Semilir City, Syata, Cander Street.
Near the train station.
11:00 p.m., Sunday, April 6th, Year 1544 according to the Star Calendar.
A modest apartment tucked away in an alley, where, despite the late hour, the laughter of children playing echoed through the stillness of the night.
Even so, Sunday was known as one of the favorite days for the people of Semilir, especially those living in the Syata district, for one reason: the Goddess Yarandrela would protect lost souls like them, while listening to their grievances and accepting their affection.
Yes, although this happened on Saturday nights and Sunday nights, the children, and especially their parents, cherished these peaceful moments before returning to the bleakness of reality, except during those two nights.
Strange as it was, they had genuinely held that belief from birth to adulthood, even until the very end of their lives.
"...Watching those children play reminds me of my home," Zeta Audervin said with a bitter smile.
Arvrenda, who had been sitting at the edge of the front porch steps, watching the children play late into the night, nodded with a smile.
"Speaking of that, it reminds me of the time you came to my place to complain about that drunken man picking on you," Arvrenda said, glancing at Zeta, who was sitting on the mahogany chair to the right of the half-open door.
Zeta looked away, trying to hide her embarrassment.
'She still remembers that? That was four... no, five years ago now, wasn't it?'
After a moment of thought, Zeta turned back and looked at her intently.
"About my friend..."
Arvrenda immediately interrupted.
"You don't believe he's dead?"
Zeta hesitated before continuing. Then, after staring blankly for a moment, she said clearly, "That's not it, but... don't you find this place strange?"
Arvrenda turned toward her, her expression difficult to read.
"You mean you think the people at the top ordered their subordinates, especially the police, the security department, supernatural investigators, and detectives, to move around far more than they normally would?" she asked, seeking confirmation.
Zeta leaned slightly forward in her seat.
"You could say that. Even the church that worships the god Auneron has sent its envoys to investigate the entire Syata district."
A suffocating silence settled over the porch as both of them held their breath, deeply affected by that statement.
They knew that the arrival of the Church of Auneron signaled dangers lurking beyond the perception of ordinary people like themselves, including the evil religions whose influence had recently spread at an alarming rate.
Although Arvrenda Guelhram possessed an understanding of supernatural matters, she was deeply unsettled by the deaths and supernatural incidents involving the Security Department, an organization renowned for handling such matters.
Recently, the number of criminals and market agitators had increased day by day, shaking the economy and slowly but steadily eroding the kingdom's internal stability.
Although the king appeared calm on the surface, he had already mobilized a special force known only to himself and a select few members of the royal family.
Unwilling to be outdone by the king, Duke Milleonard Ahiston, ruler of Ninesoral Province, expanded the military under his command to eradicate criminals throughout his territory.
Zeta raised an eyebrow as something important suddenly came to mind.
"I swear, I just remembered something."
Arvrenda looked back at her.
"Remembered what?" she muttered curiously.
Zeta nodded and said, "I'm not sure whether it's true or not, but there's something unusual in eastern Syata."
The border between Schoutzin and Syata.
"Something unusual in eastern Syata? Like what?"
Naturally, Arvrenda was confused, and for a moment wondered how Zeta had even ended up there.
She herself didn't know. The only thing she knew was that lately Zaharon had often taken her around Syata to enjoy the technological progress of Semilir City.
Zeta gently tapped her chin with her index finger.
"...Hmm, it goes like this. Aurora and I had just left the church on Central Street the previous Saturday. For some reason, the priest held the service that should have taken place on Sunday."
Arvrenda nodded and continued listening.
"After we walked out through the church gate and had gone a few meters, I saw a clown in the park surrounded by children, adults, even elderly people watching the performance. To make a long story short, after the performance ended, I realized I had somehow been taken to Lake Cirster, which stretches across northeastern and eastern Syata. I don't remember how it happened. Even Aurora, whom I'd invited to watch the performance with me to ease our minds and spirits, was shocked," Zeta continued, trying to explain everything in detail.
It was obvious Arvrenda was still trying to process the lengthy story.
Then Zeta innocently asked in confusion, "Do you know what dissociation is?"
A brief silence lasted for several seconds, perhaps even minutes.
As if that were not enough, Zeta spoke again, this time with unmistakable excitement in her voice.
"The people who had been watching the clown's performance were brought there too, as though they had already been there with us by the time the visitors who had arrived earlier saw them."
Arvrenda's thoughts froze. She was left speechless, and even the rhythm of her heartbeat slowed.
She wanted to call it derealization, but the other spectators had been dragged there along with them.
Clearly, Arvrenda Guelhram had no idea how to answer that question.
One fact crossed her mind as she reflected on Zeta's story for several minutes.
"...Zeta." Arvrenda turned toward her, her piercing gaze shining through her glasses. "Was that clown... there?"
Zeta nodded confidently.
"He was there."
Arvrenda's eyes widened, and her lips twitched.
"Is that really true?"
The realization made Arvrenda hiss inwardly.
From that moment on, she could not stop thinking about Zeta's story, even after she had gone to her room and prepared to sleep.
"Damn it... did that really happen?"
Zaharon, lying on a thick blanket beneath the bed, looked toward the upper left.
"Did you say something?" he asked in confusion.
Arvrenda lifted her head slightly and glanced downward with raised brows.
'He's still awake? Wait... what has he been doing all this time?'
