Mysteries: Arcana Wars

The early mornings in Backlund in late autumn were always freezing cold.

David Aksas tightened his scarf and hood, lowered his head and walked through the crowds on the street. When he put on thick sunglasses and looked up, he found himself standing in the square of St. Julie's Church.

The rough, dark concrete church stood abruptly in front of David, as if a clean hole had been dug out among the disorderly proliferating flesh and blood tissue, and a thick black tombstone had been placed in it.

The fountain in the square was surging endlessly. The morning sun had not yet risen, and only half of the cold morning glow had melted into the fountain water.

David looked at the huge object in front of him, and suddenly his mind went blank.

The madness and noise that had kept him awake day and night in recent days disappeared inadvertently, and when he came to his senses, there was only a rare tranquility and peace swaying in his mind, but what followed was a great fear and panic, surging from the deepest part of his soul.

Since escaping from the Earth Church Hospital, David has never felt so peaceful, nor has he ever felt the world around him so strange.

He walked tremblingly to the edge of the fountain, touched the stone surface and sat down. The feeling of having something to rely on made him feel a little relieved.

David stared blankly at the church in front of him, feeling depressed and helpless.

...Why did I come here?

Olga was born in an orphanage of the Church of Night. She was a devout believer of the Goddess of Night. Due to her congenital disease, Olga would come to St. Julie's Church to worship every weekend.

Different from the ancient and time-honored St. Samuel Church, Olga prefers the young St. Julie Church, the rough touch of its surface, and the atmosphere of perfect fusion of modern flavor and ancient religion.

But since Olga's condition suddenly worsened, David has never brought Olga here again.

...By the way, where is my Olga now?

David looked around at a loss. The gentle female voice lingering in his ears disappeared without a trace. He felt as if there was a thick gauze covering his head, making him blindly chase the shadow of the person in the red dress in front of him. However, now the gauze was suddenly removed, and he found that there was nothing in front of him.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Maybe I was too nervous... because today was a day to do something big...

According to his plan, he would go to do a big business in a few hours. With the help of two mechanical arms, he believed that he would do better. Moreover, he hired two mercenaries with extraordinary powers through the channel of the pawn shop owner in the dungeon.

With the money, he could cure his own Olga.

David's mind gradually became clearer, and he tried hard to connect the fragmented memories of the past few days. Some weirdness and confusion made him feel uneasy.

Two mechanical arms, plenty of ammunition, and money to hire extraordinary mercenaries... Compared to the two thieves who pawned their jewelry before, isn't what the pawn shop owner gave a little too much?

Also, the thing that Olga ate for herself at the end.

Now David clearly knows that he has become a "criminal", and it seems that he can be called... an extraordinary person?

After David ate the thing in a daze, some wonderful knowledge, accompanied by a severe headache and noisy mumbling, flooded into David's head. Most of them were various sophisticated and deadly criminal techniques.

But now, David, who had brushed off all the weirdness in front of Saint Julie, felt scared when he thought back and was terrified by the terrible criminal skills in his mind.

Only then did he slowly remember that before everything happened, he was a... detective.

"Criminal", this name is really ironic to me.

Thinking of what happened next, David fumbled for a long time and finally took out the last cigarette from his pocket. He tremblingly put it through his scarf and put it in his mouth to light it. He hoped that this could calm the confusion and doubt that was out of control in his heart, but it was no use.

In the smoke, he suddenly saw a familiar shadow at the church door.

…Geraldine Lightning!

The female reporter who caused him to fail many times!

Shit, doesn't she no longer work for the police department?

David's mood became tense again. Due to the replacement of his arms, his whole body shape has changed a lot. He felt that even if he was a detective at his peak, he would not be able to recognize David like this.

Things are getting tricky.

Due to his own mental and psychological confusion, and the fact that he keenly felt that his enhanced intuition had suddenly disappeared, David did not want to come into conflict with the difficult Geraldine here.

