"What... What the hell is going on?" It took Reon a while to digest what he had just seen, but the moment he did, he couldn't help but yell with a voice full of confusion.
His eyes then darted towards his parents, seeking an answer, but it was clear from their expression that they had none. They just sat there in silence as if they too were shocked by this sudden revelation.
"I..." Pausing mid-way, Reon took a deep breath and folded the paper neatly before sitting beside his parents. "What do I do?"
He had heard countless rumours about the so-called Great Departure. To him, it had always seemed like some sinister ritual. Over time, he had imagined endless possibilities, but never once did he think that one day, it might be his turn.
"Ann..." A sudden realisation hit him as he muttered this name. Perhaps this childhood friend of his could find a way out. Maybe he could have some answers. Even though Reon knew the chances were slim to none, it was at least better than doing nothing.
Without wasting another second, he rushed out of the house, leaving behind his parents, who were gazing at his back with complex expressions.
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Ann's house was just a block away from his, so within fifty breaths, he had already arrived there. And just when he was about to knock on his door, the door opened, and a middle-aged man came out, looking at him with a deadpan expression.
"Reon!? What are you doing here?" This was Ann's father.
"Where is Ann?" Reon was in no mood for extra chat. Every single second he spent here felt like he was inching closer to his death.
"I don't know." The man just shrugged before heading out, ignoring Reon completely. It wasn't that he was purposefully ignoring him, but years of living together made him treat Reon no less than his own son, so he was pretty casual about the conversation.
"Damn it." Looking at his departing back, Reon gritted his teeth in frustration. He thought about the places that Ann could be in, but couldn't come up with an answer. This bastard would roam all over the city without any rhyme or reason. Once gone, finding him was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Clenching his fists, he crumbled the so-called invitation letter before heading back to his house. Throughout the time, he was lost in his train of thought without even realising that he had already reached his destination.
"Reon!?" In a daze, he heard a stiff voice calling out his name.
"You are?" Looking at the pale-faced man wearing pitch black clothes with a token hanging by his waist, Reon asked, even though he already had his answer.
"I am from the city guards, here to take you." His words were simple, but the meaning behind them was clear. There was no room for refusal or finding any loopholes.
For a moment, Reon froze. If he had been given a few days, he could have found himself a way out; at least this is what he believed. Even if he couldn't, he could have at least prepared himself. But this sudden turn of events caught him off guard.
"Now?" Reon initially thought that he would at least have a day or two, but who would have thought that everything would happen so quickly? Even now, Reon felt like he was still in a dream.
"Now." With a nod, the man just raised his hand slightly, signalling Reon to follow him.
"....." At the moment, Reon thought of the countless possibilities. From the way this so-called 'Great Departure' was being kept secret, he had no good feelings about it. He knew it was something terrible, but how much, he had no idea.
Looking at the man's back, he even thought about striking him down and escaping, but the moment this thought came to his mind, he threw it out. Not to mention that the man was twice his size and full of muscles. Even if he somehow managed to take him down with his frail and underdeveloped body, what was he going to do next? Escaping from the town was impossible. Even if he wanted to hide, he couldn't due to the small size of this city.
Innumerable thoughts crossed his mind in an instant as he crossed out various options. Ultimately, he had only two choices. Either escape from the city into the darkness or quietly accept his fate and join the so-called 'Great Departure'.
It didn't take him long to make a decision. Perhaps he might have a chance of survival if he quietly obeyed the order. But if he were to go outside the city, he had absolutely no confidence in survival. He had seen a live example of a man being grabbed by something in the darkness and then turning into something inhumane. Even today, if one were to leave the city and go to the farm, they could still hear his mournful cries.
"What a mess." Muttering under his breath, he just let out a heavy sigh. After arriving in this world, he got too comfortable living a life under someone's protection. To such an extent that he even treated this place as his old world. This led to a rather laid-back, leisurely life.
If only he treated this place seriously and prepared for a rainy day... Even if the outcome wouldn't have been different, he would've at least tried.