She shook her head. She had assumed he had fallen asleep three hours earlier, yet apparently he had once again become immersed in his own fantasies.
"No," she answered, short and to the point.
From that moment on, the image of that place seemed permanently etched into both of their minds.
....
In the city of Minehold, in Menotalle.
The blue moonlight, partially veiled behind dark clouds, struggled to illuminate the world below.
The atmosphere in the early evening was still ordinary, nothing like what would unfold a few hours later.
Sunday, 6:30 p.m.
Ren walked steadily toward his home, located in an alley near the main road.
He had taken back his previous words, and reluctantly, he had been forced to lie once again.
After wandering aimlessly for three days, circumstances had finally compelled him to return home.
Ding-dong.
After waiting several minutes, Ren shifted his feet uneasily.
Scuff... scuff...
The sound of shoe soles scraping against the stone pavement echoed clearly along the quiet street behind him.
Only a few people passed by: a drunkard, a madman, and either a married couple or a pair of lovers.
Ren glanced at them briefly while continuing to wait for a response from his family, hoping one of them would open the door.
Then he drew a deep breath, realizing things could not continue like this. For some reason, a chill ran down his spine.
"Mom... it's me," he called loudly, his voice firm and clear.
Inside, his mother whispered to Isabelle after Ren knocked on the door for the third time following his first ring of the doorbell. The two of them were now gathered in the living room.
"Who is it, Mom? It sounded like he was calling for you."
Isabelle looked toward her mother, whose eyes were closed as though something felt terribly wrong.
His voice continued to echo outside, filling their minds with a deep sense of unease.
Out on the front porch, passersby returning from work, or those who had been out since Sunday morning and were only now coming home, glanced toward Ren.
One of them, a man walking along the sidewalk several meters away, stopped and chuckled.
"Looks like you'll be sleeping outside tonight," he said, shaking his head before continuing on his way.
A man across the street shouted back, "Be patient. A wife needs plenty of affection, you know." The man in the fedora chuckled to himself, shook his head, and stepped aside as a woman wearing a lace blouse, a dark blue skirt, and a leather belt walked past him and crossed the quiet street.
Ren turned and stared at her for several seconds.
'Why is she here?'
Once the woman reached the sidewalk not far from where Ren stood, she climbed the short flight of steps and tipped her velvet fedora adorned with black feathers.
"I am at your service," the woman said.
Ren took several steps back, slowly rubbing his forehead.
"Why did you come here?" he asked to make sure.
The woman adjusted her hat, then nodded and replied flatly, "Of course I'm worried about you."
Ren snorted, the corner of his mouth lifting into the faintest hint of a smirk.
'Damn that guy. He actually sent Veranica here to cheer me up.'
Naturally, after Ren's argument, or rather his shouting match with Hagi, neither of them had returned to their previous meeting place.
Knowing this would only worsen the internal situation within "The Devil is Here," Elmer Michelle sent Veranica to visit Ren's house while Elmer himself went to search for Hagi at his usual hangout.
After explaining everything over the course of several minutes, Ren led Veranica farther away, uneasy that his family might misunderstand the situation.
Meanwhile, his mother decided to approach the door.
Click.
Nothing.
Only a few pedestrians walked by, while the night breeze brushed against her face for a moment.
The tension faded, replaced by profound confusion.
Mei turned around, her pupils visibly trembling.
Holding her breath, she slowly closed the door and locked it from the inside.
The click of the lock echoed longer than it should have as Mei walked toward Isabelle.
Isabelle hurried over to her mother, suppressing the chill creeping up the back of her neck.
"Mom, did you see something?"
Slowly, Mei looked into her daughter's face. Her expression changed drastically, becoming completely ordinary, as though trying to conceal that bitter truth.
"No," she answered gently. "Someone was just playing a prank by ringing the doorbell."
Isabelle almost pursed her lips before nodding.
"Oh? What are you cooking tonight, Mom?" she asked, trying to change the subject.
"Ah, the usual," Mei replied softly, her breathing gradually becoming steady again.
Only then did Mei understand why Ren had once warned them never to open the door at night.
In an alley ninety-five meters away from his house, the two of them stood together.
Other pedestrians occasionally glanced at them, imagining all sorts of things.
Ren, however, paid no attention to their stares and instead found Veranica Holdun's sudden appearance deeply strange.
"Explain this to me. Why isn't that man with the two of you?" he asked, simply to make sure.
"Because of that argument. Hagi is still insisting on finding those two," she replied emotionlessly.
Ren shifted his feet.
"So he's searching all the way to Moran City?" Ren asked for confirmation.
Veranica blinked several times.
"Of course," she answered, short and clear.
Ren studied Veranica carefully.
"That outfit actually suits you," he said, unable to see her face because of their difference in height and the hat concealing it.
Veranica was left speechless as she lowered her hat.
'Did Ren just compliment me? That's the first compliment I've ever heard come from him.'
Veranica steadied her breathing as her heartbeat quickened.
'What is this feeling?'
She raised her head, looked at him for several seconds, and said indifferently, "Michelle asked me to bring you back. There's something important he wants to discuss."
Ren had already suspected there was an ulterior motive behind their attempt to persuade him.
"What is it?" Ren asked, his eyes reluctant to open fully.
"We're going back to Moran City to conduct the investigation ourselves," she replied calmly.
After the brief explanation, the two of them hurried toward the house, where Elmer Michelle and Hagi had already been waiting for their arrival.