The City of Vale has its merits. Its buildings are large and spacious. It's safe for those who don't care much about keeping up appearances, so the streets aren't crowded at midday or crowded at night, for everyone to have a place they can go when they need some quiet time away from their homes or places to be in. But for those who love to explore and find new things to see, it's also a great place to do so.

It was such a wonderful day out, too. The sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows across the bustling streets. People moved about in their usual hurry—students from the main Academy chatting about their training, shopkeepers setting up displays, and Huntsmen exchanging stories of their recent missions.

It was another day in the city, full of life and energy. The distant sounds of bullheads taking off from the docks blended with the chatter, creating an environmental hum.

For Alex Holt, a mid-level security officer working at the Vale Police Department, it was just another shift. He strolled casually along the outer perimeter of the marketplace, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

The radio on his belt crackled occasionally with routine updates, but nothing major ever happened in the daylight hours. Vale was considered one of the safest cities, after all. The Grimm rarely ventured this far, and the Huntsmen kept any minor disturbances in check.

The only things that could be found worth reporting were occasional incidents between rival gangs or rogue Huntsmen trying to set themselves up as better hunters. Nothing serious, and not likely to get him assigned here for quite a while.

But the constant chatter made his mind wander, and it was easy enough to tune into Vale's CCT whenever he had the time. His favorite station was the local weather station.

There was nothing more refreshing than the fact that no matter what state of high pressure you had going, Vale would always know the weather, whether it was sunny or cloudy. It was like having a reliable source of information right outside your window every morning. It was just one of those things, really.

During this day, Alex noticed the subtle transitions that most people wouldn't have picked up on. His gaze flicked over the crowds. Fewer people than usual for this time of day. The baker on 4th Street wasn't at his stall. Neither was the fruit vendor across the square.

Alex knew a thing or two about these small changes. These changes occurred more often during a day like today. As a general rule, if there were no immediate threats threatening them, most residents ignored the signs of something amiss.

After all, if a Grimm attacked while they were at work or out shopping, then surely somebody was bound to notice. And if they did happen to notice... well, the townspeople weren't about to sit back and let the Grimm take a bite out of their community. That would be suicide.

Alex shook it off at first. People took days off, had errands, or just slept in sometimes. No big deal. But as he continued his rounds, that quiet nagging feeling of unease grew stronger. Something felt off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The streets weren't exactly empty—there were still plenty of people around. But something about the crowd felt... wrong. Thinner. As if some of the usual faces were just gone, vanished without anyone really noticing.

"Hey, Holt!" A fellow guard, Davis, called out as they crossed paths. "You hear about the missing persons reports?"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Missing persons? I thought Vale was boring these days."

"Yeah, so did I," Davis chuckled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "But it's getting weird. Not enough to start a panic or anything, but people are saying more folks aren't showing up for work. Their neighbors haven't seen them, and a few haven't been home in days."

Alex frowned but waved it off. "Probably nothing. People get sick, visit family. It'll pass."

Davis shrugged, clearly unconvinced. "I dunno man. I just got the report yesterday. Seems like the number is getting bigger by the day."

"Maybe you're just tired of hearing us complain about it."

The other guard laughed nervously. "That's probably it. But still..."

"Well, try not to worry about it. You're a big guy now. If anyone's causing trouble, it'll be some petty thief running around stealing supplies, or someone selling stolen goods. They won't hurt you if they think we're too dumb to recognize what's happening."

"Still, maybe you should—"

Alex cut him off with a firm shake of his head. "Don't worry about it. Just make sure there isn't anything suspicious lurking around anywhere."

"Right." Davis nodded. The sound of the radio on his belt crackled again, this time with the report from one of the nearby patrol units. Alex listened intently, but it all seemed normal, at least for the time being.

As the day stretched on, the feeling in Alex's gut only worsened. He attempted to tell himself it was just another shift, but by late afternoon, he couldn't ignore it anymore.

He tried to reassure himself that Vale was a safe place, but how could it be safe if people were disappearing, vanishing so quickly that nobody knew where they went? The whole place felt tense. Like it was holding its breath.

This shift was unusual, even by Vale standards. Normally there wasn't a day where there weren't problems to solve or rumors to debunk. This shift, however, was unusually quiet, and it unsettled him to his very core.

