Two hours passed. After cutting through the darkness of the night and deserted streets, the three of them arrived in the Chapena District.
They walked calmly along the road toward their house. A minute and a half later, they finally stood before the door, gazing at it with focus and relief after the terrifying incident earlier.
The door was unlocked.
Zavi slowly turned the knob, and the door opened. He told his mother to go inside first, while he moved to the side of the house to return Ren's pistol, slipping it into the pocket of his coat.
A few steps after entering the house, hurried footsteps echoed from upstairs. Isabelle appeared, wearing a blue nightgown.
"Mom… I was worried about you," Isabelle said breathlessly as she rushed down the stairs and hugged her mother tightly.
Seeing that her mother was safe, relief washed over Isabelle's heart, and her mother returned the warm embrace.
Zavi was still carrying Ren over his shoulder, standing behind them. He looked at the two of them and said in a half-joking tone,
"So you don't care about us, Isabelle?"
Isabelle's eyes widened. She released the hug and walked over to him. Without hesitation, she lightly punched Zavi in the chest.
"Yes," she replied emotionally. "I'm grateful you found Mom. Thank you." Isabelle lowered her head, holding back her tears.
"That's good," Zavi exhaled, then continued, "Mom, I'm going upstairs." He said it quietly and began climbing the stairs.
"Alright, but why is Ren unconscious like that?" her mother asked in surprise. Back in the Forgenate District, she had kept that question to herself.
Zavi stopped midway up the stairs and looked back. Both of them waited for his answer, staring at him intently.
He let out a small laugh and replied without hesitation,
"I don't know."
His mother and Isabelle nodded in unison after hearing the absurd answer.
"That's strange. Weren't you with him?" Isabelle whispered in disbelief, recalling her mother's question.
"Whatever. I don't believe you," Zavi said loudly. He turned around, went back up the stairs, and walked toward Ren's room at the end of the corridor.
Isabelle and Mei exchanged glances and chuckled softly at Zavi's sudden anger. Ten seconds later, they saw Zavi come back down the stairs, head lowered.
Naturally, Isabelle smiled to herself and said,
"Are you mad?"
Zavi ignored her and continued down the stairs quickly, hurrying toward his room. The door opened; he went straight in and shut it with extra force.
Bam!
Feeling she had gone too far with her own brother, Isabelle walked toward her room with heavy steps.
"I'm sorry if I went too far," she said quietly.
There was no answer, making the living room atmosphere suddenly tense. From behind, Mei looked at Isabelle's back with a worried expression.
"But… I met your friend earlier."
"What!?" Zavi cut in. "My friend…?"
"Yes, his name is Zeta Audervin. He came here looking for you," she said softly.
Zavi turned back—staring intensely at his bedroom door while thinking about why Zeta had come to his house.
"Alright, thanks for the information," Zavi replied stiffly.
Did he already know about what happened to Forn? That would be bad if he did, Zavi thought in panic.
Hearing that, Isabelle's worry slowly faded. She let out a deep breath, turned around, and asked her mother—who was still standing in the living room—for permission to return to her room since it was late and she had school tomorrow.
Mei nodded in relief. Before turning away, she glanced toward Zavi's room. Two seconds later, she smiled and walked to her own room to prepare for sleep.
Meanwhile, in his room, Zavi lay flat on his bed, still thinking about what had happened earlier—and about how Zeta could have known about the incident and even found his house.
Shouldn't he have no idea where I live? Did someone tell him?
Zavi was confused, knowing that the original Zavi had never told anyone his home address.
Two minutes later, he still had no answer. Irritated, Zavi turned to his right, ready to sleep.
Click…
The revolver pressed hard against his waist. Zavi quickly sat up and pulled out the gleaming silver revolver.
"…Damn thing." As soon as he said it, his eyes widened as he recalled the events of that afternoon.
Is Albert really not an ordinary person? And did Zeta learn about Forn's condition after being told by him?
