Soren looked at Boyd and Kenny, and a sudden realization hit him.
He finally understood why Boyd had felt so familiar back in the forest.
In the historical loop inside the faraway tree, the bearded prisoner he'd met in the dungeon—the one who used to be the town mayor—had the exact same facial structure as Boyd. And the younger prisoner had looked a lot like Deputy Kenny.
Same positions. Same dynamic. Almost like the bond had carried over through reincarnation.
But why had these two been drawn to this town?
Was it the work of the seven sacrificed children?
Back in that historical cycle, Soren had broken the ritual, saved the kids, and shattered the loop. In reality, though, the tragedy had already happened. The children were long dead.
Maybe their lingering souls had pulled the reincarnations of the people who once tried to save them back to this place—hoping they could finally end a nightmare that had lasted for centuries.
It was a wild theory, but it was the best explanation he had right now.
Soren met their hopeful eyes and nodded.
"If everything went the way I think it did… you're free."
Nico agreed. "The historical cycle is broken. The demon at the source is dead. The barrier trapping the town should be gone."
Boyd and Kenny's faces lit up. They glanced at each other, then bolted outside, shouting for the townspeople to grab their things and get ready to leave this cursed place.
It didn't take long for a ragged convoy of beat-up cars to form. Everyone climbed in with a mix of excitement and lingering fear, and the line of vehicles slowly rolled down the main road toward the edge of town.
When the lead cars reached the boundary, they didn't slam into the usual invisible wall. Instead, they passed straight through like they were driving through a thin membrane and disappeared onto the open road.
The cars behind them hesitated for a second, then Boyd's voice crackled over the walkie-talkie.
"Don't panic! This is normal! Change is better than staying stuck forever. We're getting out!"
With his reassurance, the convoy started moving again, one car after another rolling free of the town.
Soren sat in the back of Nico's van at the very end of the line, watching the scenery slide past while they talked about weapon designs.
As their van approached the invisible barrier, Soren glanced at the rearview mirror.
Behind them, the town was already fading into mist. But right in the middle of the empty street, seven small figures had appeared, holding hands. They stood quietly, watching the convoy leave.
The moment the van crossed the barrier, it jolted hard. The world around them opened up. They were suddenly on a normal highway under bright morning sunlight that felt almost too warm after everything they'd been through.
Most of the convoy had already sped off. The remaining freed residents were honking like crazy, cheering and laughing as they drove away.
Soren checked a roadside sign. "Welcome to San Andreas."
They weren't far from Los Santos. The random exit had actually saved him a long drive.
"Looks like we got lucky. Even came with free delivery service."
He turned to Nico, who was driving. "Want to crash at the office for a couple days? Vergil's back."
The second she heard Vergil's name, Nico's excited expression vanished. She shuddered and shook her head fast.
"Nope. Nope. That ice-cold bastard is too much for me. I'll drop you off in the city. You can figure out how to get home from there."
Soren laughed. Vergil's "stay the hell away from me" aura really wasn't for everyone.
He pulled his phone out of the Silent Hill domain and turned it on. A flood of unread messages appeared—mostly from Patty, with a few calmer ones from Carrie mixed in.
He opened Patty's chat. It was a whole saga: worried check-ins at the start, then increasingly unhinged rants, and finally a string of threats and complaints that practically dripped off the screen.
Carrie's messages were much gentler—just simple hellos and little daily updates.
Soren leaned back in the passenger seat and typed: "Just finished handling things. Don't worry. Brought you guys something good."
The reply came back almost instantly.
A "watching you" emoji followed by: "Wait for me at the office. If you're lying, you're dead."
Evening.
Soren pushed open the office door.
Patty and Carrie were curled up together on his bed, heads close, giggling at something on a phone.
They both looked up when they heard the door.
The second Patty saw him, her face lit up. She launched herself off the couch and ran straight into him, wrapping him in a tight hug.
"You're finally back!"
Her hands immediately started patting him down like she was frisking him. "Hurry up, hurry up! Show me the gift!"
Soren's mouth twitched. The warm "finally home" feeling he'd been feeling died instantly.
"Where's Vergil?"
"Blue Dante? He left around noon and hasn't come back yet."
Soren stared at her. "Blue Dante? …What the hell kind of nickname is that?"
Patty waved it off. "He seemed to like it. Now stop changing the subject!" She held both hands out expectantly. "Gift. Now."
Soren gave her a look. Being the favorite really did give her unlimited confidence.
He walked over to the coffee table and willed the items out of the Silent Hill domain.
A huge pile of old books and parchment scrolls crashed onto the table in a cloud of dust.
Patty's bright smile froze.
She looked at the stack of thick tomes—some of them thicker than her forearm—then slowly raised her eyes to Soren with a giant question mark floating over her head.
"…What is this?"
"Authentic magic textbooks I went all the way to New Orleans to get for you two. Took a lot of effort." Soren blew some dust off the top book like he was presenting a treasure. "Study hard. People would kill for this kind of knowledge."
Patty pointed at the pile, voice flat with disbelief. "That's it? That's the gift?"
"Yeah. Knowledge is power. What better present could I bring two college students?"
Soren nodded seriously, like he'd just handed over the world's most thoughtful gift instead of several pounds of dusty grimoires.
" Soren— "
Patty's teeth ground together. She grabbed the broom leaning in the corner.
She had been expecting jewelry. Or some limited-edition souvenir. Something romantic or at least fun.
Instead this idiot had brought back half a ton of textbooks.
"Go to hell! Eat my Lowell-style Broom Million Thrust!"
After the resulting chaos finally died down, Patty collapsed dramatically into Carrie's arms, still glaring at Soren.
Her eyes swept over him, then narrowed.
"Wait. Where's your coat?"
She'd just realized he was only wearing a shirt. The long coat he usually wore was gone.
Soren's expression stiffened for half a second before smoothing out.
"Oh, that? Got damaged in a fight. Had to throw it away."
Patty's eyes narrowed further, suspicion written all over her face. "Really? You sure you didn't take it off to play hero and drape it over some random woman?"
"Like on some bridge somewhere, wind's blowing, you say 'I have a coat' and then—"
Soren felt a cold sweat break out on his back.
Was this some kind of innate female sixth sense?!
Terrifying.
"What the hell goes on in that brain of yours all day?"
He flicked her forehead. "I was working."
Patty rubbed the spot, ready to keep interrogating him, when Soren's phone suddenly rang.
He grabbed it like it was a lifeline.
"Soren. I got a lead on that piece of meat with the ouroboros mark."