BOUNTY: The Shadow of Maro Uno

BOUNTY NOTICE: SECTOR K-7 (TOKYO)

ISSUED BY: THE COUNCIL OF VENICE

[Pinned to a notice board in a secure Agartha transit hub. The paper is vibrating with a high-pitched, electronic hum.]

TARGET: The Sheut (Shadow) of Maro Uno
CLASS: Serial-Killer Remnant / Archetypal Threat
BOUNTY: 75,000 Pax Romana + 1x Purified Anima-Well

Details: The target is the "manifested shadow" of the serial killer Maro Uno, weaponized by Dr. Elswick using "Agrippa’s talismanic magic." It is currently feeding on the "uncertainty" and "dread" of the Kaidan district. It manifests as a "nauseatingly sweet scent" followed by total sensory deprivation. It is a "symbolic resource" for the "Old Ones."

"The Shadow is the truth you refused to name. It has your face, but it has his teeth."

Combat Protocol: Do not look directly at your own reflection during engagement. Use "Synchronicity" anchors to prevent your own "Shadow Self" from detaching. The Jingu Clan has reported that the target is immune to mundane steel. Use "magik" or don't bother.

Terms: Proof of neutralizing (a sealed container of "Blackworm Jism" from the target’s core) required for payment.

[SEAL OF THE COUNCIL OF VENICE: NEUTRALITY IS OUR STRENGTH.]

Goodbye from the Fog

LAST DISPATCH: THE LADY MARGARET

RECOVERED FROM A WATERLOGGED LIFE-VEST, KINGSMOUTH

Mom,

The "Fog" isn't just weather. It’s a "tide of rolling fog" that tastes like salt and the dreams of things that died before the First Age. The "Lady Margaret" found something in the Sargasso, Mom. A "resurrected threat" that looks like a sword but feels like a "Synchronicity" anchor. I can feel the "Buzzing" in my teeth, and it’s telling me that my "Anima" is fading.

"The sea is a mirror for the things we’ve forgotten to be. The Draug are just the reflections that stayed behind."

I’m going into the water now. Not because I’m afraid, but because my "Shadow Self" is already swimming. The "Everything is True" principle means that I’m not just a sailor; I’m a "heroic horror" sacrifice in an "Age that is ending." Tell Dad I’m sorry about the boat. It’s "bone-wood" now. The "Buzzing" is beautiful, Mom. It sounds like honey and the end of the world.

— Your son, Thomas.

The Ballad of the Black Sun

FOLK SONG: "THE SUN THAT NEVER SETS"

TRADITIONAL (AL-MERAYAH REGION)

[Transcription of a blind beggar’s song in the Cairo Underworld. The recording is marred by a sound like dry cicadas.]

Oh, the King had a sun that was made of the night,
It shone with a shadow and died in the light.
Akhenaten, he sang to the oil in the deep,
While the "Old Ones" were stirrin' in restless-like sleep.

"One for the Pharaoh who gave up his name,
Two for the city that’s lost in the flame.
Three for the 'Filth' that is thick as the tar,
And four for the light of the Blackest of Star."

The "Anima" fades like a candle in rain,
And the "Buzzing" is just a reminder of pain.
He built him a city of "bone-trees" and salt,
Where the dreams of the "Chosen" are brought to a halt.

So don’t look to Aten, his gaze is a sting,
And don’t touch the gold of the Solomon King.
For "Everything's True" in the valley of gold,
And the story of "Filth" is a story that’s old.

— Recovered from a waterlogged notebook, Egypt. Note: The ink is shimmering with a faint, violet luminescence.