The name ‘Clara’, much like Elizabeth’s appearance, was foreign to the two brothers. However, much like her younger sister, her eyes slowly lit up as soon as they were met with Caelum’s. And right at that moment, she saw herself standing in front of Emon in that one room in her mind. Her voice turned soft, speaking in a hushed tone,

“…You’re… right…”

“Excuse me, but what were your relationships with our father?” Vaelen asked, cutting off their introspective moment. Even though the two sisters were evidently filled with anticipation and intrigue, one could only imagine how Clara must have felt—to be standing before the sons of the man who brought her to safety many, many years ago.

Nevertheless, she was at a loss for words for several moments; prompting Elizabeth to take the word.

“He was my teacher. We were very close to each other… The last time I spoke to him was quite a while ago, you could say,” she chuckled. “About eighteen years, right before the 43rd ships festival. We were in preparation for an upcoming test themed around Urdall’s church…”

As she said this, she reminisced about that one moment when she stood with her brown suitcase before Emon in his classroom. The way the atmosphere was bathed in such a gentle warmth and tranquillity made her grasp control over herself, and speak a little slower.

“…I sometimes think to myself how that test would go if he was still around.”

Clara let out a deep sigh through her nose, gently rubbing her sister’s back as she chimed in.

“He was someone she looked up to. Emon was a smart man, and the revelation of his other association, or better said, occupation cemented that belief for us.”

She then lowered her head, aimlessly staring at the wooden surface of the counter.

“I only met him a few times. Often at the church, but also at the university whenever I picked her up after the classes would end. But… every moment I shared with him felt as if they were moments of two people who knew each other for years…”

“That’s… right,” Caelum responded, finally turning elaborate. “He was a close associate of the Luria Assembly. We learned that a major event took place shortly before his supposed death. It was an event titled: ‘The Church Abduction.”

Feeling as though Caelum’s words were like a small anchor pulling her heart down, Clara let out a deep sigh and responded to them.

“…Yes, we know this event all too well. I am sure you’ve all heard about the story of how Emon collaborated with the Zephyr Assembly in order to solve that case eighteen years ago. Well, truth to be told…”

She slowly raised her head to meet Caelum’s eyes.

“…there would only be two victims left, and I was one of them.”

Right when she said this, the door behind them opened, and the gray haired lady walked out of it pushing an iron cart that held the freshly baked breads and soups placed on plates and bowls.

“Your order is ready!” she said with a smile. However, that smile slowly faded away as she felt the gravity of the situation. Her two colleagues looked defeated, causing her to stop for a moment.

Lunar, keenly realizing this was not a conversation they should be a part of, called out to the other two.

“Come, Declan, Geneve. Let’s take our seats.”

They both silently acknowledged Lunar’s intention and followed him as they passed the two brothers. Lunar gave Caelum a gentle pat on his shoulder as he said,

“We’ll be waiting for you both there.”

Elizabeth, knowing she should better serve them, took over the cart and guided the three towards a nearby table.

Clare then introduced the gray haired lady next to her to them.

“This is Avani…”

There was no mistaking it.

Again, the two brothers had never seen this lady before. However, unlike Elizabeth and Clare, “Avani” already knew about the two brothers, especially Caelum.

She knew him very, very well. Not because she also encountered Emon after she was rescued, but because she was the second “Avani”, assumed by the entity referred to as “Knight Three”.

***

-Eighteen years ago: That one bedroom-

This was right when Clara closed the door behind her as she followed Emon, who was carrying “Avani” outside of that room.

The two individuals who presumably took the three of them in were the robust man named Zack and his wife Emilia. Right after the door behind them closed, it looked as if that door closing caused time within this place to halt.

The two of them stood right next to each other like statues, as if waiting for the others’ footsteps to grow faint enough for them to start speaking again. At some point, the illumination in their eyes faded away, and they turned towards each other.

Right as they were facing each other, their bodies blurred and came together like colours on a palette. In an instant, the boundaries between them dissolved, their features melding seamlessly into a single figure that depicted a young man dressed in a pitch black suit that contrasted sharply against his short gray hair and golden yellow eyes. However, his most notable figure was the slicing scar on the left side of his face.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Smiling like a maniac, he held his hand against his face, and began speaking in a solemn but harmonious tone.

“It went just as you planned, my Lord…”

Eventually, he fell on his knees and raised his arms wide in the air, as if worshipping something, or someone beyond the ceiling.

“The Shepherd who raises the White Raven and Black Goat….

…The Ruler of the Everlasting Night Sky!

May The Perished One finally be born! Praise ‘He’ who understands All! Praise the source of all sins!

Oh, Mother…

…the time of your deliverance is approaching.

I shall await the Second Coming of Darkness with patience…”

***

-Present time-

The “Avani” standing before Caelum and Vaelen was “Knight Three”. The true Avani was already dead. She was murdered by this man over eighteen years ago.

That moment… when he was seemingly speaking to a higher power…

…what did that mean?

The Shepherd who raises the White Raven and Black Goat…

To anyone, this ‘title’ that sounded honorary would seem weird. A shepherd who raises a white raven and a black goat. The contrast between those ‘three figures’ seemed too bizarre and really didn’t seem to make much sense.