Lost in thought, the two of them arrived at their destination. They stood in front of the Inner Core of the city, a place where people like Reon were not allowed to go. Before, Reon always wondered what secrets were hidden inside. But now, as he was about to see it, his excitement was almost gone. He felt tired and unsure.
The Inner Core had its own walls, just like the rest of the city. But these walls were higher and looked much stronger than the others. It was clear that building these walls took a lot of time and effort. It made Reon think that something very important or very dangerous was waiting inside.
Within moments, the two of them stood at the gate. The burly man nodded to the two guards on duty, then led Reon inside.
"This…" As soon as Reon stepped in, his eyes narrowed, and his breath caught in his throat. Shock was written all over his face. Ignoring the crowd there, he looked around.
Compared to the busy city outside, this area was almost empty. There were only a few buildings. In the centre stood a large, fancy manor, far better than any building Reon had seen before. Next to the manor was a brazier with blue flames burning inside it. As soon as Reon saw the flames, he felt the hair on his arms stand up. A strong sense of danger washed over him, as if the fire might leap out and swallow him whole. He had felt fear before, like the first time he saw the world outside the city walls, but this time, the fear was even stronger.
He swallowed hard, trying to calm himself, and looked around. Besides the manor and the brazier, there was a small farm with cows, pigs, and chickens walking around.
"What the…" It was the first time since coming to this world that Reon had ever seen these animals. He had thought they didn't exist here. But now, he realised not only did they exist, they were kept safely inside the core of the city.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to take it all in. Today had been a whirlwind for him. He had been brought here out of nowhere, and now he was finally seeing the secrets of the core.
Reon finally focused on the crowd gathered there. Just like him, many of them stood there confused and afraid. It was clear from their expression that they, too, were brought here without their consent and had no idea what was going on.
Reon took a cursory glance and was already clear about who they were. The special grey clothes they were wearing already gave away their identities as the 'orphans' of the city.
"Am I the only one here?" There were roughly fifty to sixty people here, but Reon couldn't find a single one without the orphan clothes. This puzzled him greatly, but before he could think any further, the doors of the manor suddenly opened, and everything around went quiet.
Walking out was a middle-aged man in his late forties wearing a set of luxurious robes with a clean-shaven face and neatly combed hair, giving him an air of nobility. After walking out, he first glanced at the crowd in front of him before a frown ran across his face. But it was only momentarily.
"I won't say much... But do remember that everything that you are doing is for the greater good of the city."
His vague words already gave off a bad feeling to Reon, who was holding his breath. He was rapidly thinking about his next course of action in the event that this man suddenly decided to go crazy. He even looked around, hoping to find anything that could be used as a weapon.
"Take these things, it is the least I can do for you." With these words, a group of people walked out of the manor, holding large trays consisting of some items.
Looking at the events unfolding, Reon held back the idea of finding something to attack and looked at the group of servants distributing items to everyone in the crowd.
Soon it was his turn too.
"This?" Reon looked at the three things handed over to him before looking around in confusion. In his hand were three items.
The first one was a small wooden box that was the size of his palm. The second one was a small glass bottle inside which was a small glowing ball, and the third one seemed to be some kind of card with vague symbols all over it.
"What the hell is this?" The more he looked at the three things, the more confused he got. But there was also a sense of relief. "Looks like they aren't going to do something evil."
At least he wasn't being sacrificed in some evil ritual as he initially thought. There was no need to go to such lengths and hand them these things if they simply wanted to kill them.
"Remember, when you wake up, the first thing you need to do is open the box." The man spoke with a grave tone, reminding them of their future course of action.
He then took one last look at the children in front of him before taking a deep breath, reaching inside his robe and taking out a small scroll.
Before Reon even had the time to understand the meaning behind his words, he saw the man taking out a scroll and tearing it in half. In that instant, the world around him suddenly grew dim as Reon felt darkness overwhelming him, and he slowly lost consciousness.
The last thing he heard was the muffled words of that man that were full of pity.
"May the fire bless you."