Puppeteer.
Veritas was high on alert due to the situation. He quickly assessed ways to get out of the room. He immediately stared at the direction of the window in the room. Thinking that it'd be easy to get out, Veritas gazed upon his Soul and activated Windsong to chant Wind Cut.
"Cut!"
A single word was all it took for the glass window to shatter, fragile pieces of sharp glass then fell to the ground and outside the 3rd floor. It would be devastating if the shards were to hit someone all the way from the 3rd floor, but the night was silent and there were no other people around Veritas.
It was.. quite eerie.
Normally, there would still be people outside, either drinking booze, or having fun altogether. But tonight.. there was no one at all! Not a single life to be found aside from the 17 individuals outside Veritas' room. Even though Veritas had seen drunkards when he walked the streets of Copper Borough, they were suddenly and weirdly gone.
'Strange..'
Veritas could potentially fight the 17 individuals but he didn't try to risk it. It felt very ominous and peculiar, Veritas did not like his chances of winning at all!
So, upon the shattering of the window, Veritas jumped off and used the Winds to cushion his fall.
He landed gracefully, and stared back at the eerie establishment. Veritas felt the cold wind brush through his naked skin.
Veritas had not forgotten about his clothes, but he had no time to wear them!
The situation was very dire and he had been forced to rush.
His goal was to escape first, and then think about his clothing later..
Veritas quickly ran away from the establishment and headed towards the road that led to the Silver Borough.
In this quiet and solemn nightscape, a naked black haired man ran along the streets with haste.
*
'What the hell was that?! I have to report this to Auntie!'
Veritas was now fully clothed and ran through the empty streets of the Copper Borough, it had almost been 10 minutes since he escaped that establishment.
However, it was still weird that he had not seen anyone in the streets!
It was as if everything around him had really turned silent. Veritas continued to run forward along the main road.
The somber silence of the streets felt cold somehow. The area had been devoid of any life except for Veritas, who looked around and saw the stillness of the scenario. He had not seen any remnants of people, nothing at all.. No empty liquor bottles, no burnt out cigars, and no recent signs of anything!
'What the hell happened here in the past 6 months?!'
Veritas tensed at the silence, and continued to use the Winds to boost his speed.
If Veritas reported this to 'Auntie', who was one of the heads of the Wielders, then she would immediately listen to his pleas and investigate the area. Veritas saw his 'Auntie' as the most capable knight in Elrod, he held high respect for her as she was the one that trained him with the sword.
'At this time.. She has to be in the Elrod Investigation Agency!'
Thus, his goal for now was to find her and ask for help. Veritas did not consider searching for normal knights. After all, Veritas was significantly stronger than them.
He could also ask help from a Wielder that was patrolling the area of Copper Borough, but Veritas dismissed that fact due to them rarely patrolling the area. So, Veritas' only option was to head over to the Investigation Agency, where there are a multitude of Wielders.
'If I remember correctly then there should be an Agency near the main road..'
His memory told him that the Agency was located near Silver Borough but still inside the Copper Borough. So by traversing the road that led to Silver Borough, Veritas could reach his goal easily.
Along the way, Veritas saw an arch that served as an extra road above. As the surroundings near him were quite elevated, similar archs like this were built in order to have an easy access for people to traverse upon while not disrupting the main road.
Veritas passed by the structure very quickly with his speed. This gave him assurance because that arch signified that he was getting closer to Silver Borough.
It had been 16 minutes after he escaped the creepy establishment, and he made quite significant progress. The streets were still devoid of the presence of people, tranquility engulfed the entire area.
Then..
Veritas, who was running at full throttle, suddenly stopped. He had not stopped upon his own accord but rather, his whole body seemed to freeze all of a sudden!
His body was still in the same running position with arms beside him, and legs that are yet to take a step.
Then, his arms suddenly moved on its own accord, his body twisting and facing back at the large arch. His head faced up and his eyes saw a distinct figure atop the arch.
Someone was there, it was a person wearing black garments consisting of a well-suited formal blazer, a black trench coat stretching up under the individual's knee, and the face looked to be covered by a mask that resembled a weeping face.
Veritas was forced to stare upon the figure's eminence. The figure's hands were brought out to his front as if it was controlling something.
