After a while, a familiar sound interrupted him, pulling him out of his brooding.
"Meow, meow." It was Michu. She seemed to pity him, looking at him with her head tilted and pupils thin as a snake's.
"Michu…" Evan whispered, surprised.
He cleared his thoughts for a moment. It wasn't the time to be depressed. He had to do whatever he could to survive.
"Find a guard, Michu, or someone! If not, find Riushi at the academy! Please!" Evan pleaded desperately. He didn't know if Michu was that intelligent, but she showed herself to be more than an ordinary cat, and on the empty streets, she was his only chance.
Michu began to hurry away, but before leaving, she came back to him. Instead of going, she stood up on her hind legs and, with a quick, precise movement, sank her claws into the buckle of the belt tying Evan to the post. She scratched and pulled insistently until, with a dull click, the buckle gave way.
"Huh?" Evan couldn't believe it.
The belt came loose. Evan rubbed his sore wrist, looking at Michu with a mix of gratitude and astonishment. The cat gave him a few final meows, as if trying to communicate something obvious that Evan didn't understand, and then bounded away.
Evan looked at the city, the sky darkening second by second, the warm light of his lamppost beginning to emanate, like the others along the waterfront. The city was silent, as if without a single inhabitant; the windows shut tight, not letting a single ray of light escape from within.
He wasn't crying anymore. He just felt dark, disheartened, hopeless. His hands trembled. This unexpected relief, thanks to Michu, Evan cleared his mind a little, and he began to appreciate his surroundings. The sparse orange clouds in the sky, the shy stars appearing, the smell of spring grass, a breeze caressing his hair. It was as if the world wanted to tell him it wasn't so bad. But it wasn't enough. Evan continued with a somber face.
Faced with this situation of being completely alone in a desolate landscape, he thought he should prioritize. He went to a tree to urinate so he could concentrate better on thinking.
Running home was out of the question; it was far too late now. It would be better to find some nearby corner to hide in, but first…
He then walked to the waterfront railing. There, he stood looking at the water several meters below. In the twilight light, he could also see the reflection of the moon. The wind on the waterfront was strong, making the sea's ripples distort his view, but he concentrated even harder, as if wanting to see every detail of the moon in its reflection.
And suddenly, among the ripples of the reflection, he began to see letters:
"Do not gaze upon the violet color. Do not turn to look at the shadow. Do not seek what you left behind."
Evan's eyes narrowed as he reread the message as many times as he could before it disappeared. Finally, after etching those words into his memory, the moon hid behind the world.
Then, as he watched the sunset, Evan remembered who he was. He was a wretch, yes, but also a friend of the moon, perhaps the first in centuries. And if she had chosen to help him now, it meant she still had plans for him, and besides, Evan still had people to live for. Suddenly, his heart found the courage and hope to give it his all and survive this night.
Looking pensively into the distance from the waterfront, he gazed at the Armored Castle. It stood like a mountain over the capital's buildings. He considered running towards it, but the sun was about to set. Evan was breathing heavily, even though he hadn't run.
He decided to return to the post in case Michu had managed to bring someone, but then he thought about how stupid he had been. Who would pay attention to a cat? Who would be foolish enough to follow it? The best thing would be to hide in some nearby nook, perhaps among bushes.
Among the worst dangers, being near trees and bushes was one of the lesser evils; he could defend himself with his short sword. So, after watching the sun hide in the sea, he found a tree with some bushes around it where he could hide and survive with a bit of luck.
Then, in the dark city whose lampposts were not enough to save it from drowning in blackness, a change occurred. All the church towers, tall bell towers rising above the houses and buildings, began to glow with warm light. High up on the churches, there were small windows from which emanated a strong light, like lighthouses in the city. All of Altus Forge was illuminated by this orange glow.
Evan knew about this: they were the light crystals of the Sun Churches, which lit up when the sun set on moonless nights.
It was official now. Evan was on the streets during a moonless night. For the first time in his life.
He felt like complaining to the gods, wanted to scream and curse, but it was wiser to make no noise. So he just stayed crouched under a tree among the bushes, like a hunted rabbit. Fortunately, he had light to see any danger before it approached. His hand was already on the hilt of his sword, ready.
Some time passed.
Evan moved in circles within the ring of bushes around the not-very-tall tree. He looked in every direction: vigilant that nothing emerge from the coast to the east, that nothing approach from the north or south of the large waterfront plaza, and that nothing emerge from the streets to the west, from the residences of The Gardens. He also paid attention to the wind; near the coast it was always strong, so he could easily notice any anomaly.
Thus, like a schizophrenic rabbit guarding all sides of its burrow, with all his senses on high alert, Evan remained.
He was careful not to look too much at the starry sky, but luckily the tree branches covered him, so he allowed himself a few glances. In one of them, he spotted a line in the starry sky: it could be a distant, enormous comet, or a tiny, nearby one about to impact Altus Forge.
A sound like thick glass breaking echoed from afar, toward the city center, confirming the second option. Luckily, it was far away and not loud enough to shake the ground, but even so, Evan could hear his heart beating desperately.
He kept watching, this time with more attention toward the west where the impact occurred, toward the houses and the poorly lit streets between them, though without paying less attention to the other directions. He continued like this until he found the second anomaly, this one even more disturbing.
A clump of grass at some distance from his bush caught his attention. Although the wind was strong, it began to twist in a strange way. Little by little it coiled, forming a diabolically perfect spiral, like a snail's shell. Then, the taller blades of grass began to imitate it, and then more and more, approaching Evan. The tree branches began to snap, and others, stronger ones, simply yielded and coiled as if they were plush.
Evan immediately ran. The first thing he noticed was the brightness of the stars and the wind… the wind wasn't unidirectional as always. It hit Evan in an arcing direction, like a whirlwind, a spiral. As he ran, he removed his satchel to go faster; he was too poor to do everything possible to save it, but not so poor as to die for it.
Evan ran with all his might, until he felt his hair beginning to coil. All his muscles trembled with fear; his lungs, with a sharp pain as if about to burst; cold sweat soaked his clothes; his vision, blurred by desperate tears. Everything in him made a rending effort beyond Evan's poor limits, until he felt a terrifying power shake his legs.
Evan fell. He felt his entire body beginning to coil, to arrange itself according to the will of the world itself.
His arm, from his hand to his elbow, began to twist as if it had no bones.
He closed his eyes like someone who prefers not to see the sword fall upon their head.
Then, a familiar voice reached his ears.