Allen explored the factory complex in almost complete silence for a while. The complex was filled with a dozen or so rectangular gray buildings of various sizes. The smallest of which had dimensions comparable to a restaurant while at the other end of the spectrum was a building as large as a football stadium.

An ample open space dominated the center of the array of structures as some sort of courtyard. There was no grass present with hard asphalt covering the ground in its place. Up above, the sky seemed to be on the brink of sunset just like it had been before the other times Allen had seen the place. However, he might have said that the sun hung lower each time.

Allen wandered around somewhat aimlessly. He checked out different doors and found them all to be locked. The impromptu investigator then peered through several windows to see if anything would stand out to him.

Allen saw sophisticated machinery housed within the building such as assembly lines with robotic devices to configure items as they went down the line. There were also what appeared to be stainless steel smelting furnaces inside but they had nothing in them. Allen squinted his eyes as he looked more closely.

‘Affirmative, I have no idea what any of this stuff is for..’ Allen confirmed that this place was still an enigma to him. He wanted to know why it was important though. Now that he knew more about the dreams contained inside specter stones. He was certain it had a connection to Osvald’s uncle in some way but could not make heads or tails of what that link could be.

‘This place feels like it’s hiding some kind of incredible mystery!’

Allen grinned wide in speculation. He thought back to his time as a member of the paranormal mystery club. Cryptids, conspiracies, and UFOs, he could not help but feel like they were the modern mythology of today’s era which had drawn him to the club as a place to spend some free time after school.

The free access to club supplies to use for his miscellaneous art projects and the high-speed wifi provided by the clubroom did not hurt either.

‘If they were here, they’d be having a field day. I wish I could take a picture and show them but my phone doesn’t work at all here. Anyway, I need to get back to looking for-wait, is that a partially built flying motorcycle?! That’s too metal not to get a closer look at.’

Allen readied his elbow to try to break through the window and get a closer look but he was stopped by a voice from behind him.

“So you’ve found yourself in the realm of dreams again. What are you planning on doing now?”

Allen stopped and looked over his shoulder. Floating ethereally in the air was a young woman in a bizarre white Victorian-styled dress with straight black hair that reached her waist. Covering her face was an ivory mask resembling a barn owl's visage. The openings for her eyes were like pitch-black holes.

‘That’s a new look.’

“That voice…I should’ve figured you show up here again, Vox.”

“Vox? What is that supposed to be?” The ghostly woman asked with her arms folded and literally looking down on him from above.

“What I’ve decided to call you. Just referring to someone as ‘you’ or ‘spirit’ seemed rude so I came up with a nickname.”

“Thinking you can just dub me anything you please is preposterous. What made you even decide on a moniker like ‘Vox’?”

Allen turned around to fully face the floating figure and scratched his head awkwardly.

“‘The first and clearest thing I remember about you is your voice and how your tone made everything sound trivial no matter how crazy a situation I was in. ‘Voice’ was too on the nose, so I went with the Latin word for it, ‘Vox’.” Allen explained frankly.

There was a lengthy pause from her that Allen had noticed before during conversation but this time was eerier since he could physically see her there. Her body was motionless like a statue.

“If you don’t want me to call you that, that’s fine. I’ll just come up with something else.” Allen tried to diffuse any concealed animosity.

“No, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter what you refer to me as. You can call me that name.” Vox said ambivalently while unfolding her arms.

“Alright, Vox it is. Although, I guess it’s not as fitting since you aren’t just a voice anymore.” A masked face was abruptly thrust into his.

“So you can see me…” Vox trailed off hauntingly.

“Yeah, feel like cluing me into why that is and who you are?” Allen backed up to give himself some breathing room.

“No, I don’t think I do.” The ghostly being answered succinctly. There seemed to be a hint of humor there, much to Allen’s chagrin.

“Well, if you won't tell me that, can you at least point me in the direction of where I found the megaphone from last time? I don’t want to bother searching for it again.”

“Don’t tell me you’re dealing with the same problem again?”

“No, it’s different. I encountered a specter the other night that had strange headphones…” Allen paused as he realized that Vox would likely have no clue what he was talking about since they had only met three times in different dreams for short durations.

“Anyway, I’m looking for something in that same place. Will you lead me to it again?”

“Very well, I suppose that helping you out could be an amusing pastime.” Vox drifted away in another direction and Allen followed closely behind. While they were moving along, she spoke up.

“I’m still puzzled as to how someone like you ended up with one of the Grim Reaper’s scythes in your possession.”

“The what?!”

