February 23rd, 1024
Night fell like spilled ink over the streets of Novara. Lights flickered against puddles and cracked stone, washing the narrow lane in hues of gold. At the heart of Porter Street, the CygneNoir bar thrummed with a lazy pulse of jazz and murmured conversation—a den where smoke hung thick and secrets came cheap.
A black car pulled up beside the curb. The driver stepped out, opening the rear door with a crisp motion. John Hayes emerged, dressed in a dark coat trimmed in silver, his boots tapping against the wet pavement. Two guards flanked him as they entered.
Inside, the air was heavy with tobacco and liquor. Velvet drapes dulled the noise from outside. The bar counter stretched beneath a low chandelier, its crystals stained amber from years of smoke. Glasses clinked, laughter came in low bursts, and the faint scent of perfume mingled with whiskey.
John stopped at the counter and rapped his knuckles twice. "They're in the back, I presume?"
The bartender glanced up, wiping a smudge from a glass. "Yes, Mr. Hayes. Through the kitchen, sir. Exit by the steel door."
John nodded, slipping a folded stack of notes onto the counter. "Appreciate it."
He motioned for his men to follow. They pushed through the kitchen where pots hissed and steam clouded the air, cooks eyeing them in wary silence. The back door groaned open to reveal a narrow alleyway glistening with rain.
Four men in dark coats waited under a single flickering bulb. The faint glow revealed their insignia: Valcrest.
John's expression tightened. "So what happened, Louis? Are we doing this or not? Eight months ago we made a deal. Now I hear things have changed. What happened to keeping the other families beneath us?"
Louis took a slow drag of his cigarette, the ember flaring in the dark. "Things have changed, old friend. There's a battle for Westorian leadership now. Tell me, could you ever win a war if you spent it feeding your enemies?" A smirk crept across his face. "Didn't think so."
Laughter rippled through the Valcrest guards.
John's fists clenched. "Our clan holds more sway in this city than any of you. You'll pay for this."
Louis flicked the cigarette aside, its sparks dying against the stone. "That would be true," he said softly, "if anyone ever heard from you again."
The guards stepped forward, mana shimmering faintly in the air, an electric pressure that made the puddles tremble.
"You can't do this," John started, "you can't—"
Bang.
The sound cracked through the night. A single shot. John's words choked into a gurgle as blood burst from his neck. Before the others could react, another shot rang out. One Valcrest guard dropped instantly, skull split open.
John collapsed to his knees, clutching his throat as the life poured out between his fingers. His gaze drifted toward the end of the alley, a figure stood there, half-swallowed by shadow.
No… no one else could've known about this meeting. That light; there was a flash of violet just before the shot.
The Valcrest men scattered, vanishing into the night. The figure advanced slowly, boots echoing against wet concrete. When it reached him, it kicked John onto his back and raised the gun.
Through the haze of blood and disbelief, John saw the face; young, cold, eyes glowing faintly beneath the scar across his right eye.
——
February 27th, 1024
"Mr. Estrella, Aurelius is waiting for you in his office."
Sosuke jolted awake at the sound, his head lifting from the stack of papers he'd fallen asleep on. The lamp beside him flickered weakly, casting uneven light over half-finished reports and smudged ink stains. He blinked, rubbed at his eyes, and muttered, "Okay, okay…" His voice was hoarse, exhausted. He stumbled upright, brushing crumbs off his wrinkled shirt and straightening his tie.
"Jesus," Klein muttered, shaking his head. "Do you ever go home?"
Sosuke ignored him and followed the secretary down the hall. The building smelled faintly of ink and burnt oil, the scent of paperwork and old machinery. Typewriters clacked faintly behind closed doors. When she opened Gabriel's office door, the warm glow from the electric lamps spilled out, revealing the old man seated behind his ornate desk.
"Sosuke," Gabriel greeted, voice smooth and formal. "I'm glad to see you've been… hard at work. A satisfying feeling, isn't it? Knowing your occupation's done you some good." He cleared his throat and gestured to the chair before him. "Now, sit. We have a new assignment to discuss."
Sosuke hesitated, eyebrows lifting. "What? What happened to the other case?"
"Handled," Gabriel replied, tapping a brass pen against the desk. "Others can manage it in your absence. This, however, is something different. Smaller, but… worthy of our attention."
Sosuke leaned forward, clasping his hands in his lap. "Alright. Hit me."
Gabriel opened a leather file, the paper inside crisp and pale under the light. "Last week, a town of roughly three hundred was found annihilated. No survivors. Reports mention an entity, unidentified, powerful. Notably, the settlement had a reputation for shunning those with weak mana control." His gaze lifted to meet Sosuke's. "Which tells us something about the kind of power we're dealing with."
Sosuke's jaw tightened. "Then what do you expect me to do? If I run into something like that, I won't be able to touch it."
Gabriel smiled faintly, though his eyes betrayed a knowing glint. "That's why you'll have a partner. A bit of a rookie, rather reluctant to join, but I have a feeling the two of you will make an interesting pair."
——
The train chugged steadily through a wintered countryside, steam trailing across the cold sky. Inside the carriage, the world felt smaller—warm, metallic, filled with the rhythmic hum of motion.
"This is ridiculous," Sosuke muttered, crossing his arms. Across from him, Ren sat by the window, chin resting in his hand as the passing fields blurred into streaks of white and green.
