Stepping inside, a somewhat foul smell entered their nostrils. This was not because of anything abnormal, instead, it was because the three of them were not used to the natural smell of the house.
The three of them naturally looked around regardless, trying to examine if anything was abnormal.
In their sights were a living room, a kitchen, a dining room and a corridor that had a staircase leading to the first floor. It was a normal sight to see for a house.
However, everything was dark. There were only two sources of light: light purple neon lights that streaked the edges of the ceiling, and violet holographic projections of the moon and men dressed in robes. The holograms were scattered throughout the living room, some appearing on the table, some appearing next to the TV.
The house was also rather messy—foodstuffs, groceries, and other items were scattered along the dining table, pictures of the Wrights and trophies belonging to them looked like they were placed haphazardly in the living room, most dishes were unwashed in the kitchen.
"Sorry for the messy house…uh, it's just that our worship service was too long. Well, uh, we couldn't get to clean it in time…" Johnathan said as the trio looked around the house.
"Don't worry," Astra interjected. "Not cleaning up because of your devotion to the Lord is admirable." She said with a gentle smile, looking in Johnathan's direction.
Johnathan nodded hesitantly, his body still shaking as he tried to smile.
Sonar then leaned into Astra's ear, tiptoeing slightly in the process. "That's exactly what you should say. Good job." He whispered.
Astra shrugged in response.
"What tea would you all dislike…no, sorry, I meant like…" Johnathan continued to speak as he erratically looked around, his voice still stammering.
"Rosewood?" He offered.
"No." Aurora rejected the offer immediately. "We would like Shimmershire tea." She suggested.
"Shimmershire? What's that…? Oh no, how did I forget…" Johnathan said as his voice began to crack. Emotions appeared to seep out of him as he tried to recall his memories.
Sonar's violet eyes shined faintly as he said, "Shimmershire tea, you know it. It comes from the Shimmer Night leaves. You know, the one that has special calming properties? The one that comes from the Demigoddess Herself?"
"It's only rumored to come from Her…" Astra corrected Sonar in her head. "Though, it would be wrong to say that in such a situation."
Johnathan held an awkward but relaxed smile as he announced, "Yes! I know it! It's, it's my favorite tea!"
"I'll get it for you this instant." He said, his voice expressing more happiness.
"Timothy!" His voice almost cracked as he shouted towards the staircase. "Get this fine gentleman and these beautiful gentlewomen some Shimmershire tea!"
After shouting, he looked back at the Dreamlanders, who were still examining the house. However, they weren't able to find anything abnormal. Not even Astra.
"Sorry, my Tim, yes, he will get it for you shortly…"
Aurora turned her head towards Johnathan and smiled. She pointed at one of the robed men that appeared as a hologram.
"Is this man Saint Seth?"
Johnathan jumped up slightly. "Oh! Yes, he is! I pray to him that he will free me from my terror every night. Yes, I also pray to the Demigoddess and our God." He then bowed towards the hologram.
"You're so devoted. I can tell that our job will be made easy by your efforts, making everything go smoothly." Aurora gave a majestic smile towards Johnathan, calming him down even more.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Suddenly, footsteps of differing intervals were heard from the staircase.
As such, Johnathan and the three Dreamlanders stared at it. Then, they saw two figures walking down from the stairs as white light spread throughout the entire space.
The first person that appeared was a woman in her thirties. She had black hair that was rolled up into a bun. Her black eyes were rough, but soft—like she had been crying. She wore a midnight gown that contrasted with her light skin. This was Samantha Wright.
As for the next person, he was a young teenage boy. He simply wore classic Lunan pajamas, an all black set with a purple moon in the middle. This was Timothy Wright.
"I'm so glad you're here," Samantha said as she finally stepped onto the living room floor. "We've been through some rough few days, it's hard where to start…" Her voice wavered as she tried her best not to look at Johnathan, who was still bowing at the hologram.
"We understand." Aurora responded.
She then looked at her son, Timothy, and said in a low voice, "Hurry up and make the tea. You know your father isn't in the right frame of mind right now."
Timothy's eyebrows creased as he stayed still for a second. But, under the gaze of the three Dreamlanders, he quickly made his way toward the kitchen.
Samantha forced a smile as she saw her son walk towards the kitchen. She looked at the Dreamlanders and said, "Why don't we take a seat on the sofa?"
Aurora, Astra and Sonar nodded. Subsequently, Samantha rushed towards the sofa and rapidly moved the clothes that were on it, making way for the Dreamlanders.
After she was done, she held out her hand towards the sofa as she said, "You three can have a seat now, if you feel so inclined."
As they sat, they saw Samantha walk up to Johnathan; they then heard her vaguely whisper to him, saying, "Honey, it's time for us to talk to the people. Let's go, okay?"
Johnathan turned his head towards Samantha. He stared at her for a second, but his eyebrows began to furrow and his hands began to shake. Before he even said a word, Aurora's eyes shined once more, calming Johnathan down.
As Johnathan calmed down, he straightened his back and looked at the Dreamlanders staring at him. His expression softened as he walked towards the sofa, with Samantha following after him.
