Caldire District, West Thread City, South Ariad Marquisate.
Under the serene moonlight of the bluish moon, around eight in the evening, several minutes before the news of Guardian Emric and Guardian Racan's deaths reached this particular part of the city, a figure knocked on a house's door founded with a mix of stones and timber walls, flourished with wooden furnishings, a simple kitchen, and two spacious rooms under clay roofs.
A moment or two later, a woman in her early thirties possessing shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes, wearing nightwear, emerged with a curious expression as she scanned a man donning a peaked brown hat, with a recognizable brown uniform carved with symbols on its left shoulder that read as "Night P.M."
Seeing this, the woman couldn't help but mutter, "Uh, a Night Postman?"
"Greetings. Pardon my intrusion. But are you perhaps Mrs. Julia?"
With reluctance, the woman replied, "Um, Yes, I am. Can I help you?" For her, there was no reason for a Night Postman to come knocking on her door.
"I see. Mr. Emric, your husband has requested to deliver this to you..." The Night Postman squatted in front of her, and went through the filled large bag he brought, eventually retrieving with care a ribbon-tied amethyst box, where a receipt with Guardian Emric's name and Julia's home address was attached.
The amethyst box was plain and opaque, but it wasn't heavy. Holding it as she looked at it side by side, Julia muttered inwardly, 'Sigh. Tomorrow's our anniversary. Is this an advance present from him? This is a first, my hero.'
A smile found its place on her supple lips. Feeling awkward at seeing the delightful expression of the woman, the Night Postman bid his farewell as he slightly lowered his head, "That would be all Ma'am. Thank you for using our service."
Glancing at the back of the fading figure, who went inside a horse carriage as a means of transportation for delivering the goods entrusted by their customers, Julia tightly held the small box with her left hand before closing the door with the right one.
Sauntering toward a wooden table, Julia heard small footsteps on the stone stairs, prompting her to scan the small girl around five to six years old.
With a delighted expression, she addressed her little girl, "Juliet, come here! Dad has sent us a gift."
"R–really!? Yey!"
The mother and daughter found a seat as the former carefully placed the small box on the wooden table. A moment later, the latter asked, "But Mommy, when's Daddy coming back? I–I'm afraid those men will come back since Daddy isn't with us..!"
"Sigh. Don't worry, Juliet. We're safe in this neighborhood, okay? Also, remember..."
Sometimes, for reasons unknown, several men would follow the two of them whenever and wherever they were in a market district. No harm was done apart from being the subjects of thievery. However, with his husband's presence, who was known in the Caldire District to be a Guardian serving the Ariad Household, those malicious men would disappear without a trace.
"Uh–mm! Daddy's a hero!"
"Yes, your Daddy's a hero!"
Seeing the worries vanish from her little girl's eyes, Julia nodded to her before proceeding to open the gift box with great anticipation, causing her heart to thump as a thought meandered in her mind:
'I miss him. Also, it's been some time since...' Her face flushed red, dismissing the thought as she gulped.
Opening the box, Juliet queried in a clumsy manner, "Mommy, what is it? What is it?"
What appeared in front of Julia's eyes was a letter calligraphed beautifully in a white thick paper, and peculiar two petals of a white rose.
Reading the opening contents of the letter, Julia glanced at her little girl before saying casually, "Juliet, can you fetch me my brown bag in my room?"
Without questioning the reason for her mother's request, Juliet replied, "Yes, Mommy!" She then left with energetic strides.
With her little girl's back fading, Julia's emotion burst forth, her trembling left hand trying to block any sounds from her quivering lips.
"Ahhh—" But she couldn't scream. She did not want her innocent child to hear the agony emanating from her wounded heart, the pain echoing from her shattering soul.
"To the wife of Guardian Emric, I am sorry..."
It was a letter of consequences but with an offering of solace.
"Mommy, where's your bag?" Juliet's voice echoed in the bedroom, prompting Julia to raise her voice as she wiped her tears, "U–under the bed, my baby!"
