In the central part of the village Cadensia, the shattered fountain stood silent. The statue of the blindfolded goddess of symphony above the broken basin --- a once serene face carved with delicate detail and her woven hair like ribbons of stone now look like a 'cracked melody'.
The night air was thick with the mingled scents of chestnuts and spiced bread, faint whispers of the festival still lingering on the ears of Lira, Joren, and Ryn revelry fading into uneasy silence. Lanterns flicker dimly overhead, casting soft glow across the uneven cobblestones and their faces.
Suddenly, near the cracked edge of the fountain, something unusual appeared --- a ghostly shimmer ripped through the air.
Blue luminescence bloomed and pulsed in eerie tendrils, coalescing into a holographic image that hovered over the water like a digital apparition.
The goddess's silent face was replaced by a bright-eyed smile framed in sparkling light. Her voice rang unnaturally clear, unnaturally cheerful, across the quiet square.
"WELCOME 😁 DEAR PLAYERS!" The hologram chimed, metallic and shimmering with an unholy warmth.
"THE GAME WILL START AT THE ARRIVAL OF THE STARS AT MIDNIGHT.
PLEASE PREPARE ACCORDINGLY AS PER INSTRUCTIONS."
The digital face lingered, blinking softly as the cobblestones beneath seemed to pulse with sudden resonance, the faint echo of unseen music vibrating faintly through the plaza's empty corners.
"THE FIRST GAME WILL TAKE PLACE ON VILLAGER'S HEAD CABIN.
THE TIMERS START NOW!
THAT'S ALL☺️."
Then the image shattered into thousands of glittering fragments, scattering like fireflies swallowed by the darkness.
The hologram's glowing presence faded into a shimmer of scattered light, leaving only the sterile white walls and that chilling final message lingering in the silent air: "The game will start at the arrival of the stars at midnight. Please prepare accordingly."
Lira's eyes flicked instinctively toward a near fractured windowpane where a sliver of night bled in from the outside world. The stars above were ancient, steady, and softly pinpoints of light tracing slow but perfect arcs across the ink-black sky. In their slow, almost an eternal movement, Lira felt the only true measure of time in this place.
"Approximately... 3 hours huh?" She speak softly. But her mind was already racing with other questions:
'More importantly... Pla — player? Instructions? Game? What game...?'
These words echo and spiraling uncontrollably without any cause or reason.
Her violet eyes fix on the dark, stained with blood water glistening beneath the statue of the blind goddess of symphony --- a being known for her harmonious melodies and tones.
But all she could feel was dissonance within like a creeping discordance that rattled the fragile mask she wears everyday.
'Where is everyone?
Are they safe?
What's really going on?
Where is everyone?
Are they safe?
What happened to the villagers?
Why am I here?'
These questions keep hammering inside her head, too many, too urgent, tumbling over one another like a frantic cascade.
And then — the world tilted slightly, the cobblestones beneath her seeming to sway like a haze.
The shadows deepened, and the night's cold air burned her lungs with every breath. A tightening gripped her chest, a sudden rush of panic clawed its way to the surface.
Her hands trembled,
her vision blurred at the edges.
Her mind screamed with the chaos of a thousand unanswered inquiries, a deafening silence filling the spaces between each one.
It was more than confusion....
It was the raw, searing fear in a world gone silent, like a prisoner to an unknown place whose rules were written in shadows.
Bringing her close to her forgotten memories once again.
Lira's knees buckled, her breath coming fast and shallow, a rush of dizziness threatening to pull her under.
Before the edges of her world could crumble completely, strong hands steadies her shoulders.
Ryn steps close. She caught Lira's hesitation and offers a faint smile, voice gentle as a whisper. "Hey, you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Lira met her eyes and shook her head slightly, forcing calm.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… a lot to take in, that's all."
***********************************************
A quiet heaviness settled over them, the weight of unspoken fears pressing in from all sides. The faint rustle of leaves and the distant creak of old wood filled the spaces between their steadying breaths, each sound sharpening their awareness of the uncertain night ahead.
For a long moment, the three remained motionless, a fragile stillness woven between them.
The soft and ambient hush of their surroundings seemed to amplify their nerves with each sound a subtle reminder of the tension coiling tight in their chests.
In that suspended moment, words felt both unnecessary and impossible.
'Approximately... 2 hours left and the stars will start to whisper...' Lira's thoughts quieted, her pulse slowing as she let the present moment anchor her. She breathed in rhythm,with each inhale and exhale steadying her resolve and releasing her trembling doubts.
Then --- as sudden clarity ignites within her once restless mind, slicing through the lingering uncertainty like the first sharp note of a symphony breaking a heavy silence.
Her gaze fixed firmly on Ryn's, the weight of her thoughts unresolved but resolved nonetheless.
"We need to split up," she said abruptly, her words steady even though her heart still fluttered beneath ribs and skin.
