Though the city of Puerta Blanca was wild and riddled with crime, it was not without a police force and other official legislation. The MIB also had its own office, hidden in plain view between every other plain, gray, concrete building. The door to one of its office doors swung wide open, yet it did nothing to wake the investigator snoring on his desk between towering piles of papers. Adam Sear, a young assistant with slick hair, round bottle-bottom glasses, and an eager yet disappointed face, marched over to his senior, rolling the newspaper into a bat.

"Good morning, boss!" He hit Cole on the back of his head.

Cole fumbled in his chair, swinging his arms around and knocking over all the papers.

"Ah, what the hell?" He cursed with some matter in his eyes.

"Had a rough night?"Adam asked.

"Adam? What was that for?" Cole rubbed his head.

"I can't have chief busting you for sleeping on the job." Adam shook his head in disappointment.

"Sorry, sorry." Cole waved his hand.

"Drinking on Tuesday. What has gone to you?"

"I invited someone for a drink."

"Oh, you got a girlfriend?" Adam smiled smugly.

"Stop joking around. He was not a friend."

"Drinking with strangers?"

"No, it was just that he happened to be an ex-soldier from ADF."

"Oh, so did something go wrong?"

"He had some other opinions on this type of work."

"Those anti-government activists sure like campaigning. There's got to be better ways to form your opinions."

"Y-yeah, we better get on with the case." Cole coughed.

"About that. They want us to investigate a warehouse on the edge of town." Adam handed the file to the table.

"Alright. Let's get going." Cole stood up and picked up his hat.

The warehouse creaked and echoed emptily as if it had been abandoned long ago. The site was closed with police tape, though the officers were sent off as MIB picked up the case.

"Tell me, Adam," Cole said. "What is the first thing you see?"

Adam circled their surroundings, but everything seemed normal.

"The building?" He guessed.

"No. There were many people here, mages."

"How would I know? Can't you remember I don't have your nose?" Adam tapped his feet.

"First, you could look at all of those footprints left on the dust." Cole pointed to the side.

"Oh," Adam turned a little red. "But how do you know they're mages?"

"Well, that one is on me." Cole scratched his head. "They all have mana particles left on them."

"So, you think something happened?"

"A gathering, perhaps. Let's move in."

The two put on plastic gloves and stepped inside the dark room. Their steps echoed far and wide, which made some birds fly to the windows. Though they created a ruckus, it did nothing to lift a general feeling of unease while walking inside.

"You see anything?" Adam asked.

"That door." Cole pointed at a doorframe on the other side of the room.

"Wow, something blew it off." Adam looked at the bent door.

"With magic," Cole added.

"Yeesh." Adam couldn't think what could have caused it.

"All of the people gathered here walked inside in a line." Cole pointed his finger along where the queue was.

Cole stopped at the frame with a grim expression.

"What?"

"Blood." Cole stared inside. "What the hell happened here?"

"It's anyone's guess." Adam shrugged.

"Nothing makes sense. I could only recognize one scent, but something is off."

"An execution to make an example? Mobs sure like making them as gruesome as possible." Adam kept guessing.

"Then I could smell more big shots here, but I could only smell one of Avus' beasts, yet there was someone else." Cole rubbed his chin. "How about you, Adam? Did someone die here?"

"Hmmm, let me check." Adam took off his glasses. "Nope, no one died."

"You sure?" Cole looked at the blood-red floor. "These things rarely end well."

"The spirits don't lie," Adam said, putting the glasses back on.

"Sorry to make you do this. I wanted to make sure."

"I don't mind as long as I got these." Adam flicked the glasses.

"What was it living without them?" Cole was interested.

"I understand now that the spirits want to help, and I'm the one who can't handle it. I can still spot them in the corner of my eye, but at least I can be sure I'm speaking to a real person."

"I read your report. Ten years in therapy. Gave me second thoughts if I would let you in."

"Hopefully, I get this in control someday so I can be a real mage."

"Hmmm." Cole squinted his face into a doubtful expression.

"Something wrong?"

