Akashic_Tales Originals
Hades, Inc.: The Billionaire God of Death's Chaotic System
Chapter 2: Detective Moon
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Detective Kyra Moon had seen her fair share of bizarre crime scenes in her two years with Seoul's Special Crimes Unit. There was the businessman found frozen solid in the middle of summer. The nightclub owner whose body had been twisted into impossible origami. The kindergarten teacher whose shadow remained on the wall three days after her body had been removed.
But this was something new.
"Time of death?" she asked, crouching beside what remained of the victim.
The medical examiner looked up, his face pale beneath his mask. "That's the thing, Detective. According to preliminary tests, he died approximately six hours ago."
"And the fire?"
"Started from within. No accelerant. No external ignition source." The ME gestured to the corpse's chest cavity, which had been burned through completely, leaving a gaping, charred hole. "It's as if his heart spontaneously reached the temperature of the sun."
Kyra jotted notes in her small black notebook, her handwriting precise despite the grotesque scene before her. The victim lay sprawled on his back in his high-rise apartment, surrounded by luxury furniture that hadn't even been singed. Only the man himself had burned, from the inside out.
The strangest detail, however, was the shirt tag that somehow remained perfectly intact amid the charred flesh: "100% divine-resistant cotton."
"That's not a brand I'm familiar with," she muttered, snapping a photo with her phone.
Her partner, Detective Park, a veteran with twenty years on the force, shook his head. "This is the third one this month. Same MO. Internal combustion, no external fire damage."
"Any connection between victims?"
"Nothing obvious. Different ages, professions, social circles."
Kyra stood, surveying the apartment. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of Seoul's skyline, with Elysium Towers dominating the center. The place screamed money, original artwork, designer furniture, a wine collection worth more than her annual salary.
"What did he do for a living?" she asked.
"Investment banker. Kim Jae-wook, Age 42. He was Divorced, and had no children. Neighbors describe him as quiet, always kept to himself."
"They always do," Kyra murmured. She moved to the victim's desk, carefully examining the papers scattered across it. Banking statements, investment portfolios, and, oddly, a pamphlet for something called "Immortality Insurance."
The sound of commotion at the apartment door drew her attention. A tall figure in an impeccably tailored suit was arguing with the officer stationed there.
"I don't care about your protocols," the man was saying, his voice carrying an authority that seemed to physically push against the officer. "I was specifically requested."
"By whom?" Kyra called out, approaching the door.
The man turned, and Kyra felt a momentary... something. Not quite déjà vu, but a strange sense that she was looking at someone important. His features were striking, sharp cheekbones, eyes so dark they appeared almost black, and a smile that suggested he knew secrets about you that even you didn't know.
"Ah, you must be the detective in charge," he said smoothly. "I'm Haiden Black, consultant. Occult crimes."
Kyra raised an eyebrow. "I didn't request a consultant."
"The mayor's office did." He produced an ID card that, despite Kyra's best efforts to focus on it, somehow remained slightly blurry to her vision. "Special division. I specialize in... unusual cases."
"Another weirdo from the mayor's list? Great." Kyra sighed, stepping aside to let him in. The mayor's "special consultants program" was a recent initiative that paired detectives with civilian experts for difficult cases. So far, Kyra had been assigned a self-proclaimed psychic, a "criminal profiler" whose methods involved astrology, and a forensic botanist who spoke to plants. None had been helpful.
Haiden strode into the apartment with the confidence of someone who owned the place. He was dressed like a supermodel lost in a boardroom, his suit probably cost more than her car.
"This is the body? Smells overcooked," he remarked casually.
Kyra shot him a glare. "Show some respect."
"Respect is for the living," Haiden replied, but his tone softened slightly. "The dead prefer honesty."
As he approached the corpse, something strange happened. The air around him seemed to shimmer, like heat waves rising from asphalt in summer. For a moment, just a split second, Kyra thought she saw text floating in the air beside him.
[New Quest: Assist mortal authorities in solving divine crime.]
[Reward: Minor Authority over Fire]
[Penalty: Spontaneous combustion within 12 hours]
Kyra blinked, and the text was gone. Must be lack of sleep, she thought. Three homicides in two weeks had left her running on coffee and determination.
"Fine," Haiden muttered, seemingly to himself. He knelt beside the corpse, his movements suddenly precise and ritualistic. His earlier flippancy vanished, replaced by an intensity that made the hairs on Kyra's arms stand up.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her hand instinctively moving toward her service weapon.
"Examining the body," Haiden replied without looking up. Then, in a voice so low Kyra almost missed it, he began speaking in a language she'd never heard before. The syllables seemed to slide around each other, impossible for a human tongue to reproduce.
