Day 2: Year C-009.

Regardless of whether a citizen lived in a street decorated with gold and sapphires or one with dirt roads and the smell of smoke... Every soul knew roaming the streets past midnight was strictly forbidden. Not a single Royal Guard was protecting the Streets past 11 pm, and therefore, the people of Grand Island's only civilization were vulnerable to a shadowy killer, most mysterious. Citizens who were caught by this assassin's most cruel wound up gruesomely decapitated in front of the homes of random citizens, which struck fear within the Goddess-worshipping people’s minds and hearts. 

A cautious reporter woman with raven hair rapidly glanced at the premises of Courier Street and bolted down the silent street. She understood her fellow citizens would decline to unlock their doors at this hour, not wanting to risk potentially gaining the unwanted attention of the dreaded assassin. The only thing she could do was to camouflage herself in a nearby storage box and pray the Goddess of Life would spare her frightened soul.

At Verde Street's temple, Zanna was in front of miniature wooden statues of the Deities of Life and Death, preparing for her final prayer for the night. The temple staff were asleep in their personalized but cramped rooms.

In his dreams, Mikey recalled the scent of opening a newly bought book and ached for the days of getting lost in tall tales. Chenille dreamt of a past deadly encounter and clutched their woolly, grey blanket. Billiam, in his dream, was smiling the whole time as he was beside a stunning angelic man and surrounded by tubs of refined jewellery.

The Priestess lay by the altar, under the moonlight, peeking through the glass-stained windows. She burned white lily incense and whispered her troubles into the night.

“O' Deity of Life. I call upon you at this late hour to ease my worries and wash them back into the cold seas surrounding our Island. I beg of you to recognize your abject servant’s anxious thoughts.” Zanna's precious emerald eyes teared up as she used her gift of gravitational magic to store the incense jar away. "...Today, as this moon rises, my heart cries out in sorrow and hollowness. I am constantly plagued with thoughts of my Priestess-hood’s doubt, and I am in desperate urgency of your guidance. O’ Goddesses of Life and Death. Why is it that when I reread your Scriptures regarding expelling these horrible thoughts, nothing changes, and I continue to experience such a hollow sensation? Which part of me is not sufficient enough to overcome this challenge?”

The Priestess' golden brown skin beautifully shone under the moonlight. She gently wiped away her agitated tears and resumed lonesomely rambling.

“... Why must I feel this way when I know it is selfish of me to wish for something more than this Temple? Mother Dearest’s dream for me was to serve the people and guide them through their trials and tribulations... Am I destined for failure, after all?- ”

A small, thin sheet of blue paper had unexpectedly slid underneath the altar door, which threw Zanna off guard as she quietly yelped.

"O-Oh! Mikey, have you written poetry again?" The Priestess elegantly lifted herself off the ground with her gravity and drifted to pick up the sheet of paper. “You have not given me any new material to enjoy as of late! This is a marvellous surprise-”

As Zanna gracefully went to lift the paper with a flick of her wrist, a razor-sharp blade launched out of the sheet. The Priestess deterred the knife's direction with a gravitational barrier, leaving her shoulder lightly grazed. The knife unfolded, revealing a mysterious intruder clothed in all black. They adorned lifeless visors, a hooded cloak with demonic horns, and a matching lower-half mask.

Zanna's expression remained bewildered as the assassin folded themself into a paper plane and flew around the Priestess. The intruder attempted to determine a weak point as the injured Priestess utilized her gravity magic to keep a safe distance from the attacker.

The intruder suddenly threw multiple knives, folded as a paper plane, as Zanna directed the blades straight towards the ground. The Priestess devised a stronger force field and knocked the paper plane around. However, the assailant pushed their foot against the wall and launched themself towards the Priestess at full force.

Zanna blocked the next stabbing attempt but slightly lost her balance. The stranger rolled onto the floor and pulled more knives directly from their back pocket.

"You dare initiate violence in a Temple, the home of the Deities of Life and Death?!" Zanna's eyes flashed gold with an impatient fury, “Is that why you hide your eyes from me, sinner? Are you ashamed that your afterlife will bring nothing but agonizing contriteness and your body shall return to the demonic, cold seas?!”

