The Silver Lantern Guild's top floor was quiet at this hour.
Maren Holt sat behind her desk, a cup of coffee going cold beside a stack of documents she had already read three times. The review notice sat on top. She didn't need to read it a fourth time to know what it said.
To Tok—
"Come in."
Harlan stepped inside, a thin folder under his arm. Judging from the bags beneath his eyes, he hadn't slept properly since the hearing either.
"The results came back, Guild Master."
He slid the folder across the desk. Maren flipped it open. From material analysis, energy readings, fragment scans...
Every page said the same thing.
"...Nothing?"
"Nothing."
Harlan shook his head.
"The device does not contain any hidden features that may push it further up in rank."
'It's nothing special, just a speaker with a few tweaks.'
That was basically what he was trying to say.
Maren pinched her forehead and let out a long breath.
"Has it said anything?"
"Nothing yet. It's been static for a while now. Nobody knows when it'll speak again."
Maren closed the folder and leaned back.
'A dud, huh?'
This came as a pretty big blow, considering how many resources were spent trying to get that radio box, and the Guild's financial situation.
"There's another matter."
Harlan spoke up once more, prompting Maren to look up.
"...It's Elliot."
He was their top recruit, and someone that the Guild had placed a lot of hope in.
"What about him?"
"After the hearing, in order to help the Guild with the financial situation, he took it upon himself to follow one of the leads from the box..." Harlan hesitated. "He filed for leave last week, and from what I know he was last seen in Malovia."
"He was tracking one of the voices. A woman named Mara Ellis. His last message came four days ago, saying he'd found where she used to live."
Harlan placed his phone on the desk.
"There's been nothing since."
Maren stared at the screen.
"Send a team."
"With what license? Field operations are suspended until the review concludes. The moment we send anyone, we're finished."
"Then we report him missing—"
"And the entire world will come to learn of our failures. Guild Master, our situation is already quite bad. If the world knows of what happened, then we might be forced to sell off the Guild."
Harlan's jaw tightened, his gaze focused right at Maren.
She stared back without saying a single word, her clear blue eyes remaining still.
Eventually, her eyes drifted to the wall, to the photographs of people standing on cliffs and beaches, lanterns in hand.
A rescue Guild that wasn't allowed to search.
'.....'
Her gaze fell to the corner of the desk, where her phone lay face down.
There was a profile on it.
'Seth Thorne.'
A Paragon. Although he was currently facing trouble, he was still one of the hottest Paragons in the world. Furthermore, he even came from Malovia.
Maren picked up the phone.
"Harlan. Tell him we've agreed to sell."
"...Sell it? Now?"
"No."
She unlocked the screen.
"We're giving it to him."
Harlan frowned.
"Tell him to help us with the investigation. See if he's interested."
Harlan didn't say much more and directly sent him a message. He had his doubts, but it was worth a shot.
[The Guild has agreed to the sale. When would be convenient for you to visit?]
***
Ding!
'It's about time they contacted me.'
I stared at the message on my phone for a good minute before putting my phone back into my pocket. The message was regarding the radio box that I wanted to buy.
It took a bit, but they had finally decided to sell it.
"...They probably tested it quite well, but after finding nothing, they finally gave in and decided to sell it to me."
This was good.
Looking up, I was already there.
The Silver Lantern Guild was located on the eastern edge of the Guild District.
Compared to Royal Chambers, the building was modest. Six stories of plain concrete, with a navy banner hanging above the entrance. On it was the same lantern emblem I had seen on the card.
'Not bad, but not great either.'
For a Guild that had been so imposing back then, I had expected a little more. Then again, this was the Guild District. Anything that wasn't the Big Five or the Oak Circle was bound to look small here.
I had come alone. Bringing the whole team would've just given me a headache. Especially since I was here to buy the radio, and not much else.
The moment I stepped inside, the receptionist shot up from her seat.
"Mr. Thorne. We've been expecting you. Please, this way."
I was led to the elevator without any waiting. Standing inside was a familiar face. The middle-aged man from the hearing, still wearing his navy suit.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice."
He bowed slightly as the doors closed.
"Harlan. I serve as the Guild's deputy."
"Seth Thorne."
"I know."
A faint, tired smile crossed his face.
"The Guild Master is waiting upstairs."
The elevator hummed as it climbed.
"...I take it the higher-ups approved?"
"Something like that."
He didn't elaborate, and I didn't push.
I liked not talking to people.
Ding!
The top floor was quiet. A single hallway led to a wooden door, and Harlan knocked twice before opening it.
The office was smaller than I expected. A desk, a few chairs, a wide window overlooking the district. What caught my attention were the walls. Old photographs hung everywhere. Groups of people in rain jackets, standing on rocky shores and mountain trails.
Every one of them held a lantern.
'I guess I now know why it's got the Latern in the name.'
Behind the desk sat a woman in her fifties, her grey hair tied back, her hands looking pretty rough as well. But what stood out the most to me were her clear blue eyes.
"Mr. Thorne." She rose and extended a hand. Her grip was firm. "Maren Holt. Guild Master of Silver Lantern. Please, sit."
I took the seat across from her. Harlan remained standing by the door.
"You'll have to forgive the place. We don't get many visitors with a Paragon rank."
Her eyes moved briefly to the photographs on the wall.
"We're not exactly a household name."
"I noticed the photos."
"Ah."
She nodded.
"That's how we started. Forty years ago, on Sabila, not far from here. It was a search and rescue mission. A bunch of fishermen were lost at sea, and we were tasked with finding them. Naturally, the situation was a lot more complicated than it was on the outside. The lanterns turned out to be quite useful for our mission. Kind of stuck."
'A search and rescue Guild, huh.'
"We moved our main office to Sines six years ago. Closer to the hearings, and where most business is located. Or so the thinking went."
Her lips pulled up slightly, albeit I could detect a hint of bitterness in her voice as she spoke.
"We've been a Queen-Grade Guild for twelve years now, Mr. Thorne. Twelve.. Every year, we get a little closer to the King Grade, and every year, something pulls us back. In our case, our financial situation isn't quite good. Due to the recent events in Malovia and Malia, we've had to put off several previous expeditions, which cost us a lot."
"Ah."
My heart panged a little.
That was my fault, wasn't it?
She leaned back in her chair, and for a moment, she simply looked at me.
"I'll be honest with you. We are in desperate need of selling the radio for a good price. That radio has cost us more than it will ever be worth. The eleven weeks were my decision, not Harlan's. I approved the delay. I thought if we gathered enough, the Bench would have no choice but to grant us a higher class."
She let out a slow breath.
"You saw how that went."
"...I did."
"The review is set for next month. Depending on how it goes, we may lose our license to petition for the next three years. In the meantime, we're left holding a Sigil-class item that nobody in their right mind would purchase."
"Except me."
"Except you."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, a glint of curiosity flickering within them.
"Do you mind if I ask why?"
"I found it interesting."
"That's what Harlan told me you said."
She glanced at the deputy, who gave a small shrug.
Her lips pulled further up.
"Then I won't press further. Everyone's entitled to their interests."
I appreciated that.
"One thing you should know before we go further." She tapped a finger against the desk. "It hasn't spoken since the hearing."
My brow raised.
"...Not once?"
"No, nothing. It's been quiet since the hearing. This tends to happen, and it's that randomness that is costing us."
That was a bit troublesome, but...
"Even so, I'd still like to have it."
Something about it pushed me to buy it.
I didn't know why, but I felt like I had to have the item. Especially when I recalled its last words.
"Very well."
She reached into her drawer and pulled out a thin folder, placing it on the desk between us. The transfer documents, most likely.
I tensed a little.
To be honest, I was quite poor at the moment. I already owed Kyle quite a bit of money. I wasn't super sure that I could afford it.
But still...