He passed the flower shop on the corner—usually run by an old woman who never missed a day of business—but today, it was closed. No sign of her.

A growing sense of dread began to settle over him as he moved through Vale's streets. Shop shutters were pulled down earlier than usual. Windows were closed. The faint scent of smoke hung in the air as if someone had burned something nearby, but no one else seemed to notice.

Alex's hand hovered near his radio, his mind debating whether to call in an official report. But what would he say? People missing but no signs of danger? It would be written off as paranoia.

"Just keep walking," he muttered under his breath, forcing himself to move along.

He glanced at his watch. Half an hour until his shift ended. Normally, this would be the time when he would start heading back toward the security outpost, but something gnawed at him, a tug in the back of his mind, like a whisper he couldn't quite hear.

One more loop, he told himself. Just to settle the feeling.

He turned down a side street, away from the main market, toward the less frequented part of town. The tall buildings here cast longer shadows, and the streets were narrower, winding like a maze. He rarely patrolled this area—it wasn't a high-priority zone for security, mostly filled with small shops, back alley cafés, and old apartments. The kind of place where people kept to themselves.

The unsettling quiet deepened as he ventured farther. His footsteps echoed off the brick walls. Every now and then, a rustle of movement caught his attention—probably just stray cats rummaging through trash cans—but it did little to ease the growing unease inside him.

Alex scanned the windows of the buildings. Some were dark, others faintly illuminated by dim lights, but most were shut tight, curtains drawn. A few doors hung open just slightly, as if left ajar in haste.

Alex slowed his pace, eyes narrowed as he focused on a particular alley up ahead. He'd walked by it earlier in the day without a second thought. Now, something about it seemed different. He couldn't quite explain it, but the space between the buildings felt... wrong. The alley was too dark for this time of day, the light barely penetrating the gloom.

Instinctively, his hand drifted toward the small flashlight clipped to his belt. He hesitated for a moment before pulling it free, shining a beam of light into the narrow alleyway. At first glance, it appeared empty—just a typical backstreet. But then, as the light flickered over the ground, he spotted something that made his heart skip a beat.

A smear of dark red, glistening in the fading sunlight.

Blood.

Alex felt his stomach tighten. His training kicked in, but even that did little to stop the chill creeping up his spine. Blood wasn't unheard of in Vale, especially with the Grimm breaching the city limits, albeit seldom.

When his light searched around it, there were no signs of a fight, no destruction, no bodies. Just the smear, as if something—or someone—had been dragged into the darkness.

He took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. This was what he was trained for, wasn't it? Investigating suspicious activity, ensuring the safety of the citizens. But still, something was unnerving about this. And he doesn't know what!

He glanced around the deserted street, half-expecting to see someone watching him from the shadows, but the area was completely empty. Almost as if the world had gone quiet, leaving him alone with that dark, crimson trail.

Alex clicked his radio. "This is Officer Holt, reporting possible foul play on the corner of Elm and 3rd. Investigating a blood trail in an alley. Requesting backup."

The radio crackled for a moment before a voice responded, "Copy that, Officer Holt. Backup is on the way. Stay safe."

The silence that followed felt like it pressed down on him, heavier than before. Alex took a step closer to the alley, his heart pounding in his chest. He could feel the poundage of the darkness, the way it seemed to pull him in as if the alley itself was beckoning him forward. His flashlight flickered as he walked, casting his shadow against the walls that slowly disappeared from the sun's sight.

The trail of blood was faint, but it was there, leading deeper into the alley. The air grew colder as he ventured farther in, the sounds of the city growing more distant until all that remained was the echo of his own footsteps.

When he reached the end of the alley, the trail of blood abruptly stopped. The police froze, sweeping his light across the ground, searching for some sign of where it had gone. The air was stuffy with the smell of damp stone and something else—something metallic, sharp, like copper.

Suddenly, there was a sound behind him, a faint shuffle, like something brushing against the ground.

He whipped around, his flashlight beam cutting through the darkness, only seeing nothing. The alley was still and quiet. His grip tightened on the flashlight, his other hand reaching for the pistol holstered at his side.

Another sound, closer this time—a faint scraping, like nails against the stone.