With each movement of the figure's fingers, Veritas felt movement around him.
He was met with such a terrifying situation so Veritas had to stay calm in order to think carefully about what to do next.
'His fingers? The crazy people from back then? My sudden halt? I have encountered this scene before..'
Veritas had to look deep within his brain in order to find the answer, he only had seconds to think so he used up all his wits.
He was then enlightened with a Vision! Due to his Path, Veritas' remembered memories as if they were scenes flashing right in front of him.
In a fraction of a second Veritas saw a familiar scene.
It was a joyous occasion where people enjoyed themselves, and danced in happiness. They were blissfully partying on the special day!
It was the Festival of Revolution.
A celebration for the arrival of the new year where people enjoyed their lives to the fullest.
Veritas was enjoying this festival too! He was with Bello and Alune and they were heading to the direction of the theatre.
"The String Show is about to start, you two should hurry!"
Veritas very excitedly yelled towards the two brothers.
They soon arrived at the Theatre and began to buy their tickets and food, immediately rushing towards their seats.
The theatre was dark and cold. But that was the aesthetic of it, Veritas saw the darkness slowly being pierced by a spotlight in the middle of the stage.
In that spotlight, a figure had strings in every finger of his hand. In front of him was a puppet inside a box that looked like a scenario. He was reenacting a popular play that was inspired by the adventures of the King.
The movement of his fingers signified the movement of the scenario and puppets under him.
So, Veritas instantly remembered the familiar scene in front of him. Only this time, Veritas was not the one watching..
He was the Puppet!
And the silent streets around him were the box!
The figure atop the arch was a Pathbearer that is attuned with strings.
In other terms.. a Puppeteer!
As Veritas understood the situation easily, he came up with a simple solution to such. Due to the fact that he was being controlled by invisible strings, Veritas thought about cutting them!
He did not know if it would work due to the fact that he was currently restrained. He could not use Windsong to order the Winds to cut the strings. Nor could he use his tightly gripped Wind Blade.
Thus, with this lingering thought in his mind, Veritas quickly opened his runes and activated Will of the Winds. Although the skill could now be used by Veritas, the mental strain that it would deal to his mind was devastating.
In the fight against the Seraphim of Gold, Veritas used Will of the Winds a couple of times, which led his mind to be tattered and confused.
That realization was the reason why Veritas had asked Bello for training regarding the mental aspect of an individual.
With that, Veritas willed for the Winds to cut the strings around him.
It only took a fraction of a second but Veritas already noticed the change to his body. It was no longer sluggish and he could move his limbs freely.
However, Veritas stayed vigilant and activated Windsong.
"Reinforce, Wind Veil!"
With the augmentation of Will of the Winds and Windsong, the air shifted around him and it seemed to gather along his body.
In mere seconds, Veritas could already feel the threads snapping as they approached Veritas. He used the Winds to feel everything around him. He felt the soft lingering strands of string creep up in the air, 17 individuals hiding inside the darkness, and the looming figure of the mysterious person atop the arch.
As soon as Veritas escaped, he felt the figure bring its hands down as if it were stopping its pursuit of Veritas.
The figure merely stared at him ominously.
*
The bright moonlight served as a spotlight for the figure with a weeping mask. The darkness and silence of the streets seemed like a theatre to it. And as for the puppet.. it was running away.
The figure merely stared at the puppet with an indifferent expression. The Puppet was fast on his feet, and within a blink of an eye, he was but a mere speck to the figure's vision.
Alas, the figure couldn't figure out as to how the Prince broke out of his control. His invisible strings should not be conceivable to the naked eye. Moreover, the Prince was subdued and could not move.
"Unfortunate."
Truly it was.. Such a highly valuable puppet was now out of the figure's reach.
He then dismissed his strings.. and all 17 of the individuals immediately fell to the ground.
The individuals panicked due to the sudden change in their view. They were supposed to be at their respective homes and places. So why were they now in the darkness of the streets?!
Confused and perplexed, the 17 individuals collectively stared upon a tall arch. They saw a shadow of a figure, as if there used to be something standing there so silently.
Atop the arch, was a bright moon that shone radiantly upon it.
The figure had vanished so abruptly, exiting in an empty manner for the audience to behold.