Zani

It was already past midnight, and the lights in the shop windows had flickered out, leaving the lively city of Ragunna cloaked in a solemn, silent embrace. Even Signor Octopus on the bell tower seemed to have drifted off to the land of dreams. Well, if Echoes can dream, that is.

"Looks like there won't be any more customers tonight," Margherita yawned. "Aye, best finish up with cleaning and head home."

"Ciao, Margherita. Same as usual. A Nectarwine and potato wedges. Extra gemberry jam and black pepper. Thanks."

Margherita froze at the sudden familiar voice coming from behind her. It carried the unmistakable weight of exhaustion and weariness, as if the spirit of its owner had been whisked away to the heavens by Imperator, leaving behind only a weary shell. To anyone unfamiliar with Ragunna, that lifeless tone might have sent them running.

"It's been a while since you last came by, Ms. Zani," Margherita said, still focused on tidying up the pizza crumbs in the oven. "Just getting off work? You've been busy lately?"

"Well, sort of," Zani replied, her gaze fixed on the counter as if she were staring at a pile of freshly-printed reports instead of some appetizing pizzas. "You know, with the Carnevale just around the corner, the Bank is working one like three. Not that it really matters. The workload never seems to end anyway."

"To us Montellis, the Carnevale is both an opportunity and a challenge," Zani recalled Alberto's words when she received that assignment. "For Ragunna's future, we all must play our part."

To Zani, those words felt hollow. She worked for the Bank because they paid her. She wasn't an actor there to "play a part." Still, she had to admit that the guest she was tasked to protect did spark a small flicker of curiosity in her heart. The sizzling potato wedges in the fryer released a mouthwatering aroma that made her stomach grumble in protest.

"What should I have for breakfast tomorrow?" she pondered. "The pancake this morning was cold and gave me a bit of a stomachache. Maybe I should go for porridge with baked eggs... Oh, and definitely two spoonfuls of sugar..."

Just then, a faint cracking sound pierced the midnight air. Margherita, busy with the fryer, didn't notice. Perhaps the entire slumbering city of Ragunna didn't notice either. But Zani did. She looked up and saw a shadow dart across the rooftops. The sound had come from a loose tile knocked off by his careless foot.

The Carnevale attracted more than just law-abiding tourists. With a resigned sigh, Zani pulled out her wallet and placed a few Shell Credits on the counter. So much for her midnight snack.

"Ta-da! Your potato wedges are ready, Ms. Zani—" Margherita called out, turning around with a plate in hand, only to find the seat where Zani had been sitting now empty.

Excerpt from the Pioneer Express special edition: Guardian of the Night: An Incarnation of Justice or a Cunning Criminal?

"Just as my scream caught in my throat, they swooped right over my head! He... No, no, she. Yeah, I think it was a woman. She was moving so fast, and in the darkness of the night, it was hard to see anything clearly. But I swear, there was something on her head, like some strange hairpins. Or maybe it was just her hair whipping in the wind? I can't say for certain..."

—Sabrina (Female, 36), one of the known eyewitnesses.

"The brothers of the Chamber of Discipline finally reached a consensus, declaring that outlaw a righteous one. I was vehemently against their judgment then, and I still am! This outlaw is responsible for dozens of assaults in Ragunna! Yes, yes, I know the ones she attacked were criminals, but they should've been apprehended by the Chamber of Discipline under Imperator's name and sentenced under the Sentinel's solemn gaze! Not by some thug dishing out street justice! This is a blatant defiance of the Sentinel's authority! Here in Ragunna, only the Sentinel has the right to judge the guilty!"

—Anonymous Acolyte from the Chamber of Discipline

"Yes, several neighbors of mine have seen her. Her methods are getting more extreme lately. They even call her the 'Butcher of Criminals'... She never kills, huh? Well, I don't buy that. She's dealing with the worst of the worst, after all. I don't think anyone can hold back when their life is on the line. Unless she's much stronger than those criminals, but could that even be possible?”

