Flip, Lumin opened the book to the next page, a single candle burning on the table in front of him.
So far, he had been reading every book he could find from Shirley's small library while she was sleeping behind him on the bed.
The things he had learned so far were often things he knew she would never have told him.
Flip!
He opened to another page.
'The witch's cult.'
From what he was reading, the witch's cult were five individual beings aiming to bring not only the Harbinger—their reasons for wanting him were unknown, but still, they despised the gods and humanity, so it couldn't be good.
Moving forward, the five members of the witch's cult went as follows:
The Witch of the Red Moon
The Thorn Witch
The Silent Witch
The Witch of Livicah
And then lastly, the most influential of them all, the Witch of Calamity, the woman who founded the Nexus organization.
'Shirley wasn't exaggerating when she said they had done some devious things for the sake of their ideals. It says here they are wanted in every part of the world, but the Architects themselves.'
Because only two of the five witches were alive, the Witch of Calamity and the Silent Witch sacrificed an entire kingdom to revive their peers.
While their plan was ruined by the Architect of Death, the effects it had still lingered on the people to this day.
Then there was also the fact that people had come to believe that the Nexus organization was somehow able to speed up the birth of Fecits, and control them to attack people or cause an outbreak whenever they could.
Lumin intended to ask Shirley when she woke up.
Just as he wanted to open the next page, he saw a black and white picture. It was of a beautiful woman seated on a chair and holding the chest piece of a queen.
Underneath her picture was written: The Architect of Time.
'This is what they look like. I didn't think they'd be human. It also says here she rules over the Rachin regions. That is quite far away.'
As he turned the pages, he saw yet another picture, of another woman dressed in a veil that covered her entire body—The Architect of Death.
Below her, another picture: The Architect of War.
And then the rest all followed the same pattern but with different titles: Freedom, Shadows, Sorcery, and Technology.
Every single one of these Architects ruled over a certain region in Linye.
Currently, the Architect ruling over the Fiona Region, where Lumin was, was the Architect of Freedom.
'They don't seem like bad people, at least from what I am reading here.'
Lumin sighed, then closed the book.
'I have done enough reading for today; I should go drink some water and then head to bed. I'll pick it up tomorrow.'
With grace, he stood up from the chair.
He glanced in Shirley's direction and saw that she was still sleeping. Confirming she was doing alright, he headed out of the room.
Lumin held a cup in one hand, hovering toward the tap and switching it on.
As water dripped into his cup, he suddenly noticed a slight movement coming from outside the building through the window in front of him.
Glancing toward the window, he didn't see anything; all he could see was the direct moonlight and two red fireflies dancing around.
A sigh left his mouth.
'I'm getting worked up over nothing, probably because of what I read.'
He stared into the cup of water for a while.
'It does sound strange that I have a system and all; I don't think anyone else has that, according to Shirley. If I somehow do end up being this Harbinger of Fate, what exactly do I stand for? I remember nothing of my past. Am I supposed to be hope for humanity, or death?'
Once again, he felt something move outside the window.
'Uhm…'
"Is someone there?" he voiced out, waiting to see if he would hear some kind of response.
He did not.
Curious, Lumin moved his face closer to the window, aiming to catch a glimpse of a thief or someone lost in the woods.
Instead, what he saw left him shocked and driven.
There, outside the window, were multiple monster-looking creatures. Tall legs, arched backs, bodies made of black raging mist, and eyes glowing as red as the sun.
"Fecit attac—!"
The Fecit broke the wall completely with its hand before Lumin could warn Shirley about the enemy, and then it grabbed Lumin by the throat.
Its hands were nothing like a human's. Instead, they were two-fingered, like a pair of gnarled branches, that shot out and clamped down on Lumin's neck with a vise-like grip.
'So strong…'
Lumin struggled to free himself, his extraordinary strength simply useless in front of the monster.
This was the first time Lumin was seeing a Fecit firsthand, and for sure, they looked exactly like nightmares.
The grip of the monsters around his neck was as cold as ice, biting away at his skin.
"KA!"
Lumin's eyes widened as he felt the Fecit pull him closer to the wall with force.
The very next minute, Lumin had crashed through it, breaking not only the sink but also the very wall he slammed into.
Blood dripped from the side of his mouth as his body rolled violently on the grass, only coming to a stop after he slammed against a tree.
As he opened his eyes to have a look at where he was, a kick came speeding to the side of his face.
Lumin was fast to act, blocking the attack with his arm, but the impact still sent him flying to the side with a dislocated arm.
Rolling on the ground, Lumin managed to muster the strength to land on his knees, holding his broken hand while panting heavily.
'W-What the hell is happening?'
He thought to himself, out of breath.
Blood had trickled down from his head to his eyes, subsequently blurring his vision.
Still, Lumin could see the monsters closing in on him.
These creatures had somehow managed to back him into a corner, leaving no escape route.
'Shit.'