Soul Digger-Chapter 62: BLURRED SENTIMENTS

A clear morning sun positioned itself above the set, spreading light and bliss throughout the North Pole with its bright, yellow rays.

The people, unaware of the incident, carried on normally, though the news spread like an infection across the city. Both the innkeeper and his staff were nowhere to be found.

Nagita asked the citizens around the block a few questions; each time she queried them about the lack of Indulgers or protection at the set, they became tight-lipped. It became painfully obvious that something was wrong.

Were they being threatened? Or were they protecting something? The people’s puppet-like attitudes made them seem more like a simulation. If it weren’t for the crippled girl she saw yesterday, Nagita would have assumed the citizens were NPCs created to add atmosphere to the trial.

Then there was the testament from Rolan at the Western Nickel Side.

’When I came here as a child, these people were so united and caring. For this to happen is unforgivable,’ she flashed back.

Rolan had a serious frown drawn on his face; his body language alone authenticated that he was muttering the truth.

Exhausted, Nagita sat on a cold bench and skimmed through the city structure. Its rural wooden and aluminum buildings were a soothing view; technology was rather scarce, yet it still held a special aesthetic resonating with the sprinkling snow.

The bench pressed against her thighs as she exhaled a cloud of white smoke. With a focused gaze locked on the small shops and the passersby, Nagita wasn’t just enjoying the scenery; she was introspecting.

’Ceaser went to freshen himself up, and since then, we haven’t heard from him.’ She wiped her face. ’What’s up with that jerk?! Keeping his whereabouts obscure and the team worried is the last thing we need.’

Nagita clenched her thighs and rose. Tying her hair back, she adjusted her top and dusted off her jeans. Tucking both hands into her pockets, she kept wandering about, stealthily trying to grasp the topography and scale of the city. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

As she strolled, a few statements brushed through her mind:

’I saw something spying on me.’

’You’re a sharp one; your assumptions are indeed right.’

’We might be dealing with Soul Drainers.’

’My demand is simple: we split the group...’

Nagita took a brief glimpse at her palm, fiddling with her fingers to ease her nerves and warm her cold hands. The calm demeanor she portrayed wasn’t a sham to deceive the others; in all honesty, the realizations she had as time passed slowly frightened her.

"Haaa... this sucks."

WHOOSH!

A gust of cold wind slammed against Nagita’s body. Trying to protect her eyes, she noticed a familiar figure walking behind her in the opposite direction.

’Ceaser?’ she thought—a mere speculation at best.

Changing her course, she tailed the man from a reasonable distance with nimble footwork. The straight posture, roughened blue hair, and stable gait—indeed, it could only be one person.

But why sneak away from his team like a plotting thief? Such questions further drove Nagita’s reason to invade his privacy and follow him.

By the side of a lane, after turning by a large grocery shop made of aluminum walls, glass windows, and a wooden roof, Ceaser stopped by a small house in a busy street. The house was located amongst other similar wooden homes in an area crowded with people; nothing particularly special about the place stood out to her.

Hiding behind the grocery shop, she stalked him from afar. The place’s owner gave her a puzzled look from within the transparent window. In all honesty, Nagita drew more attention to herself than she realized. From her point of view, however, she maintained expert levels of stealth.

Ceaser folded his palms into fists, about to knock on the door. Before his knuckles met the wooden material, he turned towards the grocery shop and gestured to Nagita. Ceaser invited her to join him.

She wasn’t subtle in the least; Ceaser was painfully aware Nagita was following but didn’t call her out. Ceaser was slightly amused by her poor attempts at recreating espionage movies. Her cheeks flushed a bright red as she lowered her head and shuffled towards him, steam practically oozing out of her skull.

Once they met, Ceaser knocked on the door and gave Nagita a sign to remain silent. Patiently, they waited.

"Come in," a woman spoke weakly from inside.

Slowly, Ceaser pushed the door open. Beyond it was a dark room, only illuminated by the light seeping in through the door. Apart from wooden furniture and a fur carpet, Ceaser and Nagita couldn’t see anything—just a dark patch inside.

"Come in and close the door," the female voice ordered, her tone strict yet pained.

Nagita shifted her gaze towards Ceaser, giving him a cautious look as she tensed her body and heightened her guard.

He patted her shoulder. "Relax," he whispered in a confident voice.

Skeptical, Nagita forced herself to follow Ceaser inside and shut the door behind them.

BANG!

The vibration of the shutting door rattled Nagita within. Her fists clenched tightly as she strained her expression. Engulfed by the room’s darkness, Nagita couldn’t identify what was what. She clung to Ceaser’s sleeve, not from fear but as a precaution.

"Ahh!"

Nagita flinched; something cold and rough made contact with her skin. "Something’s here!"

"That’s..."

BAM!

The room was visited by a gloomy amber light originating from a candle within a glass bulb, casting silhouettes and a small diffraction within as it made each corner and object visible.

This included the sight of Ceaser being assaulted by Nagita. His face was partly bruised as she climbed on top of him, ready to fire another punch at his jaw.

"...me," Ceaser concluded, his tone barely audible.

Nagita gasped, covering her widened mouth in shock. "Ceaser, that was you? What were you doing!"

"Cal...ming...you...d...own." His eyes sunk into his skull for a moment.

Ten minutes passed. Ceaser and Nagita sat awkwardly on a foam couch, avoiding eye contact while keeping distance from each other. In front of them was a woman with dark hair; her irises hung at the center of the sclera and lids.

