Through the door, everything became a blur as the world around her changed. In an instant, a memory played out before her.
She now stood within a Room with a brown door on each side. Near the opposite wall was a wooden bed, and a small lantern hung overhead. It was a rather common room, except for a bedside table that most had.
Knock!
Knock! Knock!
Hearing the sound at the right door, Rosa silently observed as the man flipped out of bed and walked towards it. Staring closely at his features, she was able to discern he was roughly four years younger, lacking any facial hair.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Harvey. Open the door, will ya? We need to talk, "A man with a deep voice outside the door said.
'Harvey, huh?'Making a mental note, Rosa watched as he opened the door to see a man with similar black hair, who bore no resemblance to him or his captured partner.
Alarmed, Harvey asked, "Look at the time! What do you need this early?!"
The man replied with a hesitant look, "It's... about the shop. My dad offered a good price to take it off our hands, and I'm thinking about letting him have it."
"He said he would give us quadruple our current monthly earnings, that's roughly twenty thousand dollars!!" As he continued, Rosa noticed his words seemed to anger Harvey, yet he didn't last out.
Instead, he gave a forced smile and asked," You didn't draft any contracts with him, right?"
"What kinda friend do you take me for?"Startled by the subtle accusation, the man declared. " I would never do that before discussing it with you!"
"I don't know Ryan, I trust your loyalty to your father a lot more..." Harvey grumbled.
With those words, an argument quickly broke out between the two, but Rosa could no longer hear their words. As she watched both men frantically exchange words, her vision began to distort.
'Is the memory ending?' she wondered.
The silent world blurred, and once more the surroundings quickly changed.
Wine? Rosa looked around, confused. She noticed several rows of wine barrels and a Crimson veil covering the room. Turning her head, she gazed through a foggy window and caught sight of something strange. It was the Moon, or rather a crimson moon!
"W-Who are you!?" Suddenly, a familiar voice blurted out from behind her.
After she turned around, Rosa was at a loss for words.
Before her, Harvey stood nervously, clutching a bloody knife in his right hand. His hair was disheveled, he wore a bloody white shirt with a torn collar, and his lip was bruised.
At a glance, Rosa could tell he had been in a desperate struggle, but she wasn't sure with whom.
That was until she followed the scent of iron.
As Rosa lowered her gaze, a lifeless body bleeding out at Harvey's feet came into view.
'That must be Ryan. ' Her heart began to race as she stared at the puddle of blood. Clenching her fist, she felt a memory of the past flood her mind like a wave.
"You Heartless Demon!!"
"We trusted You!!"
"What do you think life is?!!"
The voices of her past echoed within as the frost began to spread. The temperature of the room took a sudden drop, but in his anger, Harvey didn't seem to notice.
"Oi! Don't ignore me, who the hell are you?!"
Her eyes narrowed, shifting her attention to him. She spoke with a cold voice, "Was it worth it?"
"What!?" Annoyed, he replied with furrowed brows.
Without a response, Rosa dashed forward with a blur.
Instinctively, he swung the knife to fend off her attack, but as he moved his arm, he was struck by a burning pain.
Suddenly, Harvey felt the chill in the air.
shivers ran through his body, and for a moment, it felt like he was being pricked by over a dozen needles, but then he felt a cold hand firmly grasp his throat, lifting him off the ground. As his feet dangled barely above the concrete floor, a throbbing pain travelled along his forearm.
He soon realized he could no longer feel the sensation in his right hand.
Then he saw it.
Within Rosa's left hand was his severed hand!
The skin, already swollen and crystallized, slowly chipped away, revealing the frozen bones beneath. '
What!!'Witnessing the fate of his hand, fear consumed Harvey's mind. As he felt the cold spreading, he struggled to break free with what little strength he could muster, but this resistance was only met with Rosa's cold, dead eyes.
"Was it worth it?" She spoke once more, and with each word, a cold gust of mist left her lips.
Harvey didn't understand what Rosa was thinking, but he knew his next words would decide whether he lived or died. Gritting his teeth to resist the pain, he quickly shouted in a hoarse voice, "Please! Don't kill me, I didn't do anything!!"
"That guy, Ryan, he was attacked by a thief!!. I confronted that bastard and gave him a good stab, but he got away!!".
It was such a poor attempt at a lie, Rosa was surprised he would even dare utter it. She couldn't help but let out a dry laugh, yet her grip only tightened further."I was expecting too much from a heartless bastard like you.. You don't want to answer that. How about simpler questions?"
"Whose your boss and how are they related to the Xiangcao pharmacy?" she asked.
The pressure on his windpipe tightened. Harvey's eyes bulged, his face turning a mottled purple as he clawed uselessly at her arm. The cold was seeping into him now, a deep, numbing ache that promised a slow, crystalline end.
"I-I don't know anything!" he choked out, the words a ragged gasp. "A man with a scar! He paid us to follow a woman by the name of Cynthia and a guy named Jonathan!"
"That's all I know!"
"He's the one who gives the orders! He's the one you want!"
"Where can I find him?"
"A back room at the store! He uses the comms cubes to contact us! We never contact him! Please… I've told you everything!"
The fear was eroding him faster than her ice; however, Rosa could still perceive a core of self-preservation, a rotten knot of loyalty he wouldn't relinquish. Shifting her grip, she pressed her thumb against the fragile cartilage of his throat.
"There have been cases of children disappearing; has your boss said anything about that?"
Suddenly, Harvey's eyes widened with a new trace of terror.
"So they are involved," Rosa said. "You really are nothing but scum."
"N-no… I didn't… He…didn't… tel--" His words dissolved into a strangled gurgle as the cold finally reached his vocal cords.
"W-wai— ...Ahh Ahhhh!!!"