After leaving the guild nearly an hour ago, our heroes finally reached their first destination: a small village located at the edge of the forest, where rumors of magical instability had begun to spread. The creaking of the carriage wheels on the dirt road was accompanied by Daniel's uncontainable enthusiasm.
"Finally! The adventure is truly beginning!" Daniel exclaimed, eyes sparkling as he leaned forward against the window. "Just like in episode three of Adventurers of the Void—the arrival in the cursed village!"
Mina rolled her eyes, though a faint smile betrayed her amusement. Elise, meanwhile, remained silent, her gaze fixed on the horizon. The aura that surrounded her seemed tense, her senses sharpening as if she were probing the unseen currents of the air.
The carriage slowed as they entered the village. Immediately, the atmosphere weighed down on them. The huts—simple wooden structures with thatched roofs—stood crooked, some half-collapsed, others bearing cracks as if time itself had gnawed at them prematurely. Smoke rose from a few chimneys, yet it seemed pale, lifeless, as though even fire feared to fully burn here.
Daniel pressed his face to the window, eyes wide.
"Whoa! It's like the village from Shadow Chronicles! You know, the one that looked normal until—BAM—ghosts swarmed out of nowhere!"
Mina let out a sharp sigh.
"Stop comparing everything to your 'animés.' This is real life. If there are breaches here, then people might be in danger."
Daniel, unfazed, threw her a grin.
"Exactly! Which means it's time for us to shine as heroes. Mina, come on, don't tell me you never dreamed of entering a village like this, ready to protect the helpless!"
Mina crossed her arms, but didn't answer. Her golden eyes scanned the narrow paths, observing villagers moving sluggishly, some whispering among themselves. Elise, still quiet, finally spoke—but her words were strange, an echo that only Daniel could understand.
"They're here… the rifts… their stench reaches even here."
Mina blinked.
"Elise? What did you say?"
Daniel instantly realized. Elise's words weren't in the common tongue—they resonated with the inner voice of Lysandra, still bound within her. Mina and Elise herself didn't seem to notice the difference, but for Daniel, the meaning had been crystal clear.
He quickly covered with a cheerful tone:
"She said… uh, the villagers seem to be living in fear, right? That's what she meant!"
Mina arched a brow.
"Really? That's what you got from her muttering?"
Daniel scratched his head, laughing nervously.
"Trust me. I'm good at… translations."
Before Mina could retort, the carriage stopped in the center of the village. Children peeked from behind fences, their eyes wide with curiosity but lacking the sparkle of joy. An elderly man approached, leaning on a cane carved with faded runes.
"Adventurers… thank the gods you've come." His voice trembled with relief and fatigue. "The nights here… they are no longer safe. Shadows crawl out of nowhere, and people vanish. We fear it's the work of a breach."
Daniel jumped down from the carriage with dramatic flair, landing as if stepping onto a stage.
"Fear not, good people! For we—" He struck a heroic pose, arm raised. "—are here to banish the darkness!"
A few villagers blinked, confused, while Mina pressed her palm to her forehead.
"Do you have to be this theatrical?" she muttered under her breath.
Daniel only grinned wider.
"Of course! Heroes need dramatic entries. It boosts morale!"
But Elise, or rather Lysandra's faint voice through her, whispered again—words only Daniel caught:
"The darkness does not fear your antics. Be vigilant. They will strike when hope burns brightest."
Daniel's grin faltered for a heartbeat. He forced himself to laugh loudly, hiding the weight of the warning.
"She, uh, says we should stay alert! Exactly what I was about to say."
Mina eyed him suspiciously but chose not to argue further. Instead, she focused on the villagers, her gaze methodical. She noted how the wood of the houses seemed unnaturally aged, how patches of earth were blackened as though scorched from beneath, how even the air seemed thinner, harder to breathe.
"This isn't just fear," she murmured to herself. "The environment itself is… sick."
The elderly man beckoned them. "Please, follow me. I will show you where the disturbances began."
Daniel glanced at Mina, then Elise, then back to the villagers. His excitement simmered, not entirely gone but now tinged with the seriousness of the situation.
Still, he couldn't resist. As they followed the old man down the crooked path, he whispered with a smirk:
"Doesn't this feel exactly like a season finale setup? Creepy village, mysterious old guy, strange powers in the air… If a giant demon pops up, I'm calling it."
Mina sighed, but even she couldn't hold back the ghost of a smile this time.
And so, step by step, with Daniel's irrepressible energy clashing with the somber air of the village, the group moved deeper into the heart of the mystery—the first true sign that the breaches were no longer just rumors but a spreading plague, waiting for them to uncover its secret.