His heart pounded in his chest as he backed up, his light darting across the alley walls. He could feel it now, a presence. Something was there, watching him, lurking just beyond the edge of the light.

The radio at his hip crackled to life, startling him. "Holt, this is dispatch. Backup is about five minutes out. What's your status?"

Alex fumbled for the radio, his voice shaking slightly. "There's something here. I—" He cut himself off as his flashlight flickered again, the beam growing weaker. He slapped it against his hand, trying to coax it back to life, but it sputtered, casting brief flashes of light before plunging the alley into darkness.

A chill ran down his spine, and he could hear his own breath, sharp and uneven. The scraping sound came again, closer this time, followed by a low, guttural noise—like the sound of something breathing, something not human.

"Who's there?" Alex called out, his voice echoing off the walls. He drew his pistol, the barrel trembling slightly as he aimed into the shadows.

His mind raced with possibilities—Grimm, one that entered the city unnoticed, some sort of wild animal—but this didn't feel right.

For a moment, Alex considered backing out, retreating until the backup arrived. But then, something caught his eye. A faint glimmer at the far end of the alley. A shape, barely visible, standing just at the edge of the light.

He could finally make out the full shape of the creature. His stomach lurched.

It was—it was—...

...what the hell is that?

He stepped back, his heart hammering in his chest as the creature slowly moved forward, its body unnaturally jerky. The blood trail—this thing was responsible.

The flashlight in Alex's hand flickered again, then died completely, plunging the alley into darkness. Panic surged through him as he fumbled for the radio, desperately calling for backup. "Dispatch! I need backup now! There's something—"

The radio cut out, the static fading into silence.

He stood frozen, his gun still raised, but the creature didn't stop. It took another step, and then another, until it was close enough that he could hear its ragged breathing, and smell the stench of decay that clung to it.

And then, it beat.

Alex had seen Grimm before—those soulless, bloodthirsty monsters of the wilds—but this... monstrosity? The alley was cold, its shadows thicker than they had been moments ago. His hand tightened around the gun in his grip, but even with his training, it, somehow, felt useless.

The creature moved into view, its four legs bent at unnatural angles, legs clacking on the wet pavement. His own heart skipped a beat. What was this thing? It was like a nightmarish scorpion-spider, but its flesh… It looked like it had been skinned alive, exposed muscle and sinew twitching and pulsing in the dim light.

What stood out the most, though, was the grotesque, pulsing, bovine heart at its center—a mass of twisted arteries and veins, beating steadily, as though it were alive on its own.

Then it spoke.

"I can taste the sky, but it never falls. The walls whisper to me, but they lie. This dance of despair leads us all." The words slid out in a calm, rhythmic cadence, unchanging, as though completely unrelated to anything happening in front of it. "The stars will never forgive you, for the ocean laughs in time."

His breath caught in his throat.

The voice didn't belong to any living thing. It was completely detached from reality. The thing spoke as it moved closer, slow and deliberate, the tentacles sprouting from its back twitching and undulating in the air, though tasting it.

"Fire in the bones, fire in the sky, the heartbeat will cease when the shadows cry," it continued, the voice male and monotone, unfeeling. "I am the stone that rolls uphill, and the song of death that never ends."

Alex raised his gun, the barrel shaking in his hand as he aimed at the thing. His mouth was dry, the blood pounding in his ears. His instincts screamed at him to shoot, but he hesitated, frozen.

Without warning, one of the creature's tentacles covered in spines lashed out, whipping across the ground, and striking his leg with a sharp, wet crack. He stumbled, barely managing to keep his footing, but the pain surged up his body, and a strangled gasp escaped his lips.

"Shit!" he spat, backing up, trying to regain control. The thing was faster than it looked.

"I am the river that devours cities. The mountains kneel before the song, but only the dust remembers." The voice didn't change—there was no malice in its words, no anger or even awareness of the situation. It just talked, as though an old man were narrating something entirely different, locked in its own reality. "Do you see the flowers bloom in the winter's breath? They sing of knives and tear apart the sun."

His mind spun, unable to process the horror in front of him or the incoherent rambling coming from the creature's mouth.

The tentacle wrapped around his leg, coiling painfully, and in one swift motion, it pulled him off his feet. He hit the ground hard, the breath knocked from his lungs as he skidded on the cold, wet concrete.

"A heart beats thrice before the dawn comes, but the dawn does not weep for the heart that is lost," the creature intoned, still speaking without pause. "The wind will break upon the walls of the sea, but the rain forgets its song."

His fingers scrambled for his pistol, but the creature was already moving in closer. The tentacles pulsed, dragging him across the ground toward it.

His legs kicked out, trying to find purchase, except the thing's grip was unyielding. Another tentacle shot forward, wrapping around his wrist and twisting the gun out of his hand. It clattered to the pavement, away from his reach.

"The stars bite the moon, and the rivers laugh at the trees," the creature droned, almost like a chant. "But the sun will never remember your name."

"Stop! Get off me!" Alex screamed, thrashing wildly. He tried to claw at the thing's tentacles, finding out that they felt like iron, cold and unrelenting. The creature's heart throbbed steadily, pulsing in rhythm with his rising panic.

"The song plays on, the song plays on. But the drums do not hear," it continued, its voice flat. The tentacles lifted Alex off the ground entirely now, bringing him closer to the beating heart. He could see it clearly now—how it pulsed with life, the veins glowing faintly with an unholy light.

The grip around his chest tightened, squeezing the air from his lungs. Alex gasped, his vision blurring, spots dancing in front of his eyes. His heart raced, pounding in his chest, desperately fighting for survival. But he knew. He knew there was no escape.

"The heart beats once more, but not for long. It cracks, it breaks, it ends," the voice continued, still speaking without any connection to the violence it was inflicting. "A shattered crown on a broken king. And the flowers never bloom again."

Alex's vision went dark. The last thing he heard, before everything faded, was the steady, emotionless drone of the Heart of Darkness' voice, that seals his fate:

"A heart of silence sings the loudest song."

There was a village that came into sight. The houses and buildings stood together neatly in a quad. The street was paved and empty, only the occasional people moving past. There was an entire town full of humans that he was glad to see.

The large group of guards gathered on top of the highest buildings, waiting for some orders. Some sat down and others stood, looking bored and conversing.

Others remained standing with weapons at hand. The place seemed like a normal village, with lots of houses, shops, and buildings. It looked quite well-built and organized.

To the strange woman, who introduced herself to Jaune as 'Suesor', it looked like a village of normalcy. But something didn't add up. Not with Grim running amok worldwide.

As much as she enjoyed being able to stay in this new world, she wanted more information to figure out their situation. If she ever meets up with those Grim creatures again, she'll make sure that every single one of them won't be walking out alive after being slaughtered.

From what she had seen of them, she knew how problematic they could be in numbers, so how did this village with no sufficient defenses manage to remain unassailable?

Her eyes trailed far away inside the village to the small children playing in the street, giggling and playing with each other. Their laughter sounded like sweet music to her ears, and she smiled in delight at the sight. She wondered how many of them survived from the Grim attacks that occurred recently time to time. After all, she saw the Soulless Creatures personally and knew how effective they can be combined with their instinctual ferocity.

The village itself was quite nice to look at from up in the sky. There was a clear blue sky with many fluffy white clouds that seemed to be floating around the village, occasionally drifting upwards as some people walked along the streets and the pathways of the main area.

On the road leading into the village was a row of houses lined up side-by-side, most of them having the words written out on them. There was also an old building with what seemed to be a run-down shop.

Other than the houses that seemed perfectly in order, the buildings did not seem to be in good condition. One building had its roof collapsed, and a sign nailed onto a wall said 'Rent Available'.

The town seemed busy with various activities, such as talking, eating, or laughing, which was something she always admired. It seemed like a happy environment.

A bit too cheerful though. Maybe that's just her? She thought.

Suesor sighed and shook off her thoughts. She needed to focus on finding and getting her answers here, but first, she had made sure Jaune stayed where she left him, lest his unsighted appearance would attract attention.

It might be unwise to leave a likely traumatized child on his own, but she did not depart him with her protection for nothing.

She continued walking until she reached the entrance to the village where she found a flag by a post, bearing the impression of a flowering plant, a Tatarian aster to be specific.

Beneath it read the town's name 'Shion'.

A few people passed by, but no one gave her any notice. No one paid any mind when a black figure covered in golden tattoos walked around.

As expected, no one really bothered her. That was good enough for her. She was thankful for the lack of attention. It made moving through the village easier. The simple anonymity of walking in broad daylight among humans, despite her otherworldly appearance.

She had seen entire cities fall to chaos, their streets torn apart by these vicious creatures. And yet, here, it was as if the village had not known fear or bloodshed.

Could the Grim be avoiding this place? Or were they biding their time? Whatever the case, the lack of defenses troubled her. It defied reason that a village like this, with only a modest guard presence, would remain untouched while some places of the world she saw a while back in space teetered on the brink of ruin.

Her eyes flicked briefly to the group of guards atop the highest buildings. They were poorly disciplined. These were not the hardened soldiers she had expected, and certainly not the type to hold back a tide of Grim.

The children's laughter reached her ears again. It caused a pang of unfamiliar warmth in her chest. Disconcerting. Suesor—Sauelsuesor—was not used to such emotions. Her role as a cosmic observer, ever-watchful and distant from mortal affairs, had rarely left room for sentimentality.

Maybe this village, with its simple joy, triggered something deep within her, locked from a distant past. She could not quite place it.

She stepped closer to the village center, where the streets were more crowded. The cobblestone paths were smooth beneath her feet, the stonework far better than that of other villages she had encountered eons.

Nobody could perceive the black figure with golden tattoos gliding through their midst.

Sauelsuesor was, after all, not one to be seen when she chose not to be.

Her ability to manipulate the very light around her body was something far beyond the comprehension of these simple humans. Through subtle control of photonic refraction, she bent the light around her form, rendering her invisible to the naked eye. The golden tattoos were dimmed, and their glow refracted away from any observer's naked view.

This ability was grounded in the Earth-world study of metamaterials—materials engineered to manipulate electromagnetic waves, including visible light.

As her cosmic body was composed of materials that function beyond the scope of Earth-bound science, she could employ a mechanism similar to massive objects in space such as stars and black holes due to gravitational lensing, but on a smaller scale, bending light around her body to become effectively imperceptible.

This way, she wouldn't need to fundamentally change her physical form. Instead, she would appear invisible nor camouflaged simply by altering how light interacts with her.

To the villagers, she was nothing but a breeze passing by.

Approaching one of the larger buildings that stood near the town square, she noticed It was an old structure, its foundation heavy with age, yet its walls stood firm, decorated with carvings of blooming flowers.

Suesor stepped closer to the large building, reading a wooden sign above the entrance. The worn letters spelled out "Shion Archive Cartographer's Guild." A promising lead. If there was any place in this village that could provide her with something like a world map, this would be it.

The heavy wooden doors creaked open as she pushed through them, echoing in the quiet interior. The space inside was dimly lit, with high shelves filled with books, most of which seemed to have seen better days. At the far end of the room, behind a counter, sat an elderly man, hunched over a large map, carefully tracing lines with a quill.

Suesor quietly approached, but not to the man. She would not allow herself to become visible even once. After all, she needs information.

She led herself to a large table in the center of the room. There, she unrolled a detailed map with an estimated size of the table's surface way from the man, soundless, depicting a wide array of lands, mountains, and seas.

"Undoubtedly, this is the most up-to-date map." She thought, eyes rapidly scanning various regions.

"Shion stands here, and westward lieth the borders of the nearest kingdom known as Mistral. Kingdoms, towns, settlements, academies. Yet, alas, many a place hath seemingly succumbed to chaos—Grim territory."

Her eyes studied the map, taking in the information quickly. It appeared there were large portions of the world that had been left blank, labeled simply as "Uncharted" or "Infested." The areas controlled by the Grim were marked with dark, ominous shades of red.

"Hmph? What be this?"

"Grimm? Nay, Grim? I have misapprehended all this time,"

"Fallible." She murmured, making a subtle adjustment to her understanding with a slight nod. Her mistake.

Once she was done, she discreetly put the map back and slipped out the door. All of her actions went completely unnoticed by the old man.

Once outside the old man's field of vision, she allowed her body to disappear. She felt herself fade away slowly as if leaving behind an air of invisibility. With her disappearance, the sun rose higher in the sky, illuminating her interstellar gas form as she flew across the houses of Shion.