He closed his eyes, stepped forward twice, placed the useless, unloaded revolver into the drawer, then turned back and lay down again.
Zavi slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his pocket watch to check the time.
Click…
The lid snapped open. His eyes immediately caught the slowly rotating hands, accompanied by its distinctive ticking sound.
After confirming that it was now 10:00 p.m., Zavi closed it again, placed the watch beside him, and prepared to sleep—unaware that he had not taken off his coat.
–––
The next day, at exactly 06:35 a.m. Zavi was still sleeping soundly, exhausted from the night before. Faintly, his ears caught the sound of loud knocking on his bedroom door, enough to make them ring.
He groaned in irritation, unable to open his eyes, his mind urging him to keep sleeping. But then, the door burst open with a loud bang, startling him awake.
"What was that…" he muttered breathlessly. "Ah… my head hurts so much!"
Once fully awake, he realized the door was still closed. There was no knocking anymore. Zavi understood that the vivid sensation had been nothing more than a nightmare—different from the previous ones that showed the original Zavi's moment of death.
"Master… Zavi… Sacrifice…"
A cold, emotionless voice crept through the room.
Zavi did not hear it.
He was focused on the dream he had just experienced.
"Damn it… how do I get rid of these dreams? Should I just ask an expert directly?" he said irritably, recalling that in the Chapena District there was a consultation service for supernatural incidents run by an old man.
Five days ago, the original Zavi had gone there to ask something. However, he could not fully remember the conversation between the two of them.
Zavi got out of bed, took his watch, and slipped it into his pocket. He hurried out of his room and into the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, he was ready to leave the house for the old consultant's place. Zavi wore a white shirt under a long black coat and carried his silver revolver, even though it had no bullets.
It might still be useful in an emergency, he thought.
Suddenly, he laughed for no clear reason.
Five seconds later, his expression turned serious, and the atmosphere in his room grew tense. A gust of wind entered through the window, gently blowing the curtains. The breeze brushed against his body, calming his mind more than before.
The bedroom door opened; he stepped out and closed it behind him. Zavi walked toward the front door while counting paper bills and silver coins in both hands.
Satisfied, he slipped them into the left pocket of his coat. The front door opened, and from that moment on, his journey to the old man's consultation began.
After leaving the narrow alley behind his house, Zavi walked along a busy sidewalk filled with people preoccupied with their own affairs. Today, the sun was not too harsh, and the cold air mixed with smoke from steam locomotive companies.
He stood on the sidewalk, waiting for a horse-drawn carriage to pass. Two minutes later, at an intersection, his gaze caught a crowd gathered around something, accompanied by panicked voices.
Curious, Zavi hurried toward them. When he was only a few steps away, he heard words that made his body freeze.
"What did he say? A beautiful world hidden by mountains?" he muttered softly.
He glanced left and right before slipping through a gap between the people standing in front of him. Struggling through the crowd, his curiosity was finally satisfied right before his eyes.
In front of a bakery stood a square wooden board, about ninety centimeters long and fifty centimeters wide, used to display news and black-and-white illustrations.
Events in the city, industry within the Kingdom of Norn, politics, criminal threats, and supernatural matters—such as the drastically increasing daily death toll—were published on newspapers posted there and also distributed by delivery workers.
"A hidden beautiful world…?" Zavi's eyes widened as he murmured to himself. "But it says here that the location is unknown and doesn't exist on the continental map."
"How did they even find this information?" he said in disbelief.
Eventually, he decided to leave and continue his journey, turning right onto No. 10 Street, Counting Road.
Fifteen minutes later, Zavi was forced to walk on foot to the old consultant's house, having failed to find a horse carriage along the way.
His face suddenly twisted as hunger hit him—he had not eaten or drunk anything since morning, not even since the night before.
He turned his head left and right, mouth slightly open. His legs trembled as he stood still in the middle of the sidewalk, drawing the attention of passersby, some of whom began whispering about him. But he did not care—more precisely, his ears suddenly stopped functioning.
