Time flies, and the sun sets in the west.
The bright sun slowly sinks into the plains to the west, its dazzling afterglow scattering across the vast capital of Tivian. Streetlights along the roads begin to flicker on one by one, while rows of chimneys on the distant horizon continue to belch thick black smoke. Ships in the harbor hum as they slowly depart.
At dusk, at a bustling intersection in East Tivian, the streets are alive with activity. Countless carriages converge here, and pedestrians crowd the sidewalks. Well-dressed gentlemen and ladies gather in small groups, chatting and laughing as they walk. The roadside is packed with parked carriages, and new arrivals are forced to drive further away to find a spot. Police officers are on hand to maintain order.
On one side of the intersection stands a massive circular building. A wide staircase, covered with a red carpet, leads up to tall, open wooden doors flanked by thick marble columns. On either side of the doors stand rows of uniformed guards, standing at attention. High above, giant banners hang from the building, featuring glamorous dancers in red robes. Above the entrance, a large sign spells out "Soaring Theater."
Men in suits and women in luxurious gowns walk up the red carpet, chatting and laughing as they enter the theater. On the sidewalk, Dorothy, wearing a small tilted hat, a black dress, small leather shoes, and black stockings, gazes at the scene and murmurs softly.
"This is quite the spectacle... Even bigger than the charity event in Igwynt. As expected of the capital, huh?"
"Miss Dorothy, are you from Igwynt?"
Standing beside Dorothy, Nephthys, dressed in a simple white dress that accentuates her figure, a wide-brimmed hat adorned with flowers, sparkling earrings and a necklace, and carrying a small handbag, asks curiously. Dorothy nods in response.
"I lived there for a while. I attended a similar event back then... but it was nowhere near as grand as this."
Dorothy replies briefly. Thanks to Nephthys, she managed to get tickets to this highly popular performance in Tivian. Hoping to relax and enjoy the show, she and Nephthys have come to watch the performance as planned. “Although I came here just to relax and watch the performance, based on what Nephthys described earlier, this theater... this performance might not be as ordinary as it seems. I hope nothing goes wrong.”
Dorothy thinks to herself, while Nephthys speaks up again.
"Miss Dorothy, let’s go in now. The performance is about to start, and they’ll close the doors soon."
"Alright, let’s go."
With that, Nephthys and Dorothy step onto the red carpet. Nephthys’ figure and graceful walk attract the attention of many men, their gazes like wolves, while some women cover their mouths with fans, hiding their jealousy. They try to strike alluring poses to draw attention, but their tight corsets make it difficult to move freely, causing them to stumble or nearly fall. In contrast, Nephthys, who isn’t wearing a corset, moves naturally, drawing even more attention.
“Nephthys always attracts so much attention wherever she goes. Someone like her really can’t do any covert work.”
Dorothy thinks to herself as she watches the scene. She then continues walking with Nephthys into the theater. After passing through a long corridor, they reach a fork in the path.
"Guests with seat numbers starting with ’C,’ please go left. Those with ’B,’ go right. Guests with ’A’ seat numbers, continue straight ahead. You’ll find your seats after going up the stairs.”
At the fork, several staff members holding signs guide the guests to different entrances. Dorothy and Nephthys check their tickets and see that both start with ’A,’ so they continue straight ahead.
After walking down a beautifully decorated hallway adorned with vases and sculptures, Dorothy and Nephthys encounter a ticket checker. After having their tickets checked, they turn and climb the stairs. After a while, they finally emerge onto the viewing platform of the theater.
The space is vast and fan-shaped, with a wide stage at one end. Radiating out from the stage are tiered seating platforms, rising from low to high. The stage is currently hidden behind a large red curtain. In front of the curtain, between the stage and the seating, a band is tuning their instruments.
With many guests already seated, the theater is buzzing with noise. Dorothy looks around and sees a sea of heads in the audience.
“This theater is huge... at least twice the size of the theater in Igwynt. And even with such a large venue, it’s almost full. This Adèle really is popular…”
Dorothy thinks to herself. She then follows Nephthys to their seats, sits down, and waits quietly for the performance to begin.
