Chapter 15 - The Paranormal Expert
Detective Aris arrived at the apartment in plain clothes, bringing a stranger with him.
The man was in his late sixties, with graying hair, wearing a worn tweed jacket and thick horn-rimmed glasses.
"Rachel, this is Dr. Elias Vance," Aris introduced grimly.
"He was a theology professor until a near-death experience ten years ago; now he studies the physical boundaries of the Abyss."
Elias stepped into the living room, immediately took off his glasses, and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply.
"Ozone and grave dirt," Elias muttered under his breath. "The distinct signature of a spatial tear."
Rachel poured him a cup of coffee while explaining every terrifying detail of the past week.
Elias listened intently, his face wrinkling with deep concern when she mentioned the violet light.
"Lazarus Syndrome was just the hospital's way of rationalizing the impossible," Elias explained, setting his mug down.
"Your husband's body was dead, Rachel."
"What came back was his soul, supercharged by Abyssal Energy—the violet light you saw."
He turned to look at Madison, who was quietly coloring at the kitchen table.
"When he held her, when he fought those things to protect her, he inadvertently transferred a spark of that energy into her," Elias said heavily.
"She is no longer just a little girl; she is the only remaining anchor between our world and the dark."
"How do we cut the anchor? How do I save my baby?" Rachel demanded, tears welling in her eyes.
Elias sighed, looking at Rachel with profound sympathy.
May you like
"We have to take her back to the exact place where the door was last opened."
"We have to go back to Blackwood Ridge."