Julia scanned everything written. Her expression turned into a mix of disbelief, grief, and dread. But in it written something ambiguous.
"B–baby, have you found it? C–come here!"
"Y–yes, Mommy!"
Seeing her descending child, Julia beckoned her little girl to sit beside her.
Unable to sense what was amiss in her mother's expression and atmosphere, Juliet asked with curiosity, "Mommy, what's that? Candies?"
Her innocent brown eyes caught the sight of two soft petal-shaped objects, laid within the center of the amethyst-hued box. Hearing her query, Julia forced a smile, "Yes, baby. That's sweets. Daddy also said he'll send more tomorrow."
With a turmoil of meandering thoughts because of what she had just read, Julia scrutinized the two white petals. Being absorbed in the sight of the part of a white rose, emanating a bizarre kind of serenity, a thought struck her, 'I–is this the right decision? W–what if—"
Knock—!
Her thoughts were cut off by the sound of a loud knock. But unlike the Night Postman earlier, even without opening the door, a man's voice was already heard, "Mrs. Julia? I come bearing gifts from your husband."
Hearing this, Juliet looked at her mother with confusion, "Mommy, I–I thought—"
Closing the small box gently, Julia raised her right index finger that overlapped just near her lips, "Shh... Baby, go to your room. Bring this box and eat a candy, okay? I'll be there."
Being an obedient and good daughter, Juliet didn't pester her mother as she ran into her room, holding the box of sweets.
The sound of knocking turned more pronounced, "Is there anyone here? Mrs. Julia?"
"Wait, I'll be there in a second!"
But instead of opening the wooden door, Julia ran to where her daughter was, finding the latter donning a serene expression.
Witnessing the sight of tranquility, Julia's vision turned murky as tears escaped her brown eyes, followed by a genuine smile of longing and brokenness.
"Good girl. Sweet dreams, my baby."
As she muttered, Julia settled beside her lying daughter, stroking the little girl's black hair before reaching for the remaining petal of a white rose within the box of uncertain hope.
***
"Something's wrong."
Discreetly exerting a force on the wooden door to avoid causing a ruckus in the neighborhood at this time of the night, the man accompanied by another man and a woman, around in their middle to late twenties, cautiously entered the house of stones and timbers.
"They are not here." A red-haired woman's voice gathered the two men's attention.
"What do you mean they are not here? Rana, you are a Pathfinder, so locate them!"
"Don't you fucking know what I mean?! It meant something had gone wrong since their Life Aura dissipated in this house! It would mean that they are either dead or teleported somewhere away."
A Pathfinder under the Explorer Category was a Class Specialization that excelled in tracking and general mapping; one of the sought-after classes when exploring a newly discovered labyrinth.
With Rana's outrage, a realization dawned on them, prompting them to make a quick search within this shabby, quite spacious commoner's abode.
Reaching a certain bedroom floored with stones, Rana couldn't help but squint her black eyes:
"What the actual fuck!?"
The two men heard Rana's cursing as they swiftly moved to reach her. What their sight had caught made them share the same sentiment that the red-haired woman had.
"Wh–what..."
***
"Oi, reach out to Marco first before you proceed to report this to Butler Daradnon. Now!"
A few blocks away from Guardian Emric's house, where the home of Guardian Racan was located, a similar bizarre chilling sight unfolded.
***
Ariad Main House, Central Ariad Marquisate, Arin City.
In a room exclusive for the one in service of the Matriarch.
"What the hell are you spouting right now?! Marco, I didn't task your group to fabricate a story concerning the two Guardians' families!"
Butler Daradnon was at the edge of his seat, criticizing the brown short-haired man with sharp brown eyes reflected by the Orb of Communication.
'Since Young Master Zero has woken up, everything seems to be in a mess! How could I explain this to the Matriarch? Failure after failure can lead to death!' Butler Daradnon thought, feeling an illusory guillotine breathing on his neck, as a bucket of sweat dripped down his forehead.
