The afternoon sun hovered above the slums. It's searing rays unending and unforgiving. Most people were still working, toiling away for a chance to have a proper rest at night, but there were those who didn't.
Owners of businesses, who simply oversaw and protected their wares and workers. Life was quite easy for them compared to the rest, so it was normal for them to enjoy themselves a bit.
And Boss Josh's Stall was the top choice for the upper class of the slums.
Boss Josh was also quite the receptive person, mingling with his fellows as they ate and chat, but today was different.
Boss Josh was nowhere to be found.
"What do you think is going on?" A man dressed in a dark red shirt and navy blue trousers let out a puff of smoke, glancing across the round table he was seated with his eyes falling on the three men seating with him.
A chubby men with a clean jaw and pearly green eyes smiled softly, his fingers strumming the table softly. "I don't know much, but I heard rumours of dead bodies and pools of blood in the alley beside your Shoe Shack, my dear Gregory."
An angry puff of smoke answered his words. "What do you mean by that, Suren? And how is that related to this topic?" The man who had spoken first retorted, his brown eyes trained on the chubby man.
Suren's smile remain unchanged, his fingers rapping the table with a constant rhythm. "You should know more about this, shouldn't you Gregory... considering the fact that whatever went down took place next to your "shoe shack. I'm sure Yosef and Hood are of the same mind."
"Indeed," Yosef, dressed in a black half top-hat and a white shirt, stated in agreement. "If what Suren says is true, that means you should know more than us."
The man had short black hair and black eyes that rested on the smoking Gregory with a mild hint of suspicion..
Hood didn't speak, choosing to peer at Gregory just like the rest.
Gregory sighed, then removed the pipe he was smoking from his mouth. "Trust me, you won't believe if I told you what I heard from my workers.
"We don't mind that," Hood said, waving his gloved hand. He was dressed in a long coat and half top hat which made him look quite intimidating.
"Alright," Gregory nodded slightly, sitting up a bit and leaning on the table. He looked at the three men before him and let his words flow. "You know how it's normal for work to start around 7 o'clock and end late at night, right?"
The nodded.
"Well, this morning when I got to my shack, I was startled by screams and shouts coming from the roadside. I decided to check and then I found five bodies, all covered in blood."
The three men looked on, clearly unimpressed.
Gregory scoffed. "All of them were Josh's men, and they were all killed in a single strike."
"What?" Suren's eyes widened, his rapping coming to an abrupt halt.
Yosef and Hood also looked unnerved.
They knew the kind of man Josh was, and the kind of horrifying meat shields and moving tanks he kept as men. It was not an overstatement to say he had the best manpower in the slums.
Yet, five of his men had been killed.
Gregory seemed to have been expecting their reaction as he shrugged and continued. "There's more though."
The three men sharply looked at him.
"People saw boss Josh running towards the City, all covered in blood and with a terrified look on his face. In addition, they also saw someone else..."
Gregory paused at this point.
"What is it again?" Yosef snarled.
"They saw someone else..." Gregory continued. "But every single one of them can't remember what the person looks like. They don't even know if it was male or female."
He sighed and looked at the people seated across him. "You should know what that means.
"It's the supernatural..." Hood muttered, his face heavy. "This is deeper than it seems."
A heavy silence hung in the air as the four men sank into their own thoughts. They were veterans in their aspect of life and if there was one thing they knew...
It was that nothing good ever came from the supernatural.
---
Hood left Joshua's food stall in a foul mood. The other three left a while ago, but he was still thinking about how the recent update would affect the slums.
All four of them were affected, but he was affected more than them.
He made his way into a small but well built house, taking out a bunch of keys and unlocking the door. He entered, locked the door and went straight into the bedroom.
There, he went to the bed and fiddled with the frame a few times. A small round prominence appeared where his hand was, and he placed his palm on it.
Suddenly, the world seemed to have fallen silent. The world became less brighter and the colours dimmed. A desk with clacking sounds echoing behind it appeared, not being out of place as if it was always meant to exist there.
Hood remained unfazed by all of this.
Soon, the clacking stopped and a bored male voice echoed. "What?"
Hood took a deep breath.
"An anomaly has occured in the slums. People are reporting seeing a person but not remembering anything about the afterwards. It looks like something only those specialized in illusions can do."
"Or abyss..." The voice muttered aloud.
Hood trembled slightly at the mention of the word "abyss", but he forced himself to calm down.
"Furthermore, children have been going missing in the slums. Kids ranging from 13 to 18 from what I've gathered so far. I wouldn't put it past cults of Chalice to do such, but there have been suspicious movements on the side of the Baron's guard.
"I can't take care of this by myself."
Silence reigned for a short moment before being broken by the bored voice. "I'll send you three people. Make use of them well and report if anything goes awry. May the Father be with thee."
With that, the haze that shrouded the world cleared. Colours became exuberant and sounds returned to the atmosphere.
Hood stretched his left palm out, igniting a bright yellow flame that exuded purity and holiness. He placed his right palm on his chest and closed his eyes with a pious whisper.
"May the Father be with thee."