[ RECOVERED_LOG_01 ]

The clock on the wall ticked unevenly, the sound grating against the oppressive quiet of the office. Eddie sat at his desk, the dim glow of his lamp casting long shadows over a stack of old case files. One file lay open in front of him, its yellowed pages covered in notes scrawled hastily in his own hand. Among the words were symbols, each more jagged and chaotic than the last. He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. The words were etched into his memory, not because of their sound, but because of their meaning, a language older than humanity, older even than Lazarus himself. Demonic tongue was the last thing Eddie had imagined becoming fluent in, yet life, for years now, had a way of tossing him curveballs. One of the quirks of having your best friend be a supernatural entity, he supposed. The thought of Lazarus tugged at the corner of his mouth, forming a half-smile. It was ironic, really. Malachi, his partner, his brother, reborn into the enigma of Lazarus, a being that defied comprehension. And yet, even he had his limits. In this, the oldest and darkest of languages, Lazarus was never very fluent. So Eddie had taken it upon himself to learn the dead language, determined to bring what clarity he could to a world that grew stranger by the day. As if summoned by the thought, the door creaked open, and Lazarus stepped inside. His presence was like the shift before a storm, a change in the air, a weight settling into the room. His trench coat clung to him, damp from the rain, his pale eyes glowing faintly in the shadows. “Still at it?” Lazarus asked, his voice carrying the gravel of centuries. Eddie gestured to the open file. “I don’t get it. I’ve seen these symbols before, but not like this. They’re… fractured.” Lazarus moved to the desk, his gaze falling to the pages. He frowned, his hand hovering over the symbols but never touching. “It’s a binding sequence?” he asked, unsure. “Looks like it,” Eddie said. “But it’s incomplete, like it’s been tampered with. Why?” Lazarus didn’t answer immediately. He stepped back, his shoulders tightening. “I’ve seen this before, it’s an unraveling. Someone is trying to undo the binding.” Eddie cursed under his breath. “Lovely.” “These symbols have been popping up all over the city, each time they do the bond is getting weaker,” Lazarus realized. “I’ve been feeling something for days but I couldn’t put my finger on it. This has to be it. And if we don’t find out where they lead, we’re going to run out of time.” Eddie pushed back his chair and stood. “Do you remember ‘Gluttonous Garry’?” “How could I forget?” said Lazarus, his eyes hinting at a smile beneath his mask. “My coat smelled awful for a month. Why?” “After you cleansed him, Garry got a job as a security guard, over at the history museum.” “What does Gluttonous Garry’s new job have to do with any of this?” questioned Lazarus, confused. “Because unlike you, I follow up on some of our cases. Garry treated me to a tour about a month ago, they had a new display from some monastery they’d dug up, apparently it was a big deal. I didn’t realize it until now, but that was right about when these things started popping up.” “And you think it’s tied together…” Lazarus agreed. “Can’t hurt to check it out.” Eddie swung on his coat and they rushed out of the office. The rain had picked up by the time they reached the museum. The grand facade of the building was streaked with water, its columns rising like silent sentinels into the night. Eddie tucked his collar higher against the chill, glancing at Lazarus as they approached. “You ever wonder why all the spooky stuff ends up in museums?” Eddie asked, laughing. Lazarus didn’t smile. “Because humanity has a habit of worshipping what it doesn’t understand.” “Right,” Eddie sighed, “sorry about that”…. At first Gluttonous Garry hesitated to give Eddie access to the museum after hours, the risk of losing his new position too high for his liking, but at the first sight of Lazarus, his reluctance subsided. He tended to have that effect on people. Inside, the museum was deathly quiet, its exhibits looming in the dim security lighting. Eddie led the way, his flashlight cutting through the dark. The beam of Eddie’s flashlight swept over glass cases and ancient relics, each more imposing