The Creatures that We Are

Not long after, Azure Dragon, War Tiger, and Colorless exited the main street of the Aurora Town and crossed the bridge above the frozen river, walking past Sarah’s cabin.

Sarah had died at home yesterday, and her body trafficked away by White Tiger. Even now, her death hadn’t attracted any attention from the townspeople.

Thinking of that made Colorless sigh. The poor woman had led a life of deceptions and conspiracies, being one-sidedly exploited. She could only lie to herself for comfort, and there had never been a day of peace and salvation for her until the moment of her death.

The three of them walked across the cluster of old cabins and entered the fir forest.

Without any street lamps, the forest was pitch black.

They lit the way with their flashlights and walked on the thick layer of snow. No one said anything. They were all keeping a wary eye out for any potential threats.

Soon, they made it out of the forest and reached the bottom of a steep snowy range.

There sat a towering church with a dark-colored exterior. The design was all straight lines and sharp angles, the pointy rooftop piercing into the night sky like a thorn.

No light came from the inside of the church. Most of the stained glass windows had been shattered, painting a bleak picture amid the stormy snow.

On the door hung a symbol of two conjoined circles. It looked like the number 8 at a right angle, or the infinity symbol in math.

That was the symbol of the Otherworld Order.

They exchanged a glance.

War Tiger went up to open the door—it wasn’t locked.

Creak.

The heavy door made a dull groan as it opened.

They entered. Presented before them was a large, empty hall. On the sides were arched windows with stained glass, and the floor was lined with orderly rows of long benches, totalling a few dozen. An aisle divided the seating area into two halves, leading to the platform at the end.

On the platform was a small podium. The wall behind it was adorned with a large symbol of the Otherworld Order.

It was no different from the average naves.

“Clear.” War Tiger scanned the surroundings with his flashlight and made his initial observation. The empty space created a weak reverb.

“Let’s split up and look for clues. Remember to not stray too far in case something happens.” Azure Dragon shook off the snow on his down jacket and walked to the room on the left.

“Alright.” War Tiger took the room on the right.

Holding her flashlight, Colorless made it to the left of the farside of the hall. There was a door that most likely led to the living quarters in the church.

She opened the door, and indeed, it led to a corridor, the left of which was a small garden with a fountain, while the right was a row of joined short buildings.

Colorless opened the first door. It was a small classroom.

On the floor was a mess of blocks, old dolls, and other toys. There was also a small blackboard on the side with the symbol of the Otherworld Order drawn on it, and the basic doctrines of the Order were written in the language of the Snow Nation.

Colorless frowned and didn’t enter.

Then she went to the second room and opened the door. It was a dorm room with eight little wooden beds. The bedsheets were pristine white with the symbol of the Order printed on each of them.

Colorless pictured an orphanage in her head.

Children at the age of four and five woke up every day at the same time and washed up, had breakfast, and prayed before heading to the small classroom, subject to brainwashing in the name of education.

During their short break, the children were allowed to play with toys in the classroom, or they would go to the small garden to play tag.

This was where Sarah and Lilia spent their childhood.

“Wah—”

Suddenly, Colorless heard the cry of an infant. It was short and sudden, like the child had been scared awake from their sleep.

Colorless quickly collected herself and put all her attention on locating the source of the sound.

“Wah—”

A few seconds later, there was another cry, coming from the end of the corridor.

“Azure Dragon, War Tiger!” Colorless shouted.

The two rushed to her in less than ten seconds.

“What is it?” Azure Dragon asked.

“Didn’t you hear it?”

“Hear what?” War Tiger asked.

“An infant. I heard an infant crying.” Colorless paled.

“Wah—”

The sound came once more as soon as she said that.

“It happened again!” Colorless turned to War Tiger and Azure Dragon, but neither reacted in any way.

“Didn’t, didn’t you hear that?!” Colorless asked in disbelief.

The two men shook their heads. They hadn’t heard anything.

“It came from that direction.” Colorless pointed at the end of the corridor, where no light could reach.

“Did you hear it wrong?” asked War Tiger.

“No,” Colorless insisted.

“The place has been unoccupied since six years ago,” said Azure Dragon.

The three of them had looked up the Sacred Mountain Church. Six years ago—not long after the Otherworld Order took Lilia from Sarah—an avalanche had hit and claimed many lives. Although the church itself wasn’t damaged, the experts believed that there was a risk of another avalanche hitting in the coming years. Thus, the order moved to a safe location and built another church, while the Sacred Mountain Church was abandoned shortly.

“Yes, but I know what I heard.” Colorless didn’t waver.

“It may be a psychic attack.” War Tiger’s flashlight cast half of his face in shadow. “Colorless noticed before we do because she is mentally more sensitive than us.”

Azure Dragon agreed with the speculation. “Very likely. Then there must be another awakener here.”

“Not necessarily.” Colorless’ expression darkened. “It can also be a monster.”

Azure Dragon and War Tiger knew that elite monsters had access to powers similar to Talents too.

“That means we’ve come to the right place.” Azure Dragon’s gaze was sharp. “There’s something to be unearthed here.”

“What are we waiting for?” War Tiger grinned and took out his flask to empty it. “Let’s go!”

“But…” Colorless hesitated, feeling a tinge of anxiety. “Are the three of us good enough for that?”

War Tiger paused. He had almost never met any enemies capable of pushing him to a corner, so he rarely considered such questions.

Azure Dragon thought for a moment. “Yes, we may not be their match if we run into the leader of the Godbearer Cult. Moreover, this is their territory.”

“But it’s unreasonable to call the main force here from Li City,” War Tiger said. “Our mission is to investigate the place. If we can’t win, we run.”

Azure Dragon nodded. “Yes, our main goal is to investigate. Be careful, and be ready to give our lives.”

“Wah—”

Colorless scowled. Here came the wail again, and it was more agitated than before, like the owner of the voice desperately wanted Colorless to respond.

Tamping down the discomfort, Colorless started walking. “Follow me.”

They made it to the end of the corridor. On the right was a dark corner. Only when they lit it with their flashlights did they see that it was a stairway of slates, leading down into a cellar.

“A cellar. The creepiest place in a horror film…” War Tiger joked.

Colorless didn’t laugh. She couldn’t find it in her to.

“I’ll take point.” War Tiger went down the stairs and kicked the wooden door of the cellar open with a bang.

He shone his flashlight in, scanning around. “All clear. Come on.”

Azure Dragon and Colorless followed.

It was a small cellar, filled with an assortment of stuff and barrels of wine. There was dust and spiderwebs everywhere, and the air permeated with the cold, wet smell of mold.

The three of them looked around again with their flashlights. Nothing seemed amiss.

“Wah—”

Another burst of wail broke the silence.

Houseau3's Thoughts

Honestly I always think the creepiest setting in a horror film is a mundane place that looks like your home.

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