Chapter 13: The Crying Maestro
Time cannot be repeated even for a moment. This is the perfect definition for a source of regret in the past. Once it's gone, it's gone. Each second lost can never be retrieved.
"Aaaaakkh!!"
Noise...
A strange and scary sound, so near. Full of ear-piercing screams that pierce into mind. The voice keeps speaking, slow and low. A presence that's hard to define. The voice is eerie, and full of dread.
'A touch of death, I couldn't stop my hungry children. Especially when that person looked so delicious'
Ambiguous...
Which one is right, and which one is wrong? A gloomy feeling filled with doubts that must be accepted by common sense and also by the unreasonable. A space for diversity, in all its variations.
'But you have to compensate for their return!'
Chains...
A debt like a chain that binds the soul. For those who fall, the world seems like a chasm that is difficult to climb. Full of risks and consequences, just like the depths of the ocean without sunlight. It's like a riddle that teases the mind. A puzzle to solve, of a different kind.
* * *
Zeyn woke up and found himself lying on a deserted and soaking wet street. His mind was still confused, and a strange dream disturbed his consciousness. Heavy rain at sunset was no longer a rarity in Grimoir City. The thick fog is disturbing as far as the eye can see. Streetlights and giant LED displays that start to light up indicate that night will overtake the sun. The world seemed to be ignoring him even though he was already soaking wet.
"Sister Bella..."
Along with the very painful headache, a glimpse of a half-snake woman appeared behind him, smiling at him with a very frightening expression. The headache became worse, almost making Zeyn moan in pain. An image of an event made his memory fade away like dust swept away by the rain.
'But you have to compensate for their return...'
"Shut up..."
He just remembered that he was looking for his lost wallet. Ever since he had left after practicing martial arts with Julius this morning, he had started going around everywhere. Wherever he goes in hopes of getting a clue about his lost wallet.
Retracing his steps was the best way. His daily activities were only filled with college, work, and home. That means, most likely his wallet was left at work, or on campus, or it could have been at home. But the search results remained the same, meaning that the wallet was nowhere to be found. It could be lying somewhere he didn't know, or even worse, it had been taken by an irresponsible person. An additional burden arose because now it was raining heavily which made his vision blurry due to the thick fog.
"Huh, my bad luck"
'But you have to compensate for their return...'
"S'shut up, just shut up already, Sis!"
The headache was still attacking, along with the voice of terror from his sister that still appeared in his head. He couldn't quite remember how he had ended up sprawled out in the deserted streets of North Grimoir. In his search, suddenly his head began to hurt and he fainted instead. After that he was even exposed to the terror of strange dreams.
"No need to torment my mind, I will definitely pay my debt," he muttered to himself.
He will certainly continue his search, no matter how soaking wet he would be. He believed that he would be fine. After all, Zeyn was also a typical person who liked rain very much.
Speaking of heavy rain, a huge cluster of lightning flashed down from above. Moreover, the clumping lightning event is not common when a storm is happening. It's a natural occurrence when the sky cries. What caught Zeyn's attention was the direction of the lightning, which always dipped.
BLARRR... BLARRzzzt
"Hah?"
He squinted his eyes as he realized that the strike was not a usual natural event. They continued to strike, but never reached the ground and seemed to be bouncing off. It seemed to stop in the sky without being able to enter and damage the city.
Zeyn was not a fool who could easily conclude that the electrical current up there was not strong enough to strike the city. After all, there were many high-rise buildings around that had lightning rods as a diversion of strikes. Not to mention the Grimoir West area where there were many skyscrapers that were even higher.
"Something is not right! That was not natural lightning!" he muttered while looking at the sky cynically.
* * *
A few moments earlier,
We moved to one of the border areas of Grimoir City. Heavy rain poured down relentlessly, replacing the usual beautiful evening glow with an endless cry since late afternoon. The atmosphere was still as usual, always quiet. In this area, precisely in a deserted pine forest area, there was the sound of someone screaming for help.
"Go away! Go away..."
A man continued to walk, even though his shoes slipped several times on the muddy ground. He passed through the surrounding trees and almost hit some of them. He gasped in fear, occasionally looking back. There was something chasing him. A spark of light flew several times, piercing through the trees and almost burning him if not for the heavy rain. He didn't know what it was, but he was sure he was being targeted and had been running for several minutes now. He kept running, and...
BZZTTTT~
"Uaaghh!!"
The spark of light struck him like lightning, making him fall unconscious. His body suddenly burned, emitting thin smoke.
A man who appeared to be an east Asian wearing a bat raincoat came over. He looked young, around 30 years old, with slightly long hair tied into a small ponytail. He seemed to be talking to a bracelet where a transparent display screen was attached. Occasionally, he stopped to report on his surroundings, as if making a travel report.
"I've arrived at the western border. The first target has been successfully neutralized."
He untied his hair and relaxed, admiring a large and beautiful city from where he stood. He never expected this city to be the destination of his mission. He walked towards the victim and quickly checked the surroundings. Instead of feeling pity, he smiled slightly as if he enjoyed the sight of his target lying weakly, gasping for breath.
"So, this is Grimoire City huh".
His enjoyment was interrupted when he felt a vibration from his left bracelet. There was a notification of an incoming call, flashing the phone logo several times. He casually answered the call by sliding the screen.
"Hello, hello! Yes, I've arrived."
"Arrived? Can you enter already?" replied someone on the other end of the line.
"Not yet, according to information from superiors, there is indeed a protective membrane that prevents people like us from entering. But that doesn't seem to apply to the locals."
"I see. Be careful! This target might be a bit difficult to handle. Okay, carry out the operation as instructed. I'm counting on you, Lord 5."
The call ended abruptly without any closing remarks, making him sigh in boredom because his co-workers were always like this. Anyway, his current task was to try to enter the city. Whatever discussion they just had, it was still unclear who they were.
If we focus on the events that are currently happening, it will still be terrifying for anyone who witnesses it. There would surely be hysterical screams as there are people lying scorched like they were struck by lightning, with their skin blistered and their bodies convulsing. Unfortunately, the area was deserted due to the heavy rain, and the pine forest on the border of West Grimoir was quite vast without any resident houses.
"Grimoir... a city known as The Crying Maestro," muttered the person. Without hesitation, he immediately grabbed the collar of the scorched man's shirt and dragged him away. "
Before leaving, this person raised his hand towards the sky at the middle of the city. A tattoo on his arm could be faintly seen, which appeared to be the Ionians/Greek Numeral symbol that represented the number 5 with a Latin inscription below it, reading Epsilon.
"Heheh, they asked me to handle this area alone. What were they thinking actually? If I wanted to, I could have destroyed this one city to find my target".
A mass of clouds formed and collided with each other, creating sparks of electricity that gradually became thunder. With a downward gesture of their finger, the person quickly struck the center of the city with thunder. But...
BLARRR... BLARRzzzt
"Hmm...?"
Instead of continuing to strike downwards, the thunder bounced off and moved erratically back into the sky. It's like light reflected by a mirror, bouncing off the whole thing without leaving any traces left behind. They tried several times, but it kept happening.
Once again, the person sighed and put on his raincoat hood, intending to leave the location while dragging the victim's collar like an object.
"Hmm... hmm... it seems it will be difficult to enter this city."
* * * *
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone