It felt like it had been years since he had last examined the ring, since Erik had really looked at it, and even now it didn't truly feel like he knew it at all. Memories filled the space of his mind, creeping into every crevice, reminding him once again of his follies; if he focused and deluded himself strongly enough he could swear he felt Christine's touch again, those delicate fingers ghosting against his skin as she handed it back to him, as she broke that tether. The ring glittered too much, it felt too heavy in his hand, it looked too pretty, too lovely, too grand, for all the memory that clung to him as he looked upon it and remembered. Yet he didn't throw it away, he couldn't, his mind full of illusions and his body griped by ghosts refused.
He'd pulled it out of his pocket as he had waited on a rooftop, a somewhat familiar sensation in a certainly unfamiliar setting. Instead of a gaslamp lit city of lights and life, his home, his Paris, the cityscape of New York felt confusing and unsettling. Noises drifted up to him from the world below and the city seemed incapable of slumber despite the absolute lateness of the hour; it was to the effect of wishing he himself could still be inside, resting, sleeping, safe within the walls of the Library, that his uneasy mind had tempted his uncertain mind into removing the ring from his pocket and had brought himself to look it over again. It had been a bad idea to do so, but tonight was a night for bad ideas he supposed.
A promise he had hoped never kept, the man Darius who called himself leader of the group Elysium had indeed contacted him with a mission. At first Erik, upon looking over the beautifully spidery handwritten note, detailing location with directions on how to get there and a time but no further information, had been tempted to ignore it. He did not wish to play the other man's game and he did not wish to obey; through the two or three days following meeting him, Erik had thought of multiple ways to kill Darius and maybe even make it look like an accident but unable to get to him had had to settle for hoping the man never did contact him and decided to leave the phantom alone.
His moodiness in the waiting and the hoping had not gone unnoticed by Tsuki and Nel, and while the former was easy enough to convince, the latter being who and what she was had been more difficult. Lies didn't work on the goddess of truth and to be honest Erik disliked the idea of lying to her either, not when Nel was often as kind to him as Tsuki. Luckily she seemed willing to chalk it up to him still getting used to the present, the future, and what she called restlessness. He would agree, he did feel restless, but it didn't mean he welcomed the appearance of the note nor the idea of sneaking out to follow it.
Ignoring it wasn't an option though, that much Erik knew, understood, and it irritated him more. He turned the ring over again in his hand, examining it's band but in truth mainly thinking of how satisfying the sound of a neck snapping would be if it was the neck of the man who blackmailed him into being a killer once again.
"You look to be lost in thought." The voice was one he did not recognize; smooth and calm, it had the lilt of someone amused but the evenness of someone tired in equal measures. Erik closed his hand around the ring quickly, though why he would be afraid to let it be seen was a mystery he was not prepared to delve into, and turned around.
Boy or girl, it was somewhat hard to tell; they looked young, with shoulder length reddish-blonde hair that reminded Erik somehow of sunrise, but their eyes gave him the sense of wisdom untold. A playful grin was etched upon their face, a perfect unblemished face that only made Erik feel more self-conscious and pull on his hood again, and their clothes fit their slender form, dark enough to make him blend into the night. Their body language was at ease and calm as their voice, hands in pockets, eyes watching Erik as much as Erik was watching them.
"Were you sent by Darius as well?" He did not wish to mince words or waste more time; if so then maybe some answers could be given, if not then no harm would be done he supposed.
This bluntness seemed to intrigue the stranger who raised a perfect eyebrow before chuckling. "You certainly don't waste much time. Yes, yes I was, though no more willingly than you I assure you."
"I doubt that," Erik muttered and turned away again, fiddling with his ring once more.
The stranger said nothing, and it took the phantom a moment to realize he was being watched, stared in fact. Erik was not sure what to do, he was still not entirely used to interaction with others, the girls in the Library notwithstanding, and he certainly didn't know how to deal with such a figure as this one. Something about them made him feel unsteady and strangely warm; he didn't much like the sensation to tell the truth.
"My codename is Seer," the stranger said suddenly, causing Erik to once more turn, seeing the strange smirk had never left, "You must be Specter."
The name made him twitch and he was half tempted to argue but he choose not to. Darius had stated that they used codenames in Elysium, something he vaguely remembered being amused by more than anything; he'd used alias' for his whole life, he didn't even know what his true name was. Every one of them meant so little to him, just more masks to wear, more shields to hide behind. But this one, given by someone who would blackmail him, threaten his happiness, it felt more like a poison than a protection; he did not like it one bit.
