Dawn was breaking outside. The sun slowly rose over the horizon, bathing the shore of Cauldron Lake in a soft golden light. On the damp sand stood Alex, Saga, Emmet, Casey — and the man who had once created a nightmare with his own hands. Alan Wake.

Awakening outside the Dark Place, Alan looked lost and terrified. His breathing was uneven, and his eyes darted around as if expecting the darkness to close in again. Saga tried to calm him down, gently explaining that thirteen years had passed since his disappearance. Upon hearing this, Alan turned pale; his gaze went blank, and shock froze on his face.

While Saga was introducing everyone, Alan kept staring at Casey — too intently. It was as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The thought that he might still be trapped inside the Fold only deepened his unease.

Alex watched him silently, exhaling a stream of cigarette smoke. He already knew Alan would have memory gaps — but not what caused them. Narrowing his eyes, he activated his magical vision. In that instant, everything became clear.

The Alan standing before them was both Alan Wake — and not.

Alex covered his mouth with his hand to hide a faint, involuntary smile. The truth was far more interesting than he had expected. The man in front of him was Alan Wake from the book — a character brought to life from his own creator’s pen. The one known as Mr. Scratch was his shadow — a twisted reflection, the embodiment of a distorted “self.” And the real writer was still trapped at the bottom of the Dark Place.

Three Alan Wakes. The hero, the villain, and the author. And Alex understood: to break the endless Spiral, all three sides had to become one — only then could Alan truly be free.

He clicked his tongue in mild irritation at himself. So much effort to save a hero, and in the end, he had rescued a paper copy.

“Are you ready to go? Or do you want to look around a bit more?” Alex asked, turning his gaze away from the lake.

“Yes, let’s go,” Saga replied, giving him a piercing look. “Alan has a lot to explain. So do you.”

Alex just smirked and shrugged.

Alan hadn’t taken his eyes off him the entire time. At one point, he frowned slightly and said quietly,”Your voice… it sounds familiar. Like I’ve heard it before.”

Alex raised an eyebrow and tilted his head a little.”You have,” he replied calmly. “I’m the one who pulled you out of the Dark Place. No need to thank me.”

Alan’s eyes widened. He grabbed his head, barely keeping his balance as memories tried to force their way through — but something inside him stubbornly blocked them.

Saga shot Alex a suspicious look. The questions tormented her: where had he been while they were fighting Taken Nightingale? Why had he appeared only when Alan emerged? And why did he speak as if he knew more about the Dark Place than anyone else?

Alex caught her stare and smiled slightly — calm, mocking, with that same expression that irritated her the most. Her analytical tricks didn’t work on him.

He turned to Emmet and gave a brief nod. Emmet tensed his muscles and gestured that he was ready. Despite the dirt and exhaustion, he looked satisfied — he had finally avenged the Taken Nightingale.

“Ready?” Alex asked, flicking away his spent cigarette.

They all nodded. Casey was helping Alan walk, peppering him with questions — too personal, given that the writer had once used his image in a novel. Saga kept her eyes fixed on Alex, searching for even a hint of truth. Emmet walked beside them, asking questions of his own — though his motive was far simpler: he wanted an autograph for Rosalie. Otherwise, he was doomed when he got home.

As they climbed the trail away from Cauldron Lake, Alex remained silent, lost in thought. He already knew that Mr. Scratch would escape the Dark Place eventually — it had been written in Return.

Which meant the next step was clear.

He needed to reach a new Fold — the one located on the outskirts of the small town of Wattery. There, according to the plot, the Clicker should be — the key to saving Alan Wake and, possibly, the entire fractured world.

As they continued up the old trail from Cauldron Lake, the group noticed a monitoring station nearby, belonging to the FBC. A piercing alarm sounded from the building, breaking the morning silence.

Alex raised his hand, signaling the others to continue up to the parking lot while he checked what was happening inside the station. Casey and Emmet nodded, supporting Alan, who was still unsteady after leaving the Dark Place.

Saga lingered for a moment. Her gaze slid to Alex, who had already reached the station door and disappeared inside. Curiosity and professional intuition outweighed caution — she followed.