in the dark than in the daylight. Shadows stretched long and sinister, playing tricks on the edges of his vision. Beside him, Lazarus moved with a quiet, predatory grace, his eyes scanning every corner of the room like a hunter tracking prey. Eddie paused near a roped-off section marked “Monastic Relics: Lost Histories Unearthed.” The centerpiece of the exhibit was a stone tablet, its surface scarred with intricate carvings that mirrored the symbols in the case file. He crouched down to inspect it, running his hand over the protective glass. “This is it,” Eddie whispered. “Same symbols. But they’re different from before. Broken like the ones in pictures.” Lazarus stepped forward, his pale eyes narrowing. “They aren’t broken, they’re being erased.” Before Eddie could respond, a low hum filled the air. The tablet began to pulse faintly, its carvings glowing an eerie crimson as they slowly began to fade away. The light danced across the walls, casting distorted shadows that moved as if alive. The display suddenly fracturing in all directions. Eddie stood abruptly, his hand instinctively reaching for the gun at his side, not that it would help. “Tell me this isn’t as bad as it looks.” Lazarus’s voice was grim. “It’s worse. We’re too late. The binding is gone.” The hum grew louder, reverberating through the museum like a heartbeat. Eddie turned toward Lazarus, his face tense. “What’s the play here, partner? Smash the glass and hope for the best?” “Not yet.” Lazarus reached into his coat, pulling out a jagged blade etched with celestial markings. The weapon glimmered faintly, as though resonating with the tablet’s energy. “We need to trace the energy flow first. If we destroy this tablet without knowing what it’s tied to, we could make things worse.” “Worse than summoning hell knows what into the middle of the city?” Eddie quipped, trying to mask the unease creeping into his voice. Lazarus didn’t answer. Instead, he pressed the blade against the edge of the glass. The crimson light recoiled, flaring brighter before dimming slightly, as though sensing the weapon’s power. Lazarus frowned. “It’s tethered. There’s something else here, something anchoring it.” Eddie swung his flashlight around the room, scanning the exhibit. “An anchor. Like another artifact?” “Or a host,” Lazarus muttered darkly. The words hung in the air like a curse. As if on cue, a guttural growl echoed from deeper within the museum. Eddie froze, his hand tightening around his flashlight. “Tell me that’s just the air conditioning.” Lazarus tilted his head, listening. His eyes glowed faintly in the darkness. “It’s here.” From the shadows, a figure emerged, its movements jerky and unnatural. Its eyes burned with the same crimson light as the tablet, symbols etched into its skin like scars. “Garry?” Eddie asked incredulously, stepping back. The thing that had been Gluttonous Garry tilted its head, a grotesque parody of recognition flickering across its twisted face. When it spoke, its voice was layered with something ancient and inhuman. “The chain must be unbroken.” “Oh, Gary,” Eddie sighed. “I thought we were past this phase.” Lazarus stepped in front of Eddie, his blade raised. “Stay behind me.” The creature lunged, its jagged claws aimed straight for Lazarus. He met it with his blade, sparks flying as metal scraped against unnatural bone. The impact sent them both staggering back. Eddie dodged a wild swing from Garry, nearly tripping over a shattered display case. “What now?” he shouted, scrambling. Lazarus gritted his teeth, blocking Garry’s claws with his blade. “The binding isn’t going to mend itself, Eddie! Get to the tablet and carve the symbols!” “I’m on it!” Eddie snapped, grabbing his flashlight and shattering the display and finding the biggest shard he could get his hands on. He squinted at the glowing stone. “I’m gonna need some specifics here, partner!” Lazarus glanced at the tablet, his pale eyes flickering with strain. “Top left! The…uh…the trinity! Three of them!” Eddie groaned, already digging into the stone. “The Trinity sigil?” “Yes!” “Glad to know you’ve got my back with all this ‘ancient knowledge’,” Eddie muttered, carving quickly. As he did he could feel the glass digging into his fingers as he strained to push hard enough to etch the symbol into the face of the