Then, a man wearing a white shirt under a brown coat happened to pass by and noticed Zavi's hunched back.
His eyes widened. Recognizing what Zavi was experiencing, having gone through something similar himself, the man quickened his pace and approached him.
"Hey, sir…" the man said. Zavi turned, his expression exhausted. "You look very pale. Have you not eaten or drunk anything at all?" he asked sympathetically.
Zavi nodded slowly. His lips trembled violently, and no words came out.
"I see. Would you like to eat with me?" the man asked enthusiastically, gesturing for them to move.
"O-Okay…" Zavi replied shakily, following the man from behind.
Soon after, they stood in front of one of the eateries that was fairly busy even on regular days—especially since people said the food there was delicious and affordable.
They both tilted their heads up, looking at the shop sign hanging above before entering.
Ting…
The double glass doors opened, followed by the chime of a bell as they closed.
"Welcome…" a woman behind the counter greeted them with a gentle tone and a warm smile.
Zavi suddenly straightened his posture, unwilling to show his weakness in front of a woman. The man beside him was startled and immediately glanced sideways.
"Just as I thought," he muttered.
They approached the counter. The man then asked for the menu of available food and drinks.
The woman nodded with a smile, took out a menu sheet and a pen from the drawer, and placed them on the counter.
"Please choose. Once you've decided, let me know," she said warmly.
The man scanned the menu from top to bottom. After deciding, he handed the menu to Zavi standing beside him.
Zavi accepted it gladly, though his expression remained indifferent. He stared at the menu for five seconds, searching for something suitable.
After deciding, he suddenly realized that he had been invited here by a man who had appeared out of nowhere and spoken to him.
"Sir…" His expression turned serious. "Are you sure you want to treat me?" he asked, wanting to be certain.
They exchanged glances. The man chuckled softly and replied,
"Don't worry about it. This is my first paycheck, and there's nothing wrong with treating someone like you."
"And… don't call me 'sir.' I'm actually only twenty years old," he added as he took the menu and returned it to the woman.
Zavi's eyes widened.
"Are you really twenty? You look like you're in your forties," Zavi said half-jokingly.
The man burst out laughing, not expecting to meet someone who could make such odd jokes.
This was also the first time he had spoken to someone outside his own family. Thinking about that, he smiled, surprised that he had finally escaped the confinement of loneliness.
Zavi glanced at him briefly. Now that he knew he was being treated, and had already decided what to order—
"Sorry if that earlier comment made you uncomfortable," Zavi said quietly, gesturing toward the man and handing the menu back.
"It's fine, sir. I'm used to it! Hahaha," the man replied with a forced smile.
They placed their orders, and the woman pointed to the right, indicating two empty seats facing each other around a round table.
They nodded, turned, walked over confidently, and sat down across from one another.
"So… we haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name is Dave Matthews."
"Oh… my name is Zavi Actitus," he said indifferently, extending his hand for a handshake.
Dave understood and shook his hand with a small smile.
"But I didn't expect we'd meet again, Z-Zavi," he said hesitantly.
Zavi immediately raised his head, his blue eyes staring sharply as he tried to recall where they had met before.
"Could it be… Dave—the one I accidentally bumped into at the park in the Tezny District?"
"That's right…" Dave smiled and reflexively snapped his fingers.
Clack…
"Huh. The world really is small," Zavi said with a sigh, not expecting to meet him again.
After their introductions and brief reunion, ten minutes later their food and drinks arrived, delivered by a man wearing a blue apron with an unfriendly face—very different from the woman at the counter.
But neither of them cared. On the table before them sat the shop's recommended beef steak, still steaming, its rich aroma filling the air.
Zavi hadn't expected Dave to order a steak for him. In the end, both of them enjoyed a meal of meat stew with smoked fish, steak, and pudding for dessert.