The Eastern District had tasted victory.
But victory had a bitter aftertaste.
Peace made people lower their guard.
And in the silence that followed war… the blade always came.
Riven knew this.
So when the System flickered at dawn with a quiet ping, he wasn't surprised.
---
> [System Alert: Anomalous Behavior Detected – Internal Security Threat Suspected]
[Related Quest: The Blade Within the Circle – Status: Active]
Time Remaining: 5 Days
Penalty: Permanent Death
---
He stood in the war room of the Eastern Tower, eyes scanning a map dotted with red and blue markers — troop movement, watch schedules, merchant convoys.
But the danger now wasn't on a map.
It was breathing beside him.
Eron stepped forward, placing two scrolls on the table.
"Reports from Mira and Tobin. One of the grain caravans never reached Sector Nine. Vanished after passing checkpoint Tau."
Riven opened the first scroll.
Manifest matched.
The grain had been real. The guards assigned were loyal.
Then he opened the second scroll — and froze.
The same names appeared… but the handwriting was forged.
---
> [New Clue Unlocked: False Report Intercepted]
Probability of Internal Sabotage: 82%
---
He folded the parchment slowly.
Someone within his own ranks was falsifying movements.
Smuggling, maybe. Or hiding something worse.
He looked at Eron. "Quietly. Recheck all shift assignments for the last 48 hours. Focus on anyone who changed teams unexpectedly."
Eron nodded and left without asking further.
Good.
Time was already bleeding away.
And somewhere within the walls — the blade waited.
---
Midday.
Riven walked the district in silence.
Children waved. Merchants bowed.
He responded with nods, short greetings — nothing more.
The people still believed in him.
But that wouldn't save them from betrayal.
He passed the forges, where blacksmiths hammered out blades for new recruits.
Then the courtyard, where Mira trained healers in quick trauma triage.
At the edge of the district, just beyond a fallen arch, he stopped.
A man in black stepped forward.
No sound. No warning.
Just a glint of steel — and movement faster than a blink.
---
> [Combat Alert – Lethal Intent Detected]
[Initiating Counter-Synchronization – Past Reflex Triggered]
---
Riven's body moved before his mind did.
He twisted sideways, grabbed the assassin's wrist mid-strike, and slammed his elbow into the attacker's throat.
The man staggered but didn't fall.
He wore a thin blade coated in a violet sheen — poison.
Mental poison.
One scratch would've wiped his memory. Possibly forever.
Riven kicked his knee, dislocating it.
Then drove a dagger into the man's side, under the ribs.
The assassin gurgled — and collapsed.
Dead.
Too quick.
Too easy.
---
He knelt, searching the body.
No sigil. No orders. No coin.
But in the man's mouth, between his back teeth — a shard of serpent-shaped bone.
---
> [New Item Acquired: Mark of the Serpent (Assassin Rank)]
Function: Prevents torture by auto-nerve failure. Triggers memory purge at death.
Value: 0
Threat: High
---
This wasn't a warning.
It was a test.
And it had failed.
Riven stood slowly, wiping his blade clean.
From the shadows, Tobin approached.
"Another hit?"
"Yes," Riven said. "Silent. Fast. Trained."
He glanced around. "No witnesses. Good."
"Orders?"
"Burn the body. Scatter the ashes outside the walls."
Tobin nodded. "Should we alert the guards?"
Riven shook his head. "No. If the assassin failed, they'll try again. I want them to think I'm off balance."
Tobin hesitated. "And you're not?"
Riven met his eyes.
"I'm sharpening."
---
That night, the System gave him something new.
---
> [New Skill Acquired: Eye of the Unseen Lv.1]
Function: Passive. Detects intent drift during spoken dialogue.
Range: 3 meters.
Limitation: Cannot detect written lies.
Cooldown: None.
---
The next morning, Riven called a private meeting.
Not the full council — only his inner circle.
Eron. Mira. Tobin. A fourth — Yra Sann, a smuggler turned spy who had proved herself in the docks.
They sat around a round iron table.
Riven observed each face as he spoke.
"Someone within our structure is falsifying records and movements. Possibly feeding information to outside forces."