"Miss Dorothy, do you really think there’s something wrong with this performance? Will we... encounter any danger?"
Nephthys asks in a low, worried voice as they wait. Dorothy shakes her head slightly.
"It’s hard to say. Based on what Mossance mentioned, there might be something off. But if there is, it’s more likely to be with the theater itself rather than the performance. For now, let’s just watch quietly. Even if there is something, it’s probably minor. With so many people here, there won’t be any major danger."
Dorothy reassures Nephthys. With thousands of people in the theater, no secret society would dare cause a major incident under the watchful eyes of the Serenity Bureau and the church.
As time passes amidst the noise, the band members finally pick up their instruments and begin to play. A light, melodious tune fills the theater, and the audience quiets down, knowing the performance is about to begin.
As the music plays, the entire theater falls silent. Once the audience is quiet, the band suddenly changes tempo, gradually speeding up the rhythm. The music shifts from light and melodious to steady and rhythmic, the transition smooth and seamless.
The music builds gradually, starting with low, slow notes and rising higher, as if brewing something. As the music progresses, the large red curtain on the stage slowly parts. Behind it, the audience sees a figure dressed in yellow and red striped men’s clothing, holding a cane, wearing a top hat and a half-mask.
Just as the audience wonders if this figure is the host, the music, which had been building, suddenly erupts, startling the audience as it bursts into a fast, flowing rhythm. The figure on stage begins to dance in sync with the music.
The dancer’s feet tap rapidly on the stage floor, creating a fast, joyful rhythm in harmony with the music. Their body sways and twists with the steps and the music, the cane twirling between their hands, sometimes tapping the floor to mark the beat, sometimes spinning like a juggling stick before being caught.
This is a dazzling display of skill, a joyful dance. The dancer’s movements are fast, powerful, direct, and precise. Their entire body and every movement merge with the music, becoming the rhythm itself. The rapid, leaping dance seems endless, pulsing like a heartbeat, continuing forever, until death.
The high-energy, fast-paced dance immediately ignites the audience’s excitement. Applause breaks out the moment the dance begins, and as the music and dance reach one climax after another, the applause grows louder.
As the music progresses, the passionate dance finally reaches its conclusion. At the final climax, the dancer places a hand on their face and pulls off the half-mask and hat. Long golden hair, previously tied up, cascades down, revealing the beautiful, enchanting face beneath—the same face featured on the giant posters outside the theater.
She is Adèle Briouze, the undisputed star of the show.
As Adèle reveals her face, the atmosphere in the theater reaches its peak. The audience erupts into cheers and screams. Adèle, having finished her first dance, smiles and bows to the audience before slowly exiting the stage. The host then steps onto the stage and, after the audience’s excitement subsides a bit, begins to speak.
"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening! Welcome to tonight’s performance. You’ve just witnessed Adèle’s opening act. Now, let’s move on to..."
As the host speaks on stage, Dorothy, seated in the ’A’ section, watches Adèle as she retreats backstage.
“So that’s Adèle, the dance star? What an impressive performance... Her skill level is truly something else.”
Dorothy thinks to herself. When she first saw Adèle’s face in the posters, she thought Adèle might be a glamorous star who relied mainly on her looks to attract attention, like some internet celebrities she’d seen in her past life. But now, she can confirm that Adèle is a true talent. The difficulty of the dance she just performed is not something just anyone could pull off. With both skill and beauty, it’s no wonder she’s so famous.
"That was amazing. I’d heard Adèle was a great dancer, but I didn’t expect her to be this good. I should’ve come to see her performances earlier."
Nephthys, sitting beside Dorothy, exclaims as she watches Adèle take her bow. But then she adds with some concern.
"Still, that fast-paced dance must be exhausting. But she didn’t seem out of breath at all after finishing. She’s really something..."
"Stamina, huh..."
