From where they stood, they could hear Tristine's faint voice, drowned out by the man.
The two of them started walking…
Slowly, hiding in the shadows, the group began to follow them.
Tristine seemed to be trembling. The sun scorched everything it touched.
Silence enveloped them…
They walked for quite a while, until they reached a warehouse.
They went inside…
They went up to the second floor, using the exterior staircase behind the warehouse.
They slipped inside, trying to make as little noise as possible. They positioned themselves where they could see the entire interior of the warehouse.
Inside, there were about fifty people, with cups full of the sinner transformation liquid.
They couldn't hear what they were saying…
Some seemed terrified, others confident; another group was excited, and the vast majority, resigned.
Nero raised an eyebrow at the color of Tristine's glass. It was a dark blue…
They all downed their glasses in one gulp.
Nero felt a little sorry for them; after all, they were in the same boat.
The liquid went down their throats.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Some exchanged nervous glances; others smiled, believing it was all over. Tristine gripped her glass tightly, her fingers white with tension.
Then, one of them fell to his knees. The sharp thud against the floor broke the silence.
Another began to breathe heavily, clutching his chest. The conversations turned into confused murmurs, then into stifled shouts.
Nero felt a chill run down his spine.
The glasses fell one after another, shattering on the warehouse floor.
Tristine's body writhed in pain…
"What's going on?" Nero asked, confused.
Lux and Kōri exchanged glances, equally confused.
Axel raised an eyebrow, as bewildered as the others.
A terrifying thought crossed Axel's mind. He opened his mouth and said:
"I forgot to tell you something… a sinner can descend into the most terrifying madness if—"
Axel paused, then, in a choked gasp, continued,
"—if certain specific objects are used in their ritual. In this state, they are easily controlled and manipulated."
Nero's body stiffened as he realized they had an army of sinners beneath them.
The eyes of all those people grew bright, so bright they shone in the darkness of the warehouse.
A soft creak echoed from below.
Nero gasped as he watched several heads lift at once. Bright eyes darted about, erratically searching for something they couldn't see, but seemed to sense.
"We're leaving," Nero whispered, barely moving his lips.
Lux nodded immediately. Kōri was already backing away, calculating each step. Axel gritted his teeth, cursing silently.
They descended the outside staircase with agonizing slowness. Each step seemed about to betray them. The cold metal groaned once… and then nothing.
Nero placed his hand down, stopping the group.
Silence.
A strange, disjointed murmur rose from the warehouse, as if many voices were trying to speak at once but failing.
They seized the moment.
They slipped through the shadows, hugging the walls, crossing the alley without looking back. The day's heat had become heavy, almost unreal.
They turned a corner and entered an abandoned area.
There, among fallen structures and broken walls, stood a house… or what was left of it.
"Here," Lux murmured.
They entered one by one.
For a few seconds, no one spoke.
Only then, when they were sure they hadn't been followed, did Nero exhale slowly.
"This wasn't in the plan," Lux whispered.
Kōri leaned against a cracked wall, arms crossed.
"That ritual…" she murmured. "It wasn't a test."
Axel ran a hand over his face.
"Because it wasn't."
Nero stared at him.
"Speak."
Axel swallowed.
"The Sinner ritual should be individual. What we saw was meant for only one thing."
"Control?" Kōri asked.
"No," Axel replied.
"So what is it?" Nero asked.
"I know that method," Axel said quietly. "They're the Smilers."
"I've never seen them indoctrinate so many people."
Kōri frowned.
"That warehouse wasn't the end."
"It was the beginning."
A distant sound echoed outside.
Nero inhaled slowly.
"We have two options," he said. "Leave… or finish the mission."
Lux scoffed softly.
"We're already involved."
No one argued.
"We wait until nightfall," Nero concluded.
"We'll enter undetected, and we'll do it quickly."
Lux nodded, though his expression was tense.
"No mistakes."
They waited.
The sun slowly descended, painting the sky in dark hues. The heat subsided, replaced by a cooler, denser air. From their hiding place, they watched the city change, the shadows lengthen, and the movement slow.
When night finally fell, they emerged.
They moved through alleyways and along paths. secondary, avoiding lights and glances.
Tristine's house appeared before them, silent, seemingly ordinary.
No sign that anything was amiss...
They approached cautiously. Kōri forced the entrance with a precise movement, barely a click.
Lux was the first to enter, followed by Axel. Nero was the last, closing the door behind them.
The house was dimly lit.
Every step was calculated. Every breath, held.
They knew what they had come to do...