The candle bulb beside her failed to fully brighten her face; beneath her strands of hair and eyelids, down to her tight scowl and exposed neck, were dark shadings cast by her emotions. A balefully dreary figure sat before them.

Sweat slid down Nagita’s face. Her breathing somewhat stuffy, she heard her heart playing drums in her ears. She narrowed her eyes and feigned composure; in reality, she was dependent on Ceaser’s next actions.

"Good morning, ma’am," Ceaser greeted calmly; not a sign of hesitation marked his face.

The woman wore an exposing singlet and shorts. Parting her dry lips, she responded softly, "Good morning."

"You must be Mrs. Brian. I heard your engagement was in a week’s time."

She tilted her head back and rolled her strands of hair. "It "was" That’s a past tense now; my fiancée is dead."

Nagita was still baffled as to what Ceaser hoped to achieve.

Ceaser bowed his head and spoke in a relenting voice, "His death was mainly because of me. During the time of the fire that claimed his life, I was there. I could have saved him, but I didn’t."

"Why didn’t you?" she asked with a dull voice.

"Because I was given only one choice, and I chose to save someone else," he answered, regret lingering in his tone.

The woman let out a dry, choking giggle that threatened the room’s sanity. "May I ask what made that lucky person so special... that you chose to save them instead of my fiancée?"

Ceaser averted his gaze from her. "I don’t know. It was on pure instinct."

"You look like a responsible man; you talk like one as well. Tell me, Blue Hair, are you willing to take responsibility for your actions and accept punishment?"

Nagita shot Ceaser a peculiar yet worried look.

"I am," he replied in a breath.

Nagita was left stunned, frozen in place either by shock or his commitment.

Mrs. Brian dug her hands into the sofa, searching for something within the space. All that sounded was a broken rattling and the jumbling of a couple of items, too vague to recognize.

Mrs. Brian paused, turned her glare towards Ceaser in a single movement, and grinned madly. Before Nagita could react, Mrs. Brian slithered forward like an attacking cobra; all Nagitas eyes glimpsed were four flashes of glistening light looming around her.

CLANG!

BANG!

The candle bulb flickered, welcoming and chasing darkness into the room as the objects’ silhouettes swayed to the rhythms. Nagita fired a last-minute punch, yet Mrs. Brian blocked it by an inch with her wrist. Ceaser sat with folded palms in an upright position as he watched.

"Very good of you," Mrs. Brian commented.

With blinding speed, she wrapped her hand over Nagita’s wrist and flipped her onto the table in seconds. Caught off guard, Nagita was defenseless and slammed against the table with a thick cough.

Nagita rolled as she tried to stand; her gaze met something that shone a bright light. Rubbing her eyes clear, she saw a large jackknife piercing the wooden table near the edge and gulped.

"You weren’t frightened; you trusted your instincts and remained cool under this tempered situation. As expected of a true soldier," Mrs. Brian spoke with a feeble enthusiasm as she staggered back. "I’ll forgive you. I was always a kind Field Marshal, after all."

"So the people were right; you really were in the military."

Mrs. Brian threw herself on the couch and crossed her legs. "I was. I abandoned that life because I fell in love and wanted a peaceful life. However, my fiancée was cheating on me."

Ceaser lowered his gaze.

"I suspected and investigated him; unfortunately, it was true." She pointed to the knife. "I had planned to kill him, then myself, so we’d die together yesterday evening, but he didn’t come home. A few hours ago, the news reached me that he died in a fire."

She bowed in respect. "Thank you, young man. You saved this forty-five-year-old woman from committing murder and suicide. Thank you."

"There’s no need to bear the guilt for his death. I assure you, death by fire was a less painful experience than what I had planned for him." Her pleased grin and satisfied eyes exuded an intimidating aura, polluting the room.

"Thank you for your kind words, ma’am." Ceaser shot up and bowed.

Nagita tidied her body and hurried to Ceaser’s side, a heated glare attached to her face. Ceaser and Mrs. Brian shook hands, then exchanged parting remarks, after which they left.

BANG!

The door shut behind them. Nagita was left with a chill swirling within her, not due to the cold but the overwhelming presence the woman bore.

"Where to?" Nagita asked with heavy breathes, pulling herself together.

"We’ll return to the inn. Investigating the fire’s source and the staff’s involvement is our main priority."

"Do you think they’re related to the odd behavior of the people?"

"It’s possible."

"By the way, Ceaser, why didn’t you ask that woman anything about what’s been going on in the North Pole?"

"Because I realized something." He reduced his tone to subtle whispers. "Mrs. Brian isn’t in a normal emotional state. Much like the others, if we ask her about the recent incidents in the North Pole, she might become like them."

"You might have a point. The people here turn into something different when they’re questioned about the North Pole’s previous events, like they’re programmed to be NPCs at the question."

"I’m glad you noticed that too. It’s like they’re under a spell or enchantment."

Nagita scratched her chin. "Do you think this trial is an ordinary one, Ceaser?" She took occasional glances at his face.

"I’m guessing you already know the answer, but I’ll say it anyway: there’s more to this trial than meets the eye. We might be getting involved in a situation above our capabilities." Ceaser’s hand trembled repeatedly as he recalled the previous night in his room.

"You wanted to tell me something before, Ceaser?"

"Not now. I don’t know why, but I get the feeling we’re being watched." He further drowned his voice lower.

’Him too?’ she thought.

"I just hope the other groups are having it easier," he murmured to himself.