"So what now?" Leo asked. "Wait around until the next 'message' turns into an execution?"
"No," Rayleigh replied. "We go back to the Archive. We plan."
---
The Archive still stood, humming faintly with protective enchantments. They gathered in the old strategy chamber beneath it — a place layered with ancient wards and council graffiti, half-buried under stacks of unread scrolls.
Rayleigh unrolled a dusty parchment, revealing a faded map of the region. Marks from the East Block strike had already been added — in black ink, a signature only used for hostile forces.
"I've been thinking," he said. "This wasn't done by any common mage. The scale, the precision, the way the blood rain was… controlled. This level of magic can't be produced without ancient knowledge or some sort of enhancement."
Ari raised an eyebrow. "So, it's confirmed then? Velyour's back?"
Rayleigh's eyes flicked to Leo for a moment, then away. "I believe so. He vanished years ago. We all thought he died, or gave up. But that? That felt like his kind of announcement."
Leo's mind returned to the dream — to the old warrior, the soul carrier, and that first battle against Velyour. He clenched his fists slightly under the table.
"But why now?" Vellum asked, tone more serious than usual. "Why disappear for so long and then strike suddenly?"
Rayleigh leaned back, fingers interlocked. "That's what we need to figure out. He might be after something… or someone."
Leo didn't respond, but deep down, he felt the truth coil like a vine in his gut.
He was being watched.
---
Rayleigh unrolled another scroll — one far older, frayed at the edges.
"This," he said, "is from an old experiment… a project the Guild initiated in secret. Project Mirage."
Ari leaned in. "Never heard of it."
"You wouldn't," Rayleigh said grimly. "Only the highest advisors were in the loop. It was about creating… soul carriers. People bound with ancient magic through linguistic resonance. Leo's... not the first."
Everyone went quiet.
Rayleigh looked at Leo. " The first successful one. Stable. Obedient. But not the strongest. The second one… that was Velyour."
Vellum's eyes narrowed. "So he's like evil?"
"Not quite. Velyour had a conscience. He followed his own moral compass. The guild… they pushed him. Ordered him to kill. Innocents. Mages from the enemy nation. He refused."
Rayleigh's voice turned bitter.
"He backed out. The guild turned on him. Sent him to be erased."
"And he vanished," Leo whispered.
Rayleigh nodded. "No one knows how. But now, with what's happening... the Council feared this. That he may have taken something from the project."
Leo's eyes widened. "The Note."
Rayleigh looked at him in shock, then nodded slowly. "Yes. Not everyone believes it's real. A magical lullaby capable of devouring the world. But if Velyour has it, or even a piece of it... we're already too late."
---
Silence fell.
Leo looked to Vellum and Ari, both still trying to piece everything together.
"So what do we do now?" Vellum asked.
Leo stood slowly. "We fight back. We figure out what he wants. And if the guild comes again, offering alliances — we think twice."
Rayleigh gave a small nod. "Good. Because this time, it's not just about defending walls. It's about surviving the story that started before any of us were born."
---