Back at the palace, far removed from the noise and chaos of the Initiation grounds, King Drago and his council stood in tense silence as a delicate paper bird hovered midair before them. Its wings, folded moments ago, now unfurled as faint threads of magic unraveled from its body. The construct shimmered once, then projected a vivid image into the air—a live feed, crisp and unnervingly clear.
The scene revealed a dense forest, far beyond the borders of Mordell. Towering trees stretched endlessly in every direction, their thick canopies blotting out most of the light. What little sunlight managed to break through cast long, distorted shadows across the forest floor, giving the entire area an oppressive, almost unnatural atmosphere.
Moving carefully through that darkness was a four-person scout team.
"This is the group you assigned?" King Drago asked quietly, his voice measured but heavy with scrutiny.
Servious inclined his head slightly. "Yes, my lord. A mixed unit—chosen for versatility and efficiency."
The King's eyes remained fixed on the projection.
At the front of the formation moved Jax, ranked seventy-second and a rising star of the GoldenAge Guild. His posture was relaxed, almost arrogant, but every step he took was deliberate. His presence was barely detectable.
Behind him, Ann followed closely. Ranked seventy-seventh, she mirrored his movements with near-perfect precision. Her expression was sharp, her eyes constantly scanning, calculating. If Jax was the blade, Ann was the shadow that ensured it struck true.
A few paces behind them walked Ray.
Larger, heavier, and visibly more grounded, Ray's presence contrasted sharply with the others. Ranked eighty-third and a member of the Terraformer Guild, he was serving as the team's Tank. His magic hummed faintly beneath the surface, a constant readiness to reinforce, heal, or absorb damage if things went wrong.
And then there was Mye.
She moved differently.
Not in formation, not bound to their rhythm. Ranked seventy-fourth and assigned directly by Vanguard Servious from the Shadowbliss Guild, she lingered slightly apart from the group, her gaze distant yet hyper-focused. She wasn't just observing the forest. She was listening to it, reading it, dissecting every subtle irregularity.
"Strange," Serena muttered from the side, arms crossed. "They're quieter than usual."
"They should be," Servious replied. "Their target is not… typical."
The image shifted slightly as the team slowed.
Ray extended a hand, and faint energy spread outward, blending seamlessly into the environment. Ann followed suit, her magic layering over his. The two combined efforts cloaked the group completely, their presence fading from the visible spectrum.
"Impressive," King Drago murmured. "Thirty meters undetected."
"Twenty-eight," Servious corrected softly.
Within moments, the team reached a vantage point overlooking a cavern carved into the side of a rocky incline. The entrance was wide, jagged, and unnaturally dark—as if it swallowed light rather than reflected it.
And from that darkness…They saw movement.
Draeths.
Dozens of them.
They moved in and out of the cavern in steady intervals, their forms flickering with embers and heat, yet something about them felt wrong.
"They're organized," Drago noted, his brow furrowing. "Too organized."
On the projection, Jax crouched low, his voice barely audible but still captured by the spell.
"I can't believe we got stuck babysitting the leftovers from other guilds," he muttered under his breath.
Ann smirked faintly. "Ever since Kane took his promotion, everything's been changing. Standards are dropping. The new guild master wants us all to just get along with those inferiors."
"Yeah," Jax added, his tone edged with disdain. "Now we've got to pretend like we're equals."
"Damn peasants," Ann whispered. "They'll learn eventually."
Ray's jaw tightened slightly at their words, though he said nothing. His eyes remained locked on the cavern, his focus unwavering.
'This isn't the time,' he thought. 'Something's off.'
Mye, usually detached due to her independent role in the Research division, suddenly hissed for silence. "Shut up. Look."
The shift in her tone was enough to silence even Jax. All four of them focused on the cavern entrance. Her sharp eyes caught sight of two unusually large Draeths emerging from the cavern. Unlike the others, these Draeths were smoother-skinned and more imposing. Much more defined.
They didn't move like the rest. They stood and observed. Then the unthinkable happened. One pointed at a spot, and the other responded.
"…Are you seeing this?" Mye whispered, her voice laced with something between curiosity and alarm. "One is giving orders."
Ann scoffed at the notion, "Impossible. Draeths aren't that intelligent."
"Draeths don't coordinate, they don't operate like that," Jax added, siding with Ann at the first chance he got. He was clearly upset that they had a mixed team, was wondering why they did not just enlist two other GoldenAge members.
"Well then, we are all trapped in an illusion," Mye replied quietly. "And that's a problem."
Back in the palace, the tension in the room thickened. King Drago leaned forward slightly. "Higher cognition…"
Servious's eyes narrowed. "That aligns with the reports about the black lakes."
On the projection, Jax's expression shifted, not to concern, but to opportunity. "If they are some type of mutation, we're going to kill them and bring them back for study. Let's move closer." Truth was, he couldn't care less about research or the research division. He wanted the benefits he'd receive if he brought these back with him.
Ann's lips curled into a grin. "Alive or dead?"
"Doesn't matter."
Ray immediately shook his head. "That's reckless," he said quietly. "We don't know what we're dealing with." Jax didn't even look at him. "We know enough."
"No, we don't," Ray pressed. "They're behaving differently. That means we adjust."
Ann rolled her eyes. "Or it means we act before they get stronger."
Ray clenched his fist slightly. He wanted to argue but did not want to ruin the team's dynamic."Or it means we walk into something we're not prepared for."
Mye didn't speak. She was more concerned with the new behavior, ensuring she kept a detailed account of everything, but her silence spoke volumes.
She was watching. Listening. Waiting.
Jax exhaled slowly, clearly losing patience. "We move closer," he decided. "Quietly."
Ray hesitated, but he followed. Because that's what the mission required.
Back in the palace, King Drago's gaze hardened. "They're pushing too far," he said quietly.
Servious didn't respond immediately because he already knew.
The image flickered slightly as the team advanced, closing the distance between themselves and the cavern. The Ifrits continued their movements, unaware—or perhaps unconcerned.
The forest itself seemed to hold its breath.
Something was wrong.
Deeply wrong.
And as the team stepped closer to the threshold of the unknown, the weight of that decision settled over them like a silent warning.
One they chose to ignore.
Moments later, that choice would begin a chain of events that would ripple far beyond that forest—reaching the very heart of the kingdom itself.