The Shadow Contract As the atmosphere in the laundry grew thick with the anticipation of blood, Elias realized that their human ingenuity had reached its limit. To save the child, they needed to fight miracles with miracles. Slipping away from the crowd into the dark perimeter outside, Elias stood in the biting wind.
Taking a deep breath, he mimicked Jennifer’s earlier plea, though his voice was laced with his usual dry skepticism. "Alright, 'Sir'... I need your assistance. We are far enough from the laundry. The Entity inside won't feel you, and the shard in this mask is suppressed. Show yourself."
The ancient Entity manifested once more, a shimmer of distorted reality in the moonlight. "You have the audacity to summon me like a common servant, you who carry a shadow as a twin?"
"No time for ego," Elias cut him off. "I know you want that child saved as much as I do. We need to keep the ritual appearing 'normal' while the real boy escapes. If the fragment of you in those masks can create puppets, surely you—even in your weakened state—can do better."
The Irony of the Soul The Entity vibrated with a mix of fury and amusement. "Obeying a mortal... a bitter pill. But you are fascinating, Investigator. You grow more accustomed to my presence every second. I finally see why that spirit is so obsessed with you."
"Can we stop talking about my 'hateful' friend’s spirit for one second?" Elias muttered. "I’m well aware he hates me. Just give me a solution."
The Entity paused, a strange, ethereal confusion radiating from it. "Hates you? Humans are truly blind to the resonance of their own kind. But very well."
A single, mundane leaf swirled through the air, caught in a supernatural updraft, and landed in Elias's hand. "Take this. When you are alone with the boy, this leaf will take his form. It is a perfect duplicate. Take the real child, hide him, and let the leaf endure the ritual. I have placed a 'gift' inside that leaf for the fleeing part of my soul—a surprise I’ve brewed for eons. Now go, save the boy."
"Thanks... you're a regular saint," Elias quipped as the Entity vanished. As it faded, a ghostly laughter echoed in the wind, unheard by Elias. "Haha... I haven't laughed in millennia. He thinks that spirit hates him? If only he could see the way that soul supports his every step, shielding his mind from the brink of madness... humans are indeed the funniest creatures."
The Hour of the Sacrifice Elias slipped back inside, merging with the masked throng. He found Jennifer standing near a pillar, with Alphonse hovering nearby, looking agitated.
Elias grabbed Alphonse by the shoulder, leaning in close. "Get out of our radius. If they see you talking to 'puppets' too much, they'll put you under a microscope. Move!"
"I know!" Alphonse hissed. "But the sacrifice... the child arrives in two hours. I can't just stand here and watch. I want to save him!"
"I’m handling it. Now vanish before you blow our cover," Elias commanded. Alphonse threw him a glare—half-resentful, half-hopeful—and disappeared into the crowd.
Jennifer turned to Elias, her mask hiding her relief. "Where were you? What’s the plan? Time is bleeding out."
Elias showed her the leaf hidden in his palm and explained the Entity’s trick. Jennifer looked at the small green object. "A duplicate... it’s brilliant. But Elias, the boy won't be alone. The Elite Guard will be swarming him to ensure no 'accidents' happen. We can't use force without alerting the whole building. We have to be silent. We have to be invisible."
Elias looked toward the center of the room where the altar was being draped in black silk. "Then we don't use force," he whispered. "We use the one thing this Organization respects more than blood: The Mask."
