Beside an open window, a young blond-haired girl was lying on a soft bed covered by a blanket.
The faint scent of medicine and dried blood clung to her skin.
Her face was calm and peaceful as if she was dreaming about something.
A pleasant summer breeze blew on her skin.
Time passed and the girl's eyes started to move.
She slowly opened them and stared at the open window.
Confusion flickered across her face.
'It was all a dream…?'
Alisia sat on the bed and looked around.
Standing up, she went to the window.
The warm breeze slowly blew her long blond hair as she looked outside with a calm face.
Everything looked peaceful. Too peaceful.
She bit her lower lip and scanned the room again.
Her stuff was where she remembered.
Then her heart jumped.
She… didn't see Vincent's stuff.
Alisia narrowed her eyes and looked at the small cabin where he liked to sleep from time to time.
*Knock-knock*
"..."
Alisia's breathing quickened and she opened the cabin.
Seeing the empty cabin, the color drained from her face.
*Crack*
Suddenly, the door into the room was opened.
Alisia hastily turned around and happily exclaimed, "Vincent!"
But her expression froze upon seeing an old man instead.
"Oh, you finally woke up, young miss."
Alisia looked at the elderly man, "Who are you?"
"I'm a physician."
Alisia narrowed her brows and she unconsciously took a step back, not trusting his words, "...why are you here?"
"To check your condition. But looking at how lively you are, my work here should be finally over," the old man replied with relief in his voice.
"My… condition?" she asked in confusion.
"Well, when I was hired, you were in quite a bad state, but it wasn't unrecoverable."
"You were fortunate. Another day and the infection would have taken you."
Alisia stood blankly.
'It wasn't a dream?'
Then horrifying scenes started to emerge in her mind one after another and her breathing intensified.
Tents soaked in blood.
Screams in the dark.
The smell of iron.
Someone's hands.
And then – pain.
'Vincent…'
She raised her eyes and looked at the old man and suddenly shouted, "The man who hired you, what was his name and where is he!? Answer!"
This sudden change in her voice stunned him, "Em, his name was Vincent and the last time I saw him was around… three days ago."
Alisia's heart dropped and she immediately left the room, leaving the old man alone.
He looked at the empty door for a bit and then lightly nodded in understanding before placing a few pills on the table and leaving.
…
Within the forest, a young girl stood in front of an abandoned mine. Her breathing was heavy after a run.
She hastily entered the second entrance of the mine without hesitation.
'Please…. Please…'
She inwardly prayed while going deeper into the mine.
The cold welcomed her.
The darkness felt safer than the sun.
Unlike her first time here, now she was able to see in the darkness almost as clearly as at daytime.
Minutes later — or hours — Alisia emerged from the second entrance. Her face was nearly bloodless.
She immediately entered the main entrance.
…
Time went on and she emerged once again, slowly walking out.
Alisia's expression became ashen, devoid of colour.
Something invisible had pierced her chest.
An odd chuckle then left her mouth through pain.
'He… he left me…' a thin, broken laugh suddenly left her lips.
One of her worst nightmares… had become reality.
Alisia gazed in the distance with a blank expression.
She suddenly felt a wave of weakness spreading through her body.
Fear bled into dread. Dread into panic.
Her mind started spinning and the girl could no longer stand, falling on old leaves, unconscious.
…
Within the North Star city, a hooded person stood in front of a big building.
Trade Guild
After a few moments, he stepped in.
Seeing a customer, the attendant warmly spoke, "Welcome to our Trade guild. Do you wish to buy something specific?"
The hooded person shook his head, "I'm just looking around for now."
The attendant was slightly disappointed, "In that case, please find me once you find something to your liking," and went to another newcomer.
The person slowly walked around, carefully looking at the stuff behind the glass.
No one looked at him twice. And yet, people moved aside without knowing why. As if their instincts whispered something their minds could not.
As he walked around, the person stopped in front of a stand with various polished weapons.
Longswords, short swords, daggers, axes, mases…
The person's gaze stood on swords and other big weapons only briefly before shifting to smaller ones.
His eyes lingered on a dagger, contemplating something.
Then his eyes moved to an even smaller weapon, a quite unusual one.
It was a metallic ring with a sharp talon of the size of a finger on it.
He gazed at it for a bit longer and then called, "I wish to take a closer look at this talon-ring."
Almost immediately after, an attendant arrived on the other side of the glass and took out the ring.
Coming towards the hooded person, he passed the ring, "This talon-ring is made from reinforced steel and will stay sharp regardless of the environment."
The person nodded, "I'm taking it," and took out several gold coins, passing them to the attendant.
After the purchase was completed, the person left the trade guild.
Standing outside, the hooded person looked at his finger.
'I wonder how it will work out.'
Then he went towards the direction of an elite district.