Jack and his group visited a total of seven other locations around the village. Each one yielded a disturbingly similar result.
In every instance, Reina's [Past Echo] showed a blurry figure or figures stopping whatever they did. Seemingly hearing an invisible sound. And then collapsing without a struggle.
The timing was always consistent. Moments after sunset. The victims were alone, or in pairs, or in small groups.
Jack's internal panel offered no direct information from the [Past Echo] visualizations. But the repeated pattern was its own data. Auditory trigger. Sudden collapse. No visible cause. Occurring at sunset.
"It's a sound." Harold mused. Looking calm despite everything. "Some kind of fatal sonic attack. It bypasses physical defenses entirely."
"Or it is whatever causes the sound that kills them." Alenna added. Unlike Harold, her voice was a little shaky. "A siren song, perhaps? Lulling them to death."
Jack considered it. "A targeted sonic attack is possible. Or something that induces extreme psychological distress, leading to cardiac arrest or neurological shutdown. But I don't think it would work like this. Death without any sign."
He pondered further. "And, if the cause is sound... Does anyone inside hear anything strange during their time of death?" He asked Chief Flute.
"I don't think so. Nobody said they hear anything strange." The chief replied after thinking for a while.
As they were still at the last death site they visited, a group approached them from the direction of the village square. They were easily identifiable.
Three men in elaborate pale blue cloak. The symbol of a balancing scales pierced by a sword was emblazoned on their chests. Transcendent acolytes of the Church of Justice. Guided by the timid Father Minnow. Who now looked even more anxious.
The lead priest was a bulky man with a hard, judgmental face. He strode forward. "So, these are the heretics Father Minnow spoke of?" His voice was deep. Booming and utterly humorless.
"Prying into matters beyond your station, disturbing the dead with your dark arts?" He glared at Reina's grimoire. Still clutched in her hand.
"A witch, I see. And a necromancer, perhaps?" His eyes swept over Jack. Registering no familiar accoutrements of holiness.
Father Minnow wrung his hands. "They... they were sent by Mr. Keener, from Lonestone City. To investigate."
"Investigate what, Minnow?" The bulky priest scoffed. "The work of the Almighty? This 'Twilight Death' is a trial. A test of faith. Not some occult mystery for heathens to tamper with."
He turned his attention back to Jack's group. Focusing his disdain on Reina. "Confess your sins, woman, and perhaps judgment will be lenient."
Jack stepped forward. Placing a hand on Reina's shoulder. She remained calm. Her expression stayed unreadable.
"We are not heretics." Jack said. His voice was flat. His gaze was steady. "And we are not disturbing the dead. We are investigating a series of unnatural deaths on behalf of a client, Mr. Wedge Keener, whose family members were victims."
He produced his Mercenary Union ID card. It was a thick, metal-backed card. Bearing his registration as 'Jack Night, Steamrune Engineer'.
"Mercenary Union, registered agent. Our task is protection and investigation for client satisfaction."
Reina, without being prompted, produced her own card. 'Reina Night, Mystic Scholar'. It was a forged ID card. But the priests didn't seem to recognize it.
The bulky priest's eyes narrowed. But the Mercenary Union was a legitimate, powerful organization. One even the Church of Justice had to acknowledge. However grudgingly.
"Mercenaries." He sneered. "Hired muscle for dark rituals, no doubt."
"No dark rituals." Jack corrected. His patience was thinning. "Just seeking answers. And protecting our client. Are you even really Divine Acolyte? Don't the church teach you how to differentiate mystic spells and dark rituals?"
The priest snorted and didn't answer. He instead looked at the three teenagers. "And what about these three brats? Do you mercenaries bring underage kids for investigation?"
Alenna, Nick, and Harold, was slightly intimidated by the priests' aura of righteous indignation. They quickly produced their student ID cards.
"Lonestone University, Department of Mysticism." Alenna said in small voice. "We are academic observers."
"Lonestone University?" The lead priest muttered. Clearly frustrated. Another established institution. He couldn't just dismiss them out of hand.
"Scholars dabbling in forces beyond their comprehension." He bitterly said. "This is a spiritual matter, not some parlor trick for your professors to dissect."
"A matter that has claimed fourteen innocent lives." Jack stated. His voice was now carrying a cold edge. "While your church has just offered prayers for the dead, we offer investigation."
