Levi’s mind buzzed. He couldn't hesitate. If he took even just a few seconds to answer, they would suspect him. Instead, he blurted out the first thing on his mind.

“I woke up and it was there,” Levi said innocently. They frowned. Levi quickly continued, “I’m telling the truth.”

Levi began to sweat, but when Gregory nodded to his friends, motioning that Levi was telling the truth, he relaxed. Somewhat. It felt like he was balancing on a knife's edge and any misstep would draw blood. He had to get rid of that room. But how? The trio wouldn’t leave him. Not when they suspected he was some sort of, what, a demon? Levi would have laughed, if he didn't find it entirely plausible. Perhaps they knew something he didn’t.

Children always were little demons.

“I–” Levi clutched his head, and said, “I think someone gifted it to me?”

Levi knew he couldn’t say anything more than that. If Gregory could detect lies, Levi would out himself if he said that he was gifted it by his parents. Because that was a lie. The one who gifted it to him was the Ruler from above the heavens.

“Are your memories really so scrambled?” Gregory asked, and Levi nodded.

“It was most likely given to him by his parents,” Sera said.

“My parents gave it to me?” Levi asked.

“Aye,” Gregory said with a sigh. “Most parents want what's best for their child. But getting their hands on a Birthright Seed? That’s no easy feat in a frontier town such as Beron.”

“So they loved me?” Levi’s head drooped.

Sera bit her lip, glanced at Gregory, then placed her hand gently on his shoulder. “You’ve gone through a lot. But we are here now. Let’s get you to a house to rest.”

“Let’s see if we can’t rustle you up a good meal,” said Bara, his smile holding a warmth to it unlike before.

“Thank you,” Levi said.

They headed to the house that Levi had defended until now, located near the cliffs and mountainous region. Levi had to use his shoulder to unstick the lock as he had to improvise with its construction. 3 slams later, the door swung open, revealing a mess of metal, wood scraps, and books scattered all over the floor.

“Is this your home?” Sera asked as she agilely avoided the rubbish on the floor.

“No,” Levi said truthfully. “After one of those… monsters tried to break into my home, I had to move. Thankfully the Deep Dark hasn’t arrived since.”

“Good thinking,” Bram said.

Gregory paused and frowned. “Yeah, ever since a few days ago, the Krag has been wild. Twice in a row. I can’t remember the last time that has happened.”

“I do,” Sera said, shivering. “20 years ago.”

At the reminder, the other two turned silent. Bram clenched his fists so hard that Levi could hear the bones creak within. Levi could tell it was a sour subject, but he had to know. Despite the grim atmosphere, he asked:

“What happened 20 years ago?”

Gregory picked up a cup of ale from the table. Levi had used it to treat his wounds, sterilising them. But he also couldn’t help but take a few mouthfuls every now and then to warm his body during the night.

Gregory swallowed the rest of the contents, before saying, “An apostle was summoned from the Krag.”

“An apostle?”

“A vile, wretched demon that wreaks havoc on the human world–” Gregory placed down the cup with a bang. His lips twitched. “An apostle is a royal monster of the Krag. A chosen. They are creatures born in the body of a deceased god, and with their bloodline, they are superior in every way. Strength, speed, magic, you name it, lad. They break out into the human world and kill and consume and devour anything in their path to grow stronger.”

“What the hell,” Levi said, shivering. It sounded horrible. “But… the body of a god?”

“The Krag is a graveyard of the gods,” said Sera. “Although no-one knows where the Krag came from, or when it fused with our world, there are people who enter the Krag for riches and power.”

“Are they crazy?” Levi blurted.

“Crazy? Aye–” Gregory said, trying to find some more wine by opening all the cupboards.

Levi pointed to a table that had a cloth over it. Gregory peeled it back, revealing multiple jugs of wine. Gregory clicked his tongue in appreciation, grabbed one, and took another mouthful. Red wine dripped from the corner of his mouth.

He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and continued, “Thanks, lad. Wine smooths the travels. Where was I? Aye, Crazy. We call them Cryptomancers.”