—El Lawson (Male, 42), from Egla Town, commenting on this mysterious figure's intervention during the attack on the Plushie Echoes by the "Plushie Slaughterer." Since Egla's residents strictly avoid going outside after dark, no one saw her face.

"I've been tracking this avenger sent by the Sentinel. Why do I believe she's connected to the Sentinel, you ask? Haven't you heard about the blazing Flames of Retribution that surround her? Those holy flames must be a gift from the Sentinel. The greater the evil she faces, the fiercer the light burns. Some call her a demon? Oh, that's absurd... What kind of demon fights for justice?"

—Rhea (Female, 33), Acolyte from the Chamber of Discipline. She participated in an investigation into this mysterious figure several years ago.

"I was working late that night. As I passed the gate of the Chamber of Discipline, I saw Talos from the Black Alley tied up with his gang, all unconscious. Well, maybe it was just my imagination, but in the dim morning light, I think I saw someone squatting on the rooftop across from the Chamber. She was gone in a blink. I remember she was covered in wounds, like she had just fought through hell. What? You mean to say she took down Talos and his gang all by herself?!"

—Archived audio recording from years ago. The speaker remains unknown.

Most of these cases occurred years ago, and the eyewitness accounts collected thus far are often contradictory and lack detail. However, one thing remains clear: the second Dark Tide and the Carnevale incident a decade ago inflicted severe damage on Ragunna. During the chaos that followed, a mysterious figure emerged, punishing evil under the cover of night. In those dark days, many who had lost faith formed gangs, reveling in crime. It wasn't until this mysterious woman began hunting them down one by one, delivering them to prison, that order was finally restored to Ragunna.

Few in the city are willing to talk about those painful years. Like the traditions of Carnevale, the people of Ragunna believe that Imperator wishes them to embrace joy rather than dwell on the scars of the past. As a result, records of this mysterious figure—or the so-called "Blazing Nightwalker"—have faded into distant legend. However, around the recent Carnevale, whispers began to circulate once more, as someone claimed to have seen a figure resembling the legends, roaming the streets.

To Ragunna, is this an omen of another crisis? Or merely an imitator of a past hero? Only time will tell.

"Yes, the Figaro family claimed they settled the payment three days ago. Their 'respected' guarantor? Vanished into thin air. Now they're trying to spin this flimsy evidence into a bookkeeping error on our part." Zani shrugged, her tone calm and casual, as if she were simply chatting with the Sword Acorus in the garden. "Yes. Apparently, they're trying to chisel us. An old trick that's been around since the Ragunnesi first started fishing from Gondolas. No worries, I'll 'negotiate' with them. Alright, that's settled then. Ciao."

Zani hung up the call, tucking the ledger under her arm as she stepped out of the office. Behind her, hushed whispers spread through the workplace. It wasn't that her colleagues doubted her abilities. They all knew too well how this would end. A minor matter like this wouldn't make the front page of the newspaper. At most, it would be squeezed into the bottom corner of a column, alongside lost-and-found notices and cheap advertisements. The papers certainly wouldn't mention Zani or the Montelli family. Perhaps there would be a brief report about a few Figaro members getting bruised by a toppled scaffolding near the clock tower or how the head of the Figaros generously funded the arts for their loyal business partner, the Montelli family.

Was Zani the best employee at the bank? Without a doubt.

Her outstanding job performance often piqued the curiosity of new hires. She worked late into the night every single day, arriving at work exhausted, dark circles under her eyes. On top of that, she handled the most dangerous fieldwork, yet never botched a single assignment. The older employees spoke of her in reverent tones, almost as if she were an omnipotent divinity. It was said that if she were assigned to catch Cetus the Tidebreaker with nothing but a soggy noodle, she would return with that "little" whale the next morning, right on time, as if it were merely a takeout pizza.

How did she do it? No one knew.

