The Uninvited Guest

Leonardo hesitated at the entrance of the room, the air thick with an unsettling warmth that seemed to radiate from everywhere.

He could feel the temperature shift the moment he stood in the doorway. It was as if the room itself was alive, pulsing with Adelaide's presence and power.

"Alright, just keep it simple," Leonardo muttered to himself, rehearsing the lines in his head.

"Open with a hello, then tell her you were wrong. Be honest, like how you were wrong about Ryuji... She'll believe it. She has to." The words were meant to comfort him, but they fell flat against his rising anxiety.

He reached the door and took a deep breath, his hand resting on the cool brass handle. Slowly, he pushed it open and stepped inside.

"Hello, ma'am—"

"Oh."

He froze mid-sentence. His words trailed off as his eyes adjusted to the scene before him.

The room was a stark contrast to the mansion's opulent corridors. Floor to ceiling, it was covered in intricate pyramids etched into the walls—each overlapping the next in a chaotic jumble of geometry.

The sheer number of shapes was overwhelming. How had she managed to reach such heights?

Leonardo's gaze shifted to the bed. Adelaide lay sprawled across it, her frame slightly trembling. She was crying softly, her tears soaking the fabric beneath her.

But it wasn't the sobs or the tangled mess of her long ginger hair that made Leonardo's breath hitch; it was the sword lying against the far wall, gleaming menacingly in the low light. Its presence sent a cold shiver through him, a sharp reminder of how volatile the situation truly was.

Beside her, two plush dolls sat on the floor. Their lifelike resemblance to Anna and Elara was striking. They were dressed meticulously, down to the tiny embroidered gowns. Leonardo bent to pick one up, his fingers brushing the soft fabric.

"Is this Anna?" he asked, crouching, holding the doll up as he looked at Adelaide.

She had shifted slightly. Her teary eyes locked onto him, expression blank yet intense.

Not again, Leonardo thought, feeling the familiar weight of her scrutiny settle on his shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, her voice sharp, slicing through the heavy air. It was as if she hadn't been crying at all. Her demeanor turned cold and composed, the tears vanished without a trace.

Leonardo blinked, disoriented by the abrupt shift in her mood. What just happened?

"Isn't Anna so cute?" she cooed, snatching the doll from his hands with sudden energy. She examined it closely, fingers straightening the tiny folds of its dress.

"I need to fix Elara's. It's not quite right." She yanked the second doll from his grasp, her focus now fully on the small figures.

Leonardo hesitated, his mind racing to keep up with her erratic behavior.

"I... I came to tell you about your husband," he said, his voice faltering under the weight of the lie. He took a breath, preparing to continue, but Adelaide had already drifted away.

She pulled him to the ground beside her, her movements jittery, almost manic.

"I made pyramids—look! grandma told me," she exclaimed, pointing to the nearest wall where jagged lines marked her handiwork.

"It's cone-like. I read about it—fun, right?" Her excitement bubbled over as her fingers traced the lines she had drawn. "And there's another one you can make with two lines... but you have to be willing to be incomplete," she added, brow furrowing in concentration.

Leonardo watched, stunned by the drastic shift. Moments ago she had been grieving, her sorrow thick in the room. Now she was absorbed in shapes, her mind elsewhere.

"Square pyramid, triangular pyramid, pentagonal pyramid, stepped pyramid... That's the one I drew! You know what I'll try now?" She paused, fingers twitching with anticipation. "Hexagonal and octagonal. Yes, those ones," she declared, eyes alight with fervor that bordered on unsettling.

A faint red glow began to form on her fingertips, heat swirling as she meticulously etched each line. Her concentration never broke.

Leonardo remained crouched, eyes tracking the swift, erratic movements of her hands as she etched the wall with obsessive precision.

He had just told her three people had died—though in truth, only one had. Yet her response was detached, as if he'd told her it might rain.

This was how she reacted to death? Even when it involved her husband, whom she had seemed to know intimately?

Adelaide's fingers flared with her usual red hue, carving into the stone like an artist painting a masterpiece.

She mumbled to herself, voice lilting in a singsong melody. "Hexagonal, pentagonal—they're similar, see? But hexagonal has six sides at the base!" She giggled, as if sharing a private joke. "Fun, isn't it?"

Leonardo's anxiety mounted. Her erratic behavior was unnerving in ways he hadn't expected. He took a breath to steady himself. "Can you tell me your skill set?" he asked, cautious.

Adelaide stopped. Her head turned sharply toward him. In an instant, her cheer vanished, replaced by a grim seriousness. "Sure," she said, her voice low, calm, calculated.

Leonardo watched closely, unease prickling along his skin. Is she switching personalities on a whim? Crying, then cheerful, then serious... How? A chill ran down his spine.

"It's cool, but... here." She raised her hand, and a familiar screen appeared before Leonardo, listing the details plainly.

Adelaide de Meaux – Status

Age: 43 

Story Skill: Heat Lancer (Stage 4) 

Attachment Skill: Thermal Channeling 

Unwritten Skills: King (4 Unwritten Skills) 

1: Thermal Signature Reading 

2: Plasma Shaping 

3: Phase Ignition 

4: Sanctified Pyrokinesis 

Title Skill: N/A 

Rasvian Control Rank: Refined

Leonardo stared, overwhelmed by her skillset. His eyes locked on her rank—the same as Astraea's.

Adelaide tilted her head, thoughtful. "It's funny, you know," she said distantly. "The sides of a hexagonal pyramid—they stay that way. Each of those sides could be a straight line or a shape, yet it's just called hexagonal. But maybe, if the person viewing it reaches a new level of understanding, the sides will earn recognition. Variation. Diversity, but sometimes unity of sides is good no?" Her eyes bored into his. There was a strange intensity behind them—calculated, unblinking.

This woman is genuinely insane, Leonardo thought. Yet... there was odd wisdom in her analogy. "Still a good analogy," he muttered under his breath, rising slowly to his feet.

He stepped back, eyes fixed on Adelaide as she returned to her drawing, unbothered, immersed in her pyramids.

He lingered a moment longer.

He needed to leave.

But not before telling her the truth.