Aren didn't get an ounce of sleep, yet he didn't feel tired at all. It felt like years had passed, yet he had barely felt its effects.
Besides his body growing and his face taking a more masculine structure than before, his mind was just the same.
Due to his abnormal rate of aging, Aren's dark blue robe that he'd had for years was close to being ripped.
At first, he ignored it until Xander noticed it along with the smell of it, which spoke for itself.
For that reason, he gave Aren a new pair of clothes made from Quantum materials.
He wore dark blue beneath a black cloak that trailed to his boots. Faint gold dust clung to the fabric — subtle, but dignified.
'This just feels wrong…'
The bells rang throughout the town, signaling the start of the annual festival.
"You must feel frustrated, but you have to figure that there is no way of finding Faye until we get clues," said Xander.
Aren slightly frowned, then he just nodded in response.
Xander started walking ahead, and Aren followed just behind.
Surrounding them were crowds of people in almost every direction, but one.
The area ahead of them was shadowed by a floating castle above, far up in the skies.
Aren couldn't help but feel curious about how it was even built in that position. After a moment of gathering his thoughts, what came to his mind was that it was built through Infracta.
Infracta of the Quantum Verge was like air in the normal world of his, yet he still couldn't grasp it.
How could such an element be so abundant in a closed-off place like the Verge?
'Beats me. That's not why I am here.'
Truthfully, he attended the Festival with Xander for the sole reason of finding leads to the Church's whereabouts.
However, at the same time, he had to keep his eyes everywhere.
'Pesky people of the Order… I hope that the Executor had died in the outside region.'
The Knight Executors weren't just people of high rank. They were the backbone of Helmond, solidifying order and law.
According to the emblem she had seen on Aren's armor, she was identified as a Sentinel. However, she might also belong to a special division, specifically the Aberration Management Division, which explains why she is pursuing Aren's arrest.
She wasn't exactly strong, but before Aren's first death, she had managed to block one of Faye's strongest attacks in a vulnerable position.
That gave Aren every reason to be wary of her at all times.
Until suddenly, Aren's thought process had stopped for but a moment as he bumped into somebody without noticing.
'Huh? I didn't even notice there was somebody…'
The arm he'd bumped into was abnormally strong, like he struck metal.
He looked back, only to see an elegant woman in a gothic black dress and silver hair. His eyes widened as he felt a puny feeling looking into the woman's soft red eyes.
Aren's jaw tightened, and he subconsciously let the embrace of the metallic chains take over him once more without even a second thought.
Staring into her eyes, he couldn't help but feel such a mix of emotions that swelled up deep within him.
The woman spoke in a low voice, "Excuse me."
Having said that, she followed with a slight smile.
As soon as Aren was about to let his arm take over and strike the woman, Xander extended his hand, stopping him.
"We apologize, miss."
The woman slowly nodded, lowering her black hat slightly before heading in the opposite direction.
He glanced at her again, unsure if her apology was genuine or mocking. That faint smile — it lingered longer than it should've.
Xander Deep clicked his tongue, "You really don't know anything."
"My body… it moved on its own. That was not—"
Xander patted him on the back, "I know. I'm not just an old man. I've seen all kinds of people throughout my life."
"What?"
Xander sighed, seemingly being overtaken by a feeling of nostalgia.
"In the Deeps Association, you don't get to pick. I have gone through terror and suffering, so I know what you feel. But you must restrain yourself. What would have happened if you got the citizens involved?"
Aren shook his head arrogantly, "No, no! She was from the Order! I saw the emblem. She was going to kill me! She will!"
Aren wasn't saying that because he was scared of her. In fact, he was already going to face her off.
However, the thing that had bothered him was the fact that there were more than just the Knight Executor. That only meant the Order had already found out about the Quantum Verge.
"It doesn't matter! Even if she was an Ephor or a Paragon, either way, you must restrain yourself!" Xander's voice grew louder.
The silence lingered between the two, as their voice had outgrown even the large number of people around them.
That only resulted in awkwardness in the entire bustling area they were in.
Xander frowned. Without looking back, he moved ahead again between the bustling streets.
Aren clenched his fists tightly, holding back anger and frustration.
'I must leave this poor excuse of a festival. The Order might have already caught up to Faye.'
As soon as he thought that, he followed Xander despite getting the feeling that Xander didn't truly want Aren to follow him again.
"Xander—"
Before having the chance to speak with Xander, a loud wave of sound radiated throughout the entire town, cutting him off.
"Wait," said Xander.
As it was close to Aren and Xander, they made their way through the crowd to have a glimpse.
What they saw was a group of elegantly dancing women wearing traditional clothes, and a man humming a song as he played along with his instrument.
Xander and the crowd were amazed and focused on the performance. But, Aren saw something else.
In the corner shadowed by a building, two men wearing dark cloaks with dark blue highlights were speaking to another man.
They had encircled him, leaving him unable to escape or move at all.
The bystanders were too taken aback by the musical performance that they hadn't seen this, but Aren saw it with a glimpse of his eyes as he unusually felt the Infracta practically leaking out.
The man was frightened as the men clad in mystery were muttering words that Aren could barely make up due to the loud music.
"Ridicule… Equinox..."
Those were the only words Aren could make out through the chaos of his surroundings.
Aren's eyes widened. Equinox… That had to be the Church of Equinox!
The other cloaked man raised his hand, then gripped the neck of the person in front of him.
'What? Is no one seeing him?!'
Without hesitation, he ran to the scene, but was slowed down by the group of people.
"Make way! Move!"
He made way for himself, pushing anyone in the way, and sparking anger just to reach the two cloaked men.
Between the chaos of the people, the loud bells, and the sound of music... a horrifying sound stood out the most, stopping everything in its way.
A womanly scream filled with terror echoed through everyone's ears, creating a silence as if the place had been haunted.
The music stopped, and the bells continued to ring amidst the silence.
Ignoring the scream, Aren finally got to them. Or, he thought he did.
What he saw was a bloody corpse, its head mushed like it was crushed by a force. It created a pool of blood that continued to leak out like dripping water.
The smell that it had was nothing more than disgusting and filthy.
Aren stared at the sight in front of him for a few moments, as his thought process stopped.
His eyes twitched with frustration, more annoyed by the escape of the cloaked men of Equinox than by the murder of the man.
'Screw it. To hell with this Festival, and realm.'
The chains emerged from his hand, covered by his own cloak, letting them drop down to the floor with a thud.
Understandably, the ones close to Aren quickly backed away.
As fear took hold, people started to shove one another, their voices filled with terror. A wave of panic surged through the crowd, igniting chaos as everyone pushed against each other forcefully.
But, as for Aren, he had already disappeared.