And that is also considering that this ‘title’ was also included in the Golden Book:

“The Angel of Despair is, in essence, considered to be his right hand. The one who will be the rider of the Black Goat, in the name of their God; The Shepherd who raises the White Raven and Black Goat.”

Those were Miriam’s words when she shared a heartfelt moment with Helvega all those years ago in the library.

But even so, the Golden Book never detailed ‘why’. There was never a reason detailed for this ‘title’, or an explanation of what the shepherd, raven, or black goat meant. Nobody truly knew what this ‘title’ meant.

But this man referred to as “Knight Three” seemed to know the answer to that.

He obviously declared something. But what could he possibly have meant?

But on top of it all, why? Why was Avani murdered? Why did he morph himself into Avani? Who is “Mother”, and what does the ‘Second Coming of Darkness’ entail?

…Of course, these weren’t questions that razed through the minds of Caelum and Vaelen. To them, Avani seemed like the person who was abducted and saved by Emon. They were not aware that “Avani” was split into two different individuals; him, and their Mother, who was eventually named “Velera” by their Lord.

That was never Avani. The two brothers were talking to a demon who assumed her identity. Yet they could never realize this. To Caelum, she looked very similar to “Her”, who claimed to be his Mother who passed away after giving birth to him and Vaelen.

And to Elizabeth and Clare, they saw her as the Avani they always knew. Unaware that she had already departed from this world long ago.

***

“What’s the matter, Clare?” she asked with a befuddled expression.

“I was going to tell them about how we were both saved by Emon all those years ago. They are his sons.”

Avani’s eyes widened slowly as she stared at Clare, as if non-verbally asking her whether or not she was lying. Vaelen took the initiative and stepped forward, placing his hands on the counter.

“First of all, we are extremely relieved to see you both doing well. We’ve searched and learned about the case for as long as we can remember, but we would never expect to meet the actual survivors… It is just as much an honour for us as it is for you.”

“Thank you,” Avani said, sighing. “It is thanks to him that we’re now living fortunate lives. It almost feels as if we’re speaking to Emon himself…”

She then turned towards Caelum.

“You, especially, look so much like him!”

Caelum was very tempted to squint his eyes and scrutinize her appearance very closely, but he shrugged it off and decided to act normal.

“…Say, may I know where you come from?”

“Of course. I originally come from Astrogarde, a faraway country in the South-Eastern part of the world. This place… or better said, this entire area is quite important to me.”

“Why?” Caelum said.

“Because this is the place where Clara and I were found by Emon. There lies a small hill behind this building where we were reportedly found and rescued. After we recovered, we decided to work here as interns for a year, and then cemented ourselves as managers for over sixteen years.”

She raised her head, letting out a relieved sigh.

“…We fell in love with this place ever since our first day here.”

“Interesting…” Vaelen muttered, placing his fingers under his chin. Caelum then responded to her,

“But, what about the rescue? What happened?”

“Our rescue was quite short,” Avani responded. “All we remember is waking up in one of the bedrooms in this tavern, encountering Emon, who then questioned us about our situation…”

Clara then chimed in.

“He would then bring us to our homes with the help of his ‘Creatures’. The next day, we reunited with the church members and reported our rescue.”

“That is one thing I failed to wrap my head around,” Vaelen said, squinting his eyes. “Now that you’re both here, I can finally ask this question; Why was he okay with letting you both return to your places and sleep peacefully, as if you weren’t abducted victims for a significant time? I feel like the juxtaposition between the rescue and the aftermath is quite… strong.”

“Yes, we’ve been asked this question quite a few times,” Clara responded. “During the time of our rescue, it was revealed that we fell under the influence of the Zealot of Mist, an Exorci Potion that allows its user to erase short-term memory from the minds of their targets.

Sleep was known to be a natural proxy remedy against this Exorci because of the chances of memories returning to a person through the complexion of dreams and subconscious thinking. Drowsiness is also a side-effect that comes after being struck with this Exorci.

Therefore, Emon must have understood this and decided to bury any possibility of stress and panic to arise as he suggested I return to my home and rest before going to the church. Governmental intervention came right after we reported ourselves to the church.”

“Ah, that is reasonable…” Vaelen answered calmly as Caelum added,

“Was that the last time you saw him?”

“No, it wasn’t,” Avani responded. “We would sometimes encounter him at the church since he became an honorary individual within the community for solving the crime. I think we’ve encountered him four more times after the rescue.”

“Sadly, nine months later…” Clara continued. “…he was reported missing alongside his wife. The only ones left behind were you both. Emon’s close assistant Aurora Jinton then took you under her wing, changing your last names from Moreau to Jinton.”

“She must be a strong woman,” Avani smiled. “To be willing to carry the boulder Emon and his wife were supposed to bear…”

Caelum remained silent in response, his eyes turning crestfallen. Vaelen, trying to cheer him up, said to him with a bright tone,

“She most definitely is. Right, Caelum?”

“Yes, she is.”

“Well, we don’t want to stall you both,” Clara said, taking a deep sigh. “Enjoy the food. We’d love to see you both here again.”

“Yes, thank you,” Vaelen responded, taking Caelum with him towards the other three. Despite the longing to exchange more words with Clara and Avani, they understood that beyond the abduction case, there was nothing new they could discover about their Father. Additionally, this caused Caelum to put his suspicions regarding Avani away.

It seemed to him that the similarities between the appearances between Avani and “Her” were just a mere coincidence.