.

It was as if a moving shadow had been swallowed by those eyes.

"The letter is fake."

His words were simple, yet they froze Victoria in place. She turned slowly, finally locking eyes with him for the first time since entering the room.

This time, Julian was looking directly at her.

Victoria's voice trembled as she asked, "The letter is fake?"

"The letter is fake. Father wasn't killed by the Witch, nor by any mysterious assassin, or any of the family members or servants. The killer doesn't exist. The Legend of the Darkness Witch is a complete fabrication."

"What do you mean by that? Why are you so sure that none of those people killed Father? Wait... Please... No..."

Victoria's eyes widened in horror, and she took a step back, terror filling her as a realization seemed to dawn on her.

Before she could speak, Julian beat her to it, his cold voice cutting through the darkness like a sharp blade.

"There is no mysterious killer, because the killer is me. I'm the one who killed Father."