The crimson sea stirred, its surface rippling as if breathing. Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, the water crept higher along the sea barrier made out of dark stone, the ships docked by the port swaying faintly in the water.
Bells jingled through the bazaar as an unusual, faint breeze drifted across the city.
The atmosphere within the city was somber. The shops started to close, and the people started to disperse.
News of the red tide had already started to make way across each of the citizens, making them drop everything as they all rushed away from the city.
They could only pray to the Goddess.
Hoping she’d protect them from this upcoming tragedy.
“If you haven’t moved out yet, I suggest you do so now! We cannot protect you from the upcoming tide!”
“A red tide is coming!”
Those from the Temple moved across the city, spreading word everywhere. They were merely warning the citizens. Whether they moved out or not wasn’t something they cared very much about.
They were only trying to get them out of the way so that they wouldn’t be a hindrance later down the line when the tide arrived and the fight began.
“Hey, the red tide is coming! You should leave!”
One of the temple members spun around, shouting at a pair of figures strolling along the edge of the port, where red waves splashed against their shoes.
His cries earned only a few fleeting glances before the strangers moved on, ignoring him entirely.
“Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you!”
The emissary turned around, focusing his attention elsewhere.
In the meantime, An’as turned towards Lazarus.
“What do you plan on achieving by walking here? I understand that you want to investigate the matter, but walking by the port won’t get us anywhere.”
An’as glanced around as they walked along the port, the black stone slick with red where the water sluggishly receded back into the sea. In the distance, ships bobbed and rocked, swaying uneasily in the restless harbor.
A pungent smell of iron mixed with salt lingered in the air as the two walked.
“What if we work with—”
“What are their motives?”
“What…?”
Lazarus suddenly cut An’as off, his eyes fixed towards the sea in the distance.
His expression appeared relatively calm, but he was in fact deep in thought. In order to figure out the ones responsible for all of this, he needed to have an idea of what their goals and motives were in trying to stir trouble with the great primordial one.
Could it be some sort of plot against the Goddess of Light?
This seemed to be the most probable scenario. Virith-Anash was a major city under the Goddess’s jurisdiction, also known as the Land of Light, which covered the entire Remnant South and the land on the outskirts of the Crimson Sea.
From what he had managed to read, the world within the Mirror Dimension was complex and layered. Power was largely held by the gods, with the notable exceptions of Oracleus and Mortum.
Each god ruled over their own jurisdiction, complete with distinct laws, religions, economies, languages, and systems of governance.
It wasn’t uncommon for there to be conflicts between the lands.
“Could this be a plot by one of the other lands?”
“…Other lands?”
An’as frowned, thinking for a moment before understanding the implication behind the merchant’s words. He wanted to refute his words at first, but found himself unable to.
“It’s possible…”
The relationship between the other lands wasn’t exactly harmonious.
There had been many instances in the past when one land interfered with another’s, resulting in great damage to occur. At first, everyone was worried that the gods might interfere in such matters, but that never occurred.
The gods simply did not care for what happened between them.
In fact, it was almost as though they encouraged such actions.
“It’s possible? Then why do you think they’d be doing it?”
“I…”
An’as shook his head.
“I’m not sure. It could be revenge. It could be an attempt to slow the growth of the Land of Light — or to cripple us entirely. Maybe it’s something else altogether… It’s hard to say.”
“I see.”
Lazarus remained calm even after hearing An’as’s words. He fell deeper into thought, and just as they neared the harbor, he stopped, his gaze falling over one of the street lights by the port.
It was there that he saw it.
A missing poster.
———
[Missing]
If you have any information, please contact the temple immediately.A suitable reward will be offered to anyone who can locate this man or provide information leading to his whereabouts.
———
On it was a small description and an image.
Lazarus’s eyes flickered as he stared at the poster. He slowly reached out for it and ripped it from the post.
“A missing poster?”
An’as, on the other hand, didn’t think much of it.
In the city, he had seen many such powers.
“This is honestly quite common. You shouldn’t think too much when you see this. There are a lot of people who go missing. Either from falling into the sea, or by messing with those pirates. Nobody really pays much attention to them.”
An’as thought the merchant would leave things there, but contrary to his belief, he pocketed the missing sign and walked over to another where another sign appeared.