They both sat down, however Samantha had to pull Johnathan down herself.
At the same time, a robot assistant came up to them with five insulated cups resting on a platter. Each cup had faint steam coming out of it.
The robot then placed the platter on the living room table. Afterwards, everyone present at the sofa grabbed a cup as the robot left.
As for Timothy, he went upstairs long before the robot came to bring the cups.
"It sort of tastes like peppermint…" Like the liquid flowing through her throat, Astra felt a nostalgic feeling ooze through her once again.
"So, Samantha," Aurora took a sip of the tea. "Can you tell us what happened?"
"Right." Samantha stood up as she moved her free hand. "So this started a little over a month ago. I don't remember a lot of the details, but sometime before Moonlight Day, I think a week or two ago, my husband began to experience terrifying insomnia."
She paused, wiping cold sweat from her brows.
"He couldn't sleep. And when he did sleep, he experienced terrifying nightmares with horrific, and I mean horrific scenes! It made him want to sleep even less! He even had horrifying hallucinations, like us dying!"
Sonar took on this information as his shining violet eyes kept glancing at the shaking Johnathan.
"I thought we were finally released from the horror when it was a half-moon. My husband's insomnia was gone, and his nightmares were gone too. Then, we praised God at the Cathedral even more on Moonlight Day, thankful for how 'He' delivered us!"
"But…but…" Samantha's voice began to crack. "I don't know why, but when the crescent moon came again, everything went right back to how it was before. No, matter of fact, it was even worse! You can even see in this house how bad it's become!" She later exclaimed, looking around at the messy furniture.
"I don't know." She shook her head, staring at the violet moon projection. "We are righteous believers. We try to follow God's Holy Codex to the best of our ability. We got married like how 'He' instructed, we have worship service every night, we explore the abstract and illusory to open our minds…"
She raised her voice, her emotions spilling out of her mouth.
"We are nothing but devoted believers! How could this happen to my husband? How could God let this happen?" She almost shouted. Her hands moved ferociously at this point, with some hot tea spilling over onto the sofa.
Not caring about the tea, she placed her hand on her forehead as her gaze plummeted downwards. She heard her husband's shaking body on the soft fabric of the sofa, but she tried her best not to look at his state.
Aurora continued to lock her eyes on Samantha, allowing a moment of silence in order to calm her nerves.
Sonar however, kept his shining eyes on Johnathan. He composed both his own and Johnathan's own emotions.
However, for Astra, who wasn't as experienced, she was visibly bothered by Samantha's outburst. She stared forward at the projection of Saint Seth. She almost didn't know what to feel.
Sadness? Anger? Apathy?
After all, she's never been in such a situation before, much less a situation that calls for handling someone's true feelings in a dire predicament.
A part of her wanted to think that she should've never been on this mission, but she dismissed this thought.
"After all, it is a learning experience. A scientist should always want to learn." She reassured herself, and managed her emotions.
Aurora finally spoke up after three seconds of silence.
"Samantha, your devotion hasn't gone unheard. God has heard your concerns and sent us here."
"In fact, it is because of your immense faith that will cause your husband's recovery to be smooth and easy." With a soft voice, she assured Samantha.
The wife then slowly looked at Aurora. The corners of her eyes were red and slightly wet.
Aurora then asked, "Perhaps, do you have an idea of how your husband got such a condition?"
Samantha sniffled slightly and said, "I don't think so…wait, no I think I do."
"My husband mentioned leaving to go to a sightseeing event outside of Luna that his coworkers invited him to. They are skyline workers and see all sorts of sights, so I don't blame him for going."
"But still, I think that was the reason why. Because ever since that happened, he has been like this."
Aurora persisted as she asked, "Do you know any details about that sightseeing event?"
"I think I remember," Samantha replied, her voice gradually calming down. "His coworkers never ended up coming with him."
"But while he was there, the people who were in charge of the even mentioned something about a Goddess and staring at 'Her' influence in the night sky."
Astra's heart nearly dropped when she heard this information—despite expecting such a thing.
Chills had run down her spine, though she had still composed herself using her enhanced bodily controlled as an Awakened of Space-Time. She then thought:
"Goddess? Night sky?"
"No…there's no mistaking it. It's from the Parallax!"
"Even though I expected them to do something like this…"
Oblivious to Astra's thoughts, Aurora nodded as she said, "Thank you. That's all we needed to know." She was completely satisfied with what she heard as she came to a conclusion.
"Will you really save him from whatever's tormenting him?" Samantha asked as a glimmer of hope entered her eyes.
Aurora stood up as she replied, "Yes. We will exorcise the spirit and bring freedom to your husband. You can wait here as we deal with it in his bedroom."
Sonar also stood up, walking towards Johnathan, still trying to control his emotions.
Samantha's eyes welled up with tears as she couldn't contain her joy. "Thank you, thank you so much…"
Astra was the last to stand up. Despite the fact that such a thing was in her preparations, she still was wary of the fact that she would have to deal with something planted by the Parallax of the Rising Stars.
She was human, after all, experiencing her first serious mission.
Like if she was dazed, the only thing that was present in her mind were:
"Night sky…" and, "The Goddess…"!