Upon entering the busy Church, I took a seat in the back row of pews next to a few others.
The previous times I had been to the church, it had been either during the day or after the regular visiting hours and was nowhere as busy as this. This evening it was packed, having almost every seat filled.
While more guests were cramming into the hall, a familiar voice asked if I could move over so they could sit down next to me at the end of the pew.
It was Jean from the Huntsmen.
"What are you doing here Eli?" Jean asked as he sat down next to me.
"Well, what does it look like?" I responded.
Jean chuckled. "I just didn't take you as the religious type is all, and I haven't seen you here before. I've been going to the weekly services for as long as I can remember."
I knew Jean was religious, as were most people within Leode.
It was quite common to worship at least one of the gods, though seeing that there was only one church in this area, The Church of the Keeper of Time, most would gravitate towards this god of the supposedly many.
While travelling over to Araway previously, I had been able to check out another church, The Church of the God of Domination and Will.
And the Church that worshipped one of the Gods of Space was located within the capital, Goldeen. But that was only three areas just within the Ercadium country.
With a space church and a time church, there were bound to be churches of the fate faith in other areas, thus aligning with the three different authorities of an Arcanist.
Everyone was getting into their seats as the service was about to start. Turning over to Jean, I replied. "I'm just interested, seeing as… You know."
Jean knew what I meant and he nodded. We were Arcanists and our profession was directly connected to the churches, especially The Church of the Keeper of Time, as we were both of the Time authority.
It was only natural for an Arcanist to be interested.
As Darius had mentioned, Jean was the only other official Arcanist amongst the Leode Huntsmen along with me, and as religious as he was, it wasn't surprising that he was of the Spirit domain.
Finally, the service started and the priest wearing his white cassock came up to the altar and raised his hand in a gesture of silence.
The room fell hushed as he began to speak.
"Brothers and sisters," the priest began, his voice resonant and filled with a quiet authority, "we gather here tonight for our weekly ceremony to honour the Keeper of Time. To seek wisdom in His eternal gaze over eternity, and to humble ourselves before the vastness of the hours that stretch before us."
The congregation responded with a murmured "By your will," and the priest continued, reading from a book laid out in front of him.
After the service had concluded with a final prayer, the congregation began to disperse, murmuring their farewells and exchanging pleasantries with one another. Jean and I, however, remained seated as the pews around us gradually emptied.
"Ever since I got involved with the other world, coming here has never been the same," Jean said, breaking the silence between us. "I'm sure you understand that much."
I nodded, understanding all too well. The world carried on around us, people going about their daily lives, blissfully unaware of the hidden forces at play. But for us, for those who had crossed that threshold into the unknown, everything was different—connected in ways the ordinary could never comprehend. Especially since us Arcanists were directly connected to the churches and vice versa.
"I used to come here every Saturday with my parents," Jean continued, a wistful smile tugging at his lips. "Helped out, too. It was a routine, a comfort."
I rolled my eyes, inwardly groaning. I didn't come here to listen to Jean's tragic backstory. But before I could voice my irritation, he caught my expression and chuckled.
"Don't worry, my parents aren't dead if that's what it sounded like," he said, the sombre mood lifting slightly. "I didn't mean to make it sound so morbid. It's just… after leaving the normal life behind, I don't get to see them much. Can't let them get involved in my new life."
I followed his gaze, realising that the couple he was watching were likely his parents. They were helping with cleaning up the aftermath of the service with an ease that made it seem like they had been doing this for a very long time.
The way Jean observed them from a distance, unable to approach, spoke volumes about this life he'd chosen. Or perhaps, the life that had chosen him.
"Sounds a bit foolish to me," I said after a moment, my tone blunt. "Why this life then? Why would you give all that up?"
Jean was silent for a moment, continuing to keep his gaze on the older couple on the other side of the church.
"Some things like this just happen, Eli. Sometimes it's harder to try and change the path than to let things flow naturally. Honestly, I do miss it, my old life. If there were other ways back then, maybe it would be different, but if I had to go back knowing what I do now, I still wouldn't have it any other way than this."
I stood up, the wooden pew creaking slightly under the movement. "That just sounds like a cop-out answer to me, but whatever. It's your life." I started to walk towards the exit after everyone else had almost all left but paused to glance back at him.
Jean stood up and walked after me to leave as well without taking a final look at the couple.
