Winter County lay in the north of the Loen Kingdom.
A black Gothic church with a soaring spire stood amid snow-covered mountains, its grounds sprawling across a vast area.
A cliff lay before it, and an endless expanse of white surrounded it. Not a sound could be heard.
This was the Church of Tranquility, headquarters of the Church of the Evernight Goddess, commonly known as the Holy Cathedral.
Leonard Mitchell, black-haired and green-eyed, emerged from the post office in the town at the foot of the mountain. Dressed in a black trench coat and red gloves, he intended to return to the Church of Tranquility before dark.
Just as he reached the edge of town, he brushed past a man wearing an embroidered formal coat with a cape-like outer layer and a long, wavy wig.
Leonard instinctively found the figure familiar, but when he stopped for a closer look, he was certain the man was no one he knew.
He shook his head and sighed softly.
"My memory seems to be getting worse.
"I keep mistaking strangers for you..."
It had happened more than once, so Leonard paid it no mind. He turned and continued toward the road out of town.
Then he tilted his head slightly, as though he had heard something. He stopped again, spun around, and searched for the man he had seen, but found no trace of him.
"Old Man, is that true? There was someone else beside that man just now? Why didn't I see her?" Leonard asked under his breath as he scanned the street.
An elderly-sounding voice immediately rang out in his mind.
"Ever since you learned about the Parasite, you've grown less and less polite...
"You'd better let it go. If I'm not mistaken, the lady you failed to notice was a