No one flinched.
Not yet.
"Yesterday, I was attacked. Alone. The assassin had Serpent markings."
Still, calm.
No spike of intent from anyone. No blink too slow. No breath caught.
Good actors or innocent.
He leaned forward.
"I need one of you to monitor every piece of communication going out. Every scroll, raven, hand signal. Quietly."
Yra nodded.
Mira stayed quiet.
Tobin asked, "And if we find something?"
Riven's eyes gleamed.
"Bring it to me. Only me."
---
Later that day, Eron returned with a report.
One courier team hadn't checked back in.
Three runners assigned.
Two found in an alley — unconscious.
One missing.
The youngest — name: Callen.
Fourteen years old. Good eyes. Quick feet. Trusted.
Riven narrowed his gaze.
"Pull his file."
When it came — he found what he feared.
Callen's parents had vanished two years ago.
Picked up by city guards and never seen again.
Riven remembered that name.
One of the first purges — done by the Monk's enforcers.
Revenge, then?
Or leverage?
---
> [Side Quest Available: The Boy and the Blade]
Objective: Locate Callen and determine involvement.
Reward: Potential Ally / Critical Intel.
Risk: Loyalty Shift.
---
He moved quickly.
By dusk, he stood at the edge of the grain stores near Sector Nine — where Callen had last been seen.
The place was too quiet.
He entered alone.
Crates stacked. No footprints. No guards.
Then—
A whisper of movement.
He turned just in time to catch a small figure dashing past.
"Callen!"
The boy froze.
Tears streaked his face.
"I didn't mean to—I didn't know what they'd do—"
Riven stepped forward, calm but firm.
"Who?"
Callen sobbed.
"They said if I didn't deliver the pouch, they'd take Mira next."
Riven's eyes darkened.
"They?"
Callen pointed to the mark carved under a shelf — a twisted version of the Serpent sigil, overlaid with a third eye.
Riven stepped back.
Not just the Serpent Order.
A splinter faction.
Someone playing their own game.
---
> [Critical Quest Update: The Blade Within the Circle – Suspect Expanded: Splinter Agents]
Time Remaining: 4 Days.
---
He took Callen's hand.
"You did the right thing coming here. From now on, you work only with Eron."
The boy nodded, shaking.
And Riven knew:
The knife was closer than he'd thought.
And it was aimed for his spine.
---
Back in the tower, Yra returned.
She had something.
A scroll intercepted from the Monk's couriers.
It wasn't coded — but it was vague.
A list of "offerings" scheduled for the next moon.
One of them: "The Arrow Who Bleeds Silver."
Not Riven.
But someone close.
A trap.
He turned to Eron.
"Double Mira's protection. Tonight."
"On it."
Then, to Yra:
"Tell the council I request an emergency assembly. Midnight. No excuses."
She raised an eyebrow. "Won't that make you look paranoid?"
"Let them see what they want," he said. "While I see what they hide."
---
That night, just before the hour struck, the System pulsed again.
---
> [Critical Mission Update: The Blade Within the Circle – 1 Suspect Narrowed]
Analysis: Council Member "Don Halberd" linked to 3 anomalous transmissions.
---
The merchant lord.
Gold. Ships. Smiles.
A snake in silk.
But Riven needed confirmation.
---
He arrived at the tribunal ruins flanked by shadows.
The council room lit with blue flame.
Halberd sat relaxed, sipping wine.
The Scourged Monk stared at the wall, mumbling prayers.
Lady Varell read scrolls. The Serpent Emissary was absent.
Only four chairs filled.
Riven took the fifth.
"I called this meeting," he began, "because someone here tried to have me killed."
Halberd laughed softly.
"Dramatic."
Riven didn't blink.
"I have evidence. And time is running out."
The air shifted.
Varell spoke first.
"If you have proof, speak it."
Riven leaned forward.
"I will. At dawn."
Then he stood.
"And until then, no one leaves this district."
---
They protested.
He ignored them.
The hall emptied — angry, curious, afraid.
And behind his eyes, Riven felt the blade moving.
Still waiting to strike.
But this time?
He'd strike first.
---
> [Synchronization: 78%...]