The Victorian-style mansion, one of the many owned by the Southeast family, stood proud atop of a hill — similarly to the Northwest Manor. The outside could be mistaken for their West Coast counterparts, but in terms of sophistication and value on the property, the Southeast Manor made the Northwest properties look like townhouses.
Maids dusted off several priceless pieces of furniture while the cooks worked tirelessly, swerving past one another to prepare banquet-level amounts of food.
Gulford, who had spent the better half of the day prepping for the Northwests, returned to the library. He punched in the passcode keeping the room closed off to the rest of the world. Several bolts opened and security alarms disabled.
"What are you doing?" The stern voice of his father came from down the hall.
"Nothing, father. Just looking for some alone time before my fiancée arrives." He responded with an equally but more youthful voice.
"Yes, well, they will be here shortly. I expect you to be on your very best behavior and act presentably to your new in-laws. Am I clear?" Gulford's father was met with silence. He furrowed his brow. His patience dwindled with every second he didn't receive an answer. "Gulford!"
"Yes, father. I understand." Gulford held his breath and didn't release it until his father walked away. Once out of sight, he entered the library.
The room embodied absolute nothingness. No lights, no life, and now way out. No amount of time could adjust the human eyes to the weight of darkness.
In the center of the room, positioned carefully on a podium and surrounded by unlit torches was a book. Gulford took a bow before opening it up. A surge of energy escaped the age-old pages, lighting each of the torches in the room with sinister blue flames. The new-found light reached the center of the room, revealing the name on the book: Journal 4.
Gulford opened the book to the previously marked page. The pages read: The Path to Revival, and was accompanied by several symbols unrecognizable to any language and a picture of a triangle with a single eye, a top hat, and a cane.
"I'll see you soon, Pacifica. . ." He said before taking a blade and sliding it across his palm. He showed no reaction to the self-inflicted pain. His lack of emotion made the air in the room seem heavier than it was.
Drops of blood leaked onto the pages, causing the eye within the triangle to glow. Everything in the library reacted to the sudden shift in reality. Previously created cracks deepened into the walls of the library. Books flew off the shelves and rearranged themselves. Journal 4 spun violently in the air before finally shutting.
Gulford simply fixed his hair and placed a black glove over his hand to hide the evidence. When his eyes opened, all the fires in the room went out. What was previously a deep blue color turned into a sickly shade of yellow.
". . .And your friends."