When Auron returned from the vault, he didn't speak.
The guards at the tunnel entrance stepped aside without a word. They didn't ask what he had seen. They didn't want to know.
His skin was colder now. His steps lighter, almost weightless. And his eyes — they had changed.
No longer just gold.
Now there was a ring of black around them, like a shadow that refused to leave.
Jace was the first to notice.
"You were gone for two days," he said, following Auron to the water barrels. "People thought you were dead."
"I'm not," Auron replied simply.
"What happened down there?"
Auron didn't answer.
Jace stepped closer. "You're different. Again."
"I found something," Auron finally said. "And I took it."
"That's not an answer."
"I know."
Auron took a drink of water and turned his back. He didn't want to explain what he'd become. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
Because even he didn't fully understand it.
---
Later that evening, the alarms rang.
A horn echoed across the mine — loud, sharp, and unfamiliar.
Everyone stopped what they were doing.
Then came the sound of boots. Dozens of them. Moving in rhythm.
A squad of heavily armed nobles entered the pit from the top ledge.
They wore cloaks of red and black. Their armor shined even in the dim torchlight. At the front of the group walked a woman with long white hair, tied in a braid that fell down her back.
Her eyes were silver, and her sword — red as blood — hung at her side.
"Mira Vael," Jace whispered beside Auron. "That's her."
Auron watched silently as the woman scanned the pit. Her expression didn't change.
No fear. No doubt.
Just focus.
She raised a hand.
"By order of the Capital and the Noble Houses," she called, "we are conducting a cleanse."
The pit froze.
Slaves whispered. Guards tightened their grips.
"A cleanse?" one guard asked carefully.
"We have reason to believe something has infected this mine," Mira said. "We're here to remove it."
Auron narrowed his eyes.
He knew what this was.
They weren't here to check.
They were here to kill.
---
The nobles began moving through the pit, checking every slave. Looking into eyes. Scanning for marks. Any sign of corruption.
Auron stood still.
Waiting.
Watching.
Then Mira stopped in front of him.
She stared into his face.
Her eyes flicked over the faint marks on his arms — the ones left by the core.
"Name," she said.
"Auron."
"House?"
He met her eyes.
"I don't have one anymore."
She didn't blink.
"You speak too well to be a commoner."
"Maybe I used to be something," Auron said calmly. "Now I'm not."
She stepped closer.
Her silver eyes searched his face for something.
Recognition? Doubt? Fear?
Auron gave her none of it.
Finally, she stepped back.
"For now… you're clear," she said. "But I'll be watching."
Then she turned and walked away.
---
That night, Auron stood at the far edge of the pit.
Jace approached, nervous.
"She's dangerous," he said.
"I know."
"She looked right at you. I thought she'd attack."
"She's not ready yet," Auron said.
Jace frowned. "What do you mean?"
Auron looked up at the fake stars painted on the ceiling.
"I was born above this mine. I know how they think. She won't strike until she's sure."
"And when she does?"
Auron's hand gripped his blade.
"Then I show her what I've become."
---
\[Quest Update: Watcher from the Capital – Mira Vael's Suspicion: 42%]
\[Next Event Trigger: ???]
\[Corruption Level: 12% – Stable]
\[Void Edge – Charged]
\[Echo of the Void – 2/3 Unlocked]
The system faded from view.
And Auron smiled.
The enemy had come to him.
Soon, the real war would begin.