Lucian and Ruby are sitting at a round white table, sipping a cup of tea with a delicious, relaxing aroma. They both sip their tea in silence, but soon Ruby opens her mouth and says - So... I need to explain a few things that Trung, our captain, asked me to explain to you - she puts the empty cup on the table and sighs.

Lucian continues to sip his cup slowly, he listens intently to Ruby. She then says - We of the Night Breeze and other like-minded organizations end up facing many dangers, whether against monsters or other people with the ability to use Spirit. And you also have to pay attention to various aspects of your mission.” She pauses briefly and continues. ”Your missions aren't just fights and more fights, we also have investigations, espionage and so on, but no matter what the mission, be as careful as possible, after all... You never know what can happen on missions that even the police can't handle and that an agency specializing in the spiritual must take care of...

Lucian feels a slight chill run down his spine at Ruby's last few sentences, but then he sighs and takes another long sip from his cup of tea, and says - I see... and how does the matter of the Cores work?” he says with a look of doubt on his face.

Ruby smiles and says: “The Cores are luminous objects that come out of the body of a living being who had the Spiritual Domain or who had a connection with it, they don't always come out, so sometimes it's down to luck. We have 3 types of Core, weapons, objects imbued with Spirituality and power. Powers, special abilities granted to you. And finally Artifacts, they are special objects that give you an advantage but at the same time a disadvantage depending on their size and power.

-We also have what we call “Aura”. The aura is a repressed spiritual power in your body that shows its level of strength just by looking at it. To identify them, you first have to look at the color of the person's aura, this is what defines the aura classification, and along with that, the size. Size also affects how much power you can have inside you.

-For example, I'm in Sequence 8: Enlightened. The color of my aura is yellow, which indicates that I'm at the level of an Enlightened One, but from what others say, the size isn't so much medium. You, on the other hand, are a Sequence 9: Apprentice, the color of your aura is white, of someone who has just awakened Spirituality.

-We have a total of 9 Sequences, starting with 9 and going up to 1. In order from 9 to 1 we have: Apprentice, Enlightened, Monster, Imp, Giant, Angel, Seraphim and God. As far as I know, almost no one has achieved the power of a God.

-The Corrupted, the monsters we face, also have their Sequences ranked from 9 to 1. The sequences from 9 to 1 are: Fear, Beast, Tyrannical, Nebulous, Nightmare, Destroyer, Calamity, Devil and Blasphemer. They also have intelligence ratings, which are: Savage, Dog, Semi-human, Human and Genius.

Lucian nods as he listens to Ruby's sentences, and then says - I remember you commenting to me before about the dangers of becoming one of the Night Breezes, which not only included the dangers of facing other people with Spirituality and the Corrupted, but also madness... how does that work?

Ruby sighs and says - Well... every time you take a Core, you have the chance to end up losing control of your Spiritual... this can cause you to die a terrible and painful death or become Corrupted... the madness first begins with sound and visual hallucinations, then you start to notice changes in your behavior and body... and finally the end...” As she finished her sentence, she poured herself another cup of tea, the air getting slightly colder as she mentioned it... the Spirit world is horrifying...

After a few more brief conversations, with Lucian deciding to leave the subject of the Spiritual aside for the time being, Ruby then seems to have remembered something and says - After all, today you may have your first mission. Trung had mentioned that after training I would bring some people from our organization to investigate the house and Durf Watson further. I did very little investigating because you were there at the time, so I opted to take you to the Night Breezes first and then take care of Durf.

Lucian was immediately surprised - But why did you want to bring me along on the mission?” he said with a hint of surprise.

-Well... it's just that you might have your first mission and besides, from what I've seen so far, there doesn't seem to be anything bad about this mission, just an investigation at Durf's house and if we find any other information or clues as to what could have led to Durf's death and that of the woman who died next to him, we'll just investigate as well when possible or if it's something very dangerous, we'll just pass the job on to someone else from Night Breeze, after all, we're not that strong yet.

Lucian nods, understanding what she's saying. Then he says - Okay... when are we going to do the mission? - Ruby, hearing his words, says - Well... we can go today, it's not too late, we can go out to eat somewhere in Puerto Rico and then go to Night Breeze to find someone else to accompany our investigation.

The two of them then planned what they were going to do: have lunch, go to the Midnight Bar, which is the Night Breeze's base, and then call someone else to help them with the investigation.

After a few more simple conversations, they decided to set off in search of lunch; it was already 1:37 in the afternoon. They walk through the beautiful streets of Puerto Rico, well-dressed people pass them by, and soon Ruby and Lucian arrive at a restaurant called “Good Cauldron”.

They enter and soon notice a luxurious place, several round tables with white cloths on top, metal plates with cutlery with very dark wooden handles and silver details... it was all so expensive.

The most striking thing about it all was the number of people eating there, it was very busy. At the same time, a group of musicians was playing in the background. A pianist, a violinist and a flautist.

The two of them sat down at the table and ordered simple dishes: Ruby ordered a house special with roast chicken, lettuce salad, potatoes and carrots in blocks, rice from the continent of Chrollo and a special sauce.