This time, there was an image of a young woman.
“A woman?”
An’as grew a little curious as he looked at the paper. Even then, it was merely a curious look.
He didn’t understand why the merchant was spending time looking at the missing papers. However, he didn’t say much else and just followed along, watching as he picked up sign after sign.
‘He doesn’t seem like someone who would do things randomly. I should just watch in silence and see what he’s planning.’
An’as had observed enough to understand that this was the best course of action instead of just questioning everything that he did.
…And even if he did ask, the merchant wouldn’t respond, so staying silent was the way to go.
That was what he did for the next few hours.
Before they knew it, the two of them were holding onto quite a few missing signs, only coming to a stop on a certain wooden bench where they dropped the papers.
“This is… quite a lot.”
An’as looked through the list, his expression growing a little grim.
It was only now that he was seeing the number of missing signs that he realized just how many people went missing in the city. Was their security really that bad?
He was just about to say something when the merchant pointed towards a certain paper.
“This guy.”
An’as looked where Lazarus pointed.
His next words made his brows shoot up.
“…He came to the store yesterday. It says right here that he went missing two days ago.”
“Eh?”
An’as looked at the paper in shock. He had also been present during the shop’s run, and he had seen many faces in the process. Staring at the picture, he indeed felt that he had seen it before.
“Could he have been found?”
“Maybe.”
Lazarus skipped to another page before pointing it out as well.
“Does this face look familiar?”
“This…”
It did.
“What about this one?”
Yes.
“…And this one?”
“Ah.”
An’as slowly raised his head as he looked at the merchant. His jaw grew a little slack as he started to realize that… hardly anyone within the picture was missing. In fact, most of the people depicted were all found.
What could this mean?
Lazarus sat down on the bench, his hand massaging his chin as he fell into thought.
“Either the temple is incredibly efficient, or something else is occurring. For them to return almost on the same day or after being reported missing, it’s too much of a coincidence.”
The merchant slowly turned his head towards An’as.
“Did the temple not notice anything strange? Surely they must’ve…”
“No.”
An’as wanted to say yes, but he knew that answer.
“…They didn’t notice a single thing.”
In fact,
“I don’t even think that the temple knows that some of the people here are not missing at all.”
“Oh?”
“But that’s because of the sheer number of people that go missing every day. That’s why they didn’t notice a thing just yet. But I’m sure they will if you give them more time. In fact, I should probably report this to them right now.”
“Stay.”
Lazarus stopped An’as before he could run off to the temple.
“Reporting this to the temple might have undesired effects.”
An’as swallowed, understanding the subtle meaning behind the merchant’s words. He held his breath as Lazarus flicked his finger over the missing pages.
“For the temple to have missed this, there are only two possibilities. One, they’re incompetent. Or two…”
Lazarus stopped there, but the meaning got across An’as, who closed his eyes.
‘…Or the temple itself could’ve been compromised.’
An’as’s expression darkened as he considered the situation. If that was indeed the case, caution was no longer optional. He knew, without a doubt, that whoever was behind this was anything but ordinary.
“Hm?”
Hearing the merchant make a surprised sound, An’as opened his eyes to see the merchant looking towards a certain direction. He slowly turned his head to see where he was looking, and he paused.
But only for a brief moment as he flicked his head back towards the bench and picked up one of the posters.
“This…”
He alternated his gaze between the poster and the person in the distance. His long hair fluttered under the faint breeze as he stood by the edge of the port, his gaze directed towards the crimson sea in the distance.
After checking for the third time, An’as was sure. Without a doubt, the person standing by the port was none other than one of the missing people.
He was just about to move in his direction when he was stopped by a certain hand.
“Uh? What…? He’s—”
An’as was just about to protest when he suddenly saw the figure turn its head toward him, the movement unnervingly slow. As it did, its eyes locked with their eyes. They were completely white, devoid of any emotion or life.
An’as felt his breath freeze, his chest tightening, as if the very air had been sucked from his lungs.
And just when he thought things couldn’t get any creepier, the figure moved forward, its body folding into a limp, lifeless fall as it threw itself into the sea below.
They were soon swallowed by the red beneath.
Splash!
