Chapter 5: My Sister's Corpse and the Masked Enemy

Night fell over the town of Graymist in an eerie silence. I stood outside the crumbling wooden house—the house that supposedly once belonged to the Aestrell Laurie family.

Rielle stood next to me, arms crossed, and her face more serious than usual.

"Why do you suddenly want to come here?" she asked.

"I… think there's something important I need to know. About myself. Or… about the Chaos that used to be," I said slowly.

I don't know why, but since that night's mission, the same dream has been recurring. A young woman calls out the name "Estrella", her voice is anxious... followed by a flash of fire and screams.

I pushed the door open. It creaked. Thick dust covered the furniture that had been left behind, moldy books on the wooden shelves. This house had clearly been uninhabited for a long time.

We started rummaging around. Rielle downstairs, I went upstairs.

In the room next to where I had "lived" before, I found an old cupboard. It was locked, but the rust and rot made it easy to open.

Crack.

Inside was a wooden box, and a piece of silver pendant which hangs on the closet wall with a faded red ribbon.

My hand trembled as I touched the pendant.

The picture inside—two young women standing in a field of flowers. One of them was Aestrell, this body... and the other, a woman with bright blonde hair, a gentle smile.

The name came unforced: Elviana Laurie.

Sister Aestrell.

“Rielle…!!!" I shouted from above. "Come here for a moment."

She appeared in two seconds. I handed him the pendant.

She looked, then nodded.

"I've heard that name. Elviana Laurie. She used to be a gifted healer. But... mysteriously disappeared."

We began searching around the room again. Under the cracked floorboards, Rielle found something—a small notebook wrapped in black cloth. The writing was neat, full of notes about herbs, healing magic… and on the last page:

— Elviana

The world felt frozen for a moment. My breathing became heavy.

"She... knew she was going to die. And she was waiting for the 'me' that used to be... Chaos." Suddenly, there was a loud noise downstairs. The sound of glass breaking.

Rielle and I looked at each other.

We immediately descended, weapons ready in hand.

And in the living room, stood a man in a black and silver mask—sharp eyes, a dark aura. Symbol crossed daggers in a circle engraved on the chest of his robe.

I swallowed. That's… a symbol The Veil.

“Chaos,” he said, his voice deep and hoarse. “You should be dead.” "It's a shame I'm the type to die," I replied while raising the sword. He drew his weapon—a double-edged, poisoned knife.

Without warning, he jumped towards me.

I moved reflexively—CLAN!—My sword parried the first attack, fire naturally engulfing my hand. Rielle came from the side, attacking with twin daggers.

But the man was too fast. He disappeared into the shadows before reappearing behind Rielle and almost stabbing her in the neck—

“Ignis: Flame Wall!"

I spread a wall of fire, blocking the final attack. The man backed away, eyes burning.

"This body hasn't fully returned… but you're starting to remember, Chaos. We'll come again… when you're at your weakest."

And in the blink of an eye, he disappeared.

Silence again. Only the sound of my breathing struggling to contain my nervousness.

Rielle looked at me.

"Revenge. This isn't about missions or pay anymore, is it?"

I held the pendant tightly.

"No. This is about My sister. They killed him.” Rielle nodded. “Then, we will look for them.”

I contemplated the fire that was still burning slowly in my fingers. The heat… felt like a passion that wouldn't go out.

Chaos used to be a killing machine. But me?

I will be a killer who knows who should die… and who should be protected.