“You haven’t realized that much yet. What kind of fool are you?”

Allen grunted in irritation but held his tongue since it looked like she might actually say something important.

“If that wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t be appearing here like this. That reaper’s scythe was a tool the Grim Reaper used to help her travel between different dream realms to “sever” the earthly tethers of people who were drifting on the brink of death. This is similar to how you were during our first encounter.”

Allen gulped. “You mean, she killed them? Why would she do something like that?”

“Simple. To clear up space.”

Her reply sent a chill down his spine. Such a cold and pragmatic rationale felt so wrong. He pondered over the Grim Reaper’s nature. He wondered about what other things they had done.

‘Would I have been one of her victims if she was still around?’

“...Anyway, the scythe isn’t mine, I’m just borrowing it. What’s your link to the thing?’ Allen picked up a stray piece of rock from the ground and started leaving marks along the walls he walked past. A trick he recalled for navigating in unfamiliar areas.

“You could say I’m the Presider of the Violet Scythe, one who is at home in the realm of dreams.”

“Not sure what you mean, but the Grim Reaper tasked you to keep tabs on whoever is using this ‘Violet Scythe’? You seem too uppity to take orders from anyone.”

“Hmph, I am no servant of the Grim Reaper. It’s simply the nature of my current existence. We’re here.” Vox abruptly announced that they had reached Allen’s destination. Allen stopped in his tracks and observed the location. Despite having broken the window in front of him the last time he was here, it was perfectly intact now.

‘I guess any damage I cause doesn’t carry over from each dream dive.’

“As you can probably figure out, you’ll have to brace yourself and break through the window again. However, even if you use your body to do so like before, you won’t sustain any real dama-”

Vox was cut short by the sound of glass shattering as Allen threw the rock he had been holding onto through the window. He then moved his arm through the opening to unlock the window from the inside and open it. Afterward, he climbed through without much trouble.

“The haste and ease with which you break into buildings are highly disconcerting.” Vox derided.

“I don’t want to hear that from you.” Allen grabbed the sledgehammer where he had found it last time and used it open the same metal chest by breaking its lock. “When you spent a big chunk of your life having to run away from punks, you gain a knack for getting into good hiding spots.”

‘All that means is that you have an unreasonable knack for drawing trouble toward you as well.”

Allen ignored this slight and grabbed the headphones he had seen before.

“These have the same appearance as the ones on that specter…but these are completely fake.” Allen shook the headphones around as he realized they were hollow with no functionality at all.

“This isn’t going to help out at all.” Allen bemoaned in disappointment.

“If this item you’re looking for is so important, you should’ve suspected that they would not keep it in such an unsecured location.”

“That’s true. Maybe I’ll find out where it actually is by looking through these filing cabinets.” Allen walked over to some tall metallic filing cabinets and started sifting through their contents.

“Hmm…”

‘I found a file on them. Now, will this tell me something good?’

He pulled the file out fully and examined it.

“Special Experimental Project No. 47…” Allen’s eyes narrowed as he read these words out loud. That seemed ominous but did not tell much of anything. The file was just schematics showing parts of the device he had no idea about and some designations it was given for record compartmentalization.

“This doesn’t tell me where any actual makes of this thing there are, if any.”

“Seems like you’re quite in the predicament. I assume you’ll have to go back empty-handed.”

“No, I can figure out something. …Just gotta think.” Allen put his finger to his chin and stood up as he pondered. “Now, where would I put a top-secret experimental project here? Probably would keep it close to the center of the area for safety, would likely need a lot of space for experimentation if it has something to do with specters, I figure there wouldn’t be any windows there to keep away prying eyes, and likely made of some really sturdy material.”

“You really think there’s a building here that fits all of those criteria?”

Allen shrugged. “Not sure, but I hope so.”

Vox sighed and leaned back into empty air.

“Hope is such a fickle notion. Nothing more than a sugarcoated platitude to justify unfounded conclusions.”

“Yeah, doom and gloom and the futility of life. I’m going looking for it.” Allen exited the office and began surveying the area.

“Watching you search aimlessly for a prize you are not even sure exists is quite fun. I wonder if your wistful thinking is what allows you to slip so casually into the realm of dreams.”

“I found it.” Allen monotonously declared as he pointed to a windowless steel building around the size of a gymnasium. With it also being on the edge of the inner courtyard, it fit all the inferred criteria Allen had theorized for the location of the experimental project.

“Even if that does match what you speculated, that doesn’t mean it is what you’re looking for.”

“Then, why don’t you go and check since it seems like you’re able to pass through walls no problem.”