I grit my teeth whilst staring at the Guild Master.
"Then let's talk about the price."
"There isn't one."
I paused, my eyes blinking rapidly.
"...Excuse me?"
"We're not going to charge you for it, Mr. Thorne." Maren Holt folded her hands on the desk. "The radio is yours. Free of charge."
'.....'
My eyes squinted into thin slits.
Free.
Nothing in this world was free. Especially not from a Guild that was facing financial difficulties.
My eyes moved from the folder to her face, and for the first time since I entered the room, her expression changed. It wasn't a smile, and it wasn't quite a frown either. Something in between.
Something complicated.
She exchanged a brief look with Harlan before turning back to me.
"...But in return, there's a favor we'd like to ask of you."
Ah, ha!
There it is!
-x-X-x-
'I saw this coming from miles away.'
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, or even in my old world. Everything had its own price, and evidently, the price of the radio was a favor of mine.
I quietly pushed the chair back, ready to stand up and walk out the door. Whatever it was, it was bound to be troublesome. Favors from Guilds always were.
But then, I stopped.
'...Actually, let me hear them out first. Let's see if it's worth it.'
I was quite poor at the moment. If the favor was something simple, then this deal might actually end up saving me a lot of money.
I settled back into the seat.
"...Go on."
Maren Holt studied my face for a moment. Then, she gave Harlan a look, and the deputy quietly locked the office door.
Oh, dear...
"What I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room. It's quite sensitive for our Guild."
"And you're willing to share that with me?"
How bold.
"We're at a point where we don't have much of a choice.
"...Fair enough."
I smiled and leaned back. I was curious now.
She folded her hands on the desk.
"One of our people has gone missing."
"....."
"His name is Elliot. Twenty-four years old, and our top recruit. He's the one who was in charge of registering the radio sessions."
She slid a thin file across the desk. A photo was clipped to the front. A young man with neat brown hair and a bright smile, giving a thumbs-up in front of the Guild's banner.
"He didn't take the result of the hearing quite well. In order to prove the usefulness of the radio, he planned on directly tracking down one of the voices and saving the individual before they got into trouble, just to prove that it was useful. And he went..."
"...Where to?"
"Malovia."
My brow rose slightly.
"He was tracking a woman named Mara Ellis. His last message came four days ago, saying he'd found the place she used to live in."
The Guild Master's voice remained even, but her thumb pressed hard against her other hand.
"There's been nothing since. His phone has been off the entire time."
'Mara Ellis...? That's the first voice from the hearing, huh.'
I recalled it quite well since it left quite a big impact. The woman's voice, and the screaming that followed.
"Send your people, then. Isn't that what your Guild does?"
"With what license, Mr. Thorne?"
Her lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile.
"All of our field operations are suspended until the Bureau finishes its review. The moment we send a single member out on Guild business, Silver Lantern is finished."
"Then report it. It's not like the BUA won't make a move if you make a request."
"And the Bureau will tie it straight to the radio."
It was Harlan who answered this time, his voice low.
"A member disappears chasing a voice from an anomaly that we concealed for eleven weeks. Our review is next month. If that gets out..."
He didn't finish.. Instead, he added something else.
"There's also the issue with the media that we need to handle. If news gets out, then we'll truly reach the point of no return.'
'A rescue Guild that isn't allowed to search.'
The fucking irony...
I glanced at the photographs on the wall. Forty years of them rescuing people, and the one time it was their own person lost, their hands were tied behind their backs.
That was pretty miserable, honestly.
"So, the favor."
I tapped the file.
"You want me to figure out what happened to him."
"No."
Maren shook her head, and her blue eyes met mine directly.
"I don't want you to figure out anything. Not the woman or anything related to the radio. I'm not asking you to solve a case, Mr. Thorne. That'd be too presumptuous of me. I'm asking you to find Elliot and bring him home. That's... what we want."
"....."
'She's drawing the line herself.'
A Guild Master who had spent eleven weeks trying to squeeze value out of that radio, now refusing to hear a single thing about it. She had decided that the box was cursed, and she wasn't entirely wrong to think that way.
I leaned back and thought it over.
'Malovia.'
It's been a while since I had last stepped there. I knew that island quite well. At least, much better than Sines. On top of that, I had been meaning to go back for a while now.
'And if I use the compass, tracking one person shouldn't take too long, either.'
A simple search, on familiar land, with the right tool for the job. In exchange, a free anomaly and a Queen-Grade Guild owing me a favor.
The math wasn't hard.
"Give me his file, and a picture of him. Oh, and the place where he was last seen."
The Guild Master blinked.
"...You'll do it?"
"I'll find him. The state he'll be in as I bring him back will be something for you to figure out."
For a second, the Guild Master simply stared at me. Then, she let out a breath, and it was as if ten years of weight slid off her shoulders all at once.
"The radio will be delivered to wherever you're staying by tonight. The documents will say it was sold for a symbolic price of one credit."
"Hmm..." My eyes squinted as I looked at the Guild Master. "Can we make it zero? To be honest, I'm kind of low on cash."
"What sort of—"
The Guild Master barely held her words back as she forced a smile.
"One credit, Mr. Thorne. For the paperwork."
Fine. I clenched my teeth.
Such a terrifying level of greed.
Maren rose from her seat and extended her hand across the desk.
"If there's anything that you need, please feel free to let us know."
I stood up and shook his hand back.
"Then, can I ask for more money?"
"....."
"....."
"...It was a joke."
No, not really.
Give me money.
***
"You're taking another leave?"
The Section Chief didn't even look up from his desk as he spoke. Stacks of paper covered every corner of it, and judging by the empty coffee cups lined up by the side, he had been at it since morning.
"It's a different case."
"For...?"
"A favor for the Lantern Guild."
"....."
His pen stopped.
Slowly, the Section Chief raised his head, his eyes narrowing at me from behind the documents. His brows furrowed as the silence stretched on.
In the end, he shook his head.
"It'll be hard to approve. We're right in the middle of preparations, and your name is on half the schedules. Even if I do approve it, I'm sure the others will try to block it."
"....."
I frowned.
'Should I just quit?'
I was seriously contemplating it. It wasn't like the pay was anything special, and the amount of trouble that came with the position was—
"How about this."
The Section Chief let out a long sigh, dropping his pen onto the desk.
"Since it's Malovia, we'll just say you're going back to collect your things and check on the situation over there. That shouldn't cause too many problems." He rubbed his temple. "That's where the main HQ is anyway. We'll all have to move back eventually, so consider it an early inspection."
"....."
"I'll file it as official business. Don't make me regret it."
With that, he picked his pen back up and returned to his papers, as if the conversation had never happened.
I stared at him for a moment.
Then, a smile crept onto my face.
The Section Chief glanced up, catching me still standing there.
"...Well? What are you still doing here?"
He waved his hand at me, shooing me off like some stray cat.
"Off you go. And don't take too long. Things are already messy enough as they are. I'll need you in top form."
"Understood."
I turned around and left the office.
'In the end, the Section Chief could be useful when he needed to be.'
I just about took a step outside when the Section Chief's voice echoed behind me once more.
"Be careful."
"Hm?"
Stopping, I turned my head as the Section Chief looked back at me.
"The place is crawling with anomalies. The BUA has taken several away, but there are quite a lot that are still at large."
"...You're right."
He was...
But that was also one of the main reasons I wanted to go.
'I need to collect more anomalies.'
For my upcoming Gate.
It was about time that I worked on it.
-x-X-x-
"We're going on another trip!?"
Mia's voice loudly reverberated across the entire office the moment I shared the news with everyone.
"And we're going back to Malovia?"
She wasn't the only one who looked excited. So were the others.
I looked around the room before nodding.
"Prepare. We might be gone for a longer time this time."
To be honest, it wasn't going to be for that long. About a week or something.
