Chapter 1: Cold Iron Tears
The thick fog over the city covers everything, just like someone's desperate attempt to hide a sin. Detective Elias set his glass of cheap whiskey down in the corner of his desk and slowly exhaled the smoke from his cigarette. Until someone pounded hard on his office door, the entire city had been silent and still.
"Detective, you need to come. This... this isn't an ordinary case," said the young policeman, his voice trembling.
The crime scene was an old toy workshop on the outskirts of the city. As they stepped inside, the air was thick with the heavy scent of oil, rust, and aged wood. The lights flickered, and the empty eyes of the dolls hanging on the walls seemed to follow Elias wherever he moved.
Crime Scene
In the center of the room, lying on a wooden table, was the "victim." It was not a human. Yet something uncomfortable stirred deep inside Elias.
Victim: A porcelain-faced doll styled after the Renaissance era.
Injury: Its chest had been sliced open with a sharp object, and the intricate gears inside had been ripped out.
Strange detail: A thick blue liquid, like tears, had streamed from the doll's eyes and pooled on the floor beneath it.
"This is just a toy, Elias. Why are we even opening a case over a doll?" the policeman asked. In response, Elias leaned down and touched the doll's hand. It was unnaturally warm.
Mysterious Clue
"This is 'Alice.' Her owner used to claim she was alive," Elias whispered. Then, among the torn gears, he spotted something small. It was an object that had no business being inside a doll: a tiny silver key engraved with a human fingerprint.
Suddenly, from deep within the workshop came the faint sound of a gear turning. The doll's severed arm twitched almost imperceptibly. The movement seemed to point toward something... or perhaps to plead for help from someone.
"Every toy has an owner. But this toy appears to have been its own master," Elias said, pulling his notebook from his pocket.
Only one thing was missing from the crime scene: Where was the owner of the workshop?