No curry. No dumplings. But it wasn't like that was the worst thing that ever happened to Aten that day — it was just wishful thinking. What did expect him in the Dining Hall was a grand table surrounded by seats coated in crystal. For the feast itself, there were quite a number of plates on the table, ranging from a turkey to dozens of plates of cassoulet, but they were mostly gathered to where the mayor sat. Getting a measly share of all that was but a daydream to Aten — he hadn't eaten anything all day, and seeing all that sumptuous food must have surely triggered his hunger. Above all else, there was something Aten did not expect at all to be present within the room, it was Eeira, it was the girl that haunted him. Fate brought them together once again.

Eeira sat at the rear end of the table with a look of forced obedience. She did not eye Aten, not even once, but she knew that he was there. The food in front of her brought her no pleasure whatsoever, all she had was the wine, the only drink to be ever had in this place. Wine wasn't supposed to fall into the hands of an underage, yet the mayor let her do as she pleased, like nothing was happening. Aten had no room to interfere as well, so he just followed the orders given to him.

'Please… have a seat, my boy,' said the mayor as he kept searching for another plate to devour, 'Of course, you are most welcome to join us in this feast.'

As much as he wanted to, Aten had to deny, 'I think I'll pass on this one,' he tried to pull the seat towards him to set but realized that the crystal seat had merged with the floor. It felt like the very old times before actual craftsmen were made, and people just had to rely on what the environment provided them.

'I believe you two had already met,' the mayor looked at both Aten and Eeira, who still had her face down, 'Since that's done, and you seem to have no interest in sharing a treat, I will get right to the point.'

'Please do, I'm dying here,' Aten commented.

'If you'll excuse my saying, but you're a young man with a lack of ambition and the need for coin, so of course, you found shelter in the path of a lone scrap collector,' the mayor took out a notebook and began sifting through it, 'I am willing to let your crimes — which are the following: unlawful entry, fraud, disturbing of peace, property damage — I could go on and on, but… As I was saying, I am willing to let all that slip by, on the occasion that you accept my offer.'

'Which is?' He sighed.

'A simple job, you will be properly compensated as well,' the mayor took a sip of wine, 'Have you ever heard of the Erster Hafen Mansion? It has amassed great popularity in the great tales of Eldria. Most commoners believe that it belonged to the old folk of Eldria from before the Black Frost. The name certainly has a ring to that. But I beg to differ. I have lived long enough in this nationless continent, and I have seen the myth with my own eyes. You know what I am talking about, right?'

Suddenly, Aten's thoughts and memories clicked. The mansion that he stumbled upon before his capture. The mansion that was buried deep into further caves. The mansion of the blood moon. That mansion. Even before the mayor could spout anymore about it, Aten already felt a great and dangerous deal toward it.

'This legendary edifice has hidden itself within the caves of this very town. And for years, I studied its mysteries with utmost fascination — do not let my usual demeanor deceive you, I am not an ignorant ruler as others may depict me.' the mayor explained, 'As I said before, the illiterate masses believed the mansion to be of Eldrian origin, specifically the ancient Eldria — you know — before Eldria became Eldria. But recently, I came upon a ridiculous, yet very plausible, discovery. And when I thought of it, the mysteries all made sense. This great mansion didn't belong to the Eldrian fools… it belonged to the Rethians, the very people who stand as our enemy.'

Eeira almost coughed out her drink after hearing the mayor's unbelievable claim. Being a fanatic for knowledge, his history lesson had managed to pique her interest.

'So… Rethians live among us as spies, is that what you're saying?' Aten asked, still showing no interest whatsoever.

'No no, not by mile,' the mayor finished his drink, and ordered for his guard to pour him some more, 'The building dates back to a dozen millennia, calling it "ancient" would be an understatement.'

Aten took a moment to think, 'Alright! The world was a vast place before nations were ever created, it's very possible that Rethians used to live in this continent before it was ever inhabited, or they could have been travelers, who knows? It had happened before with the old Caltria. What's so strange about this?'

'That is a reasonable hypothesis, but…,' the mayor stood up and walked around the hall, 'Mr. Aten, do you know of the Great Calamity?'

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Both Aten and Eeira looked at each other, for the first time ever since setting foot into this place, in confusion.

'Ohhh… the Great Calamity, it gained many names across the years. Ever since humanity came into existence, this calamity had been its destiny again and again. Whenever humans would reach their peak in life and achieve technical singularity, this calamity would fall upon them. And what would it do? Erase all existence and reshape the world is what it would do. Think of it as a reset, a restart, a new beginning to a new, yet old, planet. But why, you may ask, would such a thing exist?'

'Actually, I was thinking about how you know all this bullshit,' Aten interrupted. He was baffled by the mayor's story but didn't want to believe a single word. It was downright preposterous.