Geraldine, who was standing at the door of the church, did not dare to actually arrest David because she was isolated and lacked reasonable and legal means.

Under the gaze of the goddess and the church, no one dared to start a conflict.

After the two of them were in a stalemate for a long time, the red-haired Geraldine took the first step and walked towards David, but in the end she just sat opposite the fountain very restrainedly.

"Sir... do you need help?"

Damn, this red fox finally recognized me.

David hated Geraldine, not only because she pursued him relentlessly, but also because of her fiery red hair, which always reminded David of Olga's blood-red dress.

"…You…are you discharged from the hospital?"

"Yes, I am discharged from the hospital."

The red fox seemed to smile.

"Sir, you don't have to be so defensive against me. I no longer work for Sivellas Field or even for The Moon. Now I'm just a fashion reporter for Ode to the Stars, an ordinary writer."

"…Then why are you following me?"

"Our meeting is just a coincidence, sir. It's just the guidance of the goddess. I came here to report and to prepare for the cover of the next "Ode to the Stars"."

"What on earth do you want to do?"

"I just want to help you,"

Geraldine sighed.

"You look so helpless, sir, and the tone you spoke to me was so confused..."

"..."

"I am not here to persuade you to surrender, nor am I here to persuade you to turn yourself in. That is meaningless and I will not succeed. I just feel that you need help now. You have accumulated too much hardship and garbage in your mind and spirit, which makes you overwhelmed and wandering in the land of pain."

"..."

In front of Geraldine, who was good at speaking, David's tattered mental barriers seemed very fragile. He was silent for a while, but still asked.

"...How are you going to help me?"

Just as he finished speaking, a cell phone flew over the fountain. David reached out and grabbed it steadily. He turned it over and saw a string of phone calls on the screen, just waiting for him to dial.

"This is my psychiatrist, my primary psychiatrist who recommended it to me. I do my weekly rehabilitation here. She has a free consultation at this time every week."

"I'm not lying to you. If you don't believe me, search her channel yourself. If you don't want to be public, she will censor your voice and no one will recognize you."

David hesitated for a long time. He felt that his brain was like a sponge, which was tortured by the crazy experience of the previous week. Now, with the suppression of the so-called "Extraordinary Ability", the water that was originally filled and expanded due to the Extraordinary Characteristics dried up again, leaving a broken and inferior stone. Half-believing and half-doubting, David still dialed the phone.

A gentle female voice sounded on the phone.

"Hello, this is the [Morning Tea Room] psychological counseling radio station. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"...I, I have a wife...I like her very much, I really, really love her..."

David was shaking all over. He swallowed and continued his statement.

"But one day, she fell ill... Her body was sick, with sores and decaying, but her soul escaped and floated around me, accompanying me and guiding me..."

"My wife and the doctor told me that only by spending a lot of money can I save my wife's body."

"But now... I have forgotten where my wife's body is. The most terrifying thing is that I can't find my wife's soul either..."

"Sir, I can feel your grief, but I hope you can listen to me. Your condition is quite serious. I suggest you consult a professional psychiatrist. I'm afraid that psychological counseling will only be more effective after you have followed up with pathological drug treatment."

"...my wife is missing...my..."

David paused suddenly, then stood up and yelled into the phone.

"I'm not sick! I haven't failed! If you don't believe me, I'm going to do something big today. I'm going to get enough money to heal my wife! From her body to her soul!"

After saying that, David angrily threw the phone to the ground, then left without looking back with a belly full of confused and broken thoughts.

Just as he came to the mysterious St. Julie's Church in confusion.

The phone was intact and the lady on the line was still waiting for a response.

"...Sir, sir? Are you still there?"

"...It seems that our gentleman has encountered some urgent work that needs to be dealt with. Unfortunately, our connection ends here."

"Today's [Morning Tea Room] Psychological Counseling Radio ends here. Welcome everyone to follow my channel. I will be waiting for you here at 5:30 every morning."

"I am your close friend Audrey, and I look forward to seeing you next time."