It seemed like everyone I needed to interact with wanted to kill me. That sudden change of tone was extremely weird. How did I even die? I was about to tell him about the loops, maybe the witch silenced me? This is unfair, what am I even supposed to do? I cannot talk to the elf's subordinates, I cannot mind my own business, and I can't directly say hi to the elf without getting skinned alive. It seemed impossible to get past even day one of my adventure. Those secret powers would come in handy if I had them. I can't even give up, what should I do? Like always, I woke up on the garbage pile in the alleyway, the sun was high up in the sky.
Cori: At least I know another person who will stab me…
I do not know the true intentions of Alastor but he clearly wanted to kill me, drawing that blade seemed to suck the soul right out of my body, whatever I am, I clearly do not like that sword.
Cori: This is a dead end, I have infinite lives for this day it seems… I mind as well figure out what is going on in that village.
I decided to go back to the village, maybe things will be different in the village earlier in the day? There isn't anything I can do other than investigate that village. I decided to go to the village. I walked for hours until I reached the same hill. The village looked normal from afar.
Cori: No fog, as I expected. Nothing seems to have changed.
The village below the valley had no mist for some reason even though when you get close, the cloudy fog settles in suddenly. I walked toward the "lively village" which was drowning in sunshine down at the clearing in the small forest, I betted to myself that the fog would suddenly come as soon as I reached the forest edge. I reached the location faster than expected despite my body slowly dying from hunger. There was no mist for some reason. I even manage to go through the forest quite easily. The sun was still up in the sky, it was as if no time had passed since I left to go to the village. I eventually got to the clearing, the village looked normal, maybe things were different this loop? The village seemed to be well until now. The village was like any other, it had stone and wood buildings that were well constructed, multiple shops were scattered about with residential areas they all had the same design for buildings, sometimes, a larger building would appear, usually it was of significance like the town hall or an inn. I didn't have much business around here other than to look for the elf, which I didn't want to do.
Cori: When was the last time the witch appeared? Did she just leave me around? It would be really helpful if there was a wise person to help me out in this situation!
I say that out loud, no reply… I really hoped that I would get some form of help. I finally decided to venture further into the village. I found myself in a clearing, a cobbled floor lined the edges of a statue that stood before me, it was in poor condition, seemingly ruined. I could make out a man in a heroic pose.
Cori: I have no idea what I'm even doing here… There isn't anything to investigate really without the fog, clearly things were much different with the fog.
I stroll down the streets, everyone who walked past me shot me disgusted glances, did they not like outsiders? Or maybe it was because I was homeless. The reason was probably both but I decided to ignore them. Was there anything else to do right now? Everything seems pretty normal to me, but surely something will happen. The elf will probably show up some time and kill me, this was the last location the elf was in, right? I decided to wait on a bench, but as I sat there, people started giving me the "look" I felt like it was a mix of disbelief and disgust this time, not that much better.
Cori: Would you stop staring at me? You have better things to do.
Villager: No… It's just that-
Cori: Shut the hell up! Am I really that ugly? Go away!
Villager 2: An extremely rude homeless… Not a common sight around here.
Cori: Do you hate the homeless or something?
I was starting to draw a crowd of villagers around me, there were at least 5. Do they have some sort of beef with me? I have to get out of here, fast… I got up and sprinted toward an alleyway, none of the villagers followed, they stared blankly as they turned the corner.
Cori: Heh… That's that problem solved, I don't mind waiting with some rats, that elf is bound to show up sometime.
Person: Who are you calling a rat?
Cori: Huh? Someone's here?
Person 2: Heh, we have an easy target this time!
Dammit! These people are muggers… One appeared from a corner and the other dropped down from the roof, there were 2 of them.
Robber 1: You new around here? They teach people not to wander in our territory! I expected more people to follow!
I seem to get into endless trouble in the alleyways, maybe I should avoid them? One of the robbers approached me.
