Myth waited outside the station.
The morning air felt colder than it should. Or maybe that was just his nerves.
He stood still, back straight, but his mind was racing.
Rehearsing. Retuning. Reworking every piece of the fiction he was about to sell.
Every lie had to land. Subtle. Believable. Timed to precision.
There was a tight knot in his stomach. Not from fear of being caught—but from the simple truth:
He was about to become a criminal.
He wasn't just lying to a local officer.
He was about to manipulate one of the top detective in Ashfall Ridge. Detective Sir Alex Walker. Seeker in Rook Pathway.
There was no telling what these seekers were capable of.
And that made this next part the most dangerous step in the plan.
He took a breath.
And waited.
At around 10:00 AM, the detective arrived.
He was hard to miss—black eyes, messy black hair, a patchy beard, and a tall, muscular frame that made him look more like a brawler than an investigator.
He entered the station without a word, was quickly briefed by the officer at the reception. Nods were exchanged. Glances too.
Then he spoke quietly with Ashley for a minute or two.
Ashley came to Myth and asked him to follow her inside the police station ...
Soon Myth found himself alone in the room
The room was bare. No windows. Brightly lit. A single camera in the corner.
Myth sat on one side of the table, spine straight, palms resting flat.
Not fidgeting. Not slouching.
Just waiting.
Detective Sir Alex Walker stepped in first—black eyes sharp, jaw set, tall and broad like a soldier rather than a cop.
Ashley followed, clutching a thin folder.
As they approached, Myth stood up and gave them a polite smile.
The detective stopped a few feet from Myth, arms crossed. Ashley stood beside him, arms stiff at her sides.
Myth extended a hand for a handshake, locking eyes with the detective.
Detective Walker looked at him for a moment before accepting the gesture.
"Morning. I'm Myth, Myth Nyxen," Myth said politely. His tone was calm, serious—but his slightly slouched shoulders and soft-spoken voice painted an image of an unsure, harmless young man.
"I'm Detective Alex Walker. And this is Ashley—you've already met, I believe."
Myth nodded.
"I read your complaint yesterday. Missing Seeker. Friend of Ryan Reed. Do you have any documents?" Walker asked, his tone direct and measured.
"I... I do," Myth replied, retrieving the driver's license from his wallet and handing it over.
Walker raised an eyebrow. "Is this the only document you brought?"
Ashley held the license under the light, examining it.
"No—no, I have more," Myth said quickly, fumbling slightly. "Here's his military school ID.
I've also got his school mark sheets, blood test records from when he was twelve. Some are missing, yes... but I left those at the hotel I'm staying at."
He let his voice crack just slightly, letting the weight of the detective's stare bear down on him.
He desperately wanted Walker to ask, "Then why didn't you bring them today?"
That question would give Myth an opening—an excuse, a reason to steer the conversation to the attack yesterday and that was what Myth wanted. Because it was the only real proof Myth had.
Myth handed over the military school ID.
There was a long pause.
Ashley furrowed her brow. "Sir… I think this is fake," she said, passing the ID to Walker. "The lamination's too thick."
Walker examined it.
His voice turned cold. "Why did you fake the ID? Why are you staging this?"
Myth blinked slowly. He didn't flinch—but didn't protest too strongly either.
"I… I think it should be real," he said, in a quiet, honest tone. "I mean—I never ran any tests on it. But... I didn't fake anything. Are there any test that would verify it? "
By saying this Myth wanted to show he was not against the detective... but he was working with him.
He let the doubt hang in his voice—just enough to seem human, not defensive.
In truth, Myth had tested the ID extensively—barcode, magnetic strip, UV patterns—everything passed.
But he knew the deeper risk.
The ID was real—just taken from a dead man with photo and name changed. The records it pointed to had been deleted from the live system with a well-placed bribe.
But buried deep in the archive? They still existed.
He only needed to buy time. If Walker submitted a request for archived records, it would take days. If Myth played it right, Walker might shift focus elsewhere before that ever became necessary.
Walker completely disregard Myth's question.
"Hmph," Walker muttered. "Driver's license and school ID? Easy to fake. Where's the citizenship card?"
"I brought a printed copy," Myth replied, voice steady again.
"Printed copy, huh.. , and I believe those are also at your hotel ?"
Without giving Myth a chance to reply.
"We'll run checks. If it's fake," Walker said, eyes hard, "you'll be charged with conspiring against the government."
But something had changed.
Myth caught it in the brief pause, in the way Walker tapped the ID once before putting it down.
He was starting to consider the possibility of Myth being genuine.
Walker's tone sharpened as he leaned forward, elbows on the table.
"Why is Sid Hayden not in the system records? No death logs. No missing reports.
And why are you coming now? It's been four years.
Don't you see how weird that sounds?
It sounds like you're staging something."
There it was.
The edge. The moment where everything could tilt.
Myth's voice softened, just enough to sound human
not rehearsed, not defensive, just tired.
"I'm not after anything. I just want to know if my brother is alive… dead… or vanished. please I really want your help ... "
He reached into his pocket and calmly slid a printed photograph across the table.
Four men.
Black suits.
Half-empty glasses, background blurred.
One was clearly Ryan Reed—leaned back, laughing.
Another looked strikingly similar to the man in the forged documents.
The "Sid Hayden" Myth had constructed.
Myth kept his voice neutral, even vulnerable.
The photo Myth gave Walker had four people of which two had no background, no record, no name.
Walker's eyes dropped to the photo.
Myth leaned forward, keeping the detective's rhythm.
"I got this image one week ago. And that's why I came now. I did not even know that my brother went missing or vanished or .... ... " Myth said in low voice showing he was clearly sad about his brothers state.
"I have an idea why his name isn't in the record..... , that's mostly because he was a seeker who worked for the special force."
Walker didn't say a word.
But something flickered behind his eyes.
Hook.
Now Myth just had to pull the line.
He met Walker's gaze, steady.
"I also had the same question —
Why now?
That's exactly what I asked the man who sent me this photo."
He let the silence stretch for just a beat.
Then, like an afterthought:
"Until I met him.
That was yesterday."
The detective's expression flickered.
Something shifted.
Myth could feel it.The faintest tilt in control. A breath of doubt.
He didn't need Walker to believe everything. Just enough to question portal authorities.