Time flew by naturally. Seconds to minutes to hours , before they even realised the orange glow of the evening was already upon them.
With the time they had, they visited Albert but couldn't get any valuable information on the current state of the city.
Ragnar was strolling on the streets of the city once again and couldn't help but reminisce of his first day in the city.
The gloomy yet colourful city was nowhere to be seen, replaced by brightness and more brightness. The people had satisfied smiles on their faces, yet he couldn't help but feel a sense of hollowness beneath all of it.
He had this deep unsettling feeling in his chest, a feeling of wrongness, one he couldn't tell the source of. He lowered his head and looked at his palm, he raised it slowly and stretched it towards the sky, his fingers spread wide.
He gazed through the gaps in between, all he could see was a clear blue skies.
He sighed gently.
Evangeline who had been strutting elegantly behind him had a dreamy yet amused smile on her face.
She looked entranced yet enchanting.
Her hips swaying to the sides as her long legs reveal themselves from behind her black long skirt one after the other.
She also tried to follow Ragnar's actions, her hand raised into to the air , then....bam!
"Huh?" She walked into Ragnar who had stopped walking at some point.
"Evangeline." He called out softly.
"....." She didn't answer but her silent gaze and her soft breath that fell on the back of his neck told him she was listening.
"You know something about this situation don't you?"
He turned to look at her. His gaze lingered on her eyes that still looked dreamy even though she seemed to be paying her utmost attention to what he wanted to say.
"Why do you think so?"
She replied without any change in expression.
Ragnar paused.
He looked like he was thinking but he wasn't really, his mind was blank, his hand moved on it's own. Slowly. It rose and stopped on her cheeks.
Her eyes widened, the dreamy expression vanished from her face. Her chest rose and fell, her breath hastened.
An emotion she had learnt to control over a long time began to rise in her chest quickly.
She couldn't help but recall a memory from a distant yet not so distant past.
It was just a word.
"...Don't look down on his intuition, he might as well be a seer at this point..."
She blinked with a flustered expression.
"Wha....what are you doing?"
She asked and was about to take a step back but froze again as a gentle caress transmitted a soothing feeling from her cheek to every part of her.
"Ragnar..." She slowly took his hand away from her cheek. Her eyes welling up. She blinked profusely to keep the tears in but it was a futile effort.
Ragnar quietly stared, taking in every expression change and reactions that occurred before him.
'I knew it.' He said in his heart.
With that he turned and started walking away leaving her confused in the middle of the road.
He walked into a random building that looked empty and looked for a corner to lay in. He closed his eyes and allowed his thoughts to drift.
"She seems to know me much more than she lets on."
"Her reaction was genuine but I don't recall knowing her so ..ha, it's almost nightfall, I should start looking for sleep."
"But tomorrow perhaps I should tease her more. I never knew she could make such an expression. Damn, she use to look untouchable and her gaze, it's almost as if she could see that I was pretending all the time."
"Hmm, but I would prefer Ailsa, Hmm Ailsa....what was that expression earlier? Did someone hurt her?"
"Ah, I'm beat, I should rest, I'll ask her tomorrow."
His inconsistent dialogue went on for much longer than he knew till he eventually feel asleep .
A pinkish light appeared in the dark room, circles around Ragnar's face before settling gently on the tip of his nose revealing itself to be a butterfly.
It looked almost ethereal.
It released crystalline powder with each flap of it soft looking wings.
It rose again and streaked across the room leaving a pink line on it's trail as it vanished into the darkness.
On the other side of the city. In a large throne room. Ailsa sat on her throne, her green eyes gleamed coldly as she recalled what had transpired on her way back.
The city felt wrong.
A few moments earlier.
Ailsa couldn't explain why.
The people smiled.
The streets were lively.
Music drifted through the evening air.
Laughter echoed from open windows.
Everything looked better than before.
Yet every step she took filled her with greater discomfort.
The hatred inside her refused to settle.
It wasn't directed at the people.
Nor at the city.
It wasn't even directed at the abomination.
It was directed at something else.
Something she had seen beyond the clouds. Something that made her very existence reject it. The memory was fragmented.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't recall what she had witnessed. Only the emotion remained.
Hatred.
Pure and unbridled.
Ailsa stopped walking, Her gaze drifted toward a nearby plaza.
Dozens of people occupied the area, some danced while some sang. Others simply lay on the stone floor watching the evening sky.
It looked like the perfect scene, if not for the wrongness in all of it.
Several children chased each other around a fountain.
It looked peaceful, beautiful even.
Yet Ailsa felt sick.
A little girl tripped and scraped her knee, she stopped, stared at the blood for a moment.
Then she smiled.
The adults around her smiled too. Nobody rushed over.
Nobody worried.
Nobody cared.
The child simply stood up and continued running.
As if pain no longer mattered.
Ailsa's expression darkened. That was wrong. Pain existed for a reason, so was fear.
Even grief existed for a reason.
Without them... what remained?
A hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder. Ailsa looked behind her.
Another happy face appeared in her line of sight. Amplifying the discomfort she felt even more.
"Ailsa."
He sounded relieved.
As though finding her was the greatest thing that had happened all day.
"I've been looking everywhere for you."
Ailsa silently stared at Aiden.
The look alone was enough to make him lower his gaze slightly.
Yet the smile on his face never disappeared.
"Have you seen Joel?" she asked.
Aiden blinked. The question clearly wasn't what he wanted to hear.
His expression twisted.
"Why are you asking about him?"
The bitterness in his voice caught even him off guard.
Ailsa's eyes narrowed.
Aiden froze, then he laughed awkwardly.
"I mean..."
His voice softened.
"Why waste time on him?"
"We coul...."
"No."
She cut him off immediately
The single word stopped him.
Aiden's smile became strained.
For a brief moment, his eyes seemed to regain clarity.
Just a brief moment.
Then the haze returned.
"He should be near the eastern district."
Ailsa nodded.
Without another word, she turned and left.
Aiden instinctively followed.
"So that's where we're going."
"We?"
Ailsa glanced at him.
Aiden immediately straightened.
"Yes."
"No."
The refusal came instantly.
Aiden stopped.
Ailsa continued walking.
Several of the girls exchanged glances before quietly following her.
The further they moved from the city center, the quieter the streets became.
The music faded.
The laughter faded.
The smiles became fewer.
And the hatred inside Ailsa grew stronger.
She could feel it.
Like a compass.
Like a voice.
Like something pulling her forward.
The others eventually noticed it too.
The atmosphere around her was changing.
The closer they got to the eastern district...
the colder it became.
Then they found the first corpse.
A man lay in the middle of the road.
His chest was torn open.
Yet a smile remained on his face.
The girls froze.
Aiden looked away.
Ailsa stared quietly.
Then she continued walking.
A second corpse appeared.
Then a third.
Then a fourth.
The trail stretched endlessly into the distance.
None of the bodies showed fear.
None showed resistance.
Every single one wore the same expression.
Contentment.
As though they had willingly walked into death. Except for the hollow gray film that covered their eyes.
The hatred inside Ailsa surged.
For the first time since arriving in the city...
she smiled.
A cold smile.
Because she finally found something honest.
Violence.
Murder.
Death.
At least those things were real.
At the end of the street stood a familiar figure.
A small silhouette covered in blood.
He was humming happily to himself.
Pieces of flesh hung from one hand.
The other scratched the back of his head.
Joel slowly turned around.
His eyes met Ailsa's.
For the first time all day...
the hatred inside her settled.
Joel blinked.
Then his face lit up.
"Boss!"
The entire street trembled.
Not from excitement.
From fear.
Because unlike everyone else in the city...
Joel looked terrified.