The temperature in the room dropped several degrees. The lights flickered.
"Stop whatever you're doing," Kyra demanded, drawing her gun. "Now."
Haiden ignored her, placing his hand just above the charred hole in the victim's chest. "Speak, if you've still got a soul to spare."
To Kyra's horror, the corpse's eyes flickered open. They were milky white, devoid of pupils or irises. Smoke began pouring from its blackened mouth.
Kyra aimed her weapon at Haiden's head. "What the hell—?"
"Relax," Haiden said calmly, as if he hadn't just apparently reanimated a corpse. "He's just giving us his final testimony."
The corpse's jaw worked mechanically, like a puppet's. Its voice, when it came, sounded like gravel being crushed.
"She burned me... wings... golden wings..."
Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the corpse fell silent, its eyes rolling back into its head. The smoke dissipated, leaving behind the faint scent of sulfur and something else, something ancient and sweet, like incense from a forgotten temple.
Kyra stood frozen, her gun still trained on Haiden. Her mind raced through rational explanations, ventriloquism, some kind of chemical reaction, a hidden speaker, but none fit what she'd just witnessed.
Haiden stood, brushing invisible dust from his knees. He looked entirely too pleased with himself.
"Well," he said with a grin that made Kyra's stomach do an unwelcome flip. "That narrows it down."
"Narrows what down?" she managed to ask, her voice steadier than she felt.
"Your killer." Haiden moved to the window, gazing out at the city. "You're looking for someone with golden wings. Probably female, based on the victim's testimony. Definitely not human."
"Not human," Kyra repeated flatly. "Right. And I suppose next you'll tell me she's from Mars."
"Don't be ridiculous, Detective Moon. Martians have copper wings, not golden ones." His tone was so matter-of-fact that for a split second, Kyra almost believed him.
"How do you know my name? I never introduced myself."
Haiden tapped his temple. "It's my job to know things."
Detective Park, who had been standing silently by the door throughout the strange exchange, finally spoke up. "Should I call for psychiatric evaluation?"
"For him or for me?" Kyra muttered. She holstered her weapon but kept her distance from Haiden. "Mr. Black, I appreciate your... creative input, but I think we'll stick to conventional investigation methods."
"Conventional methods won't catch this killer," Haiden replied, his playful demeanor suddenly serious. "You're dealing with something beyond your understanding."
"Try me."
Haiden studied her for a moment, as if weighing how much to reveal. "Your victim was killed by divine fire. Celestial flame, to be precise. The kind wielded by certain... heavenly entities."
"You're saying an angel murdered our investment banker?" Kyra couldn't keep the skepticism from her voice.
"I'm saying something with golden wings and the power to ignite a human heart from within did." Haiden moved closer to her, lowering his voice. "And it wasn't the first, was it? Three victims so far, all burned from the inside out."
Kyra narrowed her eyes. "How could you possibly know that?"
"The same way I know you've been having dreams about falling from great heights ever since you took this case. The same way I know your coffee this morning tasted like ash, even though it was freshly brewed. The same way I know you've been seeing shadows with wings out of the corner of your eye."
A chill ran down Kyra's spine. She hadn't told anyone about the dreams, or the strange taste in her mouth, or the fleeting shadows she'd been dismissing as exhaustion.
"Who are you really?" she asked quietly.
"Someone who can help you catch a killer that conventional methods can't touch." Haiden handed her a business card that seemed to materialize between his fingers. "Call me when you find the next body. There will be a next one."
With that, he turned and walked toward the door. As he passed Detective Park, he paused. "By the way, that rash you've been hiding? It's not a rash. It's a mark. I'd get it looked at by someone who specializes in divine dermatology."
Park's face went white.
Haiden left the apartment, leaving behind a stunned silence and the faint scent of something burning.
Kyra looked down at the business card in her hand. It was matte black with crimson text that simply read:
HAIDEN BLACK
For When Conventional Methods Fail
(And a phone number that, oddly, began with symbols rather than numbers)
When she looked up, Detective Park was unbuttoning his collar, revealing an angry red mark in the shape of what looked like feathers.
"I think," Kyra said slowly, "we might need to reconsider our approach to this case."
Outside the apartment building, Haiden stepped into his waiting car. As the door closed, text shimmered in the air before him.
[Quest Update: Initial contact established with Detective Moon.]
[Progress: 25%]
[Next Objective: Guide investigation toward divine perpetrator without revealing your true nature.]
Haiden leaned back in the leather seat, a small smile playing on his lips. "This might actually be fun."
The car pulled away from the curb, merging into Seoul's traffic. In the rearview mirror, a figure with golden wings watched from the rooftop of the apartment building, her expression unreadable.
The hunt had just begun.