Late at night.
In the Mevis Residence standing near Violet Street.
Nia Adelaide sat quietly in her room.
It seemed she had just taken a bath, as she had changed out of her loose wizard robe and pointed witch hat. She was now wearing only a form-fitting pair of shorts, revealing her fair and slender legs, while her upper body was clad in a thin white camisole, giving her a refreshing appearance.
The two long braids that were previously tied on either side of her head were now let loose, with her long hair cascading down her back.
Her expression was quite indifferent as she read the magic spells inscribed on parchment, studying them carefully.
But in the end, this was just a task assigned to her by her teacher, Mevis.
It had been two and a half days since the duel incident at the academy. Under the covert workings of certain forces, the impact of that event was gradually dissipating into nothingness.
Yet, Nia continued to go about her ordinary and everyday activities: meditation, practicing magic, attending classes, reading, and sleeping.
After a while, the bright yellow magic lamp on the table swayed gently.
Then, under Nia's expressionless gaze, the candle flame at the center of the magical light source transformed into a hazy female figure.
"Nia, it's time to sleep. Remember to take your medication before bed."
Clearly, the voice came from Mevis.
Her "care and concern" for Nia in her daily life bordered on an almost pathological level.
"Yes, teacher."
Upon hearing the instruction, Nia calmly nodded, neatly storing the parchment in her hand and extinguishing the light on her desk.
When it came to sleeping, she slept without any hesitation or thoughts of doing anything else. Nia acted like a puppet following orders.
She sat lightly on the edge of the bed, holding a small bottle containing a transparent liquid in her hand.
Just as she was about to drink the potion, Nia's eyebrows subtly furrowed.
She felt a slight dizziness in her head.
Vaguely, there seemed to be a voice urgently warning her from somewhere, telling her not to drink!
Don't drink!
Don't drink!
Don't drink!
Don't drink!
That voice echoed in her mind, gradually growing louder.
Unable to do otherwise, Nia set the glass bottle aside and prepared to cast a meditation spell to calm her thoughts.
But just then, a flash of an image suddenly crossed her mind.
It was a certain spot on the bookshelf in the room. Nia nervously inserted a small booklet into one of the hollowed-out books.
Moments later, Nia, who had snapped back to reality from the vision, felt a sense of restlessness in her heart. The serene and tranquil state of mind she had once experienced was no longer present.
After hesitating for a moment, she stood up and walked toward the nearby bookshelf.
Following the image in her memory, she quickly found the hollowed-out book. Upon opening it, she discovered a slightly worn-out notebook lying quietly inside.
Nia's pupils trembled twice, yet her expression remained incredibly indifferent, creating a sense of discordance.
After pondering for a moment, she took the notebook out of the book, glanced around, and then took another book from the shelf, returning to the edge of the bed.
If someone were to enter, she could use reading as a cover.
She took off her slippers, slipped under the covers, and picked up the glass bottle she had placed on the bed earlier, preparing to take the medicine.
As she opened the bottle cap, she also opened the first page of the small booklet.
[Don't drink the medicine! Don't drink the medicine! Don't drink the medicine!]
On the title page, familiar handwriting appeared before Nia's eyes. Her little hand trembled slightly, causing a few drops of the transparent liquid to spill from the bottle.
She looked at the potion in her hand and recalled Mevis' previous instructions.
"The 'medicine' will help you maintain inner tranquility and communicate with elemental powers more easily. It may even give you a chance to advance to the rank of great sage in the future."
However, the words written in this small booklet were completely opposite.
She recognized that it was her own handwriting, but she clearly had no memory of writing this passage.
In fact, she had been experiencing such symptoms for a long time, often feeling that time was leaping and having fragmented memories about reality. She gradually became less and less like herself.
However, she had never pondered these abnormalities.
"..."
She glanced at the potion in her hand.
In the end, she decided to heed the advice in the small booklet and set it aside for now.
Then, with a hint of confusion, she started reading the notebook in her hand.
It seemed to be a diary, starting from the year 1492 in the New Calendar, which was three years ago.
[January 15th]
[Suddenly remembered many things, it turns out... Mom and Dad are no longer here. (The paper is marked with tear stains)]
[Mevis must have done something to me.]
[So, starting today, I will regularly record in this diary. If there are any missing entries, it definitely means something is wrong.]
[February 3rd]
[Terrifying... It's so terrifying!]
[In the blink of an eye, time jumped ahead by half a month. It must be the fault of that medicine.]
[I'm being controlled!]
[Future "me," if you're reading this, remember, don't drink the medicine! Don't drink it!]
[February 5th]
[My older brother came looking for me again. I'm happy, but why is his tone so cold towards me?]
[Could something have happened during the time of forgotten memories?]
[February 6th]
[A new potion has been concocted, but this time I pretended to be under control. I pretended to drink the bottle of medicine, but later I threw it up.]
[Mevis saw me in this state and seemed very pleased, caressing my face, praising me as her most perfect creation.]
[It's truly disgusting!]
.........
[March 18th]
[It turns out that besides the medicine, she also possesses a suggestive form of eye technique that can control the mind. Fortunately, I made preparations in secret beforehand, and even so, it took over a month to awaken from the slumber.]
[I wonder what the other "me," the doll personality, has been doing?]