Inside, the air smelled of metal and dust. Monitors flickered on the walls, displaying alarming red messages: “WARNING. ACTIVITY DETECTED. ALTERNATE WORLD EVENT.”

Meanwhile, Alex was taking control of the monitoring station to synchronize it with his phone, allowing him to track everything happening at Cauldron Lake. He pulled up a graph of the anomaly on one screen, showing its gradual growth, while another monitor displayed the radius of the anomaly, centered on Cauldron Lake.

Studying the data, Alex realized that opening the Fold linked to Nightingale was a key part of the plot in the book written by Alan Wake. Saga hadn’t just opened the doors — she had literally thrown them wide open, and the door hadn’t closed after Nightingale’s death. That’s how Alex understood how Scratch could escape the Dark Place: if the doors weren’t closed, nothing could stop him from leaving.

Alex sat at the control panel, pressing keys with cold focus, when Saga entered the monitoring station.

“What are you doing?” Saga asked, approaching him. “And what does that abbreviation — AWE — mean?”

Alex lazily spun in his chair.

“Do you really want to know? Or would you rather figure it out for yourself?”

“Answer me,” Saga said firmly. “In the Fold, I heard my daughter’s voice. She was calling me for help. And the waitress at the diner said she knew me — and that my daughter drowned in Cauldron Lake.”

Alex looked up, a faint glimmer of sympathy flickering in his eyes.

“Remember what I told you before we entered the Fold?”

“Don’t believe what you hear… or what they tell you,” Saga murmured quietly.

“Exactly,” Alex nodded. “In this town, everything works by one rule: if you believe in something — it becomes real. The moment you let doubt in, they’ll find a way to get inside and use it against you. Everything you see and hear is part of the story. Logan’s death, a desperate mother returning to her hometown to uncover the truth… it’s all part of the book’s plot. If you let them turn you into a character, your story will end — just like hers.”

He looked Saga straight in the eyes and calmly added,”So don’t doubt it. Logan is alive. And she will remain alive as long as you believe in it.”

Saga went pale.

“I never said my daughter’s name… How do you know it?”

Alex smirked, pulling a folded sheet of paper from his bag.

“Oh, this? Heh… here’s a little souvenir from the Dark Place.”

He handed her a child’s drawing.

Saga carefully took the sheet of paper — and froze. On it was a drawing painfully familiar: uneven lines, a sunny house, and two figures — a mother and daughter holding hands. It was the very drawing Logan had given her after Saga became an FBI agent. It had still been lying in the drawer of her desk at home.

She felt a tightness in her chest. Thoughts swirled like a storm — how could the drawing have ended up here?

The pieces began to fall into place: the manuscript pages, the repeating events, the hints about her past, the strange coincidences… Everything pointed to one thing — Bright Falls had become part of the book, and the town itself now lived by its rules. The graphs displayed on the monitor showed how quickly these changes were occurring.

The Dark Place wasn’t just affecting consciousness. It was looking for a weak spot.

And Saga’s weak spot was — Logan.

Alex noticed how quickly she began connecting the facts and quietly smirked. He wasn’t surprised, but he didn’t like people who thought too fast.

“And how do we stop all this?” Saga asked, still staring at the drawing.

“I don’t know yet. Maybe Alan knows,” Alex replied, shaking his head. “After all, he wrote all of this… or the one who thinks he is Alan.”

Saga frowned.

“You mean Alan has an evil double?”

Alex snapped his fingers.

“Exactly. Every story has a hero and a villain. The hero — that’s you, Saga. You have to fix everything and end the nightmare. The villain — Mr. Scratch, the one I met in the Dark Place. And Alan himself… he became a character in his own book. Like a narrator, giving hints, but unable to change the plot.”

Saga frowned even deeper.

“Alan Wake became a character in his own book?.. ” she murmured, unsure whether to consider it madness or prophecy.

Alex just smiled and turned back to the monitors.

“Welcome to the story, Saga. A story where the author is a prisoner, and the plot lives its own life.”

Alex smiled, pulled the book Departure from his bag, and handed it to Saga.

Saga looked at the offered book with curiosity and carefully took it in her hands. The moment she opened the first page, her expression changed instantly — now she understood what Alex had meant. In Departure, Alan Wake himself had become a character in his own book.

