But alas, it did.

Lilly's eyes met theirs, a silent plea for help, her breath coming in desperate, ragged gasps. But before she could utter a single syllable, a blood-curdling scream pierced the morning sky, echoing from the city center. The sound was distant, yet it seemed to resonate in the very bones of the shack, a cry of anguish that sent a shiver down their collective spines.

Arteus wondered aloud, "Another one?" His question hung in the air, heavy with the weight of dread. The implication was clear: just as he had let his guard down, another child's life had been taken away. The room felt suffocating, the candle's flicker casting a frantic dance of shadows across their faces.

"Lilly," he began, his voice tight with urgency, "Can this wait?" He paused, the candlelight playing on the lines of his furrowed brow. "I have somewhere i need to be." The urgency in his tone was palpable, a stark reminder of the gravity of their situation.

Arteus was just about to push past her, urgency in his stride, when Lilly's hand shot out, gripping his arm with surprising strength. "No, wait!" she exclaimed, her voice a desperate plea. He stopped, his eyes searching hers, "It's... it's Gracie!" she managed to get out between gasps for air. "They've taken her!"

The room seemed to freeze around them, the candle flame still in its frantic dance but the air thick with the sudden stillness that comes before a storm. Castrol and Millie shot to their feet, the tension in the room coalescing into a cold knot in their stomachs.

"Taken?" Arteus repeated, his voice a low growl that seemed to shake the very foundations of the shack.

...

Arteus walked with a determined stride towards the House of Garnet, his eyes set like flint on the horizon where the crimson walls of the esteemed building loomed. The early morning light painted the cobblestone path in shades of gold, a stark contrast to the urgency that gripped his heart. The air was cool and damp, carrying with it the scent of dew-kissed leaves and the faint hint of distant incense. His thoughts raced as he approached the destination, his mind a tumult of plans and fears.

Outside the House of Garnet, a murmuring crowd had gathered, their faces a tapestry of hope and anxiety. As Arteus approached, the whispers grew louder, the title "Goddess" carried on the wings of a hundred hushed conversations. He felt a knot of tension coil in his gut as he realized that the whispers were about the incident that had taken place earlier, another ritual murder. This time, under his watchful eye.

With a grim determination, he pushed past the throng of people, their eyes on him like a hundred accusatory flames. The door was heavy, its wood old and groaned in protest as he wrenched it open. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of incense, an attempt to mask the metallic tang of fear and despair that clung to the walls like a specter.

Arteus' eyes scanned the dimly lit corridor, his gaze finally settling on a figure huddled in a lounge area at the end of the hall. As he approached, the figure grew into the shape of a young girl, her posture tense and defeated. It was Ava, her eyes red-rimmed and swollen from crying, her knees drawn up to her chest, her forehead resting on her arms. She faced a corner, as if by turning her back on the world she could somehow escape the horrors that had been inflicted upon it.

"Ava." He called out her name, his voice echoing through the stillness of the House of Garnet. It was a sound that seemed to resonate with the very air itself, as if the walls had been waiting for his voice to break the silence.

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She looked up at him, her eyes swollen with unshed tears, and he knew that she had been blaming herself for the children's deaths. "We need to talk," he said, his voice firm yet gentle.

Over the past few months, Ava had been through hell and back—accused, vilified, and ultimately, exalted. From the streets of Sovereign, where she had the infamy of the title "Whore of Sovereign," to the cold, unforgiving walls of the city's jail, and now, to this hallowed ground where she was hailed as the city's divine savior, the 'Goddess of Sovereign'. It was a twist of fate that no one could have seen coming. Her transformation from pariah to goddess had been swift and brutal, leaving her feeling as though she were living in the pages of a book that had been scribbled over by a mad scribe.

But amidst the chaos and the reverence, there was one thing that remained constant: her power. The ability to heal with a mere touch had been a beacon of hope in a world drowning in darkness, a gift that had elevated her to the status of a deity in the eyes of the desperate and the faithful. And for a time, she had started to believe it herself.

In the quiet moments between her duties as the 'Goddess', when she wasn't healing the sick or speaking to the masses, Ava had allowed herself to feel invincible. The whispers of adoration that followed her every move, the way the sun seemed to shine just a bit brighter when she stepped outside—it was easy to get lost in the fantasy. It was a fleeting feeling, that disappeared when the screams of the murdered children reached her ears.

For like Arteus, Ava had begun to patrol the city under the cover of darkness, her heart heavy with the burden of her divine title. She would find who was responsible for these heinous acts, and bring them to justice.

But also, like Arteus, Ava had come to a painful realization: Sovereign was no Barley, it was too vast, too sprawling, and she was but one person, one 'goddess' who could not possibly be everywhere at once. She couldn't save everyone, no matter how much she wanted to. The weight of this burden bore down on her shoulders, a crushing force that left her feeling as vulnerable as the children she had failed to protect.

Her abilities couldn't bring back the dead, and now it seemed they couldn't even bring the culprits to justice. She had hoped that her power was the beginning of a new life for her, a chance to atone for her past and perhaps even find happiness. But with each passing day, the weight of her newfound divinity felt less like a gift and more like a curse.

"I know who's doing this," Arteus said, his voice a knife slicing through the oppressive silence of the room. The words hung in the air, a revelation that seemed to suck the very breath from Ava's lungs. She stared at him, her heart hammering against her ribs like a caged bird desperate to break free.

"What?" she whispered, her eyes wide with a mix of hope and horror. "How do you--"

Arteus took a step closer, his expression grim. "I carried out my own investigation since, the city's authority's didn't seem eager to help," he replied, his voice heavy with a burden he didn't wish to share. "I'm now a 100% sure."

Silence enveloped the space for but a brief second...

"Can i trust you?" Arteus' question hung in the air, as sharp as the sting of a scorned wasp. The candlelight flickered across Ava's tear-stained cheeks, casting a soft glow on her anguished expression. Her eyes searched his, seeking the reassurance she so desperately needed.

Ava nodded slowly, a silent affirmation that sent a shiver of hope through Arteus. It was a gesture so subtle, so unspoken, that it seemed to resonate more profoundly than any shouted promise could have.

"C'mon." Arteus gestured to Ava, his hand outstretched towards her, a silent offer to help her rise from the floor where she had been. His eyes held a warmth that seemed to cut through the chilling dread that had settled in the air like a thick fog.

With a tremble, Ava took his hand, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. The contact was brief but electric, a spark that seemed to jolt her out of the haze of despair that had gripped her. She felt the warmth of his grip, the strength in his arms as he helped her stand, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, she felt something other than fear.

"Where are we going?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper, as they moved through the corridors of the House of Garnet. The question was loaded with more than mere curiosity; it was a plea for direction in a world that had gone mad.

"We're going to put an end to this," Arteus replied, his voice a low growl that seemed to shake the very stones beneath their feet. "Once and for all." His eyes burned with a fierce determination that was both terrifying and reassuring.

-To Be Continued-