*Riiiiing*

Inside an apartment somewhere in the outskirts of Trisand City, a phone rings as a lean, handsome, young man came out of the shower.

The man took a look at the phone before picking it up with some joy in his tone.

"Hey Philip, it's been a while since we last talked. How have you been?" The man said as he slowly put on his clothes.

"It has indeed been a while Young Master Kane" An old voice can be heard on the other line of the phone.

With a short pause, the old man named Philip continued.

"I don't know if you've already heard the news but Master Kane just passed away moments ago" Philip said with a sad tone evident from his voice.

As the young man heard that, he quickly run to his living room and turned on the tv.

"...We are here today at the Kane manor as we just received news that the richest philanthropist in the City of Melfore, William Kane, passed away due to natural causes. It has been stated that Kane peacefully passed away while he was sleeping. Rumors has it that William Kane had left all of his assets to his only relative left, Arthur Kane, after the events of the Melfore shootout-" Arthur turned of the tv before the reporter could finish.

Slightly trembling, he slowly put the phone near his ear.

"What happened?" Arthur said with a hint of anger and sadness.

"I will explain it to you when you get here for the funeral and will reading" Philip said.

"You will come, right? After all, Master Kane was still your uncle" Philip added.

"Of course, after all, I am the sole heir of the Kane's, the richest and most powerful family in Melfore" Arthur said before ending the call.

Arthur stared outside the window from his apartment. He noticed that the sky was seemingly darker than earlier and showing signs of an impending rain.

"Even the heaven is lamenting your death, how befitting for a Kane" Arthur said as he blankly stared at the sky.

*Next morning*

Arthur drove for more than 4 hours to reach the Melfore City. Melfore City is located at the northern part of the country of Celia, one of the 6 major countries in the world. Melfore is a dark city that only receives 2-3 hours worth of sunlight a day.

As Arthur drove, he saw a group of people under a tree, watching as he passed by them, Arthur could've swore that he saw their eyes turning red for a brief moment but since he was driving too fast, he was not too sure and blamed the fatigue from driving for so long.

After a while, Arthur reached outside the Kane manor and he parked his car in front of the big gate about 6 meters tall.

Arthur came out of his car and pressed the intercom. After a short while, the gate opened and Arthur drove his car inside.

An old man was waiting as he reached in front of the doors of the Kane Manor.

"Welcome back young master Kane, or should I say, Master Kane now" Philip greeted Arthur as soon as he got out of his car.

"It's been a while since I last saw these doors" Arthur said with a sigh as he looked at the two doors with a letter "K" in it signifying the Kane family's insignia.

"I have prepared your old bedroom, hoping that you will stay here for a few days" Philip said as he opened the doors.

Arthur and Philip stepped inside and the first thing that Arthur saw was the two long staircases, both leading to the second floor.

"That won't be necessary, I won't be staying here after the funeral. Too many bad memories" Arthur said as he traced his fingers across the staircase railings.

"Then I'll leave for a while to take care of things for the funeral tomorrow" Philip said as he slightly bowed and left.

Arthur looked at him for some time before going up the stairs to look for his old bedroom.

The second floor of the Kane manor exudes a lonely and gloomy aura. Even more so now that Arthur is the only person in the manor. In the hallway, the paintings of all the Kane ancestors were hung up showing the ancestry of the Kane family. Arthur passed all of them but he briefly paused as he reached the last painting. In this painting, a man of striking resemblance to Arthur but a little more matured and refined is painted. On the lower part of the painting, a nameplate is attached with the name "Aaron Kane"

"Father... " Arthur looked at the painting a bit more before moving on to reach his bedroom.

As Arthur opened the door, a wave of melancholy hits him as he remembered the days when he was still living there. He remembered his mom humming him a lullaby to sleep when he was a child, he also remembered his father reading him stories in this very bedroom.

"It's still the same as I remember" Arthur smiled as he walked to the bed and sat on it.

Arthur took a look around the room when he glanced upon the bookshelf that contains the stories that his dad used to read to him. Arthur took a look at the books without thinking when he suddenly saw an unfamiliar book. Arthur decided to read the book to pass the time while waiting but as he read the book, the more Arthur realized that it was not a simple book but a journal, a journal of his uncle, William Kane.

'When my brother, Aaron Kane died during the Melfore shootout, I can't bring myself to forgive his killer but the investigation had already closed since there are no suspects nor any evidence that can help to identify his killer. I can't let the killer of my brother to remain free so I started investigating the murder case of my brother myself. As I got closer to the truth, the more confused I became until the day that I found that cloak in the basement. I cannot believe the hidden secret of my own family. How can no one ever told me the truth about this?'

Arthur turned to the next page but all of them were blank. The journal of his uncle piqued Arthur's curiosity.

'What could be the hidden secret of my family? But more importantly, did my uncle identified who killed my father? The only way to answer my questions is to find the basement of our house but as along as I can remember, there are no basement in the Kane manor' Arthur thought quietly as he lay down on his bed.

Arthur's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a set of footsteps outside his room.

Arthur put the journal aside and went outside to see if Philip was back. When Arthur opened the door, there are no one in the hallway. This made Arthur feel somewhat uncomfortable so he went down the living room to wait for Philip.

Later that evening, Philip finally returned to the Kane manor and what greeted him is the sound of Arthur playing the old piano in the living room. He slowly and quietly walked towards the source of the sound.

Arthur continued to play the piano until he noticed Philip standing behind him.

"How long have you been standing there? You should've told me that you were here already" Arthur said as he closed the piano.

"I couldn't bear to disturb you Master Kane, you looked just like Master Aaron when you were playing the piano just now" Philip said with a sigh.

"I will now prepare your dinner Master Kane" Philip left without waiting for Arthur's reply.

Arthur can only watch the hunched back of his old butler as he left. Arthur was still thinking about the footsteps that he heard earlier in the morning.

'Was I just imagining things?'

After eating his dinner, Arthur secretly tried to find the basement in his uncle's journal. Arthur searched every corner of the house but he could not find any door leading to the basement. Arthur was about to give up and he started to climb the stairs but he noticed something weird about the painting on the second floor.

As Arthur got closer, he noticed that the painting with the nameplate "Jonathan Kane" seems to be tilted a little bit to the right.

Arthur moved the painting slightly to fix it but when he did, the painting suddenly moved backwards and a long, hidden stairs leading to what seems like a basement was revealed.

'No wonder I could not find any doors or stairs leading to the so-called basement. It was hidden up here all along' Arthur thought as he used his phone to light the dark and dusty staircase.

As Arthur climbed down and reached the basement, he discovered a rack containing several old looking daggers.

Arthur touched one of the daggers but he was accidentally cut by it. As soon as Arthur was cut by the dagger, a silhouette of what seems like a hovering cloth covered his whole body and a wave of intense headache hit him.

The headache made Arthur faint, but before he did, he somewhat heard a voice inside his head.

'Bloodline of the Original Host detected. Beginning to bind with the new host'

That was the last thing that Arthur can remember before he fainted.