Ardos, Cipher's Grand Master, is in jail. Over 20 years have passed since Snag Machines and the Purify Chamber were needed. A land where the sun outshines the gale of darkness seems too hostile for evil to thrive.
When two International Police offic...
Zane noticed Reira was gone right away. He didn't question it until she didn't even resurface when he announced pizza. When she was still absent the next day, on the morning of their 20th wedding anniversary, he knew without a doubt that something was seriously wrong. They didn't plan a big celebration, but they did plan to spend the day together with their kids, who were so endeared by their endlessly supportive parents' love that they weren't even embarrassed by it. That was all they could have wished for.
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Was she suddenly called to assist on a super-secret emergency mission? She would have spared a few seconds to tell her husband. He was sure. It was the first time she ever disappeared without an explanation. He tried to call Zileh, in case she knew anything, but her P★DA was off. Maybe it was so super-secret she couldn't even tell Zane... but he couldn't help worrying. Wisteria apparently couldn't, either. She paced up and down in the lab's lobby. Her sister Amaryllis was a little too young at 11 to know immediately why her mom's absence was so concerning, but she knew something was wrong.
'Could it be a super-secret mission?' Zane asked Reira's mom Anabel, who moved to the lab to be with her daughter once she retired, 'Is that a thing?'
'It could be... I was called for emergency assistance a few times when I was in the area. But what I find concerning is that we can't reach Zileh, either. If they've both been called so suddenly to an emergency... that means the emergency is here in Orre and it's incredibly serious.'
'It must be about those flashes and the déjà vu... I know! I'll try Jamie. If it's that bad, he's probably there, too.'
Jamie knew nothing about a secret mission. All he could do was to offer to look for Reira if she was indeed missing.
Zane checked the lab's CCTV. There was no active camera in the office, but he did see that the last person Reira spoke to, other than Zileh, was Camden. His recent behaviour was bizarre to Zane. The little boy he remembered, who called him 'Uncle' even though he technically wasn't his uncle, was loving and sociable. He would have done anything, even at his own cost, to help others. Fame never seemed to go to his head.
Yet Laila wasn't wrong. He did seem cocky and pompous now. How was that even possible? Reira told Zane he was paranoid and asked her to investigate the resort, where his manager Wilmot insisted he was regularly seen 'living it up,' because fans went crazy for glimpses of the exclusive haunt. Camden thought Primula was suspicious, but maybe it was Wilmot. It was since he took over from the first manager that Camden went weird. Unless... it couldn't be Camden himself. Could it?
'Anabel... what if... what if Camden lured them somewhere? It's not like he can't afford to cover it up...'
'But why? What good would that do Camden? I don't believe he's a member of Cipher, Zane... not even under duress.'