And neither was sure they would leave the same person.
They split up without a word.
Axel and Lux took the right-hand corridor, moving cautiously, checking every room, every corner where someone might be hiding. Their steps were soft, almost imperceptible.
Nero and Kōri went the other way.
The hallway was narrower. At the end, a half-open door let out a faint light from a small, old lamp.
It was the children's room.
Nero stopped.
From the doorway, he could see small beds, worn toys, and drawings clumsily taped to the wall. Everything was silent.
Too quiet.
He felt a knot in his stomach.
Kōri glanced at him, understanding without needing words.
Nero frowned and looked away, his expression one of disgust… not at the place, but at himself. He clenched his fists, as if trying to erase the thought from his mind.
""Don't look," Kōri murmured. "Focus."
Nero nodded, though the feeling didn't disappear.
They closed the door carefully and continued.
Minutes later, an impromptu metallic sound indicated that Axel and Lux had finished. The meeting point was clear.
Tristine's room.
They arrived one by one.
The door was closed. There was no sound from inside.
Axel stood to one side. Lux to the other. Kōri kept watch in the hallway. Nero stood in front of the door.
For a moment, no one moved. Everything had led them to this point. Nero took a deep breath and placed his hand on the doorknob.
The decision had been made.
Now all that remained was to face it.
Nero opened the door carefully.
The room was empty.
Only Tristine's bed was there… empty.
"She's not here," Lux murmured.
A chill ran through Nero.
Then, two brown eyes flashed in the darkness.
"Axel!" Kōri managed to say.
It was too late.
Tristine emerged from the shadows with unnatural speed. Axel barely had time to react before she lunged at him, taking him completely by surprise.
They both fell to the ground with a thud.
"Back off!" Lux shouted, advancing immediately.
Nero took a step forward, his heart pounding in his chest.
This wasn't an impromptu ambush.
She had been waiting for them.
Tristine's eyes glowed with a disturbing intensity as she moved, quick, erratically, as if she weren't thinking… as if she were obeying something else.
"She's out of control," Kōri said, her voice strained.
Nero gritted her teeth.
The mission had just become far more dangerous.
And the silence of the house was shattered forever.
Kōri reacted instantly.
She activated her sword and, in the blink of an eye, created a blade of ice, emanating an unnatural chill that swept through the room.
"Now!" she ordered.
Nero didn't hesitate.
She drew her card and threw it with precision. The card struck Tristine's leg, causing her to lose her balance for a second.
Axel seized that moment. He struggled to his feet and drew his revolver, aiming without even taking a breath.
Lux appeared from the side.
With a stifled scream, she swung an axe that passed dangerously close to Tristine's head, forcing her to stumble backward.
Anyone would have screamed.
Anyone would have fallen.
But Tristine didn't.
She showed no pain.
She didn't scream.
She didn't cry.
Her brown eyes still shone in the darkness, fixed, empty… as if there were no one behind them anymore.
"She feels nothing," Axel murmured, his voice tense.
Tristine straightened slowly, ignoring each attack as if they didn't belong to her.
Nero felt a cold weight on his chest.
This was no longer a person reacting.
It was something moving by pure command.
And that… was much worse.
Tristine took a step back.
The air around her seemed to distort.
Suddenly, she raised her hand and a bullet of compressed water shot out violently.
It grazed Nero's head, close enough for him to feel the impact of the air.
"Watch out!" Kōri shouted.
Nero instinctively stepped back. His heart pounded.
Without thinking, he drew his knife. His fingers were about to strike it when…
A smaller, trembling figure emerged from the doorway, his breath ragged.
It was one of Tristine's brothers.
His eyes darted from Nero to her, filled with fear and confusion.
The boy said nothing.
His legs shook, and suddenly, he burst into tears. A silent, stifled cry that filled the room more than any scream.
Tristine didn't react.
Not a glance.
Not a gesture.
It was as if the sound didn't exist for her.
After all… it wasn't her.
The brown eyes continued to shine with the same empty intensity, fixed on the group, as if the boy were just another irrelevant obstacle.
Nero felt a bad omen.
"He doesn't recognize her..." Lux murmured. "He feels nothing."
The boy fell to his knees, covering his face with his hands, unable to stop his tears.
Tristine raised her hand again.
The water began to swirl around them, obeying a will that wasn't its own.
Kōri tensed her ice sword.
Axel gripped the revolver tightly.
Nero gripped the knife, hesitating for a split second.
This was no longer a simple choice.
They weren't facing Tristine. They were facing what had taken her.
And time to decide was running out...