Chapter 5: Entering Nightreach (Part 1)
The City Beneath the Curse
The fog receded like a dying breath.
Shen stood alone in the ruined plaza, the shattered remnants of the Howler dissolving into ash behind him. The silence left in its wake was heavier than the battle had been.
Above him, the sky was still dark—perpetually dusk—but he could see it now. The veil had thinned.
[Quest Progress Updated: Curse Clearance – 47%]
[Location Unlocked: Outer Ward – Nightreach]
The cursed gates of Nightreach loomed ahead—massive, rusted, and cracked like broken bones. Ivy and runes both crawled along its walls, fighting for dominance. The air was still tainted, but breathable.
Shen stepped forward, [Chaotic Slayer] still drawn. His footsteps echoed on stone.
[New Objective: Investigate the Source of the Curse – Inner District]
Optional: Locate survivors.
Optional: Recover fragments of lost lore.
A faint movement caught his eye.
He turned.
A figure stepped out from behind a crumbling shrine. Pale hair, a long cloak, and a satchel glowing faintly at her side. Her staff was carved from a tree that no longer existed.
Her voice was quiet but sharp.
"You're not from here."
Shen didn't reply.
"I watched you fight," she continued. "The Howler's death… it wasn't just strength. It was rejection. Like the world itself pushed back."
He narrowed his gaze.
"…Who are you?"
The girl tilted her head. Her eyes flickered faintly—one blue, the other silver.
"I'm not your enemy, but the city might be."
She tossed him a vial. Shen caught it without looking.
[Item Acquired: Etherveil Draught]
Temporarily shields the user from ambient curse miasma. Duration: 15 minutes.
"Drink that before you go further in," she said. "The Inner Ward doesn't like strangers."
Before he could ask anything more, she stepped backward into the shadows—and was gone.
Shen turned toward the gates.
With a soft hum, the Voidbrand Sigil on his chest flared again. A lock shattered. The rusted hinges groaned. The gates began to open.
Beyond them, the city of Nightreach revealed itself—a labyrinth of towers, bridges, and drowned spires swallowed by fog and fractured time.
A voice echoed from the system:
[New Region Entered: Nightreach – The Cursed City]
Difficulty: ★★★★☆
Environmental Hazard: Persistent Curse Field
Visibility: Reduced
Threat Level: Moderate-to-High
Suggested Party: 3+
Shen smirked.
"I work better alone."
Chapter 5 (Part 2): The Cursed Streets
Whispers in Stone
Shen stepped into Nightreach.
The cursed city was frozen mid-collapse—buildings twisted by time and rot, cobbled streets cracked and warped by pulses of forgotten magic. Statues wept black tears. Lamplights flickered without flame. Shadows moved even when nothing cast them.
[Status: Curse Field Active – Mental Interference: Low]
[Effect: Paranoia stacks every 3 minutes. Current Stack: 1]
[Warning: Aggression levels may rise unexpectedly.]
Far above, the bell tower rang. Once. Twice. Then silence.
Shen walked, blade drawn, eyes alert. Every corner could be a trap. Every whisper could be real—or not.
Then he saw them.
Figures in bone-white robes kneeling in a circle. Their faces were hidden by masks carved from broken mirrors.
Scavenger Cult.
[Faction: Cult of the Fractured Dream]
Obsession: Consume the Echoes of the City
Aggression: High
Tier: Unstable Cursed Entities
Special Trait: "Fragmented Memory Loop"
Shen crouched behind the remains of a carriage, watching as one cultist carved glowing runes into the cobblestones. Another was whispering to a dismembered arm—still twitching.
[System Alert: Ritual in Progress – Curse Density Increasing]
He had a choice.
Engage now and disrupt the ritual—risk a full fight.
Observe longer—maybe learn their purpose… or their weakness.
Shen's eyes narrowed.
"…Let's see what you break into when I snap your loop."
He moved.
Void-shadow flowed from his boots. His approach silent. Surgical.
[Skill Activated: Ebon Reap]
– Instantly strike all enemies within a tight radius. Bonus damage against the cursed.
In a single blur of motion, his blade cleaved through three cultists.
They didn't die.
They shattered.
Like glass.
Then reformed—wrong.
Their masks rearranged, limbs twisted, one grew a second head that whispered in reverse.
[Curse Loop Triggered – Phase Shift Initiated]
The air pulsed. Reality flickered. Shen gritted his teeth.
[Paranoia Stack: 2]
[Mind Warning: Mild Disassociation Detected]
[Voidbrand Response: Stabilizing Consciousness]
He fought back.
Every slash, a defiance of madness. Every movement, chaos made precise.
Until only one remained.
It stared at him through a cracked mirror-face.
And whispered:
"You were part of Nightreach once… Weren't you?"
Shen froze for a breath too long.
Then sliced through it cleanly.
[Scavenger Cult Eliminated]
• Curse Density Reduced
• Lore Fragment Acquired: "Dreams of the Forgotten Bell"
• Hidden Keyword Unlocked: "Sundering Pact"
Shen stood amidst the broken cult.
The bell tolled again—twice, then three times.
Something was waking up.
And he was walking straight into its heart.
Chapter 5 (Part 3): The Dream-Eater's Warning
"You walk where minds are unmade."
The mist thickened.
Each step Shen took stirred not just fog, but echoes—fragments of voices, fractured memories, warped laughter. Nightreach didn't sleep. It remembered.
[Paranoia Stack: 3]
[System Alert: Mental Interference Threshold Nearing Critical]
[Stabilizing… Voidbrand Resistance Holding]
A lull settled. Quiet, but not peace.
Then he heard it—a lullaby. Haunting. Discordant. Sung in a forgotten tongue.
And from the shadow of a crumbled cathedral, something emerged.
A cloaked figure. Half-real, its body stitched from whispers and dreams. One eye gleamed gold—the other bled black mist.
"Child of the Void," it rasped, voice like silk torn against rust,
"Why do you trespass in a city that devoured gods?"
Shen didn't flinch. "Looking for answers."
"Then you're already damned."
It raised a hand. Runes flared beneath its cloak—burning symbols from a forgotten script.
[Dream-Eater Encountered]
☉ Title: Custodian of the Forgotten Loop
☉ Status: Non-Hostile (Unstable)
☉ Trait: "Sees What You Dream When You Forget to Sleep"
"The Sundering Pact is unbroken," the Dream-Eater whispered.
"And the Bell is not yet done ringing."
[Dialogue Option Unlocked: "Ask about the Pact"]
[Option: "Ask what happened to Nightreach"]
[Option: Remain silent. Let it speak.]
Shen chose silence.
The Dream-Eater tilted its head.
"…Wise. Words rot quickly here."
It stepped closer. Time bent around it. Shen felt his own memories drift—old pain, voices from a childhood long buried.
Then:
"You will meet Her soon. When the fourth toll comes. The Lady of Thorns."
[New Quest: "The Fourth Toll" Acquired]
Objective: Survive until the fourth bell toll.
Reward: ???
The Dream-Eater's form flickered. Its eye locked with Shen's one last time.
"Don't trust the lights."
It vanished.
And Shen was left alone in a city that was already watching him.