“If you ever happen to meet one,” Sera said, “walk the other way. They survive untold horrors on a weekly basis. They don’t have the patience a normal person has. Not to mention their sanity… They have a few screws loose, if you understand my meaning? You don’t want to get on their bad side.”

Bram added, “They are also powerful, each one a high tier of Sway. Only the powerful dare head into the Krag.”

The discussion stopped for now. Bram moved to the kitchen and soon the sound of crackling and the aroma of salted meat wafted through the house. Levi practically drooled at the smell.

Sera made space in the room, clearing a table, sorting out the chairs. Sera, Gregory, and Levi sat down, all patiently waiting for food to be served.

“Really, Lad, this place is a mess,” Gregory said, wiping dust from the table. “You’re a messy pup, ain’t ya?”

“My bad,” Levi said. “I was too busy surviving against tentacle monsters and dealing with a greenkin problem to do some cleaning.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Sera and Gregory looked at each other before breaking out with laughter.

Gregory slapped the table, nodding. “Aye, I suppose you’re right there. But still, nothing feels better after a long day of hunting and working, and coming back to a tidy house. Sets the mind right at ease, no?”

Levi nodded along. He supposed he was right there. Although Levi had never really paid much attention to it. He was always so exhausted from working long hours that he didn’t have the time, nor energy to tidy up. Or maybe that was just one big excuse to push it to another day?

Laziness… Levi thought for a moment before standing. In this life, he’d be different. He dashed around the living room like a man possessed as he started cleaning up everything. Dusting here, moving out trash there. Sera smiled, got up, and started helping. Gregory laughed, tussled up his sleeves, and started mopping the floor.

Just as dinner was served, they had finished turning the room from a hobbled messy house, to a freshly moved home. They returned to the table.

Levi’s eyes sparkled as he gazed at the plate of cooked bird, vegetables, and potatoes. Each one glistened. Bram used butter, Levi guessed. The smell was so good that Levi had to resist slobbering on the table.

“Please,” Bram said. “Dig in.”

The others gave the first honours to Levi. Quickly giving him a plate, not too big, or too small, just enough that a boy his size needed, he waited.

“What are you waiting for lad?” Gregory said.

“It’s polite to wait for others,” Levi said.

Sera smiled. “Alright then, we better not keep you waiting then.”

Not standing on ceremony, the others plated their food in record time, and started eating. Gregory and Bram practically inhaled their food using their hands. Sera, on the other hand, used the cutlery provided by Levi. Her moves were gracious. The amount of food she placed on her fork was so that it would fit in her mouth without looking messy. Levi surmised she was of high standing, from a good family. The others were most likely from a military background?

“Can you tell me more about yourselves?” Levi asked just after swallowing a piece of chicken. It was moist, seasoned to perfection, and cooked just enough that all the tasty juices remained. He had honestly never had a meal cooked so well before in his life.

The adult trio looked at eachother, almost as if they were hesitating. They still don’t trust me? Levi thought. But it was Sera who broke the silence.

“20 years ago, when the apostle raged in the imperial city–our home,” Sera said, the mood turning sombre. “We lost a lot–”

Gregory drank an entire jug of wine in one, then he added, “I lost both my parents. Bram lost his father. In just one, single day, it up ended our whole world. Tens of thousands died on that day. We were friends before that. So, we decided to do something about it. Sera was born to a good family, so she obtained a Birthright that way. But we–” he glanced at Bram. “We had to join the military to get our own.”

Bram joined in, “After our service was over, and we finally had the powers we wanted, we joined the Detective Corps at long last.”

“You see,” Gregory said, “an apostle can also be summoned to this world with dark magic. Those of that Sway, we call them Devil-Worshippers. They believe that the apostles can save them, help them ascend to immortality. Crazy fucking lunatics the bunch of them.”

“That’s horrible,” Levi said, placing down his cutlery on his plate. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Gregory said. “Happened a long time ago.”

“And these Devil-Worshippers?” Levi asked. “Did you get them all?”

