Underground Morgue
Precinct
You stand under the dim yellow lights before a pale, rigid corpse. It is the body of a young person, drained of life, cold and still as carved stone.
Towering stacks of case files line the nearby walls, all grim evidence of the series of killings that has plagued this town. The body lying here is clearly not the killer's first victim.
...
She stands silently before the young man's body, saying nothing for a long while.
...He was Aleksei, my deputy, and the town's only coroner.
It's alright.
He was always careful. As my deputy, he knew full well how dangerous the Mist could be.
But for reasons I still can't understand, he went into the Mist alone one night...
By the time I found him, it was already too late. I found him just like this.
The town had been plagued by serial killings even before this. People would vanish into the Mist and never return alive.
According to Aleksei's autopsy reports, all the blood in their bodies had mysteriously "vanished." No conventional weapon could cause something like that.
In other words, the killer is definitely not human.
You don't need to be so careful with your words around me. I know what you're thinking, [player name].
It's only natural that a detective like you would have doubts about me.
...
A flicker of emotion crosses her eyes imperceptibly before she quickly turns away and opens the door of the morgue, as if unwilling to face what lies inside.
I won't interfere with your investigation in any way. All you need to do is find the truth.
Please... let his death be the key to solving these cases.
After that, he'll be able to rest in peace alongside the people he protected.
There's no need to be so formal.
...Do what you think is best.
Her arm moves slightly, and a copper key arcs through the air and lands in your hand.
This is the key to the records room. All the case files and documents are inside.
Put that sharp insight of yours to work, [player name].
I trust you.
After Veronica leaves, you are left alone with the mysterious corpse in silence.
Even Eileena, who usually lightens the mood with her jokes, falls unusually quiet in this space, swiftly preparing for the autopsy work.
Of course. I won't miss a single thing.
You pick up the scalpel and slowly cut open the corpse's cold, rigid flesh with the sharp blade.
What lies before you is a sight unlike anything you have seen before: not only has life been drained from the body, but every drop of blood as well.
In the quiet room, only the faint scraping of the blade in your hand and the soft scratching of Eileena's pen against paper can be heard.
Finally, you drop the scalpel into a shallow dish nearby after completing your work, and the faint clang breaks the room's prolonged silence.
Eileena also finishes recording the autopsy process. She sets down her pen, carefully reviewing the notes she just wrote.
Based on the autopsy results, the cause of death is blood loss. Every drop of blood in the body has vanished.
Apart from this small wound, there are no other visible injuries on the body.
Based on the wound's shape and markings, it looks like...
She visibly hesitates, as if even she cannot believe the conclusion she is about to say.
This wound... looks like it was made by a rat.
But that makes no sense. Since when do rats drain blood? And how could they cause something like this?
I originally thought this was the work of the "Bloodthirsty Siren", but we couldn't find any evidence of that on the body.
I can't shake the feeling we're missing something important...
Hours of intense focus have left your mind weary, yet the clues uncovered beneath your scalpel continue racing through your thoughts and stirring your keen instincts.
Your eyes closed, you retreat into your mind palace, carefully piecing together every clue gathered so far.
Time to start piecing it together, [player name]?
So our conclusion for now is... we don't have one.
Eileena sighs in frustration, her pen pressing hard against the notebook as she scrawls a large question mark.
At this rate, our client is going to be pretty disappointed with us.
The night grows late, but your assistant and you show no signs of letting up after completing the autopsy work.
Gaslight flickers across the towering stacks of case files spread before you, along with the freshly completed autopsy report.
After scouring every last document in the records room, Eileena's face falls.
We've been through everything, but there's not a single record about this "Bloodthirsty Siren".
With your encouragement, her disappointed expression melts away, replaced by a determined smile.
Of course. I'm not giving up that easily.
As the two of you speak, you both sense something sinister lurking in the shadows around you.
From some undetected void, an unseen presence whose true form defies comprehension watches over this place.
Something strange stirs within the void, responding to the power behind your words.
Thick white fog descends, engulfing the building where you shelter.
You stand up, your sharp eyes cutting through the Mist that shrouds the building, gazing toward some unknown point beyond.
The "Bloodthirsty Siren" does not yet exist.
But someday in the future...
The "Bloodthirsty Siren" will descend upon this place.
The dead will return to the earth, taking away countless mysteries left unsolved.
Fog drifts through the air as the earth in the cemetery releases its cold, musty scent.
The many gentle mounds of fresh earth scattered throughout the cemetery serve as silent reminders that countless lives now rest in eternal slumber.
Today, another soul joins those who rest here.
The only attendees at Aleksei's modest funeral are the three companions who fought alongside each other through that misty night.
Rest in peace, together with those you once protected.
As the sheriff, I won't let this town fall to ruin.
Watching serenely, she seems to be bidding farewell, as well as making a solemn vow to uphold her duty.
She turns her head, her gaze piercing through the drifting white mist to rest upon the town she has sworn to protect.
As if unwilling to betray any more emotion, she tightens her grip on her lance and leads the way into the fog.
After the mourners depart, the cemetery returns to a deathly silence, with mist and shadow drifting through the grounds like envoys from another world making their rounds.
Soon, a faint sound breaks the stillness—the scraping of rodent teeth and claws against something solid.
A rat appears atop the freshly sealed grave, clawing at the soft earth relentlessly.
Soon it catches the scent of unrotten flesh beneath the soil and lets out excited squeaks.
The shriek echoes through the night, and more rats soon pour from the darkness, swarming over the fresh grave where the dead should rest in peace.
Roko's silhouette emerges quietly from the shadow, surveying the scene before him.
Several rats appear from nowhere, gathering at his feet and scurrying about as if hoping their master might spare them a few satisfying morsels.
He watches with satisfaction as more rats gather, as if they are his beloved pets.
Go on, to where you belong.
That's where your "home" truly lies.
Go find your "new master."
The swarm of rats claws frantically at the fresh grave, burrowing deeper and deeper into the earth.
The soil begins to churn and shift, as if some unseen force stirs beneath the surface.
Moments later, a body wrapped in white cloth slowly rises to a sitting position.
As if drawn to the vitality emanating from the figure, the rats swarm over the burial shroud, climbing upward across the white cloth.
Sinking their razor-sharp teeth into the corpse, the rats gnaw at dead flesh and sinew.
Then, countless rats burrow into the shadowy figure's body, every last one disappearing within.
As if granted a vitality that isn't his own by the swarm, the "dead man" slowly rises from the grave and begins to walk.
His steps are jerky and rigid, like a puppet being pulled by invisible strings.
Well, well... it's been quite some time, my former colleague... Aleksei.
Looks like you don't quite remember me anymore, but that's alright.
I'm Roko, your old colleague, but we can get reacquainted now that we're both... different.
I'm not the same person I used to be, and obviously, neither are you.
Perhaps it is time for us to "work together" once more.
Let's start by having you welcome our "guest." After all, I have other pressing matters to attend to.
The long-awaited feast is about to begin. Time to welcome our honored guest.
This guest is our esteemed sheriff... But first, we have two meddling "detectives" that require our special attention.
...
The approaching figure reeks of damp earth and something vile.
The stench of fresh soil, crawling worms, and rotting flesh mingles in the air.
The dead, returned to the living, is bent to his master's will.
