With Lodos's arrest, the case closed swiftly. The evidence and multiple witness statements painted an unambiguous picture: Lodos was the main perpetrator, his crimes etched in blood and chaos. Official charges awaited trial, and though Chumo was initially implicated as an accomplice, Emery's influence and connections helped to reframe him as one of the afflicted, another tragic victim of the disease. Chumo was placed under medical arrest, his fate tethered to the outcome of the pending trial.
As a prominent apothecary master and a key contributor to advancements against the Nightwalker disease, Emery was granted access to patient records and insights into the treatment history from the last 15 years.
Reading through the archives, Emery uncovered a truth both unsettling and heartbreaking. Out of all infected patients in the last decade and a half, only one in five survived. For those fortunate enough to endure, complete recovery remained an illusion.