"Woohoo!"
Mia jumped out of her seat, fists in the air.
"Calm down! You're going to knock the cup over again!"
Joanna grabbed the cup on the desk before it could fall, glaring at Mia.
"Hehe, sorry, sorry."
"Wow, another trip. I'm sure nothing bad will happen this time either."
Nora's voice was as flat as ever.
"...Can I just stay here?"
Ariel yawned, not even bothering to look up from her phone.
As for Niel and Min, the two of them simply nodded.
Same as always. I honestly couldn't tell what went on in those two's heads.
"What are we going there for?"
"...!"
A whisper came from right next to my ear. My body jolted, and turning my head, I found Sarah standing next to me, her face barely a hand away from mine.
'...Damn it, not again.'
She was really starting to test my heart.
I took a step back and cleared my throat. By then, everyone's eyes were on me.
"A person went missing on the island four days ago. Our job is to find him."
I paused for a moment.
"Officially, we're going back to get our stuff and assess the situation on the island. So keep the first part to yourselves."
"A missing person..."
"Who?"
"You'll get the details on the way. For now, pack up. We leave tomorrow morning."
"Roger!"
The office turned busy in an instant. Mia was already dragging a suitcase out from god knows where, and Joanna had started writing a list.
I watched them for a bit before walking out of the room.
And of course.
"Mr. Thorne."
Halfway down the corridor, a snake-like voice called out to me.
I turned around, and a man in a neat suit walked toward me, a gentle smile on his face. I recognized him in an instant.
He was Secretary Kim, Section Chief Johansberg's secretary.
I nodded at him.
"...Secretary."
No wonder I could feel the snakeness in the voice.
Okay, now let me go.
He was the last person that I wanted to talk to.
Of course, things weren't going to be that easy for me.
"I heard you're going back to Malovia. That's an interesting place to go."
'News sure travels fast.'
I had handed in the papers less than an hour ago.
"Well, there are a few things there that I need to get back, and I also need to check and assess the situation back on the island to see if it's possible to move back."
"Is that so?"
The secretary nodded slowly. His smile didn't budge.
"I heard most of the escaped anomalies are still there. The place shouldn't be very safe."
"...I am well aware."
"In that case, must you go? You're quite valuable to the Guild. Well... you still are, but your recent performance has left some things to be desired. I'm sure you'll get back to it. I don't think this is the greatest way to spend your time. What was it again...? Don't eat more when your stomach is full?"
Ah, look at this guy...
"Thanks for the advice."
"I'm glad I was able to..." The Secretary paused for a second, blinking slowly before shaking his head slightly as he continued, "Please have a safe journey. "
He bowed lightly and walked past me.
'Safe journey, my ass.'
I cursed in my mind, my gaze tracing his back until he turned the corner and disappeared.
Everyone in this branch knew what that man was doing. And yet, nobody could lay a hand on him. With the Section Chief backing him, he was sort of untouchable.
But—
I looked down at my phone and stared at my flickering screen.
'Well, I did warn him.'
My grip over the phone tightened.
At the same time, the Team Leader's words from before echoed in my mind.
'It's simple, really. If you want all of this to stop, you need to become the Guild Master.'
"....."
I shook my head.
'No. What am I thinking?'
I already had enough on my plate.
*
Malovia had changed.
That was the first thing I thought as I stepped off the plane.
Dark clouds covered the entire sky from every direction. They hung low above the city, swallowing whatever little light managed to slip through them.
It was supposed to be noon, but it looked more like the sun was about to set, leaving everything beneath the clouds cast in a dull, gloomy light.
'...No birds either.'
The city used to be full of them.
"...Whoa."
Mia's voice came out small.
"This is... so much different compared to how it was before. It's like a ghost town."
Even Nora didn't have anything to say.
"Stay close. This place is still filled with anomalies." Joanna warned from behind as she babysat the rest of the group in my stead.
We walked into the city.
It was exactly as I remembered. That was the creepy part. The stores weren't destroyed. They were just... the exact same as before, the lights still on. A café with cups still sitting on the tables. A bicycle lying on its side in the middle of the road. Laundry hanging from a balcony, swaying slightly.
A TV inside a store was still on, playing the news to an empty room.
Everything was working as it was supposed to, and yet, everything felt so off.
Our footsteps were the only sound. They echoed far too loudly against the buildings, and at some point, I noticed that Mia had started whispering without even realizing it.
"Squad Leader... is it always this quiet?"
"No."
We passed a checkpoint. Two BUA agents in dark suits stood there, watching us without a word. Neither of them asked for identification or greeted us.
Only as we walked past did one of them speak.
"Don't wander after dark."
That was all he said.
'.....'
The traffic light ahead of us turned green.
Eventually, we arrived in front of a familiar building.
The Severed Stars Guild.
The main headquarters stood exactly as I remembered it, only now, barricades circled the entrance, and a few more agents stood by the doors. Watching them crawl around our building felt a little weird, but nothing unusual. It was even worse now with all the reporters.
I stepped toward the entrance.
But just as I did, I stopped. For a moment, it almost felt as though the wind had stopped too.
"....."
I turned my head.
Something was watching me. I could feel it on the back of my neck. I wasn't guessing or anything or so... I could feel it. Someone had their eyes on me right now.
I scanned the street, and everything around me.
But—
Nothing
But just then, across the street, on the third floor of an apartment, a curtain moved. Just ever so slightly.
The strangest thing...?
There was no noticeable wind.
I stared at it intently before licking my lips.
"What's wrong?"
Mia's voice.
"Hm? No, nothing."
I turned around and walked toward the entrance as if nothing happened. Whether it was an anomaly or something else, I wasn't sure. But I wasn't all that interested in finding out.
There were other things that I needed to handle.
But...
Looking up at the sky and then at the building in front of me, I couldn't help but think,'Something about this island... It feels quite creepy.
-x-X-x-
From the outside, the inside of the building was in better shape than I had expected.
The windows all appeared to be intact, and besides a few scattered papers here and there, the lobby looked about the same as I remembered. The Severed Stars emblem still hung above the entrance, and even the door looked fine. If not for the barricades and the men in dark suits, it would've looked like any other day.
One of the agents stepped forward as we approached.
"Mr. Thorne."
"Mhm."
I greeted him with a small nod.
"We were informed of your visit."
He glanced at the team behind me before turning back.
"Before you go in, a word of caution."
"...Go ahead."
"Because of the incident, there's a possibility that anomalies are still lurking around the island. Most of them have been recovered, but not all of them have. That's why the island is still in a state of lockdown."
The agent paused.
"In particular, places like this one. Guilds that used to contain anomalies... We've swept the building twice already, but..."
"But?"
"...Just be careful. We can't guarantee your safety past this point."
I nodded.
"I see."
It wasn't like he told me anything new. This was a Containment Department building. If anything was going to be left behind, it would be here.
The agent stepped aside, and the glass doors slid open on their own.
'...The power's still on.'
We stepped inside.
"Squad Leader... It's cold."
Mia whispered from behind me as she held both of her arms.
She wasn't wrong. The air conditioning was still running, and with nobody around to feel it, the place had turned into a fridge.
"They didn't turn the AC off?"
"They didn't turn the TV off in that store either."
Nora's voice was flat as always, but she stayed close to the group.
I walked over to the reception desk.
A jacket was still draped over the chair. Half a cup of coffee sat next to the keyboard, a thin layer of mold floating on top. The sign-in sheet was still on the counter, and the last entry was dated the day of the evacuation.
Nobody had written anything after that.
On the whiteboard behind the desk, someone had written'Weekly meeting — 3PM' in blue marker.
'I wonder if they did hold the meeting after all of that.'
Tick. Tick. Tick.
The clock on the wall was still running. That was the only sound in the entire building.
"....."
'It's like everyone just stood up and left.'
