The wind outside rustled, almost silent. Lumian allowed his thoughts to wander in this tranquil state as instinctive questions ran through his mind.
There's still light in the corridor. Leah must be awake still, reading Aurore's book collection…
Pitch darkness blankets my bedroom. Valentine should be resting in bed. I wonder what Ryan's up to…
Heh heh, they didn't bring any alcohol on their first visit. They've no clue about Dariège's customs…
If the cycle lifts, Grande Soeur can turn informant for Bureau 8. When the time comes, she won't fret over any investigation if she goes to Trier… As for me, I needn't undergo any special tests as an informant, right?
Now we've a full theory of the whole affair. The sole thing we can't be sure of is the owl and the dead warlock in the tomb's role…
If they bewitched the padre and company, causing the abnormality to achieve some goal with the twelfth night ritual, why did they do nothing but monitor my progress exploring the dream ruins?
Could it be that, like Madame Pualis, they await a specific time or the ritual on the twelfth night, intending to complete the disrupted part? Is that why they want no changes to the loop restarting it ahead of time?
Their actions in turn prove the key to the loop lies with me. That's why they repeatedly try to confirm how far I've explored the dream ruins…
If I unlock the dream's secret before the twelfth night comes and master recycling the corruption, will they ignore the possibility of the cycle restarting ahead of time and attack me to hold me in custody?
Yes, it's very likely they still have their memories…
As all sorts of thoughts raced through his mind, Lumian suddenly heard faint commotion.
"Baa…"
It was a sheep's bleat, as if from afar.
Lumian instantly thought of the three people turned sheep and Shepherd Pierre Berry.
Don't tell me he really wants to attack us dead of night? Lumian stood up and listened intently.
Outside the window was but the wind's sound through leaves and branches. No bleating.
It seemed Lumian so engrossed in his thoughts was hallucinating.
But he didn't think so because he felt slight heat in his left chest.
The black thorn symbol seemed to have appeared again!
This meant an invisible force closely tied to the hidden existence had quietly invaded the room.
Lumian had no time to think. He rushed to the bed and shook Aurore.
"Wake up! Wake up!" he shouted in a hushed voice.
He instinctively worried Leah, Ryan and Valentine would sense something amiss with him.
Aurore opened her eyes, her light-blue eyes clearly dazed.
"What time is it?" she asked in a weak voice. Obviously she was still not fully awake.
"There's a situation," Lumian said decisively before continuing, "Half past nine."
They were one of the few families in the village with wall clocks.
Aurore's eyes snapped open. She bolted upright, threw out her right hand, and massaged her temples.
She had no time to consider what she might see that she shouldn't.
If she couldn't pinpoint the anomaly and confirm the problem as soon as possible, she might not have to worry about seeing anything again. The dead had no need for eyes!
Aurore scanned the room, her gaze darkening as if reflecting strange, indescribable lights and shadows.
Lumian seized the chance to tell his sister about the sheep's bleat he'd heard in the distance and the triggered heat in the black thorn symbol on his chest.
Aurore frowned. "But I didn't detect anything…"
"The burning in my chest remains," Lumian rumbled.
He felt inexplicably terrified. The darkness around him was not simple. An indescribable danger lurked.
Aurore scrutinized every corner of the room, trying to find the unknown.
Silently, Lumian broke into a cold sweat—a stark contrast to the searing heat in his left chest.
He deliberated for a moment and said, "Why not tell Ryan and the others? Maybe they can find something."
Aurore pondered, then nodded.
"Use your sudden sense of impending danger as an excuse."
"Right." Lumian opened his mouth, about to yell outside—then froze.
"What is it?" Aurore asked, alarmed.
Lumian frowned. "The heat in my chest is dimming fast…"
Meaning the black thorn symbol was "fading" rapidly.
"The danger invading our room has left?" Aurore mused. "Because we prepared, it did nothing?"
"Perhaps." Lumian turned to the corridor and bellowed, "Something's wrong!"
Ryan appeared in the doorway in the blink of an eye, followed by Leah, then Valentine, who looked jolted from sleep.
Without waiting to be asked, Lumian recounted what had happened, using his sense of danger in place of the burning in his chest.
Ryan listened intently, not doubting this was Lumian's hallucination. He sighed,
"It's useful indeed to take turns on night watch.
