My Long Lost Mate

There were no guards in sight when we entered the village through the front gate. Everything was the same as it had been two days before, except how there were more people outside now as it was still the time of day. 

Despite the fact that there were more people in this place, the number of people was still far too small for this place to be considered a village. I could only see ten to fifteen people here, maybe twenty at most. Luke told me that even the smallest village in Wonsvile had at least fifty people living in it.​​

It had to be something to do with the bodies Zeke had discovered in the ditch.

Perhaps because Zeke had taken care of the bodies he'd found, the stench in this place was much more bearable compared to before. Still unpleasant, but much, much, better now. 

We passed by a man sweeping the ground, wanting to see whether Zeke's claim about us being invisible among the people here was true. This man will be our first test subject. 

The man was frail, bony, and very much haggard. He had a blank expression on his face, and his eyes were bereft of life, much like everyone else's in this village. Anyone here could easily pass for a living dead, and no one would even question it. 

Luke stood in front of the man, standing right where the man was sweeping with his broom. But instead of stopping, the man continued to sweep the ground—now Luke's shoes—without caring about Luke, who stood before him. 

"Good afternoon," Luke greeted the man with a smile but was only met with his silence. He didn't even spare a glance at Luke. Luke continued to bother him, hoping to receive any reaction from the man. Starting from waving his hand in front of the man's face to patting his shoulders, none succeeded in drawing a response from the man. 

Luke continued with his antics, determined to draw any response no matter what. This time, he swatted the broom off the man's hands, but still, no response came. The man only looked at his fallen broom, picking it up off the ground before going back to work on his task. 

Getting irked at his indifference, Luke smacked the man. I had to step in to stop him. 

"Sometimes force is exactly what we need to have things our way," Luke shrugged. "But it doesn't seem to be the case with this one. This guy keeps on ignoring me," he gave a pointed look at the man, very disapproving. 

This time, we stopped by a group of children playing marbles. The group consisted of four children, each of whom took turns shooting for the marbles in the center of the circle they'd drawn on the ground. Their faces told me that it was the most horrendous game they'd ever played in their entire lives.

Luke shoved one of the children aside—a boy—making room for both of us to cram inside their small group. The boy, of course, complied, acting as if nothing had pushed him to fall from his former position. 

When the young boy prepared to shoot his marble, Luke beat him to it by flicking his marble far, far away from the boy. Without saying anything, the boy ran after his marble, then returned to shoot his delayed attempt. 

Luke continued to flick every marble the children attempted to shoot in their turns, each of them reacting in the same way as the first boy. That, until he flicked the marble of the only girl in the group. 

Instead of running towards the marble, the young girl only stared ahead, as if the minor disruption in her hectic schedule had succeeded in affecting her. It was the first time anyone in this village had given us a response, the first person to let us hear her voice. 

"S-save... me..."

Alarmed, I glanced at Luke, who, at the same time, glanced back at me. 

Tears fell on both sides of her cheeks as the words she'd blurted escaped her lips with great difficulty. Immediately after she said those words, she returned to her previous state, running after her marble just like every other child did—just like a puppet. 

Though it was only for a short moment, I saw something in her eyes. I saw fear.

They weren't the living dead—a corpse being controlled—but rather, a living human who was under the influence of something—someone. They needed our help. 

When the young girl returned to the group with her marble, Luke tried to draw another reaction from her, but it was to no avail. The young girl was back under control, and our voices were no longer heard. 

Finally, we left the children alone, letting them play their game with ease. It was time for us to go to the abandoned church and look for whatever things they had hidden inside. Hopefully, we will find something that we can use to help these people. 

But, before we headed to the church, Luke made a quick stop at one of the houses nearby, taking—stealing—a lantern from one of the houses nearby, keeping a box of matches safe in his pocket as it could get dark inside the church. 

We walked deeper into the village, walking along the same path we had taken before with the bald magistrate. I wonder what the man is doing now. 

"What did you do to the bald magistrate?" I asked Luke. 

"I stripped him of his wealth, of course," he said matter-of-factly, not a hint of conscience heard. "I also relieved him of his duties. Such a man is not qualified to work under me." 

Well, there was indeed no need to give a man like him a piece of our conscience. Not only did he let his villagers suffer, but he also used the village fund to line his own pockets. Not to mention how he forged the neighboring village's monthly reports. 

"So he's both out of work and out of money," I said, and Luke smiled as if happy with that fact. 

But, once we discover the connection between him and the whole ordeal in this village, I'm sure he'll face even more consequences. 

Though we were on our way to the abandoned church, I couldn't help but worry about what we would do if we couldn't find anything in this church. How are we supposed to help these people? How are we supposed to know what Greta is after?

If we later ended up finding nothing in this church, perhaps questioning the bald magistrate was our only way to find a lead to all of these problems. He was the one who most likely knew the most about the situation, so it would be best for us to keep him in sight.

Luke would know best what to do if he failed to comply. 

After walking for some time, the villagers were now out of sight, leaving only rundown houses with no occupants to be seen. Looking at the state of this village, one would guess that this place had been through a war. 

While the houses on the outskirts of the village were still standing, the inner half lay in ruins. The majority of the houses here were in shambles, with debris littering the road. Perhaps because it was dark before, I couldn't see the exact state of this place. Now I can definitely see how horrible the situation is. 

"What the hell happened here?" I found myself questioning the situation, despite the fact that none of us knew the answer. It was out of reflex.

Somewhere among the debris in the road, I found a severed hand, with the body nowhere to be found. I noticed another not far away, which I ȧssumed was from a different person based on the size and tone difference. Something wrong surely has happened here. Something very wrong. 

I saw Luke tense up, his rage mounting as he noticed more and more things about this village. He must have felt guilty for not being able to stop such a dreadful tragedy from happening. We had no idea about what had happened, but it was now time for us to find out. 

We took a sharp turn, passing through the bushes and trees, which revealed the abandoned church hidden behind, away from people's scrutiny. Even with the sun still shining brightly, this place was still as creepy as ever.

I scanned the building, looking for anything different with my new ability to see magic. From the outside, the church was still the same as it had been two days ago. The damaged walls, the shattered windows, the faded paint—nothing changed. 

Though it was still written in the same language as before, I can now understand what was written there. I narrowed my eyes to read, watching as the words shuffled to reveal a sentence I could finally comprehend.

"Darkness... will prevail once more."