Lucian had just realized something.
His eyes widened slightly, gazing at Aurora who walked calmly beside him.
It might sound strange, but he felt there was something odd about himself the moment he saw her. As they walked—right when they reached a three-way intersection—Lucian suddenly froze, standing motionless amidst the bustle of the city.
23 July. The time was 9:10 a.m. He suddenly remembered something—like the presence of two people who had spoken to him before he woke up and regained consciousness earlier.
Nathan and Aurora turned back, seeing Lucian standing still and acting strangely. They only glanced at him briefly before Lucian began walking again, confusion swirling endlessly in his mind.
"This really does feel strange. But it's like I was at home, talking with two people whose names I don't even know," said Lucian, walking without realizing he had passed the two of them.
Nathan, puzzled, jogged up to tap him on the shoulder. "Hey… thinking about something?"
"Yeah, there's something odd that's been bothering me," he answered curtly.
From behind, Aurora stepped closer and said, "Enough. Don't talk too much."
They continued walking toward a certain place where someone had been waiting. But Nathan kept thinking about what had happened to his friend. From that moment on, strange things kept happening to him.
It might seem excessive to worry this much about a friend, but Nathan wanted to help him return to the family waiting for him—and free him from that wicked curse.
Five minutes later. No. 39 North Monity Street.
The Haswelt residence—an old house that was unsettling even to look at, with cracked walls, a roof that looked ready to collapse, and a street lamp out front that flickered or was beyond repair. But inside that house lived an old man—Aurora's foster father.
Since childhood, Aurora had never known her family. She had survived as a child by eating scraps from bread boxes no longer fit for use. One of the high priests of the Meira church took her in, letting her live there with the other children.
Day to day, she stayed at one of the churches in Monity—Meira. She helped wash clothes, prepare meals for others as well as herself, and took part in rituals in the underground chapel devoted to one of the goddesses worshipped by the church. From those rituals, one could receive supernatural powers according to the condition of their body.
If the body rejected or failed, however, a person could be left unable to move—sometimes for one to three weeks after the ritual.
Lennon Haswelt had succeeded in the ritual, gaining the Inkbinder, which had since evolved into—Number 5—Truth Veil. It allowed him to uncover mysteries, interrogate spirits, and speak with beings from other realms.
When Aurora was about five years old, Lennon offered to take care of her. The church caretaker could not refuse, and from that day on Aurora had lived with him.
Lennon's life had been wretched. He had served under the leadership of the secretive Night Church, whose members possessed supernatural powers. Eventually, when he was no longer useful, they stopped visiting him—abandoning him entirely.
It might sound cruel, but Lennon let it be, doing his best to hide all of it from Aurora.
…
Lucian and Nathan glanced briefly at the house at the far end of No. 39 Monity Street, set apart from the others—different from those in the center of town.
"Is someone here supposed to meet us, Ms. Victoria?" he asked in a low voice that clearly carried suspicion.
Aurora only gave him a brief glance, neither denying nor confirming—as though there was nothing wrong with the place. Lucian shifted his gaze to the upper floor of the house before him.
"Hey… what are you waiting for?" murmured Aurora as she walked up to the house and reached for the door. Behind her, the two men only nodded and followed.
The door opened. The interior was dark—no sunlight reached inside. Lucian turned, his eyes following the mist that suddenly appeared before him.
Suddenly, thick fog began to fill the house after they had all stepped inside. A loud creak of a door opening echoed, and from the stairs appeared glowing words—floating, darting swiftly toward them.
The words spiraled, wrapping around the two men, forming a protective ward of text. Then, a calm, slightly deep voice spoke.
"Someone is following you," it whispered.
Aurora's eyes widened. She now understood her foster father's true reason for bringing the two of them here.
"Stay calm. This will be fine." After saying that, Aurora urged them to follow her—up the stairs toward the far end of the left hallway.
There was Lennon Haswelt's room. They all struggled a little to climb the stairs with the words still coiled around them. But Aurora reached out, touching the floating script, and felt it as though touching pudding.
Lucian read the words softly, his eyes narrowing slightly as something came to mind. He only nodded faintly, saying nothing.
Aurora watched him for a moment—trying to read his expression.
But Lucian remained composed. Silent, narrowing his eyes as he tried to recall something. Slowly, he began piecing together fragments of the puzzle that were starting to point in a certain direction.
Lucian paused for a moment, then jolted as a memory flashed through his mind.
"Huh, damn it!" he muttered, then added, "So it was him who did this to me." His jaw tightened as the memory returned.
Slowly, he turned toward Aurora, who at that moment was staring sharply back at him. A strange light shimmered faintly in her hair, making her seem almost untouchable.
Lucian gave a faint smile. "Thank you,"
The words slipped out softly, almost a whisper.
By the time they reached the end of the hallway, they stood before Lennon's room. Aurora knocked once, but there was no response from inside.
Sensing something was wrong, she reluctantly opened the door without his permission. From a distance, she saw Lennon lying weakly on the bed. He glanced toward her with a faint smile.
That smile was like the morning sun warming the whole earth. Seeing it, Aurora's steps grew heavier as she approached.
"Are you alright?" she asked, holding her father's hand, now cold to the touch.
Lucian and Nathan felt moved, exchanging a glance and a nod as though agreeing on an unspoken plan.
"Should we open this window?" Nathan asked, trying to push it open.
The window opened. The room remained silent and dark. Aurora walked over to light the candle on the table.
"So, Father, what made you want to meet with the two of them?" she asked, holding a small stick with a flame in her hand.