As we both exited out of the Church of the Keeper of Time, the crisp air nipped at our already red noses. The mid afternoon snow had already started and was causing more crunching at our feet.
"Knowledge," Jean said almost serendipitously.
I looked over at him, unsure what he was getting at, "what?"
"Knowledge. Knowing about what really goes on in this world" he said again, turning his head to look at me. "That's the difference between us people. It's what separates the ordinary from the extraordinary."
Small tufts of snow started landing on my face as I looked up at the night sky and replied, "At least there's something we can both agree on."
Jean sighed and blew a breath of warm air into his closed hands. "I'm going to head back home, got to get out of the cold."
All I replied with was a nod and let him go on his way.
Jean was a little more tolerable than the others—a head actually on his shoulders. Quite unlike the rest of the team, who were all rather animated.
For the next few days to a week, nothing out of the ordinary happened.
Snow started creeping in, clinging lightly to the seams of the city, dusting rooftops and on windowsills.
The people were starting to reflect the changing of the season. There were a lot less people out and about around the impoverished areas of central Leode.
I had to keep my coat pulled tightly when passing through these areas. Not only were the needy more desperate, but the cold would be enough to nip at my fingers.
Even so, I was still better off than most. A sudden gust would sweep through in the early mornings and late nights, and I'd see a figure curled up in the arch of a doorway or a mother shielding a child from the wind with her body. Too many families lived one bad night away from being found stiff and pale come morning just this early into the season.
And there were no government programs to help. Not here, not in central Leode. That wasn't surprising. The Council handled the city with a distant sort of apathy, as though they were guests here and the locals were an inconvenience.
The only ones looking busy this season were the enforcers.
Their presence had started to grow after the mishaps at King's underground auction. Patrols had almost doubled along the main roads and down by the entertainment district. After the fiasco after the auction, everyone with so much as a shady look was terrified of being dragged in for "questioning." And considering the officials had called in fresh Enforcer units from Goldeen, no one wanted to test their luck.
I couldn't blame them. The Goldeen sent Enforcers were more thorough than the winter. They stood out more too.
The Enforcers, who were regulars of Leode, wore their usual getup of Navy Blue, and despite a lot of new faces here in the same uniform, a few had on a stark black uniform with a golden badge on their shoulder resembling a torch. If you couldn't recognise them visually, you could definitely feel their presence more than the regular navy enforcers.
Because of this, there was a shift in minor crime around the Entertainment District and market areas of the city, and many were being caught by this rise in Enforcer activity.
On lobby duty at the Den, I'd skim through the morning papers. The headlines were always the same: Increased Security in Response to Recent, Additional Patrols Deployed Across Central Districts, Criminal Activity down 23%.
People were calling it a crackdown. But something about it felt like a distraction.
Even still, I just kept my head down and continued my usual routine. My off-hours were spent juggling the stack of books I had borrowed from the library alongside the ones Alexi had left me. And whenever I got the chance, I took myself down to the range or kept utilising my previous Watcher abilities.
The snow had started to make patches on the ground by the time I made my way through the main street. Half stale road and half white, mixing in to make an ugly greyish brown in between the cracks in the cobblestones.
The lanterns still flickered along the side of the road whilst the town was active, with at least two enforcers patrolling every other street, making the evening seem more active than usual.
Seeing the lights up ahead coming from the library, I made my way over to drop off some of the books I had borrowed for the week.
I let out a breath, watching it plume in the cold air as I approached the front steps. Then pushing open the door and the familiar scent and warmer air wrapped around me like a blanket.
"Good evening Elias, she said, adjusting her glasses. "Back again so soon?"
"Just dropping some stuff off that I've finished," I replied, lifting the books under my arm.
Robin hummed away as I placed the books on the counter and glanced around out of habit. The library felt emptier than normal. Usually, a few night owls lingered this late, but tonight it was almost silent.
"Their presence scares people off, I think," Robin exclaimed. "They've been patrolling past here every hour on the hour." She shook her head. "Makes even law-abiding folks nervous."
I nodded and glanced out the main windows, seeing a stark black uniform passing. Eight in the evening my pocket watch showed.
She stamped the books and slid them aside. "Feel free to browse. I'll keep the place open a little later if you need."
The floorboards creaked a little under my boots as I headed to the back shelves. I wasn't looking for any book in particular, but wanted to browse the geography section.
As I rounded one of the bookshelves, I saw a figure. He was wearing a black silk gown and a crescent moon-shaped pendant around his neck.