Some rookies were keen to imitate Zani's every act and habit, believing it would unlock the secret to her excellence. They noticed she was never without an energy drink and assumed that was the source of her superhuman stamina, like the Heliobane Fungia for a Riccioli sailor in an old comic. So, they gulped down energy drinks, convinced it would fuel them through nights and help them complete legendary projects, just as it did for Zani. Yet, they often found themselves slumped over their desks, sore from sleeping in their chairs, only to be scolded by supervisors for underperforming the next day.

What was she thinking? No one knew.

The older employees still vaguely remembered the Zani who first joined the bank. A silent, distant young woman, a bit reckless, and a bit too comfortable with violence. But within two months, she had mastered every procedure, and in another two, she was almost on par with the bank's best employees. By her third year, the "Best Employee" badge was nothing more than a trinket she received alongside her paycheck.

But what drove her to go this far? The answers varied. Some believed she had a deep love for Ragunna and felt it was her duty to protect the city. Others thought she was ambitious, aiming to earn the Montelli surname and perhaps even coveting the position of head of the family. Still, some suspected the Montellis were paying her a hefty sum beyond her standard salary to bind her to them through financial incentives.

If anyone ever asked Zani herself, she would simply blink, unfazed.

"That's interesting. But I'm just an ordinary employee. Though I do have an idea. If you're convinced that my department pays so well, why not transfer over? Help take some load off me. Since it's just an internal transfer, I don't think it'd violate any non-compete agreements, right?"

...There was just enough time.

Zani darted through the shadowy alleyways, the sharp pain in her shoulder a stark reminder of her close call. That brute of a man, whose wrists were nearly as thick as her neck, had nearly done her in. She had planned to knock him out before he could react, but he was faster than she had anticipated. Good thing her reflexes were sharper than his. Otherwise, that knife wouldn't have just left a deep gash on her shoulder but would have gone straight into her heart.

It wasn't her first injury. She had long lost count of the wounds she'd collected in the past few months of fighting crime. They healed, after all. Besides, she was certain that the ones who gave her those wounds had ended up far worse than she did.

Her strategy was simple: give those criminals a real hard time without them ever knowing her identity, then vanish before the Chamber of Discipline arrived to clean up the mess. It wasn't about heroism. It's just that she wasn't foolish enough to paint a target on her back and risk being driven out of Ragunna, hiding in some miserable town without the blessings of pizza and Nectarwine.

It was always safer to be a nobody. Someone unremarkable. Someone no one saw as a threat.

Tonight's targets were kidnappers. She had been tracking them for days, and their leader—the tough man from earlier—wasn't just muscle. A tricky Resonator. But he had made a fatal mistake by wandering off alone, giving her the perfect opportunity to strike. Now, all she had to do was take down the rest before they realized their boss was missing.

She tightened her grip on her brass knuckles, rolling her wrists.

"Boss should be back soon, huh? That kid's home isn't that far,” a lanky man yawned, glancing over at the little girl curled up in the corner of a wooden cage, clutching a doll. He lifted his chin at her, "So, what's the plan after we get the money? I say we just let her go."

"But she's seen our faces," the shorter man sighed. "If we just let her go, we might end up being hunted by that... What's their name? The Blazing what?"

"The Blazing Nightwalker," the lanky man corrected. "I get why the boss is worried, but a deal's a deal. We take the money, we let the girl go. Killing her is overkill."

"By Imperator's name, Ragunna has long been a land without rules," the short man muttered, a grim silence falling between them. The lanky man turned to look at the girl in the cage, but quickly snapped his gaze away as if burned.

"...I need some air."

The lanky man stood up, irritated, and opened the door of their hideout. The cold air sent a shiver down his spine but that didn't last long. Before he could react, a cold, metallic object smashed into his forehead, and darkness swallowed him whole.

"Who, who the hell are you?"

