Tension hung thick in the air like a blade drawn but not yet swung. Four figures sat in uneasy silence, facing one another across the table. Once five, now four, but this was no moment to mourn. If anything, grief was a luxury they could no longer afford.
Nathan broke the silence, his voice stern, his eyes burning with conviction. "Do we all agree that joining the tutorial trial isn't optional? It's not a decision, it's a necessity."
Subaru and Rory, both of whom had been adamant in their refusal earlier, now sat in reluctant agreement. Whatever pride or hesitation they once held had vanished, overtaken by the cruel certainty of their situation.
"Just spit out whatever you've got to say already!" Rory snapped, clearly agitated and impatient.
Subaru sat beside him, silent. Ashamed. Not out of guilt, no, it was resignation. He had no say in the matter anymore. The trial would proceed with or without their consent. The force behind it, the thing known only through whispers and death cared little for human will. It demanded, and they would obey... or be consumed.
Nathan leaned forward, exhaling through his nose, eyes narrowed. "Fine. Let's start with what we know about the Whispering Wake."
He posed the question not expecting answers, but rather to ignite thought, a desperate spark in their dulled minds. They needed to remember the one inarguable truth: survival depended on understanding.
He for one wasn't ready to die. Not now. Not like this.
He'd never feared death before. But after watching someone snatched from life, so swiftly and brutally? The fear had sunk its teeth into him. And it wasn't letting go.
"We know close to nothing," he said flatly. "Other than the fact that it, whatever it is, rips out its victim's heart and carves an X into their face. So tell me, what does that mean for us?"
He scanned their faces, searching for reaction, for understanding. Anything. But none came. Blank expressions stared back. He clenched his fists beneath the table, frustration gnawing at his patience.
Fools. He was surrounded by people incapable of even the simplest logical thought.
He would have to improvise if they were to make any progress at all.
"We need answers. That means getting out there, asking questions, and searching for anything that helps us understand what we're dealing with."
Surprisingly, they all agreed. Without protest.
They split into two teams, Nathan paired with Subaru, while the elder, Marvelous, found herself reluctantly partnered with the abrasive Rory.
Their plan was simple: Rory and Marvelous would gather information from the villagers, while Nathan and Subaru investigated Anna's death firsthand.
Returning to the scene wasn't easy. The stench of dried blood and lingering sorrow hung in the air like smoke. Nathan stood inside the small room where Anna had been slain in broad daylight, no less, joined by the village chief, Tullus, and his aide, Brandon.
"Damn it," Nathan whispered through clenched teeth, forcing himself not to look away from the corpse.
You never really get used to it. The twisted remnants of what was once a teenage girl, now a canvas of horror.
"Are you alright, young hero?" Tullus asked with concern.
"I'm fine." A lie, but one he had to believe. Now wasn't the time for weakness.
He straightened his posture and stepped forward. Subaru, to no one's surprise, stood in the background, practically useless. Nathan no longer expected anything from him.
He knelt beside Anna's body, scanning every detail.
There was no subtlety to the brutality, the heart had been removed with precise violence, and the X across her face was etched deep, a symbol of something far more sinister than random murder.
"So every victim of this... Whispering Wake ends up like this?" Nathan asked without looking up.
"Yes," Brandon replied gravely. "Stomach opened, heart gone, and the mark on the face."
The heart. That was the key. But why?
In a world ruled by logic and science, organ removal might point to harvesting, perhaps even transplant preparation. But this wasn't Earth. This was Origin Expanse, a realm of fantasy, where magic was as real as breath, and logic had no seat at the table.
So what did it mean to remove the heart here?
A flicker of insight stirred in Nathan's mind. He turned, eyes sharp.
"Is there any known ritual that involves the heart of the deceased? Or something that requires a corpse with a carved X on the face?"
That, to Nathan, was the most likely explanation. If this world was driven by mysticism and ancient forces, then ritualistic sacrifice had to be considered.
"A ritual?" Brandon echoed, startled. "Are you saying—
"I'm not saying anything yet," Nathan interrupted. "I'm asking a question. One that might, or might not, explain all this. Chief, do you know of such a thing?"
Tullus fell silent, brows furrowed in concentration. Brandon looked equally troubled, his lips twitching with recollection.
Then;
"Chief, I remember now. That incident."
Tullus turned to him. "What incident?"
"It was about fifteen years ago. There was a series of murders just like this, but not exactly the same."
Nathan's interest piqued immediately. "Fifteen years ago? Isn't that a bit too far back?"
Brandon nodded. "Perhaps. But hear me out. Back then, people were dying, foreigners, mostly. Travelers who stayed the night. None of the villagers were harmed."
Nathan's heart thudded. "And the manner of death? Was it the same?"
"Not entirely," Brandon replied. "The similarity was that their hearts were also removed. But the rest differed."
Tullus chimed in, his voice grave. "Those deaths were caused by poison. Definitely a human culprit, not some entity."
Poison? Nathan frowned. That didn't fit. Anna hadn't eaten before she died. He knew that for certain she hadn't even touched her meal. He himself had eaten and remained unharmed.
Besides, the timeline didn't make sense. She'd barely spent minutes in her room before she was found dead, her body mutilated in ways no human could've managed so quickly or so cleanly.
What did this to Anna wasn't poison. And it wasn't human, not entirely at least.
"So what happened?" Nathan pressed. "Did you ever find the killer?"
Brandon nodded slowly. "We did. It was a woman. A villager whose house burned down, killing her husband and two children. Only she survived."
Nathan's voice dropped to a whisper. "Why would she do such a thing?"
"She believed," Brandon said with a sombre tone, "that if she offered seven human hearts, she could summon a demon. One that would bring her family back from the dead."
A chill slid down Nathan's spine.
A demon?! Now this completely changes things.