[By the way, recently Mevis seems to be meeting with a mysterious person in a black robe. It's worth noting.]
[March 27th]
[She met with that mysterious person again, and this time, I pretended to still be under control.]
[Perhaps after using the eye technique on me, they believed that I had completely become a puppet, so their conversation wasn't too guarded.]
[From their conversation, I heard that Mevis seems eager to join some organization, but the mysterious person keeps evading the topic.]
[Even someone about to become an divine magician is not qualified to be a peripheral member?]
[What a terrifying organization!]
[April 9th]
[I finally heard some information about that organization.]
[The organization is called "Twilight of the Gods," marked by a symbol of a "broken sun"!]
[Recalling what my brother mentioned inadvertently last time, he told me to pay attention to the symbol of the "sun."]
[Could it be...]
....
[August 17th]
[Mevis seemed to have noticed something and changed the proportions of the potion. She supervised me to drink it, and this time, it took over a year for me to have a chance to wake up.]
[Alright, the diary continues.]
[August 29th]
[During the year of unconsciousness, Mevis seems to have gained a higher position within that organization.]
[And finally, I know what I did to my brother. (Tear stains)]
[Nia, you are so pathetic.]
[But now, now is not the time. I can't reveal myself to my brother because Mevis is too powerful, and we cannot resist her.]
[Patience!]
[September 9th]
[It's so terrifying!]
["Twilight of the Gods" is such a terrifying organization!]
[Even though Mevis has been promoted to an divine magician, she still hasn't entered the core circle of the organization and doesn't even have much influence.]
[No, I must warn my brother to be careful of the "sun"!!!]
[Right, I'll do it through an anonymous letter!]
........
[February 5th]
[Mevis noticed my recent abnormality.]
[Previously, she seemed to have some reservations and didn't want to damage my mind and soul, so she hadn't used forceful methods.]
[But this time, she may need to use even more terrifying medicine to control me.]
[Perhaps, this is my last time writing in the diary.]
[The only chance is the last resort I've been saving up for all these years, even if there's only a one in a million chance of recovering my memories, I will pray for it.]
[Perhaps, only after witnessing certain things and experiencing intense shocks, is there a slight chance of regaining my true self.]
[But will Mevis give me such an opportunity?]
[I really want to see my brother again...]
[Goodnight, this world.]
Sound of a page turning...
As Nia reached this point, tears filled her eyes without her realizing.
She gently lifted her head, a trace of a sad smile on her lips.
Everything, every single detail, came rushing back to her.
.....
Late at night.
In the Upper City, this time is when nightlife thrives.
As the largest gathering place for adventurers in the capital, Mendon Street is naturally illuminated, with the entire street adorned with lights. There are brothels, taverns, weapon shops, monster emporiums, and more.
At this moment, inside the Red Spider Inn located at the end of the street, Char sits silently at the wooden bar, holding a glass of beer and drinking quietly.
After leaving Miss Witch, Char realized that two whole days had passed in the outside world. Feeling frustrated by the disproportionate time between the Abyss and reality, he directly took a carriage and arrived here.
It has been three hours since the agreed-upon time with his informant.
Yet, the informant still hasn't shown up.
He furrowed his brow slightly.
It wasn't impatience that made him wait, but rather a faint sense of something unusual.
He glanced at the obese owner behind the bar.
Back when he was still an adventurer, he often came here to eat, so he was quite familiar with it after all these years.
"Boss Don, I have something to ask you."
As he spoke, Char pulled out a silver coin from his pocket and tossed it onto the wooden table.
As the fee for the information, there was more than enough.
Boss Don, with a large beard and a rugged appearance, accepted the silver coin with a smile and spoke in a strangely delicate voice, completely out of sync with his appearance: "Little Char, why such generosity this time?"
He sounded like a middle-aged woman.
But Char didn't mock him because Don, in previous battles, had suffered nearly fatal injuries below his vocal cords while protecting his teammates.
"Do you know where Arin is staying now? That 'Squirrel' Arin, the adventurer skilled in intelligence gathering."
Char asked.
"Try your luck in the alley at 78 Mendon Street. Arin is a bachelor, and the rundown house at the end of the alley on the left is his home!"
After providing the information, Boss Don casually pocketed the silver coin.
"Thanks!"
Char raised his glass, clinked it against Don and then downed the drink.
After receiving this piece of information, he left the Red Spider Inn and headed to the location Don had mentioned.
"Knock, knock, knock—"
Standing in the narrow and dilapidated depths of the alley, Char knocked on the broken wooden door.
But there was no response for a long time.
Meanwhile, the unsettling feeling in his heart grew stronger.
He took a deep breath and slowly pushed the door open.
It was a very small room, almost like a storage closet. Equipment and books were piled everywhere, with only a worn-out bed against the wall.
Char's fist clenched slowly.
At the end of his gaze, the entire bed was soaked in blood, accompanied by torn organs and splattered white brain matter.
Quietly standing on the bed was a corpse.
Impaled through the chest by a long spear, the body was nailed to the wall behind it. Above the neck, only half of the shattered lower jaw remained, as if the head had been completely crushed by some unknown force.
On the gray stone wall next to the corpse, something was drawn in blood.
It was a somewhat hasty mark, barely discernible—a partially broken sun.
Below the mark, a sentence was written.
"When you cast your gaze upon us, we are also watching you."