Robber 1: Now… If you would kindly hand over your money…
Cori: News flash: I'm homeless.
Robber 2: Homeless? Huh?
The first robber comes up to me and checks my body, he finds nothing but the rusty knife and wood mask.
Robber 1: There's nothing on top, it's just all garbage, I would pay someone to own these weird items.
Robber 2: Have you checked underneath that bulky robe? It could hide a bunch of stuff.
I was calm about the mugging up until now, I knew these bandits would find nothing on me, but I would at least like for them to not rob my dignity, they don't know I wear nothing under this robe.
Robber 1: Alright! Let's see!
Cori: Wait! Hold on-
Before I could finish, he grabbed my robe and yanked it off, it came off decently easily.
Robber 1: AGH! SHE REALLY DOES HAVE NOTHING.
Both of the muggers blush instantly, they both gawk at my body.
Cori: GIVE ME BACK THE DAMN ROBE!
Robber 1: Absolutely…
Robber 2: Beautiful…
I would rather not be sexually be harrassed while I was being robbed. The robbers both seemed to be stunned at my appearance. I snatched the robe easily and put it back on, both robbers were spaced out, their jaws hanging. This wasn't the way that I would ever plan on escaping but it worked, I would take this chance. I headed out the alleyway back onto the square with the statue in it, there seemed to be far less people.
Cori: Never going back there again, those perverts deserve to die…
I didn't know that there would be people who would be stunned just by looking at a woman's naked body. When I headed back out into the square, something seemed off, and it wasn't the lack of people. There was a knight in the town square talking to some civilians. The knight wasn't Alastor/ Regel but had a similar dress to him. He had the same cloak on and the same aura, the only difference was the face that belonged to the knight, he was blonde with a handsome face, he looked like the type of person to be arrogant. Instead of no weapons present, he carried 2 sheathed swords, the only difference I could see between Alastor's outfit was the heavier armor he wore. Were there other knights like Alastor out here?
Knight: You happen to know where some documents are?
Villager: I can assure you they aren't in this village, your master Altair said that it was most likely in the city!
Knight: He told me to do some last minute checks here. I was to be stationed here just in case. If we don't find these documents, something bad is about to happen.
Villager: What?
Knight: We cannot disclose this.
Something bad is going to happen? I remember the ruins of the village, maybe that is the danger this knight is talking about? If that is so, I better get out of here. I felt like it could happen any second, I didn't want to be around to figure out what weird things were going to happen until I realized something. If the thing killed me, I could just go back to the beginning of the day. I don't really want to leave this village without receiving any information yet, even if it kills me. I decided to just stay here a while longer until that danger arises. There isn't really anything else to do but wait for now, I decided to take a walk around the village.
Cori: What event caused all that fog? This can't be natural, maybe some sort of evil mist monster?
I walked around the various houses, avoiding as many people as possible, scouting out the village was my main goal for now. I found the village to be quite large, maybe because it was near the city? Time seemed to move slower all of a sudden. I swear I have spent hours in this village, I was much faster on this loop I guess.
Cori: I'm starting to feel a bit tired, maybe I should rest…
I sat down against one of the walls of a nearby tavern, I really looked homeless or drunk now. It was not long before the knight from before came up to me looking at me weird. It was strange how he could spot me specifically while no one else entering the tavern cared.
Knight: Hello miss, you new around here?
Cori: I guess? I just came from the city.
The knight had a look of shock for some reason, he seemed a bit nervous.
Knight: So, what is your purpose from coming to this village?
Cori: I really had nothing better to do in the city.
Knight: Anyways, I have a question for you. Do you happen to know the location of some documents? It would help stop a calamity that could happen.
Why ask me in particular? I'm literally a homeless person, there were at least 20 people in the tavern you could ask. I guess he made the right call asking me? I could tell the truth right now, but would he suspect me?
Cori: I really don't know.
Knight: I guess I have no choice, my friend.