"It's a bit hard for me to say, but I wouldn't count on it."

"What do you mean?" Adam asked.

"Have you heard of the swimmer's body illusion?"

"No?"

"It's about mistaking traits and results. Swimmers don't have nice bodies because they swim; they are good swimmers because of their bodies."

"So you're saying that I will never get good?"

"Not exactly. You're just thinking it wrong." Cole shook his head. "Magecraft is all about talent and inherited traits. We are simply out of our depth against royal mages, so we must stay realistic with our aspirations. Dreaming big will only leave you dissatisfied."

"I never thought about it that way." Adam dropped his head.

"As we must show our gratitude to Sychi, we also must be grateful for Eden's gate and Atlas for their help fostering his blessings."

Cole joined his hands in the praying gesture of the Ellinist religion. The gesture symbolized the connection of everything in the world, the two principal planes, heaven and earth, and the blessing humanity received from Sychi, the god of magic. Cole straightened his fingers and crossed the backs of his hands downwards with the right hand on top until the thumbs would collide. The prayer would then press the hands to his chest and bow his head if more gratitude needed to be shown.

"I guess." Adam rolled his eyes.

"Well, that's enough of that. Let's head back and report our findings."

"Sure."

On the way back to the office was the relatively poor block in the city, comprising of people getting lost with the money and excitement and losing everything and business people ruined similarly yet wasting much more wealth. The road could not be repaired, as both the equipment and the workers were usually assaulted whenever the city council doubted it. Some holes on the road were deep enough for people to set up shelters in and save as well since no cars would ever turn to the road. That would not help any passerby, as the people would spread during the day to all parts of the city where they could either beg, steal or scavenge.

A line of cars blocked one of the driveways, which also stopped Cole and Adam.

"Boat of Theos," Cole rolled up his window to yell to another driver. "What the hell is taking so long?"

"Some sicko is laying in the middle of the intersection." The driver answered with a wide frown.

"Then move the hobo already!" Cole honked the horn.

"No one wants to touch him. We already called the cops, but they're stuck in the rush hour."

"That's it. Let's move that slacker." Cole stepped out.

A frail-looking beastman in rags lay on his back. Whether he was merely sleeping loudly or moaning in pain was beyond them. Cole checked this by kicking the man quite hard to his stomach.

"Come on, move it!" Cole kicked the man again.

"Are you alright?" Adam asked.

"Don't touch him. He's from the Lobo Loco block. You don't know what diseases that drug addict has."

"We can't just leave him be." Adam tended the man.

"Since you already touched him, move him to the side." Cole sighed.

"Here's some money." Adam slipped a few bills into the poor man's hand.

"Don't give him that. He's just going to use it for drugs."

"Thank you." The man grabbed the money.

"The pack holds." Adam tapped the man's shoulder before standing up.

Cole said nothing but slammed the door as they stepped back inside the car.

"What's with the frown?" Adam asked.

"I could have never guessed you are one of those people." Cole gave a cold glance.

"Yeah, I was born in Lobo Loco, or at least until the police showed up. They put me in a psych ward because I kept seeing things. Luckily a family of mages picked me up from there."

"Well, good for you getting out of that hellhole in time." Cole sighed with relief.

"That place was my home, but it's still, under those Avus, who keep selling them black ice."

"Avus does pose a big problem introducing imported drugs here."

"My mom and dad died because of them. From that point, I've wanted to become a police officer and bust those people."

"While the Dark Cavalry will surely punish them, it is our job to bring them to justice on land."

"I'm not that devoted, but I hope Loimós will make them suffer."

"Hmph, it's not wise to name them. Hopefully, the Gods of death will see you did not mean harm."

"Since when have Gods done anything to mortals?"

"Hush!" Cole gripped the wheel tightly. "To let you know, I heard a rumor that there is a spawn of Chaos in Eden's gate."

"Why would it be there?"

"A divine pact, but I don't want to believe any royal family would want to form an agreement with one of the dark Gods."

"Sounds like a cult to me."

"That can't be." Cole laughed.