As Saga flipped through the pages, trying to comprehend what she saw, Alex’s phone rang softly. He glanced at the screen — the synchronization with the monitoring station had finished. Now his phone would receive notifications about any anomaly changes at Cauldron Lake.

Alex understood: the FBC was already heading to Bright Falls to deal with the situation. But something else worried him — they weren’t the only ones who had noticed the increased activity. Crowley would undoubtedly feel the surge as well and send his demons. The thought caused a dull ache in Alex’s temples. The last thing he wanted was for such an unstable anomaly as Alan Wake to fall into Crowley’s hands… or, worse, the angels’.

Alan was no longer just a man. He had become part of the Dark Place, which meant he himself had turned into an anomaly, capable of influencing reality with words. A writer who shapes the world around him.

Alex clicked his tongue quietly, stood up from the chair, and stretched. At that moment, Saga, having finished the first pages of Departure, looked up at him and handed the book back. Now she knew more than she wanted to.

She was beginning to understand: if she continued to believe everything happening around her, she would become part of the story written by Alan Wake. And if that happened, her fate would already be predetermined on the pages of the book. Then Logan would truly die.

“Let’s go,” Alex said, putting the book back in his bag. “We need to return to Bright Falls. You’ve got a conversation ahead with Alan. He has to explain what comes next. You need to move the plot forward, Saga.”

He smirked.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just ignore the plot and go your own way?” Saga asked, following him out of the monitoring booth.

“Easier,” Alex shrugged. “But not always right. Some things have to happen the way they’re written. You’ll have to walk this path anyway. The key is not letting the book turn you into a character. The ending already exists, but you have to reach it as a person, not as a line on a page. And I’ll help you with that.”

Saga looked at his back and nodded. For the first time in a long while, she felt confidence — there was something in his words worth believing.

When they reached the parking lot, they saw Casey and Emmett questioning Alan. Casey, as usual, couldn’t calm down, demanding explanations about why he looked so much like the detective character Alex Casey. Emmett held his phone, still receiving messages from Rosalie with questions for the writer.

Alex watched the scene with a smirk — it seemed Alan was already starting to regain his bearings.

Once everyone got into the cars, Alex started the engine of his Impala and followed the black Chevrolet. He knew that as soon as Saga got a signal, she would call home to make sure Logan was safe. It was necessary. As long as she believed her daughter was alive, the story couldn’t kill her.

The drive back to Bright Falls was surprisingly calm. Except for the fact that Rosalie kept sending Emmett short videos of him fighting the Nightingale. Alex, noticing this, glanced at the phone screen and laughed out loud — Rosalie had clearly decided to tease her husband.

Emmett just grimaced, remembering the fight. No, he wasn’t scared of a reanimated corpse possessed by Darkness. What annoyed him was something else — while Nightingale was Taken, he had been completely naked.

Deciding to cheer his friend up a bit, Alex pulled a Detective Casey badge from his bag and handed it to Emmett. The moment he saw it, Emmett snapped a photo and sent it to Rosalie with the caption: “If you don’t stop spamming videos, no souvenir for you.”

A minute later, he sent a selfie with the badge, beaming a victorious smile. Alex just shook his head.

Arriving in Bright Falls, they parked near the motel. Alex’s first stop was the nearest diner to grab breakfast and coffee for everyone.

“Anyone hungry? Want me to get something for you?” he asked, looking at Saga, Casey, and Alan.

“I could use some coffee,” Casey groaned, rubbing his face. “My head is splitting from all this madness.”

“And you, Saga?” Alex turned to her.

“Coffee… and something to eat,” she replied, nodding with a tired smile.

“Got it,” Alex said, heading to the diner with his hands in the pockets of his coat.

Alex didn’t ask Alan anything — he already understood that the man needed food. Even if this Alan Wake was merely a character from a book written by another Alan, he was still human, and that meant he needed nourishment.

After finding out where breakfast and coffee were served, Alex took Emmett along as an assistant. They entered the small diner and placed their order. While the cook prepared the food, Alex leaned on the counter and waited calmly.

