Once again, the omnibus rolled forward, the horses’ hooves and the wheels crunching over debris as they neared the theater. The theater loomed ahead, its grandeur long faded, and a gaping hole in the roof let sunlight pour in like a spotlight illuminating a forgotten stage. Dust motes swirled and danced in the golden light, suspended in the air like memories caught between time. The interplay of light and shadow painted the stage with an ethereal glow. It was as if the universe sought to inject a semblance of beauty into a place that had long been lost to despair.
Kyrie's heart raced as he stepped inside, each footfall echoed in the empty theater, reverberating against the cracked walls. It had been decades since the theater had witnessed a performance; now, it stood as a mausoleum of creativity, a hollow shell where laughter and applause had once thrived. The stillness felt almost deafening, amplifying the sound of his own heartbeat as it thudded in his chest.
As he stared at the stage, amidst the shadows, the two children he had seen before emerged, their spectral forms flickering like candle flames. The girl wore a tattered blue dress that swayed gently as she moved, her piercing gaze fixed on Kyrie with an intensity that sent shivers down his spine. The boy, clad in black trousers and a white shirt, darted around the stage, a blur of motion against the stagnant backdrop. Their laughter echoed eerily, a haunting sound that resonated with the very walls.
"Are you looking for the truth, too?" The voice of the Baku echoed in Kyrie's mind, a reminder of the ominous task that lay ahead. The urgency of those words clashed with the serene beauty of the scene before him, creating a tumultuous storm of emotion within his chest. He felt both drawn to the children and repelled by their ghostly presence.
Kyrie took a hesitant step forward, the wooden stage creaking beneath his weight. It took every ounce of his resolve not to recoil in fear as the children approached him.
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The girl tilted her head, her dark hair cascading around her shoulders like a waterfall of shadows. “Why are you here?” she asked, her voice both innocent and unsettling. Kyrie opened his mouth to respond, but no words came. Instead, he felt a lump form in his throat.
The boy stopped his antics, his wide eyes locking onto Kyrie's with a knowing gaze that felt all too familiar. “You have to help us,” he urged, his voice soft yet insistent. “We need your help.”
“Let’s continue,” Yuri said, his voice breaking through Kyrie’s contemplation as the spectral children vanished into thin air. The group stepped away from the theater and toward an amusement park nearby.
As they approached, the park extended before him like a forgotten dream. Rusty carts creaked in the wind, their once-bright colors now dulled by time and neglect. The Ferris wheel loomed overhead, its skeletal frame swaying gently. The air buzzed with nervous energy; other tourists whispered among themselves, yet their apprehension mingled with an eagerness to capture the decay through their cameras.
"We'll go to the public swimming pool," Yuri announced, his voice filled with a strange mix of enthusiasm and resignation as they walked through the park. Kyrie’s gaze drifted, and he caught sight of the children again, their figures darting near the merry-go-round in the distance. The girl turned to him, her small hand gesturing as if beckoning him to follow. A compulsion surged in Kyrie, an instinctual pull that urged him forward, but he knew he had to do so without drawing attention to himself.
Yuri raised his camera, his focus shifting to the dilapidated scenery before him, allowing Kyrie the perfect opportunity to slip away unnoticed. He moved quickly, weaving through the gnarled trunks of reddish trees that bordered the park
He reached the merry-go-round, its once-cheerful horses now faded and chipped, and spotted the boy. The child dashed through a meadow of yellow grass, the blades swaying like waves in a sea. Kyrie followed, driven by an urgency that propelled him beyond thought. In the distance, he could see the town stretching out, its edges blurred by the haze of a toxic atmosphere. The air was thick and foggy. “I have nothing to lose; I’ve already lost everything,” he whispered to himself, the words tasting bitter on his tongue.