As Isaac and Druvis approached the tent where Forget Me Not and Vertin were at, Isaac suddenly thought of something and spoke.
"Ms. Druvis..."
Her head turned to him. "Yes?"
"..." Yet no words left his mouth after that initial mention of her name. It was as if something had clogged his throat — refusing to let him freely speak out his mind.
After a moment of hesitance, however, he continued. "...nothing. Please do well with this one too."
She lingered for a bit, trying to comprehend what he was implying, but didn't read too much into it in the end. Responding to him, she nodded slightly. "I will. Thank you."
With that, Druvis finally entered the tent, thus resuming her role in the story. As for Isaac, he was left out of the picture — as it was intended by him.
Then... The events in the game unfolded.
Druvis, along with Forget Me Not, handed out potions to everyone in the Relief Shelter — when suddenly, a disrespectful man wearing a military corps uniform barged in and started barraging them with derisive words. Shortly afterwards, a flock of journalists suddenly rushed to the square, surrounding Forget Me Not and Druvis who were giving out the potions.
Cameras clung onto their shoulders as they took pictures of the two arcanists and their potions.
"I didn't know there will be press today." She frowned slightly, clearly uninformed of the sudden appearance of the journalists.
"Forgive me for wanting to hold a banquet before the "Storm", Ms. Druvis." In response, Forget Me Not nudged his glasses with a solemnly composed tone. He then smirked slightly. "After all, for us Manus Vindictae, this era is no longer of value."
Everything's going according to the story.
It was odd, to say the least. To watch what he had already known unfold right before his every eyes — the things he had already witnessed being played out in a much more realistic adaptation — and still continue on as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Yet Isaac was by no means fine. Contrary to his outward composure, he was having an internal turmoil.
The weight of knowledge was far heavier than anything in this world. Some say the crown that lays on the head was heavier, but in the end, what makes these two similar is the responsibility that befalls their bearers.
As for Isaac, who had certain knowledge of the future, this burden was quite evident. As such, he needs to know how to properly utilize it — for if he makes a mistake or fails to act upon an opportune moment, everything he knew could very well deviate from the original course of events and spiral down an abyss of uncertainty.
...which was the least thing he wanted to do.
As such, standing not far from the true main casts of the story, Isaac watched them like a spectator — like a supporting character, if you will — ready to lend help should the need arises.
Yes, a side character, even. He can have the right to exist near the main cast yet cannot fully be part of them. He just needs to be someone who they know exists, and that was enough for him to achieve his needs.
Far from the literal spotlights and limelight, he stood like a shadow in the background.
As the events continue to unfold and the man in the military corps uniform discovers that the potions that the Manus had been handing out were actually just beers — which were banned for the last ten years due to the Prohibition Act — something happened.
- Thud...
A distant rumbling of approaching thunderstorms suddenly echoed from afar, causing Isaac to look up at the sky.
"...the "Storm" is about to fall." Isaac muttered, his eyes sharply focused on the dark skies above.
At the same time, he suddenly sensed something with this connection to the fog surrounding the Relief Shelter.
After trying for quite a while now, he was now able to tame the fog cast by Forget Me Not — meaning the obstacle keeping Sonetto and the others out of the Relief Shelter can now be removed.
"That took an embarrassingly long amount of time... would Vertin think lowly of me now?" He muttered lowly. Then, touching the fog surrounding him, he focused all of his senses into his arcanum. "Not good... Gotta make up for it now."
With that thought in mind, his fog connected to this body, Isaac sent out a mental command to the surrounding fog of the charred forest.
Almost instantaneously, the thin fog near the ground suddenly started churning and growing denser — its grayish-white hue becoming more pronounced. Not only that, but the surrounding fog outside the Relief Shelter suddenly started scattering at an unimaginable speed, as if the single thing holding them up finally snapped.
Some unfortunate Manus members who were inside or near the fog barrier, meanwhile, suddenly vanished when the grayish-white fog enveloped them — leaving only silence and mystery in their stead.
As the fog barrier scattered — clearing a path for Sonetto and the other main cast — Isaac felt satisfied with the outcome.
"That should do it..."
- Boom!
Almost at the same time, a horrific explosion occurred not far from him. Visceral guts and gore painted the ground crimson-red as multiple human organs blew up in a harrowing explosion.