He remembered that their next destination had to be the town of Watery — the place where the coveted Clicker was located, along with another Fold. In addition, Saga was meant to learn more about herself there and meet her supposed relatives — Thor and Odin Anderson. To the locals, they were just two perpetually drunk old men, but Alex knew the brothers possessed the same gift of insight as Saga and were far wiser than they appeared. Moreover, like him, they had not succumbed to the influence of the book Return.

“So, where did you end up?” Emmett whispered, making sure only Alex could hear.

“I moved from one Fold to another, trying to understand how the Dark Place works. It was… quite enlightening,” Alex replied in the same quiet tone.

Emmett wasn’t even surprised. He already knew that Alex was capable of much. While Alex briefly explained the Folds he had visited, their breakfast was ready and neatly packed. Emmett grabbed the coffee, and Alex took the paper bags with the food.

Exiting the diner, Alex opened one of the bags to check that everything was there. Inside was a simple but hearty meal: a toast with egg and meat, some fried potatoes, and a salad — everything needed for a solid breakfast.

They walked down the road, watching Bright Falls residents prepare for the upcoming Deer Day festival. As they approached the motel, Alex received a message: the anomaly from Caldron Lake had begun to expand and was now reaching Watery. This didn’t surprise him — everything was unfolding according to the book’s scenario. Saga’s next step was clear: she had to go there.

Alex and Emmett entered the conference room and laid out the food and coffee on the table. Saga and Casey thanked Alex, took their portions, and sat opposite Alan, who was gradually regaining his composure, piecing together fragments of memory.

Alex sat by the window, opened it, and lit a cigarette. He listened as Alan recounted his experiences in the Dark Place — the endless cycles in which he repeatedly tried to escape, only to end up back in Scratch’s grasp each time. The writer rewrote these events over and over, trying to give his hero a chance at salvation, but Scratch, controlling the Dark Presence, constantly altered the plot. Everything turned into an exhausting struggle between the three sides of Alan Wake — the writer, the hero, and his dark reflection.

When Alan finished his story, he let out a tired sigh, staring into the paper cup with cold coffee.

“So… you’ve spent the last thirteen years in a nightmarish place called the Dark Place. Did I understand that correctly?” Saga asked, jotting down notes.

“Yes. That’s right,” Alan nodded.

“You said that in the Dark Place there are so-called Folds — distorted spaces where perception of reality changes. And the only way to reach them is from the bottom of Caldron Lake… but it’s not underwater, right?” Saga continued.

“Not exactly,” Alex interjected, exhaling smoke out the open window. “The Dark Place isn’t beneath the bottom, it exists between the lake and its foundation. It’s like… a thin layer, a kind of mirror-world. Remember that feeling of being pulled into quicksand when you entered it? That’s it. Simply put, the Dark Place is like a huge house with many apartments, and each one is its own Fold.”

“Since you brought it up,” Saga said, turning to him, “maybe you could explain in more detail what you’ve learned and where you’ve been?”

“No problem,” Alex replied calmly, flicking the ash off his cigarette. “I’ll just need a board. I want to show it visually.”

He stubbed out the cigarette, closed the window, and stood, looking at them with a faint smile.

Alex got up from the chair and left the conference room. A few minutes later, he returned, rolling a board in front of him and carrying several markers. He placed it where everyone could see, removed a cap from a marker, and began drawing — circle after circle, one inside another, forming something that looked like a whirlpool.

Once the outlines were complete, Alex added details, and the drawing started to resemble Caldron Lake. Gradually, he expanded the diagram, explaining everything he had discovered without overwhelming Saga, Casey, and Emmett with too much information.

Alan sat motionless, a mixture of surprise and confusion on his face. Before him was a man who seemed to have truly understood how the Dark Place worked.

Alex calmly answered questions — mostly the ones Saga asked. She needed to understand what was happening to prevent her daughter’s fate from repeating. With each answer, Alex added new lines and symbols to the board, clarifying details and connections.

Occasionally, Alan himself interjected, adding his observations and mentioning Mr. Scratch — the part of himself that had distorted the plot of Return for his own purposes.

“Why did you even add me to the story?” Saga asked, her tension clear. “Why make me a character in the book?”

