An hour later, Sven spotted the village in the distance. It was hard to miss-a lone settlement sitting in a vast clearing in the middle of the forest.
I can't just walk in, he thought. The church likely has a Wide-Area Guardian Rune active. If I get too close, that complex rune will automatically flag my presence in the system.
Sven moved through the trees, staying low amidst the brush and foliage. He circled the village, keeping the treeline between himself and the houses, heading toward the Tila River.
According to the timeline, Luka should have already left for the academy. If I cross via the river, the rune shouldn't detect me.
The Tila River stretched across the entire continent, and here it was about fifty meters wide. The water was relatively clear, but there was one problem: Sven couldn't swim. He began chanting an incantation:
"Hand woven of phantoms, I call upon thee-execute my will."
Two arms sprouted from Sven's hips, shimmering like violet water. These spectral limbs reached down into the depths and gripped the riverbed. Sven stood atop his magical hands, suspended over the water without touching the surface. The phantom hands began to walk forward, crossing over one another. They swayed unsteadily, and Sven had to brace himself to keep his balance and avoid falling in.
This sect... they don't look at one another. They aren't just isolated from the world; they're isolated from each other. I should be able to go undetected. No, wait-I need to secure a blue jacket. That's how they identify their own.
What happens if someone forgets to wear it? Do they stone them to death? Or do they have other methods?
Lost in thought, Sven's concentration slipped. His right phantom hand faltered, and he nearly tumbled into the river. Half of his body got soaked before he managed to stabilize himself and reach the opposite bank.
Lucky the current was weak today.
He looked around and realized he was within the village perimeter. A few trees dotted the landscape between a cluster of houses. The streets were designed like a web, with every road leading toward the central church.
Sven immediately pressed his back against the first house he found to stay out of sight. Peering around the corner toward the back of the building, he saw a young boy standing there. Sven summoned the phantom hands once more.
The spectral limbs lifted him up. Since he could "feel" the ground through the phantom hands, he was able to move with total silence. He kept his eyes darting between the ground and the child. When he was directly behind the boy, he heard him mutter:
"Why are they taking so long?"
The boy felt Sven's large silhouette looming behind him, but before he could even turn his head, Sven snapped his neck.
Sven stripped the clothes off the boy and put them on—the kid wouldn't be needing them anymore. He tossed the body into the river; it would be found eventually, but likely not soon enough to matter.
Donning the blue vest, Sven cast Silent Image. A veil of illusion shimmered around him. He constantly scanned his surroundings to ensure his illusion remained convincing and matched the environment.
He prowled the alleys looking for the Lutheri house. The difficulty lay in the architecture-every building was identical: a single-story gray block with three windows and a blue roof.
Sven wandered the streets for a long time. The town was eerily quiet. The few people he encountered walked with vacant, clouded stares. It felt as though even if he weren't cloaked in an illusion, they wouldn't have seen him anyway.
He rounded another house and peeked through a window. Inside, he saw a room with wooden floors, yellow wallpaper, and a single, bare lightbulb. Opposite the window, near the entrance, were three tiny doors leading to a bathroom, a pantry, and a kitchen-none of them more than three meters wide. The main room held a double bed and a rocking chair. The house was empty of souls, but on the table separating the kitchen, there was a framed photo of Lutheria.
Sven circled to the door, slipped inside, and locked it behind him. Ignoring the kitchen and the main room, he crept toward the pantry. He cracked the door just a sliver, moving with extreme caution so as not to be noticed.
Inside, the walls were bare brick under a high, small window. On the wooden floor lay a girl. She was painfully thin, her skin deathly pale. Her ginger hair was a matted mess, and her amber eyes stared blankly. She was dressed only in underwear stained with white spots. She was whispering something under her breath.
Fucking Luka. I'd skin him alive if I could, Sven thought. Though, since he's already broken her, it'll be easier for me to manipulate her.
Sven activated his class ability: Awakened Mind. He projected his words directly into the girl's head. When Lutheria heard the voice, it sounded like her goddess-divine, yet slightly high-pitched.
[My daughter, I have chosen you. You are to be the companion to my Avatar, through whom I shall rule this world,] Sven transmitted.
"Me? Truly? How... how will I know him?" Lutheria thought. A wide, manic grin spread across her face, and her eyes filled with genuine, terrifying happiness.
[In the shadow, his hair is dark; in the light, it is blue. His eyes are the color of the ocean depths, his face is that of a porcelain doll, and his skin is like ivory...]
Sven was interrupted as a pair of hands clamped around his throat from behind. He slammed his elbow back into the woman's ribs and spun around to face his attacker.
It was Linda. She was muttering incoherently to herself. Before Sven could frame a spell with his fingers, she kicked him. Sven struck back at her side, but Linda didn't flinch. She caught him in a clinch, pulling his head down and driving her knee into his face several times. Sven twisted her arms, breaking the hold, and shoved her back a meter.
How am I this weak? Why is she physically stronger than me? I've trained my whole life-how is she stronger than a heron?
Sven lunged forward to strike again, but Linda dodged left and landed a punch across his face. She leaped onto him, and Sven grabbed her arms as she struggled wildly.
Suddenly, Linda's eyes went dull. she coughed up a spray of blood and slumped against him. Sven shoved her body aside. A knife was buried deep in her back. He looked up to see Lutheria standing there.
"Goddess Lutheria, please forgive my mother," Lutheria said, dropping to her knees. Then she added, "Could you please tell the Goddess to let her into the Cloud Chambers?"