“Get them all?” Bram echoed with a distant smile.

Gregory chimed in, assisting Levi, "There was no trace left behind. No clues regarding the summoner, no leads to pursue. They're likely still lurking somewhere," Gregory speculated. "The government claimed we eradicated them two decades ago, but my best guess is that they just covered it up to avoid riots. They're likely biding their time, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. That’s why we’re investigating Beron, actually.”

Levi exclaimed, “You think they are trying to summon an apostle? Here?”

“It’s just a guess,” Sera said, trying to ease Levi’s nerves.

“Aye, but it’s not just a guess,” Gregory added. “We’ve been investigating strange goings on from the Imperial City, all the way to this frontier town. Monsters missing their limbs, scattered in circles. Strange markings burned into caves. Townsfolk swear they’ve witnessed some strange folks in black and purple robes wandering about the hills. The Corps think we’re chasing ghosts. But I just have that feeling… A feeling that something just ain’t right with the trails.”

Levi’s heart sank. “And it all leads here?”

“Every rumour, every shred of evidence,” Gregory said. “All of it leads to this small, little town. Well, it makes sense, doesn’t it? Beron is out of the way everywhere. It is the furthest point west. The mountain range leads to the Nothing–a place that hasn’t been fully explored.”

“But,” Levi said, trying his best to remain calm, “Apart from everyone missing, I haven’t noticed anything like that. No people in robes, or anything like you’ve mentioned.”

“Strange that, ain’t it?” Gregory said with a small smile. “Everyone is missing. There is no blood. No signs of struggle. Apart from the buildings you’ve been in, all the furniture is in place. They’ve just up and vanished, leaving their child.”

“Captain,” Sera said in warning, but he just shrugged.

“He’s mature enough,” he replied. “No ordinary child can stay sane after all he’s been through.”

Levi ignored his comment as his mind was akin to a tumultuous storm of incoherent thoughts.

Was it something to do with his summoning? Something like a ritual where it took everyone from the town, and replaced them with him? Or was it something to do with these Devil-Worshippers?

Then a piece of memory emerged. Just over the mountains, where his child's body couldn't pass, was a mine that had just recently opened up.

He spoke up, his voice trembling. “There’s a mine just over the mountains. Not many people know of it as it was just recently opened. Do… Do you think they are there?”

“A mine?” Gregory took out a map from his backpack. Sera moved the plates of food to the side as he placed the map flat on the table. His finger trailed from the Imperial City far in the East, passed multiple large towns, and finally, all the way at the west, his finger stopped at the tiny town of Beron. There was no mine.

“Aye, it could be,” he said, nodding. “We’ll investigate at dawn. You better get some sleep. Monkeys can hold onto those rings under your eyes.”

And so, everyone prepared for bed. Levi covered himself in all of his blankets, but unlike the Deep Dark, it wasn’t that cold. If anything, he was overheating because of the thick layer of material over him. But it had a sense of mental comfort to it.

It was as Gregroy had said, he was exhausted. However, he forced himself to stay awake. He guessed that by now, it was almost approaching midnight. The adult trio had been asleep for 3 hours already.

Levi slowly pried his eyes open. He scanned the others–they were asleep.

There was one thought haunting him since the others had arrived, and that was what would happen if they discovered his home. His true home, filled with family pictures, words on the wall, pentagram scored into the floor…

No doubt that if they discovered that, they’d brand him a Devil-Worshipper on the spot. Or would they? The only thing Levi knew was that he couldn’t leave that decision to chance.

He wanted to tip toe out of the room, to sneak and destroy all of the evidence, maybe even burn down his home completely.

But a niggling thought was at the back of his mind. These people were pros. Two of them had long stints in the military where soldiers had extensive experience in light sleeping. There was another important fact–they didn’t trust him. Bram and Sera maybe did, but Gregory definitely didn’t. They were most likely still awake, waiting for him to leave his bed, and sneak away like a little demon would.

And so, Levi decided to play it safe. His eyes turned heavy, and he fell into a deep sleep. Unaware that his fears were true.