"What ghastly act does the monster wish me to indulge in?" Erik responded setting his jaw.
Seer's smile seemed to change, something Erik couldn't quite put his finger on but that he knew anyway. They nodded once. "The building before you is officially classified as condemned to the mundane government but it is in fact a housing project for many of the less...discrete of the supernatural community. No fault of theirs of course, it is that their forms are less human and thus harder to hide than that of those with more power or experience in shapeshifting and hiding the truth."
Seer's words made Erik pull on his hood and wish he had a mask, an actual mask. But he didn't interrupt and they went on. "Such situations are not uncommon of course, there's places like it all over New York, all of which are monitored by Elysium and our sister organizations. This one though has a particular problem: the manager in charge of this building has been secretly selling some of the residents off in underground auctions where among other things they are bought as slaves and unfortunately sometimes ingredients."
"Ingredients?" Erik frowned, "How?"
"New York is a massive city with a large populace of both those with power and those without and while magic can do a lot, we can't keep track of everything at once. Elysium depends upon those in charge of the housing to not only keep track of everyone but also to alert us to any issues, which of course means there's plenty of corruption to deal with," Seer said shrugging, "As for the ingredients thing, the usage of body parts of certain creatures is far from an uncommon practice; it is of course highly taboo to use parts from the more sentient species that would necessitate death or serious harm, but unfortunately some people don't really much care for the rules especially when it comes to the forbidden magicks. There is plenty of a market for such things and as long as there is, there will be people willing to break the rules to make a quick buck."
"So Elysium wishes the person in charge of this place to be killed for selling off the residents." Erik didn't care much about humans, knowing he was one but never quite feeling like one, so often times he found the ability to feel pity and sympathy for the vast majority of them to be difficult at best. There were exceptions of course and the phantom had his standards and morals but in contrast it felt like a new emotion, this disgust he felt. He could chalk it up to empathy; he too knew how it was to be deemed inhuman by a fluke of birth, to not be able to pass as one of the multitudes who wandered the streets. These individuals who he did not know, had not seen yet, had not met yet, the idea of their being exploited reminded him of his whole terrible life up and through the time at the operahouse, of the circus, of the Shah, of the last time he'd been made into a killer by another and the times he had made himself one by his own obsession and need. It was easy enough to empathize with those who suffered for fate when theirs felt so similar to his own.
He clenched the ring tight, having half forgotten it was in his hand still and glancing at it once more he paused for a moment before shoving it into his pocket. The phantom stood, finding himself about level with the strange Seer who continued to watch him, their eyes glittering in the night, their smirk still enigmatic and something else, something he still couldn't place.
Erik realized he expected some sort of response from this figure who apparently was his partner in this endeavor but Seer simply nodded and glanced over at their destination, a tall dark building that from the outside revealed nothing of it's truth. In some ways it reminded him of the Library yet to Erik the Library was infinitely more beautiful and alluring.
"My job is to help you get inside; Darius informed me that you've experience as an assassin but you've no magical training and any power you might have is probably still unknown. Hence why he sent me to help you along," Seer said and they notched an arrow in a bow that Erik was certain that they had not had a second before, "Elysium agents act in pairs and they're always chosen based on a balance to one another: someone to fight and someone to think, someone physically strong and someone magically so, someone to kill and maim and someone to heal and protect, a balance to make sure that the mission is completed."
"Thus you're to balance me?" Erik asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Who knows." Seer's response confused Erik and it had to have shown for the other gent chuckled and aimed high, "I certainly have a lot of magical ability, don't get me wrong, and again that's why I'm here, but to balance you isn't so much the point of me being here as I'm one of two active agents without a partner who could get you inside."
Something in the way Seer spoke begged a question but before it could dare leave Erik's lips the other had let fly their arrow and it went streaking up through the air, like a small comet, and there was an explosion of light. Erik flinched, his eyes unused to so much of it, brightness that made him want to look away and rub his eyes, but something else distracted him, something possibly only someone like him would be so alert to. To his trained musical ears he found the utterness of silence. Suddenly and entirely, as if stopped in that moment like a breath being held, the world became quiet and all he knew was his own breathing.
