The crimson light of the moon broke through the clouds, casting its gaze upon a lone girl, her face, fair, blooming a reddish tint, and her eyes, sparkling like topaz—it was the person from before, whom I encountered on the streets, but what possible reason could she have to be here, in this hour, that too without an umbrella, no less? She simply stared at the sky, raindrops cascading down her face as the fog surrounded her, and for a moment I honestly thought that I had reached a tiny false paradise. Of course, a true paradise would be with my wife.
For a moment I simply stood there, admiring the sight that had captivated me completely, but very soon, I returned to my senses and realised that I shouldn't be here. The moment she would turn her head and we would lock eyes—I would need to explain myself, and I couldn't think of a single good explanation. Perhaps I could say that I was running away from someone, or that I was simply returning and got caught in this storm, but I would rather prefer not having to explain myself at all. Luckily, she seemed busy, lost in thought, staring at the skies above, her beautiful emerald dress completely soaked in the rain, as her hair violently danced in the wind.
But as I took a step back, about to make my escape, she slowly turned her head, and with a gaze that stared right at my soul, she asked, 'What brings you here?'
'I could ask the same,' I said with the shaky voice of a child who knew he had done something wrong and now stood on trial in front of his parents.
'You were trying to rob that old artefact shop, weren't you?'
She walked towards me, her steps slow yet confident. I gripped the handle of my gun I had tucked away behind me, my index finger floating above the trigger.
I need to shoot.
I couldn't leave any witnesses.
But thankfully, before I pulled out my gun, I returned to my senses.
What was I thinking?!
Immediately, I pulled away my hand, not letting it anywhere near the gun. I wasn't going to shoot her! If anything, I'm the person in the wrong here! But I couldn't get myself caught either. I had to do something, but what? Why was she here in the first place? Did she know that I would be here? No, that shouldn't be possible. Then was she following me? Wait, if that was the case, was it possible that the presence I felt before was hers?
There were a million questions plaguing my mind, but one thing was clear: now was absolutely the worst time to try to find any answer! I shook them off. The only thing I should be thinking about at that moment was how to get out of the situation. I hadn't covered my face. She knew who I was, but all she would have were her words. I could feign ignorance.
Should I just run?
In that dress she wore, it would be extremely difficult for her to catch up to me if I just ran as quickly as I could. I could simply disappear into the fog, and wait a bit before running back to my home, or I could also just choose a different path. It wasn't as if she knew my house…did she?
'I'm not going to report you,' she said, stopping right in front of me.
'How can you be so sure that I was here to rob that artefact shop?'
'Please, Sir Embers. That was trivial. Please do not try to act ignorant. Though I must say, I did not expect you to stoop so low.'
She said that with a look of great disappointment, which made me wonder: did she know me? I, for one, could not recall ever seeing her before. Of course, there was still the giant gap in my memories, so it was possible that I met her sometime this past month, but she didn't act like she knew me in the morning…
'You do not know me, Sir Embers…this is only the second time we've met, after all. But I do know you, and if He permits, someday, you will know me as well. Till then, here's a little gift for you.'
She placed a pouch on my hand, which I assumed was made out of jute. There was heft to it, quite a bit actually, and I wondered what was in it, but before I could ask, a gust of wind forced my eyes shut as thunder growled violently in the skies above. When I opened them, she was nowhere to be seen.
OH FUCK THIS!
The last thing I wanted was to get roped into the main plot of whatever tale was brewing in this world, and if my time reading web novels and manhwas had taught me anything, it was that this was how stories would often begin. You would be assaulted by who knows what in an empty alley, or be handed some mythical item by a total stranger. But then again, I could also take every precaution and still get dragged in when a random orb appears in the sky and teleports everyone to who knows where, or a half-giant comes to wherever you had run off to with your aunt to tell you that you're the Chosen One. Whatever the case may be, not once did things end quickly, and I needed it to end quickly. I wanted to return home to my wife as soon as I could.
I almost threw the bag away, but if I was about to get dragged into something, whatever it was inside that pouch, it should be of some use. Of course, there was also the possibility that whatever was in there ended up being the reason I got dragged in in the first place, but it turns out I was in the mood to gamble a little, and I tucked it away in my pocket as I walked home.
Thunder growled as the fog thickened even more. At this rate, if I didn't hurry, it would be almost impossible for me to return home. From my memories, I knew where I had to go, but I still heavily relied on landmarks. My memories did not translate into habits or instinct. If I had to describe it, it was more like a book that I could reference, a book that lived in my head.
I was cautious of every step I took. Just moments ago, I ran into someone, and now was probably part of some grand, underlying story…which I guess would be the case by default since I got transmigrated here…but that did not make it any less infuriating.
I reached home. Lune was still asleep, fortunately. I quickly rushed back to my room. Drenched in rain as I was, I couldn't stand still in one place for a moment, lest I risked leaving behind proof of my ventures. 'I need to clean this,' I thought, looking at the trail of water that followed me. I took off my clothes, throwing them in a corner as I wiped myself, before taking out a new pair from the wardrobe. I wiped the floor with a towel, throwing it in the same pile as the other drenched clothes afterwards, and then sat down on my bed with the pouch in my hand. I debated on whether or not I should open it. I was curious about what was inside, but I also feared that I shouldn't know. I put the pouch on my table and turned my attention towards the letter.
Zoras was trying to save someone.
Of the three clues that I could figure out, that was the most clear. The other was the name of Douglas, and the third were two words I couldn't even pronounce properly—Ain' Khael.
Initially, I only focused on the "Mr. Douglas" part, the reason being it seemed the easiest to figure out. I didn't have any memories of the past month, so figuring out the other two clues would be next to impossible, but since I couldn't find out anything by breaking into his place, I could only assume that there wasn't anything noteworthy to be found. Zoras was simply trying to give him an artefact he had found—that was the conclusion I came to.
Thus, I turned to the other clues, specifically, the part where Zoras was trying to save someone.
—Damn it, they're here already. I need to save him…I need to ▬▬▬. Damn you ▬▬▬ DAMN YOU ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ▬ ▬▬▬ There is no other way. I didn't want t▬▬▬ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬...
That was the very start of the letter, and the only part of the letter where there was a full sentence for me to read.
Who was he trying to save?
Of course, figuring that out would be a chore…but if I could…I might finally be able to piece together my memories…or maybe the "piecing together my memories" part comes first?
Arghhhh! I'll think about it tomorrow!
I had shut the windows because of the storm, but the room was still cool, thanks to the winds leaking in through the tiniest of cracks and gaps. In fact, it was perfect for a good night's rest, and a good night's rest was what I was going to get!
I pulled the sheets over me as I closed my eyes, drifting away into my realm of dreams…clueless of what was to come the next day.
Somewhere else, there was a tall man, the age of nineteen, with a face so handsome it could make even angels fall for him. His eyes were blue like sapphires, and his wavy blonde hair dancing in the wind; as fair as snow was his porcelain skin, and resting on his fingers was a glass of red wine. From it, he took a sip as he looked out his window, his cold gaze falling upon the entire city, concealed by fog.
'Just Lune is enough,' he said. 'Don't bother with Zoras.'
'As you command,' said a heavy voice from behind as they left the room, leaving the man alone with his wine.
'Zoras Embers,' he said, his lips curling into a subtle smirk. 'Just who are you to draw the attention of the likes of them?'
The newfound attention that I had gotten hadn't gone unnoticed. There was no way it would go unnoticed, not when he was around.
'First, those slaves of destiny, and tonight, Her Grace Alcaria…how intriguing…how very intriguing…'