Alan exhaled heavily.

“When I wrote Return, you… just appeared to me. I thought it was a sign that you were meant to be part of the plot. But Scratch ruined everything.”

Casey leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of coffee.

“All I understand from what you’ve explained is this: if we don’t stop it, our world will become just like the Dark Place. Right?” he said, looking at Alex.

“Correct,” Alex replied. “Fiction that touches the Dark Place starts to change reality. The story comes alive. It seeps everywhere, like water filling every crack…”

“Last time…” Alan added hoarsely, “last time it developed gradually — like a virus slowly infecting the body. Events from the book came to life, turning people into characters. The Dark Entity remained connected to the lake, and the story became its path to freedom. I managed to stop it then, preventing it from breaking out. And until the story reaches its end — we still have time.”

He picked up the book Departure and opened it, showing Saga fragments of the text where all of this had already been written.

Saga nodded, jotting down a few notes, then looked up:”Alright, now about your ‘magical switch’ that Nightingale was looking for. That disappeared thirteen years ago too, right?”

“About the Clicker…” Alan frowned. “I’m not sure ‘magical’ is the right word here.”

“But as long as the Clicker remains part of your story, it has power,” Alex interjected, leaning on the table. “So why does your double need it?”

“With the Clicker, Scratch wants to finish the story his way,” Alan replied, a note of worry in his voice. “If he succeeds… the whole world will drown in darkness.”

“Then we need to find the Clicker before he does,” Alex said seriously. “Where is it? You wrote this, right?”

Alan frowned, clutching his head.

“I… don’t remember. There are too many gaps in my mind. I’m not sure I can trust my own memories… But if I get the Clicker, I can send Scratch back.”

He groaned in pain — a headache hit him with renewed force. The world blurred before his eyes, and he nearly toppled from the chair. Alex managed to catch him.

He glanced at Saga — and she instantly understood the hint.

Gathering everything she had heard, Saga began analyzing the data: the Dark Place, Scratch, the story, the Clicker… Gradually, a complete picture started forming in her mind.

“Alan,” she said after a moment, “your Clicker could be with the Tree Cult. Does that ring a bell?”

“Cult… yes,” Alan nodded, wincing. “But not the Tree. The Word Cult. They worship Scratch.”

“Wait,” Emmett interjected, raising an eyebrow. “So, it’s the Word Cult or the Tree Cult?”

“If the Clicker were with the Word Cult, it would already be over,” Alex explained calmly. “The Tree Cult, on the other hand, protects the Clicker. The only question is—for how long.”

He leaned toward Alan, tapping a finger on the table:”And now, Alan… hand over the page you hid. Don’t make me take it by force. You remember what I’m capable of.”

Alan gritted his teeth, staring at the table.

“You don’t understand… these pages show me what must happen next. Without them, I… I’ll lose the thread.”

“You’re not the only one trying to figure things out,” Saga said firmly, looking him straight in the eyes. “We’re all in this story. And now it’s our job.”

Alex rolled his eyes at Alan, clearly signaling that if he didn’t give up the hidden page willingly, Alex would take it by force. Even though Alan’s memories hadn’t fully returned, he still vaguely remembered their encounter with Alex in the Dark Place.

Weighing the pros and cons, Alan reluctantly pulled a folded white sheet from the inner pocket of his shirt and placed it on the table.

Saga immediately took the page and began to read. Alex stepped closer, leaning over her shoulder. Just as he had suspected from the start — the Clicker was in Watery.

Moreover, the text mentioned a trailer in which Saga had seen the legendary Clicker in the hands of one of the cultists. But the name of that cultist wasn’t written on the page.

“Everything’s written here. The Clicker is in Watery. I’ll go there, find the trailer — and the Clicker,” Saga said, carefully folding the page and slipping it into her pocket.

“I’m going with you. Emmet and Casey will stay with Alan. I’ve got a feeling someone might come for him,” Alex said, putting on his black coat.

“Why would anyone attack Alan?” Casey asked, frowning.

“To the Tree Cult, he’s the source of all evil. They believe that killing him will end everything. They don’t know that Scratch is the real culprit, not Alan. That’s why you and Emmet need to stay alert,” Alex explained calmly.

