As the camera gradually zoomed in and finally stopped on Queen Sophia's half-open, frozen, ashen eyes, Iver thought the CG had ended.
The screen did go black.
—but right afterward, another cutscene began.
Iver was wearing a bishop's red robes as he paced through the study at Moriarty Manor. He looked somewhat anxious.
Restlessly, he pulled a book from the shelf, seemingly intending to read.
Before he could open it, however, he suddenly heard thunder outside.
Iver immediately went to the window and saw the sky darkening at a visible speed.
White Feather Griffins took flight in great numbers in the distance. The pure-white sky seemed to be stained with ink, spreading outward from the Silver and Tin Palace. Thunder boomed as a howling storm swept through the streets, instantly blowing away the fallen autumn leaves lining both sides of the road.
In an instant, countless withered leaves danced through the air. The storm was visibly bearing down on them.
As the camera stopped here, the gale blew a fallen leaf into Iver's face.
Iver froze for a moment before realizing that the CG had ended and he could move again.
"...A seamless transition?"
The moment he realized this, a harsh, hoarse voice suddenly rang out in his mind, as unpleasant as fingernails scraping across a blackboard:
"You are Iver Moriarty. At only nineteen, you became a bishop recognized by the Nine Pillars God Church, as well as Avalon's youngest bishop.
"Your younger sister, Yulia Moriarty, is the Phantom Demon Egg. Fortunately, with your adoptive father James caring for her, her condition has always been well controlled. Under your treatment, it has even continued to improve.
"Yet not long after you were promoted to bishop, Yulia was suddenly abducted by a group of people. When you found her, she had