He looked beyond the rooftop ledge, to the city below and found matching darkness; the world still awake even this late at night had suddenly become nothing from shadow and silence, and it was strange how peaceful that made him feel. A part of him, a deep buried human portion that only ever seemed to come to light to torment him more, felt the wrongness of this; silence and darkness when there had been far from that seconds before, it was wrong and he should feel at the very least unnerved if not in truth frightened. But a sort of electricity jumped through his veins and instead Erik took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and reveling in the silence of the night. His mind took no time at all at filling itself with auditory hallucinations of music, sweet organ notes, violin strokes, and voices that he recognized in some small part as equal parts his own, Christine's and a certain scarlet eyed angel of the books.
"The spell will cloak us for about an hour," Seer's voice cut through it all, harsher still for the silence that otherwise prevailed and irritating in how it ruined the melody playing in Erik's head; he turned to them nevertheless and they were watching him, "The mundanes won't notice a thing during that time, nor will likely the majority of the residents but the manager is a mid level wizard, far from a serious threat but strong enough to be able to at least sense something is wrong. Not that they'll be able to do much about it or likely feel anything more than the midnight heebie jeebies but still, you should go inside and deal with them."
Seer then reached into a pocket and held out two things on the palm of their hand to Erik. He was honestly a little more concerned about where the bow from before had gone, disappeared as suddenly as it appeared, but he turned nevertheless to look at what was offered.
One was a piece of paper, no, a picture; it was too clear and crisp to have been drawn or painted, almost as if the subject had been captured within it in reality. Taking it Erik saw it was of a young man still in the throes of that time in which the face had not yet completely thrown off the youth of childhood but was certainly edging deeper into the wisdom of adulthood. Neither pretty nor ugly, he was a near forgettable sort that had him raising an eyebrow but asking no question as he took the other item to examine it.
This one looked more like a toy, a small colored cube with a button on the top that he was tempted to press yet somehow knew not to. Holding it in his hand he found it light, almost too much so, and it felt cold and smooth to touch; he turned it about a few times, careful as always not to press the button and after doing so he looked up at Seer, his questions unspoken but obvious enough.
"The picture is of your target; don't want you spending the entire time just wandering around without an idea of who you're looking for after all," they said, "The device is infused with special magic; once inside it will be able to sense the magical signatures of anyone else within the building and alert you to any that are moving too close to you. It also allows you to communicate with me if necessary by pressing the button on top. Like the spell though it's only going to be active for a short amount of time, about an hour as well, so you better get to it and complete your mission before then. I'm sure there are people who would like to see you get home safe after all."
Erik's mind immediately thought of Nel and Tsuki. They did not know he had snuck out, they did not know where he had gone or that he had made this twisted agreement in hopes that the monster Darius would leave his dear angel alone. Nor did he ever want them to know; he was aware this was likely never going to be the end of it, that men like Darius did not stop at one and if Seer's words were to be believed, there were truly enough corruption among the magical community to make his services needed, but that did not mean that he wanted that to be something for the girls to know. They were so good to him and kind and he never wished to spoil them with the darkness of what he was being made to do once again. Erik he wished to stay for them and not ever the "Specter" Darius seemed to wish him to be.
He nodded and putting the device in his pocket, alongside the ring, for the time being he took the picture again, looking it over. The villain of this act certainly didn't look much like one but monsters didn't always look deformed and grotesque like him, he knew that far too well.
"Then I suppose I should go then, waste no more time." Erik did not wait for a response and something told him he wouldn't get much of one from Seer either way. He made his way to the nearby fire escape up which he had climbed to reach the roof to begin with and now down he went to return to the ground.
Still the silence surrounded him and still he felt a soft of peace in it. He moved swiftly through it, just like a shadow himself, just like a ghost. The entrance to the building was easy enough to find, appearing at first to be boarded up and restricted but upon closer glance Erik realized the nails were barely in place and the door opened in not out. With a small shrug he opened it and stepped through inside the supernatural apartment complex.
He could not quite put his finger on it but as he took his first step inside he was immediately aware that this place was indeed full of magic. It was different kind of tingle as the one he got from the Library, where everything was of course warmer and more kind to him. This place felt more like a swirl of different emotions, none of which quite fit together or made quite enough sense near one another. Electricity ran over his skin and with each movement forward he was strangely aware of his environment, of every room and every inch of the building; it took him a moment or two to remember the device and decide that it had to be that that was causing it. Erik was not entirely sure if he was alright with the sensation of not and pulled on his hood as he walked through the hallways.
Most of the doors were closed and just like outside he couldn't actually hear any sounds. But once in a while, as the phantom moved, he found an open doorway and glimpsed a figure inside. Some were certainly beasts, with fur and claws and far less human than even him; others basic form was more humanoid with something marking them as Other. Horns, wings, tails, some strangeness in their body, something that made it clear they were different. The ones whose faces were different always made him pause for a second, unable to help the curiosity of one freak to another.