“Hmph.” Vox scoffed at him and drifted through one of the walls before coming back through them in a matter of moments. She remained motionless though.

“Is it the-”

“You’re right.” Vox admitted quickly which caused Allen to grin in response.

“It’s best for you not to gloat.” The spectral figure urged with a hint of ire.

“Wasn’t thinking of it.” Allen said as he tried to force his way through the steel-reinforced doors. He steadily grew frustrated as the doors refused to budge no matter how much he pushed against them.

“If only that passing through walls trick worked for me. This is supposed to be a dream but everything seems completely tangible to me. “ Allen thought as he rubbed some sweat from his forehead.

‘Not to mention that I can sweat here.’

Allen got down on his knee to rest for a few seconds.

“Maybe I need to go back for the sledgehammer…” Allen had rested his hand on a door handle and noticed the door slightly moving toward him. He tightened his grip on the handle and pulled. The door opened up without the slightest bit of difficulty.

Vox palmed her masked face in her hand and floated inside while Allen remained gawking at the door.

‘A place with this high of a priority shouldn’t just have its front door open like that.’ He gazed closer and saw that the lock had already been tampered with. Somebody had broken in here before him. Noting this to himself, Allen entered the facility.

The first area they got to had bleak gray color to it. There was a circular desk right in front of them and a large digital screen that was devoid of any light. The place was very dim since there was no indoor lighting and a lack of windows. Two doors led away from this central location and were at opposite ends of the room.

Allen noticed that the place was filled with large cracks that seemed to run from the floor toward the ceiling. He eventually spotted a map on the left side of the wall in front of him that detailed the building’s contents. An experimental research laboratory was listed as being on its third floor.

Allen walked through the right door following the map’s directions.

“You might want to watch your step, Daydreamer.” Vox alerted him while pointing up. Allen looked to the ceiling and saw that it was sprawling with cracks like a dam about to burst. Pieces of it started falling down all over while steadily getting bigger.

“Huh?! What’s going on?”

One large rock dropped from the ceiling and almost crushed him. He had to dodge it quickly.

“The longer you stay here, the more dream’s stability will decrease.” Vox stated as the rocks passed through her harmlessly.

“That would’ve been good to know earlier. Crap, what am I supposed to do now?” Allen looked to where he had come and then where he was trying to go. The former was definitely closer, but Allen decided to run towards the other end of the hall.

He just barely made it to a flight of stairs as the entire hallway collapsed behind him. After a moment to catch his breath, he ascended the stairs up to the third floor.

The room he ended up entering was one with a lot of computers and scientific instruments he was unfamiliar with. To the right of the room, was a long rectangular glass screen that allowed a view of a large space lined with metal.

‘One of these computers should have some information.”

He walked to one large computer with an expansive keyboard, various equipment attached to it, and seemingly linked to massive monitor on the wall. He tried turning it on but nothing happened. Allen tested out all of the others with similar results.

‘Well, if I can’t turn them on then maybe I can just bring on of them back with me wholesale.” Allen placed his hand on the first computer’s casing.

“That might not work.”

“Why not?”

“That ability works using your own physical strength as a basis. In order to bring something back you need to be able to lift it.”

Allen sighed. “I feel like you’re just coming up with stuff to spite me now.” He was annoyed but he tested to see if he carry the computer and ultimately failed after a lot of straining.

‘Okay, that didn’t work. Maybe there’s something a lot smaller I can get…” Allen examined the computer in the dim lighting and found a flash drive inserted into it. He retrieved it and looked it over.

“This will have to do. I’ll be heading out now.” Allen solemnly stated.

“So you’ve found something worthy to take back with you?” Vox asked.

“I think so, thanks for the help, Vox.”

“It was amusing at least to see you struggle. It was fortunate that you found that when you did.”

Allen looked at her puzzlement.

“What do you mean by tha-” Allen’s words were cut off as he fell through the floor into darkness.

***

Allen opened his eyes with a start and looked around frantically before realizing he was back in his apartment. He sighed in relief as he confirmed the flash drive was still in his hand.

‘I must’ve not been able to see how many cracks were on the floor with how dark it was. I’m glad I was able to get back right before hitting the ground.’

He then saw Nera laid out on his couch with a bunch of junk food scattered around her. A scowl appeared on his face.

“Hey, who said you could eat all my stuff?!” Allen yelled loudly, causing Nera to get up groggily. She blinked her eyes a few times before walking toward him while scratching her hair and yawning.