tablet, blood running down from the wounds. The first symbol flared as he completed it, the crimson light dimming slightly. Lazarus parried another blow, his blade slicing into Garry’s arm. “Next one! Bottom right! The one that looks like… I don’t know, a ladder?” Eddie stopped mid-carve, glaring over his shoulder. “Ladder? Are you talking about the binding rune? You think it looks like a ladder?!?!” “Eddie, just carve the damn thing!” “Fine, fine!” Eddie etched the rune into the stone, muttering under his breath. “Guy comes back from the dead, but remembering a few ancient symbols? Too much to ask.” His fingers screamed with the pain of the glass biting into his flesh but he pushed it aside. He had no time! Gary roared, surging forward, but Lazarus met him head-on, forcing him back. “Middle! The…the circle thing! With the lines sticking out!” Eddie blinked. “Do you mean the radiance seal or the barrier glyph? Be specific!” Lazarus hesitated, blocking another strike. “The one that looks like… uh, a wheel?” “They both look like a wheel!” Eddie snapped, racking his brain. He thought back to the symbols in the case file and made a judgment call, carving the radiance seal into the center of the tablet. It flared brighter, the energy pulsing through the room. “Did that work?” Eddie shouted, turning to look at Lazarus. Lazarus winced as Garry’s claws grazed his shoulder. “Not yet! Top center… do the swirl!” Eddie stared at him. “The swirl?! Laz, you gotta be kidding me!?” “Damn it Eddie, this is your thing! Figure it out! What would you use?” “The Nebulas Eye” Eddie whispered, “that’s got to be it…” Eddie carved as fast as he could, the symbols from memory flowing more easily now despite Lazarus’s questionable descriptions. Each one flared as it was completed, the glowing lines on the tablet knitting together like a wound being stitched shut. As he carved glass slicing deeper into his palm as it slipped up and down its unforgiving edge. He was going to need stitches… a lot of them. Behind him, Garry let out an unholy shriek, his body convulsing as the new symbols etched into his flesh began to glow brightly. “Last one!” Lazarus yelled. “The thing with all the points! Like a star but… angrier!” Eddie barked a laugh despite himself. “The locking sigil?” “Is that what you would do?” “Yes!” Eddie screamed as he carved the final symbol, eyes closed in fear. The tablet erupted with light, filling the room with a blinding glow. Garry froze mid-lunge, his body trembling violently as the light seared through him, the symbols on the tablet flaring and then burning away on his skin. He let out one last guttural scream before collapsing into a lifeless heap on the floor. Eddie staggered back, chest heaving, and let the shard of glass fall from his trembling fingers. Blood streamed from his palm, the torn flesh revealing more than he cared to see. Grimacing, he fumbled to wrap the sleeve of his tattered shirt around the gaping wound. “That was a blast,” he muttered through gritted teeth. “Can’t wait to do it again.” Lazarus stepped forward, sheathing his blade and inspecting the now-dormant tablet. “You did good, Eddie. Even if your attitude could use some work.” “Yeah, well, next time maybe come up with better descriptions than ‘angry star’ and ‘wheel thing,’” Eddie shot back, standing up and dusting himself off with his good hand. Lazarus glanced at Garry’s crumpled form and sighed. “Guess he’ll need a new job. Again.” Eddie smirked, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe something even less customer-facing this time. Mailroom, maybe?” Lazarus chuckled faintly, his expression softening. “As long as it doesn’t involve snacks. He’s proven he can’t handle that temptation.” Eddie laughed despite himself, grabbing his coat. “Come on, partner. Let’s get out of here before someone calls the cops. And maybe next time, you can carve the symbols.” he held his bloodied hand out at his friend. Lazarus shook his head as they stepped out into the rain. “Next time, maybe we just burn the museum down and call it a day.” Eddie groaned. “If I had known that was an option…” As the rain continued to fall, the two of them disappeared into the night, this wasn’t over. Something or someone was trying to set whatever was in Gary free. It was time to find out why. The end