Which, in a way, was exactly what happened.
"Hey, is anyone else getting goosebumps?"
Mia rubbed her arms.
"It's the AC."
"No, no, I mean the bad kind of goosebumps."
"There's a good kind?"
"Joanna!"
"Quiet, both of you."
Even Ariel had put her phone away. She stood by the couch with her arms crossed, her eyes moving from one corner of the lobby to another. Niel and Min stood side by side, saying nothing.
Wait, when did she go to sit there?
"Squad Leader."
Sarah's voice came from right beside me. This time, I didn't jump. I was starting to get used to it.
"The elevator."
I looked over.
The elevator at the end of the lobby stood with its doors closed. Above it, the small display glowed softly.
[B3]
'...It's already down there.'
B3 was the Containment Department.
'I guess this must be from the BUA agents who did a quick sweep of the place.'
Not that it matters much since we have to go there as well.
One of the main reasons I was back was because there were a couple of things I needed to collect. Not just for me, but for the Section Chief as well. It was a small checklist of things. In a way, a lot of it was due to formality, but apparently, there were still some precious anomalous objects that had been left behind.
I planned on... um, borrowing them.
"We're going down."
"...All of us?"
"Yes. Unless you want to stay here in the lobby. You're more than free to do that."
Everyone glanced at each other without saying a thing. I took that silence as silent confirmation, including Ariel, who stood up from the sofa with a yawn.
'I can't tell if she's coming because she is bored or because she doesn't want to be left alone.'
I felt that the answer was closer to the former.
The elevator came up without a sound, and the doors slid open to an empty cabin.
We stepped in, and I pressed B3.
The doors closed right after that.
The elevator hummed as it descended, and for a brief second, the lights inside flickered.
Mia instinctively reached for Joanna's sleeve. Joanna didn't tell her to let go.
Ding.
The doors opened.
The corridor of B3 stretched ahead of us, lit only by the dim emergency lights running along the ceiling. On both sides were the containment cells. Some of the doors were shut whilst some of them weren't.
It was colder down here.
A lot colder.
"Why... is it colder here? What the hell."
"We should've brought jackets."
"Is the AC excuse gonna work here?"
I stepped out first.
Our footsteps echoed down the corridor as we walked, passing one cell after another. I didn't look inside them and just kept going forward.
Drip.
Somewhere behind one of the doors, water was leaking.
The sound stood out within the silence.
Drip.
'Just get to the office. Check the documents, get the Section Chief's stuff, and leave.'
That was the plan.
My office was at the very end of the corridor. Right next to the main area.
And as we turned the last corner, I stopped.
"....."
My breath held.
The same went for the others, as I felt their gazes on me.
I pressed my lips together as Joanna's voice echoed next to me.
"That's... did you leave your light open before you left?"
"...I don't know."
It was possible, but I didn't think that was the case.
Every other room on this floor was dark. From the Section Chief's office to the kitchen. All the lights were off.
All... except mine.
A thin line of white light spilled out from beneath the door.
And then, I heard it.
TaTaTaTaTa—
Everyone froze.
Though faint, it was audible.
It was a sound I could recognize wth my eyes closed.
TaTaTaTa. TaTa— TaTaTaTaTa.
The sound of someone typing.
'Someone's here?'
Nobody was supposed to be here. The building had been sealed for quite some time. And yet, someone was sitting in my office right now. At my desk. Typing on my computer.
TaTaTa. TaTaTaTaTa—
My stomach flipped for half a second as I recalled the agent's words.
"...Everyone, please be careful."
My voice came out lower than I intended. Behind me, I heard Nora's hand slide into her pocket. Sarah had already vanished from my side, melting into the shadows of the corridor without a sound.
I moved forward, one step at a time.
TaTaTaTa—
The sound grew louder the closer I moved to it. No... If anything, the sound grew faster. It was as if whoever was typing was already aware of my presence.
Ten steps. Five. Three.
I reached the door.
My hand rose toward the handle, and as I looked down, I could see something dark coat it.
I gripped the handle, and right as I pulled it open—
Clank!
The typing stopped.
"....."
Silence.
Complete, absolute silence. I couldn't even hear the hum of the lights.
Instead, the lights above the office flickered. They flickered several times before finally coming to a complete close, darkness engulfing the entire room.
When I reached for the switch, I realized that even that wasn't working.
'...Shit.'
It was as if the entire building was holding its breath along with us.
The office was empty.
My desk sat where it always had. The chair was pushed in neatly, exactly the way I always left it. The monitor glowed softly, casting a pale light across the walls. There was no one behind the desk. No one in the corner, and no one under it.
"...There's nobody here."
Mia's voice sounded behind me.
"But we all heard it. We all heard the—"
"I know."
I stepped inside.
I checked behind the door. Behind the cabinet. Beneath the desk. There was nowhere to hide in this room, and there was nobody hiding in it.
'Then who was typing?'
I looked around the room again, slowly this time.
And that was when I noticed it.
Dust.
There was dust on the cabinet, shelves, and on the floor by the door. Weeks' worth of it, the same as everywhere else in this building.
But not on my desk.
My desk was clean. Almost as if someone wiped all the dust away.
Someone had been sitting here.
'.....'
My eyes moved to the monitor, and that was when I noticed it.
The blank document.
No, not quite.
It wasn't blank. There were two words right at the start of it.
Two words that I struggled to pull my gaze away from.
[Welcome back]
The cursor blinked beside them.
Waiting.
-x-X-x-
"O-oh, shit... that's creepy."
Nora muttered as she leaned in to stare at my screen.
The dim light from the monitor washed over her face, making her expression look even paler than usual.
"Wait, what the hell is this?"
"...What?"
The others came right after, showing similar reactions as they all stared at the monitor. Eventually, Joanna turned to face me.
"Squ-Team... Leader?"
"I... don't know."
And this was the problem.
I didn't know at all what was happening. It felt as though the answer was at the tip of my tongue, but at the same time, regardless of how hard I tried to think back, I couldn't recall at all.
'It's as if my mem—ah!'
Something clicked inside my mind.
Without answering the others, I reached for my bag and took out my laptop. I knew that the others couldn't see my app, so I wasn't too worried as I booted it up and opened the system shop.
The screen's pale light stood out against the old, dim room. There was something strangely uncomfortable about sitting there, surrounded by empty walls and the faint smell of dust and something else I couldn't quite place.
[Fate Draught]
: A silver vial that smells of ozone. Drinking it lets the user foresee a single, near-future event within the next ten minutes. He will lose a memory of the same duration.
Price: 41,870 SP
"....."
Staring at the description of the item, I drew a breath.
'At least, this isn't the thing that I forgot about. No, if I did forget about it, then it would mean that no other memory would be lost, meaning that I gained all the benefits with little loss.'
But it was clear that wasn't the case.
'Right, I knew that this was going to come back and bite me.'
This scenario wasn't out of my expectations.
In fact, it was very much possible that I was overthinking things.
However, it was also good to overthink. It was so that I'd never get caught off guard.
Especially in a place like this.
The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
There was no wind, no distant voices, not even the faint sounds of the others moving around the building. Just the occasional creak of the old structure settling somewhere in the darkness.
"What should we do, Team Leader?"
"Let's collect the stuff that we've been assigned and leave this place."
I handed every person a checklist. On the way to the island, I had already briefed them about the situation, so the moment they received the checklist, they knew what they needed to do.
Of course—
"We'll be going around in groups of two or three. Make sure to be together at all times."
I decided to split the group so that we could cover more ground quickly. Honestly, I didn't want to linger in this place for much longer.
There was something about the building that I didn't like.
It wasn't anything I could properly explain.
It just felt like the place was waiting.
Oh....
I turned to the side and stared at the door attached to the wall.
'Right, there's this too.'
