"Yo, sir, are you assigned to guard this graveyard?" Aeolous asked the old man standing near the rusted gate. The man did not answer. He simply stared at them for a moment, then turned and walked away without a word. As he left, something small dropped from his hand and landed on the ground with a faint clink.
Drei frowned and picked it up. "What the hell is his problem?"
"It looks like a key," Util said, crouching beside him. "I guess we are supposed to go in."
They exchanged glances, then pushed open the gate. It creaked loudly as they stepped inside. The four of them now stood within the garden grounds, surrounded by overgrown hedges, silent pathways, and a strange stillness that made the air feel heavier.
"So the garden has four parts," Nixxin said, kneeling as he drew a rough shape on the dirt. His glowing fingertips traced lines that divided the space. "As you can see, we can split it into four quadrants. The first quadrant is the entrance. It looks like the nicest area, so Aeolous, you can handle welcoming visitors."
Aeolous nodded. "Sounds easy enough."
Nixxin continued, pointing at the center of his drawing. "The second quadrant includes the circle garden in the middle. That should be Util's responsibility. You can clean it and water the flowers."
Util sighed. "So I am the gardener now?"
"You like plants more than the rest of us," Drei muttered.
Nixxin ignored them and moved his finger again. "The third quadrant is the library. It is dark and has no proper lighting, but that works for me. My bioluminescent body will help me see. I will clean and maintain that area."
"And me?" Drei asked.
"You get the fourth quadrant," Nixxin replied, glancing toward the rows of tombstones. "The graveyard. It fits you."
Drei smirked. "Figures."
Nixxin stood up and dusted his hands. "We are supposed to stay here all the time. At least we do not have to pay for rent or anything else, except food. If we need to gather, we meet at the circle garden. Is that okay?"
Aeolous stretched his arms. "Okay, but why do we even need this job?"
Drei crossed his arms and looked at the map again. "Because the season of gates opens this summer. That is about seven months from now. We need experience if we want to apply for gate hunting. It will be easier to get accepted during the season."
Util nodded slowly. "And if we complete our hero cards before that, we might officially become heroes."
"Exactly," Drei said. "Also, we have no adults supporting us. Seven months without income means we lose everything."
Util suddenly looked around. "By the way, where is the bathroom in here?"
No one answered.
Later, inside the library, Nixxin worked alone. Dust filled the air as he wiped shelves and sorted old books. Most of them were worn and forgotten, their covers faded and their pages brittle.
As he walked through a narrow corridor, something caught his attention. A single book lay on a small table, surrounded by roses and draped in red cloth. It looked out of place, almost ceremonial.
Nixxin picked it up carefully. The cover showed a glowing red rose at its center. It pulsed faintly, as if alive.
"It looks like a simple storybook," he murmured.
He opened it and read silently.
๐๐๐ก๐๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐๐ธ๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ช๐ท๐ญ ๐ก๐ธ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ผ.
๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ธ๐พ๐ผ๐ช๐ท๐ญ๐ผ ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐๐ฎ๐ช๐ป๐ผ ๐ช๐ฐ๐ธ.
๐ฃ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ ๐๐ช๐ผ ๐ช ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ช๐ป๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ท๐ฎ๐ป๐ช๐ต ๐๐ฑ๐ธ ๐ฏ๐ธ๐พ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฝ ๐ช๐ท๐ญ ๐ผ๐ช๐ฌ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ธ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ท๐ญ ๐๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฎ๐ฝ ๐ก๐ธ๐ผ๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ ๐ช ๐ถ๐ธ๐ท๐ผ๐ฝ๐ป๐ธ๐พ๐ผ ๐ป๐ช๐ฒ๐ญ.
Nixxin's eyes widened. "This has to be an epic story."
He flipped the book over and froze.
History Book.
"What?" he whispered. "No way. This is too good to be a history book. This is basically a novel."
As he lowered the book, he noticed something else on the table. A small dagger lay where the book had been resting. He picked it up and examined it closely.
The blade glowed with a deep red light, like liquid blood hardened into shape. The handle was silver, engraved with a detailed rose design.
"Why is this place so obsessed with roses?" he muttered.
He placed the book back where he found it but kept the dagger.
A sudden loud noise echoed from outside.
Nixxin turned sharply and ran toward the exit. When he stepped outside, he saw a group of thugs arguing with his friends near the entrance.
"Get out of this place," one of the women shouted.
"We are here to study," another replied.
Util stepped forward, clearly irritated. "Looking at you, it is more likely you are here to record porn video instead of studying."
One of the men lunged forward, trying to punch Util, but his friend grabbed him and pulled him back.
"Is this not a garden?" the man demanded. "Why can we not enter?"
Drei stepped closer, his expression dark. "This place is only public if you have a relative buried here. That should not be a problem for you. I can arrange that."
The man shoved him. "You poor bastard. Just wait. I will kill you."
The tension lingered for a moment, but eventually the group backed off and left. The garden returned to its uneasy silence.
Everyone went back to their tasks.
Later, Nixxin walked toward the graveyard after finishing his work in the library. Drei was there, trimming grass near the tombstones.
"Yo, Drei. Who were those guys?" Nixxin asked.
Drei grabbed a list from a nearby stone. "They are related to someone named Mwanja Culo. Probably visiting their brother."
He looked up. "Why are you here?"
"I finished cleaning the library," Nixxin said, sitting on a bench.
A sudden gust of wind swept through the area, bending the flowers and rustling the leaves. Something felt off.
Nixxin looked down and noticed a small metal handle sticking out of the ground.
"Drei, have you seen this before?"
Drei walked over and shook his head. "No. I was busy with the grass and flowers. I have not checked the ground closely yet. What is it?"
Nixxin crouched and grabbed the handle. "Can we open it?"
"Only one way to find out," Drei said.
Nixxin pulled.
The ground shifted with a heavy sound. A hidden door revealed itself beneath the soil. Dirt crumbled away as the entrance slowly opened.
"Wow," Nixxin said. "There is another door down here."
They both leaned closer. In the center of the underground entrance was a sealed mechanism with a keyhole.
"I guess we cannot open this," Drei said.