Previously, Aurora was searching for Kyle, who had suddenly disappeared in the house. After leaving the room she had entered, she saw a man acting strangely, seemingly looking for something.
Without hesitation, Aurora shouted at him. The man turned around, realising that someone had noticed his presence. He immediately ran away, not wanting to be caught.
Seeing this, Aurora immediately chased after him, wanting to ask why he had come to this house.
Unexpectedly, the man was very cunning. He knew every hiding place in the house, making it difficult for Aurora to find him. Even with the help of torchlight, she could not find any trace of him.
A few moments later, just as she was walking down the left corridor on the ground floor, she suddenly heard the creaking of wood. Before she could react, an antique wooden cabinet fell and hit her.
Crash!
Aurora's left leg was crushed by the cabinet. She grimaced in pain, and her face immediately broke out in a sweat. On the other hand, she was sure that the fall of the cabinet had been planned by the cunning man.
Aurora's jaw tightened. Her surging emotions triggered the power in her gloves; blue threads of energy ignited, emitting a cold light in the dark corridor.
Her left hand struck the cabinet hard.
Brakk! The blow produced a sound that echoed throughout the hallway. Instantly, the wooden cabinet shattered, turning into a thick pile of ash that billowed like a small mountain in front of her. Aurora was furious. She kicked the pile of dust, scattering it everywhere.
Aurora continued walking, this time not just to ask questions, but determined to beat him up as well. However, without her knowing, the man had set more than one trap.
A few minutes later, Aurora fell into another trap. Because the floor was not visible, her foot accidentally stepped on a string tied to a broken lamp hanging above. The lamp fell, hitting her head quite hard. Aurora collapsed, holding her throbbing head.
Aurora stood up, this time determined to really beat the man up. She stepped forward cautiously, not knowing what trap would befall her next.
The man was cunning; he knew that Aurora would turn left. And at that moment, her body was hit by a pile of objects such as a sofa, wooden chest, pots, lamps and other objects in the house.
Aurora was helpless and angry at this strange trap. Without thinking twice, energy flared in her hands and incinerated all the objects that had hit her body.
Aurora woke up a few moments later.
Her body and face were almost completely black, covered in thick dust from the debris. Her vision was blurry, her breathing was labored, and every breath brought dust particles into her nose and throat.
She reflexively exhaled forcefully, trying to expel the dust she had inhaled.
"Ugh... damn," she hissed hoarsely.
Coughing slightly, Aurora patted her face and hair, removing the remaining dust.
Aurora felt around on the floor, searching for the black headband that had fallen. She found it a few inches away from where she was standing, and Aurora immediately put it on.
She sighed after that, this time not taking the strange trap lightly. As she walked, a blue light enveloped her body. As expected, after walking for a while, she encountered the last and most dangerous trap.
Several blades and pieces of iron flew towards her at high speed. But the blue light managed to melt the iron and blades. Aurora smiled as she saw this and calmly continued on her way.
Meanwhile...
Aurora and Kyle looked at each other. They were confused because an hour of searching had yielded no results; they hadn't even found a single trace left behind in the house.
Kyle looked at her and said, "Why are you chasing that man?" He was still staring at Aurora's face, which was hiding something, like a volcano about to erupt.
Silence followed. Her eyes widened suddenly, and Aurora walked away without giving an answer.
Whether it was because of his memory or just because she was a friend, Kyle reflexively grabbed Aurora's hand, needing an explanation about her condition.
Aurora turned her face away. Her face was wrinkled as if holding back uncontrollable anger.
But when Kyle touched her hand, her heart felt a little calmer and the anger slowly faded.
"Why don't you just tell me? I'll listen to your problems," Kyle said softly.
Hearing this, Aurora fell silent. Her encounter with this man was no coincidence; it was the trigger that reopened something that should have remained buried.
After that, Aurora still chuckled, leaving Kyle without giving him an answer. Kyle just stood silently watching her from a distance, but on the other hand, he no longer cared about her, because he was happy to be free of her.
Without anyone else's interference, his investigation into Kyle's death became easier. Kyle sighed and decided to change his destination, heading south to the part of town where the two of them had performed the fateful ritual.
But, unbeknownst to him, the sun had been swallowed by the horizon and the light of the blue crescent moon appeared as a natural lamp illuminating the world with its soft light.
At 6:05 PM, and without him realising it, the festival was about to begin. His stomach began to growl loudly, unlike what he had said earlier, Kyle decided to go to the festival to find something to eat and not forget to drink the famous herbal tea in this city.
He waited, sitting pensively while staring at the blue sky. Some people passing by looked at him strangely, but Kyle was unaware of their stares.
Tens of minutes had passed, and he realised he had become the centre of attention for passers-by. Some were talking about his strange behaviour, sitting silently in front of a house that was well-known in the area.
Kyle's mouth gaped open, unable to bear the stares of others. He stood up and decided to wait somewhere else.
A strange thought popped into his head, "Like a weirdo, just sitting and staring at the ceiling, but that's where he feels comfortable, hahaha."
He smiled briefly and continued walking, feeling embarrassed.
And then the time came, 7:10 p.m. Kyle walked through the festival entrance. The atmosphere was so lively that Kyle could hear people talking in every direction.
Kyle remembered coming to the festival five years ago. But he felt that five years was a short time, and a strange feeling suddenly arose after remembering that.
He was lost in thought, not knowing what to say. Suddenly, his mood was broken by a familiar voice greeting him from behind.
Kyle turned around and saw two people approaching him. One was a man with black hair and brown eyes, and the other was a woman with the same physical characteristics, but she was wearing a black hat on her head.
"How are you, Kyle? It's been a while since we graduated from high school," the man asked, patting Kyle on the shoulder.
Kyle chuckled after that and said, "Ah, yes. I didn't expect you to come here," he replied, trying to be as calm as possible.
The man's name was Vleir Acuenz, Kyle's high school friend and Flove's classmate. Kyle, on the other hand, didn't know the identity of the woman standing with his friend.