The door led directly to my game office. I had one in Sines as well, but it was a pity that it didn't work as a two-way gate that allowed me to go to Malovia directly. It would've been extremely convenient otherwise.
The old door stood out against the surrounding wall. Its surface was covered in scratches and faint stains that I didn't remember being there before.
I stared at it for a moment longer than necessary.
Then I looked away.
"Alright, get going."
The groups were as follows;
Min, Nora, and Sarah.
Joanna, Ariel, and Niel.
Lastly, it was Mia, Jordan, and me.
I turned my wrist to check the time.
"We've got a couple of hours to get everything that we need. After that, we leave this place directly."
Regarding the missing person that I was supposed to find, I planned on looking for him right after we were done with this.
Just wanted to get done with this before getting to that.
"Ehm."
The room became noticeably quieter as the others left. In a way, this was a good thing.
In another—
"Ehm. Ehm."
"Can you stop that?"
I turned to look at Mia as she awkwardly held her fist near her mouth. At the same time, she made weird movements with her eyes as she looked at Jordan.
Was she struggling to talk to him?
I looked at Jordan.
He was standing where he was, completely still, back straight as though he was in some sort of military regiment.
The sight was strangely unsettling.
Not because of his posture.
But because he hadn't moved at all since the others left.
I was taken aback by the sight.
What is he doing?
'From what I know, he's supposed to be a top recruit. Well... Considering how crazy most of the people in this business are, this shouldn't be too surprising.'
I looked at my laptop one more time before closing it.
The screen went dark.
For a brief moment, I could see my own reflection in it.
Or at least, I thought I did.
I frowned before looking away.
The situation was rather serious. I wasn't planning on letting this go.
If anything, I needed to be extra careful. Especially since I was now aware that an entity I barely knew about was chasing after me.
Thankfully, I had an idea of what to do.
"You two, do me a favor. Start looking at the main area. Leave the door open so I can keep an eye on you. In the meantime, I'll clean up my office and get my stuff."
"That's... but..."
"It won't take long."
Mia made several faces, but eventually she nodded her head as she opened the door and moved to the main area, Jordan following her from behind.
The exact moment she left, I lowered my head to look at the floor where a head appeared.
A smile greeted me.
"Say... do you know anything about this?"
"...Not much, but I have an idea."
The Conductor softly replied, its stitched-up lips stretching ever so slightly.
Its voice was quiet enough that I almost felt like I was hearing it from somewhere behind me.
I could tell from its gaze that it was definitely aware of what was going on, which was a good thing.
I may have forgotten, but that didn't mean my anomalies did.
"Tell me all that you know."
"...A rather troublesome anomaly."
"That's not very useful."
"It's been quite a while since it's been haunting you."
"What? Quite a while? How long are we talking about?"
"At least half a year."
I almost had the sudden urge to curse aloud.
Almost half a year?
For that long...!?
What in the world have I been doing the entire time?
I glanced toward the open doorway.
Mia and Jordan were still there.
At least, I could still see them.
"I say it's quite troublesome because you even tried looking for it, but even so, you had a hard time. This is no simple anomaly."
Ah, great.
I already had my hands full with 1048, and now there was another troublesome one to deal with.
"Do you sense its presence?"
"...I cannot. It's a rather sneaky one. It's been following you for quite some time, but even after all this time, you've never gotten a glimpse of it."
"I see."
Without thinking much, I reached for my bag and retrieved an old-looking lamp. I thought about using the compass, but I had a feeling that this was probably the better item. Especially since the anomaly had been here just moments prior.
The lamp was colder than I remembered.
Cold enough that I instinctively tightened my grip around it.
[Shadow Lantern]
: A small lantern that casts a faint, eerie light, revealing the footsteps of anyone present. The light lasts for 45 minutes.
Beware: The glow may attract attention.
Warning: Handle with caution in confined spaces.
Non-Consumable.
This was an item I had gotten quite a while back.
In the Hourglass Gate.
Taking out the item, I raised it immediately as a blue light flickered out of it and covered the entire room.
The darkness seemed to pull away from the walls.
The moment it did, my breath held.
Steps...
All sorts of steps appeared in every direction.
They were everywhere.
Some led toward the door.
Some led toward the walls.
Some stopped in the middle of the room for no apparent reason.
And some...
Some were right beside me.
Close enough that if whoever had made them had been standing there, they would've been touching my shoulder.
Then—
CLANK!
The door came to an abrupt close as my head rose in an instant.
Immediately, my body tensed as I stared around me, but as I looked around, I didn't find a single thing.
Nothing.
Not even a shadow.
The blue light continued to flicker quietly.
For some reason, the room felt smaller than it had a moment ago.
Tok! Tok!
"Team Leader? Team Leader?"
Mia's voice echoed right after that as I stood up from my seat and reached for the door, slowly pulling it open to see her and Jordan standing before me.
They were both staring at me.
"Team Leader...? What the hell was that? Did you close the door?"
"...It wasn't me."
I shook my head whilst looking around.
"It definitely wasn't me."
-x-X-x-
"T-that wasn't you?"
Mia's voice trembled slightly as she looked at me, her usually pale face seemingly even paler than usual. In a way, Mia was quite the opposite of the me in the past. She was someone who openly displayed her fear, but when it came down to it, she usually got her job done.
"...Yes, it wasn't."
I looked around me.
I took in every detail of my old room.
From my desk, where the light from the monitor faintly flickered, casting a dim light over the room, to the table, the door on the other side, and the lamp above.
Everything looked exactly as it should.
At least...
That's what I thought.
The room was eerily still. The faint blue glow from the Shadow Lantern continued to spill across the floor, illuminating the walls and the scattered objects around me, alongside the footsteps. Shadows stretched across the corners of the room, twisting slightly whenever the lantern flickered.
I narrowed my eyes.
There was nothing.
No one.
And yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing something.
As if there was something standing right in front of me.
Something that I simply couldn't see.
"Wait... what are these footsteps?"
It was Jordan who spoke as he looked into the room, his gaze wandering across it as he took a look at the numerous footsteps.
I raised the lantern slightly to show him.
"It's a special item of mine. It allows me to see the footsteps of anyone present."
I looked back at the numerous footsteps around the room, my eyes tracing each and everyone present, trying to see if there was some sort of pattern.
"...A lot of the footsteps belong to us, but..."
I cast the lantern higher up, the blue light moving upwards, pushing the darkness away as the footsteps around the wall and other areas were exposed.
There were far more than I had initially noticed.
Some of them were scattered around the floor, while others seemed to overlap with our own.
But there were also footsteps that made no sense.
They climbed up the walls.
Some even continued across the ceiling.
And then there were the ones that simply stopped.
As if whoever had made them had suddenly disappeared.
"I don't think any of us are capable of doing such things."
Jordan's expression stiffened slightly.
On the other hand, Mia slowly took a step back.
Neither of them said anything.
For a few seconds, the only thing we could hear was the faint hum of the monitor behind us.
Then—
Tok.
A single footprint appeared on the wall.
"———!"
"—!"
Instantly, my hand moved in the direction of where the noise came from, the shadows twisting and moving as I moved the lamp. And it was there that I noticed something.
A footstep.
...One that I hadn't seen before.
'It's fresh.'
Unlike the other footsteps scattered across the room, this one hadn't been there just moments ago.
My eyes narrowed as I stared at it, my heart racing faster than it should have.
The blue light of the lantern flickered faintly, casting the footprint's shadow across the wall.
"..."
Something...
Is here with us.
And I couldn't see it all.
Still, I didn't panic. Instead, I reached into my pocket and retrieved a pair of sunglasses before putting them on.
The moment I did, the world around me shifted. A blue tint filled my vision as everything around me started to freeze. The footsteps before me faded, while fog emerged from each breath of mine.
Shivers ran down my arms as I looked around, trying my best to spot something.
