LOM: Lord of Mysticism

Klein, who was hidden some distance away, heard the faint sound of gunshots and the howling of winds.

After a few minutes, he heard a melodious song coming from the target building and confirmed that it was the tune of Leonard.

Klein walked towards the target building and quickly arrived at the arch-shaped metal gate.

Under the dim starlight, he looked through the garden and saw withered branches, fallen flowers, and leaves covered with white frost. 

Klein pushed open the gate and stepped onto the stone path. On both sides of the path were twisted plants. He continued moving as he heard faint sobs and saw blurry, translucent shadows.

Klein ran into the door of the grayish-blue building and walked towards the altar in the middle of the living room. It was a round table full of crudely made puppets and three unlit candles.

Dunn stood right before the altar inspecting each puppet.

"Calm is the morn without a sound,

Calm as to suit a calmer grief.

And only thro' the faded leaf,

The chestnut pattering to the ground."

In Leonard's soothing recitation of the poem, Klein saw a clear lake reflecting the moonlight and the crimson moon in the sky.

The restless shadows around them calmed down. Dunn put down the puppet he held and turned to Klein. "This is a ceremony for a curse. Fortunately, we've already stopped it. Prepare a ritual to communicate with the spirits of the dead to see if you can get any clues from them."

"Yes, Captain." Klein said and swept the puppets off the table. He noticed that every puppet had a name and a corresponding message. 

"There's someone you know." Dunn said to Klein.

"Who is it?" Klein asked.

"Joyce Mayer, the survivor of the Alfalfa tragedy," Dunn replied.

Klein asked, "Instigator Tris? Did he sacrifice those people in order to curse all survivors of the Alfalfa tragedy?" 

"Not all survivors, but only survivors in Tingen. His ritualistic curse can only affect the people within this range. However, the host of the ritual is a female, not Tris." Dunn explained. 

Klein asked, "Perhaps it is an expert that the Theosophy Order sent to help Tris? The Theosophy Order could involve the Demoness Sect, and it's fairly normal for their experts to be female."

Dunn said, "I agree with your judgment. Although we only encountered this woman and not Tris, they may be working together."

Klein quickly set up the altar. In the subsequent attempt to communicate with the spirits, Klein could only see faint glimpses and was unable to discern any useful clues.

"The backlash from the disrupted ritual caused severe damage, and the remnant images of the host were lost," Klein explained.

Dunn pointed at the stairs. "Let's look around on the second floor and give it another try."

The three Nighthawks went to the second floor and searched through each room, finally meeting in the messy bedroom that had boxes and dresses scattered on the floor.

Dunn took one of the boxes from the dressing table and asked, "Are these cosmetics?"

"To be exact, they are skin care products. Captain, as a gentleman, there are certain things you should know." Leonard said.

Klein saw a mirror on the dressing table. It had a clear crack on it and shattered pieces around it.

"She left in a rush and didn't destroy it entirely..." he muttered. "Maybe I could give it a try."

Klein lit the candles in front of the shattered mirror and chanted in Hermes, "I pray for the power of the dark night, the power of the mystery, and the Goddess's loving grace. I pray for the mirror to receive a brief restoration and for it to show every person that it reflected in the past month."

As the incantation was recited, a wind howled, and the shattered pieces of the mirror swirled off the ground, returning to their original locations.

The mirror rippled with a gloomy brilliance. As Klein wiped his hand over it, a human figure appeared. It was a gentle and young maiden. Her facial features were blurry, but Klein found that she was unusually familiar.