One, two, three, and more... The explosions of bodies just kept happening as the second passed by. Be they rich or poor — they all equally exploded, their guts painting the ground thus forming a grotesque amalgamation of a painting. A painting of life.
However, there were others apart from them who exploded too. Although not all of them, some members of the Manus also exploded from the inside, causing others to look at the outcome with confusion.
Yet they paid it no further heed. It was as if the death of their comrades were nothing than a fleeting, worthless moment. The explosions continued among them and the rest of the people on the Relief Shelter, undeterred by anything.
And all of it was caused by one person.
Standing there on the square surrounded by journalists, Forget Me Not raised his hands and reveled in ecstasy of the visceral carnage that was happening around him — caused by him.
"Distress cometh upon those of me. Present me thy flesh, soul and abhorring."
With his command, more people succumbed to the explosion of the potions he had given out.
"I give you death, rejoice, may the wine in Heaven be without measure."
Yet not a single regretful nor guilty expression adorned his face — only the pleasure from the wrath he was striking was evident.
As Isaac continued to watch it unfold, a frown managed to creep up his face, turning deeper by the second. Smelling the distinct scent of blood and iron around him, something was triggered within him — reminding him of one of his vicious past that he deeply abhors.
He was glad that some Manus had exploded due to his arrangements, yes, but he was also frustrated at how little it impacted Forget Me Not. Not only that, but he also hated how the arcanist was still continuing his carnage.
He sighed deeply for a moment, murmuring himself in a low, incomprehensible voice. "Brutality... Brutality never changes..."
Pondering a few brief seconds, Isaac made a decision that he knew he would come to regret and talk to himself later. Nudging his right eye's monocle, the fog around him suddenly started churning and gathering around him, forming an ephemeral veil that obscured most of his noticeable features.
At the same time, near Forget Me Not, Druvis suddenly appeared and cast a spell, interrupting his carnage. A tree root suddenly sprouted from the ground and held his hand, suppressing him.
"Mr. Forget Me Not." Holding one of his hands with the tree root, Druvis reminded him. "The fall has gone. No need for more blood."
Looking at the tree root holding his hand in place, Forget Me Not paused for a moment before looking at Druvis, a burning emotion raging behind his composed eyes as he did so. "What makes you doubt, Ms. Druvis?"
"The "Storm" is coming, we have accomplished our missions. And everything here should be doomed!" He declared confidently to her.
From his tone, it was clear that he ardently believed this idea.
She frowned before immediately refuting him. "The "Storm" is only the "Storm." It is not destiny."
Just then, while she was speaking, a wealthy woman suddenly approached her, asking for help. "Help... Miss, please help me!"
It was the same woman Druvis had already met much earlier.
"No..." The woman, upon taking a closer look at Druvis, suddenly widened her eyes. "You... You are... I've met you!"
"You're the daughter of the late Weyerhaeuser!"
"...!" Upon hearing this, a slight discomfort and distraught appeared on Druvis' reticent face, clearly shaken by the mention of that name.
"What? The Weyerhaeusers?" As if drawn to a flame, the journalists flocked to Druvis' after hearing the woman's mention of her family's name, seeking to confirm rumors or inquire information of the tragedy behind that family name.
Despite the explosions happening around then, the journalists did their job — it was almost admirable, really.
Soon, flashes of light — along with allegations from the press — started bombarding the disoriented Druvis.
"No... Don't do this...!" Caught off guard by all of it, Druvis subconsciously backed away as the flashes of the cameras made her remember her past.
At the same... Two figures appeared.
One was Vertin, who quickly ran to Druvis' side to jolt her awake and drag her away from falling into the nightmarish depths of her past that she was slowly sinking into...
While the other was a man who appeared out of nowhere, seemingly having been formed by the fog around the square, and appearing in front of Forget Me Not.
"Psychological exploitation... You sure have some twisted boundaries, Mr. Forget Me Not." Isaac, manifesting out of the ephemeral fog, commented solemnly.
"A harsh comment, but I do not think that this is any of your concern, Mr. Dantez." Forget Me Not replied, taking the man from the fog seriously. "You seem to be lost. Why not go away and patiently wait your turn?"
Isaac quickly rebutted, the fog around him becoming more dense. "Technically, you're right. However, I've thought about it, and..."
"Even the supporting character needs to give some support sometimes."
And he was ready to beat him up.