Anything.
But...
'I still can't see anything.'
There was absolutely nothing in the room. The corners were empty, the shadows perfectly still.
And yet—
The back of my neck tingled.
Although I couldn't see anything, I could feel a certain gaze on me.
It was staring at me.
I could just... feel it.
My head flicked back, but all that greeted me was the sight of Mia and Jordan, both staring at me in surprise.
"Team Leader? Did you notice anything...?" Mia asked as she looked at me with worry.
"....."
I didn't answer.
Licking my lips, which had gone dry, I continued to look around me. The silence felt strangely heavy, as if even the room itself had erased all noise around me.
But it wasn't the silence that felt unsettling.
What was unsettling was the lack of reaction from my items.
I clenched my teeth.
'I know you're here. As if I'm going to let you keep playing with me.'
Taking off my sunglasses, the darkness returned. The cold didn't, however, as my body continued to shiver. I reached into my pocket, taking out a familiar compass. The metal outer casing felt colder than usual as I stared at it.
'Help me find the anomaly that is haunting me.'
The compass immediately started to move.
Tik! Tik!
The hand moved twice to the left, and then to the right.
Tik. Tik.
North. West. West. North.
It continued to alternate between the two, the hand twitching back and forth as though it couldn't decide which direction to point toward.
Until it eventually settled on a certain direction.
Slowly turning my head, my gaze fell on the door at the end of the room, my brows furrowing at the sight of it.
"..."
The door was completely still.
There was nothing strange about it.
And yet, for some reason, the room suddenly felt closer. As if I was just one step away from it.
I stared at it for a few seconds.
Then I glanced down at the compass.
The hand hadn't moved.
It was pointing directly at the door.
'It's inside my game office?'
I licked my lips again, my gaze directed right towards the door. I couldn't tell if whatever was haunting me was standing right before the door or behind it.
But whatever the case was, I didn't move.
'...It could be a trap.'
Still, I wanted to desperately get rid of it. The longer this dragged on, the more dangerous things would be for me. But there was a massive problem.
Right now, I was with Mia and Jordan. I couldn't show my abilities to them, lest I wanted to reveal the fact that I was once the Jester.
And considering what had just happened, revealing that information was the last thing I wanted to do.
Feeling my gaze, Mia looked up at me.
"Team Leader? Are you...?"
"No."
I shook my head, reaching for the door to my office and closing it.
"Listen to me carefully. Right now, I need the two of you to go separately and find the other groups and call them back."
"What? But what about you...?!"
"I'll be here to check up on the situation so that the anomaly doesn't go for you. For now, it seems to be after me. It's best if I stay here. Once you manage to get the others, we can all leave together."
Either way, I had already gotten most of the things that I needed.
For the other stuff...? It didn't really matter.
This was only just a preliminary search. It wasn't anything important.
"Are you sure?" Mia asked as she looked at me.
Her voice was no longer quivering as she looked at me, and I answered her with a nod.
"Yes."
I glanced back toward the room.
For some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching us from inside.
"I'm sure. You don't have to worry too much. I'll be fine."
I needed the two of them gone. Only that way would I be able to act without any restraint. Furthermore, with her calling for the others, if something did happen to me, they'd be able to help right after.
"Go."
I looked back at the two and stared at them for a few seconds.
Eventually Mia nodded.
"Alright."
Reaching for Jordan, she dragged him away with her as the two began to walk away.
The moment they disappeared from sight, the room seemed to grow quieter.
Staring at the door, I stretched my fingers and reached for the handle.
But right as I did, I paused.
Instead... slowly, dark smoke began to form around my fingers and body as I moved towards the door, my body fading right into it as I activated [Trait Transfer].
The darkness clung to my entire body, curling around my arms and shoulders as I stepped closer to the door.
For a brief moment, I could see my reflection in its surface.
Then even that disappeared.
My body faded right into it, the darkness entering my vision right after.
"Alright."
I moved past the door, my own office room appearing before my eyes once more.
"...Let's see exactly where you're hiding."
-x-X-x-
I did a careful scan of my office the moment I stepped in. I took in every little detail. From the faint hum of the computer screen to the soft flickering of the lights above me.
For some reason, I found myself paying more attention to the corners of the room than anything else.
The places where the light didn't quite reach as well.
From the spaces beneath the desk, the narrow gap between the cabinets, to the area next to the door...
Nothing moved.
At least, nothing that I could see.
Looking up, my gaze fell on the lights, which had suddenly turned on, unlike before, when they had suddenly flickered and gone out.
Looking at them now, I couldn't help but squint my eyes.
The room was much brighter now.
A little too bright.
The white light seemed to wash everything in the room of its usual color, making the familiar office look strangely sterile. The shadows were still there, but they were thinner now, pushed into the edges and corners where they seemed to cling unnaturally close to the walls.
I stared at them for a few seconds, my eyes narrowing slightly.
"..."
There was nothing unusual about them.
And yet, I couldn't help but feel uneasy.
The faint buzzing of the lights filled the room, drowning out the silence that had surrounded me moments ago.
It was strange.
I had almost preferred it when they were off.
At least then, I knew what I couldn't see.
Now, everything was visible. In a way, it almost felt as though this was a taunt.
As if it was saying to me,'Even with the lights on, you can't find me.'
I continued to scan the place, my eyes shifting from left to right as I raised the lantern, the multitude of steps becoming clear to me once more.
The blue light washed over the room, cutting through the harsh white glow of the ceiling lamps.
For a brief moment, the two lights seemed to overlap strangely.
The shadows beneath the furniture appeared to shift.
I blinked once, and the shadow disappeared as though they had never moved in the first place.
"...."
Just like the first time I checked, the steps covered the floor, the walls, and even the areas around my desk. I slowly followed each one with my eyes, trying to make sense of where they had come from.
Most of them led nowhere, and with the steps overlapping with those from before, it made it a little hard to tell whose was whose.
Some simply stopped in the middle of the floor.
Others began beside the wall and disappeared before reaching the other side of the room.
There were even a few that seemed to overlap perfectly with one another, as though several people had walked through the exact same spot at almost the exact same time.
Even the steps that were on the wall seemed to contain different shapes and forms.
Some were shallow.
Others were deep.
A few looked as though whatever had made them had barely touched the surface at all.
And then there were the ones that looked almost as though they had been pressed into the wall from the other side.
'Is the anomaly more than one...?'
No...
My grip on the lantern tightened as I stepped into the room and moved closer to one of the walls, the steps becoming clearer as I looked down and compared them to another step.
The closer I got, the more uncomfortable I became.
There was something about seeing them up close that made them feel less like traces left behind and more like evidence.
Evidence that something had been here.
Something that was still here.
'Yes, it's still in the room with me. I'm sure...'
But where...?
I crouched slightly, bringing the lantern closer to the floor.
The blue light illuminated the faint outline of the footsteps, allowing me to see them more clearly.
"..."
I carefully compared one step to another.
They looked almost identical.
Almost...
But there was something different about them.
Something I couldn't quite put my finger on.
I stared at them for a little longer.
The difference was there.
I was certain of it.
But every time I tried to identify what it was, my eyes seemed to slide over it, as though my mind itself was refusing to acknowledge the detail.
My brows furrowed at the sight, and I eventually pulled my gaze away and shifted my attention elsewhere. I crouched down to analyze the next step, the sound of the lights above still constantly echoing in the background alongside the soft hum of the computer screen.
The room was quiet.
Like really quiet...
To the point where I could hear every small sound around me. From the faint buzzing of the lights to the soft hum of the computer.
Even my own breathing.
I could hear the faint movement of my clothes whenever I shifted my weight.
The subtle creak of the floor beneath me.
The tiny click of the lantern in my hand whenever my grip tightened around it.
Every sound felt isolated and enhanced.