"Mostly it's boredom, but if it saves everyone, it's almost life and death."
As he spoke, he conjured pure Sunrise Gleam around him, circling every room on the second floor.
Though he couldn't find the sinister power, he could at least sanctify the environment.
Leah paced around, muttering under her breath. Her veil and boots jangled ominously, then fell silent just as abruptly.
Finally, she said to Aurore and Lumian, "It was dicey just now. On top of that, whatever it was could block my Sealed Artifact from giving me any warning. I'm afraid these stupid bells will only go off once that thing really starts targeting someone. But now, it has left."
"Well, that's reassuring." Aurore sighed in relief.
"Maybe it wasn't a single creature." Lumian relaxed and grinned. "Could've been more than one."
Ryan and the others were silent.
"That's even worse!" Aurore lashed out at Lumian and told the investigators, "Now that the alarm's off, let's get back to our schedule."
She didn't mention who might've snuck in to attack them. There were too many possibilities: Shepherd Pierre Berry, the unknown corpse in the tomb, or the shady deputy padre.
Without solid clues, speculating would just waste time. Better to wait until daylight.
For now, they just had to remember that nighttime held real danger. Someone was out to get them, so they'd need to stay on high alert.
Once Leah and the others had gone to their rooms, Lumian glanced at the wall clock and asked Aurore, "Want to sleep in a bit more?"
"No way, waking up and crashing this late sucks." Aurore stretched her arms overhead. "Ugh, just to handle emergencies, I got this dress with pockets for spell components and useful stuff. I didn't even dare roll over, scared I might stab myself. I slept like a board."
As she spoke, she hopped off the bed and strode to the window. She yanked back the curtains and peered outside.
Cordu was silent. Many houses were still lit up.
"I thought that owl would come after us for sure, but there's no sign of it out there." Aurore surveyed the area and explained to Lumian.
Lumian nodded.
"That was my guess too."
He then leaned in and whispered everything he had figured out to his sister.
"Not bad," Aurore said with a smile. "You're getting better at analyzing situations. I've got nothing to add." She paused. "But we can't take matters into our own hands. That tomb is too dangerous…"
At this point, she exclaimed, "At dawn, we'll pay Madame Pualis a visit and tell her your theory. Let her know the Warlock's and owl's motives might affect her escape from this time loop at that precise moment."
"I'll go myself," Lumian said. He didn't want Aurore anywhere near Madame Pualis who had designs on her.
Aurore didn't argue. She only reminded him, "Watch your back. Don't piss her off, or else…"
She eyed his abdomen meaningfully.
Aurore sighed and said, "Truth is, that mysterious lady at Ol' Tavern is clearly stronger, but she wants nothing to do with this time loop. No way she'll help us investigate that tomb."
"Yeah," Lumian agreed.
He then said, "Still, I'll drop by Ol' Tavern tomorrow to see if I can run into her. What if she changes her mind?"
"Fair enough." Aurore didn't object.
They chatted in hushed tones until midnight.
After Lumian relieving his post with Leah in the study, he returned to Aurore's room. He lay beside his sister, inhaling her familiar scent and sinking into the soft mattress. Sleep eluded him.
"What's wrong?" Aurore asked, noticing his tenseness.
"Just not used to this," Lumian said carefully.
Aurore scoffed.
"What happened to the bold Lumian I know?"
Lumian didn't reply. Aurore exhaled slowly and smiled.
"Remember when you first started tailing me? You were scared I'd slip away and refused to sleep at night. You were super vigilant."
"Yeah, I do." Lumian drifted into the past. "Back then, you'd hum me a lullaby and let me doze off to the sound of your voice."
As soon as the words left his lips, a familiar melody reached his ears. Light and soothing, it calmed his body and mind.
Leaning against the bed, Aurore gazed into the deep crimson dark before her. She hummed the lullaby from her hometown, soft and wistful.
It was a song their mother had crooned when Aurore was just a kid, coaxing her to sleep.
"Go to sleep, go to sleep…"
Lost in the gentle tune, Lumian gradually unwound and slipped under.
......
Lumian woke up amidst the faint gray fog.
He scoped the room and realized that he wasn't in his sister's room. He was still in his own room.
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