Dorothy murmurs softly, seemingly deep in thought. Meanwhile, the host on stage finishes speaking, and the second performance begins.
Although Adèle is the star of the show, the performance isn’t entirely about her. The second act is a group dance performed by a troupe of girls. According to the host, these girls are the resident dancers of the theater, professional dancers known as the Soaring Dance Troupe.
The second performance, while not as stunning as Adèle’s opening act, is still excellent and earns enthusiastic applause from the audience. After that comes a choral performance.
Dorothy and Nephthis sit quietly, enjoying the show. Dorothy keeps an eye on her cognitive poison levels, wary of a repeat of what happened at the Igwynt charity event. But so far, none of the performances have triggered any signs of cognitive poison.
“Everything seems normal... Maybe I was overthinking it. This seems like a regular performance. What happened at the Igwynt charity event was probably just a one-time thing…”
Dorothy thinks to herself. Just then, the choral performance ends, and the performers exit the stage to applause. The host returns and announces to the audience.
"Thank you to the Blue String Choir for their wonderful performance. Now, ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to see Adèle take the stage once more? Let’s give a warm welcome to Adèle Briouze and the Soaring Dance Troupe as they present their new masterpiece, ’The Crimson Mother’!"
Finally, amidst the audience’s enthusiastic applause, Adèle Briouze returns to the stage. This time, she has shed the men’s attire from her first performance and is now wearing a bright red dance dress. Her fair skin, enchanting face, and red dress draw another round of cheers from the audience.
Behind Adèle, a group of young men and women follow her onto the stage. They are also dressed in red, though their outfits are darker and less vibrant than Adèle’s. These are the members of the Soaring Dance Troupe, who will now perform a group dance with Adèle.
Once the performers are in position, the music begins. Unlike the fast, joyful rhythm of Adèle’s first performance, this piece is slow and somber, with a hint of melancholy. Adèle begins to dance, her movements soft, smooth, and graceful, exuding a feminine charm unlike the powerful energy of her first dance. The other dancers move around her, sometimes close, sometimes distant, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, complementing Adèle’s performance.
This dance, titled ’The Crimson Mother,’ has a theatrical quality, telling a story—a story of a mother and her children. Adèle, positioned at the center of the stage, represents the mother, while the other dancers around her symbolize the children.
When Dorothy first heard the title of the dance, she wondered if it might be a mystical dance and grew cautious. But after watching for a while, she detects no signs of cognitive poison, which puts her mind at ease.
“It seems this performance is perfectly normal... Maybe I was just being overly cautious. I should just relax and enjoy the show…”
Just as Dorothy thinks this, her gaze sharpens, focusing on a particular spot on the stage. She frowns slightly.
“Something feels... off?”
Dorothy thinks to herself. Her eyes are fixed on a female dancer in a red short dress with tied-up brown hair. This dancer is positioned behind Adèle, dancing alongside the others. But compared to the other dancers, her movements seem slightly stiff. Upon closer inspection, her expression also appears unusually blank. Dorothy, seated relatively close to the stage, can clearly see these details.
“That dancer... she seems strange... and oddly familiar. That blank expression, the unnatural stiffness in her movements... I feel like I’ve seen this before. Where have I seen something like this?”
Dorothy ponders, and thanks to her Scholar abilities, she quickly recalls the source of this familiarity.
“When I use the Corpse Marionette Ring to control marionettes without adding Revelation, they behave like this... During my experiments with marionette control, the marionettes showed similar behavior…”
Realizing this, Dorothy immediately extends her spiritual threads to investigate. Upon checking, she confirms that the dancer is indeed dead. The person dancing alongside Adèle is a corpse.
“That dancer... is a marionette!?”
Dorothy is shocked by the realization. Just then, she notices that the marionette dancer, during the dance, has deviated from the choreography and is slowly moving closer to Adèle from behind. As she dances, the marionette pulls out a small knife from under her skirt—a knife made of white stone, engraved with dense, ancient, and mysterious symbols.
Holding the knife, the lifeless marionette dancer moves closer to Adèle’s back.