Emmet and Casey nodded, understanding what he was implying. Once Alex was sure they grasped the danger, he turned his gaze to Saga and gave her a short nod. Saga put on her coat and took her service weapon.

They left the motel. Alex offered to take his car — just in case Casey, Emmet, and Alan needed to leave quickly. Seeing no reason to refuse, Saga got into the Impala. Alex started the engine, and the car smoothly rolled onto the road, heading toward the small town of Watery.

“Didn’t think agents drove cars like this,” Saga remarked, glancing around the Impala’s interior.

“It’s not a service vehicle — it’s personal. They called me straight from home, so I had to drive here immediately,” Alex replied, slightly lowering the window.

“You live near here?” Saga asked, deciding to keep the conversation going.

“You could say that. About a hundred and fifty kilometers from Bright Falls, there’s a town called Forks. I live there with my wife. Emmet does too — with his. In short, Forks is the kind of town where nothing ever happens,” Alex said with a faint smile.

“Do you have kids? Though you barely look older than twenty. But if you’re married, maybe you’ve already got a family?” Saga asked, throwing him a brief glance.

“Yeah. I’ve got four little princesses. Though, more often than not, they act like four gremlins — chaos can erupt at any moment. Recently, they even took apart the fridge,” Alex said with a smirk.

“Haha! I can imagine. I’ve only got one daughter, but even she sometimes makes such a mess that my husband and I can’t figure out how it happened so fast,” Saga replied, chuckling.

“Speaking of your daughter — Logan, right? — did you call home?” Alex asked, glancing toward her.

“Yeah… Luckily, nothing serious. Logan slipped in the bathroom and hit her head. A mild concussion, but David says she’s fine. Still… I can’t help but worry,” Saga said softly.

“Yeah… Don’t doubt it, Saga. Doubt opens the door for darkness. The more you doubt, the easier it can control you. Keep telling yourself: Logan is alive. No matter what others say — hold on to that thought. Close your heart to doubt. Remember: if you give in to fear, it will affect her,” Alex said seriously but gently.

“I remember. You’ve told me more than once not to believe everything I hear. Since you understand what’s going on here — just tell me what’s true and what’s not. I’m used to dealing with criminals, not all this mystical stuff,” Saga said, smiling faintly.

“Deal. From now on, we’re partners. And partners have each other’s backs,” Alex said, raising a thumbs-up.

After the conversation, Saga felt noticeably lighter. On the way, they talked about various things — life, family, small everyday matters that distracted them from grim thoughts. Saga shared stories about her daughter’s childhood — more for herself than for Alex. It helped her remember that Logan was okay, alive, and safe.

Alex listened with a faint smile on his face and didn’t interrupt. He liked the warmth and care in Saga’s voice when she spoke of her daughter. In return, he shared funny stories about his “four gremlins,” as he called his daughters, keeping the conversation going and maintaining a light, friendly atmosphere in the car.

When Saga recounted how her husband David once panicked because little Logan had spit up on his favorite shirt, Alex laughed heartily. Saga couldn’t help laughing too, shaking her head at the memory.

But the cheerful mood abruptly ended when Alex noticed in the side mirror a car that had been following them for several minutes. He squinted. In the reflection, a distorted face flickered — eyes burning with a dim, hellish light.

A demon.

Alex’s eyes flashed for a moment. He didn’t show it, so as not to alarm Saga, who kept talking, unaware of the threat. Alex stuck his hand out the window and snapped his fingers. The car following them burst into silent flames and, within a second, turned to ash. Not a trace of the demon remained.

Alex frowned. They had arrived sooner than he expected. But what worried him more was that the demon had moved in a normal Toyota, like a tourist, instead of teleporting as usual. The only explanation was the influence of the Dark Presence — it was preventing demons from using their powers.

Tapping his finger on the steering wheel, Alex wondered how many had already infiltrated Bright Falls and how many might be waiting in Watery. He hoped no more than one or two — enough to eliminate quickly, without drawing attention and causing chaos.

