Half an hour earlier, in Chapena District. Isabelle sat on the white sofa, her hands clenched, hoping her brothers would return home with their mother. Her anxiety made the living room feel even more cramped.
A few seconds later, from the direction of the door, light footsteps could be heard.
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?
"Who's there?" her voice trembled.
Silence. No answer.
Her instincts made her take two steps back. Isabelle turned, intending to go to her room. Just as she stepped onto the first stair, the knocking sounded again, this time accompanied by a cold breeze that crept up her neck, as if something was whispering for her to open the door.
Isabelle froze. Fear made her chest tight, but staying silent only made the sound more pressing. 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 had slowed, but it seemed 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 handle.
Click.
The door opened just wide enough for a hand to fit through. Isabelle stared at a woman with neatly tied black hair, wearing a black velvet hat decorated with a cream ribbon and a row of slender feathers curved elegantly at the top.
Her brown eyes glanced sharply at the part of Isabelle's face that was visible.
"Don't be afraid," she said softly. "My name is Zeta Audervin. Is your sister in the house?"
"Ah... Zavi, yes. She just left fifteen minutes ago," replied Isabelle, her heart pounding.
Her panic slowly faded, thinking that the knocking had been done by mischievous people. But she did not expect that a woman would dare to go out at night.
"It's better if we talk inside." Isabelle still held the door open slightly while waiting for her answer.
"No... Thank you for the information," said Zeta indifferently.
She turned around, walked steadily, 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 left. Like it or not, Zeta chose to visit her tomorrow and hoped that Zavi would be home on Tuesday.
---
7:10 p.m. Forgenate District, a building overgrown with weeds.
Zavi crawled 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 shock wave and shattered the row of glass windows above the entrance.
The sound of shattering glass was clearly audible. 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 stepping on 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 from between the leaves.
Before he had time to enjoy the strange glow, he heard a cold whisper from his brother, telling him to follow him immediately.
Ren ran ahead 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 spontaneously stopped in his tracks, 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 tracing the road towards the building covered in bushes, a building that was supposed to be uninhabited.
Unbeknownst to them, a group of robed people were hiding inside, holding several residents hostage.
Ren growled softly, annoyed. He realised that the woman's actions had attracted the attention of many people. He turned around and signalled for 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 the next flight of stairs. They were almost at the top. The door to the second floor opened, and they entered, walking along a dimly lit iron walkway, with only a little light seeping through the cracks in the walls.
Ren reached into his coat pocket and took out a lighter. He flicked it; a small flame appeared, illuminating part of the narrow corridor on the left and the dark space below them.
The two continued walking, even though it was dark around them and the air around them felt hotter as they moved forward.
Before long, they saw a bright light. Ren froze when he saw it, immediately reaching into his coat pocket, gripping his pistol tightly and preparing to draw it.
Zavi was a little surprised, realising that Ren had a pistol in his pocket, which neither he nor his family knew about. He chuckled afterwards, choosing to watch Ren's next move.
The light grew closer and closer, and ten seconds later, they had arrived. Ren put out his lighter, put it in his left pocket, and observed the room in front of him.
The room was quite large, 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. But they had abandoned this magnificent building for more than eight years.
At the far right end was a large iron door about two metres high. In front of the door were two guards who were guarding the room while observing the movements of the hostages.
Meanwhile, his other partner was 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 was an old bookcase and bookshelves covered with cobwebs surrounding part of the room.
Meanwhile, Ren pulled a pistol from his pocket without hesitation. He surveyed every corner before carrying out his plan. He didn't even consider how his sister and mother would ask him where he had obtained the pistol.
But unbeknownst to him, Zavi watched him with a strange smile. He had been curious since first speaking directly with Ren and was waiting to see what Ren would do next.