Half an hour earlier, in Chapena District. Isabelle sat on the white sofa, her hands clenched, hoping her siblings would come home with their mother. Her anxiety made the living room feel even smaller.
A few seconds later, from the direction of the door, she heard light footsteps approaching, causing Isabelle to turn her head immediately.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Isabelle swallowed hard. She stood up and walked closer, but fear made her stop a few steps from the door.
What if it wasn't them?
She thought.
"Who's there?" her voice trembled.
Silence. No answer.
Her instincts made her take two steps back. Isabelle immediately turned around, intending to go to her room. As she stepped onto the first stair, the knocking sounded again, this time accompanied by a cold wind creeping up her neck, as if something was whispering to her to open the door immediately.
Isabelle froze. Fear made her chest tight, but staying still only made the sound more urgent. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, her curiosity forcing her to turn around and slowly walk towards the door.
She reached for the door handle with trembling hands. The sound of the last knock still echoed in her ears—its rhythm slowing, but sounding commanding.
The air in the living room felt colder than before, as if something was standing right behind the door.
She took a deep breath and slowly turned the door handle.
Click.
The door opened just wide enough for a hand to enter. Isabelle peeked through, staring at a woman with neatly tied black hair, wearing a black velvet hat adorned with a cream ribbon and a row of fine feathers curving elegantly at the top.
Her brown eyes glanced sharply at Isabelle's visible face.
"Don't be afraid," she said softly. "My name is Zeta Audervin. Is your brother inside the house?" she asked.
"Ah... Zavi, yes. He just left fifteen minutes ago," replied Isabelle, her heart pounding. She was afraid that the previous knock had been made by a supernatural being.
"Eh. Are you human?" Isabelle asked nervously.
Zeta tilted her head, confused, and answered with just one word, "No."
Her anxiety slowly subsided, thinking that the knock had been made by a supernatural being or a prankster. But she didn't expect a woman to dare to go out at night.
"We'd better talk inside." Isabelle still held the door slightly open, waiting for her answer.
"No... Thank you for the information," said Zeta indifferently.
She turned around, walked calmly away from her, and chose to return to her house. Her visit here was solely to ask how Forn could have become like that.
But she failed to find the cause because Zavi had already left. Like it or not, Zeta chose to visit him tomorrow and hoped Zavi would be home on Tuesday.
"What's with that woman?" Isabelle was confused and immediately closed the door tightly.
7:10 p.m. Forgenate District, a building overgrown with weeds.
Zavi crept along the wall to the right of the entrance, while Ren was on the left, observing the situation while waiting for instructions from the woman who had spoken to him earlier.
Two minutes later, an explosion was heard from inside the building. Black smoke appeared, coming out through two rusty chimneys. The next explosion created a shockwave and destroyed the row of glass windows above the entrance.
The sound of breaking glass was clear. Zavi was underneath it, reflexively looking up, staring at the small pieces of glass that were about to hit him.
He reflexively jumped to the side, his body hitting the thick grass and trampling it afterwards.
The glass shards scattered into the vines that crept up the wall of the building. Zavi's eyes widened; the vines glowed beautifully, emitting a blue light between their leaves.
Before he had a chance to enjoy the strange light, he heard his brother's cold whisper, telling him to follow him immediately.
Ren ran to the left side of the building, followed by Zavi behind him, towards a small staircase leading to the upper floor.
As soon as their feet touched the second floor, another explosion echoed. This time it was much louder than before—loud enough to make the residents scream in unison. Zavi stopped suddenly, along with Ren who stopped on the first step.
"Look over there!" Zavi exclaimed in surprise. He pointed towards the road.
From where they stood, they saw a row of lanterns approaching, a line of light following the road towards a building covered in bushes, a building that was supposed to be uninhabited.
Unbeknownst to them, a group of people in robes were hiding inside, holding several residents hostage.
Ren hissed softly, annoyed. He realised that the woman's actions had attracted the attention of many people. He turned and signalled to Zavi to follow him immediately.
As quickly as possible. They had to free the hostages before it was too late.
They exchanged glances, then continued up to the next floor. They were almost at the top. The door to the second floor opened, and they entered, walking along a dimly lit iron corridor, with only a little light seeping through the cracks in the walls.
Ren put his hand in his coat pocket and took out a lighter. He lit it; a small flame appeared, illuminating part of the narrow corridor to the left and the dark space below them.
The two men continued walking, even though it was dark around them and the air around them felt hotter as they advanced.
Soon after, they saw a bright light. Ren froze when he saw it, immediately putting his hand in his coat pocket, gripping his gun tightly, and preparing to take it out.
Zavi was slightly surprised, realising that Ren had a pistol in his pocket, something neither he nor his family knew about. He chuckled softly afterwards, choosing to observe Ren's next move.
The light grew closer, and ten seconds later, they arrived. Ren took out his lighter, put it in his left pocket, and surveyed the room in front of him.
The room was quite spacious, able to accommodate about a hundred people for a party. This building had previously belonged to one of the most important nobles in the kingdom of Norn. However, they had abandoned this magnificent building more than eight years ago.
At the far right end was a large iron door two metres high. In front of the door were two guards who guarded the room while watching the movements of the hostages.
Meanwhile, his other colleagues were still busy with the explosion caused by the woman Ren had sent earlier.
Inside the room, there was a large lamp hanging firmly from the ceiling. In the room, there were old bookshelves and bookshelves covered in cobwebs surrounding part of the room.
Meanwhile, Ren pulled a pistol from his pocket without hesitation. He checked every corner before carrying out his plan. He didn't even think about how his younger brother and mother would ask him where he got the pistol.
However, unbeknownst to him, Zavi was watching him with a strange smile. He had been curious since the first time he spoke directly with Ren and was waiting to see what Ren would do next.