As though the room had become so quiet that even the smallest noises had nowhere to disappear to.
Yet, beneath all of it, there was something else.
Something so faint that I couldn't tell whether I was actually hearing it or simply imagining it.
It wasn't quite a sound.
More like a disturbance.
A faint presence beneath the noise.
Something that seemed to exist in the gaps between each sound.
I stopped moving.
"..."
For a moment, I didn't even breathe.
I listened carefully, straining my ears inside the once-familiar office room.
The computer hummed.
The lights buzzed.
But that was about it. There was nothing else that I could detect within the noise.
'Nothing. I don't—'
Click!
"—!"
My head flicked towards the sound, my gaze falling on the door. I stood up instantly as I moved towards the door.
My footsteps sounded incredibly loud against the floor. To the point that it almost felt as though they were pounding against my mind.
I stopped just short of the door, trying to reach for the air in front.
But...
'Nothing.'
There was absolutely nothing.
I drew a small breath, looking at the handle of the door.
Right as my fingers wrapped around it, feeling its cool exterior, I paused. For a brief moment, I simply stood there, staring at the door, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of my stomach.
The metal handle felt colder than it should have.
It wasn't just cool. It was freezing.
As though it had been sitting outside in the middle of winter. In the meantime, the faint buzzing of the lights continued above me.
The computer screen continued to hum behind me.
All sounds appeared to be even louder than before.
The lights.
The computer.
My breathing.
Everything started to feel loud inside my mind.
To the point that it started to feel uncomfortable. Hearing the sounds, I couldn't shake the strange sense of unease that had settled within me. Especially when such sounds started to become more and more faint inside of my mind.
Click! Click!
"It's locked."
The words left my mouth quietly as I tried to pull the door.
For some reason, speaking them aloud made the room feel even more silent.
The locked door didn't come as much of a surprise to me. I had already more or less figured this out from the moment I heard the clicking sound. Still, I wasn't really too worried either.
Especially since getting out wasn't an issue for me.
'I've got the Voidwalker's ability, and there are also others coming.'
That thought should have reassured me.
Yet...
For some strange reason, I didn't feel quite as relaxed as I was supposed to be as my eyes remained fixed on the door for another moment.
Then, slowly, I turned.
With my hand still on the handle, I turned to face the office room once more, my gaze slowly sweeping across the room.
From the desk to the computer, the cabinets, the walls, and the countless footprints.
Everything was still there.
Nothing had changed.
At least...
I thought nothing had changed.
My gaze lingered on the floor.
For just a moment, I thought I saw another footprint.
One that hadn't been there before.
But the moment I blinked—
It was gone.
"...Where are you hiding?"
I let go of the handle.
The door remained completely still behind me.
Compass in hand, I tried to look for it again. But right as I took another step...
Flick!
The lights above me flickered off.
Darkness engulfed me from every direction.
-x-X-x-
The darkness clung to every corner of the room.
And alongside the disappearing light, so too did the soft hum of the lights disappear. All sounds remained incredibly loud inside my mind, but with the soft hum of the lights gone, they felt less chaotic inside my mind.
I remained calm under the circumstances.
As of now, I had only been testing the situation.
I wanted to get a better feel for the anomaly.
However, things were starting to drag.
'I'm not sure how I can't seem to be able to detect it or find it with my glasses and compass, but since that's the case, it must be related to his abilities. In that case, I should just get rid of his abilities.'
There was no other anomaly that was better at this than Mirelle, as I activated [Trait Transfer] and opened my lips.
But—
"...."
No sound came out of my mouth the moment I activated the skill, my expression changing subtly as I tried again.
"...."
But yet again, I received the same result as my heart sank.
In the meantime, the hum of the computer became louder as the air around me started to feel cooler.
Holding up the lantern, its body shaking slightly, shadows danced in every direction, some longer than others. Their edges stretched and contracted across the walls with every small movement of my hand, twisting around the furniture and crawling over the floor.
And amidst the dancing shadows, my head flickered toward a certain one.
My heart stopped at the sight of it.
Unlike the other shadows... it wasn't moving.
It was standing completely still.
Staring at me directly.
"..."
For a brief moment, neither of us moved.
The silence seemed to deepen around me.
Even the buzzing of the lights above felt distant.
I couldn't even tell what I was looking at.
There was no face.
No distinct features.
Just a dark silhouette standing amidst the shifting shadows, its gaze somehow fixed directly on me.
It didn't act or move.
It simply stood there.
Watching.
And as my eyes settled over it, all it took was one blink for it to disappear.
My heart jolted.
I immediately moved the light around, the shadows flickering wildly across the walls as I searched for it.
The lantern trembled slightly in my hand, new footsteps appearing as the lamp moved. One, two, three... each step appeared random and erratic. There seemed to be no pattern at all as I hastily tried to follow each movement.
I swept the light across the floor, and then the walls. After that, I moved to the ceiling before shifting to the area beneath the desk and the corners of the room.
A new footstep appeared wherever I looked. And yet... I found nothing else belonging to the step.
My lips parted again as I used [Trait Transfer] one more time, but just like before, no sound came out of my lips as a strange silence settled across the room.
Pressing my lips together, I took a small breath to settle my mind before trying to call for Mirelle directly.
It might yield the same results, but it was worth a try.
...At least, that was what I thought.
"——!"
To my utter shock, my connection with my anomalies had been severed completely. I couldn't contact any of them at all.
'How does this make sense?'
Reaching for my head, I felt a sudden, sharp pain, my eyes twitching in the process.
The pain wasn't unbearable, but it instantly made me realize something as I hastily reached into my pocket, trying to grab a new set of medicine. I scrambled through my pockets, trying to find it, but in the midst of my frantic movements, the shadows around me danced as the lantern shifted slightly.
My heart stopped.
Ahead of me was another shadow.
It stared straight at me.
"....."
The hum of the computer felt louder than ever as I continued to stare at the shadow, the lantern swaying from left to right, all the shadows around me elongating and shrinking except for the one ahead of me.
I licked my lips, the pain in my head starting to become more and more unbearable.
My head didn't move. I kept my attention on the shadow, trying my best not to blink.
That was also the moment I realized something...
'It's not moving at all.'
So long as I kept my gaze on it, the shadow would remain still. But the moment I blinked, it would fade.
I took several deep breaths, trying my best to formulate a plan.
'I don't know if the side effects of the luck halo are still effective, but... it might seem to be the case, as none of my nodes are working properly. This might also be due to the side effects from the pills that I took from the doctor.'
This sort of bad luck...
I knew that it couldn't be a coincidence.
My left eye twitched, the pain in my head starting to become unbearable. Despite all of this, I didn't blink at all as the shadow remained on the wall.
Fiddling with my pockets, I took out one of the medicines and popped it into my mouth.
My head started to feel better almost instantly, but in spite of this, I still couldn't feel my nodes as my eyes began to sting.
I took another breath, sweat trickling down the side of my face.
'It's... been quite some time since I've struggled this much.'
I licked my lips as the thought crossed my mind.
The stinging didn't get any better, only growing progressively worse as the noise around me grew even more pronounced. From the hum of the computer to the soft, yet incredibly loud sound of my breathing, and even the soft creak of the floor beneath me.
At the same time, the lantern in my hand continued to wobble, shadows moving left and right as the sting in my eyes started to really bother me.
My mind churned to think of a solution, my hand reaching into my pocket to look for anything.
It was amidst such a situation that I heard a soft shift from my left.
Then—
To Tok—!
'They're here.'
I didn't hesitate. Eyes still directed at the shadow, I started to move my body, moving towards the door as I heard another knock coming from the other side.
To Tok!
I drew closer and closer to the door, another knocking sound coming.
Judging from how often it sounded, it looked to be Mia who was doing the knocking.