The short man scrambled for the gun on the other side of the table. He nearly made it, but the intruder was faster. Just as his consciousness began to fade, he felt his fingers brushed the gun's handle. That was it.

I made it, Zani thought, letting out a sigh of relief. The wound on her shoulder had opened again, but it was still worth it.

With a single punch, she shattered the lock on the wooden cage, shrugging off the lanky man's coat and draping it over the trembling girl. She had sent an anonymous letter to the Chamber of Discipline on her way here. If everything went smoothly, they would arrive soon. It was time for her to leave.

"Ex-excuse me..."

Zani turned at the sound and found the little girl standing behind her, hesitating. Summoning all her courage, the girl held out her cherished toy.

"This, this is for you! Thank you for saving me!"

No need. I didn't do it for your gratitude.

However, Zani swallowed her words before they could leave her lips. She squatted down, meeting the girl's wide, fearful eyes. In those innocent eyes, she saw herself, her past self. The lonely Zani. The helpless Zani. The Zani who couldn't do anything.

So, she smiled and reached out her hand, ruffling the girl's hair before taking the doll from her hands.

"Thanks," she said softly. "I'll take good care of it."

Zani might have dreamed. Or maybe she didn't. If she had, it had slipped from her mind too smoothly like a butter. She opened her eyes and silenced the alarm clock still ringing by her bedside.

The morning light streamed through the windows, outlining the edges of the carpet in a soft, golden glow. She took a minute to force herself to fully wake up, and with that, the last fragile fragment of the dream dissolved into nothing.

Not that it mattered. It probably wasn't a good dream anyway.

With all the recent overtime, even Zani's dreams had become meaningless and fragmented, often juat mishmashes of unfinished tasks running through her mind. There was no escape from the pressures in waking life, so why would she ever expect to find one in dreams?

"Alright, enough of that. I've got an important job to take care." Zani gave her cheeks a light slap to snap herself out of her thoughts. She knew she needed to handle this assignment the right way if she ever wanted to secure that promised paid vacation from her supervisor.

Facing the mirror, she straightened her attire meticulously, adjusting her tie until it was just right. She didn't know much about the mysterious guest. All Zani knew was that {Male=he;Female=she} had a very special Echo, and that the family had provided {Male=him;Female=her} with a fair sum of funds.

For some reason, she felt like there was more than met the eye. Perhaps it was just lingering unease from that strange dream, but she couldn't shake the feeling that whatever she and this guest did over the next few days would determine the fate of many in Ragunna.

"Heh, come on. I'm just an ordinary employee." So ordinary that if a billboard in the Montelli Quarter fell, she'd be crushed along with a dozen others. Zani pulled her cloak off the rack and draped it over her shoulders, just like she did every morning.

She yawned. Thankfully, none of her colleagues saw her.

She wasn't assigned too many tasks today. Mr. Alberto had said she'd be free to leave once she helped that esteemed guest in black complete {Male=his;Female=her} business at the bank. After that, her only responsibility was to serve as {Male=his;Female=her} bodyguard and guide until the Carnevale ended. Sounded like an easy task.

"Just do my job and I'll be good." Zani took a deep breath. Strangely enough, she felt nervous, her tail swishing behind her without her even realizing it.

"If {Male=he;Female=she} arrives at lunch time, I can suggest dinning at Trattoria Margherita for Ragunna's specialities. And if {Male=he;Female=she} refuses, I'll go with the backup plan," Zani quickly ran through her itinerary. "We can have pizzas at Bratta's Bakery and enjoy a relaxing afternoon by the Whisperwind Haven..." She went over the schedule again and again, only allowing herself to relax when she couldn't find any more gaps.

A small smile tugged on the corners of her lips. There, through the bank's gate, she spotted that esteemed guest, dressed in black. With a pair of golden eyes to boot. Just as she had been expecting.

"We've been expecting you, {PlayerName}. Welcome to Averardo Bank, {Male=sir;Female=miss}."