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Hmm. Unfortunately, Hector couldn't sense the other man's aura through the phone. "There a problem, sir?"

<"No, I just wasn't expecting you so soon. I wish you had informed me when you departed. It may be difficult for me to obtain entry for you into Livingston on such short notice.">

"Why is that? The place is open to the public. I checked."

<"Normally, yes, but at the moment, the building is in lockdown. Only exempted personnel are allowed to come or go, and I fear I do not qualify. Not without a bit more time to make my case, at least.">

"...This lockdown wouldn't have anything to do with the massive amounts of people roaming the streets in a trance, would it?"

<"Ah, so you've seen them, then. Yes, I've been hearing about them and assumed there was some connection, but I cannot say for sure.">

"What has the local news been saying about them?" said Hector. "I've been checking online, but I haven't seen any mention of this yet."

<"Indeed, news agencies are noticeably quiet about it. From what I've heard, it is being treating as something of a contagion. So perhaps anyone who gets close enough to try to report on it simply ends up in a trance themselves.">

"Hmm. But that wouldn't stop people from catching video footage from afar."

<"I suppose it would depend on how far away the contagion is able to reach. ">

"It also wouldn't stop other people from noticing something off remotely. Lots of suspiciously unanswered calls and texts, for example."

<"Mm. Well, it also just started. So perhaps it may take a while for people elsewhere to learn what is going on. Even we still do not know, after all."

"When exactly did it start? Do you know?"

<"I, um. Good question. Less than a day ago, I suppose.">

Technically, that tracked. It wasn't very long ago that Hector had last spoken to the prince, so if this had been going on the whole time, it would've been extremely strange for the man to have not mentioned it.

Vito Sebolt's report had mentioned something, though.

"Wasn't there a case of mass hysteria going on here?" said Hector. "This whole thing seems different to that. One might even argue... that it's the exact opposite to that, actually."

<"Mass hysteria? Ah, did Vito tell you about that? Yes, I believe that was indeed happening until a short while ago, but the situations has apparently changed.">

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There was also the reapers' senses to worry about. They'd picked up on something to the northwest, suspecting that it might be an aberration at work, so Hector didn't know whether to be relieved or worried that these crowds were heading southwest, instead. On the one hand, it meant that these poor people probably weren't at the mercy of some weird new aberration power, but on the other hand, that could also mean that there could be TWO major problems going on in this city instead of just one.

Either way, Hector was making sure not to forget his objective. The entire reason he'd decided to come here was to check up on Prince David, not to get involved in whatever craziness might be going on here. And according to Garovel, the place where the prince was staying was located west of here. So at least they weren't going terribly far out of their way.

Yet.

With the benefit of hovering platforms, it did not take much longer for their ultimate destination to come into view.

Hector had, of course, heard of Livingston Grand Castle before. It was one of the most famous fortresses in the world, after all. And Garovel had certainly teased him about it being the true purpose of Hector wanting to make this trip, but even still, catching that first glimpse of it in the distance, beyond the wall of skyscrapers that kept getting in the way: it was still enough to give him pause.

And when the view became clearer, when he could finally see it in full, he could not help gawking. The pictures truly did not do it justice.

Unfortunately, the current plan did not involve flying right up to it and landing within its walls. It was a controlled airspace, and the city was obviously in a strange state, right now, so they didn't want to risk spooking any worried defenders or residents with their unannounced arrival.

Better to call the prince again, first.

Hector found a nice spot to land on an elevated walkway. The road that it was attached to would have surely been too noisy to hear Prince David over, but it was entirely empty. Not even any abandoned vehicles or silent crowd to speak of.

Selena, Nadim, and Loren all took up positions around Hector as they waited for the prince to pick up. Roman was still flying around in the distance, Hector noticed.

<"Hello there, Lord Goffe,"> came the man's calm and familiar voice.

"Hello, Your Highness."

<"Still planning on dropping by?">

"I'm already here, actually."

<"Wha--? Oh... I see.">

Next page on the 17th

Sorry, guys. Thanks for reading, as always.