He narrowed his eyes, and continued. "Does your Church of Justice want to interfere with the Mercenary Union's investigation?"
The priests exchanged glances. They were clearly outranked. Or at least out-legitimized, on this turf.
The Church of Justice had power. But so did the Mercenary Union and a major university. Accusing members of such bodies of heresy without concrete proof was a good way to start an inter-organizational incident.
"You meddle at your own peril." The bulky priest finally spat. His face contorted in a sneer. "When this village is swallowed by the darkness you invite, do not come crawling to the righteous for salvation."
With that, he turned. His cloak was swirling as he walked away. His two assistants hurried to follow.
Father Minnow offered a small, apologetic shrug to Jack's group. Before scurrying after his superior.
"Well..." Nick breathed. Letting out a pent-up breath once they were out of earshot. "That was... intense."
"Typical member of Church of Justice." Harold muttered. Rubbing his temple. "They think anything outside their church is evil."
Alenna just looked at Jack and Reina. A newfound respect in her eyes. The way they had handled the confrontation was calm and authoritative. Contrasted sharply with the priests' bluster.
Jack watched the retreating figures. "Just another obstacle."
He turned back to the remaining death spot. "We have the pattern. Now we need to figure out the source. Before sunset."
He glanced at the sky. The sun was beginning its slow, inevitable descent. Time was short.
...
The investigation had yielded little more than the unsettling consistency of the victims' death. A phantom sound. A sudden collapse. An inexplicable death. It was a chillingly simple yet maddeningly complex puzzle.
When the sun was close to the western horizon, Jack and his group separated from Chief Flute. The latter had quickly entered his own house. Closing the door tightly behind him.
Jack didn't mind it. He would choose to do the same thing. There was no point lingering outside. Tempting fate.
They retreated to the relative safety of the Stave family home. A sturdy, stone structure that offered a modicum of protection.
Inside, Mr. Keener was already waiting with his two orphaned nephew and niece, Locke and Rose. Their small faces were pale. Their eyes were wide with a fear that seemed to seep from the very walls of the village.
"No need to be dumb heroes right now." Jack said calmly. "We still didn't know what caused the Twilight Death. We'll watch from here."
He turned to Reina. "Let the Silver Hawk scout outside."
Reina nodded. Her expression was serious. She took out something metallic from her bag and activated it. With a soft whirring sound, it turned into a mechanical hawk.
She opened the window slightly. And the mechanical bird took flight outside.
The aerial automaton flapped its wings and circled the village with soft whirring sound. Transmitting real-time footage from its optical sensors to a tablet-like monitor Jack had set up on a sturdy oak table.
They gathered around the glowing screen. The silence in the room thick with anticipation. The village, bathed in the dying light, felt eerily still.
Then, on the screen, there was a movement. Three figures stood outside the small village church. Clad in the distinctive pale blue robes of the Church of Justice. They were the same priests who had so arrogantly dismissed Jack earlier.
"What the hell were those dumbasses doing outside?" Jack swore instantly to see that.
Reina raised her eyebrows. "Faith Force? Are they trying to use it to combat this unknown threat? Without knowing what the threat is? So reckless!"
They could see the priests' bodies glowing. They were encased in a faint, shimmering aura of pale blue energy. Those were the tangible manifestation of their faith. A transcendent shield against the mundane and the supernatural. Theoretically.
"Idiots!" Harold grumbled. Shaking his head. "Not even preparing a mystic circle for protection."
"Maybe it'll work." Nick commented. Though his tone lacked conviction.
Alenna simply watched the screen. Her brow furrowed in concentration.
The last sliver of sun vanished below the horizon. Casting the village into deep twilight. And then, the priests outside began to stir.
They looked around with baffled face. Their heads tilted, as if straining to hear something in the encroaching darkness.
A shift in their posture. A subtle flicker of unease. It was the same reaction. The same pre-death manner they had observed through Reina's [Past Echo] spell.
Then, it happened...
The pale blue aura surrounding the priests flickered... Not like a dying ember. But as if a switch had been abruptly flipped.
The energy blazed for a fraction of a second. An almost defiant final surge. Before vanishing completely.
The three priests, so confident moments before, stiffened. Their eyes went wide. Then vacant. And their bodies, robbed of their divine protection, simply collapsed onto the dusty ground. Dead. Instantly.