In the small, muddy alley, littered with floating refuse, a man in a long coat walked silently, blending into the sound of the drizzling rain overhead.
He, with a stern face and bright eyes fixed ahead, paused before a murky puddle.
The watch on his wrist, illuminated by the dim streetlight, showed it was very late; the time for hunters and prey had begun.
A shadow darted across the alley, weaving through the trees, deliberately making noises that would unnerve even the calmest person, as if for amusement.
The man stood motionless, ignoring the threat. He smirked faintly at his opponent's efforts.
As if challenged, the shadow leaped at the man, its mouth gaping wide, filled with sharp, spiraling fangs, preparing for a clean bite.
In an instant, a sword flashed in the rainy night, cleaving the Entity in two so quickly it didn't even register the pain from its opponent's weapon. The nameless Entity died swiftly, still uncomprehending why it had been defeated.
Two figures now occupied the alley: one was still the middle-aged man, and the other appeared to be just over twenty. The ash-gray trench coat he wore was darkening with rainwater. The large broadsword he wielded with an ease that suggested incredible strength, as if lifting a mere thread, testified to the young man's power.
The two-handed sword in his grasp likely weighed over half a hundredweight, its blade as wide as a man's torso, with a downward-pointing guard and a wheel-pommel like a claymore.
"You never lift a finger, Master!" the young man grumbled while sheathing his claymore.
"That's because I'm your master, you fool."
The man reached into his pocket, pulled out an old, crumpled pack of cigarettes, put one to his lips for the young man to light, and took a deep drag.
The smoke was quickly dispersed by the rain, but he still looked content with each puff.
"Hurry up, brat. Don't let them find the Key before us."
✤✤✤ ✤✤✤ ✤✤✤
Ethan felt incredibly lucky to have found a guesthouse in this tiny town.
Nestled between Londinium and Keswick, Aylesbury was surrounded by treacherous, winding mountain passes – a minuscule and bland town, yet situated on the main North-South highway.
It possessed no striking natural features to attract attention; it just sat there, year after year, resigned to its fate, much like its inhabitants who weren't particularly concerned with current affairs.
During his travels, he had gathered more information about how Entities were gradually changing their abilities, as well as rumors about the approaching Apocalypse.
The Entities were evolving. They were becoming craftier, more sophisticated, and developing new abilities to adapt to the Holy War, which had become a colossal arena of life or death.
What he found amusing was that even as the world stood on the brink of extinction, the organizations and The Divine Order were still tearing each other apart in their quest to find and possess locations with Anti-E mineral deposits, aiming to develop armaments and ultimately seize world power.
While everyone was on the precipice, they still wanted to fight for that illusory power to the very end. This reminded him of a passage from the Holy Scripture, when the arrogant Lucifer sought to usurp the Holy One's throne with only a third of the forces he had gathered, ultimately facing defeat at the hands of Michael, the Archangel, and being imprisoned for a thousand years.Ethan pulled out the necklace with the crucifix pendant and looked at it; he had worn it ever since as a reminder.
Since leaving the chapel, the urge to uncover the Secret of the Holy War burned hotly within him every day.
He believed everyone had a destiny, a specific role in their lifetime, and his role was to find the truth of this war.
This town was merely a tiny spot on the map, but in recent months it had received extraordinary attention. It seemed an important event was about to take place here, as both The Divine Order and O440 had deployed troops to establish bases.
And things that attracted the attention of both organizations were usually one of two: an Entity attack or Anti-E mineral deposits.
Or perhaps, there was a third reason: the Key.Ethan decided to take a walk around the place early the next morning, hoping to find useful information. For now, he thought he was too tired and ready for a good night's sleep.
Outside the window, the rain showed no signs of stopping.
Looking towards the dilapidated ruins, now a blur in the downpour, Ethan thought he should go check them out.
It was as if an inner urge was drawing his feet towards that place.
"I'll swing by there and see…" Ethan muttered to himself, then pulled on his still-damp insulated raincoat and silently opened the door to go outside.
No matter how many times he passed these old, tall buildings, they always instilled a bit of fear in him.