"Why not?"

"The elite know what they're doing and what is best for everyone."

"Sure, sure." Adam sighed.

Cole looked out of the window and saw a strange man in a mask walk past their car. He could not help but stare at the obvious disguise.

"Was there a carnival?" Cole asked.

"Huh? no, I don't think so." Adam tried to remember.

Before Cole could get a better look, another car behind them honked its horn like it was a button that gave them money.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just go." Cole pushed the pedal.

The masked man turned his gaze from the car and continued walking, or at least until he budged someone.

"Excuse me," The man stopped. "Wait, you're-" He looked down.

It was none other than Orel, who himself could recognize the man from the frowning clown mask, or rather by the name he went by.

"Oakley, was it?" Orel asked.

"And you must be Orel," Ocham said. "Not going to the second phase?"

"Um, no. I was just a manager to my friends anyways, so I hit the town."

"I see." Ocham nodded.

"Do you live around here?"

Regardless of the intention, questions had to be handled carefully and professionally for men like Ocham. Though this was no problem to him, he could not help but feel tense under the mask.

"I moved here a while ago." He lied.

"Do you know some places to visit?"

"Hmmm." Ocham had to come up with some he would not visit personally. "Croc Chocolat is a fantastic candy shop a few blocks east from here. There are also plenty of casinos on Golden Boulevard if you enjoy gambling. For restaurants, I would recommend Perk Point near the center. As for landmarks, down south, the Cloud spike gives a nice view of the city; from there, you can also see the jungle up north. There are plenty of guided tours that can take you there."

"Thank you. I'll make sure to look them up."

The honesty at display made Ocham feel silly for being on guard.

"I have to keep going before the test starts." Ocham reminded.

"Oh, sorry for keeping you here!" Orel realized.

"I will be just in time." Ocham walked.

"See you!" Orel waved.

Ocham kept his stiletto safely inside his sleeve. It was not his intention to take Orel out, but he was not naive enough to underestimate younger opponents. Children might not be as good with weapons but are notoriously good at dropping their targets' guards before finishing them. Ocham avoided having to fight them, but there were times when he had no other option. His mind would never waver during those actions, nor did he get any more joy out of it than his usual jobs.

The Cloud spike, despite its name, could not pierce the skies but came very close. Though only a guarded watch tower during the colonization, the modern building was rebuilt to symbolize the coming of a new age. No one could miss it, but whether it was merely art, antenna tower, or an actual visitable location was not immediately sure. As Orel arrived at its base, he could only be amazed and in slight pain from having to look so high up. Throwing a chocolate ball to his mouth, he entered inside. He found two options to ascend in the round room. On the left were a set of elevators, but on the right was a circular stone staircase going up a shaft into nothingness. The staircase was open but came with a warning slate on top reading, "Not for the weak-hearted or disabilities. Use at your own risk. Ascend will take around 25 minutes at a normal pace."

After almost fifteen minutes, Orel reached the top, sweating bullets and his breath wheezing like a broken whistle. Thankfully, there was a cafe selling cold drinks full of ice and sugar. The drink was refreshing, but it introduced a new problem that was a horrible brain freeze. After that subsided, Orel was finally in a stable state, just in time to notice the grand view from the massive glass panels. The sparkling ocean swallowed the white beach, and the concrete buildings were both plain and colorful with all the rainbow colors. Beyond the towers and city lights was what Orel was looking for, or it should be. A lush green jungle crept behind the luxury villas and gardens until the round mountains in the distance. Eden's gate should be past those mountains, but none of its splendor would slip even accidentally. No one could even guess that past the mountain range was a dry desert continuing in all directions under a scorching sun, a harsh wasteland that no one could or wished to inhabit, rather avoiding it as much as they could or afford.

"I'm coming, Norman." Orel pressed his hand on the glass.

"Look, honey, a parrot!" Someone pointed.

"That's weird. They don't usually fly this high..." Her partner squinted her eyes.

"There it goes," She watched the bird drop down. "Sure was a weird little fellow."