The investigation began immediately.
Elara had been gathering information for months—names, dates, locations, patterns. She had created a map of the disappearances, marking each one with a pin.
"They're all connected," she said, pointing to the map. "See? The disappearances started in the academic district. Then they spread to the merchant district. Then the Sunken District."
"They're following a pattern," Aurelius observed. "A deliberate one. Someone is methodically removing people who were influenced by my teachings."
"Yes. But why? What's the purpose?"
Aurelius studied the map.
"I don't know yet. But I have a theory."
"What?"
"Remember the Echo? The philosophy that controlled the Night Council?"
Elara nodded. "Of course. You taught us about them. How they manipulated events for centuries."
"Right. The Echo was defeated, but the philosophy behind them—the belief that control is necessary, that people can't be trusted to think for themselves—that philosophy didn't disappear. It just went underground."
He traced a line across the map.
"Someone has picked up where the Echo left off. Someone who's trying to rebuild the control structure. And they see my teachings as a threat."
Elara's eyes widened. "So they're removing people who've been influenced by you."
"Yes. They're trying to silence the message by silencing the messengers."
"How do we stop them?"
Aurelius was silent for a moment.
"By finding the source," he said. "By finding the person who's orchestrating this. And by showing them that their philosophy is wrong."