"What pulled you into this, anyway?" Sosuke asked after a moment. "You don't strike me as the investigative type."
Ren didn't move his gaze. "What does that matter?"
"Because it's strange," Sosuke replied, drumming his fingers against his thigh. "You could help people in other ways, you know. Not chasing after whatever monster burned down a village."
Ren turned his head, eyebrow raised. "What's wrong with you? Would you rather go alone and die?"
Sosuke exhaled sharply and leaned back in his seat. "I suppose not. Sorry." He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Ren's tone softened slightly. "I wanted to be involved in the clan conflict. I heard it's escalating. The nation's hands are tied in it anyway, so this—" he gestured vaguely to the mission papers beside him, "—still counts as saving lives. Though, for now, I'm apparently stuck babysitting."
Sosuke sat up straight. "Is that any way to respect my sacrifice?"
Ren gave a quiet, knowing grin. "How does it feel, every day, knowing Rin's tentimes more powerful than you?"
Sosuke huffed. "I'll have you know I'm quite proud of it."
"I'm sure you are."
"What's with the sarcasm?"
"What sarcasm?"
Sosuke groaned, pressing a hand to his face. "I swear to the gods…"
Ren chuckled lightly. "I've known you for what, eight years now? Never seen you this irritable. You've gone downhill."
Sosuke stared at him, deadpan. "Maybe because I'm sitting across from you."
——
February 28th, 1024
The next morning arrived gray and quiet. Mist clung to the broken skeletons of what once was a town. Sosuke and Ren arrived at dawn, boots crunching over blackened stone as a small police convoy led them past scorched barricades. Houses were nothing but hollow shells. Cracked lanterns lay shattered in the dirt, and the faint metallic tang of dried blood hung heavy in the cold air.
Sosuke slipped a cigarette from a small tin in his coat and lit it with a spark from his fingertip. The flame flared briefly, reflecting in his eyes before fading to a dull ember.
"Rin doesn't know you smoke, does she?" Ren asked, gaze drifting over the ruined streets. His voice was steady, but there was unease beneath it.
Sosuke took a long drag, exhaled slowly. "The mana traces here are thick. Whoever fought this thing didn't go down easy. Could've been a blight, maybe even a lieutenant."
Ren pressed his fingers to his temple. "You're already guessing, huh?" He sighed. "There's not much to go on. No footprints, no mana residue trail, nothing that shows its size or form."
"We shouldn't just assume it was a blight."
Ren frowned. "That's what you just said."
Sosuke held the cigarette between his fingers, eyes sharp despite his calm tone. "And that's your first mistake. Don't take your superior's word at face value. I was testing your thought process. You should know that by now. We've done this before."
Ren let out a dry laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "Don't even remind me."
Sosuke flicked ash to the ground and turned toward the perimeter. "Well, looks like we're done here. Nothing left to find."
Ren grabbed his wrist before he could take another step. His tone hardened. "I get you want to keep your focus on the clan war, but this matters too. The whole town's dead, Sosuke. You'd have to be heartless to walk away from that. There were children."
Sosuke paused, the faint hum of mana in the air fading beneath the weight of Ren's words. He sighed and turned his head. "When you put it like that, sure. What's your plan then?"
Ren released his grip and adjusted his collar. "Nearby towns. That's the logical next step. Maybe the police have already questioned them. We'll see if anything came up."
"Alright," Sosuke said. "Let's ask."
They returned to the officers stationed at the outskirts. The police captain, a man with deep lines across his brow, explained that most of the surrounding villages had been questioned. Only one lead stood out, a woman who claimed she had been saved by something she couldn't explain. Her name was Lena Torsett, a resident of a small farming settlement south of the ruins.
——
Ren knocked twice on the door of a modest wooden home. The porch creaked beneath his boots. Sosuke stood a few paces back, cigarette hanging from his lips, coat collar turned up against the wind.
The door opened with a soft creak. A woman stood there, mid-twenties perhaps, dressed plainly but with tired eyes. "Yes?"
"Ma'am, we're with the investigation team from the capital," Ren said, placing a hand on his hip. "We'd like to ask a few questions about the information you shared with the officers who visited you."
Lena hesitated, then nodded. "Of course. Come in."
The interior smelled faintly of herbs and burnt candle wax. The two men sat on a worn couch while she poured tea into small porcelain cups and placed them on the low table. The silence stretched, filled only by the soft clink of ceramic.
"Where should I start?" she asked, settling into the chair opposite them.
Sosuke leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees. "You told the officers that a strange mana saved you in the forest, correct?"
"Yes." She clasped her hands together. "Would you like to know more?"
"Please."
Lena nodded slowly, recalling the moment. "I was returning home through the woods when something attacked me. I think it was a blight. I didn't even have time to run. Then, out of nowhere, a shadow flew past. It killed the thing instantly, like it wasn't even a fight. One spell, and it was over."
Ren exchanged a brief look with Sosuke before leaning in. "You're saying someone helped you? Can you describe them?"
"I didn't see much," Lena admitted. "It moved so fast. He had spellbooks floating around him, at least one that I saw when he cast. But his face was hidden behind a mask. And before I could say anything, he was gone."
Sosuke's eyes narrowed. "Which direction did he go?"
She pointed toward the window. "Northwest. Toward that town fullofmages. The one everyone calls the 'crazy magic town.'"