The mayor chuckled, 'Believe what you may. Or wait— How about I accord you with a tinge of truth you know? As I said, this calamity had many forms and many names, and recently it came in a weaker form, giving mercy for half the world and letting "ages" determine its full arrival. It had become none other than the Black Frost.'

'Okay, now you're pulling things outta your ass, old man. I'm out,' Aten stood up.

'Settle down, Mr. Aten!' The mayor ordered the guards to watch him, 'The story is not yet finished. Besides, this has all been told in legends that far precede our time. You can still believe it as a myth if you want. Like I said once more, this calamity is told to harbour great power; it can even reshape the core of the planet. Meaning Earth hadn't been the way it is before. Don't you ever wonder why there are no maps of the old world? It could be very well due to the fact that the planet has changed its surface countless times with every calamity. Now, how does this relate to our mansion, I hear you asking? With your case, suppose the calamity is true, just for a moment, and think about how this mansion belonged to the Rethians, what do you conclude?'

'Part… of Eldria was in Rethia?' Eeira finally spoke, trying to make sense of what the mayor was saying.

'Or… the continents merged, separated, and moved wherever with every impact — the world started as one land after all.'

'Or… you're just getting too old, and the fairy tales are getting to you,' Aten said as he pushed the guards away from him.

'Fairy tales, you say?' The mayor was surprised.

'Yeah… Ever heard of Elysium's Gate? No? Children's books don't interest you too much?'

'Elysium's Gate…,' the mayor was intrigued, 'Mr. Aten, where are you from?'

Aten paused for a moment, realizing what he said, 'S-Stop calling me that! And enough history lessons! Enough fairy tales! Get to the goddamn point! Why the hell am I here?'

The hall had fallen silent. The crystals' light faded in and out. The guards stood still, not bothering to interfere with Aten anymore. Eeira sat motionless, with nothing to say at all. As for the mayor, he simply sighed and walked back to his seat. Aten was infuriated, but after seeing the possibility of the mayor finally stopping his mad talk, he sat down.

'It saddens me, my boy. You truly sadden me,' the mayor shook his head, 'Nevertheless, I will tell what you need to know. Two years ago, the mansion had been seized by the empire, making me lose all control over it. Nobody was inhabiting it, not even me, but I was still in the midst of studying the rest of its mysteries, and I needed to inspect it in person. But of course, the emperor wouldn't grant that, so I stayed silent, letting go of all the research I had made.'

'Oh, so now you want me to rush into empire territory for your light reading sessions? Sorry, not my style.'

What Aten said wasn't particularly true or false, he just didn't want to butt heads with the empire once again. Things weren't looking so great between them after all.

'Fear not, my boy,' said the mayor, 'Recent developments have occurred, the empire no longer occupies that part. While that may seem a convenience to me — like I thought at the beginning — it started to pose a problem to me as well. To put it mildly, I believe that… the mansion is haunted.'

'Huh?!' Both Aten and Eeira looked at the mayor with shock.

Haunted was a bizarre word, even with the fact that the undead did exist within this world. Most of the undead resided within the Outlands. However, it wasn't rare to hear about wraiths roaming about the towns and woods of Eldria. Even after all that, Aten would be completely powerless if he does take the job.

'Old man, I'm not a sorcerer and I'm not an alchemist,' Aten slammed his arm on the table, he was losing his temper, 'So certainly… I'm not a fucking exorcist.'

'I am aware of that, my boy,' the mayor said, 'Which is why I brought in the assistance of this young lady. You're a neuroalchemist, are you not?'

'What?! I am a doctor, and that is beside the point. I never agreed to any of this!' Eeira was irritated.

'You will do as you are told. And I am not asking you, I am ordering you!'

'Well, you'll have to order someone else, because I'm not doing your bidding,' she shouted, 'And you can have my pass, revoke it. I don't give a damn.'

'Eeira, my girl... You must assist the scrap collector, he is in need of your knowledge. You will do it or else I'll have you and your monk friends out in the Outlands without shelter, and feed you to the undead.'

She was pissed, 'You… You don't have the authority…'

'Oh, I assure you, I have plenty. I am the authority!'

Eeira fell silent, losing all power to argue back. There was no joking matter with being deprived of her only family and home. She looked at Aten, who was deep in thought, with utmost descent, but she knew it wasn't his fault.

'Now now, this has been a pleasant evening. I hope you enjoyed the food, the chef made it with extra care since you are guests here,' the mayor stood up, 'Guards, escort them gently to the exit!'

But it was far from gentle. The guards treated them as if they were prisoners they had caught.

'Oh, and Mr. Aten,' the mayor called out to Aten, 'Do mind their will and refrain from breaking anything. You wouldn't want to disturb their flow now, would you?'

Aten looked at the mayor for one last time and felt his head sting for a moment. He failed to understand what the mayor was talking about but didn't dwell on it. There was a new task laid out to him that he must complete in order to finally gain his freedom.