Seren and Elara came back in, their eyes gasped with shock on the mess at my feet. The bodies now were nothing but chunks, shredded, mangled, mixed together until they couldn't tell whose limb was whose.
Seren's brow furrowed. Elara's lips parted slightly.
"What… happened here?" Seren asked.
I shrugged, voice flat. "Don't know. Their bodies just… exploded." I motioned at myself. "Look at me. You think I wanted this?"
Blood was soaked into every seam of my clothes, dripping from my hair, running down my arms. I looked like I'd crawled straight out of a horror story.
"What about the children?" I asked.
They glanced at each other, silent for a second, then both shook their heads.
"The room's empty," Elara said slowly. "Too empty. It's… strange."
Seren nodded. "You should check it yourself."
I dragged a sleeve across my face, smearing more than cleaning, then started toward the other room, the sticky sound of blood trailing with me.
I pushed the door open. The smell inside was stale, but the place was empty. No bedding, no crates… nothing.
Even the floor looked scrubbed clean.
I stepped in and scanned the room. The dust was disturbed in a few spots, like something had been dragged, but the trail cut off halfway.
"Seem someone wiped this place," I said, glancing back at Seren
Seren's eyes narrowed. "Which means they knew we were coming."
I stepped further in, checking the corners. "That doesn't make sense. If they knew we were coming, there'd be more preparations in place. They wouldn't gamble on the chance we wouldn't report this to the authorities."
We fanned out across the room. Seren moved along the left wall, tracing a gloved hand over the stone as if feeling for seams. Elara crouched near the far corner, sweeping her catalyst's tip lightly across the floor for hidden markings.
I checked the center first, bare planks, no hollow echo when I stepped. The walls held no discoloration, no loose mortar. Even the ceiling beams were free of dust, as though someone had gone out of their way to clean them.
Seren shook her head once. "Nothing here."
I crouched and ran my fingers over the faint drag marks again. They stopped abruptly, as if the trail had been cut, not faded. "This was deliberate," I said. "Whatever they moved, they made sure we couldn't follow it."
Elara stood, brushing off her hands. "Then we're wasting time. Whoever was here is long gone."
We made another sweep just to be sure, checking every crack and shadow. By the time we regrouped at the doorway, the answer was the same, nothing left, nothing to track.
Elara let out a slow breath. "Let's return for now. We can investigate again tomorrow… it's not like we have any other clue."
"I might have something," Seren said, glancing between us. "But I need to confirm it first. Let's meet again tomorrow, after the noon prayer."
We stepped out into the street, but Seren stopped us with a look. "Not like that." Her gaze went over the blood splattered across me. "Walking back through the Upper District looking like that will only get us arrested."
She led us through two narrow back lanes to an abandoned house with its door still intact and a water basin inside.
The place was dusty, but the furniture was intact, and the windows still latched. "Stay here," she said. "I'll get fresh robes. Don't leave until I'm back."
When the door shut behind her, I took a rag from the basin and wiped the worst of the blood off my face and arms. My sleeves were already stained through, and my boots left faint red prints on the floorboards. I worked the cloth over my hands until the water in the basin turned dark.
Elara stood nearby, silent at first, then finally said, "How can you do that? Kill them like that… without a second thought?"
"They weren't going to stop," I said. "You saw what was happening to them."
Her grip tightened on her catalyst. "Even so… their screaming faces are still in my mind. Even now, I'm using a calming spell just to keep it down."
I didn't answer right away. "You grew up somewhere safe, didn't you?"
Her eyes flicked toward me. "The noble society isn't as safe as you think. But yes… I've never had to watch someone die like that before."
"Then you've been spared the worst of it," I said. "Out here, you don't get the luxury of hesitation."
She frowned but didn't argue. "As noble, I was taught to resolve things without bloodshed."
"You know you could still back down," I said. "Things will only get more dangerous from here, and honestly… I don't think Lumina Sanctum is the right place for you.
You're a noble, you don't have to worry about scraping by to live. So why go there? From what I've seen, even if you still have faith in Luminis, you don't like how they act."
Elara let out a quiet sigh. "It's either that or get married. Being a noble is its own battlefield. All those privileges come at a cost, my freedom."
"I see," I said. "Every noble family needs to send a representative into the Sanctum to keep their influence, don't they?"
She gave a small nod. "Exactly. It's tradition, but it's also politics. My father calls it a 'sacred duty.' I call it a way to keep me out of his hair while he works out deals with other houses."
Her tone sharpened as she went on. "Every time I try to make my own choice, I'm reminded who controls my title, my wealth, my life.
Even the robes I wear in the Sanctum are chosen for me. I can't even decide what color thread goes into my own sleeves without someone from the house giving approval."
She looked away, jaw tight. "So if I have to play their game, I'd rather be somewhere I can be myself… even if it's dangerous."
I frowned, the thought slipping out under my breath. "So her family has that much sway over her decisions… were they part of what led to her death?"
The memory of her final moments in the last cycle flickered in my mind.
Elara glanced at me, then smiled softly. "It's strange, you know? Somehow, I just feel… comfortable and safe around you. Like we've known each other for a long time."
Her voice lowered. " And I still feel that way, even after seeing you kill those people without flinching. What I've told you before… I've never told anyone else.."