Two minutes later, they reached the shop.
Night muttered under his breath, "This idiot's been leading me in the opposite direction the whole time…"
---
A small, rusted bell rang as the door creaked open, announcing the arrival of new customers.
An old man behind the counter glanced up with a bored expression, his eyes narrowing slightly as two young men stepped inside.
The first had jet-black hair and sharp blue eyes. He wore black pants and a plain white shirt, topped with a long dark coat that swayed with each step.
The second had messy green hair and golden eyes that practically glowed. He wore a forest-green shirt with black pants, and two sleek swords hung from his waist, swaying lightly as he walked.
"I want to see your best sword," Alex said immediately, eyes scanning the shop with interest.
"Sword and dagger for me," Night added calmly. He knew the basics of both — anything else would be a gamble he couldn't afford.
The old man raised an eyebrow at Alex, a faint smirk forming.
"Oh... it's you. The lost kid. Didn't expect you to still be alive with that sense of direction."
Alex's smile froze. A shadow flickered across his face.
"Mind your business, old man," he muttered, eyes narrowing. "And my sense of direction isn't that bad."
"Haha! You kids crack me up," the old man chuckled as he laid out a dozen swords and six daggers on the counter. "Pick for yourselves. These are the best I've got."
Night narrowed his eyes and activated his [Insight], scanning the weapons. But just then, the rusted bell rang again. The door creaked open once more.
Three young men in their twenties stepped inside.
Night turned to glance at them—then froze.
through [Insight] he felt something wrong as warning siren in his mind. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.
Without a word, he grabbed a sword and a dagger from the table and stepped forward.
To his surprise, Alex was already beside him, both swords drawn and eyes sharp.
As Night lunged in, aiming for the nearest target, his mind went blank for a fraction of a second. Just long enough.
The enemy dodged and countered with precision.
[Insight] kicked in again.
Night twisted his waist mid-motion, deflecting the strike with his sword, then slashed upward with the dagger in his off-hand. It sliced cleanly across the opponent's neck. A wave of dizziness hit him, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through it, backing away quickly.
When he looked up, the other two enemies were already down.
Alex stood calmly, cleaning the blood off one of his blades as he walked over.
Night exhaled slowly, catching his breath.
"How did you know something was off with them?" he asked, wiping the blood from his dagger.
Alex shrugged casually. "My intuition's... not exactly normal. My senses are sharp enough to feel malice. Works most of the time."
Night smirked. "I've got unparalleled insight. Unlike your sense of direction."
Alex rolled his eyes. "You'll never let that go, will you?"
The old man slowly put down his pipe and clapped once. The bored expression on his face faded, replaced by a sharp gleam in his eyes that hadn't been there before.
"Not bad, kids," he muttered, walking over to the corpses with a calmness that felt… unnatural.
"Some Nightmare creature has entered the city," he said, kneeling beside one of the bodies. "I'll go inform the other Awakened. Mind stepping outside for a bit? I need to close the shop."
He waved a hand toward the scattered weapons. "Take the sword and dagger you like. Consider it payment for dealing with these poor bastards. Controlled, clearly. Nothing more than puppets."
He spoke as if it were all routine. Night could tell — this old man was far from ordinary.
---
Outside the shop
"Hey," Night said, turning to Alex. "You know any place I can stay for a while? "
Alex scratched his head. "How about my place? I live alone, and it's too big anyway. You can crash there as long as you want."
"Not bad," Night replied, smirking. "But... do you actually know the way back?"
Alex shot him a glare. "I'm starting to regret inviting you already."
To Alex's visible annoyance, Night asked a random passerby for directions just moments later.
"You bastard! I know where my house is! Why the hell are you asking strangers?! At least have some faith in me!"
Night just gave a mock-innocent shrug.
---
Later… at Alex's house
It was surprisingly spacious — clearly designed for more than one person. Night made a mental note to ask about that later.
"Hey, Alex," he said, tossing his coat aside. "How about a friendly duel?"
Alex blinked, then grinned. "Huh. Sure. Sounds fun. I'll enjoy wiping the floor with you."
"You better not underestimate me," Night said, matching his grin with one of his own — sharper, a little crazed. "Or you're the one getting beaten."
They stepped into the backyard, swords in hand, tension beginning to rise between them.
Each took their stance.
And then—
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
A series of distant, thunderous explosions shattered the stillness.
Dust rose into the sky from far beyond the rooftops. Windows rattled. The earth beneath their feet gave a low groan.
Both froze.
Night's expression darkened instantly.
Alex's grin faded.
"…That came from the west," Alex muttered.
"The forest," Night replied quietly, already moving.
Without wasting another word, they sprinted out of the house. Boots pounded against the stone streets, adrenaline sharpening their senses.
Night activated [Insight] mid-run — and immediately every detail became extremely clear .
Something was wrong.
He skidded to a stop.
At the edge of his vision, a figure stood in the center of a nearby intersection.
Not moving.
Not breathing.
Just… standing.
Surrounding it was a wide circle of people — their eyes vacant, limbs slack, bodies frozen in eerie stillness.
Like puppets.
Alex stopped beside him, eyes narrowing.
"You see it too?" he asked, his voice tense.
Night didn't respond right away. as he focus on the target.
His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword.
The figure moved — its head turning slowly to face them.
A white mask stared back.
Blank. Smooth.
Its grin stretched impossibly wide, frozen in a mockery of joy.
Above it, two crescent-shaped slits curved like closed eyes — giving the illusion of smug laughter.
But there were no eyes.
No soul.
Only emptiness.
The mask was featureless, yet disturbing — like a smile carved onto a void.
Then, the figure raised a hand.
And the control human moved.