"Butler, we are just new shadows under the Matriarch's command. You know very well that lying will mean our deaths!" Even though it was borderline insanity, what Marco's group had witnessed was very real.
"I am aware, but..."
The butler of Icaria Ariad couldn't believe what he had just heard. Something peculiar and bizarrely terrifying, a kind of death that could even be considered rare even within the confines of the labyrinths.
"Sigh. I will see the Matriarch. All of you, standby for now."
"Yes, Butler," Marco said as the Orb of Communication lost its light.
Butler Daradnon heaved a sigh of fatigue. Standing up from his seat, as someone who seemed to have a higher chance of dying due to stress than of the blade because of recent unfavorable circumstances, he prepared to face the woman of authority.
***
"Daradnon, look at me. Are you asking me to believe that labyrinthian fairytale?!"
Bang—!
Icaria Ariad slammed the round table, shattering it into pieces as though it was crafted from dust.
"M–Matriarch, Marco has sworn for its authenticity. They couldn't move the lifeless bodies because of the possibility of unknown repercussions. H–however, they were on standby, guarding the homes—"
Icaria interjected, her golden eyes gleaming with coldness, "I don't care whether it's being guarded or not to avoid others from seeing those bodies.
"I'm asking if why should I believe that the bodies of Emric's wife and daughter, as well as Racan's wife and two sons, were lying in peace with a fucking white rose blooming on their chest?!"
At that moment, Icaria raised her body as she sauntered towards the balcony, gazing at the bluish moon's luminosity. A second or two later, an illusory white halo flickered above her head as her golden eyes intensified, emanating a hue of holiness.
Seeing this, Butler Daradnon uncontrollably prostrated as his voice echoed, "M–Matriarch! I–I will bring the bodies of Emric and Racan's families! Please forgive me just this once!"
A frightening angelic voice responded, "Forget it. Tell them to dispose of or bury them. On the other hand, prepare to depart for tomorrow since it seems my stepson has missed me."
Butler Daradnon listened, not daring to raise his head, hearing her calm voice that was more soul-crushing than her usual tone.
"Y–yes, Matriarch! I am in gratitude of your mercy!"
***
Villa of Ariad, South Thread City.
"That's everything I could say, Mother."
After everything had calmed down in the house, Zero Ariad explained some matters to his mother, especially about his awakening and Mai's intriguing existence.
"Is that so? So my son's a Summoner, huh! But how can those two get along already? Is my Masha perhaps a fond of supernatural at her age?"
Elizabeth Ariad was speaking quite fast, like a broken piano finding its tune, seemingly unable to process how her little daughter was casually interacting with Mai, considering that the former was similar to a scaredy cat at first.
Looking at the end of the table, where Mai was standing beside the giggling Masha, Zero Ariad chuckled, "Mother, I cannot tell you everything. But–"
At that moment, Elizabeth Ariad raised her right hand as she said, "My son, Zero. I don't know what you have experienced in your slumber. But if you're not ready to divulge it to me then it's all right. Just always remember that Masha and I will always be here for you. We're your emotional support, okay?!
"Remember, even if the world flips upside down, nothing can change the absolute truth that I am your Mother... and you are my son."
Zero Ariad engraved every word to his heart, mind, and soul.
Reaching for a piece of meat on her plate, Zero Ariad observed his mother before responding, "By the way, Mother, the Patriarch will visit tomorrow."
Through Zero Ariad's command, Olivia delivered the news about his awakening to the Patriarch through an Orb of Communication, but it was done without Elizabeth Ariad's consent, prompting the latter to pause.
Clink—
Elizabeth Ariad's hand stopped, and her ears perked up. She wasn't certain if she heard her son right as her amber eyes seemed to pierce him.
With just a nod of confirmation at her directed skeptical gaze, the words of the Mistress of the Branch House reverberated:
"What!?"