Ryn's brow drew tightly, concern etched deep in the lines of her face
"Split up? Lira, are you — not like I meant negative here but have you lost your mind?
We don't even know what is going on... We don't know what's out there. We don't even know what this 'game' really is — "
Lira swallowed hard, swallowing down the fluttering chaos threatening to unravel her. The memories of panic still clung like cold smoke, but determination steadied her breath. "I'm sure. Remember the time when you said what would I do if I were somehow missing in the woods without any form of help from companions? You said I should find food, water, shelter, and other necessities...
I can handle myself."
" And, I'm the fastest and quietest among us— nimble enough to move through shadows that others can't. I know these streets, these hidden paths better than anyone here." Lira said with full confidence while roughly patting her shoulders.
She glanced briefly at Joren, pale and weary but watching her with quiet trust. "Please protect Joren while I'm out there. You take care of him when I'm gone. We have to cover as much ground as possible. If we want to find answers."
Joren's tired eyes softly widened. His voice was soft but earnest. "I trust you, Lira. Please… just be careful."
Ryn's gaze softened but her fierce protectiveness mingled with reluctant respect. She exhaled slowly, realizing the resoluteness in Lira's voice made resistance futile. "If you say so. But no heroics that aren't necessary."
Her tone shifted, carrying the weight of command softened by worry. "We meet back here before that timer reaches 0 or this so-called game truly begins. Understand?"
Lira nodded, feeling the weight of something secret stirring beneath the folds of her tattered cloak.
And then she stepped silently into the waiting shadows, the cold night swallowing her small, sure footsteps as she moved alone forward.
****
Under the heavy cloak of night, Lira moved swiftly yet silently through the empty streets of Cadensia, the village bathed in an eerie, muted glow from flickering lanterns.
Her footsteps were light against cracked cobblestones, each step was measured and deliberate, designed to stir as little as possible in this oppressive quiet place.
Her senses stretched taut, every shadow a possible threat and every faint sound a warning.
The air was thick with the lingering scent of autumn, dry leaves, distant smoke, and undercurrents of something more pungent and unsettling…
A smell of old blood faintly permeated the night, though its source remained hidden in darkness.
The once vibrant village felt more like a marionette missing its puppeteers like a stage frozen mid-performance.
Lira's eyes darted into the windows of shuttered shops and found empty baskets, forgotten clothes, shattered pottery.
Truly, the ghosts of a festival long ended whispered faintly in the rustle of choked vines and shifting shadows.
'Where is everyone?' Her mind still ringing with the question, an echo in the cavernous silence, but the answer remained buried beneath the haunting ground.
She found herself moving toward the familiar shape of Mr. Maverick's butchery shop tucked at a crooked corner of the street — a place she'd been to often.
The door was cracked open just wide enough to slip through.
Inside, the air shifted instantly cold, smelling of cured meat and dust, a mustiness of disuse mixing with sharper tints of iron.
"Hello?" Lira called softly, voice barely a breath; however only silence answered.
She stepped further in, eyes scanning the room. Steel knives lay gleaming against wooden blocks, dulled but dangerously sharp.
The foul scent of cured meats clung, mingling with dust made her reminanse from the past.
Her gaze settled on a small kitchen blade resting on a small block, partially hidden beneath faded, stained cloths.
The foul scent of cured meats clung, mingling with dust and memories.
Her gaze locked on a small kitchen knife resting on a battered block, partially hidden beneath faded and stained cloths.
Fingers trembling not entirely from cold, she reached out, gripping the cracked handle with reassurance. The metal was cold and raw in her palm.
'This small blade could be my only defense.'
Her ears caught a distant clang; heart thudding, she paused, breath quickening.
Every nerve alerted, eyes swept to shadows that clung jealously to the shop's corners.
Yet no movement emerged…
Only the soft tick of time passing in muted cadence with her own pulse.
Lira forced her breath steady, tethering herself to the weight of the knife concealed beneath her tattered cloak.
The presence of that cold steel was like a talisman against the unknown that whispered threats in the wind and pried open fragile doubts in her mind.
The cold night pressed in around her, the village's silence transforming into something alive…
A living being?
It was filled with unseen eyes and a bitter mouth. Or is it…?
"Wha — what's that?"
Lira's violet eyes forward more a little toward the darkened sky. Then, briefly catching distant, flickering blue lights. Neon letters like whispering spirits. It flickers more wildly just as Lira begins to stare at it — as if teasing her to approach it.
Yet, as her eyes flicked to the glowing timer blinking steadily down to ten minutes, her fleeting terror was edged away by necessity.
"Not now. Not yet… I have to go back immediately" Her thoughts brushed aside the alluring strangeness. .
With one final glance around the empty shop and that neon light, Lira melted back into the shadowed streets, the small knife a steady weight against her side, as she vanished once again.