Cerene's Private Journal
Date: Day after Nitsuo's disappearance
Location: Narshia Mansion
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The night of the celebration was… peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Anna laughed again. Leander stayed close to her.
The others smiled, even if briefly.
For a moment, it felt like things were healing.
But peace never lasts long in this house.
---
The next morning
Almar collapsed during breakfast.
He was smiling one moment, and then…
His eyes rolled back. Foam at the lips.
It felt like time stopped.
Elric saved him. Just barely.
He poured everything he had into the antidote. I think he nearly passed out from the strain.
Almar is alive, but pale. Quiet. Weakened.
I've never seen him look so… small.
---
Then came the accusations.
The First Wife pointed to my uncle.
My uncle blamed her in return.
And in the middle of it all — Nitsuo vanished.
Of course, they used that too.
"Convenient disappearance."
"A planned coup."
It's absurd. But that doesn't stop tongues from wagging.
My father… he's stopped speaking entirely.
He just sits in the garden these days.
As if waiting for everything to fall apart.
---
Nitsuo's teammates — how they're coping
Alice and Leander are searching everything — even abandoned wells, sewers, forest paths.
They don't sleep. They barely eat.
Anna hasn't left the mansion. She stays near Leander. I think she's terrified that if she moves, someone else will vanish.
Elric prayed like madman he hasn't leave temple nearby.
His hands tremble when he thinks no one is looking.
Lily tried to trace Nitsuo's mana. She followed it all the way to the outer wall… and then it vanished like smoke.
She hasn't said a word since.
Gideon is wiping his shield. Over and over. Like if he stops, he'll lose his mind.
Riya… she refuses to leave Nitsuo's room.
She sleeps in his chair.
Tried a high-level location seal. Failed. She cried, I think.
She thinks I didn't see.
But I did.
---
As for me…
I'm not close to Nitsuo.
But I'm not a fool either.
That boy was a tether. He held this team together in ways they didn't even notice.
Now he's gone, and everything is unraveling.
And worse… I don't think this is a coincidence.
First Almar. Then Nitsuo.
Too close. Too precise.
> Someone is cutting the strings that hold this house upright.
And my family…
My brothers…
They're in the middle of it.
---
> I want to believe we can fix this.
But right now, all I feel is fear.
> Quiet. Careful. Growing fear.
— Cerene Narshia