Surprisingly, nothing stopped me from going back to my room.
Entering the bathroom and turning on the light, I walked over to the mirror.
And the short answer is that almost nothing has changed, my hair is still the same raven-black as before. The only slight change is the color of my eyes, which changed from black to gray.
I have mixed feelings about it, if there were to be changes, they could be more drastic, but now the separation of my personality is quite insignificant for anyone who's looking.
Exhaling all my frustration, I should probably get some sleep, it's about a few hours until dawn.
And I should probably get a watch so I can stop telling time by the moon and stars.
I wonder how two dead guards are connected to everything else going on in this town.
Maybe one of the beasts that appeared was never killed and now roams the city.
Maybe after seven months they've finally uncovered something and this was an attempt to distract attention. Though I don't really see how the death of two people could affect anything, if anything it would only make them angrier.
Or maybe it has nothing to do with it at all.
Right now I don't have enough information, I will be able to find out more in the morning.
What a wonderful bed to fall asleep on, since I'm not at all in danger of an unknown threat that might try to kill me.
I finally have closed windows and doors, if someone tries to break in, I will always hear it and have plenty of time to react.
Yeah, that's just fine.
So that's what they were all thinking before their deaths.
I took a sitting position, drew one of my daggers from its sheath and began to look out the window at the street.
**
Rays of sunlight were beginning to break through the window when I heard the opposite door open, followed by the sound of footsteps on the stairs.
What a terrible night, I have about a week to deal with it.
As I watch how the dagger spins on my finger for the 1164th time. I think that confirms that waiting will accomplish nothing.
I either need to find out who made all this mess myself or secure this place enough to not bother.
But first I have to meet her and spend the day hoping to find something that everyone who investigated it for seven months has missed.
Going downstairs and noticing the receptionist in his place, I find Aphelia having breakfast with a newspaper in her hand.
I took a seat across from her, as the receptionist began listing all the available meals on a well-memorized menu. Later, I probably should find out if there are any other guests.
It took a few minutes when Aphelia finally put the paper aside and we walked out into the crowded streets of the city. Despite the lingering threat of an attack, there didn't seem to be any less people.
The mood has changed noticeably, though.
The number of guards became even greater than it was at night.
The way people tended to look down when they weren't casting suspicious and worried glances at us, we didn't seem to fit in very well with our surroundings after all.
There was no resistance as we walked down and right through the streets, wherever we stepped there was always an open space forming.
Walking further into the larger district there were surprisingly fewer and fewer people.
The number of guards thinned until they disappeared completely.
And those rare people who we met on the empty streets, disappeared after a second diligently avoiding us.
"We're heading to the open market, in the outer circle." Aphelia spoke after thirty minutes of walking. "The very first presence of the beast was seen there, it was something previously unknown to us.
It had four massive wings, though it didn't fly, the first two it used as support in the absence of front legs when its hind legs ended in three sharp claws.
It was completely covered in brown feathers that were more like solidified lava in their integrity, with sparse veins of red between them.
With eight eyes on its head and a sharp red beak finishing it whole. It also possessed certain earth abilities.
You'll see when we get there, it took some time before the guards could get there and it was stopped."
And she was right, from the first glance I understood what she meant.
Instead of the expected sight of devastation and destruction, I was greeted by the place as it was in its original state.
With all the pavilions, tents and stalls in the open air. With every canopy covering from the sun.
With one exception, the whole place turned into red stone in a large circle.
Some hollows are visible sometimes on the ground.
Leaning over to get a closer look, it turns out to be shoe prints.
I have a good enough imagination to picture the scene here.
From the moment the beast appears.
When the stone began to spread.
To the first person who notices and starts screaming.
It didn't look like the beast had moved since it had appeared. It just stood in the center of the circle while the stone spread and consumed everything around it.
From the way the stone swallowed even part of the nearest buildings either the beast was strong enough or--.
"How long did it take for the guards to arrive?"
Aphelia standing in the center of it all lifted her gaze from the ground and looked at me. "The guards arrived in seven minutes, it took them another ten to contact someone capable of handling the beast. And four minutes for that person to arrive and kill it."
As she went to consider the nearest tent, my gaze returned to the hollowed out human footprints all over this stone.
I just can't help but ask this question.
"What happened to all the people who were here when it happened?"
She replied, not taking her eyes off the examination and stroking the stone the tent had turned into.
"Some were fast enough to escape. Some were less fortunate and by the time the stone reached them, they didn't stand a chance. Some of them tried to free themselves from it, but as it turned out, the stone covered not only their skin but their internal organs as well."
My gaze slid all over the surrounding stone.
"And you su--."
"Stone stopped spreading the moment the monster died."
It's not really very reassuring, just because it stopped spreading doesn't mean it won't start again.
But perhaps I should focus on the reason why I'm here. The only aether I'm able to sense comes from the red stone. Whatever helped the beast get into the city, its traces are long gone.
And I sincerely hope that whatever it is, it doesn't cross my means in any way. If one gets the tools to counter it, consider that everyone got it. I may have some very difficult decisions to make, but that's a long way off.