Within the first five years of the Holy War, countless human structures had been destroyed by the power of Entities.
Clusters of skyscrapers were gradually abandoned as they didn't offer enough escape time and easily became targets for large Outside-type Entities used as weapons in battle. Humans had retreated to small apartments no more than three stories high, fortifying themselves indoors as night fell, like frightened chickens in a coop awaiting slaughter.
From their arrogant position at the top of the food chain, humanity, for the first time, recognized the power difference between the two species. They quickly abandoned their towering skyscrapers and the feeling of power that came from looking down, retreating into tiny, cave-like dwellings from prehistoric times just to preserve their lives.
The abandoned tall buildings now became forbidden zones, or a place for foolish tests of courage by youngsters who didn't understand the world.
As for Ethan, their desolation and gloom haunted him every time he saw them.
Although Aylesbury was just a small town, in 2017-2018 its infrastructure suddenly received favor and developed rapidly due to its location between two large cities.
The government wanted to expand and urbanize this town, but for some unknown reason, within just three years of starting construction, all projects were abandoned for over half a century.Ethan fumbled his way into the abandoned high-rise area. It was fenced off with barbed wire, a large "Warning" sign displayed outside. Getting through the fence was a bit difficult, tearing a large patch on his trousers.
To go deeper inside, he had to cross a field of overgrown weeds. The grass was higher than his knees, and burdock flowers clung to his trousers, significantly slowing his movement.
Traces of searches by both O440 and The Divine Order were visible here: heavy boot prints still damp from the recent rain on the ground, a long swathe of grass flattened – they must have ransacked the insides of the buildings.
Something is happening here – Ethan thought silently as he walked into one of the abandoned, musty-smelling tall buildings.
Perhaps I've stopped at the right place; this could be where the Key appears.
By the time he reached the third building, he felt like giving up.
There was nothing left here but a pile of ruins, the stench of filth permeating the air from homeless people and teenagers who had gathered to party and left piles of rubbish behind.
They've searched this whole place and left; there's probably nothing left for me – pessimistic thoughts gradually invaded him, making his steps heavier.
"You're going the wrong way."Ethan jumped and turned around. Rose was behind him with a light blue umbrella in her hand.
"If you want to find the ancient ruins, you should have turned left at the last junction."
She pointed behind her.
"I… You…"
Seeing his stammering demeanor, Rose couldn't help but laugh.
"Weren't you looking for the ancient ruins? There's a temple over here next to three large stacked stones that have been here for a very long time. Around 2018-2020, it was a tourist spot here because of its shape."
– She recounted the town's history as she led him towards the ancient site.
"The locals call it The Three Sisters Stones. It used to be right next to the main road, but when the town council decided on urbanization, they planned to demolish it to build from this focal point. The project ultimately failed because, despite its seemingly fragile posture, it stood firm without a scratch, even when they used explosives."Rose led him to a stack of three large stones piled on top of each other. The average height of the stones was 36 to 50 meters from the road surface. The bottom stone was twice as large as the two on top, and the topmost one was positioned with half of it jutting out, looking as if it might topple at any moment.
Next to the stacked stones was an abandoned temple, a type of religion that had almost disappeared from Albion since the Holy War began.
Around the stacked stones and the temple were many other large boulders, forming clusters shaped like discs.
Some rock clusters were irregularly rectangular, large at one end and small at the other, resting on a much smaller boulder, about 43 meters above the ground.
The mountain cluster had many boulders precariously balanced on each other, with overgrown trees creating dark hollows between them.
"Actually, it was just a local shrine. They built it up there later because of that Buddha statue over there." He looked where she pointed and saw a Buddha statue built on a rock, quite damaged.
"After giving up on destroying the stacked stones, the authorities decided to ignore it, relegating it to the periphery of urbanization and rerouting the main road to its current location. By 2025, it was abandoned, and nearly half a century later, the Holy War occurred, leaving the scene as it is today."
"I've watched this town grow up, Mr. Reporter."Rose looked directly at him and spread her arms wide as if to demonstrate her seriousness.
"And I will also watch it die…"
"Like now."