Except they weren't really freaks were they, they weren't monsters in the same way as him. Erik's heart ached as he remembered that these individuals weren't so much deformed as they were simply unable to hide that they truly weren't human. Whatever they were, and his mind boggled at the possibilities, they were supposed to be other, it was their truth. Whereas Erik, Erik had been born to humans, theoretically, and he should have always been human. But his face and the way others reacted to it, the way he grew up and the person he became, that was what made him not human.
With a shudder and a renewed speed to his walk Erik continued on. He fiddled with his jacket, finding comfort in the touch of the cloth given to him by Tsuki. In this situation in which he was doing something he did not wish to do, to protect her in his own mind, he needed that little bit of reassurance even just from himself that he would be okay. However possible the feel of the simple fabric and the ability to focus on it even for a second did give him some comfort and he took a deep breath, convincing himself temporarily that he was in the Library reading some book on ancient Mesopotamian civilization or what have you. It calmed the thorns growing slowly within his chest even just by a small amount.
The building had a lot of rooms and a lot of floors, more he found than seemed possible from the outside. Every once in a while he felt movement but he quickly realized each time that it was a case of the device's magic making him too aware of too much of the building; it had only gotten more unnerving the further in he went and he hoped never to have to deal with such again. But that was far from the main issue to him; it felt like it took far too long to find the man he was looking for, everywhere and everyone seeming to be anyone but him. One type of common sense told him he might behind one of the closed doors, another stated that as the manager of the building he likely had his own place in a specific portion of the building, even just an office. But Erik was not sure where exactly and carefully he fished out the device and touched the button on top.
It felt warm in his hand and seemed to pulse before Seer's voice came through clearly. "Specter?"
"There is far too many rooms in this place; how am I to find him even with his picture in my possession?"
"The manager's office should be near the bottom of the building in the basement levels; it's his responsibility to maintain the protective barrier for it and that's easier to do when close to the earth and the natural flow of magic within the land." Erik did not quite understand but what was clear was that he needed to go downwards to find his quarry. Seer paused for a moment then started again, "You have about forty minutes left; I suggest you don't daddle too much more."
He was tempted to make a comment back at him but bit both his tongue and the words back and returned the device to his pocket before returning on his way. He saw no real point in trying to defend himself, he just wished to get this over and done with soon so he could go back home and wash his hands clean of what he was about to do. Not that he really believed that his hands could ever be clean: he'd killed before, too many to count or mention, and he was about to kill again. Erik tried to tell himself that this time was different, it was not at the direction of a paranoid Shah or a twisted sultana, nor was it because of his obsessions and inner madness. This was to protect someone, to preserve the gentleness of his newfound peace and the people who kept it. This was, in many ways, for himself but it was more because he did not trust nor like nor truly understand the man called Darius and could not risk ignoring his threat.
The deeper down Erik went the colder the air got and the less the sensation of knowing and feeling became. Slowly but surely the air, the magic, became looser in some unknowable way and he felt his breathing fill the space. Part of him thought of the cellar of the Library, the memory of walking through the catacombs of Paris before finding his way to the city of New York, and there was some small comfort in such things. But that trail had led him to unforeseen salvation, whereas he knew that this one only led to death, not his own but at his hands. He missed the smell of old papers, finding here instead the scent of fresh wet earth and blood. The second one startled him and he almost paused for it. He half wished to think he imagined it but a life like his was far from simple and he knew that smell far too well he found. It was undeniably blood, thick and dizzying, mixing with the smell of dirt and he wondered why. What would necessitate such a thing in a place like this, a ritual, or spell, or some such? Without meaning or thinking he quickened his pace and delved even deeper.
Yet the further he went both increased and by the time he came across the half open door he felt surrounded by the overwhelming scent of blood, making him cover his lower face with his sleeve as he peered in. All feelings of silliness at that, him the Phantom of the Opera being unsettled by such a thing, was washed away by the sight that greeted him.
There was a lot of blood. At first he thought the room just painted the dark shimmering brown but the heavy smell and the vague memory of blood seen before caused his brilliant mind to be unable to deny the truth: the walls, the ceiling, even the inside of the door, was coated in blood. Much of the furniture as well though it was sparse as it was: a table here, a chair there, an empty shelf and a lot of tools. Unusual tools, gruesome tools, blood stained tools. Even to an experienced individual as himself, who had killed before, built horrendous traps and contraptions which brought upon death in a variety of ways, it turned his stomach and caused a shiver to go down his back. Especially as the barely living newest victim seemed to make eye contact, it's pitch black eyes staring directly into Erik's soul as a look of terror and pleading crossed a deer-like face. It opened it's mouth but whether by the spell Seer had cast or some far more sinister aspect, no words came out, no sound was heard before the figure of the manager sliced open their throat, pouring blood into an already overflowing bucket upon the ground then throwing their body aside with a silent thud.