When the Impala arrived in Watery, Alex parked by the roadside next to a small brick building and stepped out. The town was tiny — much smaller than Bright Falls. The streets were nearly empty, only occasional passersby and the sound of wind rustling between the buildings.

Saga looked around, then at Alex.

“We need to question the locals and find out where the trailer park is,” she said confidently.

“Alright. Let’s split up to save time. Meet back at the car,” Alex replied, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.

Saga nodded. Even though Watery was small, finding the right information here wouldn’t be easy — too few people, and everyone kept their distance from strangers.

Their first stop was Suomi Hall — an old building where locals usually gathered to drink coffee, play billiards, and discuss the news. Alex and Saga approached the entrance.

At that moment, a man in a light suit stepped out the door, slightly brushing against Saga’s shoulder.

“Excuse me,” he said with a polite smile, then immediately disappeared into an alley.

Alex watched him leave. Something about this man felt off.

Alex frowned as he watched the man in the light suit walk away. There was something subtly alien about him — not in his gait, but in his very aura, which radiated coldness and… something celestial, yet distorted.

Saga, paying no mind to the brief encounter, simply shrugged and entered Suomi Hall, where the locals gathered. Alex, on the other hand, felt a pang of instinctive revulsion toward the man in the suit. Without saying a word to Saga, he followed the stranger.

The man headed toward the outskirts of town, then toward the forest. Alex kept his distance, moving quietly. When the man stopped at the edge of the woods and pulled out his phone, Alex hid behind a tree trunk and activated his magical sight.

The flow of energy emanating from the stranger was pure, cold, and familiar — an angelic essence. One of those created by Chuck. Alex frowned.

The angel spoke into the phone in a muffled voice:”…yes, I feel the presence of Darkness. But it’s… different. Not like anything we’ve known before…”

Alex stepped out from behind the tree. The angel immediately turned, a silver blade slipping from his sleeve, glinting in the light.

“Who are you?” he demanded sharply, pointing the blade directly at Alex.

“None of your business, feathered one,” Alex replied calmly, meeting him with an icy gaze. “Leave Bright Falls and tell the others with plucked wings not to show their faces here again.”

“You don’t tell us what to do, demon,” the angel retorted, his eyes flashing blue.

Alex smirked.

“Yes, I’m a demon. But a different one. Far worse than Lucifer… and even your self-proclaimed god. I hope your death serves as a warning to the rest.”

Barely had the words left his lips when Alex vanished and reappeared behind the angel.

The angel didn’t have time to turn. Alex’s hand passed through the angel’s back — a crack, a flash of light, and scarlet blood burst from his chest. The angel’s eyes flared with blinding brilliance and then went out a second later.

Alex pulled his hand back, shook off the drops of blood, and looked indifferently at the lifeless body. To him, this was no angel — just a pale copy, an empty shell created by Chuck. A pitiful parody of a celestial being.

He snapped his fingers, and the body turned to ash, scattered by the wind. Only the phone remained.

Alex picked it up and couldn’t help smirking.

“Even in this universe — smartphones. What, angelic radios are out of style now?” he muttered, scrolling through the contacts.

Unlocking the device, he quickly hacked the system and pinpointed the location of the second angel. Then he snapped his fingers, summoning his clone — it emerged from the swirling fog like a reflection in a warped mirror.

“You know what to do,” Alex said. “Eliminate all angels and demons lurking around Bright Falls and the neighboring towns. But be careful.”

The clone twisted his lips into a grin.

“Don’t get on my nerves, Original. I know how to deal with scraps without you. Go ahead, keep playing agent,” he said, stepping aside. His silhouette dissipated like smoke.

Alex shook his head, exhaled deeply, and headed back to Watery. It was time to meet with Ahti again — and find out what Saga had managed to uncover while he tracked the “celestial messenger.”

To be continued…

(This fucking headache is driving me crazy, I barely wrote this chapter, and by the middle of it, my head was hurting so much I was ready to bang it against the wall to drown it out. And yes, you haven’t forgotten what kind of universe this is, yes, it’s Supernatural, how could demons and angels not stick their noses into a place like Bright Falls? Why didn’t they come here sooner? You know, it was the end of the world and all that. And they just couldn’t care less about Bright Falls.)

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep