For the first time in a long time, Stan was outside the town borders.
He took one last glance back—at the crooked rooftops, cracked towers, and dull skyline of the town he had spent years in. The place where he'd once dreamt of rising to the top, becoming a high-ranker. But now those dreams lay buried under a pile of disappointment. Crushed. Not even with flair. Just... crumbled. No hero's fall. No dramatic betrayal.
Just... unemployment and dust allergies.
"Hmph," he scoffed, kicking a loose stone. "No point looking back."
A breeze rustled through the open fields. The morning sun was full of gold and fire, painting the world like a dream he wasn't invited to.
"But... but—"
"WHY ARE WE GOING TO A HAUNTED TOWN?!"
His voice shattered the peace like a flying brick through stained glass. Birds flapped up in panic. The clouds visibly flinched.
---
The three of them stood in the middle of a beautiful, grassy field, the horizon wide and vivid with colors of dawn. Sunfield was poring over a worn map, her eyes scanning the terrain like a hawk who hadn't had coffee.
Stan jogged up beside Nito, keeping his voice low.
"Hey, quick thing... Is Nito your actual name?"
"Ah," Nito blinked, as if caught off guard. "It's Navaranga Desai. 'Nito' is just short."
Stan blinked. "Navaranga... Desai? Is he... Indian? Wait, is this dude a reincarnate?!"
Or maybe... he was born in a desi region of this world?
His thoughts spiraled until a loud grrrrrrrr broke the mental chain.
Stan turned. "You hungry, Sunfield?"
Sunfield, still trying to look serious, pressed a hand to her stomach like she was scolding it.
"We are not resting. It's a normal distance. No unnecessary halts!"
Stan squinted, then slowly looked at Nito.
"Why is she walking like she's on a speedrun?"
"She's afraid of ghosts," Nito said bluntly, shrugging. "She just doesn't want to arrive after dark."
"...Wait. The holy maiden is afraid of ghosts?"
"Ironic, I know," Nito replied, a little too casually.
---
As the trail winded slightly uphill, Stan broke the silence again.
"So... how'd you all even become a team? Just the four of you, or more?"
Nito tilted his head, gazing at the sky. The wind caught his scarf just enough to give him a dramatic anime moment.
"We didn't meet one by one. I was already traveling with Sunfield—we were in the capital. That's when we met the other two. Back then... we weren't searching for anyone."
"So, how'd they join?"
"Sunfield saw them fight. They were powerful. Unique. She asked them to join."
Stan frowned thoughtfully, glancing at the open field as if hoping to glimpse the memory himself.
"If Sunfield chose them, they must be monsters in strength."
"Not wrong," Nito smirked. "Both of them hold holy knowledge. Divine arts. And they're... odd. You'll see."
Stan let out a low whistle.
"Two holy, two unholy, and a ghost-fearing holy maiden... what a squad."
Just then—
THUNDERCLAP!
A jagged crack tore through the sky like a warning bell. The sky dimmed like someone turned the contrast knob down too far.
"The climate's changing," Nito said, suddenly alert.
"We're close," Sunfield added, her voice uncharacteristically tight.
The field ended. Trees thinned. Shadows lengthened unnaturally.
Before them loomed the outline of a town long abandoned. Faded signboards leaned like drunks. Buildings stood like corpses in a graveyard—burnt, broken, hollow-eyed. Windows shattered. Walls half-melted. Doors ajar but unmoving, as if waiting.
Darkness lingered like a second skin over the place.
Sunfield came to a full stop. Her throat bobbed.
"We've... reached our destination."
Stan stared ahead, his voice quiet.
"Did this place burn down?"
"Yes," Sunfield said, voice lower. "But the haunting... started before that. The fire was just one incident. No one knows the full story. No one comes back."
------------
"Hello."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
The trio screamed so loud the wind probably filed a noise complaint.
In front of them, appearing as if summoned by the very breath of hell, stood three people—casually. Calmly. Like they didn't just violate every social code of haunted town etiquette.
Sunfield nearly threw her map like a shuriken.
It took a few dramatic seconds, a lot of chest-heaving, and one mini panic attack before the trio stopped screaming.
"Who are you?!" Sunfield barked, her brows shooting down like twin spears. "And don't you have manners?!"
"Sorry! Sorry, ma'am!" The one in front—clearly the leader of the bunch—raised his hands in a desperate gesture of surrender. He had a youthful, adventurous face and the kind of overconfident smile only a man with no sense of mortality would wear in a ghost town.
Sunfield composed herself with a sharp breath and flick of her hair.
"Your sorry is accepted," she declared. "So what?"
"Uh... what?"
"You said hello. From behind. Explain that, genius."
"Oh! Right," the young man scratched the back of his head. "We're adventurers. This is my party. We came here, you know... hoping to find something valuable. To sell."
Sunfield narrowed her eyes like a teacher staring into a failing student's soul.
They came here for treasure... in a haunted town? This must be their last option. Yep. Rock bottom. Classic.
"Can I ask something?" the adventurer leader asked sheepishly. "Are you... a holy maiden?"
Sunfield's eyes flicked toward him. "Yes."
CLAP!
Without warning, the entire trio of strangers dropped into a synchronized kneel. Palms together. Heads bowed like pilgrims begging at a divine altar.
"PLEASE LET US JOIN YOUR PARTY FOR THIS PLACE!"
Stan blinked so hard his brain rebooted. He stepped forward like a referee trying to separate fighters in a ring.
"Okay, okay, listen. The thing is—"
But before he could even finish that sentence—
"I shall accept thy wish," Sunfield declared dramatically, already striking a noble pose.
Stan's soul visibly left his body.
"Wait, what?!"
And just like that, with the divine swiftness of a thunderbolt and the recklessness of a fever dream, the once-balanced team of three became a team of six—at least temporarily, thanks to the holy maiden's... generous spirit.
Somewhere above them, the heavens facepalmed.
"Ho ho ho," the adventurer leader chuckled, standing upright like he'd just won the lottery.
"You scared holy maiden," Stan muttered under his breath.
---
The six of them stood at the border of a ghost town, now more like a chaotic school trip than a divine mission.
And deep within the darkened ruins... something stirred, watching.
Waiting.