MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

When Adam woke up from his deep slumber that stretched beyond the domains of death, he felt like his whole life had been lived in a void of darkness.

"Argh!"

The mellow light of the room felt so intense to him that he felt like the gentle rays were trying to pierce through his eyes. He quite literally screamed out in pain and shock. Everything his dilated eyes could see felt too vivid and bright. It felt out of this world. Like he was plunged into a world of incandescent light.

However, it wasn't just the light that became different after his awakening from his slumber. Sounds, scents, and even the slightest sensations of clothes brushing against his skin, everything felt different and much much more intense. He felt as though the world as he knew it had been a wonderfully crafted lie all along as sensations he had never felt before rushed at him all at once. The bombardment of these sensations left him devastated in mind and body.

'Where am I?'

"He woke up! Go call the doctor. Hurry!"

'Fuck! Who the hell is screaming so loudly?!'

Adam cursed inwardly as he covered his ears and closed his eyes, trying his best to muffle and dilute all of these intense sensations he was receiving. Everything just felt too painful for him to bear. His brain throbbed in pain while his mind felt weary and tired. He felt like he could die from this overload of perception.

[Situation of the host has become unstable]

[Asking permission to temporarily lock the first gate]

'Make it stop!'

[Permission granted]

[First gate locked]

In an instant, all his senses dulled down to his previous parameters, right before his supposed death at the hands of that killer, and Adam felt that he had finally returned to the world he was once so used to. Everything finally felt like they were in their rightful places, just how they should be from the beginning.

But rather than feeling relief and joy, all he felt was that the world had now become blurry and distant. He felt as though the previous state he was in just might've been how he should've perceived this world as. It was as if he had once taken a photo with some professional military-grade high-resolution camera and now went back to using some backward phone from the start of the millennia.

'What the hell is happening to me?'

Adam had no time to come to his senses as the presence of new people took all of his attention. A man wearing a white coat, the characteristic outfit of a doctor, accompanied by two nurses entered the room to check up on his condition.

He belatedly realized that he was currently wearing a hospital gown and then made the connection that the bed he was resting on was definitely a hospital bed. His disoriented senses had not allowed him to be sensible, hence it took some time for him to be aware of the situation and the place he was currently on.

Looking at the chart hanging near the bed, the doctor, an unkept middle-aged man with greying hair on both of his sideburns, finally spoke. His tone was stoic and his words precise and to the point, giving him the impression of a steadfast, strict, and honest worker.

"Hello, my name is Steward, but you may call me Dr. Steward, Mr. Patient. May I ask you some questions? Of course, only if you feel comfortable answering them. Nurse, please give him some water. Our little friend here should be parched after the hours he has spent being unconscious."

He spoke with a calm and level tone almost to the point of being stoic. But there was a note of warmth and kindness in his voice that made Adam believe that he was a benevolent man who cared for his patients.

Hearing his orders, the pair of nurses swiftly did as told. Not long after he was given a glass of water and Adam was quick to gulp it down. The doctor was right.

He was indeed feeling quite parched. It made him wonder just how long he was unconscious. After quenching his thirst, the doctor who had been checking something on the documents held on a piece of board in his arms nodded before continuing,

"This is just a simple check-up procedure. Now, could you please tell me your name?"

"Adam…*Ahem* *Ahem* My name is Adam Gospel."

His voice was slightly hoarse as he spoke to the kind doctor. But Adam could feel that other than his throat, everything else seemed to be working just fine. He didn't feel any anomalies in his body, or any sense of pain, which oddly felt incongruent in itself.

"Very well, mister Gospel. Can you recognize this place? Are you able to understand what is happening right now?"

Like this, the doctor continued to ask some small questions on various topics. Adam's mind had woken up enough to understand that they were just verifying his current degree of consciousness and consolidating the state of his mental health. They were probably checking if there was anything wrong with his psyche or not too in the process.

Once the doctor seemed satisfied with his answers, he nodded and gave a warm smile to Adam as he spoke in a comforting tone, "I am pleased to see that everything seems to be in order, Mr. Gospel. Further check-ups might be necessary to verify your state. But we can leave it up to later."

The nurses approached the doctor and one of them came close and muttered something to his ear. Instantly, the kind and warm doctor's face twisted into an uncharacteristic frown as though what he heard had been rather distasteful. In the end, he just sighed and shook his head before donning an apologetic face as he delivered me some news.

"We have…some detectives who would like to ask you a few questions about what happened to you. Would that be okay with you Mr. Gospel? Or should I tell them to come back later?"

The doctor asked.

'Detectives?'

His mind began to race as he soon remembered the reason behind his current situation and him being in a hospital bed.

'I… I died?'

The moment this thought settled in within him, Adam felt the urge to throw up swell in his throat. He had to put a hand over his mouth to resist the urge to throw up out everything that might be in his stomach.

His sudden fit startled the doctor and the pair of nurses.

One of the nurses hurriedly approached him and began rubbing his back with her gentle hands, helping him calm down. She queried about his current state.

"I… I am alright."

"Hmmm…"

The doctor sighed before walking out, Adam could hear his voice being raised to a few octaves on the side of the wall.

