As expected, Moriarty came for Sara and freed her from the prison.

Well, in reality, it was me he was freeing, so the distinction didn't really matter. The outcome stayed the same either way, and honestly, that made the whole situation a little amusing to think about.

What stood out more was how convincing the whole act turned out to be. Even with all their abilities, even with whatever senses or instincts they relied on, none of them noticed anything off. The shapeshifting held up perfectly. No one had questioned it. They looked at me and saw Sara, nothing more, nothing less.

That alone was impressive.

Moriarty's gaze settled on me.

"It seems like you've been suffering quite a bit here, Sara," he said.

His tone carried a mix of concern and detachment, like he was acknowledging it without really feeling it. With my appearance completely matching Sara's and my body looking thin and worn out like I hadn't eaten properly in days, the image sold itself. I didn't even need to try that hard.

"Hungry… Feed me…" I said.

"Well, you've been here for quite a while, after all," he replied. "Claire."

"Why do I have to do it?" Claire shot back, clearly annoyed.

"Because I can't let Sara see my memories. She'd go even more insane if she did," Moriarty said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

That caught my attention immediately.

So he was hiding something in his memories. Something bad enough that even the possibility of it being seen was a problem. That wasn't just interesting. That was valuable.

Curious didn't quite describe it. It felt stronger than that. It was the kind of curiosity that sticks in your head and refuses to leave, the kind that makes you want to dig deeper whether it's a good idea or not.

I had been investigating him for a while now, trying to piece together anything useful, but it always led nowhere. He had no records, no background, and no history that made sense. It was like he just appeared out of thin air. At some point, I had stopped focusing on it because there was nothing to work with.

Now, though, it felt like I had just stumbled onto something worth chasing.

"Ugh. Fine," Claire muttered, clearly not happy about it.

If I remembered correctly, she was the one who could phase through walls and solid objects. That alone made her troublesome if she ever decided to fight seriously.

She stepped closer and leaned forward, brushing her hair aside to expose her neck.

I leaned in as well, closing the distance without hesitation. My teeth sank into her neck, and I drew blood, taking slow, controlled sips.

Ending her right there would've been easy.

But that would ruin everything. The moment I revealed myself, any chance of learning more about Moriarty would disappear. That wasn't worth it.

The same went for Moriarty himself. Killing him now was an option, sure, but it felt like a waste. There was still too much I didn't understand about him, and rushing things would only leave me with more questions than answers.

If I had to frame it in a simple way, if I was some kind of hero in this situation, then Moriarty would be my mortal nemesis.

And getting rid of your mortal nemesis this early felt… underwhelming.

Even for me, that sounded boring.

What mattered more was where he came from.

No one should be completely untraceable. People leave marks, even when they try not to. Something always slips through. A connection, a record, or even a small rumor.

Moriarty had none of that.

There was nothing about his origins, nothing about his family, or nothing that tied him to this world in any meaningful way.

That only left one possibility.

He wasn't from this world. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

And considering the name he was using, Moriarty, the arch-nemesis of Sherlock Holmes from my world, it wasn't a stretch to think he came from the same place I did.

That thought alone made things a lot more interesting.

After I finished feeding, we finally made our way out of the prison.

The guards had already been taken care of.

I didn't feel anything about that.

Most of them were terrible people anyway. The kind that abused their position or the kind that probably deserved to be locked up themselves. The warden, especially, had a reputation for buying sex slaves and indulging in things that were messed up even by my standards. He was rumored to be buying and kidnapping young nobles, either a boy or a girl, and force them into becoming sex slaves.

So yeah, none of their deaths bothered me.

After a bit, we stepped outside.

***

The place we ended up in felt like it was buried deep underground.

It had that kind of atmosphere, like it wasn't meant to be found by accident. The air felt still, almost heavy, and everything about it gave off the impression that this place existed outside normal reach.

Well, it was. Because Moriarty used some sort of portal to get us here.

I took a moment to look around.

The magic circle on the ground stood out immediately.

It was large, far larger than something casual. The lines were precise, complex, and layered in a way that suggested careful planning. This wasn't something thrown together. It had purpose.

A ritual site.

Given the size, it probably involved something big. Sacrificial rituals came to mind first. The scale alone suggested multiple offerings, maybe even something ongoing.

Moriarty had connections. That much was obvious.

Pulling off something like this required resources, people, and knowledge. None of that came easily.

Destroying it right there would've been simple.

One move and it would all fall apart.

But I didn't.

There were still things I needed to see first.

***

After taking in as much as I could from their base, I decided it was time to move to the next step.

I called Sara.

She responded immediately and she told me she was already in position.

I drew a teleportation circle on the floor of the room I had been assigned, carefully tracing each line. The pattern formed cleanly, glowing faintly as I activated it.

A moment later, the light flared, and Sara appeared.

"Master!" she said the instant she arrived.

Right now, she was using my appearance, mirroring me the same way I had mirrored her earlier. Seeing it from the outside was a bit strange, but I didn't dwell on it.

"I'm going to head back and check on the others," I said. "For now, you stay here."