The assassin seemed unfazed and continued to play offensively in their deadly magic duel. Zanna effortlessly blocked the objects and sent them directly towards the attacker. However, the assassin was much faster and rolled behind the Priestess to bring her into a close combat battle. The Priestess panicked and shielded her arms to protect herself from the oncoming blades.

The killer attempted to stab the Priestess in her chest.

In another timeline, they would have succeeded because of the absence of shielding. However, Chenille, in the nick of time, hustled to pull the Priestess back and brutally retaliated against the assassin with their string magic.

The frightened choir boy and antsy medic watched by the door, nervous for what was to come.

"W-We need to call the Guards right now!"

Billiam simply shook his head and pushed back his shoddy glasses.

“... Mikey, I doubt they'll be on our side of this predicament. Examine the assailant more closely.”

The choir boy was impatient but watched Chenille, Zanna, and the intruder fight. The stranger was undoubtedly skilled and danced around the Priestess and the Guards' magic attacks.

The boy’s eyes widened as he abruptly witnessed what the others could not.

Everyone in the room appeared as they usually did, in Temple clothing, and with every recognizable trait they bore. However, further examining the assassin’s body stirred a terrifying fear from within the choir boy. There was a familiar black fog which covered the assailant’s very soul.

“Mikey? You know no one will kill Chenille, we just have to escape and-"

"THAT’S AN UNDEAD PUPPET!" Mikey shrieked with terror, his crimson eyes shone with fear.

Billiam and Zanna glanced at each other from a distance, never hearing such an outlandish statement come from the timid choir boy.

“Mikey, that sort of magic simply does not exist. We all know puppeteering a corpse is impossible-”

"THAT THING IS BEING CONTROLLED!" Mikey held his head and nearly tripped over himself.

Chenille caught wind of Mikey's yelling and went all out in their next attack. The Temple Guard utilized their string ability to wrap their arm seamlessly around the assassin's neck. With one rapid throw, the attacker was immediately flung to the ground, cracking their skull with a loud thud. Everyone had expected blood to spill from the massive injury and covered their faces. 

Though nothing was there, only silence from the limp body.

"The Priestess doesn't deserve to get her hands messy because of scum like you." Chenille spat at the now butchered intruder.

At first, the group ran up to the Priestess and was relieved that the attack was over. However, everyone stared at the unconscious assassin, wondering if they would get up.

Zanna gradually drifted towards the mysterious attacker with a look of unrecognizable anxiety. Chenille and Mikey followed closely behind and held onto the Priestess' hands. When she snatched the visor, the assassin instantly faded into a cold, black fog. The only residue left behind was the assassin's tightly fitted clothes and equipment.

The Priestess emitted a horrified shout and immediately threw the visor away.

"W-What sort of magic is this!? Please confirm that the person is-"

"Something's wrong. I see that person's soul moving away."

"Moving?" Chenille unnervingly questioned, shuffling closer to the Priestess to protect her.

"D-Did we accidentally kill someone? Oh, dear me, I-I am a disgrace! The Goddesses will transform us into immortal demons for our sins!" The Priestess voiced with trepidation, constantly shivering as the Temple Guard placed their hand upon Lady Zanna’s shoulder.

Mikey glanced at the puddle with horror. From his perspective, the puddle seemed to have thin, grey strings moving outwards. At this point, he decided to keep his mouth shut.

Billiam noticed Mikey's twitching hands and nervous eyes, causing a familiar sensation within the medic. 

“Everyone, we must leave this place behind.” The medic sternly announced, his eyebrows furrowed and his posh accent slipped away.

The stomach of the Priestess twisted with uncertainty. Her usual gentle air faltered for a moment as she refused to entertain the possibility of abandonment.

“Billiam, I do not appreciate this sort of humour!”

“Oh, this is not one of my dark jokes, Lady Zanna, I meant it with my entire chest!” The surgeon commented in a tone that was dreadfully serious.

The wooden statues of the Goddesses lay on the ground, chipped, thanks to the damage from the knives. The clouds intercepted the moonlight, leaving dim candles on the walls as the only light source.

“My Lady, I know for a fact, assassins do not go after random targets. Your life, and likely ours, are in jeopardy.” Billiam reminded as he swung the escape trap from the back of the Chapel.

“What’s worse is that thing was like a puppet! How are we going to handle a murderer like that?”

Mikey was met with a dreadful silence from the trio of workers, who were completely unsure of their fate.