The sudden shift in attitude startled me, he draws out one of his 2 blades and points it at me, I have to think, fast.
Cori: WAIT! I know where they are, they are in a specific alleyway next to a shop named Edd's supplies a little bit away from one of the city squares! Tell this to Altair or whoever your boss is!
I decided to spill everything, I even threw my hands up. If I was going to die, I would at least die to whatever fog monster was coming.
Knight: Huh? What?
Before he could finish, I used this chance to dash with all my might through the buildings, I ran aimlessly around the buildings attempting to lose the knight, I could hear him yelling at me from behind.
Knight: Trickster! Get back here!
I don't know how I tricked him, I just ran away when he was in thought, he even looked at the sky with his hand on his chin, what an idiot. I easily managed to lose him but not at a cost, I was completely out of breath, and this fast? I probably should work on my endurance if I have the time. The place I ended up in was familiar for some reason, I feel like I've been here before. I suddenly had a realization.
Cori: Shit! I'm back in the zone of those muggers!
They could be back at any moment, I crouch down and take my time moving through the shadows of this alleyway. Despite this place being a village, there were clumps of buildings that were tightly packed together forming these alleyways. It is thanks to them I escaped the knight but it has the drawbacks of getting mugged by the local thieves. I suddenly noticed a splatter of blood, I didn't imagine murders happening here also, I peeped around the corner to something I couldn't imagine. Not far from the spot where I got "robbed", cubes of flesh lay on the floor, cleanly cut. Some of the cubes even had clothes on them still, the beheaded heads of the robbers lay on the floor, a checkered blood pattern on their faces. It was as if the 2 were diced up by a chef, their organs were also in perfect cubes, despite the strange structure of these cubes, none of them fell apart. Clearly, someone who is an expert on turning people into cubes was lurking around. I ran past the diced up robbers out into the open once again, I decided to take a break on the bench I sat in less than an hour ago, it was as if I just went in a huge loop, but clearly, things have changed. The thing that changed the most was my hunger, I was getting extremely hungry, maybe I can sleep it off? I would eat anything at this point… I think back to the cubes of flesh strew about like a buffet, could I eat that?
Cori: Have some common sense, Cori! I'm not eating robbers off the ground, that's disgusting.
I don't know if something was wrong with my head but the thought of eating the cubes of flesh made me drool. Maybe I should go back just for a bite? It shouldn't be that bad.
Cori: What the hell am I thinking… The rats have probably taken a crap on those pieces of flesh multiple times!
At this point, I was trying to think of any excuse not to eat the human flesh off the floor, I came up with "the ghosts of those imbeciles will haunt you", "you will look stupid if someone catches you", and "why the hell are you thinking about eating dirt covered flesh." In the end, it was either stolen from the villagers, or I would eat the free food off the floor.
Cori: Fine! Thoughts, you win… I will eat the flesh, but only the cleaner ones.
I walked back up to the bodies and inspected the cubes. I was ready to pick out a cube when I heard someone yell at me.
Knight: Hey! There you are! Fiend!
Great, this knight is back now… I better get out of here.
Cori: Catch me if you can!
I ran in the open air, I know it will be embarrassing to get chased after in the open air but at least I will have witnesses if I get stabbed.
Knight: Gah! No fair, this armor is heavy you know! We have a runner!
Before I could reach the exit, something stopped me, there were strings forming a web around the exit. They cut just enough into my skin so that it bled, but it didn't dice me up like the robbers.
Cori: What the hell?
Knight: I have you now! Villain!
I'm totally screwed, I would die here. Why does he even talk like this anyways. Alastor doesn't talk like this man, I didn't even get his name.
Mysterious person: Let's pause for a moment shall we? Now's the time to be civil.
Cori: Who is that?
A hooded person walked out from behind the knight, she had knee high boots with a rugged cloak, it was the elf.
Elf: Hello sinner, mind if we have a chat?