“I had to do something to pass the time while you were wandering in dream land.” Nera rebutted lazily. Her eyes then widened when she saw the hi-tech flash drive in Allen’s hand.

“Yoink!” Nera plucked it from his hand and scrutinized the small rectangular piece of technology.

“Is this it?”

“Yeah, it should give us some insight on what in the world is going on.”

Nera nodded and walked over to Allen’s computer setup of a small monitor sitting atop a cramped desk with a bunch of clutter around it. The young woman brushed away all the paper to get to the keyboard and started the computer.

“Wait, you’re not thinking of plugging that shady flash drive into my computer, right?”

“Where else could we go to open it, a public library?”

Allen was at a loss for words for a second.

“...Maybe?”

“It’s in.” Nera announced after inserting the flash drive while Allen was thinking of something to say.

‘Guess there’s no turning back now.” Allen unlocked his computer to allow Nera to use it. She then went to its files to look for the drive’s contents and opened them. A list of files concerning various topics which Allen was mostly unfamiliar with showed up. Nera scrolled through them while he looked on.

“There, Special Experimental Project. No. 47. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Nera accessed the file and what appeared was an image of the strange headphones that were at the center of this enigma and a description of the experiment itself.

“This item is our first successful model of a…Sound-Induced Specter Control Device.” Nera spoke out loud in a haunted voice. Memories of their last encounter with the Grim Inheritor, Harpe, appeared in Allen’s mind.

“Nera…’

“Yeah, it sounds like when Harpe summoned that bird specter to get away last time.”

“Do you think she’s behind this as well?” Allen inquired hesitantly.

“No clue, this doesn’t seem in-your-face as the last two times. She just pulled up straight to us and attacked.”

“But that didn’t work..maybe she’s trying something else.”

“I’m not so sure about that. She didn’t use those headphones last time. Wait..”

“What?” Allen asked as he leaned closer to the computer screen.

“It seems like they’ve been trying to kill two birds with one stone by experimenting on this device’s functionality by controlling specters to attack people that design as ‘high-threat targets’.”

“So is whoever behind all this the one who’s coordinating the attack on the clinic. Did they find a way to replicate Harpe’s power?” Allen asked these questions worriedly but was left unanswered as Nera kept looking

“How far does this go?” Nera had spotted some extra records of various specters that this device was used on. There was a phoenix, a scorpion specter, and a wolf specter.

“That’s the specter I saw.” Allen pointed at the wolf wraith and Nera opened its specific information. Nera then read out the words that showed up on the screen.”

“Specter Designation: WARG. High-Threat Target: Hisato Takamura.”

***

The sun had completely set as Iyo walked through city streets words the construction site for the new Hieronymus Clinic. The street was now lit by lamp poles with the light of the moon by blocked off by dense clouds. Iyo’s body was still partially sore from the events of last night, but he was determined to settle things however he could think of.

He walked onto the site they appeared empty of all life except for one lone person. Iyo recognized as them as a co-worker by the name of Jaxon Adams. He had short blonde hair and wore orange gloves. He had been busy planting shrubs along the perimeter of the building. When the young man spotted Iyo showing up out of blue, his eyes widened in surprise.

“Woah, I haven’t seen you all day. Where have you have been?”

“To be direct, I decided to sleep in.” Iyo stated flatly with no elaboration.

“Really, but you never take days off and you even work extra hours.” Jaxon had a difficult time believing Iyo’s story.

“Yes, please let me make up for it by taking over your shift. It’s the least I can do for everyone having to pick up my slack.”

Jaxon furrowed his brows. He was hesitant to just walk off from his job like that but Iyo seemed very sincere in wanting to make up for his absence.

“Alright.” He relented with a sigh. “Just let Liam know you’re okay. He was really worried all-day today.” Jaxon set his stuff aside and eventually left the site with Iyo remaining there by himself.

Iyo then looked up to the top of the five-story building that was in the center of the area and fingers twitched in anticipation. He stood there waiting for several moments, long enough for the clouds to pass overhead and reveal the illumination of the half-moon up above.

A howl then echoed through the air and a shadowy visage descended from the top of the building to land in front of Iyo with a thunderous crash that sent dust flying everywhere.

The dust settled to reveal a monstrously giant wolf specter with silvery lines sprawling its body, large ivory fangs, and eyes that were like glowing emeralds with spirals wrapping around in them. Adorning the monster was a headphone-like device that covered its ears.

Iyo took in a deep breath before speaking.

“I don’t know who’s controlling this Warg, but it’s not going any further because I’m cutting off its path right now.”