"Ten minutes. That's all you'll get. And if he refuses to talk I would be very very dissatisfied if you put a patient in distress."

"Very well Doc. Don't worry about it. I know the kid."

One of the nurses left the room and came back with a pair of detectives. One of them, a middle-aged man with a healthy amount of black hair and Asian features was accompanied by a young woman with blonde hair and a typical set of American features who seemed to be in her late twenties. The woman was wearing a simple suit with black pants that gave her a rather handsome aura.

Adam indeed recognized the middle-aged detective. He had met him a few times already, after all.

"Howdy Adam, I have seen you in better shape."

"Hello, Kirishima-san."

Taeko Kirishima. A detective working for the LAPD as well as the father of his long-time friend, Sae Kirishima.

Adam directed a feeble smile toward the man. Since he would sometimes visit their house and watch anime with Sae, he had taken the habit of using the Japanese way of showing respect like using the term san when addressing their names. It had now become a habit at this point. Honestly, it was more as a way of joking than anything else as he could barely read and speak the Japanese tongue.

"The one standing next to me is Detective Smith. We have some questions for you."

Saying so, the smile fell from Taeko as he took out the photo of a woman wearing a rather revealing set of clothes. Adam inspected the photo, but even as his mind recognized the woman or rather managed to piece the situation he was in, he showed no change of expression.

"Do you recognize this woman?"

Taeko asked calmly but Adam did not answer even though he clearly heard him speak. The silence lasted for a few short seconds before Taeko released a sigh,

"Look, can you at least tell us what you were doing alone in that street at that time? You were found unconscious with a hole on the front and the back of your suit but no blood or any particular wounds were found in your body or the suit. Please, tell us what happened."

Adam took in the information he had just obtained and sighed out loud, "I am sorry Kirishima-san, but, everything I say will be used against me, therefore, I have nothing to say to you, this does not mean I am guilty, it simply means that I am exercising my right to stay silent. My lawyer will answer any questions you may have."

Detective Smith frowned after hearing his words but Adam did not care for the unknown woman. As for Taeko, all he did was release a chuckle after hearing him speak.

"Sae always told me you were a smart lad."

He shook his head and did not insist on pressing him further. In the first place, Taeko was sure that Adam was not Jack the Ripper or whatever the fuck that serial killer was. But he still had to follow regulations. It was his duty and a part of his job.

"We will leave you now, we might call later to ask you some questions as a witness on this case. I will be ready to call Shuri when that happens."

"Thank you."

———

After leaving the hospital, Detective Smith, who had been silent up until now couldn't help but open her mouth, her tone was rather high as she asked him some questions.

"What did this mean? Why not try to ask more questions?"

"You heard the kid. He exercised his right to stay silent. What did you want me to do?"

"But still! This is the first serious lead we have gotten since the start of this whole affair. Someone who survived after encountering the Ripper. But, I'm doubting if he can even be called a survivor or not. He wasn't wounded. That boy is clearly suspicious."

"Are you insinuating that he is a suspect instead of being a victim or a witness?"

"I do not necessarily think so but we should still detain him and ask more precise questions. People's lives are at stake here."

'Sigh. I have forgotten how tiring it was to work with newbies.'

Taeko pinched the ridge of his nose, clearly displeased and irritated by Smith's pressing tone.

"Look. Let's do it this way. I'll be frank with you Ms. Smith. Even if I wanted to interrogate him more, doing so now would be utterly stupid. His aunt, the woman named Shuri, has a whole firm backing her up and she won't hesitate to come with an army of lawyers to bail him out. Secondly…"

He sighed and took out a cigarette before lighting it up with his lighter. He really needed a smoke at this moment.

"Secondly, orders came from above to not pressure him. The captain let me understand that it should be some big hand from the Yakuza and the Triad who acted out to defend the boy."

"So some boy who is just a student, has a relationship with one of the biggest law firms in LA and also with the Triad and Yakuza? Do you see how suspicious all of this is? Have you gone blind?"

Smith was aghast at the nonchalance her partner and mentor were showing right now.

This was her first big case as a detective. All her life she had wished to become a cop like her father. To fight for justice and bring the bad guys to jail.

But the more this went on, the more she wondered if what she was doing was justice or just dancing to the tunes of others. She felt like she was a part of a puppet show and she hated it to her core.

Looking at her despondent appearance, Taeko sighed and gently patted her back.

"My daughter is friends with him. I will ask her later to help get some information from him that we might not get if he is with a lawyer."

Taeko did not think that Adam was the culprit. But he was indeed very suspicious about his whole circumstance.

Even though he had lost the burning passion of his younger years, this wasn't something he could simply let pass him by without even trying to understand the whole circumstance behind this situation.

"Let's go now."

He just wanted this whole affair to be done with. Sadly, with how the situation was going, he knew that soon the case would leave his hands.

Most likely, the LAPPD would act soon. There was too much evidence to show that this case was beyond what was natural.

'I hope Adam isn't related to that.'

He liked the kid. Good-natured and a steadfast hard worker. As well as being fucking damn smart.

His relationships were a plus in his eyes since one couldn't go far in life without influence and backers. Networking could never vanish even if one vanished themselves.

Sighing, Takeo continued to smoke.

Life was really shitty sometimes.

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