A feeling grew in Erik's heart and the essences of something deep and primordial clawed from within him. It begged him to sing though for what purpose he could not possibly comprehend. When no reason to do so came it settled for anger instead, filling his mind with memories and his veins with ice. He thought of Seer's words, of ingredients, and he thought of the depravities committed within his labyrinths by order of monsters in human form he had once obeyed. And for some reason he thought of the circus and the whip and the beatings and the pain, and those black eyes that seemed seared into his sight.
The lasso again in hand, though he could not remember the motions with which he had to have taken to remove it from inside his jacket, he looped it swiftly and deftly around the manager's throat and pulled tight as fast as he could. The man, no, this monster stiffened, struggled and fought, the strangled noises that remained of speech filling the air with a deafening volume only possible in complete silence; he clawed at the rope, ripped and tore but Erik's lasso was stronger yet and his grip steadfast and his eyes cold as ice. Sparks of something, he had to guess magic, exploded in the air and he felt something try to push him away, reminding him of what had happened in that strange office when he had attacked Darius. But like then he persisted and pulled tighter the rope, watching as the monster's eyes widened, blood drip from his nose as blood vessels popped, as air was kept from him, as he continued for a while longer to struggle and get free only for his arms to eventually go limp at his sides and the body to become heavy and droop. Yet Erik did not relent yet; unconsciousness was only one of the steps but to complete his objective he needed to hold on longer. Five minutes, five minutes would be just enough time, five minutes to ensure death, five minutes to make this monster pay. He could snap his neck of course, a quick enough act if he got it right of course and he had done this enough times, more than enough, to know how, but as he looked down at the dead body already there, and those eyes again, he realized quick was certainly not enough for this. He knew how it felt to be sold, though he could not remember when his mother had sold him to the circus for the sin of being born as he was, and he knew the terrors of being abused when all you were was different.
Erik counted slowly and deliberately in his head and once he knew it was done he dropped the body without care or thought. There was no remorse or sympathy in him for this thing and what disturbed him more was the ease of returning to killing rather than the act of killing itself. His eyes wandered to the other body, the one he'd seen killed, the one that looked at him despite the spell and had begged with it's eyes for salvation that he could not give. Again came that feeling and again that deep ancient compulsion, a whisper instead of a scream this time and he closed his eyes as he opened his mouth and started to sing. It was not any of his usual songs, it was not one of his at all; in this moment of pain and death he thought of Christine as he thought of her always but in different light. He thought of her upon the stage and the clarity of her voice, the beauty of it and the serenity. "Think of me, think of me fondly when we've said goodbye. Remember me, once in a while, please promise me you'll try. When you find that once again you long to take your heart back and be free, if you ever find a moment, spare a thought for me..."
The feeling swelled within him and the ice turned to warmth, the anger to sadness. Singing for a corpse was a strange experience, though he told himself he had asked Christine plenty of times before to sing for him, but in some small way it made sense to him even just in this moment. His fingers tingled and he felt far from there for a moment, not in the Opera Populaire, not in the Library, not anywhere really that he could name or place. Just somewhere that left him feeling at peace.
Erik sang for a time, a long time and yet far too short he felt. The world around him started to feel different as his voice tapered away and he vaguely thought of Seer's comments about time limits. In the throes of murder and then song, giving himself into either, he had not thought much about it but he supposed it was time finally for him to be able to go home.
"This is an ugly sight though I'm glad you succeeded." The voice of Seer caused him to turn around, finding them in the doorframe. They looked disgusted, a human enough expression that somehow put Erik at ease to see; their eyes moved around the room as if to take it all in then landed upon Erik and he wasn't sure what to make of the look he was being given. Like the smile it had an essence of something he couldn't put a finger to and the agent nodded before gesturing for Erik to come over to them. Erik was stubborn and frowned, not moving immediately.
Seer raised an eyebrow and sighed. "Oh come, I just want to walk you out of the building and talk a bit, I'm not Darius."
Surprisingly Seer said the Elysium leader's name with a disdain that Erik did not expect from them. Still he hesitated but eventually stepped towards him, putting away his lasso for the time being. "Talk then."