The rice from the continent of Chrollo is one of the best (at least that's what the celebrity chefs say). It's very tasty, a unique flavor that delights the palate, just the kind of food you'd get in a place for rich people like Puerto Rico.

Lucian soon orders the same dish as Ruby. And after a few minutes of the two of them waiting for their food and enjoying the musical performed by the musicians, the dishes soon arrive. The dish is very nice, the chicken is well roasted, the rice looked very soft and juicy, it had a slightly yellowish color. The salad looked delicious and there was a bowl holding the special sauce.

The two of them taste the food, Ruby eats normally, she seems to really like the food. Lucian, on the other hand, is totally dissatisfied with the food in front of him, the only thoughts that come into his head are “How delicious!!!” His mind is dominated by the image of the chicken breast in front of him, and he eats the plate of food as if it were the last food of his life.

After they have eaten and Ruby has paid the bill, they head to Porto Ferro to reach their destination: the Midnight Bar, aka the Night Breeze base. They were going to get permission to investigate Durf's house and at the same time take someone to help them with the investigation.

They pass through the gates that divide Porto Rico and Porto Ferro, they just show their Night Breeze brooches, and soon they pass the bridge above the stream that is surrounded by the wall that prohibits people from seeing Porto Ferro from Porto Rico.

They walk on and soon arrive at the worn-out bar with the sign “Midnight Bar”. They enter and soon follow a path to a hidden one that descends, and soon they arrive at the base of the Night Breezes.

Unlike the last time Lucian had come to this place, it was busier now, but still not much. “These organizations are very secretive when it comes to the people they let in”. They pass an attendant behind the counter, who has a ponytail and looks to be in her early thirties. Ruby approaches and says: “Good afternoon Rosalina, is Trung in today?

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The pony-tailed woman says: “Yes, he's eating his lunch in the captain's lounge. What happened to your face, dear?” She touches the bandages covering the bruises from the fight between her and Lucian.

Rosalina turns to Lucian and notices that he is also bruised, and is equally concerned. She seems kind and caring.

Ruby explains that it was just a training session and that she doesn't need to worry, so Lucian and Ruby leave Rosalina to talk to Trung. Ruby knocks on the door and waits for an answer from Trung, which they soon hear - Come in.

Ruby walked in and saw a man with slicked-back black hair, a goatee and sideburns, along with deep gray eyes; this was Trung. He was wearing only a white dress shirt with a black vest and pants and shoes, he was wearing less formal clothes than the day Lucian had joined the Night Breeze.

He then said - “What do you want?” He was very direct, his deep, imposing voice making Lucian and Ruby stand in straight, respectful poses in front of him. Ruby then says - I want permission to investigate Durf Watson's house and to take two companions with me...

Trung just smiles and nods - As you wish, it's accepted. He closes the door and after a few seconds he returns with a document for her to sign, along with a fountain pen.

She signs the documents and then hands them to Trung. He looks at Lucian and notices the bandages on his face and says - Well, I wish you good luck, young man. You yourself are very lucky, you got your first mission very quickly. It took me two months to get my first mission. heh heh.

Lucian also laughs, and soon afterwards Ruby asks him to wait a while, as she's going to look for the companion who would accompany them on the mission, she seemed to already have someone in mind.

To entertain himself, Lucian started reading a newspaper that was on the table; it was the same article about the serial killer who was roaming the city. “How bizarre... how could someone like that exist?” He looks again at the description of his murders. The person had a deep gash in their neck and then the skin of their arms was ripped off, leaving the muscle fibers, veins and bones showing, then the eyeballs were also ripped out... how horrible.

He soon saw Ruby returning. A boy and a girl accompanied her. The boy had dark skin and curly black hair, brown eyes and a cut scar on his cheek. He wears a white shirt and a brown vest. Black pants and brown shoes. He carried a saber at his waist.

The girl next to him had long brown hair and wore large silver rimmed glasses, which hid a little of her blue eyes. She wears a dark pink dress with a lighter-colored skirt. Black boots and black gloves.

Ruby then says - Lucian, this is Mannie and Lucy, they will be accompanying us on our mission. Mannie, Lucy, this is Lucian.

The three of them exchanged pleasantries and without wasting much time they caught a carriage outside the bar and drove to Durf Watson's house. The journey didn't take long, they split the price of the carriage, each paying 5 bronze coins, for a total of 20 bronze coins.

They soon entered the house; the bodies had been taken to the morgue by the police, who had helped the Night Breezes a little. Soon, everyone began to walk around the house, looking for clues that might indicate more.

Lucian had one main objective: to try and find the object that caused Durf and Annie's supposed suicide and Josh's house.

He investigates and doesn't find much, but luckily he finds a drawer where Durf probably kept the letters intended for him, there were several letters thrown in there, so he investigates them.

He found three letters written by Annie and Josh, two from Annie and one from Josh.

Annie's letters didn't seem to have anything very interesting that would help the investigation, they just mentioned having the chance to meet up with everyone, Lucian, Josh and Durf, so they could drink and discuss various life issues.

Josh's letter was... strange...

