Jay woke to the scent of freshly baked bread and something faintly floral. He blinked against the dusty morning light that streamed through the inn’s window. The room was warm now, unlike the night before, and someone was knocking on the door.
He groaned and sat up. The door creaked open a sliver.
“Good morning, Master Innkeeper,” said a soft voice.
A girl about fifteen stepped inside, balancing a tray with bread, cheese, and tea. She wore a neat apron over a faded blue dress. Her ash-blonde hair was braided and pinned back, and her eyes darted nervously around the room.
“I’m Lana. I help with the cleaning and cooking. You can call if you need anything.”
Jay blinked at her, still getting used to the new identity he’d woken up with.
“Lana, right. Thanks.”
She bowed slightly and placed the tray on the desk, then glanced toward the window.
“You should stay inside after dark,” she said, voice barely above a whisper.
Jay raised an eyebrow. “Because of the children going missing?”
Lana froze. Her hands curled into fists, and she shook her head quickly.
“I... I didn’t say anything,” she whispered, then hurried out before he could ask more.
[NPC Lana has given a passive warning. This may be related to your primary quest.]
000’s voice echoed lightly in his head. Jay rubbed his temples.
“You could’ve told me more last night instead of just dropping that creepy quest on me.”
“Apologies,” 000 replied sheepishly. “It’s my first world assignment. Still learning protocol. And also... the corruption levels were lower last night.”
Jay didn’t like the sound of that. “Corruption?”
“Oh. I wasn’t supposed to say that part yet.”
Downstairs, the inn was already coming to life. A few grizzled men in cloaks and armor sat hunched over mugs of bitter-smelling brew. They barely looked up as Jay descended the stairs.
The front door creaked open as a new arrival stepped through. He was tall, lean, and cocky—his eyes scanned the room like he owned it.
“You the innkeeper?” he asked.
Jay nodded. “Name’s Jay. Welcome to... whatever this place is.”
“Town of Liria. B-rank player Aris, reporting for side quests and monster hunts.” The man flipped a coin onto the counter. “I’ll take a room and a hot meal.”
Jay glanced at the inn’s ledger. Somehow, it had already written Aris’s name into one of the rooms.
“You know anything about the kids going missing?” Jay asked, lowering his voice.
Aris’s expression darkened.
“Not something we talk about after sundown,” he said. “Unless you want to vanish too.”
Before Jay could press further, Aris turned and walked away, stomping up the stairs.
[This player is linked to a hidden side quest. Requirements: Unknown.]
Later that afternoon, Jay wandered toward the old bell tower at the edge of town. It loomed over the rooftops like a hunched sentinel, its iron bell silenced by rust.
The gate was padlocked, but as he circled the building, something caught his eye — a small wooden doll, charred at the edges, half-buried in the weeds.
He bent to pick it up.
“System, can you scan this?”
“Scanning... incomplete. Fragmented data signature detected. Time stamp doesn’t match system records.”
Jay frowned. “Meaning?”
“Meaning someone — or something — was here off-record.”
The doll was crudely carved, with hollow eyes and no mouth. Jay tucked it into his coat.
That evening, fog rolled in like clockwork. Thick, suffocating, and slow.
Lanterns flickered weakly outside, casting golden halos in the gray. The streets emptied with unnatural haste. Shutters closed. Locks clicked. Even Aris stayed in his room.
Jay watched from behind the bar as the fog pressed up against the windows like a living thing. The silence outside was suffocating. And then, soft as breath—
🎵 “Hush, little star, don't stray too far...” 🎵
Jay’s blood ran cold.
He turned. Nothing in the hallway. Nothing outside. But he could swear the air had shifted.
“System. You hear that?”
“Yes. The lullaby is not part of the game structure. Origin: unknown.”
By morning, the fog was gone. The sun was shining again.
But the scream shattered the quiet.
Jay rushed outside with others already gathered around the well. A woman knelt in the mud, shrieking, holding a child’s shoe and a scorched white feather.
“Merel’s boy,” someone whispered. “Gone.”
“Vanished right from his bed,” said another. “Just like the others.”
Jay’s eyes met Lana’s in the crowd. She was pale. Trembling.
“It’s starting again,” she whispered. “The bell hasn’t rung in weeks. But the dark... it’s waking up.”
[WARNING: World corruption level rising — 30% and increasing.]
[Awaiting HQ response...]
Jay clenched his fists. “Guess we’re not in a normal transmigration anymore.”
Behind him, the bell tower loomed, casting its long, silent shadow across the town of Liria.
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