"Admittedly I was a bit skeptical about sending you in like this," Seer said the two making their way back upwards, "While I have confidence in my abilities, Darius didn't share anything about you and honestly a new assassin showing up out of nowhere with no known power but being asked to go against a magic user? That was a recipe for your death not theirs. I was half expecting to have to come in and finish the job myself."
"Well luckily you did not need to do so as I proved competent."
Seer glanced at Erik and nodded. "Yes, yes you did. I was monitoring the situation from outside; you moved very fast for a human and most would have dropped him the moment he lost consciousness."
"That would have just left him with brain damage, not actually killed him," Erik said matter-of-factly, "I was sent to kill him."
"I mean yeah but that doesn't mean everyone knows or remembers that," Seer said, "I just meant it was impressive, you were impressive. You proved to be much better than I expected and I feel like I should apologize for underestimating you."
"No need for that," Erik told him waving him off, "I did not want this assignment and I doubt you did either; taking that into consideration, I can't exactly take offense to you not having high expectations for me. I thank you though for your honesty and concern though."
Seer nodded and silence fell between them quickly enough though it didn't last. As they left the building and stepped back out into the city the spell seemed to fall and once more the cacophony of noise that was New York City started to engulf Erik once more. He wished he had Tsuki's 'headphones' with him but he had had to sneak out of the house, he couldn't get to her miraculous music player or the little strange strings that let him listen to the orchestra; he had managed to get there by moving along rooftops, away from the ground where the noises were far too much for his mind and ears and all he wanted was to escape. He winced and put his hands over his ears before turning to look at Seer; the other agent looked back at him, watching him carefully before gesturing upwards. The fire escape, an escape back up to the roof and the phantom didn't hesitate to start climb, trying to get away as fast as he could. Back high above he found it easier to breathe, the sounds duller, but they were still there, more muffled from above but like a curling rumble at his feet.
"You're not used to noise?" Seer's voice sounded strangely concerned and Erik resisted the urge to look at him.
"This place is a lot louder than where I come from, what I have dealt with before. My old home was...simpler." The darkness of the catacombs, the silence of the lake, the elegance of Paris; the loudest thing he dealt with was the opera house above his head but even with Carlotta to deal with it had been nothing like this. His head was spinning and he turned towards where he knew the Library was. Home, that was home.
"I can tell you want to go home," Seer said and Erik didn't look at them, barely paid them any mind; the other agent smiled, "I would just be interested in saying one thing."
"Quickly." He knew he might be rude but he didn't really care; he did want to go, he was wondering at the moment how lovely the Library must look inside with the books bathed in moonlight and starlight.
"I recommend you look into learning more about magic; I suspect there's power within you yet unleashed." That was enough to make him glance over, raising an eyebrow at him. Seer seemed pleased by this sudden turn of attention and nodded. "The wizard should have put up some sort of resistance, even with the spell up affecting everyone's senses. No matter how fast and effective as you might be, you should have still had had more trouble especially taking into consideration your method of assassination. Even thirty seconds is a long time when it comes to magic users."
Erik thought on that and remembered the pressure trying to shove him away, the magic he swore he saw in the air, and truth be told he couldn't say that the other man was wrong. There had been something but he hadn't really paid it much mind, focusing on his mission and objective, on what he had to do to get home. And he thought of the dream and he thought of walking through the catacombs of Paris and into the Library; he remembered the talk of it then, when he'd first met Tsuki and Nel and the librarian had told him that magic had brought him to catacombs, that perhaps it was something he had done, something he had caused. He looked at his hands: he had power within him and he didn't quite know what to do with or about it. But Seer suggested he look into learning about magic and Erik did not think hard to know who he would ask about it.
But those were thoughts for him and him alone, not the stranger who though had been helpful to him he still didn't know well nor trust. Erik nodded, turning away again. "Merci et adieu, monsieur Seer."
He did not know what expression Seer made then, he did not much care either. Erik rushed along the rooftops, his mind filled with thoughts of strange forces and sparkling magic and the essence that had told him stronger than ever to sing there for the true victim of that night. They swirled and combined, along with the whisper that taunted him over killing, over bloodying his hands once more. He had a chance at a new life, a new beginning, yet once again he found himself killing. He justified it as their choice not his, the machinations of a monster, but the act still stood and he hoped it never made its way back to Nel and Tsuki.
For now though he would and he looked forward to resting in that peaceful place he was willing to call home.