The Bookkeeper

Unlike the usual teleportation portals Raiden had walked through, this one seemed to thicken the air itself, pressing against the skin with a presence that remained frustratingly beyond comprehension.

It lasted only a moment, a fleeting second that made the strangeness all the more difficult to grasp. Yet Raiden’s dragon instincts picked up on it immediately, and the wary look that crossed Noelle’s face as she emerged told him she’d felt it as well.

Still, the ability to cover vast distances so quickly was a relief, and given how little Raiden understood about Matoe’s capabilities, puzzling over the sensation seemed pointless.

Raiden paused before his mansion, eyes closed as he absorbed the familiarity of home washing over him. The others had already gone inside, leaving Matoe, Klein, and King to wait with him.

After a brief moment, Raiden turned to Klein and his crew. Klein wore his typical eager expression, a stark contrast to King and Matoe’s composed demeanor.

Raiden narrowed his eyes slightly before sighing. "If you can actually see everything, then there must be a timeline where I asked the questions that mattered."

Klein drew a deep breath and moved closer, his excitement replaced by something unreadable. His hands settled on Raiden’s shoulders, and despite the blindfold, his gaze seemed to pierce straight into Raiden’s gray eyes.

"About timelines, there’s one where you died," he said with complete seriousness, his voice steady and grave. The next second, he completely broke character, erupting into uncontrollable laughter.

Raiden’s irritation was written all over his face, making King giggle.

"You know I can’t tell you anything I see, right?" Klein managed to say while suppressing his laughter.

"I didn’t ask you to tell me the future!"

Klein’s laughter finally died down, and he grew serious. "I know that," he sighed. "This journey is going to open your eyes to many things."