With the metal box on his back, Shade boarded a carriage at Saint Derain Square and traveled to the southern edge of Tobesk. There, he changed to a carriage that could leave the city, paying a hefty sum to persuade the coachman to head farther south into the countryside.
Judging from the map, although the Darkness Domain had expanded greatly overnight, it was still some distance from Tobesk proper. After comparing notes with the woman's voice in his mind, Shade decided to head first to Bode Village south of Tobesk.
It was not because that village was closest to the vanished area, but because, judging by the terrain, going any farther would bring him to an Orthodox Church Sentry Post.
Because of the nature of the Darkness Domain, and because the incident had only happened that morning, the disappearance of such a vast area had not drawn the attention or notice of the locals.
Whether in the city or outside the city, everything suggested that this was a very peaceful Saturday morning. Before the darkness struck, ordinary people could not notice anything. Shade even chatted with the coachman for a while. The man claimed to have lived in the southern part of the city for thirty-two years, yet he had not noticed the changes in the terrain beyond the city, nor the absence of vast areas from his memory.
This alteration of perception was terrifying.
The coachman dropped Shade off at the entrance to Bode Village, and the arrival of a stranger in this inconspicuous village naturally aroused the curiosity and wariness of the villagers.
The village was utterly ordinary. Low houses stood clustered together, forming a simple human settlement. Most buildings were made of earth-gray mud, stone, and straw. Compared to the city only half an hour away by