"Durf... I'm not feeling very well after we saw that crown... I've started to feel like there are lots of little things eating me up inside... it's terrible... I keep scratching myself all the time... please help me, you brought that crown with that asshole who sold it to you... Are you cursing me? You did it on purpose, didn't you? Of course, why else would you buy that damn crown? You have a fetish for buying old things for your collection, but I'm sure you set the four of us up... Damn it, don't stop! You bastard! Come to my house right now! I'll curse you for doing this to me, you bastard!" The letter then ended with the address, which was very close to Lucian's street, just one street over, being No. 2 Square Lagoon Street.

Lucian then looks again at the sentences written in the letter: “Feeling little things eating you up inside... a hallucination?” He soon remembers a specific phrase from Ruby, the first stage of madness is: Sound and visual illusions!

Josh was having a delusion! Was he having a case of the crazies? He mentioned such a crown, almost certain to be the object Durf had brought for old Lucian, Annie and Josh to see. But... how could Josh go mad if he couldn't even use the Spiritual? Or could he? Or did the crown make him awaken the Spiritual? Well, I managed to awaken the Spiritual, and from the short memories I have of Lucian, he didn't seem to know about it... That crown must have messed with the aura of the four of us and only Josh and I were able to take it... or rather, only I was able to take it... There's a good chance he's dead... what a shame.

If the crown caused us to awaken the Spiritual in our bodies, it means that we were affected by a Spiritual object that can influence people's souls... I ended up awakening the Spiritual and I'm still sane... I was probably lucky... Josh seems to be going mad and Durf and Annie must have killed

themselves under the influence of the Crown...

Then he returns to Ruby and the others with the letter in hand, and tells them about the address he found. They found a wonderful clue. He didn't talk about Josh's madness theory or the suicide probably influenced by the object, but Ruby seemed to understand and so did the other two.

Soon they were on their way to Square Lagoon No. 2. When they arrived, they saw a simple house made of faint blue bricks, where there were several flaws in the blue paint. The house had only one floor and had windows that were covered with curtains that made it impossible to see into the house.

Ruby, who had understood that perhaps Josh had gone mad, quickly said as a warning - If you notice any strange situation, I want you to try to escape, if you want to fight, only if you realize that you have a chance of fighting the Corrupted, if you realize that he is already dead and that he hasn't become Corrupted, just report it to me and we'll continue investigating... just... be careful, okay?

They all agreed and soon approached the door of the house. It was locked, but Mannie, Ruby and Lucian broke down the door together, Lucy kept her distance, she didn't seem to be as physically strong as they were.

They entered the house and noticed that it was very dirty, there were several drawings on the walls and floors, the drawings were simple, there was a white circle and another completely black circle, what appeared to be a crown, and a half moon.

These symbols were scattered all over the floors and walls of the house, giving it a bizarre feeling when you entered. Mannie immediately tries to light a candle he had brought with him, but strangely it doesn't work.

-“How strange...” said Lucy as she passed in front of Mannie, her eyeballs turning completely black, only her blue irises remaining. She then surveyed her surroundings and suddenly froze, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Mannie approached her and touched her shoulder. “Hey... what happened?” he said while holding the handle of his saber in alarm.

-“The door!” shouted Lucy, everyone turned to the door, but... where was the door they had just broken down? Everyone broke out in a cold sweat.

-"Has he... become a...? Corrupted?” She quickly pulled out her weapon Core, a knife with a hole for her finger to fit through, and began to twist the knife as sparks began to fly from the weapon. Lucian soon pulls his revolver from his waist holster, it was well hidden by the elongated tuxedo that covered the back of his waist, which was the gun.

Mannie draws his saber, and then he asks- Where is he Lucy?!- Lucy observes her surroundings, her black eyes roaming the house as if she could observe everything several meters ahead. She suddenly shouts- MANNIE!!! GET DOWN!

Mannie completely instinctively crouches down, and a wrinkled, gray forearm is seen passing by where Mannie was before. The forearm had been torn off, a green liquid was oozing out of it, and something slimy black seemed to be stuck to it, which was stretching a lot.

Everyone goes on alert, and the forearm returns to its original position, hiding behind a sofa full of holes, until a figure rises from it.

A humanoid being with a mouth that was much longer at the sides than normal, going all the way to the tips of its ears. He had no eyes, and half of his face was burnt, his wrinkled, gray skin seemed to be pulsating, and the muscle fibers of his face were showing on the half of his face that was burnt. He was naked, but had no private parts, his left arm was completely bare of skin, just muscle fibers, his neck had a huge gash that would probably make this freak's head fall off, but there were several small arms as dark as pitch holding him up.

The monster's chest was completely open, its heart exposed for all to see. The heart was beating, but at the same time it was sometimes oozing the green liquid that used to come out of the forearm that had been ripped off.

The forearm clamps down on the creature's right arm again, and everyone looks at the hideous, frightening being, completely paralyzed with fear.

Lucy let out a shrill, ear-piercing scream, and the monster seemed to smile even more broadly at its guests, seeming to enjoy the situation they were all in... it was a terrible scene to watch, that terrible creature...

So this is what you call Corrupted? Is that what we can become if we don't watch out for the Spiritual? That's it... that's the height of madness... Corruption...

Continued