Less than an hour after the Holy Temple in the southern district closed that day, similar reports began trickling in from other parts of the Royal Capital.
At first, they were ordinary reports sent to the local Sacred Affairs offices.
Large numbers of dead rats had been found in the eastern district. Two hospitals in the northern district had each admitted dozens of patients with high fevers. Livestock had died on several streets near the old city, and several workers assigned to clear the carcasses developed light sensitivity and began acting strangely that same day—
Two hours later, the symptoms described in the reports had grown increasingly consistent, and the picture clearer.
High fevers, cold hands and feet, gray-red blood vessels appearing beneath the skin. Some patients had begun hearing voices that were not there.
What unsettled the local Clerics even more was that, unlike the earlier cases of blood contamination, almost all the places where patients first appeared in large numbers were Holy Temples and hospitals.
A large hospital in the western district was still admitting patients that morning. By afternoon, its director had ordered the main building sealed.
The Sacred Flame had also developed dark-red streaks, and dozens of patients who had just undergone purification saw their symptoms worsen again. Even a fool could tell something was wrong. They had no choice but to move the beds outside.
Many Holy Temples shut their doors the moment they noticed anything abnormal.
But more people soon gathered outside. They knelt at the doors and begged the Clerics to make the Sacred Flame available again. Some even began pounding on the doors, crying that the sick members of their families would not survive the night.
Alarm bells rang across the Royal Capital, one after another. The streets had noticeably fewer pedestrians.