Reaching for the door, I knocked with the back of my hand.
To Tok!
At the same time, I spoke, "Get inside. The door is locked. Have Min smash it—"
Click!
Huh?
My mind blanked for a moment as I heard the soft click coming from beside me. And just before I could figure out what was happening, the door abruptly opened behind me.
CLANK!
Even then, I didn't blink.
But that was probably my first mistake, as I suddenly noticed that the shadow was missing.
And before I even knew it, I felt something press against my chest, and then I was suddenly thrown back.
"Ukh!"
Landing against the hard floor, I tried to get up fast, but the moment I did, my entire expression changed as I looked around me, my eyes widening at the sight that greeted me.
"Wait, what?"
This place...
It was my game development office.
But why was I...?
Click!
A loud click registered inside my mind as I turned to face the door, my heart sinking as I immediately moved towards it and tried to open it.
Click! Click!
I tried several times. I even went as far as kicking it, but it was no use at all.
The door didn't budge at all.
My heart sank.
Especially when I looked at my watch, noticing that there was only a little bit of time left until the Gate activated.
"...Well, fuck."
-x-X-x-
Click! Click!
I reached for the door, trying to pull it open. I had forgotten the number of times I'd tried this, but regardless of what I did, the door wouldn't budge at all. I held the handle down a little longer this time, waiting for some give.
"...Fuck."
A curse slipped out of my lips before I knew it.
Rubbing my forehead, I looked around the office before moving towards my desk area and taking a seat.
'How in the world did it manage to do that?'
No, it was obvious that I had been tricked by it.
This anomaly...
It was certainly quite an advanced one. For it to have calculated everything like that... It certainly was of rank or above.
"Ugh."
Accompanying the twitch of my eyelid was a dull ache that refused to leave. Even as I popped another pill, the pain persisted as I checked my watch.
Tik Tik—
[22:38]
"Ah, fuck."
I couldn't help but curse again.
Lifting my head to stare at my monitor, I booted up the PC and opened the Guild log. There was no Wi-Fi, but I still held a copy of the Guild's database on most of the anomalies that it had captured.
Naturally, as a place provided to me by the Guild, it was in the log.
"What was its number again...? Tut... tutut—Ah! Here."
I stopped scrolling, pausing before a certain file.
———
[VILE - 303]
Class: Elcid (Daytime), Melas (Nighttime)
Description: VILE - 303 is a normal school accessible only with a specific key. By day, it functions normally, but at midnight, all doors leading to VILE - 303 lock shut, trapping anyone inside. From midnight to 6 AM, hostile entities called "teachers" emerge and hunt anyone remaining. The school's interior appears infinite, making escape impossible during this time.
Warning: Doors must be locked from the outside before midnight!
"..."
Reading the anomaly's description, my eyes squinted tightly. I went back over the part about midnight.
"Right... the doors should be locked only after it reaches midnight. Then... How come I can't open the doors now?"
The answer was obvious.
It was the anomaly's doing. Somehow, it was keeping me locked inside this place. To make matters worse, I couldn't even feel my nodes at the moment.
In other words, I was fucked.
"...Would I even be able to get out if I could use my nodes?"
Logic said yes, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt this logic wouldn't hold up.
"From the way it acted, it's obvious that it knows a lot about me. It's been... studying me. Especially the way I act."
I could tell this from the way it made me move back in the office. It was as if it had calculated every one of my actions.
The more my thoughts went along those lines, the creepier things felt. I didn't even know when it had started.
"Have I really been neglecting something like this for so long?"
Sometimes... I really hated how unbothered I was with things.
No, really.
The worst part was that I was aware of my flaws, but struggled to fix them.
"It's as they say... A change doesn't happen overnight."
I made that quote up, but it felt fitting for the situation.
"Enough of that. I really need to think of a way out of this place."
I stood up from my seat and finally looked around me. The'office' was as I had last left it.
The best part of it all was the fact that it was still spotless. Unlike the office back in Malovia that had been filled with dust, this place was still pretty clean. In fact, taking a look at this place, I couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic.
"It's been a while, really."
I had been so busy with so many things that I had hardly had the time to develop a new game or even think about making a game. A lot of my attention fell on the upcoming task of creating a Gate, but even that was hard.
'I wonder how the others are doing.'
Been a while since I last contacted them.
Step. Step—
Each step I took bounced off the large room, the sound echoing loudly as my hand traced over the game pods.
My eyes shifted to the corners of the room, and then to the massive windows of the place as I walked towards them and stared at the long corridor that seemed to stretch for eternity.
My gaze hovered for a while, shifting from one door to the next along the sides of the corridor, the silence around me feeling more and more oppressive. Above, the lights of the corridor flickered from time to time, their hum softly entering my ears as I drew a small breath, taking in the faint, yet ever-present smell of paper. Each time they flickered, my eyes went back to the farthest doors.
'...Should I just wait to see if the others will somehow find this place?'
I had tried forcing my way out myself. I punched it. I kicked it. And I even went as far as throwing a chair at the door.
But...
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
The door didn't budge a single bit.
It was obvious to me that it was impossible for me to get out through regular means. My only hope was that my nodes would recover just in time before midnight struck, but the more time passed, the more I felt the sinking feeling that it was probably not going to happen.
I looked down to check the time.
Tik Tik—
[23:17]
"Ah, fuck."
My heart pressed tightly against my chest.
I moved away from the windows, shifting my attention away from the corridor and back to the classroom as I looked for anything that would possibly help me get out of the situation.
Click! Click!
I tried to pull the door open again, but it remained locked. I even kicked it again and threw another chair at it, but that was useless. I waited for the noise to die away, listening for anything from the corridor.
"Haa... Haa..."
The only thing it did was increase my blood pressure.
"...This isn't going to work."
I cracked my fingers while looking around again.
At the same time, I glanced at my wrist.
[23:31]
"——!"
I nearly had a heart attack.
Turning around, I moved towards the desk and pulled all the drawers open, looking for anything that could help me. I even went to the system shop, only to stop upon realizing that I literally had no SP to use.
"...This is bad."
I stared at the door.
Tik Tik—
It was almost as if I could hear the click of the clock inside my head.
The closer it got to midnight, the louder the sound felt.
Gulp.
I took down another pill.
My head immediately cooled, and I felt a lot more refreshed, but my control over my nodes didn't return.
"Shit."
My hands subconsciously tightened.
"...Shit. Shit."
The number of times I had said'shit' in the last couple of minutes had probably been more than I had ever said in the past week, which was impressive in itself.
Tik Tik!
"Hoo."
I drew another long breath, trying to calm my racing heart.
'Come on. You're not like this. This isn't like you.'
I looked around once more, trying to see if there was anything else that could be of use to me. For a moment, the thought of reaching for one of the pods and smacking it against the door reached me, but I quickly gave that idea up.
My back wouldn't take that...
"Okay, okay."
I pressed my hand against my lips, my teeth subconsciously reaching for my nails as I started to nibble on them.
"...My nodes aren't working, and I can't brute force my way out of the room. I don't currently have the key with me since it's back in Sines, and at the moment it doesn't seem like the others have noticed my absence at all."
Tik Tik—!
I turned my wrist.
[23:59]
"..."
My expression remained the same as I kept staring at the numbers.
For just a little longer.
Until—
Flick! Flick! Flick! Flick!
The lights above me flickered wildly, alternating between bright and dark as the air around the classroom suddenly chilled.
Not even a moment later, the doors of the classroom started to shake, the handles letting out a soft metallic clanking sound.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
My head slowly turned, and as it did...
CLANK!
The door burst open, smacking against the side of the room before everything turned quiet once more.
Flick! Flick!
The lights above flickered once, then twice before settling.
And as this happened, I finally heard it.
Step!
Faint, but clear.
The sound of a distant footstep in the corridor.